Tag: plumbing

…a little more than we’d like! I know I always seem to be complaining about the water situation here – like when our neighbours have taps running we get no water from ours. Well, read on…

Our water and bin collection bills come every three months and they’re usually around the €90 mark for the quarter, including tax, which is perfectly acceptable. We got the latest bill a week ago, and it was very, very high – €219! Having picked ourselves up from the floor we guessed we must have a leak somewhere. We checked the meter – with everything turned off indoors, and it wasn’t moving.

So, first problem was a faulty meter. If it had been working we would have seen the needle go round even when all taps are off, so we might have been able to do something about it sooner. Miguel, who works for our water provider, Aqualia, lives just down the road, and he called at the house on Friday at 07:30, yes, that’s in the morning! He fitted a new meter which works well – the previous one is only a year or so old so we will need to talk to Aqualia about it as, since it wasn’t functioning, we wouldn’t have spotted the needle going round when no taps were in use.

Anyhow, the upshot of all this is that we think we know where the leak might be, outside along the edge of the walled garden, and not far from the meter. Peter is digging it up as I write, and it looks wet under the bricks on the ground there so hopefully we’ll just need to replace a punctured section of pipe. Thank goodness the pipes are never too far down, which is why in summer only heated water comes out of the cold taps!

The worst case scenario is that it might be under the downstairs bathroom floor, which is a much bigger job, but we need a new bathroom anyway so it might be done sooner rather than later.

The really good news is, for us, anyway, that we caught this leak in time and one way or another it will be fixed in the next couple of days. I have heard of three people with similar leaks – not unusual in much older houses – whose bills have all been more than €5000….

BREAKING NEWS!!!! Peter has found the leak, hooray! In easy reach and only a couple of cms down. He’s just checking now to make sure there are no more but if that’s it then we can replace the damaged bit of pipe and get new connectors and we’ll be grand.

Jake the builder is here helping Peter replace the damaged bit of pipe, and hopefully that will solve the problem.

The most inconvenient bit is having had to have the water turned off all the time, except for very quick showers and toilet flushing. I haven’t used the washing machine or dishwasher, and we have filled loads of big containers so we can wash hands during the day etc. Oh the joys of rural life in Spain.

Lots of other prepping for winter jobs going on now as well. We have put the winter cover on the pool, that takes a fair bit of wrestling with the big cover, and two of us to keep it secure all round. Of course, as soon as we had added the over-winter chemicals and got the cover on the sun came out and the temperature in the shade topped 32C, so we could have been in the pool enjoying another wee dip. However, the temps are set to drop again within the next week or thereabouts, so I’m glad we have the pool sorted.

We got a big log drop from Angel, our log man, so they are all getting stacked in the covered shed now, along with the leftovers from last winter, which is actually a good big pile.

The doors to both the log burners have been taped over to prevent mess in the sitting room and the snug while Peter was up on the roof sweeping down the flues. The soot that resulted was then colleced in a big vacuum cleaner…not one speck of it got loose in either room so the job was well done!

Now all we have to do is finish building the fireplace in the sitting room and that’s everything there ready for winter.

While the husband has been finding leaks and sweeping chimney flues I’ve been very traditional, baking. Err, I’m not much good at anything else but I make very good wheaten loaves so have now got one for us and one for Bienve and Carmelo, our nearest neighbours. I intended to make lemon curd but forgot to buy the little jars so it will have to wait till tomorrow. Also on the list for tomorrow are Kathy Dickie’s wee white chocolate and raspberry cookies. They’re for sharing as well.

I have to say that I’m now really starting to look forward to winter rolling in, colder days when you get well wrapped up to head out for a bit of retail therapy. It is lovely to come home to the fires already cleaned out and laid, so all we have to do is put a match to them and the house is warm and cosy very quickly.

We have now booked our flights home for a few days before Christmas and I can’t wait to get there to see everyone again! The way the flight times work we will only really have 5 full days, and will try to catch up with friends when the children are at school. Evenings may be out of the question as I want to spend as much time with them as I can. So, if we don’t get to see you please remember we can video call via whatsapp any time we like – even wee 5 minute calls are great to keep in touch!

Here’s a wee update on the story of catching up with friends from university, and the amazing story of “the dress”….

Deirdre has set up a Teams meet thingy so we have been able to all see each other and chatter at the same time, absolutely brilliant! There are 6 of us so really we are “the Stirling Six”…makes us sound a bit like we’re a gang wanted for robbery and goodness knows what else!

We also have a whatsapp group for chat which is great, and is very busy! We’re hoping to arrange a real get together next summer, how brilliant is that!

It’s amazing how many shared memories we have, and how one person’s memory of an event brings everyone elses to the surface. Even after all these years it’s great to reconnect with people you care about. Our life paths have all been so incredibly diverse, but our shared history and friendship keeps us together.

Mind you, it also has the very peculiar benefit of making us feel both very young and very old at the same time!

Oh, even MORE breaking news….as I write, the leak is now fixed, and as far as we know it’s the only one we had, so everything is now back to normal! The dishwasher and washing machine are both now doing their thing, so in a wee while we’ll have lots of clean dishes and underwear!

ENORMOUS thanks to our lovely friend Jake O’Gorman for coming to help and ultimately sorting everything out for us – what a star!

I think now we need to go out for a wee celebration, tapas on the menu!