This weekend we had a baptism, and we had people over afterwards for a collation (fancy word for food that makes me feel accomplished while sending invitations). Since it was rather cold, I turned the heat on to make our guests feel more comfortable. After they had left, I realized that the house never got up to temperature. Huh. I went down in the basement, and it was plenty warm down there, so clearly the boiler was TRYING to do its job, but failing.
So while I had some time during the baby's nap yesterday, I decided I was going to fix this problem. After all, in the past two weeks I've fixed a closet door (by tightening the hinge screws), fixed a bedroom door (by gluing the hinge screws) and caulked the shower. I was 3-for-3 in home repair jobs and ready for a new challenge.
We had some issues with the boiler last winter, where it wasn't heating the water for some unknown reason (the oil company could not find the reason, and then it magically fixed itself), so the boiler and I are good friends at this point. I went down to the basement, screwed in the light bulb, and checked it out. Everything was in working order; but my radiators upstairs were cold to the touch. Except for one or two. So I figured it was time to bleed the air out of them. Seems simple enough; I'd seen the Husband and the Heat Repair Guy do it. So I pulled off the radiator cover and saw this:
So I went in search of the proper tool, which I figured must be pliers (I haven't graduated beyond the school of hammers and screwdrivers yet). I could not find pliers (luckily?), but then I found the wrench kit, and that seemed like a superior tool. The wrench and I turned that bolt thingy on the top, air came out, and when the water started to come out, I turned it back closed. Ta-da! Immediately, the radiator got hot. It was a huge win. I celebrated my success by repeating the procedure on several radiators and patted myself on the back. I may or may not have eaten a celebration brownie.
But then the Husband came home. He was displeased. There may have been yelling involved. Apparently you are supposed to bleed the radiator by turning the screw that's in the bolt (do you see it in the picture? Because... I did not see it IRL). And the bolt thingy is supposed to be basically glued in place. Which MAY be why it was so hard to turn the one in the baby's room. Maybe. Ok, probably. I just thought it was because I have no wrist strength.
The Husband attempted to order me to never perform home maintenance again, but I refused to consent. I did agree to perhaps research my tasks on the internet before jumping into them wrench-first.
I'm not sure if I'm 3-for-4 or 4-for-4 on these home repair jobs at this point. Either way, I'm definitely not a handy(wo)man. I'm just a-
-Real Housewife of the North Shore
No comments:
Post a Comment