Page 18 of The Widow's Irish Secret
‘You could put smaller heaters in the bedroom and bathroom. Do you want to heat the box room too?’
‘I suppose so,’ Tricia said after a moment’s reflection. ‘I can just turn it on whenever I’m in there.’
‘Okay.’ Dominic started to walk down the corridor. ‘Let’s take a look at the bathroom.’
‘It needs a complete update,’ Tricia said, walking behind him. ‘But maybe I can manage for now and do it later?’
Dominic opened the door to the bathroom and peeked inside. ‘Hmm. Well, if you don’t mind coping with the old plumbing and a cracked basin, I suppose you could do it later.’
‘The toilet flushes and the bath doesn’t leak,’ Tricia said. ‘There’s a hand shower and I can put a small plastic basin inside the wash hand basin.’
‘The linoleum on the floor here and in the kitchen are a bit worn but that is easy to replace,’ Dominic said. ‘You could just spruce it all up a bit, paint the walls, put in one of those bathroom wall heaters and redo the floor for now. Then replace everything when you want.’
‘Great,’ Tricia said. ‘There’s hot water from the immersion, so that’s all I need for now.’
‘Except a new immersion tank,’ Dominic said with an apologetic smile. ‘It doesn’t work at all and the insulation is torn. You need a new one with proper insulation.’
‘Okay.’ Tricia sighed and added it to the list. ‘What else?’
‘Well… The windows could be replaced. If you have double glazing the house will be much warmer.’
‘I’ll do that next year,’ Tricia muttered. ‘I know it should be done now, but I want to try to keep costs down. I’ll just get the broken panes replaced for now.’
‘Of course,’ Dominic agreed. He looked at the staircase leading up to the attic. ‘What’s up there?’
‘A room that will eventually be a bedroom,’ Tricia replied. ‘But I’ll leave that until later. There’s nothing up there except an old wardrobe that looks as if it was from the time the house was built.’
Dominic looked intrigued. ‘A wardrobe from 1869? That’s interesting. Anything in it?’
‘I haven’t looked but I don’t think so,’ Tricia said. ‘Who were the first people to live here?’
‘Mary and John O’Grady,’ Dominic said. ‘They were the couple who built this cottage.’
‘Really?’ Tricia asked. ‘How do you know?’
‘It’s in the records in the archives,’ Dominic replied. ‘And their initials are carved into the bricks above the fireplace. M, J, O’G, 1869.’
‘Wow,’ Tricia said. ‘That’s amazing. I’ll have to look at that. I thought I’d plaster over the bricks but now after what you told me, I won’t.’
‘You shouldn’t,’ Dominic agreed. ‘I think the bricks look nice on the chimney breast. I’d just put a shelf made of oak underneath and then have it as a feature.’
‘Great idea.’ Tricia consulted her list. ‘So, what do we have here? Rewiring, dry lining, heaters, a new immersion… Those are the most urgent things to do, would you say?’
Dominic nodded. ‘Yes. The rest can wait until next year, if you think you can cope with the outmoded bathroom and can do the painting yourself.’
‘I can, but even so all this will cost a fair amount of money,’ Tricia said with a sigh.
‘I’ll try to keep the costs down,’ Dominic promised. ‘You won’t need a project leader so the electrician and plumber are all that’s required. In fact…’ He paused, looking thoughtful. ‘As a matter of fact, there’s this guy who’s a kind of Jack of all trades. He can do everything, is very neat and tidy and doesn’t charge an arm and a leg. Retired builder, actually. He could do everything for you. Electricity, plumbing, the lot. Does it as a hobby these days. Better than sitting in a chair reading books and annoying people, he says.’
‘That sounds great,’ Tricia said, feeling suddenly more hopeful. ‘Maybe I can meet him here and have a chat? Just to go through everything without committing myself.’
Dominic nodded. ‘Yes. Great idea. I’ll get him to contact you. His name is Ted O’Reilly. He might be free to do what you need. If he is, that’ll free up a lot of time for me. I just need to come and inspect the work and tell Ted what to do. Then we can do the fun stuff together.’
‘Wonderful.’ Tricia smiled at her son-in-law. ‘That way I won’t take up too much of your time as you must be very busy.’
‘I am but I would put your cottage first, of course,’ Dominic said with a warm smile. ‘Lily would not be pleased if I didn’t give you high priority.’
‘I know. But if this Ted can do a lot of the work, then I’ll be out of your hair.’
