On the Sand

12.8C with sunny sunshine all day long. Gentle breeze.

Maeve the Deerhound spent some of the morning out in the back garden, lying on the grass in the sunshine.

The Gas boiler installation manager phoned mid morning and asked if he could come just after 12 o'clock to assess the issue with the asbestos board under our boiler. He arrived on time and had a look at the asbestos, and said he thought the boiler could be removed with little problem. Once all the pipes are disconnected/cut and the flue removed, the boiler can be tipped back and a metal sheet slipped in underneath so the boiler can be slid forwards out of the cupboard without disturbing the asbestos. Good plan. Then he had a look at the cupboard and the installation notes left by the heating advisor and his supervisor and decided he didn't like the idea of the new boiler going back in the same space (which is what we wanted ideally). He looked in the cupboard under the stairs, which is just through the wall from the current location in the kitchen and pronounced that was the place for it. He even found the hatch in the cupboard where pipes etc can be seen running under the house. We had a chat about it all and he said he would call the heating advisor and give him his opinions.

Maeve and I went for our walk after a late lunch. We went up to the church then continued out along the country road to Scryne. We turned right at Craigmill farm and went down the track to the shore road. We came back along the cycle path and went down to the beach at Westhaven via the level crossing. The tide was well out so there was plenty of beach to walk along. One of the fishing boats was on its trailer on the sand near the fishermen's huts with the red tractor hooked up. I assume it had just come out of the water.

We walked along East Row then  came back over the road bridge over the railway line and back up the main road and round to home.

The heating advisor came around 3.30pm and told me that the installation manager had given him the go ahead to change the install to the cupboard under the stairs without altering the quote. Apparently their software makes it more expensive if the new boiler is in 'another room' but he has agreed the extra pipe lengths (minimal) because it is literally just through a dividing wall. He will also hand pick the installers so that there will be no grumbling about the asbestos. So, the deposit has been paid, and the new boiler will be installed in early June.

DMC-LX7 f/3.2 1/1600 sec. ISO-80 5mm