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| Like a hole in the head ... |
Whenever something goes wrong with the house I appreciate even more how my body fixes itself! A few weeks ago I shifted some furniture, and as a result my muscles were in a bad state for a few weeks. But slowly they recovered and now I am as good as new.
Not so with a house! The house is old, and the roof is, too, and it is only a matter of time until I need a new one. Since new roofs are expensive and a lot of bother, I am putting it off as long as possible. Anyway, I have other expenses to meet. Between dentists, asthma cures, new eyeglasses, etc etc new roofs are low on the list of priorities. Nevertheless I realise the importance of a sound roof, and have kept a beady eye on mine for quite a while. During the recent storms I eyeballed the roof every morning, which is a good thing, because Sunday I noticed that it had sprung a leak!
Shock Horror and Despair! I felt I was doomed. That's how I always feel when something goes wrong that I can't fix myself, like teeth or medical problems or plumbing issues. Because I never quite trust the so-called experts to do things properly, having been cheated on more than one occasion ..... I allowed myself to panic for five minutes, then went to the local corner shop to discuss the matter. The proprietor knows lots of people and can be relied upon to recommend someone or something.
He did not let me down, offered a spare tile from his own house and to contact several builders. Somewhat comforted I had breakfast and read the papers. Unfortunately the shop owner's friends were all out on this occasion, and I was desperate to sort things out quicklike, so I had a Google and found a firm in Abingdon who promised to swing by and have a look today.
Well, they came, looked, scaled the roof, and sorted the problem for £150. They also recommended a new roof soonishly. Apparently my tiles are crumbling. A new roof would cost £3,500 or thereabouts. That's not too bad. Maybe next year. I want a self-repairing house!
I took some photos for your delectation, it was quite scary watching the man up on the roof - at least the wind and rain had stopped, but it was still quite slippery. They came just in time - finished an hour ago and now it is raining cats and dogs!
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| All done! |
