A couple of weeks ago the tap outside on the terraza started leaking. At first I wondered if this might be the cause of my crazy water bills (not to be confused with my insane electricity bills) but it turned out that this leak wasn’t of much consequence. But it was still there. And while I’m pretty good at general home repairs and maintenance there are some things I’ve never had to do – like change a tap – and so I feel a bit out of my depth. I called the landlady’s handyman who’d recently done some work in my kitchen (and who also helped me move my washing machine), but he was busy on a job and had no free time for a couple of weeks. And I sure didn’t want to call in a professional plumber because my landlady had told me this was something that happened after I moved in so I’d have to pay for it…
Then my friend Pablo came to the rescue. He stopped by tonight and said the tap needed to be replaced and that he’d pick one up and do it for me sometime in the next few days. And it turns out he’ll also replace the crappy taps in my bathroom! Well, I’ll have to buy the taps, but he said he could do the work for me. I’m so happy because these taps have been driving me mental since I moved in and the landlady had her guy “fix” them while he was doing odd jobs, but basically they are old crappy taps and beyond repair.
Then, since Pablo seemed to know about these things, I asked about the possibility of changing the electric ceramic cooker (only 3 out of 4 burners work properly) to a gas one, and he checked around and discovered that the gas line was already in place so it would be a very simple installation. So now I’m all psyched about doing these few home repairs with Pablo’s help and advice. I’ll need to get a plumber to hook up the cooker (when that day comes) but meanwhile it’s so nice to have a “man about the house” who can help with these things. Even though he lives across town and I’ll end up paying him in carbonara dinners, it’s still a source of comfort.
Gracias Pablito!
casa azahar 
Landlords are always responsible for plumbing problems in Australia. It doesn’t seem fair to put it back on the tenant
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The thing is that the tap will only cost about 5€, but to get someone in to change it would probably cost about 50€. I agree that this shouldn’t be my responsibility (nor changing the bathroom taps which really are crap) but there are no clear rules for this in Spain that I know of, especially when renting from an individual and not an agency.
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I love people who can do things like that… especially if they will show me in a way I can understand.
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I’ll definitely be watching! I quite pride myself on being able to do handywork, most of which I’ve learned by trial and error. But visions of burst water pipes and flooded bathroom stop me from trying to change the taps on my own.
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That’s great! Give him lots of nice food 🙂
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According to Pablo I make the best spaghetti carbonara in the world, even better than what he’s tried in Italy. So that will be how I pay him back, as many meals as it takes.
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Changing the cooker will change your electric bill! Have you been eating more at home in August?
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Both Nog and I cook a lot and I know that changing the cooker will make a big difference in the electricity bill, especially as the water is heated by gas. Also, I hate electric cookers. Having a gas one again will be like a dream come true.
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I wonder how the Euro/Carbonara exchange rate is these days?
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I think that is something only Pablo can answer. 😉
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I must admit – I’m not one for “doing it myself”. Decorating and so on, yes, but I have visions of floods if I touch plumbing and electrocition if I touch power. I am aware of how truly useless I am in that sort of department.
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See… Now you have TWO advantages in all this. You get the taps fixed (as well as a few other things done) AND you get to hang about with the handsome Pablo, This is win-win! Now, if you are willing to spare him, and he’s willing to travel a bit, I have a few things here which require some work….
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