Fontanero en Alhaurín de la Torre

Plumbing on the Costa del Sol comes with a challenge you won't find in most regions: exceptionally hard water. With hardness above 30 French degrees (over 300 mg/L of calcium carbonate), limescale steadily narrows pipes, wrecks water heaters and shortens the life of taps and appliances. At Costa del Sol Reformas we treat plumbing as a full technical discipline: repiping in multilayer or PEX, non-invasive leak detection, water softeners, heaters and pressure sets, and drainage that meets Spain's CTE building code. We use our own in-house team —we never subcontract the plumber— and back every installation with a 5-year guarantee. Our completed work across Málaga and Marbella stands behind clean, measured, surprise-free work.

Repiping: from old copper to multilayer

Replacing the water system in an older home follows a disciplined sequence. We first map the existing network and measure pressure and flow; then we set the layout, pipe diameters and outlets to comply with the CTE DB-HS4 code. The material we install most is multilayer pipe (PEX-AL-PEX) from brands such as Uponor, Rehau or Standard Hidráulica: it combines the flexibility of plastic with the stability of aluminium, resists the scaling that plagues old copper, and joins with press fittings that eliminate threaded-joint leaks. For exposed runs or high temperatures we consider copper or PPR. We finish with a hydraulic pressure test before any chase is sealed —without that test, we don't sign off the job.

Finding leaks without tearing up the house

A damp patch or a spiking water bill doesn't mean tearing up half the house. We locate leaks with non-destructive methods: an acoustic ground microphone to hear the escape beneath the floor, tracer gas (a nitrogen-hydrogen mix) that surfaces at the exact break, a thermal camera to read temperature differences in underfloor heating and hot-water lines, and moisture meters to bound the wet area. This diagnosis avoids blind demolition and narrows the repair to a single opening. In limescale-heavy Costa del Sol zones many leaks start at elbows and valves clogged by scale, so when we repair we assess whether to replace the section or treat the water at source.

Hard water and softeners: protecting the whole system

Costa del Sol water is among the hardest in Spain. Above 20 French degrees softening is advisable; here it routinely exceeds 30. The most effective system is an ion-exchange water softener: resin beads capture calcium and magnesium and regenerate with brine, delivering soft water throughout the home. For simpler setups or single points we fit polyphosphate dosers, which don't remove scale but stop it adhering. We size the unit to the household's consumption and number of bathrooms, and place it after the meter with its own bypass. The payoff: heaters that don't clog, taps that last and far fewer breakdowns —a decisive upgrade in hard-water towns along the coast.

Heaters, hot water and water pressure

Domestic hot water (DHW) and pressure are the other major chapter. We choose between an electric tank, a sealed gas boiler or an aerothermal unit depending on the home; for new builds and major refurbishments the CTE code requires a renewable contribution (solar thermal or aerothermal). On pressure, the code sets a minimum of 100 kPa at taps (150 kPa at heaters) and a maximum of 500 kPa. When the supply arrives weak —common on upper floors or some urbanisations— we fit a pressure-boosting set; when it arrives too high, a pressure reducer that protects pipes and appliances. We adjust and verify with a gauge. Everything is carried out by our in-house team and covered by a 5-year guarantee.