Spanish renovation

[onlyMark]

It was a toss up k2 between a fountain or not. We decided to have to run water to the middle was a hassle we couldn't be bothered with.
bixa, I'm guessing you'd actually think about these things rather than me thinking, 'oooo! that looks nice! when I'm playing with designs. You are probably right but I couldn't put words to it.

[tod2]

Looking splendid Mark. What a long job it's been but I'm sure you can now see the light at the end of the tunnel! Stunning views. That pool is going to be fantastic!

[mich64]

Everything is coming to completion quite nicely Mark, all your efforts will soon be rewarded. I can not remember if you mentioned whether your pool will be salt water or chlorine? Having an additional toilet to access from the pool is a great idea. Have you thought of an outdoor shower?

I am glad you had excellent representation throughout this process as there were so many legal challenges to contend with.

Looking forward to seeing more photos after the Easter break.

[mossie]

Great job. Bit puzzled by the toilet in the swimming pool. I thought a p was silent in a swimming pool.

[onlyMark]

mich, the issue of the water is still being debated though you can have a clean pool with chlorine. The outdoor shower will be an after thought when it is all done. I have one in storage that'll I'll sort out some time later.

mossie, when I was a kid I was told that some swimming pools had a certain chemical in it that turned a bright colour if you had a pee. I still have to have a sneaky look now just in case it was ever true.

[tod2]

Our pool is treated with Chlorine but many people have switched over to the salt treatment as it is much cheaper. A 5 litre bucket of chlorine in powder form goes for around R300 and last about 6 weeks. We add a cup every other day but there is also a floating chlorinater slowly releasing chlorine. Beside this treatment it is necessary to add Hydrochloric Acid once in a while - this is done in the morning. Chlorine powder is only added after sunset as daylight destroys the effect.
Mark, I'm sure you will have a pool vacuum ( here called a Kreepy-Krauly or Barracuda) which runs connected to the filter all day and night on a timer.

[Kimby]

My sister & her family recently switched their pool to salt-water from chlorinated. They LOVE it.

[onlyMark]

I've been a bit lax in not bottoming exactly what we will have. It depends a little on what is available locally. It's no use having one or the other and then I have to travel miles to get it. I'm working on it.
I do need to get a cover and the vacuum thingy though.

[tod2]

Will you finish off the pool by applying Marblelite? After guniting the pool shape with reinforced steel, our pool was finished off with a process called Marblelite. Sort of the same thing as skimming a ceiling or wall.

[onlyMark]

We're not that far advanced here tod. It'll be tiles but pool tiles.

[tod2]

Pool tiles are cool! Very old fashioned but hey! who says they don't do a great job!
All Olympic size pools here are tiled so that must mean a long life span.
What I desperately want is my broken pool light back. At night it makes a spectacular blue water and I can see every inch of the bottom. Nowadays they have the ones that change colour every few minutes, bathing the swimmers in green, purple, orange, and red light. Whooo-Hoo, an underwater disco!

[onlyMark]

Today the workers came after their holiday and I expected they would have to go home early because of impending rain. But it stayed reasonable all day and they managed to get stuff sorted.

First thing I gave them a hand to mark out exactly where the marble star/compass point should go –




Then they began with the first part –






And it progressed from there –














The last small piece of the jigsaw goes in –




That was the ‘easy’ part. Then came filling in the rest of the tiles. You'll have to use your imagination for when it's been all cleaned –










A quick step back round the pool now I’ve filled it up again. Obviously it still needs quite a bit of work doing to it –




Time now though for a bit of tea. Ham, salmon, cucumber and jam sandwiches. A small plate of cucumber with pepper and paprika and in the centre, cocktail pickled onions. Biscuits and Yorkshire tea to drink –




So, what’s next?
It has something to do with these –




A pile of soil –




And some of them. I think I’ve got to put them all together but I can’t be bothered for now –

[Deleted]

Time now though for a bit of tea. Ham, salmon, cucumber and jam sandwiches. A small plate of cucumber with pepper and paprika and in the centre, cocktail pickled onions. Biscuits and Yorkshire tea to drink.

Well, at least the salt looks Spanish.

Those workers look pretty competent.

[breeze]

I came here to see the latest on the patio. It looks good. But the tea table photo is the one I'll be thinking of for the next few days, and someday it will probably bring back happy family memories for the onlyMarks.

[tod2]

Mark - It is really fantastic to see the steps from beginning to end! Your house is looking wonderful and I think even when it's completed you will find stuff that still needs doing....or altered Well, let's say that is what happened to us with our first house we built and even now altho been living in it for 36 years, would like to change a few things!

I notice the burglar guarding on every window and door. Here they come in from the roof. Just lift a few tiles and there you are...I suppose an alarm system is useless as who would arrive in time before they made an escape?!

[fumobici]

Looks like it's all coming together quite nicely. Bully to you for putting some Spaniards to productive work.

[onlyMark]

breeze, certainly the food was a little more trouble to do than we usually have. Unless there are guests of course.

tod, I fully understand the house will never be truly finished.
If burglars decided to come in through the roof they'd have to smash their way through the tiles, then the concrete which is on top of concrete blocks. The roof is a solid construction.

fumobici, I keep asking the builder for more workers to get it done quicker, but he's quite happy just sending us two at a time.

I will post a photo of the finished courtyard in time but I'm waiting for it to be really done and cleaned properly to give it a proper effect.

[mich64]

Your tea looks delightful! I am enjoying the updates.

[onlyMark]

Update – the courtyard tiles have been finished but they are still doing all the grouting, so it is quite filthy. I’ll post a photo when it is done. Hopefully they can then move on to around the pool. There are a couple of walls to be built and the pool surround tiles before the main part of the pool is.
In the meantime though we’ve been having a bit of water trouble.
Trouble in that it isn’t draining properly away from the pool area and is beginning to affect the wall/arches foundations. Luckily there is only a small crack in one arch for now but we want to get it sorted before it gets any worse.
The problem mainly is that when it rains the water flows down off the hill behind us and in its efforts to reach the small water course we have it runs up first against the arches foundations. So we decided to get a bit of proper drainage in.

The first obstacle to doing it was the pipework running from our solar panels to the house. Fortunately the digger man (Manuel) spotted them before I knew what was happening –




The trench was extended –






Did you see José off to the right having a pee?
And finishes off running to the stream. To the left are the arches around the pool –




I gave them a hand to run a drainage pipe down, fill it with some large rocks and re-cover it with soil. It was soon done and returned back to how it was before. We’ll see if it has cured the problem –




Whilst Manuel had his machines here he was tasked to just clear a bit of an area that will be concreted to form a hard standing for our car directly at the steps to the front door (which leads into the courtyard). The photo is taken from the top of the steps, to the left is the courtyard wall and to the right is the track going from the road, past our house and further into the countryside. More on this in a second –




One thing that has annoyed me ever since we bought the place is the track leading from the road. I frequently ‘bottomed’ out on it when the car is loaded as it is in such a bad state. Mind you, having trucks going up and down it with building supplies doesn’t help.
But, it isn’t just our track. We don’t own it, nor the land it is on. But we use it and have the right to do so. Also there are a few others who have land close to ours that also use it. We’ve been trying for quite some time to get them all together to agree to chip in with some money to get the track done. But, as these things are, for example some land isn’t owned by one person but a family, or a father and son. Well, they all then have to agree, which now is just too difficult as actually no one person knows who exactly owns every bit of land that has access from the track. There isn’t that many, but nevertheless, too many.
So we’ve bit the bullet and got it done at our own expense. At least to our house.
At some time in the future we’ll meet up with the others and try and tap them for a contribution. The builders have said we ought to put a gate up at the bottom and only allow them in if they stump up.
Anyway, this is a start being made. It is directly in front of our house –




He’s then running down the hill to the road –




A bit later –




Then we follow it down to the road –








It is mostly done, we just need a man with a roller tomorrow to finish it off. Compared to how it was it’s like a motorway now.

[Kimby]

Now that most of the heavy loads have been brought in...

[onlyMark]

It absolutely chucked it down last night and continues today, so I thought it'd all be washed away. But not so. I've been down there this morning and it's not been affected at all. Apparently we should have had it done a long while ago as the man said it gets harder packed the more it is used.

[Deleted]

Looking at the photos of the track before I read your last post, the possibility of it all suddenly washing away is the first thing I thought of. I saw so much of that in places like Cambodia where they would redo the road like that and after just a few storms, there was nothing left. Of course it depends on what kind of traffic is using a road and I'm quite sure, also the composition of the material used to fill it.

[tod2]

That was good news about your concrete roof under the tiles. That'll fool any attempts!

Glad you have done the road. I would have done the same. I doubt you will get any help with the expense. People are a funny lot when they see someone moving forward, they think you have plenty of moola to spread around. Hope they do contribute one day.
I think putting a gate or barrier isn't a good thing. You may need their help one day with something totally unrelated. Keep things sweet.

[onlyMark]

We weren't serious about a gate. We know it'd be more trouble than it's worth and create lots of bad feeling.
We've had a few bits of heavy rain and the track is holding up well. The stuff on it I need to ask about but I remember them saying it was something made as a by product from the olive oil factory and normally discarded. I didn't pay much attention at the time.
The courtyard tiling is all but finished. I just need to wait a day or so for it to set properly before I give it a good washing down and cleaning.
They should be today moving on to tiling around the swimming pool.

[Kimby]

Horray for progress! Something that's often hard to come by on a building project!

[onlyMark]

Courtyard all but done. More cleaning, a tree planted in the square to the right and the pergola making and putting up -

[tod2]

My my! Looking spiffy Mark. Really lovely.

[fumobici]

Pavimento bellissimo! (I know it's Italian, but you Spaniards only pretend you can't understand it.)

[bjd]

What are the little metal square openings on the side toward the house for? The pergola?

[onlyMark]

Pergola, gazebo, awning, canopy........ I haven't a clue what is the correct term anyway. But yes, the square things are the metal foundation plates that will take a square wooden post upon which I shall build a cover over the 'path' that passes in front of the doors and windows. It will have a wooden type grill thing at the roof, it won't be solid. Mainly to still let light through but give a dappled shade effect and maybe even wind a vine through in years to come.
You won't see the metal when it's finished but the plates needed to be put down before the tiles rather than try and fix them on top.

tod, it is a million miles away from how it was originally and we are happy with it.

fumobici, I get the meaning, at least I know you're not swearing at me, but apart from basic German any other language is like.... errrr...... a foreign language to me.