@abudhabi-newbie
New to Abu Dhabi and to running an apartment in this climate. Asking all the questions.
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Priya’s activity — page 2 of 3
In my Downtown Dubai high-rise flat the cooling is district cooling — a FCU in the ceiling fed by the building's chilled-water loop, not a split with an outdoor unit. Sometimes it…
A few plumbing niggles that might be connected: my pipes bang/hammer when a tap or the washing machine shuts off, some taps drip, and appliances (heater, mixers) seem to wear out…
My concealed ceiling AC uses a condensate pump to push the water out (it can't drain by gravity), and it keeps backing up and overflowing — which threatens the ceiling below. This…
I keep seeing R32 and R410A mentioned when people talk about AC units. I understand it's the refrigerant — but I don't get whether the type actually matters for me practically: -…
My split AC's indoor fan runs fine, but the moment the compressor kicks in, the breaker trips. It's specifically that start-up surge — never while it's just idling or blowing air.…
Cooling a large Dubai Hills villa/mansion is a genuinely different problem from a normal home — you're often running multiple ducted systems (or a big central setup), with huge gl…
My AC has started switching on and off every few minutes — it runs briefly, cuts out, waits a bit, restarts, over and over (I gather this is called short-cycling). It still cools-…
We have ducted AC and one bedroom is always warmer than the rest of the house — you can feel the difference walking in. The system itself works fine; every other room cools well,…
One of my split units needs a refrigerant top-up every summer to cool properly — cooling fades, I call someone, they regas it, it's fine for a season, then the cycle repeats. The…
Every time my split AC starts up, there's a musty, sour, damp-sock smell for the first few minutes, then it mostly fades once it's running. It's a normal wall-mounted split (not a…
We're re-doing the AC in our villa and it's come down to two approaches: a ducted (central) system (concealed, air through ceiling vents) versus multiple split units (an indoor he…
I'm buying a new AC and the inverter models cost a fair bit more than the standard on/off (non-inverter) ones. Everyone tells me "inverters save electricity," but I want to unders…
Tilal Al Ghaf is stunning, but the villas are very much modern architectural designs — glass everywhere: floor-to-ceiling glazing, glass stairwells, big sliding walls opening onto…
Two AC annoyances in the house. In one room the indoor unit blows straight down onto the sofa (freezing whoever sits there); in another room there's no AC at all and it's unusable…
Our villa pool has gone cloudy (slightly green-tinged), the water clearly isn't circulating like it used to — the return jets are weak — and the pump sounds like it's straining. I…
For a home repair in Dubai you've basically got three routes: a handyman app/platform, going direct to a local maintenance company, or the building's FM/maintenance. I keep gettin…
We're in one of the Motor City apartment blocks, and the buildings are now around 15 years old — and it shows in the AC. Chatting to neighbours, the same story keeps coming up: un…
Our villa's wiring is original and never touched, and between a couple of nuisance trips and reading the threads here on DB upgrades and safety inspections, I keep wondering: am I…
I run a small place in JLT (Jumeirah Lake Towers) and live nearby, and the cooling setup here is different from a normal split-AC building: it's district cooling, so there's no ou…
Power cuts in the UAE are rare, which is why I never thought about it — but we had two long outages last summer, and sitting in a villa with no AC and a defrosting fridge in 45°C…
We have a damp patch on the inside of a wall that faces the outside, and it will not go away. We've had it repainted three times — sometimes with "anti-damp" paint — and every tim…
I'm deciding between two homes and the cooling setup is part of it: one building runs on district cooling (Empower/Emicool), the other has its own split AC units. On paper they bo…
I've had a knock from the neighbour below — there's a damp patch spreading on their ceiling, and it's directly under my guest bathroom, which lines up with the shower. I got a plu…
I'm in a chiller / district-cooling apartment and there's water dripping from the ceiling right where the AC vent is, onto the floor. It's not a huge amount but it's steady when t…
Still new to how things work here. For home jobs I keep seeing two routes: book through an app or online marketplace, or find a local company and call them directly. Prices and pr…
I've just started running my own apartment here and keep reading that AC "coils" need cleaning, separate from the filters. My split unit cools okay but the outdoor box on the balc…
Furnishing a new apartment and torn between custom fitted wardrobes and just buying ready-made ones. Fitted look great and use the awkward spaces, but cost a lot more; ready-made…
My apartment runs on chilled water (district cooling). The living room is arctic but the bedrooms barely cool, even set to maximum. Is this something inside my apartment I can fix…
My dishwasher finishes its cycle but leaves a pool of dirty water at the bottom, and the dishes come out not properly clean. Newish apartment in Abu Dhabi, machine is about 2 year…
All the power sockets in one bedroom stopped working at the same time — lights still work, other rooms are fine. What should I check before calling an electrician?
Woke up to no hot water at all. The electric heater (geyser) doesn't seem to be doing anything. Before I call someone out, what should I check myself?
We're on district cooling and the AC runs constantly but the apartment stays warm — nothing like the cooling we had last year. Airflow seems okay, it's just not cold. What could c…
My split AC used to be quiet and now it's noticeably loud when it runs. I'm trying to work out whether it's something simple or a sign it's about to fail.
My gas oven clicks when I turn it on but won't light — the hob burners are fine, it's just the oven. Sometimes it eventually catches with a small "whump". Is this safe to keep usi…
Every time the water heater (geyser) kicks in, the breaker trips and cuts power to that circuit. If I reset it and don't use hot water, it's fine. Is this something I can reset an…
We're on district cooling (chilled water) in Abu Dhabi and lately there's a damp, musty smell every time the AC starts up. It fades after a while but it's unpleasant. Is this dang…
About to move into a Marina apartment and want to line up a reliable AC maintenance company before summer really bites. I'd rather hear real experiences than Google ads. What's wo…
My bathroom grout is cracking in places and going black/mouldy no matter how much I scrub. Is it enough to regrout, or do I need the whole bathroom re-tiled?
One floor tile in the hallway has cracked (dropped something heavy on it). A contractor is telling me the whole floor needs redoing to match. That can't be right for one tile… can…