A mammoth undertaking

When Christopher and I bought this house, over fifteen years ago, we knew that taking on a rather run-down Victorian cottage was going to be something of a “project”. Over the years, we’ve had it rewired, re-decorated, re-carpeted, and extended, yet there is a seemingly endless list of things that need doing. There is always something that is falling off, or leaking, or threatening to do so. That’s all maintenance stuff that has to be done, to keep the house standing and watertight. Plus, when finances allow, I’m still working through the long list of improvements and renovations that we’d wanted to do.

It’s recently been the First Day of Spring, and I can already hear the mating call of the builders, as they emerge blinking from hibernation and start writing quotations. I’m going to have to get a section of my main sewer re-lined, before it collapses completely. That was meant to be done last week, but the drain specialists phoned to postpone it for a few weeks. And today I’ve had my regular builders around to quote for fixing the slipped tiles on my roof, plus a long shopping list of additional options for less urgent work, that I shall work down until I run out of budget.

The roof doesn’t seem to be leaking at the moment, or at least I haven’t spotted any stains on the ceiling yet. But it’s only a matter of time if I don’t get the wonky tiles fixed. One of the advantages of having a bungalow and a terraced garden is that the first terrace is at about the same height as the roof, so it’s quite easy to inspect it from above without needing ladders. I walked around the house last Friday and spotted a few slipped tiles, and my eagle-eyed builder spotted several more this afternoon. So my regular roofer is going to fit me in on Saturday to get them fixed – that’s pretty good service, and gives me peace of mind. The other stuff is more cosmetic, including relaying the path to get rid of a huge puddle that keeps forming in a dip, filling some potholes in the drive, and fixing down a loose paving slab on my patio. Nothing as critical as fixing the roof, but still useful to get sorted. It’s annoying having to circumnavigate a huge and deep puddle on the path every time it rains! And it is pretty lethal if it the freezes and forms a sheet of black ice – I’ve had a few near misses slipping on it this winter.