MORE WATER WOES

We knew we'd use more water and electricity as a result of installing an electric water pump but, when The Boss appeared wearing his serious face, a week later, I knew we had 'a problem, Houston'. In fact, our water consumption had more than doubled, and we'd been using enough electricity to power a small pueblo. In future, we'd have to avoid turning the taps on fully . . . which kind of defeated the object of the pump!

To add to our woes, the water heater supplying our shower room had developed an insatiable appetite for butano. Fearing a gas leak, we called back Pep the plumber, who quickly applied his analytical brain to the problem. Within minutes he'd dismissed our leak theory and suspected something far more serious. Muttering in mallorquin, he went out to his van - returning with a pickaxe.

The bad news, Pep explained, was that our hot water pipe was probably leaking, which would cause the water heater to use more gas. The even worse news was that the leaking pipe was under the floor tiles - hence the pickaxe.

We couldn't bear to watch Pep smash up our terracotta floor, so retreated - only to rush back at what sounded like a very loud mallorquin expletive. Kneeling amid shards of terracotta and a new indoor fountain we hadn't expected, was a very wet Pep. He'd accidentally punctured the cold water pipe with his pickaxe.

But he'd also found the seriously-leaking hot water pipe, which explained the increase in our water and power consumption. It seemed that a weak joint in the pipe had ruptured, due to the increased water pressure - as a result of the new water pump.

Pep set to and fixed both pipes. And repairing the big hole in the floor? As we had feared, it was another job for our ever-growing list . . .

Copyright Jan Edwards 2008