Noah had the right idea

Posted on January 19, 2013 by Paul

It hasn’t stopped raining for forty-eight hours. Not one minute of respite, just relentless stair-rods, causing landslides, impromptu waterfalls, and heavily swelled streams and rivers. The way to describe such rain is with the phrase ‘of biblical proportions’.

I am not sure that I’ve ever seen anything like it, at least not for this duration. ‘Clive’, the chainsaw, has most definitely not been willing to come out to play so instead we’ve been trying to do some of the indoor finishing work in what is almost a water-tight barn.

stainedglass20120119Yesterday saw the final pane of glass fitted in the form of the stained glass window which we had commissioned from  Dave Griffin in Derbyshire. At the moment it isn’t cemented into place and just held in place with glue, but it will be permanently fixed on Monday.

I knew that there would be no-one on site today but I decided to go up and check for leaks and I am glad that I did. As you can see from the photograph there is a small leak above the window which is actually coming along the top of the stone immediately above the pane, and then pooling and dropping down inside the house. I’m glad I spotted it as it is probably a ‘once in five years’ occurence. That is one photograph which will cause some head scratching for Facundo on Monday morning.

I bottled out of looking inside the main house, I knew that it would be pouring in with showers in all the rooms, and running down the walls in more places that I could count. It would only have been depressing.

floodednewpuenteThe road from the house to Pontenova was covered in debris; rocks, branches, and mud. One scary aquaplane almost saw me in the trees and reminded me that, speed and water in a car that weighs the same as a tin of beans, aren’t a good combination.

Passing over the new bridge in Pontenova allowed sight of the Rio Eo, now in full flood and a good three metres higher than it’s norm.

I dodged the landslips across the Pontenova to Taramundi road and spotted Neil who was on his way to check out his house (still under construction) just outside Taramundi. I suggested ditching my car and joining him.

The private road to his house was under water and we created quite a bow-wave as his little Citroen just struggled to make it through. I am not sure that the Fiesta would have made it, at least not without me losing my damage deposit.

An hour later, soft furnishings moved to safety, sand-bags in place, and culverts unblocked we retired to the cafe in Taramundi.

Lest to say, I don’t think that Neil will ever be short of water.

 

Posted in Local Life | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Oops…that was expensive!

Posted on January 16, 2013 by Paul

It’s been an expensive day, and much as I wish it wasn’t, it was all my fault.

kitchenfloor20130116Firstly, the kitchen floor is now finished and despite my initial reservations I am pretty happy with it. The tiles are porcelain but hand-finished so all bear individual patterns and now that it is grouted with a nice grey filler it does have the hand-split slate finish that I was looking for, with all the practicality of a modern floor tile.

I like the randomness of the different tile patterns and once the floor in the rest of the upstairs (which will be chestnut) is down, then it should look amazing.

I’d spent the morning cutting wood with the ‘Clive’ (the chainsaw), which I am now finding easier to start, but which is consuming chain oil faster than petrol. I’d got a builders bag full of logs by the time that Facundo arrived this afternoon, so decided to down tools and join in the conversation in the barn.

Facundo seemed happy with the floor and thought that it would be a good idea to install the wood burning stove, which I had lovingly and carefully brought from England by car, last October. It took three of us to man-handle it from the big house to the barn, and as both Facundo and I had left our instruction manuals at home (mine in English in Taramundi and his in Spanish in Villaboa) we decided to see what parts we thought, fitted where. The typical man solution.

As we’d finally sussed it, I went to move the heavy steel base into place and with a sharp corner caught one of the side pieces of glass on the stove, which immediately smashed!

I swore in my native language first, three or four times, and then for effect in Spanish. Facundo looked shocked and tried to calm me down. I was gutted. All that care and attention and now I needed to source a probably very pricey replacement and get it to Galicia.

I opted not to go back to using the chainsaw for the rest of the day as it looked like ‘Mr Clumsy’ had taken residence in my body and I didn’t want to chance removing a limb while he was in control.

Posted in Barn Renovation | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

When one (donkey) becomes four (horses)

Posted on January 14, 2013 by Paul

It’s been a pretty dull, in several senses of the word, few days. Facundos’ men left the barn on Thursday morning to attend to something that was obviously more pressing, and everything has been still and quiet up there until today. Add to that the rain, and that nothing except football is happening in Taramundi, and you get the picture of a boring weekend.

motosierra20130114On Saturday I took the advantage of some good weather and the continued good nature of my friend Neil and donned my boiler suit, goggles and ear defenders for a chainsaw lesson with my newly assembled Husqvarna 236-14″. After dismantling one of Neils old chainsaws, sharpening the chain, and re-assembling we headed for his woodpile for some hardcore cutting action, on some ancient oak.

You’ll be pleased to know that I survived intact, and that no-one else sustained any injuries.

They are fearsome machines, absolutely lethal, and I am glad that Neil took a couple of hours to impart his wisdom. Never having the need to touch one in England, let alone wield one, I didn’t realise quite how complex they are. You have to consider the oil/petrol mix, chain lubricant, sharpness of the teeth, the chain brake and adjusting the chain tensioner. I’m looking at lumberjacks in a new light, they are definitely not all singing and checked shirts.

I was determined to put my new skills, and new machine, into practice up at the house. I need to cut, and store for drying, the trees which we ‘accidentally’ felled while installing the septic tank. They currently reside half way down a slippy forty-five degree clay slope, not the easiest thing to get to carrying a chain saw.

Frequent rain showers meant that I was constantly dodging in and out of the barn, and to be honest I think that there is a fine line between the saving of effort that a running chainsaw has over and handsaw, given the shoulder wrenching exertion required to start the damn things with the rip-cord.

I think I need to give it a name, remove some of the fear. ‘Clive’ seems very non-threatening.

horsesblog20130114There has been no sign of Enrique on our finca since the middle of last week, but I can hear him somewhere in the valley. Instead we’ve now got four horses, which I assume belong to Carlos. Fortunately they are not mounted by four horsemen, that would be apocalyptic!

I’ve decided to keep the musical theme and call them; John, Paul, George and Ringo.

One has particularly straggly hair and can be George, and the only white one is obviously Paul, but I’m struggling to tell the difference between John and Ringo.

balconydooroutside20130114One of Facundos workers was at the house, single handed (until I helped him), installing the window facing the cabazo and the doors onto the balcony. There is just the kitchen window left to fit, and the small stable window to be fitted with the stained glass and we will be totally secure.

It really is starting to look more than great.

I am absolutely delighted with the windows and doors, they are just so tactile. I can’t stop opening and closing the internal shutters. I’m like a big kid!

 

Posted in Barn Renovation | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A politically incorrect calendar and a cold shower (not related)

Posted on January 10, 2013 by Paul

When I was a nipper, in the days before my Saturday mornings of sport filled fun, I used to get dragged around my home town of Rotherham by my Dad, probably to give Mum a bit of respite.

Dad and I, often with younger brother in tow, had our usual route. This involved; taking the dog for a walk; going to Hague’s Pop (run by the father of a now famous William Hague) for our weekly crate of fizzy drinks; and then on to my Dads’ work at a tarmacadam haulage company, where he was transport manager.

The highlight was being let loose in Dads work, with massive dirty trucks everywhere, the smell of diesel, blokes offering your sweets (in a very non-sinister way), and a wall full of calendars of scantily clad ladies advertising everything from tyres, to swarfega, to cigarettes. It was a chance to sneak a peek and giggle, causing great amusement to the assorted drivers and their mates getting ready to go out on the road, or washing up ready to clock off.

20130110_CalendarUntil today I though that these calendars were a thing of the 70’s, cast into the abyss of political correctness, never again to adorn the walls of male dominated workplaces.

But I was wrong, they are alive and well in Galicia and one has been nailed to a beam in my garage by  ‘always making himself at home’ Carlos.

I do admit that last years calendar, which Carlos also hung in the garage, was very dull. It was black and white and simply said, every other Sunday, ‘Feria’ (market).

This years has been supplied by a local sales agent and has twelve large full colour pages each with a painting (perhaps even in Spain no-one with any self-respect would agree to pose for photos) of a woman in some state of undress and posing alongside a Stihl power tool – Miss January pictured here with an impressive chain saw.

Avoiding temptation, I decided not to spoil the surprise by flicking through the rest of the year, but I’d go so far as to guess that Miss August will be pictured in a lush meadow with a strimmer.

When you live in an apartment where the source of gas is a calor gas bottle (bombona) you live in constant fear of it running out. It’s best if this happens while you are cooking as you simply switch it over to a new one, re-light the hobs, and off you go. The nightmare scenario is if it fails while you are in the shower, suddenly depriving you of hot water in an already freezing house.

Tonight I drew the short straw, just after getting nicely soaped up, ‘showermageddon’! I had no option but to wash off the soap in cold water, teeth chattering, and four hours later I am still shivering.

The barn will be all electric!

 

Posted in Local Life | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Putting t’wood in t’hole

Posted on January 9, 2013 by Paul

My New Year resolution should have been; to have more faith in my builders.

windows20130109_1After yesterdays little outburst about having to ‘sort them out’, I arrived on site today to find all the windows and doors waiting for me, freshly offloaded, and neatly stacked in the barn ready for fitting. There was no-one around so I took in upon myself to guard my new ‘precious things’ until someone showed up, hopefully with the tools to put the wood in the holes.

I did, of course, feel the necessity to inspect them.

They are above and beyond my expectations. Hand crafted from Iroko and finished with black ironmongery, and in a ‘walnut’ shade stain, they look absolutely stunning.

windows20130109compclosedThere are three seals for each window to keep out any draughts and noise. Each has an internal shutter, the panes are split by horizontal bars, and they open from the centre, or tilt from the top, to allow a cooling evening circulation of air.

The attention to detail is spot on and all who have seen them, so far numbering; Facundo, Angel, two of Facundos workers, the Madrileños, Carlos’ mother, Elena, and an elderly gentleman in an A-Class Mercedes who occasionally stops to chat as he drives by, all think they are ‘muy guapo’ (very handsome/pretty).

I’d summoned Facundo, via text the previous evening, to read him the riot act about the windows, but their arrival totally took the wind out of my sails. When he did show up, to give me some respite from my guard duties, all I could do was grin like an idiot.

windows20130109compopenHe was also immediately impressed with the workmanship, the first time he’d seen Carpintero Mendez work, and when I answered his enquiry about the total cost he almost passed out at how cheap they were.

To give you some indication, I paid the same, as an average per item, as I did 15 years ago for white PVC, when we renovated our house in Huddersfield.

I thought I’d got a bargain back then, but these really are. I couldn’t be happier.

Two of Facundos men showed up before lunch and I helped them move the windows into the right places in the house as they weighed an absolute tonne, and three pairs of hands were marginally better than two.

windows20130109upstairsdooroutsideThe fitting started around 14:30 and by the fall of darkness at 18:30 we had all of the downstairs fitted, and the main door upstairs in place. All that is left for tomorrow is two upstairs windows, the patio doors to the balcony, and my little stained glass window for the bedroom which has been waiting patiently in Ramon’s flat since October for its day in the sun.

It has been one of those ‘big days’ on site and the barn is totally transformed.

Now we’re within a whisker of being watertight, the first time for this barn in 100 years, and I am already starting to entertain thoughts of moving in.

I think I’m going to need some dusters and window cleaner.

Posted in Barn Renovation | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment