Water installation

What sort of problems are you experiencing, Maureen? Problems getting it actually installed, or problems with the supply or service after it's been installed?

I'm in Dobrich region, and my place has problems with water pressure because it's on higher ground than most of the village. My neighbours, about 20 feet lower than our house, have good water pressure. Ours is often reduced to a trickle!

@janemulberry

If it's a frequent problem, you could consider installing a water tank (if it can be higher than the house so gravity helps) or a water tank/pressure pump combo. Even a trickle is enough to keep filling the tank (slowly), and then there's water available in the tank when you turn on the tap or have a shower.

I suppose, technically, a pressure pump only might work, but I believe this solution is not recommended.

Yes, I think that's what I'll need to do. The house is on a slope that rises quite steeply behind the house, so it will be easy enough to locate a water tank higher than the house. The only issue will be keeping that system from freezing in winter.

The trickle in the kitchen could be due to the ancient tap/water heater combo being completely clogged up, too. The pressure at the garden tap, which is close to the same height as the kitchen tap, is lower than I'd like, but usually just about adequate. My neighbour has offered to fit a new kitchen tap for me, so we'll see if that helps. I suspect that's part of the problem, as I can't get any water at all out of the equally ancient big hot water system in the bathroom!

I've only completely lost water, even at the garden tap, once. I had to go to my neighbour to fill a 10L bottle from their tap. I now am prepared with bottles of water everywhere!

@janemulberry

Good point about tanks freezing, that might not have been my most practical suggestion for Bulgaria's climate. :-) But the tank/pump combos can be pretty small, as you don't need a huge reserve. Which means they're small enough to be fitted in the house somewhere, where freezing (hopefully) wouldn't be an issue.

It's also a very good point about the taps/boiler being clogged up. It could very well be that, rather than a pressure or supply problem, especially if your garden tap is fine.

My studio in Plovdiv had the same problem, and I was totally convinced that the problem was a lack of water pressure in the building. But the plumber said no, it's these rubbish taps and shower from China... you need to replace them with some decent Bulgarian kit from Vidima! It sounded like nonsense, especially as everything was pretty new. But it couldn't hurt to try it... and it went from a trickle to gushing in an afternoon. Like plumber magic. :-)

LOL! I need some plumber magic for sure! Changing the Bulgarian made but 30 ot 40 year old taps and hot water system will be my first step. The garden tap pressure isn't fabulous, but it would be adequate most of the time.