The exhibition's model roof leaked directly over its miniature piano. Its makers had tried to refurbish the facade, renovate the room and revamp the drainage system. (refurbish: renovate, restore, recondition; renovate: refurbish, restore, recondition; revamp: rework, overhaul, revise) Their latest proposal was to overhaul the entire house. (overhaul: renovate, revamp, refurbish) Ada asked them to leave it alone long enough to watch one drop fall.
The paper roof was permeable. An impermeable strip at the ridge had merely redirected the damp. (impermeable: impervious, impenetrable, nonporous) The underside was sodden. (sodden: soaked, drenched, waterlogged) Water could permeate the paper, saturate the felt and distend a pocket between two layers. (permeate: pervade, penetrate, diffuse through; saturate: soak, drench, fill completely; distend: swell, inflate, expand) The resulting distention made the ridge look crooked. (distention: distension, expansion, swelling) A new coat of paint would accentuate that bulge. (accentuate: emphasize, highlight, stress) A broader strip could occlude the drain altogether. (occlude: obstruct, block, close off)
She replaced the felt, bent a piece of ductile copper into a gutter, and set the little house beneath a watering can. (ductile: tractile, drawable, pliable) One drop ran into a teacup under its spout. The pianist in the next room supplied a triumphant chord. The old piano was reparable after all. (reparable: repairable, remediable, rectifiable) The village undertaker, who had hoped to buy it, came away with a free concert instead.