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We had noticed the previous evening, that all of the electricity fittings were very old, and decided, for safety sake,
that it must be our first priority. We had asked the plumber if he could recommend an electrician, and the person he recommended
came that evening to give us an estimate of the job. We got on well with him also, we were so pleased that everyone we had
met down here so far, had been nice. Seemed a good omen for the future.
Plumber and electrician sorted, we then went around
the house, wondering why the rooms smelt so damp. We then noticed that although the walls were built of solid granite blocks,
the previous owner, in his infinite wisdom, had covered each wall in chipboard. It had been put directly onto the granite,
with no space behind for ventilation, so naturally it had soaked up all condensation, and was slowly rotting. This obviously
needed to be removed, that was a job we could manage oursleves, it would have needed to be removed for rewiring anyway. So,
another cup of tea later, saw us both pulling the sodden sheets from the walls. The granite walls beneath were still solid
enough, though the mortar joints all were in need of repair.
The wood taken off from most of the walls, it began to smell
slightly better, and would continue to improve as they were allowed to dry off with time.
The windows all had rotting
frames, next job on the list, so estimates were looked into for that. On checking the window frames, we noticed that some
of the lintels above them, and above one of the doors also was rotten, another major task, and not one we could do alone,
so a builder was required. When the electrician came that evening, he recommended a good one, who would be free to start work
on the door lintel immediately.
At this point, we did disclose to one another, what we had thought the previous night,
about wondering if we had done the right thing, and were each surprised that the other had thought the same thoughts.
When,
that evening, the electrician was inspecting the wiring, he pointed out to us, that the previous owner had used bell wire,
instead of the correct voltage bearing cables, in many places, a wonder the house had not gone up in flames long before now!
This was turning into the house from hell rapidly, yet still we were determined to make it a home for us later.
We
took down the doors that were blocking the window, and removed the sliding door between the living room and dining room, now
there was so much more light in the room.
We began stripping the old wallpaper from the living room walls, and bought
filler for all of the cracks, and places where the plaster had blown because the damp had gotten under it.
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