Italian Life..Plumber

Ok  as promised a little story about the plumbing in our current abode..which is situated in a beautiful part of this incredible country.

Some weeks ago we noticed the water in the toilets was not really flushing away as normal..taking a long time to reduce to its normal levels.We rent the property from an old farmer and we told him about the problem.."Oh " he said  "That,s funny,never done that before" was his considered reply.

Two weeks ago nothing had been done about it so we pressed the case as one of the toilets was now inoperable.We requested a plumber.And while the plumber was here could he also fix another thermostat to the lower part of the house in order to control the central heating.

Righto.. a plumber eventually arrives.not on the arranged day but one must be grateful for small mercies.

Lots of drilling takes place..some shower tiles are smashed..but no one will notice..and a cable is now draped across the study wall in the lower part of the house..The plumber had run out of conduit..ok.

Now to fix the blocked toilet system..he cannot find a blockage..or the underground access entry..usually a steel plate embedded in the surrounds of the house..nothing..nada..no sign of anything.
Anyway he will call the owner and come back to finish the work with the thermostat..repair the tiles..bring some conduit..plaster the holes from his drilling.

He will be here on Friday at 8.

On Saturday he calls to say he will be late..can he come on Monday..Sure we say.

In the meantime..the owner and his son arrive to find the missing sewer cover.

You may need to sit at this point.

There is no sign of one  anywhere.We have been here for two years now and have made a field into a manicured lawn. It has taken a lot oi hard work and expertise

They dig around with sharp tools and find the cover..  six inches below the lawn.

The son goes back to the farm for some equipment and his aged father proceeds to make the lawn resemble the trenches in the Somme....piles of earth and destroyed grass...but there it is in all of its glory..the elusive manhole cover.


With some ceremony the heavy concrete slab is prised open to reveal a perfectly functioning septic tank..never been attended to since the house was built fifty years ago.. and everyone was under the impression we were connected to a main sewer system..but working perfectly..Whoops of delight..all the toilets were flushed to watch the cascade of water...nothing.

Mystery...  where was the flushed water going..hmmm

More digging..more lawn destroyed..then viola .. another man hole cover..prised open...  it is stuffed to the brim with fifty years of material..A high powered hose is brought in to clear it..more flushes..no water..more digging..more lawn destroyed..another manhole cover..also stuffed full ..more clearing..and now everything is working perfectly..except for the lawn..  which is piled up in a corner of the garden and a stench that has enveloped the house.

Job done...The old Farmer and his son move off back to their farm house and we try to live with the smell...then we try out the new thermostat.

Our property is classical country Italian country house..with main living and sleeping area on the upper floor with a study and large hallway and bathroom downstairs.It was our intention to control the heating seperately in each of the areas..one for upstairs..one for down stairs..not too tricky..
We now have two radiators upstairs working and one down stairs..or if you switch to upstairs control  two other radiators upstairs and one down stairs.   The absolute opposite of what we asked for....The plumber is arriving at eight am tomorrow....

...and due to the incessant flushing the downstairs toilet constantly lets water flow from the cistern into the bowl..but if you remove the top and jiggle some plastic pieces around it eventually stops...cold and wet hands ..but hey  who cares..