Covid + gripe + water leak

Tuesday November 21 we had an appointment for a vaccination for covid and flu at the Centro Salud. Leaving the gate we saw:

Yes, that is a wet spot. Two wet spots actually, each at a side of the road. 

Then we remembered, our Galasa water tube is crossing the road, but it has a tube around it, for protection. That seemed like a really Great Engineer Jansen Idea™ at the time.  But, it has caused trouble once before, when the water tube was accidentally dug up, causing the tube to be pulled from a connector under our then just that day finished terrace, causing a leak. Thing is, if you use a single unprotected tube the tube will break when dug up, but with protection it does not, and will tear somewhere else. Like, under a new concrete and tile terrace.

So, two leaks.  Noo, just one leak, but seeping from the two ends of an outer tube. 

The local water tech guy still had a digger standing here, that he had used a few weeks ago for work on the water line of our neighbours, so we contacted him. He intended to come that same day, but didn't. Mañana. Mañana arrived, but no plumber. Let's do some digging ourselves then.

This is one end:

Repaired that with two connectors and a bit of tubing:

It is exactly where our water tube crosses Endesa's electric line (pink). 

However, with the water on again, water spouted from the top tube, so there is more leakage, and we need to replace all of the length that is under the road. Not an easy task, as the soil there is compacted by passing cars and very very hard. 

Progress was slow. Wetting the soil and hacking at it, we were about ti give up, and try the fontatero gain. Messaged him,  but hours later the whatsapp remained unread. Lunch time..

More wetting and hacking, and all of our tube was open to the air, with both leaking ends exposed.

The arrow here points at the junction. This time Engineer Jansen™ and Engineer de Waal™ devised a triple water conduit. Outer tube 6 cm, middle tube ehh. 4? inner tube 2.5 cm. 

All done.

Then Engineer Jansen(™) thought to protect the water conduit by digging in a series of flat stones where car wheels go. So there. 20 cm above the tubes a protective layer of flat stones.

No water is not great!

And all this the day after the covid vaccination, which is especially sad for Engineer Jansen(™), who always suffers from a covid jab.  Next time he will tell all about the repeating feverish dreams he had experienced all that night, then having to co-dig a trench in concretish soil. 

Toilet fun, not.

At the back of a toilet there is a rubber ring to seal the sewer to prevent unwholesome fumes from entering your nose. And no, rubber does not last. After 20 years, or less if you bought rubbish, the ring cracks. (The cut is mine.) And yes, it leaks. Luckily engineer Jansen spotted it quickly, and no damage was done.

What you do normally is detach your loo by unscrewing the bolts it is bolted to the floor with, shift the toilet forward, put on new ring, put toilet backward, screw tight bolts. Unless you had moronic previous owners who cemented the toilet to the floor, ansteystyle, and there are no bolts.

So, can't move the toilet, can't put on new ring. Resorting to silicone. Stuffed some nylon rope in the gap, and filled it up with nice flexible silicone, so posterity can replace that in 20 years.

Balsa leak

We have a leak in the balsa. Lost 200m³ water. Now wait till the water level drop stops, so we know where the leak is located. My guess is at the bottom, as we can see a dark spot next to the drain pipe.

No snow

Also www.windytv.com/ thought 35 cm of snow a bit too much, and therefore changed their website layout. The snow has gone, and only some rain is left, but a lot less than predicted. Which is good, because today the roofer was dropping by to repair the fissures in the roof causing leaks. And, as it happens with contractors: something else had come up, and he would get to us on Saturday. After the floods.

Sent a help-us mail, that this was quite a nuisance, as a lot of rain and snow were predicted. He dropped by the same afternoon after all, with a tub of cement, which was nice. And good, see the pictures. In days-long heavy rain that gave us some leaks.