We are often asked what are the problems with stone built houses in Portugal.
Sometimes people use our property appraisal service to give them a thorough understanding of a properties condition and of course a stronger hand to negotiate on price.
In general terms the most common problems with stone built houses in Portugal are as follows.
Damp in the ground floor rooms, adegas and animal shelters. Also damp can be a problem on badly pointed first floor walls or first floor walls with a roof installed against them.
Wood Worm If you have timber in a house over ten years old you will most likely have wood worm. This could be in the roof beams and joists, wooden ceilings and floors, doors, shutters and windows. We even see it in wood block flooring.
Structural Cracks Often houses were not built on proper foundations so they relax or slump a little causing cracks most noticeable around windows and doorways on the ground floor.
Sagging Roofs Usually caused by slipped roof tiles (they are not nailed in place in Portugal) letting rain water into the roof space and onto the roof joists causing them to rot out and the roof to sag which can cause cracks in the first floor walls and allow more rain into the roof space making the problem worse until ultimately the roof collapses.
No Insulation This is something that should be addressed before you move in. You will always be glad that you did.
Windows Not enough windows or not big enough or in the wrong place. This is something that can usually be addressed fairly easily.
Don’t be put off buying a stone built property. They present an opportunity to own a unique home that suits the landscape and can be transformed with skilled help into a warm comfortable home that you can be proud of. go to www.casteloconstruction.com to see some example of stone house transformations that we have carried out.
