The two main costs when facing the renovation in Portugal are human work and supplies. I plan to do most of the property renovation myself with some help from a friend who will join me for the summer, and one of the tasks I have decided to do while planning the work is a supply price comparison between Portugal and Spain.
Lumber, ceramic tiles, cement, pipes for the watering system...
There is plenty of stuff I will have to purchase, I have a clear idea of the elements I will need, some are commodities such as lumber, and others are specific brands such as the electric switches I have chosen so I am starting to compare prices is key. Anything can be found locally in Portugal as Castelo Branco is quite a big town and is only 15km away from the village but prices can be very different and some specific supplies can be hard to find there.
I am planning a one-week trip at the end of this month to prune the rest of the trees I could not finish due to the weather conditions. My idea is to check the price of some of the products I plan to purchase in local stores here in Spain and check for the same or similar ones in Portugal. Of course, I have some restrictions as big or heavy stuff will need to be purchased there if I cannot use the trailer to transport from here, but knowing prices and material alternatives in advance and deciding alternatives ahead of time can make a huge difference in the final total cost of the renovation.
"Office" work is as important as "hands" work and I also enjoy searching and checking on the computer. The cool thing is that I am also starting to check my local contacts network to find stores that can offer nice prices on key stuff and when you discover the savings you can achieve is a nice satisfaction, similar to waking up and finding a nice crypto market up movement.
For now, I will focus on lumber, an aluminum external door, electrical and water supplies, and some equipment as a mixer. Let's see if I find big price surprises. I have some wood from the olive tree branches I trimmed on my last trip, I am expecting warm temperatures on my next trip but I will need to work on someplace to store it :)
Good luck! Main costs in Spain (at least where I live now) usually are the comission you have to pay to get the license to do works in your land
If you do not pay it things will go really slow
Yes,
We met some friends this weekend who just renovated their apartment and the prices they paid for their license were ridiculous, I also remember I had to pay a lisence plus a project to get my solar pannels installed on the roof. You do not need a license to do any renovation inside your home in the area we have our property. That makes a huge difference in terms of cost and time.