We have just got back from Albox and met Dario (brother of Jose (foreman)and Javier (in Ecuador still sorting out his illegal house)) on site. Dario is stand in for Javier and therefore in charge. He doesn’t often come up to site but as they are nearing the roof concreting time he came up to check things over before ‘the big pour’. This will be on Monday after our architect, Chema, has inspected the work in progress. This is of course all subject to the weather remaining clement (just think of last week end!!). Whilst we were gallantly trying to converse with Dario he showed us some roofing pantiles and wanted us to choose a colour (from two)for which they will tile the whole of the house roof.
We had been warned, by our learned friends Bob and Pam, to start to look at tiles for the roof and the patio and the inside of the house. So far we had made just one, half hearted, trip to look at a bewildering array of tiles thinking that this element is still way off in the future. Now we are meeting Dario manana (Saturday) morning at 10 o’clock to select all of them, all at once. Elayne and I are now going back down to Albox, again, to take a more serious look at tiles. What a very subjective exercise, but I suppose that in the end we will have a suitable compromise between us.
Muchos later:
When we arrived in Albox, the tile place was shut, what a surprise, he probably saw us coming and turned the sign round. No, actually a piece of paper on the door explains, in Spanish and English, that due to unforeseen circumstances they will only be open from 8 till 2 and Monday to Friday. So despondently we went to another place but the tiles there seemed to be nearly double the price of the place that was closed. We are now meeting Dario on Monday at 10-30 to try again.
To give some idea of the scale of this exercise I list, for you, and for us, the tiles that we need to choose. Solarium floor tiles, patio floor tiles, two bathroom floor tiles and wall tiles, kitchen floor and wall tiles and then tiles for the floor for the rest of the house. Just to cap it off we also need to choose the roofing tiles. Not a big job for one person, but for two persons it sounds like it could be the start of the second Spanish civil war.
Of course I only joke !!!!!!XXXX!!!!””””””***^^^^>>><<<<
E……I always thought that I was married to Franco!!
NB:Elayne and I have just been up to the site now that the builders have left. We have 10 pallets of thermal ceramic bricks ready for the downstairs walls. Out of curiosity I counted the roof props that will hold the concrete and bricks in place when the concrete is poured on Monday. There is in excess of two hundred and fifty props and they will be holding something like twenty five tons of weight. When it is all dry of course just ninteen pillars will hold all of this (thats 1.3 tones per pillar). :-0