When we toured the site last night we saw that Dario had brought the chimney top (the decorative chimney pot) and we were flabbergasted at how awful it was. In January we had given Dario a colour copy of a chimney top that we wanted and said ‘similar’ (this is a licence word to mean ‘nearly like what I am showing you‘). We didn’t think too much more about it until we saw what had been brought up to site. It was like a Doctor Doolittle toadstool/pixie house fairy chimney. Bloody, terrifyingly YUK!!!
So it was up early to catch the man again this morning and remind him of the chimney picture that we had given to him. He looked quite crestfallen when I said that he will have to take it back. I told him that we would go out and find the chimney top that we want and then tell him where to buy it or we will buy it and he can deduct the money from the price of the house.
So later in the morning Elayne and I went chimney hunting and it became clear that the selection was very limited (that’s obviously why all the new houses have the same sort of chimney) from all the builders merchants in Albox. We did see a chimney that would do as a second choice but we will search for the one we want before giving up and coming back to this. Dario told us that the style of chimney we want may be obtainable up at Baza (pronounced Batha) which is about seventy km east from here. We will go later in the week perhaps. Anyway back at camp this afternoon, Elayne and I are sat in the glorious hot sun reading when we notice the builder and his mate with the awful chimney top on a wheelbarrow just about to take it all the way up on to the roof. The top and its base weigh about seventy kg so it’s very substantial. Once more had we not been here it would have been cemented in place and then it would have been quite difficult to remove. Another lorry load of gravel has arrived (about ten tonne). The surrounding house walkway has now been filled and the top covered with re-enforcing steels and concrete. Probably (but maybe not if it’s a holiday, carnival, fiesta or raining) tomorrow the builders will start to lay the tiles all around the walkway, that’ll be good.
Now that we have organised all the kitchen goods we have to start to list and think about all the different light fittings inside and outside and upstairs and downstairs, twenty light points in total. We are fitting light fans in the bedrooms and the lounge to keep the air moving. It’s a terrifying job to behold.
Still having internet annoyance, sorry. It's 08-45hrs on Wednesday and I am on line for the first serious time since Saturday. Normal service will, maybe, pehaps be resumed today, or manana. ;-))))