Are there small holes in your wood work?

Posted By Castelo Construction Lda in buying property in portugal, property problems, woodworm wood worm April 13, 2015

Normally you hardly notice the small holes in your wood work unless they are on a piece that is painted like this.

Are there small holes in your wood work?

The holes could have been caused by a small child playing with a compass or drawing pins.

When you go actively looking around the place there is a good chance that your worst fears are going to be confirmed “we have got wood worm”

Usually that phrase is followed by a feeling of dread and then self questions, is my house going to fall down, are the children safe and WHAT is this going to COST!!!

Unfortunately some people just let it go and reason that because we have only just noticed the problem it cant be that bad.

casteloconstruction, castelo, dampfixpt, wood worms — Are there small holes in your wood work?

If you have stripped out the number of Portuguese homes that we have you would know that there is always a much larger problem that cannot be seen at first glance.

Take this picture for example. It is the other side of the piece of wood pictured above.

The photo shows a piece of architrave which has been painted on one side. The wood worm infestation had spread into the door frame, door and floor boards. If you take a close look at this piece of wood you will see that the wood worms have eaten away almost entirely the structural strength of the wood.

Instead of trying not to think about it – contact info@casteloconstruction.com and we will sort it out for you.

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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