Studio Build- Central Portugal

#31

Something strange is going on.. All my posts are disappearing??? I have put in some new fotos and a bit of a diary?? Perhaps it is the links?? I can try it another way... Hum.....

#32

March 9th

After months waiting Paul finally showed up this morning about 9:30 with the digger only to tell me that the crane company has pulled out now. Initially he told me that he could not do the job without the crane but we had a long discussion about how it could be done and he has agreed to start and it will just be a lot more labour and add a couple of weeks to the job, perhaps.

Anyway, Paul showed up at 16 and worked to fix the road a little and now is moving some earth by the ruin so it has started now. His crews normally work 9-17. 30mins for lunch.

The time line is something like this:

Week 1- clear out the rest of the ruin area and prepare for the foundation. One on the digger and other people preparing the steel for the foundation.
Week 2- Make the foundations.
Week 3 Prepare to make the rear retaining wall and pour the first concrete slab.

March 10th

Paul calls at 8:30 and it seems that the crane company will do the job now and that everyone is assured they have the insurance that they need, so we will know if today if they come with the crane or not as scheduled, today.. Paul will just keep working alone for now.

13- Still no word about the crane so I guess it is not coming to day. The steel for the foundation will come tomorrow he said. He is making great progress on the area today but has not moved the dirt and stone from the ruin area. Sunny and 16C outside. Very nice day..

Paul left at 16:30 today and had cleared out the area and marked where the foundation will go. The wife is very upset as the building is sticking out much further than she thought and also is closer to the house. The only option to not have it come out so far is to build it further into the hill. The steel for the foundation was delivered at 18 last night.

March 11th

The crane will be erected on Monday. We will go to the camera and get the license next week as well. Paul did not start work until 13 today and we had some discussions with my wife as well as she is not happy about it coming so close to the house and the steps down from the house so we are trying to see if we can move it 1m. In the worst case, we will have to angle the wall and lose a bit of space on the inside. If we do this Paul will need to make up a new drawing for the inside for Joules.

March 12th

I really am against changing the building. We gained another 60cm now so this is going to have to be good enough. Sunny today and Paul is alone again today. He was supposed to have a guy named Marco to help but he did not show up today at the agreed meeting place. Anyway, Paul had a truckload of stone, dirt dropped up on the road to try to repair some of the road as it is hard for the trucks to get down here as the road is so bad at the moment. It has been almost 2 years since the council (camera) graded the road. Normally they do it every year in late April or early May.

Anyway, Paul is digging out the foundation footings today and will prepare the area for the crane and fix the road. Monday, the crane comes and his crew (2) and they start to tie all the steel together for the foundations. This all went well today and the weather has been mostly sunny the whole day. Paul is a great guy.
 Paul will need to hear from Joules soon about where to put the conduits for the power and control room cables.

March 15th

The day was crazy today. The crane people did not arrive until after lunch and it was a tight squeeze to get it past the house and dragged up behind the ruin but it all worked out and there is a huge amount of weight. No way it will fall down unless there is a fault in the metal!! They checked out all the safety function, like if the load exceeds 400kg, the crane will only move half way out on the arm and back and no further. Nice people setting up the crane. Anyway, it was 16 by the time it was all levelled. We managed to replant the big orange tree they had to remove, so we will see if it survives. Massive amount of roots. It was a really old tree. It will still have to be grafted most likely. They will dig up two of the kiwis tomorrow and we will try to transplant those as well. Crew of three tomorrow to start to take down the right wall of the ruin at the corner and start to dig out the rest of the foundation footings and start to make the steel cages. Exciting..

March 16th

Great weather and Paul and his two helpers did a great job today. The corner of the ruin was cut off, the foundations for that side of the building cut dug out, the kiwi transplanted, the steel cages for the rear foundation put in place.. Looking good… I took a lot of pictures.

March 17th

Weather was amazing today again and they got all the foundation footings dug out now and have laid the steel cages in 2 of the 4. It is looking good and concrete has been ordered for next weds to do the first pour. I took a few pictures but was a way most of the day.

March 18th

They had to get some supplies from another site so were not here til about 11 today. Only Paul and Gil. All the footings are dug out now and only one more small cage for the right side and then the rest of the steel. They still look to be on target for having all the steel in place for the cement next weds. Progress…

March 19th

All the footings are dug out now and the cages in. Some steel still missing but they will finish this and put in the vertical steel on Monday and Tuesday. Cement comes Weds.. It was a great day today. They got a lot done.

Tried to reach Joules again and he just seems super busy. It is a bit annoying he just does not answer at all as there are so many questions and some extremely important things we have to work out with Paul. I just have to be patient.

#33

That looks helpfully remote, although we cannot see what is behind the camera.

#34

: Footings poured.

#35

Progress on the footings and the foundation. Foundation will be poured on Thursday,.. exciting.

#36

It really is! What an awesome setting. Do you have any photos from further away? I'd love to see some context.

Cheers,
Jennifer

#37

I just went and took some pictures from a bit further away...

#38

March 22nd

José and Gil showed up about 8:45. Weather is awesome. They will focus on the steel work and the frames for the front of the foundation. Paul showed up for a little bit today and said he will have all the paper work for the camera tomorrow. Concrete is postponed until Thursday afternoon but they will also book the cement for the foundation for the Tuesday the following week. Then they work on the wall!!! That will take an entire week.

March 23rd

Gil and José just got on with the steel work. All is ready for the footings so they are starting to make the steel for other parts of the structure. Paul came later today with the papers I need for the official license. Looks like I will go with the architect Thursday. Concrete has been delayed until Friday afternoon, so they will not show up the next two days. Joules will come back with the diagram for where the tubes will go in the foundation for the electricity and cables tomorrow as they expect to pour the first foundation next Tuesday and then that Friday the floor. After that they can build the retaining wall.

March 25th

I attempted to go and get the official license today but turns out that I still do not have all the documents according to Pedro. He filled in the Livro da obra so I don’t need to have Pedro with me next time but I still need a proper health and safety document (signed) and also another letter for who takes responsibility. Also, a major fucking headache now, is that Paul told me that it was ok to change the build if you make it smaller but not larger. Pedro said this is not the case. You have to build the exact building that was approved at the camara. The engineer who is signed on as responsible, if he comes out the site and sees that the building is different and then writes in the Livro da obra, that there have been changes, then you will have to submit a new project at the camara to get approval. If this happens, I am going to have to charge Paul this money as he said it was ok. Also Pedro said that you would have a funny shaped roof now and that cutting the tiles in this way leaves open a much greater chance for water to get in and under the roof compared to a completely straight roof. He recommends that we make the roof straight anyway. Fuck…

March 26th

The guys showed up about 9 and kept on working on preparing the steel for the beams, roof, etc.. Paul come about 10-11 or so. Not sure exactly as I was working in the garden. The concrete pump showed up at 13:45 and got in place. There was just enough room for them to put the extension legs out. Not much room to space. It was two concrete trucks, 12m3 of concrete. All poured in less than an hour. Gil lead the hose into the footings and Paul went around with the vibrator machine that gets rid of the bubbles and makes the whole thing smooth itself out. They had to adjust the steel bars a bit but that was it. Went very fast and smooth. great job guys. Paul said it would be hard enough tomorrow you could walk on it but it will rest until Monday…

March 29th

I went to the camera to turn in all the papers and try to get the official license now. Sadly, they wanted everything digital (first time ever, I was asked for digital stuff) so I have to wait to get some documents from Paul in digital form and then I can send them via email and they will respond and then I will go back in. Anyway, the guys took the frames off the footings and started to frame the foundation and lay the drainage pipe that will go around the perimeter of the building. They also put in the 10cm tubes that will carry the electricity and other cables into the control room. They laid down some black water sealant as well. Looking great…

March 30th

I woke up this morning and realised that the tubes for the cables are not in the right place as Joules had made the building a rectangle and we have taken 1m off the front right side so this fucked everything off dimension wise. Paul sorted it out though and put the tubes in the correct place based on running a line to where the building was planned to be. All is good now and this pushes the tubes to be right around the concrete pillar. This will mean the concrete pillar will basically be inside the soffit. I hope this is not a problem.

The guys arrived about 8:45. Cloudy and windy but not that cold outside. They put down a layer of black plastic only cutting a hole for the middle support pole. Then they played down the 3cm blue insulation, tubes for the cables. Around the edges of the tubes and anywhere there is a gap they sealed this with some polyurethane foam stuff. Then they lay the steel in. This will be slightly lifted up on some bricks so the steel will be in the middle of the 15cm slab. Paul estimates it will be 12m3 of cement. Two big trucks.. Wow… It is supposed to rain on Thursday. I hope not too much. They were to come at 8 but now the cement will not come until 14. They are ready so it looks like they will not work tomorrow.

Ready to pour the concrete..

#39

Thank you for the diary and the photos - what a splendid setting you have and hopefully the view from the studio down across the valley is good, too. What a headache getting licences is. Let's hope that it gets sorted and that Thursday's cement deliver goes well.

#40

The views are amazing on the side of the mountain and there are no houses around all the way down to the river. The view from the live room will be splendid....

#41

April 1st

Paul and the guys arrived about 12:45 and put the bricks and got their laser level set up, boots and tools and waited. The concrete pump arrived about 13:45 and the concrete truck a few minutes after. IT all went very smooth. 6m3 was enough to do a little less than half and it went fast. Overcast and a tiny bit of rain so good weather for concrete pour. The 2nd truck was just perfect and it was all over in 20mins. They are smoothing it all out now and gathering the concrete off the drive that was dump out of the pump truck and will add this to the foundation. Went very smooth. Quite a downpour for a few minutes so there is a small lake in one area now but rest looks good.

I got the bill today and not Paul. Quick look and I could not see the cost?? 1081€ Now this will sit and cure until next Tuesday. Perfect.. Next up, the retaining wall construction and the block wall

: Foundation

construction.

#42

Did you say 1081 Euro for all that concrete?? wow that is cheap! In Canada, I think my garage pad cost ~$5,000 !

#43

Some steps in the building process can feel hardly noticeable while others, like this foundation, feel like an enormous leap forward.

#44

So cool. These views are incredible!

#45

The views from our house are amazing. The house sits out on a point on the mountain side with the tallest mountain in Portugal (2000m) to the left (often covered in Snow in the winter) and the 2nd highest straight across the river valley from us. Huge vista views.. I think the artists will find some nice inspiration here...

As for the concrete the price is 90€/m3 including the concrete pump truck.... I have no idea if this is cheap or not. We have poured 25m3 so far for the footings and the foundation. The retaining wall at the back will be about another 12m3, I think... Then we are done with the big pours. Phew..

Thanks for following the progress.

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