Our Portugal
Welcome to 'Our Portugal' | Bem-vindo ao 'Nosso Portugal'
This part of our website is dedicated to giving you the information that you need if you are considering moving to, or have already moved to, Portugal. We have some essential facts, hints, and tips plus a collection of personal experiences on Our Portugal Blog, where you can contribute your own stories or tips.
- Questions from a Client About Building in Portugal
- Meeting People in Central Portugal
- Wondering About Having a Swimming Pool?
- Christmas in Central Portugal
- Building Land in Portugal - The Ins and Outs
- Weather in Central Portugal
- Keeping Chickens in Central Portugal
- Importing Cars from the UK and Germany to Portugal
- Driving Through France in Your Caravan
- Caravan Holidays in Central Portugal
- Finding Work in Central Portugal Part 2
- Finding work in Central Portugal
- How to Succesfully Let Your Property
- Books in Portuguese For the UK
- Water Liscence Laws in Portugal
- Replacing Windows with Pine of Softwood
- Water Issues at Cheap Property in Central Portugal
- Camping Sites in the Coimbra Area
- How Much Does it Cost to Build a House in Central Portugal?
- ADSL Broadband Internet Access in Central Portugal
- Accommodation in the Area
- Getting to Portugal by Boat, Ship, Ferry and Hovercraft.
- Notary Costs in Central Portugal
- Getting to Coimbra/Penela from Lisbon and Porto
- Getting to Coimbra and Penela, Central Portugal from the UK
- Carnaval in Central Portugal - Penela
- Emergencies in Central Portugal
- Forecasts and Records
- Dog Kennels in Central Portugal
- From the Airports: Driving in Portugal
- Central Portugal Produce Markets
- Driving In Central Portugal
- Protecting Your Pets in Portugal (1/2)
- Nature in Central Portugal: Ash Trees
- Walking in Central Portugal: Sao Simao
- Self Sufficiency and Portuguese Wildlife
- Canoeing the Modego
- More on Learning Portuguese
- Leishmaniasis Disease
- Tips for Learning Portuguese
- Walking in Central Portugal
- Portuguese Property Renovation 4
- Portuguese Property Renovation 3
- Portuguese Property Renovation 2
- Portuguese Property Renovation 1
- Portuguese Help Sheet
- Sea Fishing in Portugal
- Education in Portugal
- Travelling by Train
- Visiting Coimbra
- Learning Portuguese
- Bringing Your Dog or Cat to Portugal
Questions from a Client About Building in Portugal
From A.A. to info@casteloconstruction.com by email
Dear people,
I found your site on the net since I am looking for advice for a renovation to a 200 - 150 yr. old stone farmhouse. I would like to make a doorway through an end wall at the second storey level.
I'm not sure what the type of stone construction is technically speaking, I've included some photos. The wall is about 60 cm thick. The mortar/concrete seems on the weak side and I am concerned that any vibration will cause problems in the wall's stability.
Can this opening be cut with a masonry saw or is this a job that requires the use of hammer and chisel?
Hoping for some advice,
REPLY FROM www.casteloconstruction.com (link on the front page) following:
Hi AA,
Thanks for contacting us.
I don’t know your level of building experience so I will give you the advice that I would give my guys who have many years experience if we were tackling your project.
First of all be VERY CAREFUL the wall you are dealing with, even just the peaked first floor part weights more than a car.
So you don’t want it falling on you or the ground floor of you very nice house.
The (green oak ? ) vertical frames acting as roof purlins look like they are going through the stone wall. If that’s the case then that is good. A gable wall like you have here normally doesn’t have much support and being top heavy can become unstable when impacted.
You don’t say what size (wide) of opening you want to cut out or how high the opening is (2 meters ? ) looks like you will be high up in the V of the gable. This presents more problems.
If you are cutting a 1.8 meter wide door way into the stone your lintel to take the weight of the wall above the door will have to be 2.3 meters wide. It looks from the photos that you will have very little original stone wall left either side of the end of the lintel which will make the supporting of that triangular peak very difficult and unsafe when you cut the wall to insert the lintel. My advice would be to take down the triangle shaped wall with a hammer and chisel from the top of the peak (should break up very easily, almost with your hands) which will also demonstrate just how dangerous it was to try and support while working under it.
Take the wall down to the bottom of your lintel (top of the door frame)height.
Install the lintel and then build the wall back up.
Once the new peak is cured you can take out the lower stones, again with hammer and chisel without any problem. I would strongly recommend this method and that you support the peak to stop any forward/backward movement.
One of the main problems with cutting through a stone wall is that you often come across very large stones. Taking these out without the wall above being fully supported with a lintel is dangerous because the big stones (bigger than you can carry) can drag looser stones with them when they fall making the hole you are trying to make much bigger and bringing down what is above it.
Remember easy and safe is the way to go.
Rebuilding the peak is a little more work but at least you know when it is done that is safe for the future.
Your house looks very attractive please send any photos that you have when its finished.
Best regards
Casteloconstruction.com
Reply from A.A. to www.casteloconstruction.com (Which you can find a link to on the main page)
Thanks for sharing your knowledge. You are right on the mark with your analysis, I am going through the triangle shaped end gable. I guess I should have been a little more complete with my description. The door that I am hoping to cut out will be no wider than 90-100 cm. I suspect that your advice would still hold true, and tearing down the peak to lintel height would be the way to go. The narrow door width may not be much of an advantage since the hoped for location is offset and close to the edge of the triangular gable.
The gable is totally unsupported, in as much as the rafters are freestanding and don't tie into the end wall at all. One of the options mentioned to me by a local builder was to take the upper part of the wall (the triangle) down completely, and rebuild with wood framing. I'd like to avoid that approach since I think that would change the character of the building. It may not be the worst option though.
I might experiment a little and try to "cut in" the lintel and see where that gets me. I do appreciate what you say about the weight of the stone so I will be going slowly and cautiously. I have seen an arch built in a supporting wall where two pieces of U-channel were bolted opposite each other to form the lintel - this would avoid having to punch a hole right through the wall. But I also suspect that the mortar is not that strong, and as you said, you never can tell when a large stone might be hiding in the wall.
Perhaps the way to go is to plan for a wider doorway and tear down the peak. I'm trying to keep the opening minimal for energy saving reasons due to the northern climate.
I have some construction experience, but this is my first go round with stone. I'm a little more comfortable with "stick built" wood framing. I've built a house, cottage and garage back in Canada.
About your guess about the wood used for wood framing - it is locally cut and milled spruce. The local builders who did the roof framing insist on applying a brushed on "preservative" which gives the greenish tinge to the wood. Personally I see no benefit to this treatment. The wood is very wet/green when the treatment is applied so there is very little penetration and further there seems little sense in applying a preservative in an area that will be "high and dry" and not susceptible to rot, etc... And as usual with wet lumber, there is a fair bit of warping and buckling that undermines the overall quality...
Thanks again for your kind help.
regards,
A.A.
