adminToday, Mandy, Ollie, and I went to our new house for the first time. Just the three of us. No realtor. No peeking eyes. A very special moment, a milestone. But the reason we went to the house was not so nice, to say the least.
Currently, we are in a bit of a strange moment. We technically bought the house. But we haven’t paid for it yet. The notary still has to prepare the papers, after which we can get the keys. So, at this moment, the house is not yet ours, and although our hands are itching to start renovating, we can’t do anything with the house. Except for one thing.
On the roof, which got a new top seal last year, there is a hole. It’s not totally related to the work done last year, but it also is. Because it should have been a no-brainer for the previous owners to also fix the loose, hanging piece of lead. This lead is necessary to cover and waterproof the giant hole in the roof. Too bad they didn’t.
So now, with permission, we were allowed to fix this problem temporarily so that water can’t get into the roof. Upon inspecting the situation and trying to fix it with the limited time and tools, I had to conclude that I couldn’t fix the problem in a proper manner. For now, I applied a quick fix that should block most rain. Not ideal.
At dinner, Mandy and I discussed the roof situation and that there’s a probability that the roof problem might be larger than what we can observe now. We are dying to start uncovering the ceiling so that we can inspect the damage and make a plan. But, we will have to wait a month and a half before we can start deconstructing the place.
When we went in this morning, we were as happy as a puppy who had just arrived at his new home. Now, reality has also kicked in. Owning a home comes with responsibilities. Owning a palace comes with huge responsibilities. And owning a home that was built in 1875 comes with unforeseen damages.
We can’t wait to move into our house. We can’t wait to start renovating. We can’t wait to uncover our blindfolds to see if we are living in a dream or a nightmare. — This sounds dramatic; I’m actually pretty optimistic and naive. All problems and defects can be fixed. We just have to tackle one problem at a time.