There are certain jobs about the home we don’t do, we call a tradesperson. This is the case often with any concerns with electricity, plumbing or carpentry. But in this is a story of an exception.

We have a Finnish sauna that gets plenty of use, particularly in the cold months of Canberra. We bought the sauna 12 years ago. As we all know, things wear out, such is the nature of entropy. There is no zero.

In this case, one of the elements of the sauna stopped working. So, it needed replacing, not an easy task nor straight forward. This sauna heater has three large elements, packed with special Finnish Periodite stones. The sauna is much like a small wooden box that seats five with the temperature getting up to 110 degrees centigrade. Part of the fun is the increased heat by adding water to the stones that splashes onto the elements, slides down the elements and stones and through to the cement floor and into a drain. It is a delicate mix of water and electricity. You can see a pic of the heater elements without rocks and with rocks here:

To get to change the element requires turning the heater upside down, removing a range of critical splash covers, the side controlling thermostat and regulator, then once disconnecting the elements, pull out the out the broken element through the top.

The only to describe the job is ‘finnicky’. The process from switching off the power to removing the rocks and working on the heater to replacing, putting in new rocks and testing with power on takes a few hours. I have done it once before being video coached by a technician. All of this happens in confined space because the heater has to be ‘hard wired’ in place.

Don’t you love those jobs when everything goes smoothly?

So, just when it was all back together and I was ready to test the unit, I noticed two small washers on the floor. Hmmm, what were they about? See below.

So, I made a call and discovered these were critical in insulating the element from the trickle of water running inside the heater. Without them in place at the bottom of each element, the whole heater with water becomes a potential electric shock. I also had a manual.

So, a two-hour job became a four-hour job.

I had to pull it all apart again and redo everything ensuring these two rubber washers were on the base of the element.

Just a mistake? Just simple human error? Who was to blame? Well, I was. No problem, accept blame, respond with Everyday Social Resilience (https://www.humandymensions.com/product/everyday-social-resilience-being-in-risk/) and move forward – adapt, improvise, intuition, feel the way and lots of reflection.

High risk task? Sure. Risk Assessment, sure. SWMS, sure.

All of this was done by intuitive, adaptable, improvised, flexible and well considered feeling. Most work we do is about ‘feeling’ into being.

In the end a great result. All done well. Sauna back as good as new and being enjoyed by all.