Robert Dempster

Resident in Pietermaritzburg (PMB)!

View myPMB's current weather status Includes readings for the past week

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On the 15th of December 2020 Edith and I took occupation of a rental home in the Amber Valley Retirement Village in Howick, KwaZulu-Natal. The interior of the (Kite Design) house had been repainted and cleaned, and once we had settled in, we were very comfortable. The only problems we experienced were: the gutters that were full of leaves, the leak in the patio roof that is probably caused by leaves in the single roof valley, the dangling curtain rails, the ants that where everywhere, and the leaky kitchen sink and toilets.

Well, I repaired the curtain rails, and Edith and I cleared the section of gutter along the front of the house. We made several serious efforts to get rid of the ants, but were not very successful. Ultimately we conceded that ants are a general problem in the area, and settled for them taking a break once it got colder.

Well the gutters have since been cleaned by the Body Corporate (BC). Not the valley, they ignored that. Our grandson has subsequently volunteered to clamber onto the roof and did that for us in no time at all. Given that heavy downpours have now taken a rain check it will be some time before his handiwork is tested. Of course by then the valley will once more be full of leaves and the ants will be thinking of sending out scout parties to test the temperature of the ambient the Ambers air.

The leaks: A case of the last coming first in so much as once both toilet cisterns had been replaced, the plumber dealt with the leaky kitchen sink. It has not leaked a drop since then. The toilet cisterns came second, but only because it was a small competing field. The toilet in the second bedroom continued to work much the same as it was working before the cistern was replaced. You still have to remember to raise the handle after a flush. The toilet in the main bedroom continued to work much the same as it was working before the cistern was replaced. It continued to leak. If there was a difference, it would be that the rate at which it leaked started to accelerate until it failed completely. The plastic parted and we had to reach for the stop-cock.

The water that flows into the cistern arrives via a network of pipes that supplies water to the homes in the Amber Valley Retirement Village. AS I type they are busy completing a job that entailed replacing that entire network, less than 20 years after the first resident turned on a tap here. Was it designed to fail. Who knows. Not replacing the plastic innards of a cistern that is about 13 years old, suggests to me that the plumber would have to be called out again sooner than later. In the case of the rental toilet cistern it would have been a lot sooner than later. There is a question here that is begging for an answer.

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00BallValveArm.jpg *	10OldCisternBolt.jpg *	20CisternBoltSeal.jpg *
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60NewCisternBolt.jpg *	70NewCisternBoltNut.jpg *	80AllDone.jpg *

Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy a bicycle.

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