This, my friends, is what wood rot looks like.
Turns out, when the bathroom was added on, the roofline wasn’t altered appropriately. One of the hip/valley intersections (whatever that means) doesn’t drain properly and therefore the roof leaks.
Awesome.
And because we live in a historic neighborhood, any changes to the exterior of our house require an approval from the Preservation Commission.
But we’re veterans with this whole approval process because of the ice storm a few years ago. Here’s the process:
- submit photos with your Certificate of Appropriateness application
- request to be put on the agenda for monthly meeting
- tell them your sob story
- stand ready for the inquisition
It’s the job of the members on the Preservation Commission to question every single detail about your planned renovation. I’m not gonna lie, it feels a little bit like being called to the principal’s office. Sitting across from the board members with them looking at you over the tops of their glasses is very intimidating.
Thankfully our modification is very minimal and we were approved. When the Chairman asked the board, “All those in favor?” it was a unanimous raise of hands and resounding “Aye.”
Aye!
And the good news here is that by correcting the roofline, we will get a little more ceiling height in our bathroom. Which will be great.
So now we’re back on track.
The layout of the actual bathroom will remain the same (tub, sinks, toilet). The only significant change we are making is to have one big closet instead of two smaller ones and allow the light from our newly unveiled window to brighten this previously dark corner of the bedroom.
All is well that ends well.
*******
Just one more thing…
Really – if a bathroom addition is the worst of my problems, well then today I consider myself very fortunate. Especially knowing the tragic events going on a half of a world away in Japan. There’s not much I can do to alleviate their pain and suffering, but I can do this –
And say a prayer.
Peace, Kelly
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