Renovating an old Portuguese house
An old Portuguese house or a quinta sounds romantic until you pull a socket out of the wall and the wiring from the seventies comes with it. Most old houses in this region share the same list of problems: outdated wiring, leaking pipework, no insulation, and damp that has been drawing into the walls for years.
This page explains what such a renovation involves, roughly what it costs, and what to watch out for. On my own role in it I am clear: I work alone and do not take on full shell renovations. I do the finishing and non-structural part, and I do it myself — no crews, no subcontractors. Machine digging is the one exception: for that I work with a regular partner who brings the excavator.
What I do myself
The work you can put in my hands is the building and finishing side of a renovation. I carry it out personally, from the first day to handover.
- Pladur, metal stud and internal partitions
- Plastering and painting, inside and out
- Complete bathrooms: tiling, walls and finishing
- Fitting and finishing kitchens
- Floors, skirting, doors and frames
- Carpentry and made-to-measure timber work
- Pergolas, outbuildings and groundwork
What I do not do
Just as important, so you do not knock on the wrong door.
- Full shell renovations with heavy demolition, running from demolition to handover under a single contractor
- Electrical work. In Portugal that is reserved for a TRIE-qualified electrician. I do not carry it out and I do not project-manage it.
- Plumbing and installation work, for the same reason
- Structural work: foundations, load-bearing structures and structural reinforcement. Those belong with a registered empreiteiro and an engineer who signs off.
Typical problems in old Portuguese houses
Three things turn up in almost every house older than forty years. First the wiring: loose cores, no earth, a consumer unit once meant for a lamp and a radio now asked to carry a dishwasher, an oven and a water heater. Second the pipework: galvanised steel that scales up and leaks, or worse, lead sections still in daily use. Third damp, rising through granite walls with no membrane, or rainwater seeping in through worn roof tiles. Those three should be dealt with first, because without that basis a beautiful kitchen is money thrown away. The wiring and the pipework need a qualified tradesman; my work starts after that.
Insulation and damp
Insulation is almost always absent in old houses, in the roof, the walls and the floor. In the Beira Interior that is not a luxury: hot summers and cold, damp winters. Damp is dealt with at the source and not with a layer of filler, otherwise the same problem is back in two years. This is part of the work I carry out myself.
Permits and paperwork
A real renovation needs a permit from the Câmara Municipal. For internal work without structural changes a notification is often enough. Changing the layout, the roof, the windows or the external appearance requires a licença. Where structural changes legally require a registered empreiteiro or sign-off by an engineer, I work within the framework a licensed contractor and an architect or engineer put in place, and I do the finishing work inside it. Registered as a sole trader (trabalhador independente) in Portugal, NIF 309729211. Every invoice carries my NIF, so the work is properly accounted for and you will not run into trouble later with your insurer or on resale.
Service area
I work out of Fundão in Covilhã, Castelo Branco, Belmonte, Penamacor and Idanha-a-Nova, roughly a hundred kilometres around Fundão. Further afield on request, but I am straight about the travel cost and plan the visit so I am not driving half a day for a single measurement.
Why Gerardus Koetje?
- Dutch, English & Portuguese
- Registered as a sole trader (trabalhador independente) in Portugal — NIF 309729211
- Years of experience in Central Portugal
- Honest and transparent — no surprises
Photos of our work
Service area
- Fundão
- Covilhã
- Castelo Branco
- Belmonte
- Penamacor
- Idanha-a-Nova
- Sertã
- Oleiros
- Guarda
- Sabugal