In the old house, the water tank wasn’t positioned at a great height, yet the water supply was always smooth, with more than enough pressure. With the new house, however, we suddenly found the water pressure to be much lower. In the shower, we had to move our bodies around to catch enough water for a decent bath. The tank was positioned even higher than before, so why the drop in pressure? I could never figure it out. It was even worse on the upper floor—there, the water trickled out, making the shower practically unusable.

We felt terrible when we learned about this issue, especially since our sons and their families never complained about it during their visits. So, we consulted the architect/engineer again. "It can be easily fixed," they said. But of course, in this age, everything can be fixed—with enough money, patience, and a willingness to endure disruption and headaches.

A pump and compressor were installed to address the issue. This required a tank from which the pump would draw water, all to avoid additional expenses we hadn’t anticipated. But whenever we opened a tap, a screeching, ear-piercing noise would erupt. Could this be fixed? Of course! But the solution involved quadrupling the cost with a much larger tank. So, we decided to postpone it for now. We’ll try to treat the noise as a sort of "lullaby" and hope our disgruntled neighbors can do the same.

Earlier, I mentioned choices. The old electrical phase changers were those big, bulky switches that you manually rotated when power went out in one phase. Now, it’s all about sleek designs and automatic phase changers. Tempted by the lure of modern technology, we opted for the automatic version, driven by eternal greed. But many times, when one phase had problems, the switch wouldn’t change automatically. I had it repaired three times, and even now, I’m not sure if it’s working. We thought we were taking the easy way out, but it turned out to be more cumbersome.

But why worry? We have inverters now! And so, the cycle of spending on newer and newer requirements and equipment continues, constantly testing our purse and savings.

Continued in 177. Gaps In The Horizon - Part 5