Saturday, November 12, 2011

The Ups And Downs In A Day

Chez Moi has undergone a thorough cleaning for the last day or so and was on the verge of beauty again when the unmistakable drip of water, loud enough to disrupt sound sleep, was heard in the hall. Investigation soon pinpointed the closet containing both the central air handler and water tank.

Fortunately, I have a friend who is a skilled re-modeler as well as being a licensed property inspector. He came in response to my concern that water was leaking from the top of the closet and hitting the water tank. Having determined that the source was neither my air conditioning, which was off, nor the recently installed hot water heater, he ventured upstairs to ask a new neighbour whether he might have a look at her water tank.

 She was reluctant to grant his request and said only that she would contact the landlord. I was preparing to stuff my tank's closet with towels when her parents appeared, telling us that they would look into the matter. They subsequently emerged saying they could not see any sign of leakage. My friend then explained the situation further and accompanied them into the upstairs flat, eventually locating two pin holes in a coil on the woman's hot water heater that were leaking and which could have damaged both flats if left undiscovered.

The young woman swiftly departed for the local DIY centre obtaining the needed part while my friend offered to do the repair without charge. My relief was palpable. Firstly because her very nice parents saw sense and secondly because she realised the potential for damage and that I, a woman who also lives alone, was not out to hurt anyone. The man I sent upstairs actually knew what he was talking about and what could have been a nasty situation all round was resolved to every one's benefit very speedily. I gave my friend $25 for coming out and to cover his fuel costs.

There are still decent people in the world, after all. I'm enjoying a last cup of tea before bed and feeling quite like I dodged a bullet...

Until Next Time...

11 comments:

Steve Reed said...

Wow, it's a good thing you heard the dripping -- and that your neighbors were cooperative. Crisis averted!

Brian Miller said...

i am glad you were able to get it taken care of...we had a leak under the sink about a month ago...can certainly be annoying...

the fly in the web said...

You've had a lucky escape...why would the woman be so suspicious initially, I wonder?
And yes, there are some great people around.

Kris McCracken said...

Good to hear that it ended well.

Brian Miller said...

richmond was great...got up there early so T and i did some shopping for the holidays before the performance...ended up doing 6 pieces...had a good response and the door is open to come back and perform again so that is a good thing...

PeterParis said...

Nice relationships are important, including with neighbours! :-)

Bruno Laliberté said...

a sigh of relief!?!...
I daresay!!
:)~
HUGZ

the walking man said...

There is no downside to this story, not even the caution of the young woman. She showed her concern by not waiting on a landlord but rather calling her parents who came to investigate. Yep...good ducking there.

nick said...

Lucky you got the problem fixed before it became a major disaster. And lucky you had such a knowledgable friend to work out where the leak was.

Sub Radar (Mike) said...

Lucky to have such skilled friends... leaks are some of the worst things to deal with.

Alan Burnett said...

You are quite right : it is well worth chalking up the occasions when people exhibit kindness, we tend to forget that we are surrounded by a great mass of rather nice people.