Our house is leaking. I came downstairs on Tuesday morning to begin the coffee ritual (this includes grinding and sacrificing three beans to the dog) to find that our kitchen had a nice drip forming at the tile seams. So I ran to the phone to call our landlord and complain… oh. wait. I’m my landlord.

Where does water come from? The bathroom… the roof. Both have potential. After consulting parents and coworkers, I inspected the pipes and grouting in the bathroom. No problems. The pipes and wood behind the shower look nice and dry. The grouting, though not the greatest, does appear to be sealed. Hilary took notice that our favorite former homeowner appears to have done some repair it this area of the roof. Could that be a hint? Unsure.

In the meantime, I decided to pull some tiles down from the kitchen ceiling to get at the source, hoping to see a pipe or two. The knife came out and three moldy, surprisingly absorbent tiles are now missing from the kitchen ceiling. Still can’t see pipes. We did find another ceiling though.

The mystery pushes on. Not sure if we should call a plumber or what. I’d like to know what the problem is before we hire somebody to figure it out for us. Either way, this is going to be expensive. As of right now we’re looking at a new kitchen ceiling, plus whatever it takes to find and repair the leak. Joy. Here are some difficult-to-decipher pictures so that you can share in our most recent remodel.

I have to admire Emily of umi fame. She’s very good at documenting activities at all times with the camera. She’s captured a moment that not many understand. Thank you emily!

In other news, today is my birthday. so far so good! This 25 thing might be rough.