Our electricity was recently cut off by ENEL for non-payment of bills. We hadn't paid because we hadn't received any bills!
KarenSheffield's activity
Questions Asked
We are having our outside staircase renovated - at the moment it is all in rather rough concrete which is crumbling. Out builder has sent us details of the work this involves.
Sat, 02/23/2013 - 13:23
We are having our outside staircase renovated - at the moment it is all in rather rough concrete which is crumbling. Out builder has sent us details of the work this involves.
Sat, 02/23/2013 - 13:23
We have had problems when hiring a car in Italy - they seem to deduct random credit card payments for imaginary accidents and traffic violations. However, it is a long way from Sheffield to Basilicata. Is there anybody who had cone this?
Sat, 11/17/2012 - 09:41
Our house is ready, but there is still no water connection, despite myriad requests and a variety of excuses from the water board- software problems, short staffed, August, wrong kind of water etc.
Sat, 08/20/2011 - 10:43
The property is an ancient wine vault that was used for making and storing wine. It is part of a terrace of similar structures built into the hillside, with cantinas underneath.
Wed, 07/06/2011 - 10:33
Hooray! Our house is finished! Well, apart from the water connection...
Mon, 07/04/2011 - 15:30
Our wine vault in Grottole is being renovated. The plastering has been done, kitchen and bathroom installed, but still no electricity or water connections.
Fri, 05/27/2011 - 12:35
These photos show our house in Grottole, an ancient wine vault, and some views of the village.
Wed, 04/06/2011 - 11:24
Comments posted
I can't believe it takes so long to get the water connected! Although the building is an old wine vault and has never had a water connection, the house next door has water, so it's not as if the water company has to lay miles of piping. It's really frustrating having a house and not being able to stay in it.
In the bar of the local village, you never get a receipt. There is no menu with prices, and no price list for beverages. If you have a cappuccino you just leave 1€ on the counter. I have a feeling all this is illegal- am I right?
Do you really want aluminium shutters? They are horrible! Especially on an older house- can't you fit wooden ones?
Belgium's national day is 21st July. Can't think of anything else it might have been, except, as you suggest, assuming of EU presidency, but this is hardly something to celibrate in the current climate, what with Geece and now Portugal going down the tubes!
I have lived and worked in both Bologna and Forli, and both are fantastic. And great for shopping, all the designer shops - Max Mara was my favourite- plus specialised shops, like the one in Bologna selling hand-printed tablecloths - tovaglie romagnole. And you are within easy reach of the coast: Marina Marittima is nice, and I have a soft spot for Rimini, no longer synonymous with mass tourism, in fact quite chic. But couldn't afford a house there... that's why we've bought in Basilicata.
Our handover date is 25th June - we are very excited! Unfortunately there will not be any water. Apparently the water board has new software which isn't working so are unable to process requests. Or maybe it's the wrong kind of water... Anyway, the upshot is that we won't have any water of any kind, but we were sort of expecting that. Everything else, including furniture, should be in place. Will post photos of renovated wine vault when we get back.
I too enjoyed the film, although I thought the last half hour about the charcoal burners did drag a little. Watching wood smoulder is only marginally more interesting than watching paint dry. The dog was a real star though!
Thanks for that, Alan, I will look into it. Obviously solar power would be preferable- free energy! but I'm not sure if a dehimidifier like this would be powerful enough for this large vaulted space.
Whoops - yes, I see the problem! What would we plug the dehumidifier thing into? We've only met our next door neighbour once, so I don't think we can really pop round and ask to borrow her electricity for a few months. However, we can still buy a dehumidifier, and hopefully we can get the property management company we are going to use to plug it in as and when the connections are in place. We have been told that we need a self-draining - autodrenante - model so there is no need to keep emptying the reservoir. It will have to be an industrial strength model as, although the property is a single space and only 55 m2, the ceilings are very high- about 3.6 metres at the sides and 4 metres at the highest point of the vault, so that makes ... er, a lot of cubic metres (my maths is hopeless). So many things to think about.
Well, the timbers have now arrived, the new made-to-measure window is on its way, and we have a nadover date set for June 25th! We are getting seriously excited. The problem is that there is no guarantee the electricity and water connections will be in place, so we are not planning to stay in our new house, we will just set up the humidifier and come back in September. Only three weeks!