Just something really to think about..............

Hi

I though it would be a good idea to set up two new threads as hopefully we are getting nearer to completion, and any advice would be useful

Janice

Here is a copy of my post about air con on one of the other boards: " I looked into this a little while back and found out the following: several specialist air con companies i spoke to quoted me around €2000 to €2500 for wall units in the two beds and the living room with 2 to 3 external compressors and around €3500 for a fully ducted system but you have to add the cost of constructing the false ceilings for this, a fully ducted system looks neater with no visible units and only one compressor outside the apartment. I also looked at the local electrical superstore (there is one in La Canada cant remember the name exactly but i think Boulanger) who quoted me around €1500 for 3 wall units and 2/3 external compressors. All units quoted have heat pumps which you will need for winter. Hope this helps. Regards Raj."

Hi,

 

anyone from Don Juan 11 out there?   We are in b.5 and visited last week.  The hatch between kitchen abd living area  has not been cut out and as they have tiled and wired it looks as if they do not intend doing so even though it is in the plans.  we contacted  Perla but have not heard back.  Anyone else with this problem?

Love tohear from you!

Deerpark(Monica)

Dear Janmet,

 

Thank you very much for the info.I will let you know how we get on.  I really want that hatch as I would hate to be cut off from the living area while cooking.  Have you got a completion date?Monica (deerpark)

I am all in favour in working together to save money where we can. With Air Conditioning there is more to take into account than just the price:
Appearance: AC units are never pretty but we don't want to spoil the look of our lovely new appartment so will want to buy the least ugly one we can find.
Noise: Obviously we want the least noisy one as well!
Efficiency: you can save up to 40% of energy cost by going for the latest Inverter type systems. They are slightly more expensive but worth it.
Effectiveness: We've stayed in enough appartments to know how much the AC systems vary - from a really good ducted system with outlets in every room to just one unit just above our bed which meant we were cold while everyone else was roasted!
For this reason I will want good advice on what to fit and was intending to contact someone like www.airmagic.es - who from their website look to be very professional. I have also had a personal recommendation for a guy called Chris who trades as Costa Cool Air tel 0034 6601 57934. 

Shower Screens: I know there's no door on the shower in the show appartment but thought the builder would fit these. Does anyone know if this is the case?

Sky TV We were told when we bought that the appartments are pre wired to bring the signal down from a communal dish on the roof. Having said that we were also told that there was access from the "private" gardens to the communal gardens so I don't know for sure if this is the case.

Hi Davmunster,

I agree with everything you say about air conditioning and will be interested in any further info you get such as makes and models that fit in with the features you mentioned.

With regard to shower screens I don't know whether the builder is obliged to fit them or not but I did notice them listed in some furniture packages I was looking at.

Indeed is it specified anywhere in the contract that a fitted kitchen will be provided as well as outdoor pools and all the other features originally advertised as coming with the development? If not then I figure the builder has an out!

Further food for thought is a comment elsewhere on this site re obligatory solar panels in all new buildings in Spain - this is a copy:

"Watch out for the solar revolution! From October of this year, new building regulations mean that the owners of new buildings have to have solar panels fitted. The regulations apply to new buildings of more than 3,000 square metres but I expect to see these filter down in due course. From where I am sitting, Spain is going to become famous for its solar powers over the next three to five years. Everywhere you look you are going to see black solar panels - shops, hospitals, the lot. I am told that there are going to be five million fitted over the next five years. If you are buying a new home, talk to your developer – a typical 100 square metre home will need two, two square metre panels at a cost of about 2,000 euros. When you come to resell a few years down the line, I think your buyers will expect to see them fitted as standard by then"

 

Hi davmunster, i take your point about the air con and more research is needed in this field. Looking back in my files i did get a quote from Costa Cool Air and this came to 2400 euros for 3 units i am quite sure the units he mentioned back then were the inverter types. As far as aesthetics is concerned i think any a/c compressor unit will look ugly but the best we can do is paint the casing in the same colour as the external walls of the apartments i have seen this on other developments and disguises the units pretty well.

From my understanding shower screens are not fitted by the developers and is something we have to do ourselves personally seeing that the second bathroom is a fair size i cant understand why the developers have a put a standard size shower tray. I am thinking of ripping it out and putting in a slightly bigger one.

Just noticed antenna's (not dishes) on every building in phase I. Don't have a clue about their purpose. Anyone?

Hi Max,

I think that they will be for receiving Spanish TV.

Could well be Andy. Wasn't mentioned in the brochures afaik. Does suggest that there are more Spanish buyers than we know of (or Spanish-centric thinking by the developer)

Here are some replies I got from local air con companies that I got from this new website called www.freshdirectory.com

My question was: I will shortly be completing on an off plan apartment in the Fuengirola area. I have a 2 bedroom apartment, so will be looking to fit air con/heating units in the 2 bedrooms and the living area. Can you email me a price for the units including installation costs. Can you tell me how to find out the noise levels of the units. Also how long would they take to install.
At the moment, we are putting together a community within the complex. If I were to get a number of other people on the complex together who also wanted air con/heating installed, what sort of discount would you give.
 

These are the 2 replies.

1st reply:

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ENQUIRY.

I NEED TO ASK A FEW QUESTIONS...DOES THE APARTMENT HAVE PRE- INSTALLATION??WHAT ARE THE SIZES OF THE ROOMS. IF YOU COULD EMAIL ME A FLOOR PLAN SKETCH WITH SIZES IT WOULD HELP.THE MORE EXPENSIVE THE UNIT THE LOWER THE NOISE LEVEL, ALSO CHEAPER RUNNING COSTS. THE MINIMUM DB. LEVEL IS 22 AND THE AVERAGE IS 30.

BACK TO BACK INSTALLATION WOULD TAKE ONE DAY AND PRE INSTALLATION TWO DAYS.

WILL YOU BE USING THE APARTMENT PERSONALLY OR RENTING IT OUT . QUESTION BEING DO YOU WANT AN EXPENSIVE OR CHEAP UNIT. THE DISCOUNT YOU WOULD GET IS NO. TAX AND NO INSTALLATION FEE. YOU WOULD HAVE TO LET ME KNOW HOW MANY APARTMENTS IN THE COMPLEX WITH REGARD A BULK DISCOUNT.

IF YOU HAVE ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS DONT HESITATE TO EMAIL ME OR CALL ME ON 953 63 10 62. Cherie piscaer piscaer@hotmail.com

REGARDS
LUC

2nd reply:

Three individual machines would cost from €1,800 and depending upon the size of the rooms, this price includes installation, 2 years guarantee and IVA.  The noise level of these type of machines is 28 dba.  One day would be needed for installation of all three machines.

The discount would be based upon the number of orders placed at the same time and deposits received.

For a 12 x 6 metre Pool we would fit a 32kw Heat pump at a cost of €6,000 installed this is an air to water heat pump with a cop of 5.2 and would cost €6.00 a day running cost.  This would take a day to install.

Regards

Jeffrey King M.Inst.R.
Compass Airconditioning SC
compasairconditioning@msn.com

Hope this may be of some help.

Westport

We visited a TV shop while in spain, they informed us that all new properties by law now have to have Sky ready system installed during building.That is probably what the aerials are for that were observed by Max.

Did they mean SKY or digital? as SKY primarily i would imagine is only for British viewers (dont think the Spanish are too bothered about having sky) also the aerials on the roof look like ordinary TV aerials. To receive SKY in Spain you need a huge dish (much much bigger then the dishes we have in Britain) as without this the signal cannot be received. This topic was raised some time ago with Perla at the developers office who stated that there will be space on the roof top for a sky dish but that this would be something for the community as a whole to decide upon after the completion!

Hi

We spoke to a sky TV installer who stated all new properties have to be Sky ready by law now. The installer said we would need a 1.3 metre sky dish with an individual cost of 350 euros per apartment (one dish would supply all apartments in one block) We were surprised that the cost per apartment would not be any less if everyone clubbed together for the initial outlay. I think we need to do a bit more research. Digiboxes are very expensive in Spain 200 euros compared to approx £30 in England and he said should work fine in Spain.

Janice

Might be an idea to have 1 dish up on the roof feeding all apartments as a big dish on the terrace will look ugly and then buy or bring your old digi box from UK. I assume the 350 per apartment quoted includes a supplied digi box? My friends have done just that and the box works fine however they have the dish on the terrace and its big and ugly! If what this chaps says is correct then maybe we can expect the developers to install the dish on the roof soon.

Hi Janmet,

Thanks a million for all the great photos and information, I am reading all the information with great interest,

Was the weather good when you were there, it looked very wet.

Thanks again

Eoin

The site was very wet from the recent heavy rainfalls. We were there for 8days and it was around 25deg it only rained for one day. The day we went onsite we were there a very long time it was a beautiful day and the whole atmosphere was very peaceful and relaxing. We did'nt want to leave and it made us all the more keen to have completion as soon as possible.

Sorry to disappoint you RG but the price did not include digibox. but on a more positive note this was only one guy in Fuengirola so needs a bit more research

I agree RG with the large dish on the roof concept. We need a large dish to pick up Sky in Spain  and 1 will feed the whole block. There is provision for a dish but the Community will have to have them installed. Each apartment has an aerial socket which I assume leads to the roof. We need to get the Community to do a lot of things so we need to make sure we all attend the initial community meeting and use our votes!
You can bring a digibox and Sky card from the UK. This is strictly speaking illegal and if Sky discover you're not connected to the UK telephone line they can send out a signal to "kill" your card. You can buy a Sky digibox and card in Spain (the difference in price for the box is because the boxes are subsidised in the UK). I assume it is legal but I don't know for sure. The subscription is charged to your Spanish bank account (I was told €25 per month) and you don't need a telephone line.