Ten things I hate about renovating.

10. Disconnecting the heating system during the first hard frost of autumn.
9. Cooking with a camp stove and microwave for two months.
8. Asbestos.
7. Eating breakfast in the -4 degree “sun” room before dawn.
6. The inability to do anything other than paint, plaster, saw, work, and sleep.
5. Going into work at 5:30 am so I can have the machine warmed up and tuned in time to dash home and liaise with tradesmen for an hour.
4. The credit card and mortgage withdrawal statements.
3. Plumbers who, before the first rains of winter, fail to seal the roof when installing a new flue above the brand new joinery.
2. Rules. Regulations, codes, standards, statutes, protocols, laws, and permits.
1. Fighting with Mrs. Lemming over trivial details that I wouldn’t even notice in anybody else’s house.