the people we meet

Posted By Castelo Construction Lda in Building in Portugal, buying property in portugal, House for sale, low cost build, property problems, refurbishment April 13, 2016

I love this picture don’t you?

I love it for a slightly strange reason. For me it is like a metaphor for the people we meet.

how to plaster an old Portuguese house, length of concrete floor joists in Portugal, building materials Portugal, reclaimed building materials Portugal, how to build a first floor deck, recommended insulation for walls in Portugal, Portuguese outside paint, tiles for external terrace, ways of building well insulated house walls, house painting Portugal, staircases for small spaces, German terrace tiling, sandwich panels – Portugal, how to fit a damp proof membrane, Portuguese outside paint, plaster boarding old stone house,castelo construction, central portugal construction,building costs in Portugal, cost of building a house in Portugal,how are houses built in Portugal, how much to build a house in Portugal, insulate a stone house, home insulation in Algarve, portugal house plan, how much would it cost to build a house in Portugal, heating firms in central portugal sun shades outside of the house, rising damp in villa in Portugal, house cracks in Portugal, rain damage to stone house, leaking in house from rain. roof tile sagging in bedroom, rising damp in villa in portugal,how to build a sun shade, modern weather shades for building porch, pergolas rustica, wood sun shade, sun shades outside of the house, pergola uk, wood pergola and glass, sun shades for pergola rustic wooden post pergola, pergolen, glass pergola, alpendres,self build in Portugal, traditional house plans in Portugal, architect costs in Portugal, 3 bedroom low cost house, Portugal house plan, off the shelf plaster moulding for ceilings, stone surround windows, how to make a window opening in a stone wall, enlarging window opening in stone wall, windows and doors Portugal,positioning a wood burning stove, best position for wood burning stove, wood burner positioning, wood burner positioning, best position to put a log burning stove, where to position a wood burning stove, best place to position a wood burning stove, positioning a log burner, best position for a wood stove,does borax kill woodworm, borax treatment for woodworm, borax,why do woodworm like grouting, sodium tetraborate decahydrate for woodworm, wood worm in old joists, borax and wood worms, dry rot in stone walls, borax to kill wood worms, Wood infestation insects, safe ecological woodworm treatment, roof tile sagging in bedroom, woodworm in Portugal,living in central Portugal, houses for sale Portugal,portugal stone house,stone house, Portugal, stone houses for sale,building a fiberglass swimming pool in portugal,penela Portugal, properties for old concrete structures, beams for removing concrete,builders in central portugal,penela building restrictions, portugal home builder,stone built houses, traditional stone wall building, building a house in Portugal,english speaking builder in tomar Portugal, cost of construction in Portugal, roofs in portugal,plaster boarding old stone house, Dry lining old stone house , drylining old stone house, windows in stone walls,how to renovate schist house,how to cover a wall boiler, gas boilers supply in Portugal, gas boiler servicing in Portugal, wood stove positioning,fibreglass — The people we meet

The people who come over to Portugal to buy a home, holiday home, make a new start, get back to nature. Whatever the reasons that they are here in Portugal they often share a very similar trait.

Only a few (like the 2 boys looking up) behave in a way that will give them what they want in Portugal. It may be that most people are not sure what they want, just want to get out of their past lives or need a rest.

There always seems to be something driving the decision to come here.

The one thing all these people have in common is that they all need a home. Most will buy new or renovate and extend.

This is when one of the worst traits is displayed. A blatant disregard for Portugal’s planning laws and the consequences should you be the muggins that gets caught.
There are dozens of blogs and forums where people openly talk about doing things without planning permission, building licenses or architects drawings. It could be that the lack of Portuguese language is holding people back from asking or perhaps the drive to save money or to be independent. Whichever it all comes down to the same thing Bad News!

When you get that registered letter through the post. You have no one to tun to.

Another group is the DIY builders. Not trained, experienced builders but enthusiastic amateurs. The sort of people who do not have any construction or liability insurance or the ability/financial backing to take responsibility when you the new owner or one of your grandchildren gets electrocuted, falls down the badly designed stairs or through a railing.

Then there is subtle hard to spot things like the sewerage system contaminating the homes water supply. Nice.. You literally will have no one to turn too.

I am not attacking DIY fans at all. I am advising them to do only the work that you are allowed to do when building or renovating a home in Portugal. Some of the work will require a builder with a license and insurance some will not (do you know for sure).

Having rescued a couple of stopped building projects in the past and suffered the hassle of sorting them out it is not something that Castelo Construction get involved in anymore.

Tags alpendre castelo construction ceilings co op building co operative building DIY in Portugal eco building hands on helping the builders ideal refurbishment property insulation labouring for builders repointing roof self build self build portugal self construct. buying a home stone walls the people we meet traditional walls What to look for when buying an old house in Portugal woodworm treatment

About Castelo Construction Lda

Castelo Construction Lda are builders in Central Portugal. We have 12 years’ experience of working with and delighting clients in Portugal. Tel 00351 927168247 or kelvin@casteloconstruction.com If you need an English speaking builder for renovation or new build work we will provide free estimates, fixed prices and carry out your work to a very high standard. Many of our clients are not in the country full time so rely on our regular photographic updates and written reports. They are always surprised when they make inspection visits. New Construction and Refurbishment of Portuguese Property It’s exciting for both our team and of course our clients to mark out on the earth the site of a new home. We will have been with them during the design process and have spoken to the architect many times so we will be comfortable with what we are about to do. For many clients, this stage is a little daunting as it’s hard to see without experience just where the house is going to be in relation to other things on the property. Once the foundations are dug out the house normally looks smaller than they thought, As the pillars and foundation wall start to go you get a much better idea of scale. You can see with your mind’s eye the location of the kitchen, bedrooms and so on. Once the walls are up and the first floor is in place the rooms start to looks smaller again (something to do with the light absorbing properties of the bricks) once the walls are plastered the rooms look a lot larger and it starts to feel more like the home our clients imagined building. As the build progresses we are involved with many specialist subcontractors and it is our job the get them on site at the right time so that the trades do not overlap and time is not wasted. Once the roof is on and tiled it is traditional in this area to have a dinner on site. Everyone who is involved in the build is invited to share a suckling pig dinner with local bread, oranges and of course wine. This is a great way for the clients to enjoy some local hospitality and meet the craftsmen who are building their new home. We also invite the near neighbors so that they get a chance to see what’s going on (when the house is at a very basic stage) and it gives our clients a relaxed opportunity to make their acquaintance. As we always accompany our clients to choose, kitchens, tiles, bathroom fittings or whatever they want. We can help with translation and of course negotiation! As the house is coming to completion we always have them professionally cleaned so that when we hand over the keys it feels more like a home than a building site. 2 months after the house is finished we are back to check for any small faults that may need attention and of course we are available to help and advise should that be needed. Central Portugal builders