The squeaks finally got to me and so I prepared the cement sheet cutter for action. Up-slot-down-slide-Up-slot-down-slide and before long there was a stack of 1/4 inch wedges ready to lift my house. It was relatively smooth sailing to get underneath – I’d push the car jack with one arm, throw a brick ahead of me and keep a torch trained on unknown spiders and termites up ahead. Kim would stomp on the worst of the floorboards and I’d try to figure out what part of the bearer/joist/floor was moving. It’s surprising how much even a stable floor will move underneath the weight of a human body. Once I found the spot, I’d put a brick on the jack to give me some height, then jack up the joist, insert a wedge, and gently let it down. It’s more awkward than it sounds when you’ve got 50cm clearance and are muching on dirt and webs. All movement is done like a worm, leaving bruises on your back and shoulders, and a hell of a stiff neck the next day. Things sound a lot better now, except one of the internal doors won’t close! Since I was so dirty, it was time to get a good look at the leaking hot water system that’s broken through the plaster in the bedroom ceiling. This time it was rats I was wary about. Like most household appliances, I was horrified by what I saw when I had a close look, and the dead bugs floating in the drip tray weren’t pretty -see photo attached. I consoled myself with thoughts that IT WAS ONLY THE SPILL TRAY, and at least I don’t drink this water. It’s a more serious problem, because I’m going to have to rip out and replace a chunk of the ceiling once I’ve managed to stem the leak itself. The scary part about these repairs is that if I bugger it up, we’ll have no hot water for the weekend. I once would have baulked at this sort of work, but over the years I’ve become more confident about these things. Being repairs on a holiday house makes it even easier – what tradesman really wants to travel that far, and who’s going to notice if it’s not perfect? View image of my rotting ceiling
View image of summery Bagshot