Thats another fine mess you've got me into !

Friday 2^nd February

Juan arrived at 8 am shortly followed by Ricardo, and Franchico about 10 minutes late, so chided by Ricardo….being late is not acceptable !! Tommy arrived about 9 am, so we had a team of 4 for the first time in many months.

Juan and Franchico continued with the wall, while Ricardo did about an hour of electrics, including a 3 way switch for the hall landing which worked !! Tommy spent the day forming the arab tiles in the patio as a little roof….rather expensive but they look great.

We left about 10 am to visit Antonio the metalica man and get the quotes for the window, patio railings and front door frame….a little less than 300 €, so well worth it, and agreed date of 12 February to fit railings and steel window frame, take away the front door to make a new frame, and return same day to be cemented back.

Then on to Coin to choose front of house tiles…. It was very difficult and had to get girl to help…we thought that there were special exterior wall tiles , and there appeared limited choice, and certainly none of the black quartz with blue streaks that we had favoured as seen on a number of other houses. We failed miserably, and just bought the number 3 and 4 tiles for the house @ 1.20 each.

Returning to the house……Ricardo had gone of course, and the others continued their tasks, with Juan and Franchico chipping off the upper house plaster (having erected the scaffolding), and then starting to build a thin curtain wall of bricks. We then popped for a spot of lunch, and then on to the tile shop in the town to look at tiles again, and established with the chap that any interior floor tiles were fine as exterior wall tiles. We agonised over various terracotta ones, as again no sign of our favourite quartz tiles, and gave up.

We got back at 1 pm to the house to see a local Police 4x4 outside the house just leaving, having obviously been talking to Ricardo. It transpired the Police had visited specifically to tell the builders to tidy up outside the house, remove the pile of sand, and encase all exterior wires in an aluminium trunking,etc..They had apparently also asked for and inspected Ricardo’s papers and licenses.

We decided to drive to Pizarra to another tile centre, but again, they had no black quartz tiles. Looked at various floor tiles, and provisionally chose a pale beige tile with a nice border @ 10.50per sq metre.

We got back to house about 2.45 pm and sat on porch and watched/talked to Tommy as he finished his arab tiles. He told J about a huge rata (rat) that Franchico had seen next door in the ruin, as it was purportedly the size of a cat. Franchico confirmed this, saying he had seen another 2 rata in the ruin. J decided to block up hole into bedroom, wall near our heads where we sleep, and the 2 others in the small back bedroom, which ajoin the ruin..

J took Tommy’s cement and started trying to cement up the holes, but he stopped her, and she blocked them temporarily with a duvet and pillows. I had suggested the expandable polystyrene foam as a stopgap.

Juan and Franchico more or less finished the curtain wall, and tidied up and dismantled the scaffolding, and stored in house, and Tommy stayed until about 4.30 doing small snag list jobs.

We spent an hour clearing up, and then went to auction at 6 pm. I had my eye on a huge Spanish cookery book which I was willing to bid up to 5 €, but it went for 25 €. We left and went to the Locutorio, which was full again. Went to the one opposite, to do e mails. I nearly got run over on a pedestrian crossing…..not by an oncoming car, but one reversing back onto the crossing whilst I was looking the other way…J just managed to warn me, and it just glanced me……driver totally oblivious !)

Front of House Start

Thursday 1^st February

After breakfast, J did washing up in shower, which is quite a feat….I’ve only done it once, but one fills up a large bowel from the shower, wash up in the shower area on hands and knees, and rinse with the shower of course, disposing of dirty washing up water down the loo…..not very hygienic I guess, but it works, although it’s a back-breaking job. I decided to change the kitchen around to create a worktop with a builders board on trestles, creating a worktop, which is much better.

I juiced the rest of the oranges which I had bought last week at the market …5kg for 2.50 € which is a lot of oranges. The juice is delicious. Its market day again today, I’m planning to get another 5 kg.

Ricardo arrived at 9 am with Juan and Franchico, and planned to start front of house…..the usual frenetic activity at the start of a piece of work. 1000 kilo of sand arrived, and the cement mixer which has been dormant in the front room for months, was wheeled out into the road.

J had started a wash in the washing machine, using the large bowl to catch the waste water……. Ricardo promised to get the missing part from the Ferreteria.

Ricardo explained to J the work plan for the front of house, and quoted an estimate of 1,300 € , so not too bad.

Juan and Franchico started hacking and drilling off cement from front of house, so we went after the wash had finished.

We walked via market which was just coming to life about 10 am, and walked to see the metalica man, Antonio, who was very helpful and spoke reasonable English, and we got quotes for railings, window grill , and door . Then walked back to house, still noisy, so off to Coin to see Ronny at the 1 stop shop…..it was closed, Parked with difficulty, and found a bar to have a bocadillo mixto and bacon sandwich (J).

Back to house via Metallica but Antonio out to breakfast. Back to market, and bought another 5 kilo of oranges for 2.50 €…..saw them on another stall for 2 € …unbelievable…who makes a profit at those prices ?

Back to house, but still noisy drilling, and decided to go to Fuengirola to look for a second hand electrical store that Brenda had told us about, for a fridge freezer..Popped into metalica on way and saw Antonio, and asked if he could come to house to see if front door could be repaired, and measure up for railings and window. Yes he said @ 4 – 4.30 pm today.

Antonio arrived promptly @ 4 pm and measured up for railings and window (much angst about sawing up old window grill, but in end, J went for a new one fitted by them rather than R.

He spent a lot of time on the front door, and eventually agreed doors could be saved, but needed a new frame (rusty) and some hinges replaced. He can take doors away and make up frame and return in 1 day, but our builder needs to fit in cement, so that needs to be negotiated with Ricardo, who may not be happy we have gone to a metal supplier direct and got quotes and will commission him to do work.

Whilst Antonio was inspecting the door, the dutch lady and her daughter invited us over for coffee after he had gone, so that’s what we did …..took over BBC Spanish lessons book and my laptop to show pics of my birthday and Istanbul, but they were not really interested ……just in family pics…..Ironically they were watching their favourite reality TV programme involving a form of dating game via TV/ and prospective suitors phone in and chat live. Not sure of format after that …..riviting viewing, and a good way to learn Spanish.

We ate out later, and returned home to the car alarm sounding off again, and an irate neighbour ….she told us it had gone off several times all evening. This is new problemo and will have to be sorted out tomorrow at the Opel Garage in Fuengirola.

Drilling through the Ruin

Wednesday 31^st January

Ricardo arrived about 10 am with Franchico, and set him up to drill the channel for the rainwater run-off pipe through the wall and through the ruin next door. Tommy was still off sick. It was still raining a bit, but it brightened up later.

We took the front room chandelier and Ricardo’s ouside lanterns to the auction rooms….lady thought they ought to sell

Then on to Brenda in the second hand shop for a long chat about her house and our house progress. She suggested a fridge freezer was essential in the summer here, and that would solve the small bit of extra worktop problemo…60 € towards a fridge freezer.

After lunch, we drove to Marbella to La Cañada to get a microwave and small oven, and popped into Leroy Merlin to look at mosaic tiles to resolve the shower floor problemo. We were looking at storage solutions, and I spotted a plastic greenhouse for 25 € , to double up as a wardrobe, but J drew the line at that idea

We got back to the house about 3.30 pm, but no sign of anyone. However, there were 2 holes in small bedroom and 1 hole in front bedroom, where the water pipe channel had been drilled from the ruin side of the house….the wall’s very thin .we could see into the derelect ruin next door, and the interesting wooden construction of the roof….rather like a barn. There were bits of plaster rubble and dust all over bed and floor, and we spent an hour clearing up.

We ate in for a change, and spent evening designing the website and discussing ideas for escorted day trips and a pricing system.

Kitchen Quote

Tuesday 30^th January

Ricardo arrived about 8 am and told us Timo was off sick. He spent an hour or so doing more electrics…now have front room light with 2 way switches and hall landing light, although this did’nt work yet as it needed a 3 way switch. J did some kitchen finishing off work, scraping off cement and painting tile borders. I painted the upstairs porch and bathroom vestibule area.

We finished about 12.30 and went for a bocadillo mixto lunch, and then walked to kitchen shop , to decide kitchen requirements and finishes – carcass units, sink, cupboards, drawers , worktops, handles etc…. …and came away with a quote of 507.48 €……not bad, as that included 2 x 3.6 metre worktops ,@ 60 € each, when we only needed 4.05 metres !!

Then back home to clear the front bedroom, put the bed in the small bedroom, clean away dust, and generally declutter.

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.

The Floods

Rest of Sat & Sunday 28^th January

The rain which started on Saturday afternoon, got progressively heavier early evening, and the house started to flood, with water pouring off the roof terrace onto the porch roof and into the patio, running down the walls and in through the bottom of the ill-fitting door into the kitchen. The drain was unable to cope, and the patio became a pool.

We mopped all evening and could’nt go out for dinner, making do with cheese and olives, taking comfort in a couple of glasses of rioja…., and eventually gave up and went to bed. There was more torrential rain overnight, and I got up at 3 am to mop up, but it was hopeless, as the flood started to extend into the house itself, and gave up again and went back to bed.

The lights fused at about 5.30 am, and had to wait until dawn @ 9 am for some daylight before venturing downstairs, as we were worried that the water had somehow got into the electrics, and one could get a shock from the water, which had reached the front door.

The rain had stopped but it was blowing a gale. After mopping up for a couple of hours, we drove to Malaga hypermarkets but they were closed. We then drove into the centre and went to the new train station, which doubles as a mall with shops and bars, which was just opening up at noon.

I picked up the bargain of the winter rebajas (sales), a 99 € woollen jacket reduced to 9.95 € in Zara Man. I should have bought the remaining 3 smaller jackets to sell on E Bay !

We then had difficulty getting out of Malaga and ended up on the coastal road, where the wind was blowing a gale off the sea ….it must have been at least storm force, with huge waves….we had difficulty in getting out of the car and standing up, blinding sand, and metal being torn off buildings…it was quite dangerous. We walked along the front, and saw a large ship had been blown on to the rocks.

We drove back home and cauchoed sealed the small bedroom. There was more rain and flooding that evening, but not as bad as last night, but it still flooded the house overnight.