Kitchen Plumbing
In July, we had to repair a plumbing issue in the kitchen, which we wrote about here: Kitchen Plumbing Issue.
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| Repair from July |
Well, a couple weeks ago the leak returned, at the same spot where it had been repaired. We called our plumber, and unfortunately it was during a holiday weekend so he wasn't able to come for about 4 days. In the meantime, we kept towels on the floor and turned off the water supply when we could. When he came, the water was no longer leaking. We knew we wanted to fix the issue, but since it was not leaking anymore, we didn't think it was that urgent. Of course, the day after he left it started leaking again. We had to wait a few more days for him to come back because of other work that he had.
We had a couple options for the repair. The current plumbing is under the tile floor and about 3 inches of cement, which means it is quite the hassle to do a repair. The current plumbing is not of the best quality so we knew we wanted to put in new pipes. We could either cut out a new channel in the tile floor and run the new plumbing beside the old plumbing - but still it would be under the tile floor - or run the plumbing outside and around part of the house and through the wall and behind the cabinet drawers.
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| One option was to lay new plumbing under the tile, next to the current plumbing. |
We decided on going around the house so that any future problem (if there is one) would be much easier to repair. Since we are planning, at some point, to put down new flooring in the kitchen we didn't want the possibility of a plumbing issue where we would have to dig up the new floor.
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| Water supply cut off to the old plumbing |
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| New pipe added to the main feed |
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| Up... |
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| around... |
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| and in. |
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| New plumbing goes from the wall, behind the cabinets, and to the sink. |
The plumber did a great job and is almost done. He installed the new plumbing for the hot water line and will come back to install the cold water line.
Internet
We have WiFi at the house that everyone can share. A couple weeks back I was checking the speed of the internet and was getting much slower results than what we were paying for. I called the company and they wanted me to send them evidence of the speed we were getting. So I emailed them the documentation. After a couple emails I didn't hear back from the person who was helping me. I called the next day and told them the situation and they said they would put in a service request. Well, I never heard from anyone so I called again another day and didn't get anywhere with that person either.
When Augusto went to pay the internet bill I told him to ask them about the service and to tell them that we weren't getting the speed we were paying for. They told him that we needed an upgraded modem and that someone would bring it by the next day. I was thinking we were finally getting somewhere. The technicians came the next day as expected and replaced our modem. Before they left I made sure it was getting the appropriate internet speed. It was. Hannah and I went to have lunch and buy some groceries for the Guesthouse. When we returned we did not have internet. I looked at the "new" modem they had given us and it was quite used. I couldn't even read most of the labels on the front of the device. I was a little upset. I called the company and they said they would send out a technician the next morning.
The technician came and couldn't get it to work. He called his office and they did some sort of diagnostic and decided the modem was no good. I asked the technician why the other technician would give my a used/faulty modem if we were trying to upgrade/improve our performance? He didn't have an answer and actually wondered where the other technician got the equipment. He told me they didn't have any new equipment to give out and that they were waiting on more to arrive. He said more would arrive on Tuesday and that another technician would come to install it. On Tuesday he showed up but for some reason wasn't in on any of the previous communication and did not have new equipment for us. He did the exact same thing that the previous tech did and of course figured out the modem was no good. He called the office and they said that Wednesday (the next day) the equipment would arrive. Well Wednesday came and went and they didn't have the equipment. They told me today (Thursday) they would have the equipment but they called earlier and said they don't have it but that it would be in on Monday.
I would have already cancelled and switched to another internet provider, but it is a hassle to cancel a service here and since I had my hopes up that they would follow through on their word, I kept waiting. But now, I think it's time to make a change.
Fortunately, we've been able to use someone's open WiFi network in order to get a few things done. But the signal is not super strong and definitely not adequate for a house full of guests.
Update (November 17, 2015) We have internet fully functioning again! We have stayed with the same internet company; now we have a new modem and it is working properly. Because of the delay in getting internet working again, last Friday I went to the office of another internet provider to ask about getting service with them. The company is the same one we use for our home phone service. With that company we would have been able to get internet service, however, it would have been at a slow speed because our phone line is so old and the technology doesn't support faster speeds. We had the option of getting a new phone line in order to get the higher internet speeds, but that would mean a new phone number. I wasn't interested in a new phone number since so many people know our current one.
Since our current company was supposedly going to be coming on Monday (yesterday) with a new modem I decided to wait to make a decision on the other service. Fortunately, they did show up. However, when the tech showed up he did not have a modem with him. I couldn't believe it. I asked him why he didn't have it and he said that his service order did not mention that. How frustrating. I told him that he was now the 3rd different technician to come without a new modem, and that we had been waiting over a week for a new one. He apologized and said he would go back to the office and get one. I had my doubts but he came back about 45 minutes later and installed it. Finally!
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