Some renovation-seasoned friends came to walk through the house earlier this week and brought a welcome housewarming gift - a couple of beers!  We've started to bring our tool collection over to to the house so we can get started on the few demolition/cleaning type activities that we could get going on now.  We've also put a coffee/vanilla extract mixture - suggested by Brad's uncle - in the front bedroom to try to mask the funky smell. 

Today we met with a roofing company that specializes in tile roofs. After inspecting the roof they determined the tile was in good shape. They’re recommending removing the tile, repairing decking, installing new underlayment, and resetting the original tile – replacing any broken pieces with salvaged tile. This is great news, considering the alternative was to install a new tile roof.

We've met with a few different roofing companies to try to get a handle on exactly what we're dealing with for the roof.  You can see from this picture that the exsting roof has been patched with a few bandaids over time.   We're hopeful we'll be able to salvage, restore and re-lay the existing tile.

We wanted to get started right away with house projects, but because we don't have any actual plans yet, we figured it was best to stick with outdoor maintenance.  Tom and Brad spent the past couple of days removing ivy from the north side of the house.  The brick was in surprisingly good shape - only a few places that need some minor tuck pointing. We will need to follow-up to remove remaining ivy roots and thourghly clean the brick, but we've made some progress!

Closed on the house today!  And of course, immediately went over with our new keys to explore.  Already thinking about designs, plans and timelines.  And so begins one of the biggest plunges we've ever taken!