“My husband retired and we settled in the countryside”

– We really liked the place itself, picturesque surroundings, friendly people. I liked everything, – says Larisa Nikolaevna. – At first, all things were on the hunt: it would become cool in the house, you would run for firewood. You heat up the stove. It will be hot, you will open the door. And then again in a circle: cool – firewood – stove – door wide open. Get used to this routine. Yes, and our life outside the city was seasonal, in the summer we came to the village on vacation. And in spring and autumn, if warm days were given out, they visited on weekends and on holidays. We were still working. Funds were needed to equip everything in the house, to create comfort. But age took its toll, it became hard. Sometimes you don’t run for the same firewood, because the forces are no longer the same.

At first they thought about a gas tank

Yuri, the husband of Larisa Nikolaevna, is a very responsible, artisan man. When I felt that it was hard to deal with firewood, I began to think about a gas tank – an installation for storing liquefied gas. In fact, this autonomous gasification system can be used to heat a country house if it is connected to a boiler. The house will always have hot water if it is connected to a water heater. You can also mount a gas stove to the gas tank and even use it as a source of electricity. Yuri began to monitor this topic, to evaluate options for installing a gas tank at the site in Harlanikh.

“When we estimated the costs, the enthusiasm faded. It turned out that the initial costs for the installation of this autonomous system would be very high: more than 400,000 rubles. Then we presented the possible difficulties with its refueling. After all, it was necessary to provide the entrance of a special car. Then we were explained that periodic maintenance would also have to be paid. In general, we eventually swept aside this method of gasification of our possessions, – says Larisa Avanskaya. “Then we accidentally learned from neighbors that more than 45 settlements in our Volokolamsk district were included in the social gasification program, which is being implemented on behalf of our President. We began to collect information on this topic. It turned out that a few years ago we had gas in Harlanikh, but only for a commercial project. The villagers who lived on the edge chipped in and at their own expense brought gas communications to their homes. For them, this connection was not very expensive, because the pipe passed somewhere nearby. In general, our village is not very big. Probably not even a hundred houses.

Our gas issue was resolved quickly

In general, thanks to that commercial gas project, the inhabitants of Harlanikha had a chance to get additional gas under the social program.

“Only a few people invested in that project a few years ago. And now, thanks to them, today the rest of the villagers have the opportunity to connect gas. Of course, I had thoughts that this was unfair to the pioneers. After all, they actually provided us with such a gift at their own expense. I even waited for one of them to come and say: “Compensate us for the expenses.” But no one came. But we ourselves did not offer this to our “benefactors”. Probably, on this occasion, sometimes the conscience can torment, – says Larisa Avanskaya. – But behind the gas business, everything was somehow forgotten about it. After all, gas workers are now supplying communications to each section free of charge. Next to us along the road is a neighboring village. But it is not gasified. Because the pipe still needs to be pulled up to it, and most likely from the very place where our pipe turns into Harlanikha.

While the Avanskys were solving organizational issues, autumn came.

– I told my husband whether it is worth starting gasification before winter. Suddenly they dig a trench and the frost hits or some other “surprise” will happen. But my Yuri is a realist. He can correctly, without fuss, assess the situation, make the right decision. In general, he said that it is not worth pulling. We started work on connecting to gas last autumn, and gas was supplied already in June of this year. And despite the fact that they promised to do everything on a turnkey basis in the spring, I believe that our gas issue was resolved quickly. Perhaps the delay for several months occurred due to the fact that I had to periodically travel to work in Moscow. It is impossible to leave such a responsible event as gasification to chance. My husband prefers to control everything personally. But at the same time, he greatly values ​​the fact that at his “non-pioneer” age he is in demand at work, he is needed, and Yuri himself holds on to his workplace, ”says Larisa. – Laying pipes from the fence to the valve cost us 180 thousand in materials and work. The amount turned out to be decent, considering that we have only 9 meters from the border of the site to the house. But the fact is that this communication could not be carried out in a direct way. There were obstacles on the site that had to be jewelry bypassed. The configuration of the pipe turned out to be complicated. But we have paper for every turn. It is very important. When the work was done, I had to delve into everything. For example, I was very surprised when I found out that polymer pipes can be used for underground laying of gas networks. It always seemed to me that they should be made of metal. But the gas workers enlightened us and willingly told us that polypropylene and polyethylene are considered the most popular pipe materials. They can be bent, they are not susceptible to corrosion, they are easy to install and are not so expensive. But plastic pipes are used only for the installation of low pressure lines. They are even labelled. For example, a polyethylene pipe, which is used for gasification of private houses, is black with yellow marks. This new topic for me, I mastered with pleasure. I was pleased that the gas service employees patiently and competently answered my questions. But most importantly, everything was clear to me.

ground and ventilate

Then the Avanskys bought a boiler.

– We bought a double-circuit boiler: for a stove and radiators. In general, boilers differ in the way they prepare hot water. We chose a double-circuit one, because we wanted to have both heating and hot water. In such boilers, hot water is prepared inside in flow mode, passing through the secondary heat exchanger of the boiler. But this method of obtaining hot water is more suitable for small houses. For example, there is enough for 2 points of water intake – for a bathroom and a kitchen, – says Yuri. – In general, this option was very suitable for me and my wife for two.

A very important stage is to launch measures to organize grounding and ventilation.

– I invited a team that was on the list of organizations affiliated with gas workers to work on grounding and wiring ventilation communications. They had all the clearances and permits. It is very important. Otherwise, it will be difficult to get permission to connect. Of course, you can invite your familiar workers for grounding, ventilation installation. But the day will come when the gas workers will come to sign the act on gas supply. Then all these works will be checked for safety in accordance with established standards and regulations. If suddenly somewhere messed up, you have to redo it.

Life has become much more interesting

Avan residents have been in high spirits since the arrival of gas to the house.

– We have more free time for ourselves, we can do our favorite things. What about expenses? They are replenishable, – says Yuri. – For all documents, materials, turnkey work, we paid 450 thousand rubles. It’s decent. To be honest, we could save about half if we ourselves, for example, dig a trench under the pipe, do ventilation, etc. For example, we had to pay 80 thousand for the installation of heating, plus the cost of the project for it 15 thousand. Of course, all this could be done independently and without a project. We just didn’t have time for things like that. Don’t quit your main job. By the way, everything that goes up to the main valve is done by employees of the gas industry. The rest (stove, hoses, boiler, etc.) the person chooses himself. By the way, I strongly advise you to put the boiler in the kitchen. In this case, the installation requirements will be significantly less. For the very fact of connecting and starting gas, we laid out 8 thousand and the same amount for annual maintenance. Of course, we supplied the necessary meters, but the gas analyzer was not. We were told it was not necessary. It so happened that this winter we rarely visited our house in Harlanich. And when we managed to arrive, it was cold in the house. It turned out that the boiler was defrosted. There was a failure: the system gave an error, and the heating turned off. It was an unpleasant moment. Then I called the gas service, where they explained to me how to manually reset the error. I followed the instructions and everything worked. But I couldn’t just calm down. I got all the documentation, figured out the functioning of the main components of the system and found out that such errors happen. It happens that they indicate a malfunction of the boiler, but the boiler itself is actually in order. But all these points need to be checked. In general, we are satisfied with everything.

***

During the completion of the material, I called the Avanskys to clarify some questions. Larisa answered quickly, her voice was unusually joyful.

– You will not believe! The incredible happened! My husband has left a job he once held dear. To my question: “Why?” – he replied: “You understand, when we had comfort in Harlanich, I felt that I was LIVING! But before, life seemed to pass me by, I kept trying to earn money and did not really feel it. ” In general, now you can’t pull your husband out of Harlanikhi by the ears. I will reveal one more secret – we are now villagers. They moved here completely from Moscow. Why do we need a city if there is such beauty here! And the third secret is that we both now experience the same feelings when we just met my husband. We walk for hours in the forest, by the river, chatting about everything, even kissing. But we are already pensioners. Living in nature has done wonders for us.

Photo from the personal archive of the Avansky family

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