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Building/Refurbishment project
Re: Building/Refurbishment project
I am applying the logic that you would if buying an "old " house in the UK and having it too bought up to the new Euro specs that are in theory applicable throughout the EU .
There are of course different standards relating to location, Southern Europe vs Nordic countries.
A building society surveyor before approving a mortgage would look at the state of the electrics etc, building inspectors if you are extending would insist on the thermal envelope of the building meeting the new regulations, doors, windows, roof and walls all have a mandated performance criteira.
These would exist for Portugal.
Our villa ( less than 2 years old ) has construction specifications that are probably now out of date even though they far exceed that of neighbouring properties only 10 years old.
Eg , older roofs only had roof beams, sometimes a concrete skin and then tiles.
Our roof had to have, Roof beams supporting hollow bricks, over which is laid an impermeable waterproof layer, over which is at least 20mm lightweight concrete over which are the roof tiles.
Our walls are conventional cavity walls with a 25mm high density foam thermal barrier between the internal and external walls, plus at least 2 cm of internal plaster.
All this of course raises the cost
The difference in heat retention in winter and comfort in summer is remarkable when compared to older builds.
Giving your architect the benefit of the doubt is he working to these new standards.
There are of course different standards relating to location, Southern Europe vs Nordic countries.
A building society surveyor before approving a mortgage would look at the state of the electrics etc, building inspectors if you are extending would insist on the thermal envelope of the building meeting the new regulations, doors, windows, roof and walls all have a mandated performance criteira.
These would exist for Portugal.
Our villa ( less than 2 years old ) has construction specifications that are probably now out of date even though they far exceed that of neighbouring properties only 10 years old.
Eg , older roofs only had roof beams, sometimes a concrete skin and then tiles.
Our roof had to have, Roof beams supporting hollow bricks, over which is laid an impermeable waterproof layer, over which is at least 20mm lightweight concrete over which are the roof tiles.
Our walls are conventional cavity walls with a 25mm high density foam thermal barrier between the internal and external walls, plus at least 2 cm of internal plaster.
All this of course raises the cost
The difference in heat retention in winter and comfort in summer is remarkable when compared to older builds.
Giving your architect the benefit of the doubt is he working to these new standards.