Raising the Roof

It was not a good sign. After locking the house, we were walking toward the truck to begin a 4½ hour drive to Lilongwe. First we heard it, then we saw it. Water—pouring out from a pipe near the roof. It was coming from the hot water overflow tank located in the attic crawl space. Since this had happened once before we figured it wasn’t an emergency. Nevertheless, it was not a good sign.

While we were gone the problem was diagnosed. The “pre-fill” tank had a leak. Our Mr. fix-it applied some caulking which slowed the flow but did not solve the problem. Since the leaking tank was made of copper we would need to take it to someone in town who had an acetylene torch and have it soldered. We would have to take the water heater with “pre-fill” tank and all. But there was only one way to get the large contraption out of the attic—through the roof.

On Friday we consulted with a plumber and he agreed to come to the house “first thing” Monday morning. Unfortunately the power & water were shut off on Sunday. Sunday night, the city water started flowing back into the house with all the sediment that accumulates when there is a shut down. (See picture of our kettle with tap water in it.) This clogged the overflow pipe and guess what? Water poured into the attic and then rained down in the hallway. While Darlene started mopping up the water in the hall Paul managed to find the home made ladder, climb through the attic access, unclog the pipe and turn off the hot water altogether.                                              

Shortly after 10:00 a.m. on Monday morning the plumber showed up on his bicycle (which was very helpful because we usually have to provide transport to plumbers, electricians, etc.). Under threatening skies, (this is rainy season) he began raising the roof removing two of the 15 foot long tin sheets. Then the plumber, the cook, the gardener, and Paul hoisted the thing out of the attic, onto the roof, down the rickety ladder, and into the back of the truck. Of course, at this point, there was still water in the tank. This not only made it heavy as a horse but also it began to empty before ever leaving the attic, once again drowning the hall floor below.

While we were in town with the heater, the skies no longer threatened—they delivered a deluge. Fortunately the plumber had replaced the roofing tins and secured them well enough to prevent much of the water from getting into the house.

Now the roof is back on and so is our hot water. It all cost about $70 and a days' work for Paul. When we told a Malawian friend that in the U.S. we usually put our hot water heaters on the ground floor she said: “Good idea!”