Just arrived in central Portugal what to do?
There is a strong desire in many people to use local builders to help renovate their recently bought home in Portugal. They feel that it is helping to integrate into the local community.
Its a good idea, we only work with local people and have done so for the last ten years.
You do have to be very aware that although some English may be spoken there is an enormous gap between our experiences and expectations. In the same way that there are hundreds of types and colours of white paint.
There are many things done differently here than they are back in your home country
Very often people fall foul of the “I explained it too him and when we came back he had done something totally different to what was agreed.
Take for example a new client we came across recently. She had a newly converted stone house in Central Portugal.
When I asked her how she liked the workmanship (not carried out by Castelo Construction) she said “oh its fine but we ended up with a lot more rooms downstairs than we asked for!!!”
They had wanted an open plan downstairs but the builder took it upon himself to add rooms. Unfortunate you may think? or how could they get the translation so wrong?
As an experience builder I know the real reason for this “Mistake”
Because it was cheaper for him not to make a first floor capable of sustaining a long unsupported span as the client wanted it. Instead the “unwanted rooms” were built so that the walls would support the floor.
Then there was another client who came on holiday to their freshly refurbished holiday home only to find the bathrooms, kitchen and all the floors were tiled in awful, cheap looking, old fashioned tiles which were third quality not even seconds.
The builder had included in the price for tiling. He had chosen the tiles and supplied them at around 3 euros a square meter in a color last in vogue 30 years ago.
The home owner was left with the cost of taking up all of the tiles cleaning off the floors and walls and re tiling at double the original estimate.
If you are looking to work with a safe pair of hand on your Portuguese property contact
call Castelo Construction 00351 927168247
Our workmanship is second to none and we understand where you are coming from!
