Going with the flow.

Our time for this trip is starting to wind down but I am still knee-deep in projects. Every day we get things done but we are constantly adding new projects. Fortunately they are rapidly becoming minor ones.

One of the biggies that we are tackling right now is the plumbing. Along with a new kitchen sink faucet I also installed a garbage disposal. The switch and electricity were right there so it was only a matter of taking out the old sink trap and putting the unit into place. The hot water tank was rusted at the bottom and due for a change but rather than replace it with a similar one, for safety and energy purposes we went with an on-demand unit which just sits on the wall-and frees up storage space to boot!

One thing that we discovered is that the water pressure for Monte Sol is quite high, much to Dean’s showering pleasure but not so good for the valves and faucets. I met with the condo office manager today and she informed me that a lot of the residents have flow compensators put in to help protect the valves, etc. Since we will not be here a fair amount of the time for now, the worry of unchecked flooding does concern us. When we were here a few days I discovered that one of the utility sink faucets was problematic and started leaking. I was able to get it to stop but I need to replace it and upon investigation, found that the only way to turn off the water to the apartment was at the water meter. Sooo… we are having a compensator put in tomorrow which handily enough will include a cutoff valve, as the only way to change the laundry sink faucet right now is to have the water company come and turn it off.  And while we are on plumbing issues, just for good measure I am re-doing the toilet innards.  I discovered that one of the heads to the bolts holding the tank to the base in the master bathroom had corroded away. The bolt felt loose and when I went to tighten it, it just spun-and started to leak. Both toilets it turns out, have the same issues so replacement it is!  All of this is to be expected, I guess. It’s 10-plus years of maintenance that’s overdue.  Fortunately the only area of real concern is the plumbing. Everything else is fine.

Oh, coming back from the hardware store we spotted this fella having lunch under a date palm in our complex. He is actually pretty big. I guesstimate that he’s easily five-plus feet from head to the tip of his tail.  I approached him slowly and he hardly noticed me taking his picture.  I grew up with these guys. They look ferocious but they are no threat. They are plant eaters and take off quickly if you get too close too fast. Nice neighbor.