Tag Archives: woodworm treatment

How do I do a property survey.

Old or new dilemma

Building in Portugal, buying property in portugal, Construction land, House for sale, Living in Portugal, refurbishment, Roof, woodworm wood worm, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Old or new dilemma

Its one of the first real dilemma’s you will face when viewing property to buy in Portugal.


New or old which will it be.
For sure both have their charms and positives and negatives but its what get you in the heart in the end. Here are a few of my thoughts based on working with many people in just your situation. Trying to decide what type of property to buy in central Portugal.

central portugal builders
Old or new dilemma

Old Property Pro’s
You can see how it sits on the land and in relation to its neighboring houses or scenery.
It is going to have lots of slightly warm charm
The interior will be welcomingly cool when you are viewing property in the summer months
You can check out the views from the windows
It will be ready to live in quickly
It won’t cost too much to renovate.

New build pros

We can have exactly what we want within the budget
This plot of land/location is unique
We can add up to the minute insulation, heating, bathroom facilities.
We can have the internal space that we can’t have in an existing home.
It will be designed to take advantage of the sun,view and our personal tastes
We can choose a style that we like and which will impress our friends.

Old property con’s

It will be damp
It won’t be insulated
You may have to extend it to give you the space you need.
The amount of work will always be bigger than you envisage
The windows may be in the wrong position or size for what you want
Is the roof ready to collapse?

New build com’s

The total cost. will it be manageable
Can we build what we want on our land
What about guarantees

Woodworm

Woodworm is a problem in old Portuguese houses

buying property in portugal, House for sale, Living in Portugal, property problems, Roof, , , , , , ,

Woodworm is a problem in old Portuguese houses

Woodworm, as you have probably already heard, is a problem in old Portuguese houses.

Woodworm is a problem in old Portuguese houses with a mixture of the right climate and unprotected wood used to build homes its wood worm heaven.
Wood worm control or prevention is a major concern to anyone spending money on refurbishing or building a home here in Portugal.
With insects varying in size from the huge wood wasps to tiny wood-boring insects such as Xestobium rufovillosum, The death-watch Beatle.

Woodworm
Portugal,old house,woodworm in old house, Castelo construction

Once a support beam in a sheltered part of the house, usually the roof or floors is devoured by the wood boring insects the bean starts to sag or just crumbles resulting in dipping floors or roofs which let the rain in. Once the rain is allowed to contact the roof timber the mixture of dry rot and woodwork attack can result in a collapsed roof in a very short time.

If you are lying in bed or sitting quietly you can often hear a crunching sound all night, every night. It’s the Death-watch Beatle whose head makes a clicking sound as it burrows into the wood.

I know clients who it has driven crazy. The pear under the floor or up in the roof space trying to find the source of the noise.

As the woodworm is actually inside the wood its impossible to locate them.

We have just the thing to sort them out.

Once everything wooden in the house structure is treated. You should have no problem.

“The beams supporting the first floor ie: the ground floor ceiling beams Is the woodworm treated in those beams, or is it still active?” It will be active at the moment.

The previous owners or people before they used old engine oil to treat the woodwork.

It’s free, cosmetic and does nothing harmful to the insects because they are already inside the wood, chomping away merrily.

To find out more about the death watch beetle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deathwatch_beetle

Contact info@casteloconstruction.com to discuss the best solution for your woodworm problem.

Answers to your questions

Answers to your questions

Building in Portugal, How to . . ., Living in Portugal, property problems, refurbishment, Roof, woodworm wood worm, , , , , , , , ,

Here are my answers to your question.

“I also wonder what general advice you can give us on a future thermal insulation of this house, not the walls, only the roof.”

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Insulating a new roof

Insulation – To answer your question it is important to understand that not all insulation products are equal in terms of, price, performance, availability, and suitability for all application areas.

Yes, I too used to think insulation was simple to understand.

Insulation comes in all sorts of mediums and materials. Some are cheap or free and some are expensive and only work in certain situations.

Now let’s get to the specific question.

If you are going to only use the roof/ loft area as a store I would suggest using any of these products but only after the woodworm in the roof spars, purlins and joists have been properly treated and any broken roof tiles replaced.

Rockwool / Earth wool attic insulation.

Expanded-cork-granules (a Portuguese product)
http://www.kay-metzeler.com/

Prowarm Backer-Pro Insulation Board

https://www.prowarm.com/products/insulation-boards