An unusual event put a temporary halt to work on the back room.
It was a few months ago when the work started, during that time I drilled a number of holes through a dividing wall between the old building and the newer part.
This was to accommodate the upgrades to the electrical system, namely a proper consumer unit with correctly sized circuit breakers and RCD protection. At the time I was concerned about the drains from the bathroom which I knew must be somewhere in the vicinity of the wall, based upon the position of the pipes leaving the building. Once the holes were done I tested the plumbing by running the shower, the washbasin and the toilet and bidet. No signs of any water leaks so all was good - or was it?
Since that time, the work in the kitchen room has been all but completed - new floor, walls, windows, door and in fact everything, mostly decorated with just a few finishing touches needed.
Having moved into the house to live here permanently we have installed the washing machine into it's predefined position in the bathroom, the tap and waste pipes were already installed there so it seemed a good idea. After a couple of weeks it was more and more apparent that there was a water leak when the washing machine was in use. The ominous sound of dripping water haunted me but there was no obvious source.
Fortunately, one of the finishing touches needed was to close off the end of the false wall at the end of the kitchen and it was here when the sound of the water could be more clearly heard. Yes, there was water dribbling out of the wall where the new electrical conduit is installed. All hidden behind a nice new plasterboard wall.
My only option was to open up the wall and get in there to see what the damage was.
So there we have it, right between where I installed the new supply cable and the 5 conduit tubes (removed so that I could break open the wall).
Being the perfectionist, I managed to drill through the waste pipe twice, unbelievable !!
It took a little bit of ingenuity but the solution seems quite elegant and, importantly, I didn´t have to open the entire wall.
New holes for the electrical conduits placed away from the pipework.
A whole day wasted but at least the disaster was not as bad as it could have been.