When we bought the house in Olvera it was furnished and just needed some TLC to make it properly habitable again. Nothing major, just a lick of paint here and there. We had that all done before we even went out for the first time. But the house had been empty and a bit unloved for about a decade and we wanted to put our stamp on it. There wasn’t/isn’t much to be done but it’s documented here anyway.
Just bear in mind that the oldest posts are first. If you want to read it in chronological order, start at the top and work down.
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The Lower Terrace
A little bit of history… Right in the middle of a pandemic, a couple of months before Brexit, we decided to buy a house in Spain. We quickly narrowed the search to Olvera and had a short list of 4 or 5 houses. Knowing nothing about anything, we put our trust in the estate agent…
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The Roof Terrace
A little bit more history… This house had been empty and unused for several years. The photos we saw were taken when it was first put on the market. In these white towns, the render and paint used is chalky and not long lasting. It needs a freshen up every few years. So our roof…
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The Woodburner
Olvera gets hot. In the summer, it gets very hot. But in the winter, Olvera can get very cold. Especially at night when the swing in temperature will take you from sitting outside a bar in a shirt during the day to shivering in your bed at night. The altitude and lack of cloud cover…
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The Basement
Until we visited for the first time, the basement was a complete unknown quantity. When we got there we were greeted by years’ worth of junk and neglect. The floor was (we think) very compacted earth. The walls were crumbling. It has 2 generations of old kitchen cabinets and a collection of old tools, paint,…
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The Front Doors
The front doors on the house are solid wood and very in keeping with the houses in the town. But, like a lot in the house, years of not being cared for had taken their toll so they were a bit battered looking. We first asked for them to be replaced but Anne-Marie persuaded us…
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The Lounge
We’re just back from trip number 3. When we bought the house, it was furnished. Not really our cup of tea but it meant that we had just about everything we needed to start using the place. The place had been empty for (we reckon) about 8 years. We had someone go in and paint from…
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Technology
At home in the UK, we have just about everything automated using a Raspberry Pi and a package called Home Assistant. Without going into too much detail, The Pi has a USB stick that talks to things like bulbs, plugs, sensors and the heating. Lights come on when the light level drops to a certain…
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The Seismograph
Andalusia is relatively active in terms of seismic activity. I’ve seen a couple of reports in the Facebook group for Olvera where people are talking about feeling something and one where people were reporting the windows properly rattling. I like technology and I thought it would be a bit of fun to put a seismograph…
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The New Cooker!
When we came over for the first time in September 2021, we did a trip to the supermarket and came back with some pizzas – nice and easy to cook. Put the oven on and 5 minutes later the electrics for the house tripped. Pizza done in the frying pan isn’t great thing! We tried…
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House Front
Visit 6…. After 3 visits we reckoned we were just about done with the bits and bobs we wanted to do on the house. A year later and just at the end of our 6th visit we’re still doing odd jobs here and there. I don’t think it’ll actually ever be finished but it is…