This summer, for some reason, a series of problems at home has been getting on top of us.
Because of the dark, cold and long winter, we’d love to enjoy the summer as much as possible, but this summer is not completely enjoyable.
Basically, it’s a water problem. I think it’s a common problem with houses everywhere.
It all started when we found a leak in the floor near the kitchen. We have always had a poor drainage system, the toilet often clogs and the kitchen sink sometimes doesn’t run smoothly.
We had known that it was going to happen sometime.
Our toilet hadn’t properly worked for years. We had been talking about getting a new toilet, but hadn’t actually done any work. Now, we were getting the bill for it.
We consulted a friend of ours, who is a good handyman, and he told us that it was probably a problem with the toilet and that we should just replace it with a new one. Not only did he give us advice, but he also helped us change the toilet.
Around the same time, my boyfriend rented some special tools and cleaned out the drains. Generally, it’s not easy to find a good plumber, but since the lockdown, more and more people are moving to the countryside, making it increasingly difficult to find anyone to do any work. So we try to do what we can ourselves.
The main drain was unblocked by the “fish” which we had rented, although we discovered that the floorboards had already been damaged, probably due to the leak. The worst that can happen is that the floorboards will have to be ripped out and dried or replaced and we have to put down some anti-mould substances.
We also have to clean the chimney during the summer every year. The other day, my boyfriend went up to the roof as usual and additional trouble happened. When he walked on the flat roof, he put his foot through the roof because the wood had probably rotted. There was a big foot sized hole in the roof.
Well, I can only think that this is a message from the house that it is time for maintenance! We haven’t done any maintenance on the house for a few years and now the problem has been exposed.
The roof has a hole in it, but it’s not completely through the shingles, so as long as we cover it with something, it won’t leak for now. We’ve finally found someone to fix the roof and he’ll be here next week to do it.
The problem with the floorboards is still being assessed to see if it is covered by our insurance, so we will have to wait for their reply before we can start the repairs. Hopefully, we can get everything fixed before the snow starts to fall.
<<< Previous Post: Under the maple tree, I transplanted Clematis-Propagating Clematis by cuttings
