Today I ordered our phone and Internet . We were trying to go through some guys that would get it done…but they weren’t getting it done. Surprise surprise. I called PRT (Puerto Rico Telephone Company) this morning, we have a $7.95 phone line getting installed as well as a 2mg download and a 1mg upload speed for the low low installation price of $50. Too bad we couldn’t work with just the Internet (and no power), we would have saved $10,000.
The only downfall that I have seen so far, is that the Puerto Rico Telephone companies website is all spanish without an “english” option. Oh well, time to learn how to pay our bill in spanish (just like the water company)! The DMax (Puerto Rico DSL) logo, also in Spanish, translates to English from Spanish to “Internet without Borders”)
Hurricane Dean skirted passed Puerto Rico on Saturday pouring rain and minor wind on the Ponce side of the island but was more like a severe thunderstorm for the than a hurricane. Dean continued to gain strength as it headed directly for Jamaica. Jamaica is through the storm now, although I can’t find a lot of news about the category 4 hurricane, Jamaica must be worked. It is so poverty stricken I can’t imagine all those shanty’s surviving the storm.
Now Hurricane Dean is heading to the Yucatan Peninsula just south of Cancun.
The good news is, we have surf. Hurricane Dean is passing just south of us right now, some of the cities on the South side of the island like Ponce are getting some wind and rain, but we haven’t had to deal with much here. We have had moderate gusts for the past two days but nothing I would associate with a hurricane.
Yesterday morning I surfed some waist high clean surf for about an hour and my arms were shot…I am out of surf shape big time. After a couple hours of work, I went back out just to get wet again and the sets started stacking. It was head high plus and lined up…not too crowded but the current was ripping down the beach. By the time I paddled in I had to paddle against the current on the inside to get to a safe, urchin free, in/out spot on the reef.
This morning, the surf has some morning sickness (that is why I am writing this post) with the low tide and the wind…but it is overhead on the sets.
Stefan just called and the electric company has finally flipped the switch and given our house electricity. Yay! Just in time for the hurricane that is supposed to hit on Saturday and that will probably knock out the power…
I just read Summers post and read about something I already knew (that Kuta makes her smile). It is funny that she talked about how great Kuta dog is because he was running the show again today. I was so proud of him, he was showing Monkey how to manage the excavator.
Monkey Running the Show
Unfortunately, this is when we ran into some problems. Once the excavator was finished with all of his work today, Jerry and I noticed that the Water Meter was still running…even though we didn’t have any water on anywhere on the property. This could only mean one thing, a broken pipe, but where. Our water main runs 278ft from our front property line to the front of the house. The line is 4ft deep and if you watched this excavation video you know that our land is all rock and rock hard packed dirt. Impossible to dig with a shovel, we need to use a pick for everything. This is when Kuta stepped in and helped Monkey get out of the bind she got us into.
We spoke with the excavator and talked him into blowing off his next job (for a fee $) until tomorrow so he could help us dig up the property in search of a leaky pipe. I grabbed some PVC glue and plugged off the line about 3/4 the way to the house (where we installed a spicket), turned on the water and the meter came to a stop after filling up the line. By process of elimination, that left us the 70ft to the house to inspect. Instead of painstakingly digging up the old pipe, the excavator dug another trench while I ran to the Fronteria (two of them, the first place was out) and grabbed 1” PVC pipe, a couple of couplings, elbows and some more Primer/Glue.
The Second Water Main Trench to our House
That pretty much solved the problem, but it took an extra 4 hours with the CAT excavator and put us a day behind on framing the foundation for our blue stone plant boxes that are going to run the length of the porch (minus stone steps through the planter). Jerry’s goal is to have the entire foundation layed, block built, steps built and just getting started on the blue rock facade that we are going to buy from the local quarry before Summer gets to the house on Wednesday night.
Monkeys saving grace today was instructing the Excavator to dig two four foot wide and four foot deep trenches at the top of where we cut into the earth for our flat front yard and one at the bottom. She then had the Excavator drop all of the rock and brown stone from those holes in the woods and replace the rock with fertile topsoil from down by the cabrata (stream). This will allow us some easier digging, planting and growing when we start planting the hell out of some lush vegetation afterwhich we will start watering it with our non-leaky water main which has spicket about every 100 feet down our property to the house (run on sentences are legal in Puerto Rico).
We are leveling off a decent part of the slope that is in front of our house.
This is going to help with drainage issues. The property slope causes water to flow right into the side of the house, which can be bad since the 1st floor is partially underground. So, this new excavation will allow us to plant a lush front yard and grass and the water flow will be directed away from the house. Two birds with one stone, baby…
Kuta running the show
And finally some video (it is very exciting to watch)
I’m flying into San Juan, PR on 8/21 at 7PM, where I’m going to meet Stefan, who flys out of San Juan on 8/22 at 4:30pm. I’m going to drive our truck back to Rincon on 8/22, after Stefan flys out (he’s doing biz in Oklahoma) and kick it with Kuta and Monkey for a few days. I’ll pick Stefan up at the San Juan airport on 8/27 at 9:30pm (unless he can catch a hopper flight to Ponce), drive back to Rincon and chill for a few days. Then I’m flying out of Aguadilla at 5:30am on 9/1, back to San Diego for work…
Jerry and I have been working hard the past couple of days working the electric company (trying to get our meter installed) and laying out the excavation work for the front yard. With all this going on, I didn’t realize that a tropical storm formed off of the Cape Verde Islands and is strengthening. Like most small towns, everyone is talking about Puerto Rico being “due” for a big storm…they haven’t had a big one since Hurricane George back in 1998. Everyone seems to be a weather expert, especially when they are talking to the “New Guy” in town (that’s me). None of these “dooms day’rs” know that I grew up with Hurricanes in New Jersey and dealt with them all through college in Wilmington North Carolina.
Things are a little different though, Summer and I now own a house and it isn’t as easy as moving to a new rental if it gets wrecked. However, our house survived Hurricane George (105 knot winds) with absolutely no damage. I am confident in our house and the good news is, at least we can’t loose power…we still don’t have it.
Check out Tropical Storm Dean gaining strength in the Atlantic. You can see the storm path has it heading towards Puerto Rico, but there is a lot of time for things to happen between now and Saturday (estimated landfall); Wind Shear, Northern Tracking, Barometric Pressure Rising….if all goes well, the hurricane will track a couple hundred miles north of us and give us some long overdue surf.
I shot two videos of the house yesterday…one starting out front covering the great room, the kitchen, the guest bedroom and the guest bathroom. The second covers the great room, back porch, master bedroom, master closet and master bathroom.
I originally had a really hard time getting them online. I tried to upload the two separate videos to YouTube but they were too big. So, I jumped into a program Summer told me about that comes with all Apples. It is called iMovie. Once I figured out how to edit these two movies together (not seamless by any means) I then exported it (File-Export-Streaming) and compressed it and it uploaded to YouTube in like 2 seconds. Much better than the 20 minutes I waited to get shot down by them before. But I digress…check out the walkthrough…on one video.
Theoretically, it seems more logical to me to spend money on energy efficient and gas powered appliances now rather than have astronomical electric bills down the line once we are settled in. Every appliance we have purchased has either been an energy efficient appliance or an appliance powered by propane.
I really wanted to have tank less propane hot water heater but don’t know too much about them. I have been doing research and reading customer reviews of On Demand Hot Water Heaters and think I found the one we are going to purchase. If any of you know anything about Propane On Demand Tankless Heaters….please speak now before we make this big purchase!
Rheem Tankless Water Heater RTG-74PVP-1, Indoor Use
Rheem tankless water heaters combine new technology and functionality in an innovative way to heat water. The result - you now have a greater choice of award-winning Rheem products designed to give you comfort. Our tankless water heaters are designed to enhance your lifestyle, utilize advanced technology for energy efficiency, and supply a continuous flow of low cost hot water whenever and wherever you need it.
Rheem Tankless Water Heater RTG-74PVP-1, Indoor Use Features:
• UMC-117 remote control is included and can be set from the out-of-the-box 120 degrees - up to 140 degree maximum
• EZ-Link™ cable connects two tankless units or operate as one - now available for high demand applications
• Guardian SBT™ sensing burner technology
• Gardian OFW™ overheat film wrap
• Two high-altitude options - up to 6, 560 or 9, 840 ft. elevations above sea level
• All Rheem tankless models are third-party certified by GAMA
• All Rheem tankless models qualify for up to a $300 federal energy tax credit
• All Rheem models can be linked in up to 20 unite manifold installations by using the optional MIC-180 and MICS-180 manifold control assembly
• Continuous hot water
• Energy saving design
• Compact design saves space.
• Intelligent electronic controls designed to increase energy efficiency and safety.
• Self diagnostic program
• Built-in electric blower
• Uses Catagory III stainless steel vents and vent horizontally or vertically
• Supplied with a 120 volt power cord
• Enviornmentally friendly Low NOx burner meets SCAQMD rule 1146 requirements
• Digital display shows temperature setting and maintenance codes
• 10-Year Limited Warranty on Heat Exchanger, 3-Year Limited Warranty on Parts
• Optional additional remote controls are available
Rheem Tankless Water Heater RTG-74PVP-1, Indoor Use Specifications:
• Uses Propane
• Type - Indoor
• Gas Input BTU/HR - 19,000 - 199,900
• Temp. Range - 100° to 140°
• GPM @ 77° Rise MAX - 4.3
• GPM @ 45° Rise MAX - 7.4
• Connection - Water 3/4″, Gas 3/4″
• Height - 25-3/8″
• Width - 14-7/8″
• Depth - 11-1/8″
• Vent Diameter - 4″
Proper gas pressure must be ensured to supply tankless gas water heaters - up to 118,000 BTU for RTG2-42 models, up to 145,000 BTU for RTG-53 models, and up to 199,900 BTU for RTG-74 models. (Consult your gas supplier)
Today I ordered our phone and Internet . We were trying to go through some guys that would get it done…but they weren’t getting it done. Surprise surprise. I called PRT (Puerto Rico Telephone Company) this morning, we have a $7.95 phone line getting installed as well as a 2mg download and a 1mg upload speed for the low low installation price of $50. Too bad we couldn’t work with just the Internet (and no power), we would have saved $10,000. 
The only downfall that I have seen so far, is that the Puerto Rico Telephone companies website is all spanish without an “english” option. Oh well, time to learn how to pay our bill in spanish (just like the water company)! The DMax (Puerto Rico DSL) logo, also in Spanish, translates to English from Spanish to “Internet without Borders”)
