Progress in August

August is traditionally holiday time in Europe. It's not unusual for businesses to close for the entire month. Naturally, we had some concern that things would slow down a bit on the worksite, but our contractor assured us that work would continue, and he delivered.

The main thing that got finished was the structural work on the bathrooms built into the back garden.

The roof above the bathrooms will be nearly level with the rest of the garden. It will be a patio space with some tables/chairs. The six squares in the picture above will be filled with panels that contain a matrix of small circular glass sidewalk bricks.  This will filter some light into the bathrooms, and add some character to the space above.

On the left of the bathrooms will be stairs leading down to the bar.  The patio will also have stairs connecting to the 1st floor balcony which will be connected to the mezzanine level in the bar by a cast iron catwalk. The effect should create a space with many different environments on different levels.  Hopefully it will also feel bigger then it is.

Inside the house, the workers have been busy cleaning up the masonry work on the walls.  We are going to leave the stones exposed which is not unusual in Porto. I love the look of the stone wall, and seeing it cleaned and finished is really nice. Stone gives a strong feeling of permanence to the space, and the matrix created by the different stone shapes always catches your eye.

When we lived in New York and London, having an exposed brick wall was a sought after feature.  Brick is nice, but this is better!

The Best Architect in Porto

We are about 1/2 complete with the construction of the house/bar, and it seems like a good time to reflect on the people and companies that have helped us.  I plan to do a few of these posts because we've got a great team. I will start with the architect.

First, the Architect

The importance of a good architect cannot be overstated.  While it is technically possible to build without professional architecture, the maze of modern regulations, and requirements make it inadvisable, and even putting aside the regulatory requirements, the art of architecture should not be ignored. That said, because architecture is a delicate balance between art and real world practicality, finding a good architect is critical.  We were lucky to find a GREAT architect, João Fonseca and his firm Arquitetura e Design Lda..

I cannot say enough to recommend João. His technical competence, ability to navigate the approval process, and work to a schedule are noteworthy, but his real value came in his design ability. João took the time to really understand the project, and worked with us to find the best use for the space available. The design process was a collaboration between us and João, but without his experience, knowledge and guidance, we could have easily overlooked important elements. João brought to the discussion considerations of light and layout that will have sublime effects on the final product. Of course the final result is still coming together, but I believe this space will have an effect on people when they visit our bar.  Our discussions encompassed subtle elements that may not be noticed directly by our clients, but WILL have an impact on them.  This is going to be a special place, and we couldn't have done it without João.

João presents TerraModel

We have several engineers on the project too, and João took on the task of coordinating all their work to create the final plan and specification for construction. The construction plan created by Joao and the engineers runs to several hundred pages and is unbelievably detailed. I will write a separate post plugging our engineering team because they have also done great work.

At less then 5% of the overall value of construction, we found João's fees to be very reasonable. Of course, we saw it as a necessary expense, but now I can see that actually, João has SAVED far more money for us then we payed him! The degree of detail he supplied in the plan allowed us to press the contractors for the best price during the bid phase, and it also made it possible to have a fixed price contract for construction. Another big saving came during the approval process where João's ability and persistence navigating the process shaved months in time (which translates to a lot of money). Of course these savings are hard to quantify, but don't worry, I have an example (among quite a few) that saved actual euros:

When excavating the space for the the bathrooms which are being built into a cutaway section of our garden, the contractors encountered a massive rock. At the exact moment the contractor was explaining to me that this was an exceptional circumstance that would require him to bring in more equipment and manpower (and charge me extra for it), João pulled out the specification and showed us the exact section where it stated that any rocks encountered in the excavation were the responsibility of the contractor, not us. The contractor just shrugged his shoulders and got to work with the jackhammers, and I paid nothing extra.

Rock query at no extra charge.

João has been our advocate, he spends a lot of time on the site with us, and he admittedly refuses to let anyone take a Euro out of our pocket!

More Progress

The structural work continues on the house.  Things are moving along pretty well.  Last week the walls to the bathroom area were poured.

This also concludes the excavation work on the property.  That's good, because there's a small tree in the back garden (right behind the future bathrooms) that was really suffering.  I asked the workmen to try not to kill it, but they were noncommittal about it's future.   Happily, it looks like it has survived, although it has definitely been a difficult few months.  I plan to take good care of him and in time I hope he will become a central feature of our garden.  We haven't come up with a name for him yet.   Post a comment on this page if you have a suggestion.

There's been some work inside the house too.  Now that the cement has cured on the upper floors, the temporary supports have been removed, and we can start to get a feeling for how the space in the bar will feel.  The picture below shows the bar area which will have about 9 meters (30 ft) of clearance to the ceiling. The stone will remain exposed, and there will be a small wooden mezzanine level extending to the vertical metal column at the left of the picture.    This is really going to be a fantastic space, and I'm certain it will create an impression on our future customers.

I've also downloaded July from the time lapse camera.  The video below combines the three months to now (May through July):

More Building, Digging... and a Rock

I was away for a week, but things kept moving nicely at the worksite.  The second floor is in, and work should move to adding the roof in the next few weeks.

They are also excavating a space in the garden where the bathrooms will be.

Unfortunately (but not entirely surprising) they ran into some rocky earth.  Digging with jackhammers is very slow going, backbreaking work.  you can see an outline of the rock in the picture below.  The soil above is darker, with roots, and below the whitish area is the result of pulverizing the granite stone.

June in Time Lapse

Things slowed down a little last week.  First there was 'Dia de São João' (day of St John, patron saint of the city) which is a holiday and massive party for the city.  Then we had a little delay in getting the steel structure for the second floor.  I went by the house this morning, and everything is moving along again quite nicely.

They should be pouring concrete again towards the end of next week, and that will be the end of structural support work.  Our roof will be wood in a traditional style (but including insulation).  After the roof is on, then the work will move to framing the non-supporting walls, adding utilities, carpentry, and then finishes.  We are a little behind schedule, but the contractor is not worried about completing on time.

And now, the promised time lapse video of the work until today.  Next month, I will add the progress, and I think I'll add music too.

Onward, Upward

There is a lot scheduled for the next week.  Some more excavation for the foundations of the bathrooms, placing the metal beams for the second floor, connecting the plumbing for the sewage/drainage systems.

The work has already started to prepare for the second floor.  The bar area of Terraplana will have a double high ceiling, so the forms for the second floor concrete need to be supported by a large structure.  The picture below shows the first part of the scaffold structure.

The pipes for the sewage/drainage system have also arrived.

That's about all we have to report this week.  The project appears to be basically on schedule.  If everything goes as planned, we should have construction finished in November.

Digging Some Holes

There's not a whole lot to show this week, although quite a lot of work has been done. The most obvious thing is the new holes and trenches that have opened up in preparation for the drainage/sewage system.

We were required to have an archeologist present when these holes were opened. Fortunately, there was nothing of interest under the floor, so construction can continue.

There is also a lot of work going on the prepare the walls for the installation of the next floor and stairs. It's not particularly obvious in these pictures, but it has been busy on the worksite. the board attached to the wall in the picture below shows where the second floor stairs will go.  The walls also had to be cleaned of the old plaster coating because we will be leaving the stones exposed in the bar area.