Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Gas leaks and other winter hazards

Concrete and brick houses don't catch fire easily but they do blow up.  Yesterday we could smell gas in our kitchen.  Tanya immediately phoned the gas company and we set to work clearing out stuff so they could get at the tap and lines to the stove.  They are located behind our kitchen counters (don't ask).  We were being Watched Over from Above, as a call to the two guys who installed the cupboards brought them on the run in 10 minutes.  They were not due to go on shift at the plant where they work until later so were free to help us.  They had the counters out in a few minutes, just as the gas company arrived.

The tap was faulty and was replaced.  Volodya and Dymr put the counters back and headed for work.  All is well. Except today we have to go to the gas company and get a record book for them to record service calls.  We were supposed to have one but no one told us.

We are also extending our chimney today.  it is supposed to be above the ridge of the roof, though it seems to me it is far enough away that it should still draw. But it certainly needs new insulation.  Chimney pipe here does not come in insulated lengths for some reason, and insulation must be done after installation.  This I have to see.


Temps are supposed to go to -30C tonight so Tanya is out adding extra covers to her roses.  It is currently -12C with a strong wind.

4 comments:

  1. By the looks of your home, I must know a millionaire and wasn't aware of it!! And where in America could one get the gas company AND the cabinet installers to their house that quickly.

    I leave you with this bit of "life experience" from a depressed woman's way of thinking:

    "If the explosion doesn't kill you.... the flying concrete blocks will".

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  2. You can thank my wife for that home on all counts. 20 odd years ago when she built it, all her friends pitched in to help her find materials. she got it built before post Soviet Union inflation wiped out everyone's savings. Then when we got married, she insisted we do the renovations NOW and we did. They have gone up in price double or triple in the last two years.

    The house is about 1800 sq ft. which is way huge and not cheap to heat.

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  3. Wow! far better than the customer no service we get here in the U.S.
    Time to invest in a CO monitor?

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  4. Volodya and Dymr spent a month or two working on our house, doing all new wiring. In a masonry house that is done with an angle grinder, not a drill. Horrible work. They were so impressed with Tanya's ability to act as general contractor for our renos. So they were not just normal service guys. As for the gas company, they are usually prompt anywhere I have been when the word gas leak is used. They are also the people who inspect and approve all gas work so their are on the line, too in a way.

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