What to look for when buying an old house in Portugal

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What to look for when buying an old house in Portugal

Posted By Castelo Construction Lda in Building in Portugal, buying property in portugal, House for sale, refurbishment February 26, 2014

ROOFS What to look for when buying an old house in Portugal Part 1 of 4

casteloconstruction.com — roofs What to look for when buying an old house in Portugal

Starting at the top let’s look at a typical roof. We are fortunate that we can easily see the underside of the roof as it’s not covered with a ceiling it will provide us with many clues as to the quality of the roof the condition of the roof supports.

Can we see daylight through the tiles? Yes, this will allow rain to be blown under the tiles and soak the roof joists. Possibly causing dry rot.

Can we see obvious bends in the roof joists? Yes, the roof joists/rafters were too thin when the roof was built. Over time they have sagged and are causing the tiles to slip out of position.

What’s the condition of the main roof support beam? It has a bad case of wood worm and has dry rot in each end where it goes into the wall.

Can we see broken or badly wood wormed tile battens? Yes, there are several tile laths that are broken because they have been make week by wood worm.

Can we see broken or badly aligned roof tiles? Yes, there are many points of light coming through the roof.

Now let’s look at the internal walls supporting the roof for more clues

Can we see daylight through the wall? No

Can we see obvious bends or bulges in the walls? No

Can we see stains from water running down the walls ? Yes, these water tracks show that water it regularly going through the roof which is weakening the first floor external walls.

Can we see any damp patches? Yes, damp patches suggest a large amount of rain water is regularly getting into the roof space and probably rotting the floor.

What other clues can we see – there are two supports holding up the roof rafters/joists.

So what’s the professional’s opinion?

This roof is in bad shape and it’s not repairable because of the sagging timbers which were too thin in the first place and because it is showing signs of wet rot and a heavy wood worm infestation it is best to remove it burn the wood and replace with a new roof.

Can I reuse the old roof tiles? Yes you can although you may find that over time some of the tiles will have bent out of shape so will not fit properly on your new roof. Also many will break during removal.

Traditional styled frost proof tiles are available cheaply and will provide a trouble-free long-term fix.

If your roof is like this contact Castelo Construction 00351 927168247

www.casteloconstruction.com

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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