Hey friends,

👷 Maintenance

Woah what a storm! I hope you and your homes all came through it okay. It was a bit scary here especially watching all the big trees at the back swaying back and forth. However I can happily report that all my fencing survived undamaged as did the new garage roof 💪. However a pane of glass in the greenhouse shattered and we've sprung a leak in the flat roof of our side extension so there's work to be done.

Elsewhere, but not to be blamed on the storm, an extractor fan has broken in one of my rental flats. The bathroom has no external walls so it relies on an air movement system within the walls and ceilings. Generally anything above the ceiling falls to block management to sort out and anything below is on me, so I think it's on me.

In the other flat there's mould growing on the walls despite being 3 storeys up. So either the tenant hasn't been ventilating it appropriately or there's an issue with the building. It will require treatment and a full re-paint. As I don't live anywhere near these properties I have a managing agent in place who will sort these issues but again it'll be costly and I need to get to the root cause of it as it's happened before.

All in all I'm not really a fan of 'maintenance'. I like to get stuck into a big project and once done I like it to stay done. I think this is why I don't enjoy cooking much - lots of work all to be gone half an hour later. I do like mowing the lawn though.

🪵 Log Store Feedback

You were pretty supportive of my log store idea in last week's email. The main thrust of the advice was as follows:

• Being enclosed on three sides might prevent the wood from drying properly. That said, my dad seasons his wood inside his garage and that does the job well enough (<20% moisture)
• There's a distinction between log drying and log storage. I could use the end of the garage for storage once the logs seasoned somewhere more open. As a third stage we'd bring the logs inside before burning.
• If we sold up, buyers may prefer having a useable garage than a log store. Though how hard is it to take down a stud wall and install a couple of doors?
• This book was mentioned a few times to learn about chopping and seasoning wood the Scandinavian way.

I think I'll go for it while I'm waiting for the plumber as I'm getting restless. The quote's in by the way - £2,250 (no VAT) for doing all the pipework and shower pump. It's a lot but I expected it and at this point we just want to crack on.

As for filling in the pond you were less enthusiastic and pointed towards nature, sounds of running water and fun and learning when the kid is older as reasons to keep it. I'm swayed by all of them - remember how much fun I've had in my dad's stream. I could put a fence around the pond to make it safe but longer term it will be in the way of the rear extension. I'll think about it some more but I'll probably have to do whatever Abi/her parents/my mum tell me to do.

👋

• I've sent off a sample of the shed roof for asbestos testing. I should hopefully have the results in by next week:

• I saw this mentioned in another newsletter I follow and thought it was great - create your own background hum with A Soft Murmur - mix sounds such as birds singing, rain or a roaring fire to your taste. The singing bowl is very zen and good for downing out Abi's zoom calls 😉.

Hit "reply" if you've got any comments on this week's newsletter – otherwise I'll see you next time. Have an epic week :)

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