Water Pipes

So! The window's been installed - we're ready to confine this aqua bathroom suite to history, right? I mean, how hard can this be?

Another weekend, another builder - though this time it's a builder who's been here before and seems a little un-nerved about the size of the project so he's chosen to return with his electrician and plumber for the purposes of giving a more accurate quote. These hours spent explaining the job to builders is beginning to wear me down. They all need full-scale plans, which have to be ordered from the local printer at additional cost - they all need specification, pencils to chew.

John the Builder's plumber shakes his head when he hears we're replacing the downstairs loo. The water pipe from the street enters the house behind the loo, the pipe's too thin to support the sort of water usage modern families enjoy - it needs to be replaced and it needs doing before we tile the room, especially if we'd like it relocated to the garage.

We phoned the local water company - they'll replace the pipe but they dig up your garden and they charge by the meter, which, given that we've about a squillion metres between our house and the main road - well it's going to cost (about £1500 to be exact). The alternative is Mr Mole. Mr Mole bores a hole under your garden for about £600 and gets the water company to connect him up to the mains. Bingo. Hes coming out tomorrow to inspect the site, though I'm not sure he'll have much luck because moles are blind, as everyone knows.

I'm beginning to think we're saddled with the aqua toilet forever.