Build yourself a home in Portugal

Posted By Castelo Construction Lda in Building in Portugal, Construction land, House for sale November 4, 2013 0 comment

So you want to build yourself a home in Portugal. You have looked at all the local materials, wrestled with layout and appearance and now are just waiting to find that ideal little plot of land or ruin to make your own piece of Portuguese paradise.

Fantastic, I thoroughly support what you want to achieve.

inder this tatty render is a gem — DIY Portugal

There are of course some things that you need to firm up first.
Have you got the money to buy the land or ruin and pay the tax, notary and the registration.
oh yes and pay your friendly lawyer.

Lets get the tools out of the van and get started…
Before you do why don’t you take a little time and talk to the “Fiscal” at the local Camara. Tell him what you are going to do to the house or land and ask who you should seek permission of in the local council.

Armed with these names you can meet the relevant people (all Camara planning offices have a visitors day every week). Even if they say that they are not interested as your ideas don’t break any bye laws you have not wasted your time as you have just made sure that you are not rushing off into a problem that could eventually cost you money and an awful lot of time.

There is one problem with un-written information or advice. If you find that it’s not correct no one in the camara will admit that they told you to do such and such. So you will be back to square one. (not to mention very angry).

If you are going to rebuild or refurbish a ruined house. Do you actually know for certain that it is still registered as a dwelling. Many ruins are taken off the housing register to save paying rates. It takes a lot of time and money to sort these situations out. In the mean time you may not be able to continue with your construction project.

My builder said it would be OK !!!!!! I have heard this a few times and every time the person saying this was trying to save money, didn’t mind cutting corners or doing some thing illegal. Now they face the consequences it’s the fault of their builder ! If you were back in your home country you would never take the word of your builder in something that he has absolutely no control. So why do it here in Portugal.

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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

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