Roofing Around Fundão — Replacement, Leak Repair & Insulation
An old Portuguese roof is lovely to look at and rarely watertight. In the stone houses of the interior you nearly always find the same combination: cracked telhas, no vapour barrier, and insulation that exists more on paper than in reality. When the first serious November rain arrives, that's when ceiling stains appear, or wet timber shows up above the rafters.
We replace roofs and fix leaks from our base in Fundão. Whether it's a few shifted telhas barata or a full rebuild with new sheathing, insulation and mediterrânica tiles — you get an honest assessment and an estimate that lines up with the real cost, no surprises halfway through.
What we do
Most roofs in this region are built on timber purlins, with reed or boards as sheathing and traditional red telhas on top. A good system as long as it gets checked now and then. What we typically run into and handle:
- Locating and fixing leaks — often a cracked tile, sometimes a blocked gutter or failing lead flashing around the chimney. We get on the roof, find the real source (not just where it drips inside), and repair on the spot when possible.
- Full roof replacement — tiles off, sheathing inspected, rotten timber replaced, vapour barrier (membrana) installed, insulation (XPS or mineral wool) added and new telhas laid. Choice between telha barata (budget, machine-made) or telha mediterrânica (heavier, traditional, longer service life).
- Insulation and vapour barrier — by far the most neglected part. Without a vapour barrier, warm indoor air condenses against the cold underside of the tiles and the timber rots from above. We install a proper membrana and insulation layer, and the heating bill in winter drops noticeably as a side effect.
- Gutters, downpipes and chimney work — the real culprit behind most infiltrações. Blocked gutters, sagging downpipes or a chimney where water tracks down the inside.
Central Portugal reality
Summers here are dry and hot, winters wet and properly cold — not what your roof expects if it was built in the 1970s. Many older homes never had a decent vapour barrier, and we regularly find sodden insulation in attics that is doing more harm than good. For infiltrações we look not just at the spot where the water shows up inside, but at the route it took to get there — the actual leak is often metres away.
Service area
From Fundão we work across Covilhã, Castelo Branco, Belmonte, Sertã and Oleiros. Registered as a sole trader (trabalhador independente) in Portugal — NIF 309729211.
How it goes
Send a few photos of the roof through WhatsApp or the form, and we'll come out for a survey. For active leaks we try to come the same week where possible — waiting for the next rainstorm only makes the problem bigger.
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
What our clients say
Service area
- Fundão
- Covilhã
- Castelo Branco
- Belmonte
- Penamacor
- Idanha-a-Nova
- Sertã
- Oleiros
- Guarda
- Sabugal