Heat, Coming Right UP

Last Tuesday or so, we contacted some welders just around the corner, to see if they could come put our pipes in order and connect our new radiators to them so that we would have a heating system again. Sergai, Vova and Kolya came to help us out. On Friday they measured out what was needed.
Monday began the serious work of cutting out bad pipe and piecing the good that was left with new. . . with one major interruption, the man of the house who knows something about these things had to leave.
But the welders went to work with a will, anyway and moved quickly from morning to evening. A week later, Monday evening, the system was filled with water and checked. The fellows walked past every weld and every radiator looking for leaks. In two places radiator sections had to be tightened closer together.
Notice the hairy stuff? It's part of any plumbing over here. This is horse hair that's wound around the threads of each fitting. In the past, plumbers used paint on top of this hair. Nowadays the fellows use teflon tape on top of the hair to make sure that each fitting has a good seal.
And although it is now in the 60's inside (without heating) and out, we're very glad to have a heating system working again.