In love with forests

Hello all, new member here and hope you are all having a good day so far :O)

I have been dreaming of owning my own home and land for a number of years and finally am in a good financial position to take the leap and have begun researching Portugal as a possibility. I had originally been considering Spain as I speak the language and have spent alot of time there, however I suspect I will struggle to find a house with a large plot of land attached that is not out in the middle of nowhere or beyond my budget. Location not especially important for me but would prefer to be in a quiet village or the edge of a village. Portugal seems to offer cheaper land and an abundance of water. Two ideas I have : 1. Buying an old stone house and restoring it. 2. Building from scratch. I am intrigued by the idea of building with cob and wondered if anybody had made enquiries into the legalities of building with this natural material, or know of any properties in Portugal that have been built. I couldn't find any via internet search. I understand Portuguese building regs are administered by local councils and they can be very strict. I may be coming to Portugal this summer to do voluntary work so can make enquiries then, but in the meantime just looking for pointers and suggestions. Eg, are there any councils that are more open to this type of construction? Does all work have to be undertaken by a builder, etc. Also, if you have researched eco-builds, have you found other countries to be more welcoming ? Would renovating an existing property be less hassle?

Many thanks for your thoughts.

mfesharne

Add this:

Grand Designs family 'in shock' after £27,000 eco-home left destroyed in blaze

To this:


And perhaps reconsider?

dingg

Wouldn't matter how a house was constructed if it was caught up in the middle of a wild forest fire though would it?

Its certainly an interesting concept (cob) some have lasted for a long time , good luck with the project, if you go for it run a build thread here as I for one would be interested in seeing it progress.

In love with forests

The British eco home featured in Grand designs was made of alot of flammable materials including straw and timber I believe. I want to use cob which is basically clay or mud out of the ground. Fire does not touch cob houses, unless the roofing material is flammable (eg, wood, straw). It is often used to build outdoor bread ovens and fireplaces. Cob houses are pretty much earthquake proof and insect proof. In fact, it might be the perfect housing material for those who lost their homes in the recent fires since it is basically free, but getting the powers to be to recognise this....

In love with forests

Haha ! Or maybe stay in bed for the rest of my life so nothing bad can possibly happen to me

ouriquejan

If you're on facebook, can I suggest you join a group called Pure Portugal. They have lots of good advice about cob houses and other alternative buildings.

Good luck with whatever you decide on.

In love with forests

Will do. I am familiar with the PP website. Didn't know they were on facebook too. Thanks

mfesharne

Hey, it's your choice so go ahead with what you want but having barely survived the Pedrogao Grande fires in which 11 died in my village & 50+ more within 5 km of it I KNOW that underestimating the fire risk is very much at your peril.

The fire was hot enough to melt aluminium & bend 5 inch steel RSJs like bananas & what if brick & stone structures burn, what hope for cob buildings?

You asked for opinions & I've given mine.

Good luck

In love with forests

Brick and stone do not burn. It's the timber and other flammable contents of the house that burn.

mfesharne

Good luck anyway........

liveaboard

Cob isn't a term used much here, but rammed earth or taipa is a well known traditional building material which I believe is very similar.

To get planing permission passed, you'll need an architect to design and submit the plans, a full perimeter frame [likely steel and concrete], for earthquake safety. A licensed builder will have to take the contract, a licensed plumber do the plumbing, and a licensed electrician do the electrics.
You can be involved in the work; but you can't do it alone [legally].

Planning permission will take between 1 and 6 years, depending on many factors, not least of which is how technically unique your build is.

This isn't just a Portugal thing, but is similar in most countries. Getting building permission for anything different to the cultural norm is very tough.

Also, [as in most of Europe] building on rural green field sites without provable prior habitation on it is pretty much guaranteed to be refused.

In love with forests

Thanks. Is the above written into Portuguese law and is there a government website that tells it in black and white?

dmu

The same regulations are applicable in France, and there are official French sites (Légi-France, Service-public, ...) indicating the rules and regulations on all subjects.
https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/Sites...embres-de-l-UE
gives European equivalents....

liveaboard

I constantly see articles online and on TV; oh look, a new idea, we can build homes from XXX or from used sea containers, or railroad cars, or boats.
They interview some proponents of the idea; academics, architects, owners.

A few years later, another TV producer does it all again, as if no one had ever heard of these ideas.

But rarely is the real difficulty ever mentioned; planning permission. so boring, tedious, not sexy in any way.
People can [and do] build homes all sorts of ways, but in areas where planning permission is required you're not allowed to do what you want, unless what you want is what the authorities want too.

Sorry; that's how it is.

I have no idea if Portuguese law is available online, I always just ask my lawyer this stuff.

mfesharne

I actually like the theory of things like straw/cob buildings etc & they do often look nice but having barely survived the Pedrogao Grande fires & seen the aftermath, I wouldn't go near anything like that here.

Believe it or not, there are some here still talking about building wooden houses........ which I find incredible.