30 April 2022
I've found that our 'American' expectations of pace does not properly translate with our Portuguese contractors...
Above: The kitchen, on 28 April 2022.
I suppose the romance of a European lifestyle is the leisurely pace, exacerbated more-so in the rural villages such as those that house our chosen abode. As an American (and even as a former international corporate road warrior having worked in Iberian construction before), we have developed expectations that projects will move at a respectable pace. But that is unfortunately not the case, at least for our project.
I'm finding that I actually need to be onsite more often than expected to keep the project team moving. I was last in Portugal during the first week of March. Staying away for nearly 2 months is much too long, as the amount of progress completed in that absence is what I would have expected in about a week's worth of work elsewhere.
Our legally-agreed project deadline of 13 April came and went. And still, our renovation looks like it has been moving for a month, not four and counting. Our expectations of 'moving in' to the house early this summer have come and gone. We are still very much settling into the unhurried lifestyle of our surroundings.
Granted, the requirements of our project is a bit different, even for our Portuguese contracting team, who is much more accustomed to new construction, and standard materials like drywall--not the solid granite and masonry walls as we have in our home. As we are re-wiring and re-plumbing the entire house, all the conduit channels have to be slowly drilled into the rock--which, as you can imagine, takes a very long time. Look carefully at the pictures, and you'll see where the wires are being embedded. A contractor has to hand-saw through all that rock to create these channels--for every switch, for every plug, for every pipe...in every room. As such, this represents the majority of the work that has been completed.
Sewer pipes ready to be placed lie on the floor in the Great Room.
Electrical channels being drilled through the masonry walls in the Master Bedroom.
Looking toward the Entry Foyer and Great Room.
The Guest Bathroom has a new wall, and lots of channeling for water and electrical pipes. The infamous bidet is now gone.
New walls create the walk-in Master Closet and Master Bathroom beyond.
The roof and facades of the house have also been power-washed and thoroughly cleaned now, so the bright terracotta tiles glean happily in the sun. And one of the two garages has been painted, and our newly painted copper metallic doors work well with the patina of the surrounding facades.
Shiny roof tiles following a good powerwash.
Scaffolding surrounds the facades, where windows and shutters are being repaired and painted in a handsome black.
The garage, and the copper-metallic painted doors.
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