A CATTERY IN SPAIN

Chapter Three

 CHAPTER THREE

The Renovation

To make the villa habitable we felt some improvements were necessary.  So we installed double glazing, to replace the old fashioned wooden windows and to keep the heat indoors in winter. We had never heard of single glazing, so were a little amazed when the windows arrived and seemed on the thin side.  We had to visit the manufacturer in Villajoyosa to explain in broken Spanish that what we required was double cristal.  The penny eventually dropped and they placed an order for the double-glazing we wanted for the double patio doors.  It was too late to return the windows they stressed.  So we installed single glazed windows, but at least they were modern looking.

From then on, every improvement turned into a slow-going nightmare, starting with updating the floor tiles from a speckled dark grey mosaic to pale grey.  In order to improve the security of the property, the ageing external doors were next to be replaced at great expense, but worth every cent.  We chose solid pine with a little peep-through security barred window at eye level.  We never bothered putting glass in the window as the refreshing breeze into the kitchen and lounge was too beautiful to give up.  In cold weather, there were two little doors covering the window stopping any draughts.

 We installed central heating and air-conditioning as well as a wood-burning fire with glass door and fan. We added ceiling fans in both bedrooms and as Louie has never professed to be a DIY expert, we found a local electrician to install them.  The workman rang several times to say he couldn’t find the address and he was totally lost.  He eventually turned up 90 minutes late.  He was rather irritable, swearing to himself in Spanish and jumping up and down the ladder, then going back and forth to his van, huffing and puffing at every opportunity.  Eventually the work was completed to our satisfaction apart from a hole in the plaster around the ceiling fittings which we overlooked as we were due to decorate.  He charged an hourly fee, so when he presented the bill, we were astonished when he tried to charge us for the 90 minutes it had taken him to find us.  Maps were easily available in local hotels and the tourist office.  He also charged for 4 screws he used from his tool box as the ones supplied with the fans were not long enough!

All the bedrooms needed then were new sliding wardrobe doors, so we used a local shop which sent professionals to swiftly measure up and replaced the old wooden doors with mirrored ones for each bedroom.  So the place was taking shape at last.

 The interior doors were a deep shade of red a colour chosen by the Irish tenants.  They were badly scratched by what can only have been their poor dog locked in the rooms at various times.  So we took the advice of the builder who built the boundary wall and purchased new pine interior doors from Villajoysa, supposedly cheaper, being a typical Spanish village.  The local shops in Albir seemed to price things with the tourists and ex-pats in mind.

            When lying awake in bed, the silence was broken by a gnawing sound coming from the curtain poles.  Eventually holes appeared in the poles, so fumigation and woodworm treatment were added to the long list of renovations.

The beams in the lounge were a wishy washy shade of brown, so a coat of black paint made them stand out.

            The room in most need of reformation was the kitchen, including all plumbing and electrics. For spite, we presumed, a previous tenant had drilled small holes in the base of the kitchen sink, making it constantly leak into the cupboard below, rendering it useless to store soap powder etc.  The water became stagnant if the bucket under the sink wasn’t changed daily, and the kitchen always smelt musty.