The first challenge: water

Purchasing the house mid summer meant the extent of the issues with the roof didn't become clear until the winter. I knew about the asbestos and I knew the whole roof was going to be replaced at some point, however I hadn't met with an architect yet so I also knew that 'some point' was a way off.

During a visit to the house with some of my family, the rain poured down and the holes in the roof exposed themselves. It was quite a sobering moment watching water drip through the ceiling, however I was very aware that I would need to take these challenges in my stride if I was going to enjoy this renovation process. Sometimes in these situations the only thing to do is laugh, and when my nan (who was staying with me at the time) had to remove her socks after a midnight trip to the bathroom as the floor was soaking wet, it felt like the only thing to do. Luckily she laughed about it too.

A local builder had been recommended by the agent immobilier so he was able to temporarily patch up the tiles the following day. Not only were the tiles old and in need of replacing, but the shape of the roof meant there was a v-shape gully created by two downward facing slopes that collected the rain. It was a stress point that created a large leak at the top of one of the storage cupboards inside the house. On further inspection there was a bucket that had already been placed at the top of this cupboard by the previous owner so this was not a new problem it seemed.

The positive that came from this situation was that I discovered early on that when I did replace the roof, I knew to speak to the architect about removing this v-shape section to prevent the stress point from happening in the future. I felt like I was starting to get to know the house and the things I would need to change.

In the garden, there was the opposite problem: not enough water. Le système d'arrosage had stopped working and I had no idea why. Half of the garden is covered in a wooded area with old trees and the other half is covered in grass and bushes that need regular watering during the summer months. As I wouldn't be able to be at the house all year round, the watering system would be a great help with this, however little did I know how complicated it would turn out to be.

The local builder knew a local plumber so he came out to try and find the problem. From what I could understand, the rain collects in a well and is sent to a (very rusty) old tank, then gets pumped down into another huge tank and from there it should enter the watering system. After another specialist came out and replaced all of the switches and the huge tank, it still didn't work.

There comes a point when enough people have come out to try and fix a problem that that too becomes a problem - an expensive one. This was going to have to be an issue to resolve at a later date. I really want to remove the rusty old tank from the garden as it offends me every time I look at it, but for now I will have to be patient.