Bringing ruins and stone houses back
Buying a ruin in the hills of Central Portugal is a different kind of decision than buying a house. Often only the stone walls remain, sometimes without a roof, frequently without foundations, and almost always without the paperwork the Câmara wants to see. Yet a stone shell of that age carries something a new build never has: thermal mass, deep shade and a century of history already in the walls.
We guide ruin restorations from Fundão. First an honest look at whether the project can and may be done — and only then construction. We do not sell dreams that later collapse on a missing PDM file.
The first question: can it and may it?
Most ruins carry two problems you cannot see during a viewing. The first is structural: stone walls without foundations, built directly on bedrock or on compacted earth. Sometimes they stand fine for another three centuries, sometimes they crack open the moment you change the loading. The second is legal: no recent IMI history, no permit record in the PDM, no precise registration at the Conservatória. Without that paperwork, getting a licença from the Câmara is a long road.
We start every project with a structural assessment: surveying the walls, exposing the foundation strip, mapping cracks and judging what is reusable. Only then a conversation about what the Câmara will allow and which legal route — reconstrução, ampliação or obras de conservação — is realistic for your specific plot.
What we do in a ruin restoration
- Structural assessment with measurements, crack analysis and an honest view on whether the walls can be kept
- Foundations introduced where they are missing, and micro-piling beneath existing walls — this structural work is done together with a licensed empreiteiro/engineer who provides the design and sign-off
- Stone walls repaired with traditional lime mortar, not the cement that slowly destroys the masonry
- Chimneys and old chaminé rebuilt, including the hidden smoke chambers typical of older farmhouses
- Roofs replaced with timber framing and the original tiles where they are still reusable
- Interior fit-out: insulation, windows, kitchen and bathroom finishing, with the electrical and plumbing work carried out by qualified electricians and plumbers we arrange and schedule for you
Permit route
We work alongside a local arquiteto who knows the Câmara well. That saves months on the PDM route. The structural and larger works that legally require a registered empreiteiro or sign-off by an engineer (foundations, load-bearing walls, micro-piling) are carried out in partnership with a licensed local contractor/engineer who deliver the project legally; we handle the building and finishing work. Registered as a sole trader (trabalhador independente) in Portugal — NIF 309729211.
Service area
From Fundão we cover Sertã, Oleiros, Idanha-a-Nova, Penamacor, Sabugal and Guarda. The remote ruins tend to sit in this region and we know each council and their PDM quirks — what one Câmara waves through, the neighbour can refuse, and that difference often costs you half a year of waiting.
Realistic expectations
A ruin restoration is not a weekend project and not an Instagram dream. Plan for eighteen months to three years from first survey to moving in, with a long formal process in between. We send a fortnightly update with photos and a short look-ahead so you know where things stand, even while you are still living abroad.
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