Insulation in Portugal

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Insulation in Portugal

Insulation in Portugal The climates great here, feels just like California most of the time.

That is apart from when you go into a Portuguese house if its more than twenty years old. You have a range of temperatures to endure from arctic to equatorial. In the winter they are very cold and seem to suck the heat out of you no matter how high you turn up the heating or how many clothes and fleeces you wear. In the summer they can be stiflingly hot so hot in fact that its hard to sleep because the roof is releasing all of the heat that it has collected during the day straight into your bedroom !
The answer is of course that these houses are not insulated and this omission allows the arctic to equatorial conditions to prevail. What the houses need is insulation but where and how and what are more difficult questions and require some detailed explanation.
Types of insulation
The most common insulation used in Portugal is “wallmate, floormate and roof mate” This is an extruded polystyrene product and is very easy to work with.
Surprisingly cork although one of Portugal’s major natural products is both expensive ( about 3 times the price of wallmate) and hard to obtain without pre-order. Try www.isocor.pt Rock wool and fiberglass bats and rolls are available but sheep’s wool and processed paper are rare.
Where to insulate – Its simple. Everywhere roof walls, floors and windows.
Ventilation
Trapping warm air inside your home with insulation is the goal but it has to be done with adequate ventilation this often seems counter intuitive – heating up your house spending money and effort on insulation and then opening a window !
If you don’t ventilate you will trap moisture laded warm air in your house which will then deposit the moisture on the coolest thing in the house it could be the walls ceilings or floor. Most likely to be the windows making your house look like a late night launderette.
How to insulate http://www.casteloconstruction.info/tag/how-to-insulate-a-stone-house-in-portugal/
www.casteloconstruction.com

Insulation in Portugal

concrete beam removing inside a room

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Concrete beam removing inside a room

Concrete beam removing inside a room  We carry out this type of work all the time because our clients want more headroom in the ground floor of their homes or because the concrete beam was poorly constructed and they are unsure how strong it is. We also remove, lift up and reposition wooden beams in this case supporting a first floor.

concrete beam removing inside a roomwooden beam removing inside a room
The fist step is to look at the condition of the walls that the beam is currently resting on and were its going to be resting. If these walls are not sound do not attempt to remove or reposition the beam without making the sound and waiting for the cement and concrete to dry sufficiently so that its structurally sound.
Weight is your biggest enemy. If a beam was to break or fall during the move it could easily bring the support walls down on top of you. NB: many demolition contractors are killed every year by just such an occurrence. No hard had will save you in this type of accident.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/jake-weir-builder-miracle-escape-from-collapse-building-video-115719313.html#3hmiU3G

Support everything, move slowly don’t be tempted to drop things to the floor if you want to  stay safe.
Remove all the weight off the beam before attempting to move or remove it.
Use sufficient numbers of adjustable props to take the weight of the beam. Clear space in the supporting wall so that the beam can be lifted.
Move the beam with the props very slowly and keep it level at all times.
This is not a one man job and should never be attempted by the inexperienced
raise the beam above the final resting position so that a solid foundation can be created to spread the load of the beam and the weight that it will be supporting.
Once the beams foundation is set and cured. slowly lower the beam to its new position and piece it into the walls.

concrete beam removing inside a room floor replaced
Do not start putting weight on the beam until it is firmly set into its new position.
Or you can save yourself the stress, probable hernia and worry by calling Castelo Construction Lda

SKYPE casteloconstruction        Phone 00351 967922513

Apartado 42, Santa Eufemia, 3230- 207 PENELA, Portugal

For information on what we do go to www.casteloconstruction.com

concrete beam removing inside a room

Property construction or property renovation in Portugal

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Property construction or property renovation in Portugal

Looking for a firm or company for property construction or property renovation in Portugal
Employing businesses such as construction companies, architects and engineers can be as straight forward as just that “employing”. You’re the one with the money and so you MANAGE the company like employees and when they have done what you want them to do you pay them and everyone’s happy?
Probably, Possibly, Rarely………

Looking for a firm or company for property construction or property renovation in Portugal When the task you have asked them to do is something as complex as a construction or a refurbishment project there are usually many other facets to consider. What about sub contractors. Who will manage, pay find them.
The last thing you want to be worrying or arguing about is “who said what” and how it didn’t mean that. An employee, person or company who has not bought into your project is a massive liability and will affect the outcome of your planned project. Without “collaboration” within your project they will pile those bricks, cut that timber and lay that concrete but they will probably not say to you before hand. Have you thought of this consequence or it could save you money if.

Looking for a firm or company for property construction or property renovation in Portugal
Employing also leaves you with all the responsibility when in truth you may be out of your depth and having to manage on gut feel basis rather than experience.
That is why it makes so much real sense to collaborate with a suitably qualified company lead by a highly experienced and able manager. Communications become easier, budgets are easier to manage and cost saving not previously identified can be made by utilizing supplier discounts for instance or finding alternative ways to do a particular task.
You know why you should be collaborating let’s see if we can make it easier for you to do it on your Portuguese building project.

Property construction or property renovation in Portugal
One of the hardest things to overcome in making a collaboration happen is finding the person or company to partner with in your collaboration. The truth is that a successful collaboration is dependent on who you partner with. It is not about finding someone who is the most popular or recommended by someone who you met in the pub.. Here are some things to look for.

Trust One Another: This is the biggest and largest part of a good partnership with someone. When thinking of entering a collaboration This is someone you need to be able to know can make a decision and you not second-guess it naturally. Trust is the binding factor in a collaboration.
Respect: You need to feel a mutual respect for each others talents. Be honest with yourself if you respect that person’s work.
Easy Communication: When you all trust and respect each other communication is the next big thing.
Passion: Once the first three are checked off. Check the level of passion for carrying out this type of work. You want to work with people who go above and beyond especially if you know you are that same way.

Contact Castelo Construction Lda to find out if we can collaborate.  www.casteloconstruction.com

Property construction or property renovation in Portugal

English speaking stone house builder in Portugal

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English speaking stone house builder in Portugal

Looking for a English speaking stone house builder in Portugal

You may have found the perfect house in Portugal, perfect except that you may want to make some changes or remodeling or extension or perhaps building an outside dining area that fits in with the overall look and style of your old stone house.
You may not know the names of the masons techniques to be used particularly in Portuguese but you want the new work to blend in well with the existing ancient stone walls. Worry not ! our masons produce work that they are proud of and that you will be amazed by.

For someone trying to have work carried out on your property in Portugal it can be ultra stressful and emotional for three main reasons.
1, Communication, lack of and making yourself understood. How to describe what you want. Especially if you are not here all the time.
2, Cultural difference, expectations that you have will not be matched by your Portuguese counterpart.
3, Understanding local construction methods, practices and materials.
These three heart attack inducing areas can be removed by working with a building company like Castelo Construction Lda. www.casteloconstruction.com
Our teams are very experienced Portuguese builders who understand that we expect different things from them than their usual Portuguese clients. They are used to using the latest building techniques and build to a superb level of finish.
Despite their initial fears of having to repeat them selves several times to be better understood they find that they are dealing with a highly experienced and qualified builder who can translate there wishes to the craftsmen and manage the process to completion,
When you work with us do not spend too much time getting bogged down with learning everything there is to know about construction or the Portuguese language because you will not learn it all and it will be frustrating carrying a phrasebook around with you.
It is far more beneficial to collect together an ideas scrapbook so that you can help us understand the type of space, finishing, features that you like. These can be quickly understood and transferred in your new home.
Obviously it’s a big decision having work done in Portugal and not being there to supervise. Contact us john@casteloconstruction.com to talk about your project we can share with you some of our excellent references and give you competitive quotations for any construction work that you may require.

 

English speaking stone house builder in Portugal

English speaking builders central Portugal

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English speaking builders, architects and engineers in central Portugal


Looking for an English speaking builder in central Portugal ?

We have all heard the quote from George Bernard Shaw “England and America are two countries divided by a common language”. Even though we speak basically the same language people sometimes have trouble understanding one other. The actual words used are not the issue its the context that they are used in and also the expectations that have been built up in our minds by our backgrounds, upbringing and education.
When I get frustrated with the way things are handled here by the government-run organizations and utilities I always think back to the famous quote from The Wizard of Oz film from 1939.
“Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.”
This helps me to recalibrate my attitude, expectations, patience threshold and a few other blood pressure raising traits that we bring from northern Europe.
For someone like you trying to have work carried out on your property in Portugal it can be ultra stressful and emotional for three main reasons.
1, Communication, lack of and making yourself understood. How to describe what you want. Especially if you are not here all the time.
2, Cultural difference, expectations that you have will not be matched by your Portuguese counterpart.
3, Understanding local construction methods, practices and materials.
These three heart attack inducing areas can be removed by working with a building company like Castelo Construction Lda.      www.casteloconstruction.com
Our teams are very experienced Portuguese builders who understand that we expect different things from them than their usual Portuguese clients. They are used to using the latest building techniques and build to a superb level of finish.
Our clients, despite their initial fears of having to repeat them selves several times to be better understood they find that they are dealing with a highly experienced and qualified builder who can translate their wishes to the craftsmen and manage the process professionally  to completion.
When you work with us do not spend too much time getting bogged down with learning everything there is to know about construction or the Portuguese language because you will not learn it all and it will be frustrating carrying a phrasebook around with you.
It is far more benifisial to collect together what is often called a “mood board” or “ideas scrapbook” so that you can help us understand the type of space, fininshing, features that you like. These can be quickly understood and transferred into your new home.
Obviously its a big decision having work done in Portugal and not being there to supervise. Contact  john@casteloconstruction.com to talk about your project.  We can share with you some of our excelent references and give you competative quotations for any construction work that you may require.

Castelo Construction work throughout Portugal

 

English speaking builders central Portugal

pellets central heating in portugal

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pellets central heating in portugal

Pellets central heating in portugal is not something that you think of much when buying a property here. Its more likely that you are thinking of good food, low cost wine and beautiful countryside and beaches. However once the Autumn nights are upon us and you are spending more time indoors. Thoughts of  heating your home cost effectively come to the fore. You may not have had or used a pellet fired central heating system before so they can be a little confusing to help you heres a little Q&A.
pellets central heating in portugal
How much heat can I expect to get out of a pellet fire or boiler. Only slightly less that an equivalent capacity wood burner.
Are pellets available locally and cheaply – Yes to both, Portugal makes wood pellets
Do the fires make more  noise than a log fire. Yes they do make a whirring noise as the pellets are fed into the fire. It can be a little annoying if you are reading quietly but its a lot better than having to get up, go out and load up logs in the winter or rain.
Do you have to have a flue or chimney with a pellet fire. Yes treat then just like a log burner. You need an appropriate chimney and ash disposal.
Whats an appropriate chimney. Each stove has a different width of flue pipe that it needs. Don be tempted to reduce this width. Install a flue damper and ensure that your chimney is above the roof tiles at the correct height. There is lots of advice  available on the internet about this or follow the stoves installation manual.
These stoves are very heavy and the flues high so allow 250 Euros or an installation of a pellet burner in Portugal.

pellets central heating in portugal

Insulation in Portugal

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Insulation in Portugal

Insulation in Portugal The climates great here, feels just like California most of the time. That is apart from when you go into a Portuguese house if its more than twenty years old you experience a temperature range from arctic to equatorial. In the winter they are very cold and seem to suck the heat out of you no matter how high you turn up the heating . In the summer they can be stiflingly hot so hot in fact that its hard to sleep because the roof and thick walls are releasing all of the heat that it has collected during the day straight into your bedroom !
The answer is of course that these houses are not insulated and this allows the arctic to equatorial conditions to prevail. What the houses need is insulation but what sort of insulation, where, how and what are more difficult questions and require some detailed explanation.
Types of insulation. The main insulation products available at a reasonable price here in Central Portugal are “blue boards” Roof-mate, wall-mate and floor-mate.

insulation

Timber roof-mate insulation

Then you have rock-wool in rolls and slabs and the thinner foil backed insulation’s available

foil backed insulation

Insulation in Portugal

in rolls.Strangely cork insulation is often cheaper to buy in the UK that Portugal.

Where to insulate, Start with the roof, heat rises. You can insulate and existing roof or if you are going to install a new roof you can install the insulation across the entire roof.

insulated roof

portugal insulation

Once you have completed the roof insulation start by looking how to install insulation on the ground floor assuming its a 2 story property.

insulating walls

insulated walls

If you are thinking of using dry lining to provide a warmer interior

Warm and dry

insulation behind plasterboard

If you would like to discuss the available option contact 00351967922513

to see more of our projects go to WWW.casteloconstruction.com

Email info@casteloconstruction.com

Insulation in Portugal

 

basement apartment

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Basement Apartment

Take a basement a cold, dank, damp, dirty,smelly basement that occasionally floods. Apply some vision to it and make it into an inviting place to be and an easy to heat and cool living space for all year round living.

We cleared out the junk from this basement in an old 100 year + house.
There was lots of junk and old wood which had become a breeding ground for wood worm.

basement apartment

basement apartment

Once the basement was cleared out we had a better idea of how we could convert the basement space.

basement apartment

basement apartment

It’s a given that all of the main negative points had to be sorted out first.cold, Cure the drafts and insulate, damp, Tank the basement walls.dirty,thoroughly clean out and replace anything too far gone or damaged, smelly, disconnect and empty the underfloor cesspool, dank, Decorate and light tastefully add glazing to outside doors.

basement apartment

basement apartment

To see more of the work we do and the building challenges that we face go to www.casteloconstruction.com

contact us by email info@casteloconstruction.com or Skype    casteloconstruction

basement apartment

concrete cracks

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concrete cracks

Concrete cracks are in the news and in the back of people minds. Not just because of the terrible tragedy of 1100 people dieing in Dhaka They also come to the forefront when we are looking to buy property in Portugal.
After many years of dictatorship the poor people of the rural areas neither had the experience, money or access to quality construction methods or materials.
They would often see concrete cracks and suppose that as it hasn’t fallen down yet “it will be good for a few more years”
In the caste of the tragic Rana Plaza factory it was built on swampy ground and with “extremely poor quality” construction materials supervised by an inadequate regulatory system. The defects and errors that led to the world’s deadliest garment-industry accident.
This mirrors Portugal of old so it’s not surprising to come across concrete cracks, cracks in walls and concrete beam failure, bending or cracking.

This is a typical situation where a reinforced concrete floor was cast but the reinforcing was not held inside the concrete slab.

concrete cracks

concrete cracks

Instead it was laid on the shuttering where is strength was greatly reduced. A mixture of bending and humidity resulting in the thin concrete covering the steel to fall off weakening the slab further.
When it comes to concrete cracks in pillars, walls, columns or beams that’s a far more serious matter. You should seek advice before paying a deposit no matter how fabulous the property is. Remedial work is often an expensive unknown so its sensible to get at least a professional opinion of the problem.
All is not doom and gloom of course. Some concrete cracks can be diagnosed as none serious and may even give you some negotiation power with the seller. You could commission a property appraisal or talk to Castelo Construction for an opinion .

concrete cracks

concrete cracks

For information on how we can help you and what we do go to http://www.casteloconstruction.com/
Email info@casteloconstruction.com

Phone 00351 967922513 or SKYPE casteloconstruction

Apartado 42, Santa Eufemia, 3230- 207 PENELA, Portugal

Convert under the house

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Convert under the house

Convert under the house – When we are selecting a Portuguese house to buy you very often find a house which has at least two large rooms underneath which have normally been used to keep livestock such as chickens rabbits and goats. The other of the rooms is normally a room for storing and making wine, garden produce, olives and seeds. This is called the Adega and is the place thatyou are usually invited to for a drink of home made wine.
These rooms can make ideal living accommodation when converted there are usually a couple of major things to overcome first.
Headroom – very often as the livestock areas were only for goats the low head height wasn’t an issue. To make a habitable room you need at least 2.4 meters between ceiling and floor. So you may have to dig down to achieve this. Quite often we have to chisel the rock away.

Convert under the house

Convert under the house

Damp – The damp didn’t matter when the wine and goats were in residence . As the adegas are often built into the earth and don’t have damp proof courses they can be damp all year round and positively wet in the winter. Damp proofing or tanking must be carried out if you are going to live there.

Convert under the house

Convert under the house

Convert under the house

Convert under the house

Natural light – Many adegas don’t have windows just an external door or a missing stone in the wall. To make the space habitable you need to install windows which means knocking windows through thick stone walls. Fortunately we are very experienced in this type of work.
Insulation/heating – Converted rooms under houses can be very cold so its always a good idea to thoroughly insulate when you carry out the conversion work.

For more information contact

For information on how we can help you and what we do go to http://www.casteloconstruction.com/

Phone 00351 967922513 or SKYPE casteloconstruction    email casteloconstruction@gmail.com

Apartado 42, Santa Eufemia, 3230- 207 PENELA, Portugal

Convert under the house