:: diy day

I'm knackered, and I haven't finished yet. This morning (OK afternoon -- I didn't get up early) the plan was to do the sealant thing on the bath. I thought that as the washers on the taps were clearly on their last gasp (not leaking but having to be turned off tight so they wouldn't leak) I might as well change them while I was about it. These are large, elderly taps, so I didn't think it would be easy. And it wasn't.

A couple of hours after starting, I was sitting on the edge of the tub in a fog of DW40, with every single tool in my possession strewn around the floor, clutching one filthy hand in another as the blood flowed from a gash in my left thumb caused by the screwdriver I was using to try and prise the old washer out from under a very stuck nut. The nut was so firmly jammed that I had to carve the hardened washer out so I could get WD40 into the screw and loosen it. It took another hour after that point. While the WD40 was doing its magic (every joint in both taps was stuck) I rewired the light fittings in the downstairs hallway because they've been blowing bulbs too quickly. No, I'm not on drugs. I could have done with drugs, trust me.

Finally, finally, the nut came free. I jammed the new washer on, reassembled the tap and turned the water back on. Fresh water gushing into the header tank stirred up the gunk, so the first trickle through the taps was lurid orange, but still -- new washers! Fab. After a quick scrub round, rebandaging and tidy-up I started to strip off the old silicone seal around the tub, but realised that a) I was starving and b) it was after 5pm and I hadn't walked Bertie. I collected him and was just about out the door when Faye rang.

While talking to her, I realised that I could still hear the header tank filling. Surely it should be full by now ... She could hear it too, it was so loud. What the...

Then, still talking to Faye, I found the culprit. One of the low points of the day, apart from stabbing myself with the screwdriver, came when I went to the toilet midway through the whole episode. I squirted out a lot of liquid soap and (duuuuuhhhh) turned on the tap. No water, dummy! You turned it off, remember? I had to wipe the soap off with toilet paper. Second duuuhhh was that I forgot to turn the tap off. It was running now ... uhhhnnnn...

Anyhoo, I've had a nice bit of steak and am somewhat restored. I'm just going to have a quick clear-out and put the rubbish bin out and then get stuck in to resealing the bath.

Amusing suggestion on the instructions for the sealant tape: if it's for around a bath, then fill the tub to its normal level before applying sealant. But be careful not to get anything wet...