Put my foot in it... through it, in fact, followed by both legs and a bit more besides

Another disadvantage of having to sort out the loft was that the loft floorboards had to be removed, in order to remove the sodden insulation sitting between floorboards and ceiling below.

After moving boxes and boxes, and more boxes, a slippery beam proved no match for my adventurous footwork. I slipped, and put my foot through the ceiling, followed by both legs and a bit more besides. Luckily, a beam interfered with my downward trajectory - almost breaking my hip in the process.


The hole suitably made safe(ish), I was able to stand back and reflect... Now, I feel sorry for anyone who hasn't experienced the freefall joy of putting their foot etc through their ceiling (or, if they can pull it off, someone else's ceiling). It's a kind of domestic bunjee-jump, completely unexpected, and over before you can do anything about it. Also highly dangerous, of course, as I'll be advising when telling that story for years to come...

My big drip of a boiler

My big drip of a boiler (after the water had been turned off)

'Remove'

All over the house, walls are marked 'REMOVE' - plaster to be hacked off, down to the brick, in order to speed up the drying-out process. Walls will be replastered later.


The drying our process will be assisted by heaters and dehumidifiers spread out around the house. But the drying out will be slow going, at snail's pace for up to six weeks once the heaters are delivered...

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Why are my ceilings raining?

You know the feeling. It's December and cold outside, but dry at least. You arrive home, open your front door, and find that your ceilings are raining all over your sofa, bed, cooker...

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My modern combination gas boiler (for hot water and central heating) had sprung a severe leak in the loft, and was sprinkling cold water liberally around most rooms in the house.

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Why was the boiler in the loft in the first place? The 'old' boiler had been on the ground floor, in a corner of the kitchen. Just over a year ago, the installer of the 'new' boiler had advised tucking it away in the loft, where it would get on with its work quietly and unobtrusively. Nice theory; shame about the practice!