This blogspace chronicles the ups and downs of our house renovation project in Vale de Prazeres, Portugal from first purchase in November 2019.
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- Written by: Rick Nason
So, I'm still finding interesting electrical installation solutions made by the previous owners of the house. This time we are in the loft, previously inaccessible except via a small opening in the corner of the bathroom which I once looked through. The new roof allows us to get up there and snoop around with relative ease and I thought I would remove all the old electrics before the ceiling gets demolished.
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- Written by: Rick Nason
It has been a busy week with the team working on the roof and it was a huge surprise to wake up on Friday to find a truck parked in the driveway with a load of roofing on board.
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- Written by: Rick Nason
Overnight the wind had picked up greatly, we could hear things falling over and being blown around on the ceiling, which is now effectively the roof. A trip to the bathroom involved dodging clouds of dust and other rubbish falling though the gaps in the boards. Such fun, especially the sharp stones on the floor.
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- Written by: Rick Nason
Another two days of frenzied work on the roof, things are taking shape nicely. By the end of the second day all of the old structure has been removed and the space cleared ready for the new steel beams.
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- Written by: Rick Nason
After some delay and confusion the work has now started on the roof.
Expecting it to take a couple of weeks we are hopeful that it can be done before the rainy season starts properly here in Vale de Prazeres. The forecast is for some light rain by the end of this week but we are assured that it should be generally watertight by then.
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- Written by: Rick Nason
With the significant delay in getting the roof repairs started we decided to make some headway with Janet's formal garden at the back of the house. It is currently just a jumble of soil, concrete, granite boulders and other detritus.
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Lots more fun investigating and upgrading the electrics.
Gone are the redundant 3-phase circuits, the ancient switch box along with the overloaded and burned cable to the workshop. A new meter was installed a couple of months ago when the supply was increased from the minimum 3.45kva to a whopping 6.9kva (30 amps).
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It has been a long time but the kitchen is now done, well almost! We are still trying to locate a suitable hanging rail for the utensils and install a new light fitting.
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Once again the water supply has been acting up. Some days working, some days not.
Having enlisted, once again!, the help of a friend to haul the water pump from the borehole and examine the thing, all seemed fine except for a split in the pipe just above the pump.
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- Written by: Rick Nason
Having got bored with waiting for the remaining tiles to arrive I decided to install those which we had and then hang the wallpaper. Janet wanted a feature wall and she chose a classic jungle scene to add some colour to the wall.
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- Written by: Rick Nason
With little new information to share we have neglected to add updates to the site but here is a brief catch up. Work has slowed immensely while we continue to wait for the shop to tell us the materials have arrived.
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- Written by: Rick Nason
After a strange beginning to the year, then a global pandemic closing down many countries, some unexpected snow and heavy rains, things have finally settled down and the weather has become much warmer. We have measured around 37ºC today so the work in the garden is restricted to the first few hours of the day.
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Finally the major work in the back room has been completed. Filling and painting the walls and ceiling all done, curtains made and fitted, more effective sealing round the door - although the with next major downpour it will probably still let the water in anyway.
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Having bought a 'toy' rotavator from Lidl and used it once only to find it was rather ineffective for both the size and condition of our garden, we sought help from our friends in the area.
As usual we were offered a solution, this time a proper rotavator.
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With the required materials all located and bought we can finally make some real progress with the back room. The walls are installed with the insulation, the electric tubing is in place and the ceiling insulation fitted.