A long overdue look at where we are with our wood frame house build in Portugal.
If you are new here, welcome! We are Wayne & Annette and this is our blog about moving to and living in Portugal. If you’ve received it, then you either subscribed or someone was kind enough to forward it to you. If you are a returning visitor, welcome back! Thank you all 😀
What’s happening on the house build?
Currently, the first fix electrics are just about finished. It looks a bit odd from our perspective coming from the UK. Things are done differently here in Portugal. That doesn’t mean they are wrong, just different, and in many ways better too. It even seems like the UK are adopting some European ways of working, so we are on a steep learning curve that’s for sure!
The wall cavities are now having the insulation installed and the plumbing is about to begin to enable the under floor heating to commence. This should begin in the next week, so tune in for our next update to see how that has gone.
Along with the insulation the VMC or MVHR system will be installed. If you don’t know what that is, we hope the next section will explain. But before we do, we have been wrestling with the decision to include it for some time. Mainly due to the extra cost, but it was recommended by our architect, and we trust his knowledge. We are now on a really tight budget mainly due to the length of time the build is taking, but we really did our research and decided to add the system before they closed up the walls.
There are many reasons why we decided to fit a MVHR system in our home. Here are some of the most important ones to us:
Improved indoor air quality: MVHR systems help to remove pollutants, allergens, and other harmful particles from the air, which can improve respiratory health and reduce the risk of allergies and asthma.
Energy efficiency: MVHR systems can help to reduce energy costs by recovering heat from the stale air. This can be especially beneficial in cold climates, where the heat from the stale air can be used to pre-heat the incoming fresh air.
Comfort: MVHR systems can help to maintain a consistent temperature and humidity level in a building, which can improve comfort and reduce the risk of condensation and mould growth.
Reduced noise: MVHR systems are designed to operate quietly, which can help to reduce noise pollution in a building.
Longevity of building materials: MVHR systems can help to extend the lifespan of building materials by reducing the moisture content in the air. This can help to prevent mold growth and damage to wood, drywall, and other materials.
Reduced CO2 emissions: MVHR systems can help to reduce CO2 emissions by improving the efficiency of heating and cooling systems.
In addition to these benefits, MVHR systems can also help to reduce the amount of dust and dirt in the air.
It offers a number of advantages over traditional ventilation systems and can help to improve our health, comfort, and we are looking to make the house as energy efficient as we can.
We are reliant on our construction company for the selection of components, and so far they have exceeded our expectations, so are excited to see how this next phase delivers!
We will certainly have emptied the bank account by the end of this build, but we should be comfortable all year round and should only have minimal energy bills going forward.
We also had our solar panels delivered and fit, and ready to be connected once the house has electricity to the mechanical room and is ready to receive the rest of the system equipment. The solar engineer advised we move the panels from our original idea of above the western-most roof, to the flat central roof as it faces south and will be more efficient. We were concerned at first that they would look odd there, but was assured that they would not really be seen from the road. This proved to be correct too, as we only discovered they had been fit, once we sent the drone up for an arial view!
The other aspect that needed some attention was the grass and weeds. It had been wet for a few weeks, but mild. That’s the type of environment here in Portugal that encourages growth at phenomenal rates. Especially once the sun peeks out! And so Wayne got an opportunity to get the strimmer out again. Thankfully most of the brambles have weakened and with only grass and weeds it can be cut in a single day. There was also slightly less grass to cut too, as the front entrance has had several lorry loads of building rubble dumped on it. This is in readiness for re-grading the land for entrance to the front doors, as the foundations are much higher than the original plans showed.
This also means a digger is required to move all that, so at the same time it will be utilised for the septic tank and pool projects. So, lots going on in a short timeframe.
Did we mention timeframes? Well with all that needs doing (roof and cladding finished, UFH and VMC installed, insulation finished and drywall done, floors laid, kitchen and appliances fitted, bathrooms fitted, septic tank installed and plumbing completed, pool and decking built, painting etc…) when do you think we will be ready to move in?
Best guesses in the comments 😂😂
We are now staying locally until we can move in, so stay tuned for regular updates. We pray we don’t have anymore delays.
Thank you all ❤️
Our Portuguese Life 