Flood Solution - Tubo

Monday 29^th January

I got up at 6 am and mopped up the kitchen and bathroom….but it continued raining and flooding for next couple of hours, which I left for the builders to see. Tommy arrived at 8 am and was sufficiently concerned to phone Ricardo straight away, who came round immediately with Franchico in tow. Tommy was sent off to work at the Irishman’s house.

Luckily it continued raining heavily, and I told him firmly it must be solved, even if it meant digging up the patio and putting in a larger drain, or even re-tiling the roof terrace, so it drained into the street. He could see I was cross, and J stayed in bed and would’nt speak to him, so we think he got the message.

With hindsight, the terrace should have been sloped towards the street rather than the original design of sloping towards the rear of the house, where rain water had drained via a gutter and large storm drain.

Ricardo said my radical solutions would not be necessary, and spent some time inspecting and thinking. He then came up with a great radical solution of his own which we had’nt thought of, which was to fit a gutter to the porch roof, which would drain into a large tubo (pipe) which would be embedded in the house wall, and run through to the front of the house ,allowing rain water to run off into the street. The pipe would have to go through the ruin next door…..luckily it is derelect and not an occupied house. Fitting the pipe would be a 2 day job and there would be no charge, other than fitting the gutter…..as he always says “ there is a solution to every problemo”.

Off he went to buy the materials, saying he would be back at 11 am. J then got up whilst he was away with instructions that I had to deal with him, as she did not want to loose her temper with him. I went off to the Ferreteria to buy left hand hinges for the bedroom door (to cure the light switch problemo). However, Ricardo came back with the gutter whilst I was out, and J had to let him in, but continued to be frosty with him. Apparently, he unscrewed the drain cover, and the remaining water drained away easily like water going down a bath.

Ricardo and Franchico fitted the gutter straight away, and I checked whether the pipe solution was still necessary if the drain was ok without the cover, but he said the cover was necessary and the drain could not cope with really torrential rain…..Saturdays rain had not been too bad apparently, and it can be much worse….as we know from the original floods before Christmas.

As it was still raining heavily, they went off to the other house leaving us dry at last. We spent the rest of the day applying more caucho and painting the small bedroom.