Before Christmas, harking back to our flood in the hall last January, we thought it would be a good idea while the weather was still mild and dry to locate the mains cable under ground and do something fancy with pipes and drainage ditches to direct the rain water flowing through the ducting away from the cottage.
How hard could it be? After all, I took a couple of photos when the builders were laying the cable. Both pictures show the red netting that is laid in the trench so that anyone digging has an early warning of what lies beneath.
Where the cable passes in front of the cottage we now have a concrete pathway. And that's also the same territory where the pipe to our septic tank goes, not to mention the rainwater from the gutters to our large underground tank. So to dig in that area seemed like folly and we moved to higher ground, using the right hand photo for guidance which shows the trench dug from the electricity pole diagonally across what used to be Serge's land, down the slope towards the cottage.
SEVEN holes later, we are still no nearer finding the cable!
It looks like the Time Team* has taken over. We expect to bump into Tony Robinson and a camera crew any day now.
And we now understand why it is the builders we asked to do the work for us have all been unexpectedly busy.
* Programme on British TV that follows archaeological digs over a three day period. Tony Robinson is the presenter.
Deep joy!
ReplyDeleteWhen we were renovating the last house, water pipes had to pass under the floor from front to back of the house. Our Turkish builder watched the plumber (French) at work and said that we should make a scale plan there and then for when, not if, there was a problem with the joints and not to tile the floors for six months.
He was right, there was a problem, but thanks to the plan we knew where to break up the floor.
Outside though is another problem....reminds me of the first world war cartoon 'what made those 'oles? Mice.?
Hello Fly, how wise of your builder! I thought taking a photo would be enough, but no. So many things I know NOW about what we should have done!!! Love the cartoon. Just off to hoover the bits of tinsel up from the lounge floor. The decorations are down.
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