Yesterday I couldn't even spell plummer..

Tool and Pipe
Originally uploaded by DerekL.

..today I are one.

It started when Robyn noticed something growing on her bathroom ceiling. Closer inspection revealed an excessive amount of damp.

Up into the loft I went, and the insulation under the cold pipe to the shower was completely wet through, as was the plasterboard ceiling. I couldn't see anything on the pipe though, so I mopped up.

Next day, I looked again, and this time I did notice water leaking from the end of the lagging. When I took more lagging off I could see a very slow drip from much further down the pipe - it had been running along the lagging before escaping. I tried some very old (too old in fact) pipe sealing goo stuff. It didn't stick so I put a tin under the drip and asked my Dad for advice. He told me of the magic of push-fit connectors and pipe-cutters.

The next day I checked again. The sandpapering I did to the pipe to make the goo work had obviously made the hole bigger, and the tin was full. Now I could see a very fine spray. This time I turned the water off.

Repaired
Originally uploaded by DerekL.

I thought I'd go to the newly opened Screwfix Trade Counter, but I was a week early. I had to go to Plumbase across the road where the cutter was £20 (but "Made in England"). When I got home I had fixed it in 10 minutes. Magic. (It would have been 5 minutes, but when I first cut the pipe I discovered that I hadn't quite turned the water completely off, and had to scramble like a loon back across the loft to the tap.)