As you asked....
Some slates at the front of the roof have, at some time in the dim and distant past, when cowboy roofers roamed the world, been fixed with screws. Screws!! Not galvanised roofing nails. Some of the laths that hold them have rotted. When the screwed-down slates are removed, they and many of their neighbours crumble, like flaky pastry, and produce a constant shower of debris to the garden and pavement below. They are over 100 years old, and are on the sunny side of the house. Salvaged slates have had to be found elsewhere.
Billy the roofer has run out of replacements, so must come back tomorrow to finish the work and trim the leadwork. We will also revise the final bill, although Billy gets twitchy and uncomfortable when discussing money. But, given the hidden horrors, extra work and materials required, and the favour he did me some months ago by painting the dormer window, I need to pay him properly, and not just in extra sugary tea and cake.
If I had been intending to stay in this house for another 28 years, I would have been better off having a new roof instead of this challenging refurbishment, but I'm not, so I shan't. Just as well, as I couldn't afford it anyway.
Next project: the front path. And the back yard wall. And the front door. And the planters. And the..... oh hell, it's all dreadful, and it's all too much. I'm going to bed.
10 comments:
Oh dear. I feel your pain. This house has a new roof and renovated bath so far but there's so much left to do. I figure it'll take me another 5 years to replace the drywall, room by room, and then to do something with my truly frightening kitchen. In the meantime, I garden for my sanity. I figure by the time the inside of my home is liveable the garden will be spectacular!
What you got planned 29 years from now ? Can I come too ?
Sad news about the roof , hunting for original slates is a pain . Never mind , bake Billy an extra gorgeous cake of the hearty variety and he'll have it done in ( builder's ) no time .
Yes, that does sound truly dreadful.
I recommend extra sugary tea and cake for you.
Strength, woman, strength! You can do it. Make a list ... bribe lots of friends.
Homes can be a money pit. I noticed in our local paper yesterday that an estate agent had a mobile home (£19,000) for sale among its properties. Wonder what Council Tax band it is?
Try not to worry too much, although I'm just the same when anything goes wrong. And just in case anyone thinks its only old houses that drain money, eight years ago we bought a 70's bungalow with two large upstairs rooms. Sorted - we thought!
We have had - a power shower that would only work in the summer; just a dribble of hot water coming through to the ground-floor bathroom tap; drains that needed rodding frequently; two separate leaks under the kitchen sink; leaking garage roof; leaking lobby/utility roof which had been covered over with plasterboard; an entire house with dark woodwork and doors which have only been stained, not varnished so are impossible to dust; unsafe trees too close to the house which have had to be removed; unsafe trees near other gardens which have had to be removed; a flooded veg patch due to poor drainage from an estate higher up; leaks in the central heating pipes; circuit board in the boiler so filthy it would not spark in damp weather; an unsafe gas fire which had to be removed; and to cap it all last winter, a major job which was made 100 times worse when the builder had a heart attack on the second day!!!
Never, ever, buy a house from a pair of idiots who think that tarting a house up like on the telly is more important than getting the structure right!!!
There. Now I've got that little lot off my chest!
Hope you've had a good night's sleep and the sun is shining!
The trouble with roofers is that they can get up to God-knows-what up there and down at ground level we remain in blissful ignorance.
Good luck with the next jobs on the list.
Oh dear, so sorry for all the dreadful. It's always something, isn't it?
On the happy side, I love your Welcome Spring banner.
It's like the Never-Ending Song. But it's worth it, right? Right?? Hope we get a photo of the end result.
I have a 5-year-old house pretty much maintenance-free, but also character-free. Yous is probably a lot more appealing.
When you own a money pit, I mean house, it's important to have a friend who has enough nephews to cover all aspects of home repair. We thought we had it all covered but unfortunately none of the nephews takes down trees and we have a 40 ft. dead willow.
Oh houses, why are they never completely fixed? As soon as you fix one thing...
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