2.30 a.m. And The Stairs Are Coming Up..
Mike got out of bed in the early hours of this morning and went downstairs.
At the bottom of the stairs his foot hit wet carpet.
The sound of wood splintering against the force of a crowbar did nothing to assist restful sleep for me either.
Yes, there’s a leak. A long way from the building works and therefore another of those things that was just waiting to happen at any time. But could it have found a more inaccessible place? No. Fixing the pipe may well be the easy bit. To get to it either the stairs will have to be dismantled or we go in through the (tiled) wall of the downstairs loo.
Remind me again of the attraction of living in an old house?
The emergency plumber is scheduled for this afternoon.
Sigh.
Eek! I hope it gets sorted soon xxx
It’s not sounding promising. It appears to be a leak in the rising main somewhere within the 2 foot thick wall..
Arghhhh!
Exactly!
Oh good grief! You must be wiggling your finger against your lips and making flubber noises! Surely this must be the last thing to happen – you’ve had everything else!!! Really sorry that again something has gone kaput! Chin up. Otherwise you may drown!!!! Hope the plumber fixes it without demolishing more cottage to get to it!
The wall between the downstairs loo and the cavity under the stairs now has a big hole in it. And currently they’re working on the outside wall. I blame myself. Only two posts back I was talking about turning points..
On the brighter side – at least it’s happening now rather than next year or even later when you are settled and everything is decorated and completed.
Yes indeed. It’s soul destroying when you see all your completed work damaged. We have that in the bedroom, plenty of surface cracks in the plaster as a result of the works in the adjoining rooms. Once the current projects are done there will be a bit of making good to do. The downside of renovating piecemeal.
Hope your plumber finds the leak quicker than our did – every attempt was followed by yet another invoice.
So far we’re on the second plumber..
Oh dear – keeping my fingers crossed for you.
Thanks Barbara!
It never ends does it?
It seems not. Just goes round in an ever accelerating cycle until the next time.
Oh no! Hope it is simple to fix……..(I am married to a plumber so I know they often aren’t)
Well they’ve found the leak. But it’s somewhere in the middle of an outside wall (two feet thick). That probably doesn’t go down as simple!
Oh dear you have my commiserations… best of luck
Thanks Gillian. Half past seven. Starting to cool down with the front door open. And all I can hear is hammering..
Yikes! I hope the experts are able to find a solution that involves minimal destruction. Our ceiling was sandblasted yesterday and I couldn’t help but think of your experience – but fortunately our guys cleaned up afterwards.
Your guys sound like proper professionals.
Here the plumber is making a hole in the outside wall as we speak. These hidden leaks are the very worst kind.
OOer. I hope it is found without too much damage
They’ve found the leak.. damage may be another matter! Thanks Derrick.
Oh. My. God. JUST what you need. I’m sorry.
This too will pass.
Luckily we have a dehumidifier that the builders left with us for the sitting and dining rooms. It’s been redeployed and is doing a good job drying out the floor.
It would appear, at times, if you didn’t have bad luck you’d have no luck!! Hopefully its now fixed and will show itself to have some kind of silver lining! x
The old pipe does look very corroded. So I guess the silver lining is a brand new length of pipe and one less thing to worry about. And as with last time, we were here and not away somewhere plus the affected rooms haven’t been decorated yet!
Good luck!
Thank you!
Oh boy. May the Force Be With You. Failing that, g and t!
Pinot Grigio?
Oh no, hope all is fixed soon. Where would you like to have coffee on Sunday?
Fancy a wander round Rosemoor? I need compost, a trio of Imperata, and a good dose of fresh air! Email when you get back?
Commiserations, Jessica. The trials and tribulations of living in an old house ( well an ancient one really) often seem endless, don’t they? Remember that today’s disaster is tomorrow’s funny story. I hope, now that the leak has been found that the mending of same doesn’t turn out to be too painful!
Well we did think they’d fixed the leak last night but the new pipe is still weeping at the joints today. So it goes on, albeit not so dramatically (I hope)!
Oh YIKES!!
Never ends does it 😩
*sigh* too. Hope it is resolved very easily x
I thought it had been, but it seems not quite yet! It’s turning into a saga, a bit like your roof.
Dear God!!! Words fail me. Hope all is sorted soon, good luck gal, hang on in there.xxx
It’s a rollercoaster ride around here, no mistake.
Bless you for working to preserve your charming home.
I wonder if we’d ever have taken it on if we knew how hard it was going to be?
Good lord what a mess. Rosemoor is looking very nice, take the trip! I am busy painting windows, it feels like the Forth rail bridge. There is nothing worse than a leak, we have had several in the roof, I can now get up there in under 5 minutes, including putting down my drink.
When I worked for a living I had several Belgian clients. To a man when they bought a house they knocked it down or at least stripped it to bare walls and replaced the wiring and plumbing. They claimed it was cheaper in the long run. I might add that they were millionaire diamond dealers but I can see their point. I could not live like that, just as well as I am not a millionaire. Imagine always living in a new house it would drive me mad.
There again Belgium is a strange country but with magnificent rhododendrons around Antwerp in the spring. Great walls of them over 30 feet high in places and just covered in blooms. Worth a visit if you are passing, the cathedral is fantastic, the food excellent and they all speak English, whatever you do do not speak French…..
It is the way we should have done this one, at least to do all the stripping back to the original structure in one go. It would have been a lot less disruptive. Although not necessarily cheaper given the need to either rent another place or a caravan in the garden.
I quite like Belgium. We’ve stayed at a small hotel in an old mill a couple of times, way out in the countryside. Great food (and chocolate!) and very pleasant locals.
Rhododendron ponticum will do that to you. Very attractive but it will take over!
Ex-husband and I did up an old house, but we moved out for 3 months (to lovely in-laws) while floors, stairs, ceilings, electrics, gas, central heating and water were all sorted out, but I was working full-time. I think I’d have gone round the bend having to cope with what you and Mike are going through. Our experiences still led me to say “Costs three times what you expect, and takes three times as long”. One day, it will all be worth it!!!
I would add.. and three times the stress.
It will all be worth it, I know it will. But there are times nonetheless when you have to take yourself to one side and restate the mantra very firmly. Going round the bend could only be the next disaster away!
Never a dull moment, though it must sometimes feel like Jessica And Mike Vs. The House, with The House winning. Hope it got repaired without too much damage to the wall and wallet.
Do you remember the movie The Money Pit? At least there was a happy ending. I hold on to that.
That’s what you need – a benevolent millionaire diamond dealer benefactor !! What a saga Jessica! I do hope that gorgeous tiling in the bathroom doesn’t have to be attacked. It’s one thing after another for you, isn’t it. A G&T and a soothing trip to a lovely garden is deserved – once they’ve stopped the leak. And there you may run into your much needed bmddb …. he’ll be wearing a panama hat , just keep a look out.
Thankfully it is the downstairs loo tiling that’s being attacked and I didn’t like it anyway. If it was the new bathroom now that WOULD be a disaster!
Yes a millionaire benefactor would be just the ticket (ideally bearing a G&T). There aren’t too many panama hat wearers in deepest Devon so he should be easy to spot.
😉
Oh well, after all this time you surely must expect a disaster of some proportion on a regular basis…?!
I would like to think they would dimish soon. But in an old house I expect there’s always something.