Tuesday, August 27, 2013

What is that funky smell?


You guessed it - time to start the plumbing. Now I knew the pipes were in a bit of a state as all the upstairs plumbing was blocked along with all the drains so I was expecting to replace everything.

Trench the length of the property for pipes
I got an extra guy in to dig up all the channels for the new pipes as I didn’t want to slow down my guys doing the plastering. They have finished in the inside downstairs and have just started to do the outside under the arches. The ceilings are so high it makes me want to cry when I see how much cement I go through a day... but the good news is I am about two thirds done with the walls - I cannot wait to to finish them all.
All the old pipes were blocked solid 
I have dug the trench a bit wider in the back garden as I need to make some concrete foundations for the pillars to sure up the balcony - I thought I may as well do this whilst I am putting the plumbing in. 

There was a lot of rocks!
My original plan was to install a 6 inch pipe down the length the of the property and tie in all the 4 inch wastage pipes from the bathrooms and drains. All looked good on paper... However when I got to digging up the collapsed inspection pit - which is inside the house I might add - I found the old clay pipe that connects the main sewage line under the street outside. Now the good news is that it seems to be all in tact but the bad news is that it is only 4 inches... 
Thats the clay pipe in the right hand corner of the pit
So I have a decision to make before I move on... I have spoken to a few other house owners and a small hotel in the Colonial Zone and apparently that is the norm. To me it seems very small as I will have around 10 bathrooms - it doesn’t seem right to me. My choice is either go to Ayuntamiento (which I really don’t want to do after the permit process) to dig up the road outside my house to connect a 6 inch pipe or just go with the 4 inch and add an extra inspection pit and cleanouts to ensure if it does block I can unclog it with ease.  I haven’t a clue what to do yet to be honest going to have to think about that one. 

Plastering under the sun deck
So plumbing wise I have about 6 more days of digging for the guy to do and in the mean time I am getting quotes for all the pipes and fittings. But I am hoping it goes quite quickly to actually install the plumbing - I have it all planned out so hopefully I shouldn’t run in to to many problems. 

Plastering is moving along well
I am eventually getting through my job list - every now and then something pops up however... like yesterday I forgot to run the wire to the grounding rod so I was rushing to get it installed before the guys plaster that wall. Also I have been meaning to fix a few things on my car and service my bike - so this week I replaced my starter motor, two window motors and front brakes on my Jeep and replaced the front and rear brake pads on my bike along with changing the oil. Its little things like that I have been meaning to do for a while now but you know its time when you have to carry a hammer to start the Jeep and you hear scraping whilst you brake on your bike. 
Fixing my bike around the mess
So hopefully by the next post I will have most of the waste pipes fitted in the house and the guys should almost be finished the plastering out the back. Until next time...


3 comments:

  1. Go with the 4" pipe and the additional inspection pit. (Registro)

    Sure you've got a lot of bathrooms, but what's the chances of everything being flushed/used at the same time? Zero to none.

    4" should be more than enough.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for the advice - yeah I think I am going to go that way...

    ReplyDelete