Spanish Properties

Winter Chills in Spanish built properties

As can be expected this time of the year, just about everybody is going to suffer from damp and freezing cold villas – apartments – duplexes – or where ever it is you live because the Spanish building expertise is not quite up to scratch. Changeable weather patterns make sure of that. The main cause of this can be put down to humidity.

    My wife and I live in a three bedroom apartment, with all the mod cons one finds in the UK, but and it’s a big but, now that we are into the middle of November the sun doesn’t hit our side of the apartment anymore and it will be like this right up until early next May – June time.

Fortunately we have a propane gas heater (stuffa) which throws off a tremendous amount of heat and with all the interior doors open, will take the chill off to a comfortable heat level.

    Unfortunately and for some reason that I cannot work out, there is no insulation in the brickwork. Spanish builders don’t use insulation materials? There is no cavity wall insulation; in fact there is no insulation period, anywhere in the whole apartment block of some 21 individual homes and it’s like this all over Spain.  Double glazing seems to attract moisture to come creeping in – which in turn produces an invasion of black evil smelling spores which cover the inside walls. And the only way to alleviate - but just until they decide to attack again – is washing the walls with a diluted mixture of domestos and warm water. This household product will hold the little critters at bay for a while.

    We have very efficient air-con units in every room and during winter we put them to good use. The good use I refer to is that this might be only a temporary measure because with practically everyone else switching on their air-con units, the inevitability is a power outage. Last winter I had fun breaking the ice from off the outside faucet before I could use it to wash the ever present red dust that seems to appear overnight. A lot of people seem to think that moving to live in Spain is just what the doctor ordered and there is no doubt that my arthritis is not as bad as it used to be in the UK, but now its back again and will be until it becomes warmer next spring. Spain in spring – summer and fall can be and usually is very nice and a distinct pleasure to revel in the life giving sunshine, but when winter rears its ugly head, its not so good.