Remembering why we are here

This renovation isn’t about throwing our life savings at a property to get it finished as soon as possible. This is a life journey for us. We want to get involved with the house, know it and work it. Even if it takes us the rest of our lives, each day will be an adventure. So with that in mind, we’ve come to a decision!

Lets make our own windows and doors he said!

OK, I’m no carpenter. I worked in the industry 30 years ago and have installed windows and doors in houses in England, yes. But even this sounds a bit crazy.

Crazy but exciting. We’ve invested in some decent machinery (though we have no electricity as yet at Casa Grande), and the committed plan going forward it to repair and make good the main entrance door sets (we have two) and to manufacture from scratch, the six arched windows for the main house. All the arched windows have internal shutters with integral hardwood case surrounds (they are beautiful). They are actually in pretty decent condition with just a few problem areas that will need some extra tlc.

Update 06/05/2022 – I have sourced a great hardwood supplier near Porto. Expectations are high 🙂

Update 02/06/2022 – Prices are higher 😮

Making an entrance

Here’s the first challenge though. The main entrance door. This is a beautifully traditional set of hardwood double doors. Above the door set sits an arched fanlight displaying iron work that would have been behind glass; the glass is now gone. All the door stiles are rotten at the base, as are the jambs at the base on both side. One of the door’s bottom panels is also missing. All will need to be replaced using new wood. Time to get the doors down and onto the bench and remove the dead wood.

The devil is in the detail

Being the optimist that I am, I often look at something and think it will be pretty straight forward. Not neccessarily so! The intricate craftsmanship employed in the making of these doors is clear to see once you get them on the bench. I know I have to remove the bottoms of the doors and given that I have no precision power tools, it’s time for a steady hand! I am always scared do do things like this. Oh well here goes!

Slow progress, but progress all the same

Update 17/06/2022

I had mentioned earlier that we had sourced a hardwood timber supplier for these doors, but the quality of the finished timber wasn’t great (very twisted and warped and also unseasoned). The price was even more of a let down! Wood (madeira) is really expensive in Portugal (we had been warned) and given that I have no industrial tools to work raw materials, this was a non-starter.

I’m not giving up the fight though on these beautiful doors. I have made contact with a local carpenter now who will be able to fully repair the doors for us in a few months time. And for a long lasting and professional job, this is the best solution. So in the short term, the decision has been made to fix the doors as best I can.

Here’s where I’ve got to within my skill levels. It will do for now. There was a lot of damage to the original doors and this has also made it difficult to fix new locks and hinges securely on the current timber. New wood is required for a better, long term solution.  Julie has cleaned up and treated the ornate iron work that sits above the door. It looks great and the glass is on order to finish the job.

Next post on this page then will hopefully be to show off the fully restored and painted Casa Grande entrance.

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