# From a 200 year old ruin to a workshop, a 3 year journey...



## Serradura (Jan 29, 2013)

*A big pile of stones....*

It all started in 2007. After selling our Dutch Art & Frame shop we were looking for a new challenge. We traveled around the globe a bit looking for a nice place to settle down and make a new start. (something you should consider every 10 years or so..) Yes, we've seen the wales at the coast of British Columbia, lived in a cabin on the beach of Roberts Creek for a while, but to start in the beautiful vicinity of the sunshine coast takes more money than we could ever come up with. We thought about moving to The Gambia but legal issues made that impossible. Having lived in Turkey before we looked for a piece of land to get our new dream started but although the people there are very nice….. the government decided otherwise. The good thing about traveling around is that it makes you look on pro's and contra's. What's important? Coming from a busy life, being involved with almost all artistic and community projects, having worked 12 hours a day for the last 10 years, somehow a quiet and peaceful place looks like the best option. At some day in the spring of 2007 we saw this view from the balcony of a little 200 year old cottage in the heart of Portugal. It felt good. It forced us to decide.










Now this blog is not on the restoration of the cottage, this community is all about woodworking. After a few years we bought the old ruin next to the house. The village counsel ordered the (former) owner to take down the second floor because it was so unstable that it could fall on the street. So, he did. All that remained was a big pile of stones. Then we, the strange Dutch couple living on top of the hill, bought that pile of stone….









A big bulldozer made sure that the unstable wall…...









... turned in to a big pile of stones and broken beams.

How and where do you begin? How to move all this without heavy machinery? 
By hand… stone by stone…

Next time; Cleaning up the ruin.
(English is not my native language, so I apologize for any mistakes)


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Serradura said:


> *A big pile of stones....*
> 
> It all started in 2007. After selling our Dutch Art & Frame shop we were looking for a new challenge. We traveled around the globe a bit looking for a nice place to settle down and make a new start. (something you should consider every 10 years or so..) Yes, we've seen the wales at the coast of British Columbia, lived in a cabin on the beach of Roberts Creek for a while, but to start in the beautiful vicinity of the sunshine coast takes more money than we could ever come up with. We thought about moving to The Gambia but legal issues made that impossible. Having lived in Turkey before we looked for a piece of land to get our new dream started but although the people there are very nice….. the government decided otherwise. The good thing about traveling around is that it makes you look on pro's and contra's. What's important? Coming from a busy life, being involved with almost all artistic and community projects, having worked 12 hours a day for the last 10 years, somehow a quiet and peaceful place looks like the best option. At some day in the spring of 2007 we saw this view from the balcony of a little 200 year old cottage in the heart of Portugal. It felt good. It forced us to decide.
> 
> ...


This seem like an amazing adventure,I look forward to future up dates.


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## mojapitt (Dec 31, 2011)

Serradura said:


> *A big pile of stones....*
> 
> It all started in 2007. After selling our Dutch Art & Frame shop we were looking for a new challenge. We traveled around the globe a bit looking for a nice place to settle down and make a new start. (something you should consider every 10 years or so..) Yes, we've seen the wales at the coast of British Columbia, lived in a cabin on the beach of Roberts Creek for a while, but to start in the beautiful vicinity of the sunshine coast takes more money than we could ever come up with. We thought about moving to The Gambia but legal issues made that impossible. Having lived in Turkey before we looked for a piece of land to get our new dream started but although the people there are very nice….. the government decided otherwise. The good thing about traveling around is that it makes you look on pro's and contra's. What's important? Coming from a busy life, being involved with almost all artistic and community projects, having worked 12 hours a day for the last 10 years, somehow a quiet and peaceful place looks like the best option. At some day in the spring of 2007 we saw this view from the balcony of a little 200 year old cottage in the heart of Portugal. It felt good. It forced us to decide.
> 
> ...


I will eagerly read. Love this kind of thing.

Don't worry about your English, most of our children write it much worse than that.


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## DocSavage45 (Aug 14, 2010)

Serradura said:


> *A big pile of stones....*
> 
> It all started in 2007. After selling our Dutch Art & Frame shop we were looking for a new challenge. We traveled around the globe a bit looking for a nice place to settle down and make a new start. (something you should consider every 10 years or so..) Yes, we've seen the wales at the coast of British Columbia, lived in a cabin on the beach of Roberts Creek for a while, but to start in the beautiful vicinity of the sunshine coast takes more money than we could ever come up with. We thought about moving to The Gambia but legal issues made that impossible. Having lived in Turkey before we looked for a piece of land to get our new dream started but although the people there are very nice….. the government decided otherwise. The good thing about traveling around is that it makes you look on pro's and contra's. What's important? Coming from a busy life, being involved with almost all artistic and community projects, having worked 12 hours a day for the last 10 years, somehow a quiet and peaceful place looks like the best option. At some day in the spring of 2007 we saw this view from the balcony of a little 200 year old cottage in the heart of Portugal. It felt good. It forced us to decide.
> 
> ...


Hey,

I'm late for the party, but it's not unusual!


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## JudithAnnTaylor (Sep 27, 2017)

Serradura said:


> *A big pile of stones....*
> 
> It all started in 2007. After selling our Dutch Art & Frame shop we were looking for a new challenge. We traveled around the globe a bit looking for a nice place to settle down and make a new start. (something you should consider every 10 years or so..) Yes, we've seen the wales at the coast of British Columbia, lived in a cabin on the beach of Roberts Creek for a while, but to start in the beautiful vicinity of the sunshine coast takes more money than we could ever come up with. We thought about moving to The Gambia but legal issues made that impossible. Having lived in Turkey before we looked for a piece of land to get our new dream started but although the people there are very nice….. the government decided otherwise. The good thing about traveling around is that it makes you look on pro's and contra's. What's important? Coming from a busy life, being involved with almost all artistic and community projects, having worked 12 hours a day for the last 10 years, somehow a quiet and peaceful place looks like the best option. At some day in the spring of 2007 we saw this view from the balcony of a little 200 year old cottage in the heart of Portugal. It felt good. It forced us to decide.
> 
> ...


Hello, has the above story just begun? how can I continue to read it?


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## Serradura (Jan 29, 2013)

Serradura said:


> *A big pile of stones....*
> 
> It all started in 2007. After selling our Dutch Art & Frame shop we were looking for a new challenge. We traveled around the globe a bit looking for a nice place to settle down and make a new start. (something you should consider every 10 years or so..) Yes, we've seen the wales at the coast of British Columbia, lived in a cabin on the beach of Roberts Creek for a while, but to start in the beautiful vicinity of the sunshine coast takes more money than we could ever come up with. We thought about moving to The Gambia but legal issues made that impossible. Having lived in Turkey before we looked for a piece of land to get our new dream started but although the people there are very nice….. the government decided otherwise. The good thing about traveling around is that it makes you look on pro's and contra's. What's important? Coming from a busy life, being involved with almost all artistic and community projects, having worked 12 hours a day for the last 10 years, somehow a quiet and peaceful place looks like the best option. At some day in the spring of 2007 we saw this view from the balcony of a little 200 year old cottage in the heart of Portugal. It felt good. It forced us to decide.
> 
> ...





> Hello, has the above story just begun? how can I continue to read it?
> - JudithAnnTaylor


just push next in the upper right corner where it says "part 2"


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## Serradura (Jan 29, 2013)

*Cleaning out the ruin*

After the dust was gone we could see what we bought. It's strange to realize that just a decade ago, somebody lived in this building. No water, no toilet, no electricity. It must have been a simple and poor life for the old lady that spend her last years in this, what used to be the main house of a farm.



















As a woodworker, tears get in to your eyes, seeing that the former owner didn't clean out the property before putting it down. The big stone wall went half thru the floor, leaving a very unstable situation.
A single steel bed in one corner, some 100 year old drawers smashed by big pieces of rock, every piece of wood completely eaten from the inside out by longhorn beetles. It became a journey in to the history of this former grand building. 3 garbage bags full of medicines, x-ray pictures and medical reports, it must have been a worrying life. It makes you realize how complicated we made our lives as you find 2 plates, 2 knifes, 2 forks, 2 spoons some pots and pans and a candle holder. Here and there little details remained, wooden doors that open without hinges, some catholic relics, some old tools and doorknobs.





































The village we're living in goes back to the times of the Templar knights, who had their headquarters at the Convento do Cristo in Tomar. Beeing surrounded by 70 cm thick walls, just stacked out of rocks and slate make your mind wandering of to medieval times.

The first thing to do was get that floor empty by starting to take out all the wood. No, not much could be saved. Most of it ended in the wood-burner and it kept us warm for 2 winters. Luckily the 2 big beams that supported al the others are walnut and survived the 200 years well. We decided to keep them in, although it meant that the ceiling on the ground-floor would be low.










After a few weeks of clearing out the top part, by throwing every thing over a 6 meter high wall in to the back garden, we got to realize that it would take ages to get all this heavy work done. While the wood could shortened by a chainsaw, the story on handling the pieces of rock is a different one. Trying to move 60 or 70 kilograms without any help seemed to be impossible. There were day's we managed only 2 or 3. Just at the point of getting desperate, a call from The Netherlands was going to make a difference…..

next time; Helping hands


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## Nazair (Feb 16, 2011)

Serradura said:


> *Cleaning out the ruin*
> 
> After the dust was gone we could see what we bought. It's strange to realize that just a decade ago, somebody lived in this building. No water, no toilet, no electricity. It must have been a simple and poor life for the old lady that spend her last years in this, what used to be the main house of a farm.
> 
> ...


Very interesting. Thanks for sharing.


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## DocSavage45 (Aug 14, 2010)

Serradura said:


> *Cleaning out the ruin*
> 
> After the dust was gone we could see what we bought. It's strange to realize that just a decade ago, somebody lived in this building. No water, no toilet, no electricity. It must have been a simple and poor life for the old lady that spend her last years in this, what used to be the main house of a farm.
> 
> ...


TA,TA! You're spinning a great saga!


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## DocSavage45 (Aug 14, 2010)

Serradura said:


> *Cleaning out the ruin*
> 
> After the dust was gone we could see what we bought. It's strange to realize that just a decade ago, somebody lived in this building. No water, no toilet, no electricity. It must have been a simple and poor life for the old lady that spend her last years in this, what used to be the main house of a farm.
> 
> ...


Hope you kept the relics to hang in the shop? and you make a door for that key plate?


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## Serradura (Jan 29, 2013)

*With a little bit of help from a friend...*

And there he was, our friend from the Netherlands to help us out. Just for a week or so. Soon we found out that it's a big advantage to be 22, big and strong. Did we had thought of making a hole in the wall to get everything to the back yard? Yes, we did, but making a hole, where you can go through with a wheel barrel, into a 70 cm thick wall of stones, made us thinking about it, thinking! It must have been about 6 hours later, and there it was, our future door opening all the way up to the beam of the second floor window.










With the unstable second floor half hanging on the wall, supported with some beams, we started to take out as many wood as we could. 95% was just good enough to keep us warm that winter, the rest was cleaned, de-naild (is that an English word?) and cut into movable lengths.





































After a week of hard work, 3 chains and 25 liters of fuel for the chainsaw, the project started to show some progress.




























Down point however was the pile of stones in the garden… we had to do something with it. We couldn't get it out of there, (the garden is on top of a hill, 60 meters up, and our neighbors wouldn't have liked us throwing everything down the hill. The olive trees are sacred so any damage would get us in to real trouble.



















next time: more stone, rock and dirt.


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## bobkas (May 23, 2010)

Serradura said:


> *With a little bit of help from a friend...*
> 
> And there he was, our friend from the Netherlands to help us out. Just for a week or so. Soon we found out that it's a big advantage to be 22, big and strong. Did we had thought of making a hole in the wall to get everything to the back yard? Yes, we did, but making a hole, where you can go through with a wheel barrel, into a 70 cm thick wall of stones, made us thinking about it, thinking! It must have been about 6 hours later, and there it was, our future door opening all the way up to the beam of the second floor window.
> 
> ...


Lot of work, but what a view. After you're done enjoy.


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## RWAARM (Apr 2, 2013)

Serradura said:


> *With a little bit of help from a friend...*
> 
> And there he was, our friend from the Netherlands to help us out. Just for a week or so. Soon we found out that it's a big advantage to be 22, big and strong. Did we had thought of making a hole in the wall to get everything to the back yard? Yes, we did, but making a hole, where you can go through with a wheel barrel, into a 70 cm thick wall of stones, made us thinking about it, thinking! It must have been about 6 hours later, and there it was, our future door opening all the way up to the beam of the second floor window.
> 
> ...


CAN'T WAIT FOR NEXT POST!!!


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## NormG (Mar 5, 2010)

Serradura said:


> *With a little bit of help from a friend...*
> 
> And there he was, our friend from the Netherlands to help us out. Just for a week or so. Soon we found out that it's a big advantage to be 22, big and strong. Did we had thought of making a hole in the wall to get everything to the back yard? Yes, we did, but making a hole, where you can go through with a wheel barrel, into a 70 cm thick wall of stones, made us thinking about it, thinking! It must have been about 6 hours later, and there it was, our future door opening all the way up to the beam of the second floor window.
> 
> ...


Very dedicated indeed


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## NormG (Mar 5, 2010)

Serradura said:


> *With a little bit of help from a friend...*
> 
> And there he was, our friend from the Netherlands to help us out. Just for a week or so. Soon we found out that it's a big advantage to be 22, big and strong. Did we had thought of making a hole in the wall to get everything to the back yard? Yes, we did, but making a hole, where you can go through with a wheel barrel, into a 70 cm thick wall of stones, made us thinking about it, thinking! It must have been about 6 hours later, and there it was, our future door opening all the way up to the beam of the second floor window.
> 
> ...


Very dedicated indeed


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## Fejus (Sep 27, 2011)

Serradura said:


> *With a little bit of help from a friend...*
> 
> And there he was, our friend from the Netherlands to help us out. Just for a week or so. Soon we found out that it's a big advantage to be 22, big and strong. Did we had thought of making a hole in the wall to get everything to the back yard? Yes, we did, but making a hole, where you can go through with a wheel barrel, into a 70 cm thick wall of stones, made us thinking about it, thinking! It must have been about 6 hours later, and there it was, our future door opening all the way up to the beam of the second floor window.
> 
> ...


This is awesome!


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## DocSavage45 (Aug 14, 2010)

Serradura said:


> *With a little bit of help from a friend...*
> 
> And there he was, our friend from the Netherlands to help us out. Just for a week or so. Soon we found out that it's a big advantage to be 22, big and strong. Did we had thought of making a hole in the wall to get everything to the back yard? Yes, we did, but making a hole, where you can go through with a wheel barrel, into a 70 cm thick wall of stones, made us thinking about it, thinking! It must have been about 6 hours later, and there it was, our future door opening all the way up to the beam of the second floor window.
> 
> ...


Three people, is exponential! The bones of your project were harder to uncover than the ones in mine! Going on to the next blog!


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## Serradura (Jan 29, 2013)

*More stone, rock and dirt*

The more you dig down into the history of Portuguese building methods, the more respect you get for these craftsmen that made the dry stone walls. I'm not totally inexperienced in the matter. I've learned the process of looking for the stone's face, how to stack them and fill the gabs in between, from a Turkish friend during my stay over there. We did get the all the wood out, and cleaned out most of the space. Just one corner was still filled with stones and dirt. We just didn't find the energy at that time….














































I couldn't wait to start rebuilding but first we had to clean out the ruin totally. The pile of stones got higher and wider in the back garden and together with the clay that was used render the walls it became a solid "mountain". That's where the solution was. flattening out that steep sloping garden by making terraces. It ment making a strong wall between the raised up garden and the neighboring property. Now, there's only a few pictures to show the work but it took another 3 months.









We decided to use cement for this wall, we didn't want to take any risk.









When I'm talking about "we", I mean myself and my lovely wife who worked "like a man" making concrete, moving big pieces of rock etc.



























The first dry stone wall…..









after weeks of hard work, not complaining though, but I could have been woodworking









Hmm, the view makes it worthwhile…










Now, there shouldn't be a winter in Portugal, (that's what they say in the tourism brochures) but we had 3 months of rainstorms…. The now exposed back wall collapsed with a big rumble in the middle of a December night. More cleaning up to do, more to rebuild.




























The ruin had a little side building, witch we left untouched up until then, but with having a way to go through the building and a place to stock the stones, made us decide to clean that out to, before starting with any rebuilding. Still no woodworking involved….. but you have to got endurance and determination to get a nice workshop.

next time; slowly working towards the first stone of rebuilding.


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## alba (Jul 31, 2010)

Serradura said:


> *More stone, rock and dirt*
> 
> The more you dig down into the history of Portuguese building methods, the more respect you get for these craftsmen that made the dry stone walls. I'm not totally inexperienced in the matter. I've learned the process of looking for the stone's face, how to stack them and fill the gabs in between, from a Turkish friend during my stay over there. We did get the all the wood out, and cleaned out most of the space. Just one corner was still filled with stones and dirt. We just didn't find the energy at that time….
> 
> ...


I thought we had taken on a big project
This is a great build, we came back to Scotland after 20 yrs in Africa
to take on the 1840's Victorian office block. Our project is tame in
comparison to yours.
Jamie


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## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

Serradura said:


> *More stone, rock and dirt*
> 
> The more you dig down into the history of Portuguese building methods, the more respect you get for these craftsmen that made the dry stone walls. I'm not totally inexperienced in the matter. I've learned the process of looking for the stone's face, how to stack them and fill the gabs in between, from a Turkish friend during my stay over there. We did get the all the wood out, and cleaned out most of the space. Just one corner was still filled with stones and dirt. We just didn't find the energy at that time….
> 
> ...


Looks like hard work, but the results so far are looking mighty good. I used to enjoy working with rocks.


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## Terry55 (Feb 7, 2011)

Serradura said:


> *More stone, rock and dirt*
> 
> The more you dig down into the history of Portuguese building methods, the more respect you get for these craftsmen that made the dry stone walls. I'm not totally inexperienced in the matter. I've learned the process of looking for the stone's face, how to stack them and fill the gabs in between, from a Turkish friend during my stay over there. We did get the all the wood out, and cleaned out most of the space. Just one corner was still filled with stones and dirt. We just didn't find the energy at that time….
> 
> ...


Wow…. I started to sweat just looking at the pictures. I thought that I had a tough remodeling job on our Japanese house. Keep us posted on your progress.


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## mojapitt (Dec 31, 2011)

Serradura said:


> *More stone, rock and dirt*
> 
> The more you dig down into the history of Portuguese building methods, the more respect you get for these craftsmen that made the dry stone walls. I'm not totally inexperienced in the matter. I've learned the process of looking for the stone's face, how to stack them and fill the gabs in between, from a Turkish friend during my stay over there. We did get the all the wood out, and cleaned out most of the space. Just one corner was still filled with stones and dirt. We just didn't find the energy at that time….
> 
> ...


Incredible amout of work. but I am sure you will do it proud.


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## murch (Mar 20, 2011)

Serradura said:


> *More stone, rock and dirt*
> 
> The more you dig down into the history of Portuguese building methods, the more respect you get for these craftsmen that made the dry stone walls. I'm not totally inexperienced in the matter. I've learned the process of looking for the stone's face, how to stack them and fill the gabs in between, from a Turkish friend during my stay over there. We did get the all the wood out, and cleaned out most of the space. Just one corner was still filled with stones and dirt. We just didn't find the energy at that time….
> 
> ...


Wow you made some great progress. All the heaving and hauling is showing results.


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## DocSavage45 (Aug 14, 2010)

Serradura said:


> *More stone, rock and dirt*
> 
> The more you dig down into the history of Portuguese building methods, the more respect you get for these craftsmen that made the dry stone walls. I'm not totally inexperienced in the matter. I've learned the process of looking for the stone's face, how to stack them and fill the gabs in between, from a Turkish friend during my stay over there. We did get the all the wood out, and cleaned out most of the space. Just one corner was still filled with stones and dirt. We just didn't find the energy at that time….
> 
> ...


Your comment about the view is the key to this. The old and new coming together with your energy, I'm sure your neighbors thought you were nuts…like mine did. LOL!


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## niftynoel (Mar 2, 2014)

Serradura said:


> *More stone, rock and dirt*
> 
> The more you dig down into the history of Portuguese building methods, the more respect you get for these craftsmen that made the dry stone walls. I'm not totally inexperienced in the matter. I've learned the process of looking for the stone's face, how to stack them and fill the gabs in between, from a Turkish friend during my stay over there. We did get the all the wood out, and cleaned out most of the space. Just one corner was still filled with stones and dirt. We just didn't find the energy at that time….
> 
> ...


Even with the fallen wall, it is starting to look very beautiful… like your wife (and mine).


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## Serradura (Jan 29, 2013)

*Working towards the first stones of rebuilding*

The view, the reason for buying a 200 year old derelict cottage at this place in the rural heart of Portugal, is sometimes scary. Bush fires are common during the summer. In this case our view from the hilltop became a dark spectacle.










After a few years you get use to it, and it makes you carefull with fire. Sometimes it's the only way to get rit things, so at the first rain fall in october….










To show that there is some woodworking involved during the first years of the rebuild, some pictures of the fence that's placed upon the separation wall with the neighbors. Yes, it's made out of Eucalyptus, for some an unbelievable choice, but here it's the cheapest wood around.


















Now building up the workshop could only start after removing all the walls that were to fragile and some of them even in the way. To make space for a car in front of the workshop we decided to reduce the size by a third. Taking away an outside wall means building an other one though.



















To make shure that the wall on the backside wouldn't get worse during the first rain in autumn, I started there by making the door frame. For the first time in my life I'm laying bricks and made the decision to make an arch. The first real building up!



















Because we didn't need all the the stones that came from the front wall, we decided to make some more terraces.










Next time; Building the new front wall.


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## BTimmons (Aug 6, 2011)

Serradura said:


> *Working towards the first stones of rebuilding*
> 
> The view, the reason for buying a 200 year old derelict cottage at this place in the rural heart of Portugal, is sometimes scary. Bush fires are common during the summer. In this case our view from the hilltop became a dark spectacle.
> 
> ...


And here I thought Eucalyptus trees were only indigenous to Australia. Shows what I know.


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## Serradura (Jan 29, 2013)

Serradura said:


> *Working towards the first stones of rebuilding*
> 
> The view, the reason for buying a 200 year old derelict cottage at this place in the rural heart of Portugal, is sometimes scary. Bush fires are common during the summer. In this case our view from the hilltop became a dark spectacle.
> 
> ...


Answer to BTimmons; Eucalyptus isn't a native tree here…. but for the last 100 years or so 50% of all trees planted are just those…. (fast growing, cheap) don't ask me which species of Eucalyptus this is, seems there are dozens of different kinds.


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## NormG (Mar 5, 2010)

Serradura said:


> *Working towards the first stones of rebuilding*
> 
> The view, the reason for buying a 200 year old derelict cottage at this place in the rural heart of Portugal, is sometimes scary. Bush fires are common during the summer. In this case our view from the hilltop became a dark spectacle.
> 
> ...


What a view from the shop


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## Tim457 (Jan 11, 2013)

Serradura said:


> *Working towards the first stones of rebuilding*
> 
> The view, the reason for buying a 200 year old derelict cottage at this place in the rural heart of Portugal, is sometimes scary. Bush fires are common during the summer. In this case our view from the hilltop became a dark spectacle.
> 
> ...


This is a very interesting project, thank you for sharing. If I had the time I'd fly out to help just for fun. And of course for some linguiça.
According to Wikipedia, Eucalyptus was brought to many places but it hasn't worked out as well as intended. The article blames the Eucalyptus for some of the fires in Portugal and Spain. Who knows the accuracy of course, check the sources.


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## scrollsaw (Nov 6, 2007)

Serradura said:


> *Working towards the first stones of rebuilding*
> 
> The view, the reason for buying a 200 year old derelict cottage at this place in the rural heart of Portugal, is sometimes scary. Bush fires are common during the summer. In this case our view from the hilltop became a dark spectacle.
> 
> ...


Looking good


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## DocSavage45 (Aug 14, 2010)

Serradura said:


> *Working towards the first stones of rebuilding*
> 
> The view, the reason for buying a 200 year old derelict cottage at this place in the rural heart of Portugal, is sometimes scary. Bush fires are common during the summer. In this case our view from the hilltop became a dark spectacle.
> 
> ...


You and your wife have a great eye for integration of old and new! Maybe I'll have to post my journey later.. Not as visually exciting. LOL!


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## Serradura (Jan 29, 2013)

*Building the new front wall*

June 2011, finally we started building something. Now for garden walls etc. it's obvious to use a dry stone techniques. However for the walls of the "workshop to be", we decided on a hybrid system. This means putting up a mold for the inside, laying the stones in cement (is easier to fill the gabs) and the backside is filled up with concrete and little stones. This all makes it easier to have some rendering on the inside.




























We decided way back that we wanted the original walnut beams to stay, and used it as a feature by integrating it into the wall. Because we are in the land of the Templar Knights we allowed ourselves to fake history a bit by carving a Templar Cross in one of the big stones. Slowly the building started to look like the plans that were drawn on the back of a shoe box, even before we bought the ruin.




























Finally the combination of old and new started to show. The biggest challenge up until than was to make the arch. I just made a mold and started laying bricks. The hardest work however seemed to be remodeling the old wall. Some of these stones are very heavy, and you can't use just little ones.





































With the original beams now treated against atacks from all kinds of wood loving bugs, they were painted black. Somehow this progress gave us a bit more energy, working many hours to get closer to our dream workshop.



















Still, the human body can only take so much battering…. and it would make sence to give the old back and shoulders some rest. It took a few little accidents and hurtfull events to make me see the sunlight, the barbeque and the loungechair on the terrace as a good remedy.
Because we run a B&B and recordingstudio next to our "dream building" it took untill oktober 2011 before the work would get into it's second (or was it third) fase….

Next time; Finaly some carpentry.


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## murch (Mar 20, 2011)

Serradura said:


> *Building the new front wall*
> 
> June 2011, finally we started building something. Now for garden walls etc. it's obvious to use a dry stone techniques. However for the walls of the "workshop to be", we decided on a hybrid system. This means putting up a mold for the inside, laying the stones in cement (is easier to fill the gabs) and the backside is filled up with concrete and little stones. This all makes it easier to have some rendering on the inside.
> 
> ...


Super progress. This is a really interesting blog and I am looking forward to the rest of it.


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## BTimmons (Aug 6, 2011)

Serradura said:


> *Building the new front wall*
> 
> June 2011, finally we started building something. Now for garden walls etc. it's obvious to use a dry stone techniques. However for the walls of the "workshop to be", we decided on a hybrid system. This means putting up a mold for the inside, laying the stones in cement (is easier to fill the gabs) and the backside is filled up with concrete and little stones. This all makes it easier to have some rendering on the inside.
> 
> ...


This is definitely one of the most unique blog series I've seen here. Looking forward to the rest.


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## Tugboater78 (May 26, 2012)

Serradura said:


> *Building the new front wall*
> 
> June 2011, finally we started building something. Now for garden walls etc. it's obvious to use a dry stone techniques. However for the walls of the "workshop to be", we decided on a hybrid system. This means putting up a mold for the inside, laying the stones in cement (is easier to fill the gabs) and the backside is filled up with concrete and little stones. This all makes it easier to have some rendering on the inside.
> 
> ...


Many different skills being used in this blog, keep them coming it is always interesting to see such projects come about


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## DocSavage45 (Aug 14, 2010)

Serradura said:


> *Building the new front wall*
> 
> June 2011, finally we started building something. Now for garden walls etc. it's obvious to use a dry stone techniques. However for the walls of the "workshop to be", we decided on a hybrid system. This means putting up a mold for the inside, laying the stones in cement (is easier to fill the gabs) and the backside is filled up with concrete and little stones. This all makes it easier to have some rendering on the inside.
> 
> ...


Loving your story and the way you are telling it! Wow, even building arches. The romans would be proud! LOL!


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## DocSavage45 (Aug 14, 2010)

Serradura said:


> *Building the new front wall*
> 
> June 2011, finally we started building something. Now for garden walls etc. it's obvious to use a dry stone techniques. However for the walls of the "workshop to be", we decided on a hybrid system. This means putting up a mold for the inside, laying the stones in cement (is easier to fill the gabs) and the backside is filled up with concrete and little stones. This all makes it easier to have some rendering on the inside.
> 
> ...


Beautiful Character in the whole project!


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## Serradura (Jan 29, 2013)

*Finally some wood....*

I don't know what the bigger job was, making the wooden wall for the second floor, or getting the timber up to the building sight. Our street was made hundreds of years ago when the only way of transport was a donkey or in the case of being rich and noble, a horse. Even though the Templar Knights were thinking big, they never could have imagined huge trucks, cranes and bulldozers. I had to go and pick up the wood myself at my supplier and it took 4 rides with my (Iveco) van to get from there to the hilltop. Being on a tight budget meant using standard 260 cm long Eucalyptus planks again.










Normally these are used to make moldings for concrete and scaffolding boards over here, and that's why my supplier, who lives a few villages away, always keeps stock. Now, they're not all the same, the thickness is more or less 28 mm, but they come between 8 and 30 or more centimeters wide. You just buy per square meter, and have to work with whatever size is there.










What was I thinking when I made the whole wall in one piece, laying down on the second floor… I did it because it gave me the opportunity to lay out all the planks, combining small and bigger ones. Because of the wood being fresh I made sure to overlap a good 3 cm on both sides (witch in some cases even turned out "just enough" after it dried out) There was also the connecting roof to consider, so the outside bottom of the wall had to be in a 10 degree angle. In all, I just made it according the plans in my head….

After a few attempts with some ropes, a carjack and some supporting beams, it just wouldn't move. Luckily I have someone looking out for me and she decided to call some friends…. 10 minutes later the wall stood straight up.





































Having the wall in it's place, time came to fill the gabs between the wood and the old walls. Maybe it's just the other way around from how such a process would normally take place, but using random sized and shaped stones it's just easier to have a guiding surface on both sides.





































Now, there's one issue to be explained. Why not make the whole building out of stone…. Portuguese laws would force me to get a permit for any new constructive alterations, but… they don't see wood as a permanent material (you can still build a house out of timber without getting any "aviso" (permit), I already stretched the rules by putting up one wall on the front, so… that's the answer to that.
Walls that have survived hundreds of years, now suddenly are considered structural unsafe, although there are aquaducts in the vicinity that were build 800 years ago, without using any cement, and are still standing tall, sometimes up to a 100 meters high.










No, they want you to use inferior hollow bricks and concrete pillars….. (but are there any building regulations that make any sense, made by some clerk behind a desk)

Next time; Putting on a roof.


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## mojapitt (Dec 31, 2011)

Serradura said:


> *Finally some wood....*
> 
> I don't know what the bigger job was, making the wooden wall for the second floor, or getting the timber up to the building sight. Our street was made hundreds of years ago when the only way of transport was a donkey or in the case of being rich and noble, a horse. Even though the Templar Knights were thinking big, they never could have imagined huge trucks, cranes and bulldozers. I had to go and pick up the wood myself at my supplier and it took 4 rides with my (Iveco) van to get from there to the hilltop. Being on a tight budget meant using standard 260 cm long Eucalyptus planks again.
> 
> ...


Do you folks get any sleep? Very impressive work, but it looks like a LOT of work.


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## JulianLech (Jan 13, 2011)

Serradura said:


> *Finally some wood....*
> 
> I don't know what the bigger job was, making the wooden wall for the second floor, or getting the timber up to the building sight. Our street was made hundreds of years ago when the only way of transport was a donkey or in the case of being rich and noble, a horse. Even though the Templar Knights were thinking big, they never could have imagined huge trucks, cranes and bulldozers. I had to go and pick up the wood myself at my supplier and it took 4 rides with my (Iveco) van to get from there to the hilltop. Being on a tight budget meant using standard 260 cm long Eucalyptus planks again.
> 
> ...


You are doing an amazing job. This will be one incredible shop. Looking forward to see more of your work.


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## BTimmons (Aug 6, 2011)

Serradura said:


> *Finally some wood....*
> 
> I don't know what the bigger job was, making the wooden wall for the second floor, or getting the timber up to the building sight. Our street was made hundreds of years ago when the only way of transport was a donkey or in the case of being rich and noble, a horse. Even though the Templar Knights were thinking big, they never could have imagined huge trucks, cranes and bulldozers. I had to go and pick up the wood myself at my supplier and it took 4 rides with my (Iveco) van to get from there to the hilltop. Being on a tight budget meant using standard 260 cm long Eucalyptus planks again.
> 
> ...


In the second hand drawn sketch, the Roman numerals on the door, "MMXI" indicate the number 2011. Since you only recently bought the building, I doubt the plans are two years old? If the dedication on the door is for the year 2013, it should real MMXIII.


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## Serradura (Jan 29, 2013)

Serradura said:


> *Finally some wood....*
> 
> I don't know what the bigger job was, making the wooden wall for the second floor, or getting the timber up to the building sight. Our street was made hundreds of years ago when the only way of transport was a donkey or in the case of being rich and noble, a horse. Even though the Templar Knights were thinking big, they never could have imagined huge trucks, cranes and bulldozers. I had to go and pick up the wood myself at my supplier and it took 4 rides with my (Iveco) van to get from there to the hilltop. Being on a tight budget meant using standard 260 cm long Eucalyptus planks again.
> 
> ...


answer to BTimmons;

No… I can't put MMXIII on it yet. That's why I called these blog series "From a 200 year old ruin to a workshop, a 3 year journey". The property was bought in 2009, started working on it seriously in 2010…. In the sketch I still had the strange thought that I could finish in that year. That obviously was a bit wishful thinking. We are now almost in to the 4th year and still not ready. The door….. soon to described in this blog, was made in 2012, and although I wish I could put a date of finishing on the whole project…. I can't.

Thanks for your replies, and all others who do to! I hope to show you the final result this year…. but nothing is as uncertain as a project as this.


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## BTimmons (Aug 6, 2011)

Serradura said:


> *Finally some wood....*
> 
> I don't know what the bigger job was, making the wooden wall for the second floor, or getting the timber up to the building sight. Our street was made hundreds of years ago when the only way of transport was a donkey or in the case of being rich and noble, a horse. Even though the Templar Knights were thinking big, they never could have imagined huge trucks, cranes and bulldozers. I had to go and pick up the wood myself at my supplier and it took 4 rides with my (Iveco) van to get from there to the hilltop. Being on a tight budget meant using standard 260 cm long Eucalyptus planks again.
> 
> ...


Ah, gotcha.


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## DocSavage45 (Aug 14, 2010)

Serradura said:


> *Finally some wood....*
> 
> I don't know what the bigger job was, making the wooden wall for the second floor, or getting the timber up to the building sight. Our street was made hundreds of years ago when the only way of transport was a donkey or in the case of being rich and noble, a horse. Even though the Templar Knights were thinking big, they never could have imagined huge trucks, cranes and bulldozers. I had to go and pick up the wood myself at my supplier and it took 4 rides with my (Iveco) van to get from there to the hilltop. Being on a tight budget meant using standard 260 cm long Eucalyptus planks again.
> 
> ...


Fortuitous journey. Your budget limits what you can buy. It is being put together by manual labor, which is how it began. Old and new coming together.

Wabi-Sabi


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## Serradura (Jan 29, 2013)

*"Aut Viam Inveniam, Aut Faciam" *

Finally we could order the roof plates. And yes, this was 90% of our budget. It seemed to make sense putting the money in the most important part. Now here in the middle of Portugal the temperature goes from 45 (or even more) degrees Celsius down to almost zero at a cold winter night (we never had frost up until now). 
So a good isolating roof is one of the first priorities. It wasn't that difficult to put the "half plates" up. With a little bit of help from my wife it just took a few hours.




























The advantage by using these steel roof plates is that they come with a red (or other color) coat on the outside and a white coat on the inside. Painting ceilings is never been my biggest hobby.
The building itself decided what shape of roof it wanted to have, it's just adapting the new construction to the old.



















Now the first part of the roof was on, the amount of work and stones it would take to fill the gab in the back wall, became clear….










At least the street side of the project looked like a real building again.




























Because of the many sun hours it's important to seal the wood as good as possible. After three coats of bitumen paint it started to look good, although I realized that I had to repeat this process every year.
Now, this build is not done according to existing procedures, it's a constant negotiation between the old ruin and my own wishes. An unknown road towards a future workshop. That's why I decided to put some words on the side.










"Aut Viam Inveniam, Aut Faciam"










There's always a road and if there is non, we will make one.

Next time; A door for the front.


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## smitdog (Aug 20, 2012)

Serradura said:


> *"Aut Viam Inveniam, Aut Faciam" *
> 
> Finally we could order the roof plates. And yes, this was 90% of our budget. It seemed to make sense putting the money in the most important part. Now here in the middle of Portugal the temperature goes from 45 (or even more) degrees Celsius down to almost zero at a cold winter night (we never had frost up until now).
> So a good isolating roof is one of the first priorities. It wasn't that difficult to put the "half plates" up. With a little bit of help from my wife it just took a few hours.
> ...


It's really coming together! Love the old stone. Best quote I've heard in a long time too, very inspirational.

Keep up the great updates!


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

Serradura said:


> *"Aut Viam Inveniam, Aut Faciam" *
> 
> Finally we could order the roof plates. And yes, this was 90% of our budget. It seemed to make sense putting the money in the most important part. Now here in the middle of Portugal the temperature goes from 45 (or even more) degrees Celsius down to almost zero at a cold winter night (we never had frost up until now).
> So a good isolating roof is one of the first priorities. It wasn't that difficult to put the "half plates" up. With a little bit of help from my wife it just took a few hours.
> ...


It will be a wonderful place to work. Congratulations and welcome to Lumberjocks.

helluvawreck aka Charles
http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com


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## BTimmons (Aug 6, 2011)

Serradura said:


> *"Aut Viam Inveniam, Aut Faciam" *
> 
> Finally we could order the roof plates. And yes, this was 90% of our budget. It seemed to make sense putting the money in the most important part. Now here in the middle of Portugal the temperature goes from 45 (or even more) degrees Celsius down to almost zero at a cold winter night (we never had frost up until now).
> So a good isolating roof is one of the first priorities. It wasn't that difficult to put the "half plates" up. With a little bit of help from my wife it just took a few hours.
> ...


Very inspiring. Good choice for the motto.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Serradura said:


> *"Aut Viam Inveniam, Aut Faciam" *
> 
> Finally we could order the roof plates. And yes, this was 90% of our budget. It seemed to make sense putting the money in the most important part. Now here in the middle of Portugal the temperature goes from 45 (or even more) degrees Celsius down to almost zero at a cold winter night (we never had frost up until now).
> So a good isolating roof is one of the first priorities. It wasn't that difficult to put the "half plates" up. With a little bit of help from my wife it just took a few hours.
> ...


Your going to have a totally unique shop.


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## DocSavage45 (Aug 14, 2010)

Serradura said:


> *"Aut Viam Inveniam, Aut Faciam" *
> 
> Finally we could order the roof plates. And yes, this was 90% of our budget. It seemed to make sense putting the money in the most important part. Now here in the middle of Portugal the temperature goes from 45 (or even more) degrees Celsius down to almost zero at a cold winter night (we never had frost up until now).
> So a good isolating roof is one of the first priorities. It wasn't that difficult to put the "half plates" up. With a little bit of help from my wife it just took a few hours.
> ...


Splendid! Wondering about the span for the metal roof supports? Seems a little too far between? In MN it would collapse under a snow load. LOL!

You both are artisans!


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## Serradura (Jan 29, 2013)

Serradura said:


> *"Aut Viam Inveniam, Aut Faciam" *
> 
> Finally we could order the roof plates. And yes, this was 90% of our budget. It seemed to make sense putting the money in the most important part. Now here in the middle of Portugal the temperature goes from 45 (or even more) degrees Celsius down to almost zero at a cold winter night (we never had frost up until now).
> So a good isolating roof is one of the first priorities. It wasn't that difficult to put the "half plates" up. With a little bit of help from my wife it just took a few hours.
> ...


Answer to To DocSavage45;

with this self supporting plates I only need a support every 3 meters…. I did it 2 meters apart… When you live in an area where it snows…. it's a totally different story. Than the roof needs to be much steeper to. Luckily…it doesn't snow in our region of the country…. (up until now that is)


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## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

Serradura said:


> *"Aut Viam Inveniam, Aut Faciam" *
> 
> Finally we could order the roof plates. And yes, this was 90% of our budget. It seemed to make sense putting the money in the most important part. Now here in the middle of Portugal the temperature goes from 45 (or even more) degrees Celsius down to almost zero at a cold winter night (we never had frost up until now).
> So a good isolating roof is one of the first priorities. It wasn't that difficult to put the "half plates" up. With a little bit of help from my wife it just took a few hours.
> ...


I spent some time in Leiria back in 1985. I love that region of Portugal!
I've been following your progress with interest. You've certainly got your hands full with all that work.


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## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

Serradura said:


> *"Aut Viam Inveniam, Aut Faciam" *
> 
> Finally we could order the roof plates. And yes, this was 90% of our budget. It seemed to make sense putting the money in the most important part. Now here in the middle of Portugal the temperature goes from 45 (or even more) degrees Celsius down to almost zero at a cold winter night (we never had frost up until now).
> So a good isolating roof is one of the first priorities. It wasn't that difficult to put the "half plates" up. With a little bit of help from my wife it just took a few hours.
> ...


Enjoying your blog and the shop is looking really good. I loved the terraced walls you made too.


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## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

Serradura said:


> *"Aut Viam Inveniam, Aut Faciam" *
> 
> Finally we could order the roof plates. And yes, this was 90% of our budget. It seemed to make sense putting the money in the most important part. Now here in the middle of Portugal the temperature goes from 45 (or even more) degrees Celsius down to almost zero at a cold winter night (we never had frost up until now).
> So a good isolating roof is one of the first priorities. It wasn't that difficult to put the "half plates" up. With a little bit of help from my wife it just took a few hours.
> ...


Impressive to say the least! I also loved the quote as that is what life is all about.


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## scrollsaw (Nov 6, 2007)

Serradura said:


> *"Aut Viam Inveniam, Aut Faciam" *
> 
> Finally we could order the roof plates. And yes, this was 90% of our budget. It seemed to make sense putting the money in the most important part. Now here in the middle of Portugal the temperature goes from 45 (or even more) degrees Celsius down to almost zero at a cold winter night (we never had frost up until now).
> So a good isolating roof is one of the first priorities. It wasn't that difficult to put the "half plates" up. With a little bit of help from my wife it just took a few hours.
> ...


Looking good.


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## Serradura (Jan 29, 2013)

*A door for the front*

Now I could have finished the roof, I could have finished the back wall, but… I'm always having a bit difficulty with switching between the woodwork and the work with cement and stones. So, when the first section of the roof was on, I decided to make the front door on the second floor. Now, it's not a door that you can go in and out, it's about 3,5 meters above the street. I just wanted to have the possibility to load bigger items from the street.










Now it might not be a secret anymore that I'm on a very tight budget, so the use of reclaimed materials has become a challenge next to a not having another option. I wanted the door to look like it would have been 200 years ago. So… I had to make the hinges and the lock myself. I'm not a blacksmith so a different solution was needed.










I found the back of an old washing machine and just cut out the shapes…. gave them some banging with a hammer over a round edge…. and the result was not to bad.



















From down the street you don't see the difference. I know it's fake, but buying antique ones or order them custom made at a blacksmith would cost more than the whole building itself. (Behind the "covers" there are normal barn-door hinges)




























Next time; Building upside down…


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## DocSavage45 (Aug 14, 2010)

Serradura said:


> *A door for the front*
> 
> Now I could have finished the roof, I could have finished the back wall, but… I'm always having a bit difficulty with switching between the woodwork and the work with cement and stones. So, when the first section of the roof was on, I decided to make the front door on the second floor. Now, it's not a door that you can go in and out, it's about 3,5 meters above the street. I just wanted to have the possibility to load bigger items from the street.
> 
> ...


That's what they would have done! Your keeping up with the character of the rebuild! A little like an old prison door? LOL! Nice job!


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## AandCstyle (Mar 21, 2012)

Serradura said:


> *A door for the front*
> 
> Now I could have finished the roof, I could have finished the back wall, but… I'm always having a bit difficulty with switching between the woodwork and the work with cement and stones. So, when the first section of the roof was on, I decided to make the front door on the second floor. Now, it's not a door that you can go in and out, it's about 3,5 meters above the street. I just wanted to have the possibility to load bigger items from the street.
> 
> ...


Watch out for that first step, it's a killer. lol


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## Jim Jakosh (Nov 24, 2009)

Serradura said:


> *A door for the front*
> 
> Now I could have finished the roof, I could have finished the back wall, but… I'm always having a bit difficulty with switching between the woodwork and the work with cement and stones. So, when the first section of the roof was on, I decided to make the front door on the second floor. Now, it's not a door that you can go in and out, it's about 3,5 meters above the street. I just wanted to have the possibility to load bigger items from the street.
> 
> ...


Nice trim on the door. It keeps it in the correct era- very resourceful work on your part!!. I hope you have a forklift, though.


----------



## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Serradura said:


> *A door for the front*
> 
> Now I could have finished the roof, I could have finished the back wall, but… I'm always having a bit difficulty with switching between the woodwork and the work with cement and stones. So, when the first section of the roof was on, I decided to make the front door on the second floor. Now, it's not a door that you can go in and out, it's about 3,5 meters above the street. I just wanted to have the possibility to load bigger items from the street.
> 
> ...


Very creative,great job.


----------



## GrandpaLen (Mar 6, 2012)

Serradura said:


> *A door for the front*
> 
> Now I could have finished the roof, I could have finished the back wall, but… I'm always having a bit difficulty with switching between the woodwork and the work with cement and stones. So, when the first section of the roof was on, I decided to make the front door on the second floor. Now, it's not a door that you can go in and out, it's about 3,5 meters above the street. I just wanted to have the possibility to load bigger items from the street.
> 
> ...


Your imagination and creativity are surpassed only by your ability to bring your thoughts to life.

Very well done. - Grandpa Len.

Work Safely and have Fun.


----------



## scrollsaw (Nov 6, 2007)

Serradura said:


> *A door for the front*
> 
> Now I could have finished the roof, I could have finished the back wall, but… I'm always having a bit difficulty with switching between the woodwork and the work with cement and stones. So, when the first section of the roof was on, I decided to make the front door on the second floor. Now, it's not a door that you can go in and out, it's about 3,5 meters above the street. I just wanted to have the possibility to load bigger items from the street.
> 
> ...


very creative and a great job.


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## Serradura (Jan 29, 2013)

* Building up side down.*

Yes, I do know that when you are building a house or a barn you normally start at the foundation, lay your brickwork until the first window and than well… it makes sense.
But in this case, the recycled materials and the old walls are pulling the strings. Some friends decided that they didn't want to paint their windows every year and bought these plastic ones. Some of the old ones were in good shape, and they didn't mind me taking them. These windows would decide how big of a gab there would be left to fill with the old stones.




























So, I hanged them on the roof beam, making sure they we leveled out and constructed the inside first, leaving a mold to fill from the outside.



















Now I didn't take pictures while doing it. It took about 10 days, sorting out the stones, finding the stone's faces, combining big with small ones, and the worst part, getting them up there. Many times a bucket and some rope would do the job, but others had to lifted up on the old shoulder. I can tell now that it's not easy carrying a 50 kilogram piece of rock on a ladder. But in the end it's all about the result, and to me that looks pretty good.




























I placed a 11 cm. pipe at one point right thru the wall, at that time I just thought it would be a good idea. Now I'm happy I did that, because a future dust collection would need such a thing. It would be almost impossible to get a hole in the 70 cm. thick wall now. It gives you a feeling of satisfaction looking at the job done… but that's just temporarily… realizing there's a front wall and specially the rest of the old wall that's almost 7 meters high.










Next time; not just another brick in the wall…


----------



## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

Serradura said:


> * Building up side down.*
> 
> Yes, I do know that when you are building a house or a barn you normally start at the foundation, lay your brickwork until the first window and than well… it makes sense.
> But in this case, the recycled materials and the old walls are pulling the strings. Some friends decided that they didn't want to paint their windows every year and bought these plastic ones. Some of the old ones were in good shape, and they didn't mind me taking them. These windows would decide how big of a gab there would be left to fill with the old stones.
> ...


Wow. Absolutely wow… Insane work you are doing, and I love it. The refurb attention is outstanding for your old building! Looking insanely great, thanks for posting!


----------



## BrandonW (Apr 27, 2010)

Serradura said:


> * Building up side down.*
> 
> Yes, I do know that when you are building a house or a barn you normally start at the foundation, lay your brickwork until the first window and than well… it makes sense.
> But in this case, the recycled materials and the old walls are pulling the strings. Some friends decided that they didn't want to paint their windows every year and bought these plastic ones. Some of the old ones were in good shape, and they didn't mind me taking them. These windows would decide how big of a gab there would be left to fill with the old stones.
> ...


I love everything about this whole project. Thanks for sharing all the posts!


----------



## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

Serradura said:


> * Building up side down.*
> 
> Yes, I do know that when you are building a house or a barn you normally start at the foundation, lay your brickwork until the first window and than well… it makes sense.
> But in this case, the recycled materials and the old walls are pulling the strings. Some friends decided that they didn't want to paint their windows every year and bought these plastic ones. Some of the old ones were in good shape, and they didn't mind me taking them. These windows would decide how big of a gab there would be left to fill with the old stones.
> ...


Fantastic work on the arch, the window and in between! It is really looking good and with excellent progress.


----------



## sgmdwk (Apr 10, 2013)

Serradura said:


> * Building up side down.*
> 
> Yes, I do know that when you are building a house or a barn you normally start at the foundation, lay your brickwork until the first window and than well… it makes sense.
> But in this case, the recycled materials and the old walls are pulling the strings. Some friends decided that they didn't want to paint their windows every year and bought these plastic ones. Some of the old ones were in good shape, and they didn't mind me taking them. These windows would decide how big of a gab there would be left to fill with the old stones.
> ...


OK, I m addicted. I just went through all your posts. Incredible job! Can't wait for your next post.


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

Serradura said:


> * Building up side down.*
> 
> Yes, I do know that when you are building a house or a barn you normally start at the foundation, lay your brickwork until the first window and than well… it makes sense.
> But in this case, the recycled materials and the old walls are pulling the strings. Some friends decided that they didn't want to paint their windows every year and bought these plastic ones. Some of the old ones were in good shape, and they didn't mind me taking them. These windows would decide how big of a gab there would be left to fill with the old stones.
> ...


When you get through you will have an amzingly beautiful shop. Nice work and congratulations.

helluvawreck aka Charles
http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com


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## GrandpaLen (Mar 6, 2012)

Serradura said:


> * Building up side down.*
> 
> Yes, I do know that when you are building a house or a barn you normally start at the foundation, lay your brickwork until the first window and than well… it makes sense.
> But in this case, the recycled materials and the old walls are pulling the strings. Some friends decided that they didn't want to paint their windows every year and bought these plastic ones. Some of the old ones were in good shape, and they didn't mind me taking them. These windows would decide how big of a gab there would be left to fill with the old stones.
> ...


What a wonderful restoration you have undertaken.

Anything worth doing, is worth doing properly and it's quite obvious that your work is a labor of love.

Best Regards. - Grandpa Len.

Work Safely and have Fun.


----------



## JulianLech (Jan 13, 2011)

Serradura said:


> * Building up side down.*
> 
> Yes, I do know that when you are building a house or a barn you normally start at the foundation, lay your brickwork until the first window and than well… it makes sense.
> But in this case, the recycled materials and the old walls are pulling the strings. Some friends decided that they didn't want to paint their windows every year and bought these plastic ones. Some of the old ones were in good shape, and they didn't mind me taking them. These windows would decide how big of a gab there would be left to fill with the old stones.
> ...


You are doing an amazing job of this restoration. The door, window, and stone wall looks great. Be careful working on the ladder. Look forward to reading more on your progress.


----------



## DocSavage45 (Aug 14, 2010)

Serradura said:


> * Building up side down.*
> 
> Yes, I do know that when you are building a house or a barn you normally start at the foundation, lay your brickwork until the first window and than well… it makes sense.
> But in this case, the recycled materials and the old walls are pulling the strings. Some friends decided that they didn't want to paint their windows every year and bought these plastic ones. Some of the old ones were in good shape, and they didn't mind me taking them. These windows would decide how big of a gab there would be left to fill with the old stones.
> ...


It's truly a piece of art and you are fast becoming an artisan of the past. Re; Stress loads over the window did you use a steel beam header?

That window and color appears to be an excellent frame for the view.


----------



## murch (Mar 20, 2011)

Serradura said:


> * Building up side down.*
> 
> Yes, I do know that when you are building a house or a barn you normally start at the foundation, lay your brickwork until the first window and than well… it makes sense.
> But in this case, the recycled materials and the old walls are pulling the strings. Some friends decided that they didn't want to paint their windows every year and bought these plastic ones. Some of the old ones were in good shape, and they didn't mind me taking them. These windows would decide how big of a gab there would be left to fill with the old stones.
> ...


Fantastic work. You should be so proud of what you have achieved.


----------



## kenn (Mar 19, 2008)

Serradura said:


> * Building up side down.*
> 
> Yes, I do know that when you are building a house or a barn you normally start at the foundation, lay your brickwork until the first window and than well… it makes sense.
> But in this case, the recycled materials and the old walls are pulling the strings. Some friends decided that they didn't want to paint their windows every year and bought these plastic ones. Some of the old ones were in good shape, and they didn't mind me taking them. These windows would decide how big of a gab there would be left to fill with the old stones.
> ...


This continues to be one of the best blog series, ever! I love following the progress that you have made over the past years. Great craftsmanship, keep posting, Thanks.


----------



## Buckethead (Apr 14, 2013)

Serradura said:


> * Building up side down.*
> 
> Yes, I do know that when you are building a house or a barn you normally start at the foundation, lay your brickwork until the first window and than well… it makes sense.
> But in this case, the recycled materials and the old walls are pulling the strings. Some friends decided that they didn't want to paint their windows every year and bought these plastic ones. Some of the old ones were in good shape, and they didn't mind me taking them. These windows would decide how big of a gab there would be left to fill with the old stones.
> ...


Agreed Ken!

As for stress loads over the window, there appear to be rafters, or beams which run parallel to the window wall. The load there is minimal if that is the case.


----------



## Serradura (Jan 29, 2013)

Serradura said:


> * Building up side down.*
> 
> Yes, I do know that when you are building a house or a barn you normally start at the foundation, lay your brickwork until the first window and than well… it makes sense.
> But in this case, the recycled materials and the old walls are pulling the strings. Some friends decided that they didn't want to paint their windows every year and bought these plastic ones. Some of the old ones were in good shape, and they didn't mind me taking them. These windows would decide how big of a gab there would be left to fill with the old stones.
> ...


in answer to some who are concerned about the structure above the windows….. First of all, originally there were just olivewood beams above all windows, and they hold up for 200 years (although the wait on the first floor ones was a lot!). The window on the back doesn't have to support anything, it's mounted to the roof beam. The one above the door on the front is one of the original beams that came out of the ruin. but…..... what you don't see is the concrete support beam that is inside, behind that olivewood beam. So, the wood you see on the outside is about 20×20 cm, but that means that the other 20×50 cm ( wall is 70 cm thick) is supported by a very strong heavy concrete layer.

I hope that takes away some concerns…. and thanks to you all for the nice comments!


----------



## whitebeast88 (May 27, 2012)

Serradura said:


> * Building up side down.*
> 
> Yes, I do know that when you are building a house or a barn you normally start at the foundation, lay your brickwork until the first window and than well… it makes sense.
> But in this case, the recycled materials and the old walls are pulling the strings. Some friends decided that they didn't want to paint their windows every year and bought these plastic ones. Some of the old ones were in good shape, and they didn't mind me taking them. These windows would decide how big of a gab there would be left to fill with the old stones.
> ...


great restoration you've got going.
very nice work your doing.thanks for keeping us updated.


----------



## scrollsaw (Nov 6, 2007)

Serradura said:


> * Building up side down.*
> 
> Yes, I do know that when you are building a house or a barn you normally start at the foundation, lay your brickwork until the first window and than well… it makes sense.
> But in this case, the recycled materials and the old walls are pulling the strings. Some friends decided that they didn't want to paint their windows every year and bought these plastic ones. Some of the old ones were in good shape, and they didn't mind me taking them. These windows would decide how big of a gab there would be left to fill with the old stones.
> ...


I like it great job


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## Serradura (Jan 29, 2013)

*Not just another brick in the wall...*

Now with the back wall finished, and being in the "cement mood", I decided it was time to restore the big wall that divides the Workshop on the street-side and our B&B apartment on the other side. This wall is the biggest remaining part of the old ruin, almost 7 meters high and is still standing after 200 years, although it's just stacked with stones and some clay.










It will be there forever, if… there is no rainwater splashing on the top. As soon as these kind of walls stand alone without being protected by a roof they get vulnerable. The biggest challenge is to get the buildings on both sides connected with a movable, but rain tight, fixture. Movable because this old wall will set it self every time there is a big storm or earthquake. Yes the last couple of hundred years there were minor earthquakes in Portugal. And in 1755 the Great Lisbon Earthquake (occurred on Saturday the 1st November) combined with subsequent fires and a tsunami, almost totally destroyed Lisbon and adjoining areas. Seismologists today estimate the Lisbon earthquake had a magnitude in the range 8.5-9.0 on the moment magnitude scale, and the death toll in the area was between 50,000 and 100,000 people, making it one of the deadliest earthquakes in history. But if you look at all the historic buildings like castles and aqueducts…they still stand tall. These wall have the ability to move with shocks and to bent under heavy pressure. Our ruin did well in the last earthshaking of 1948. The downside of it is, these walls are hard to combine with rigid materials.



















My job was to make shure the top of the wall was able to stand all the heavy rainfall we get in the wintermonths. Now I did it with a layer of steel supported concrete, wich is only connected with some steel plugs every half meter into the wall. So the wall can expand and shrinck underneatn the slap of concrete.
On top of that there is a thicklayer of bitumen (it took 8 coats) and the gabs between the wall and the roof of the appartment on the back is filled with a special kind of bitumen / silicon kit (that came in 1 meter long bars of 5×5 cm), by melting it in with a blowtorch.



















All the gaps were filled with a mixture of cement, the old clay and some water resistend fluent. As you can immagen there are no tools for that, so it took 8 sets of gloves and some sore fingers to get the job done.
The good thing of al this, it got me over my fears of hights, being days on top of that wall.

Next time: Getting a roof on the workshop


----------



## racerglen (Oct 15, 2010)

Serradura said:


> *Not just another brick in the wall...*
> 
> Now with the back wall finished, and being in the "cement mood", I decided it was time to restore the big wall that divides the Workshop on the street-side and our B&B apartment on the other side. This wall is the biggest remaining part of the old ruin, almost 7 meters high and is still standing after 200 years, although it's just stacked with stones and some clay.
> 
> ...


Loving this series, your rediscovery of how it was done and how you can still do it today.
My fear of hights isn't going anywhere.
;-)


----------



## Serradura (Jan 29, 2013)

Serradura said:


> *Not just another brick in the wall...*
> 
> Now with the back wall finished, and being in the "cement mood", I decided it was time to restore the big wall that divides the Workshop on the street-side and our B&B apartment on the other side. This wall is the biggest remaining part of the old ruin, almost 7 meters high and is still standing after 200 years, although it's just stacked with stones and some clay.
> 
> ...


@ racerglen: So don't get to close to the edges of the Sunshine Coast cliffs! Amazing views out there, but they go way down! Been there at Robert's Creek, Sechelt etc. I like B.C. !!


----------



## mojapitt (Dec 31, 2011)

Serradura said:


> *Not just another brick in the wall...*
> 
> Now with the back wall finished, and being in the "cement mood", I decided it was time to restore the big wall that divides the Workshop on the street-side and our B&B apartment on the other side. This wall is the biggest remaining part of the old ruin, almost 7 meters high and is still standing after 200 years, although it's just stacked with stones and some clay.
> 
> ...


I am enjoying the history lesson as well as watching you reconstruct this. Great job.


----------



## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

Serradura said:


> *Not just another brick in the wall...*
> 
> Now with the back wall finished, and being in the "cement mood", I decided it was time to restore the big wall that divides the Workshop on the street-side and our B&B apartment on the other side. This wall is the biggest remaining part of the old ruin, almost 7 meters high and is still standing after 200 years, although it's just stacked with stones and some clay.
> 
> ...


Great work! The earthquake history was very interesting too. An almost unimaginable catastrophe.


----------



## JoeinGa (Nov 26, 2012)

Serradura said:


> *Not just another brick in the wall...*
> 
> Now with the back wall finished, and being in the "cement mood", I decided it was time to restore the big wall that divides the Workshop on the street-side and our B&B apartment on the other side. This wall is the biggest remaining part of the old ruin, almost 7 meters high and is still standing after 200 years, although it's just stacked with stones and some clay.
> 
> ...


I can only say "Ditto" to what Monte said


----------



## Sylvain (Jul 23, 2011)

Serradura said:


> *Not just another brick in the wall...*
> 
> Now with the back wall finished, and being in the "cement mood", I decided it was time to restore the big wall that divides the Workshop on the street-side and our B&B apartment on the other side. This wall is the biggest remaining part of the old ruin, almost 7 meters high and is still standing after 200 years, although it's just stacked with stones and some clay.
> 
> ...


I once saw on TV a guy using the following technique for this kind of work :

put the cement in a plastic bag, cut a corner and use it as a "piping bag" as a patissier would use it to put whipped cream on a cake.

With this you can squeeze cement in the gap between stones


----------



## DocSavage45 (Aug 14, 2010)

Serradura said:


> *Not just another brick in the wall...*
> 
> Now with the back wall finished, and being in the "cement mood", I decided it was time to restore the big wall that divides the Workshop on the street-side and our B&B apartment on the other side. This wall is the biggest remaining part of the old ruin, almost 7 meters high and is still standing after 200 years, although it's just stacked with stones and some clay.
> 
> ...


Seems like a good fix. Hope she holds.


----------



## Serradura (Jan 29, 2013)

*Getting a roof on the workshop*

The big wall was repaired, but to get the roof on I needed to put the steel beams on the side wall, and one on the street side wall. The problem is that the street is so narrow, that if would put the roof on in a conventional way, it would stick out of the wall at least 15 cm. It's not that I had nightmares about the farmer from next door getting thru the street with his tractor and hitting the roof, but he scraped the wall before so…










I had to come up with a solution. I just went out to see how problems like this were solved in the narrow streets of Tomar, and found out that roofs are just halfway on the wall, with the gutter build in.
This seems to be a solution people came up with in the 30-tees, when the first little trucks had to be able to deliver goods in to town. Before that it was never a problem because the biggest transport around was a wagon and some horses. The world has changed a lot in 8 decades.










Because the wall being 70 cm thick, it wasn't a problem to integrate that solution to my build. The only downside is the hosepipe going inside the building at the top and out again at the bottom. And no, we don't have a sewer system over here.



















Having completed the structural things, I asked some friends to help me with one of the few things I couldn't do alone or with just the help of my wife; putting up the 7 meter long roof plates. It's nice to find out that after a few years living in a new country you'll make friends that are on your doorstep as soon as you pick up the phone.























































Going down the pictures of this build made me realize that it's a great way to grow a grey beard..










It took just 2 hours to put all plates up, cutting them to the wright length and screwing them tight. The diner and drinks, after the job done is a different story…

next time: The last stones…


----------



## Promod1385 (Sep 21, 2012)

Serradura said:


> *Getting a roof on the workshop*
> 
> The big wall was repaired, but to get the roof on I needed to put the steel beams on the side wall, and one on the street side wall. The problem is that the street is so narrow, that if would put the roof on in a conventional way, it would stick out of the wall at least 15 cm. It's not that I had nightmares about the farmer from next door getting thru the street with his tractor and hitting the roof, but he scraped the wall before so…
> 
> ...


Very cool! Are those an insulated steel roof panel? I recently consulted on a project involving them, they seem to be a nice product.


----------



## Serradura (Jan 29, 2013)

Serradura said:


> *Getting a roof on the workshop*
> 
> The big wall was repaired, but to get the roof on I needed to put the steel beams on the side wall, and one on the street side wall. The problem is that the street is so narrow, that if would put the roof on in a conventional way, it would stick out of the wall at least 15 cm. It's not that I had nightmares about the farmer from next door getting thru the street with his tractor and hitting the roof, but he scraped the wall before so…
> 
> ...


@Promod1385: Yes, these are ready made insulated roof panels with a red coating on the outside and ahite coating on the inside. So they are maintenance free and (I can say this now after a warm summer) keep the heat out in summer and the cold out in winter. I know there are many extra parts sold that fit this system, but not over here in Portugal. So, I had to make me some profiles to close up the sides myself. It's a very good product, also usable on an almost horizontal roof (about 4 or 5 degrees). We had to pay 13 Euro's p / m2 over here, so it took 90% of the total budget of the project.


----------



## JoeinGa (Nov 26, 2012)

Serradura said:


> *Getting a roof on the workshop*
> 
> The big wall was repaired, but to get the roof on I needed to put the steel beams on the side wall, and one on the street side wall. The problem is that the street is so narrow, that if would put the roof on in a conventional way, it would stick out of the wall at least 15 cm. It's not that I had nightmares about the farmer from next door getting thru the street with his tractor and hitting the roof, but he scraped the wall before so…
> 
> ...


Yikes, 90% of the budget for the roof means you're gonna hafta REALLY tighten the belt somewhere else. Watching this build is almost like being there. I'm almost sweating just reading your blogs (and I'm not even winded

And hey, just what's WRONG with a grey beard?


----------



## racerglen (Oct 15, 2010)

Serradura said:


> *Getting a roof on the workshop*
> 
> The big wall was repaired, but to get the roof on I needed to put the steel beams on the side wall, and one on the street side wall. The problem is that the street is so narrow, that if would put the roof on in a conventional way, it would stick out of the wall at least 15 cm. It's not that I had nightmares about the farmer from next door getting thru the street with his tractor and hitting the roof, but he scraped the wall before so…
> 
> ...


Grey beards are IN ! 
It's great to see the progress, and the many hands make light work aspect, even if you
do have to break a sweat, but the after must be great, dinner and drinks..(have you developed contacts with the local vineyards yet ?)
;-)


----------



## DocSavage45 (Aug 14, 2010)

Serradura said:


> *Getting a roof on the workshop*
> 
> The big wall was repaired, but to get the roof on I needed to put the steel beams on the side wall, and one on the street side wall. The problem is that the street is so narrow, that if would put the roof on in a conventional way, it would stick out of the wall at least 15 cm. It's not that I had nightmares about the farmer from next door getting thru the street with his tractor and hitting the roof, but he scraped the wall before so…
> 
> ...


Where's the building inspector…LOL! Looks like you're problem solving as you go. What's the rain like there? Those are some long sections. What's the pitch?

What a great adventure! Hey my beard has been greying in my thirties. Better grey than gone. Nice to have friends. Salute!


----------



## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

Serradura said:


> *Getting a roof on the workshop*
> 
> The big wall was repaired, but to get the roof on I needed to put the steel beams on the side wall, and one on the street side wall. The problem is that the street is so narrow, that if would put the roof on in a conventional way, it would stick out of the wall at least 15 cm. It's not that I had nightmares about the farmer from next door getting thru the street with his tractor and hitting the roof, but he scraped the wall before so…
> 
> ...


It was interesting to see how others have solved the 'tractor' problem. I can't imagine that you get a lot of rain there, so drainage shouldn't be a big problem. We get a lot of rain where I live and we need two sets of drainage pipes, one to get the ground water around the base of the foundations and another on top of that connected to the roof gutters. The roof platters looks very good and actually easier to install with their long lengths. They will surely be more watertight that way too.


----------



## Serradura (Jan 29, 2013)

Serradura said:


> *Getting a roof on the workshop*
> 
> The big wall was repaired, but to get the roof on I needed to put the steel beams on the side wall, and one on the street side wall. The problem is that the street is so narrow, that if would put the roof on in a conventional way, it would stick out of the wall at least 15 cm. It's not that I had nightmares about the farmer from next door getting thru the street with his tractor and hitting the roof, but he scraped the wall before so…
> 
> ...


@stefang: drainage isn't a problem here. Yes, we got 5 months of rain last winter… the worst in 20 years. But we are living on a hilltop, wright on the top. So all the water runs down to 4 sites! Next to that, our house and the "workshop to be" are build on solid rock. That's easy, we don't need to dig foundations etc. The only thing that is difficult is getting plumbing and cables into the ground. It took us weeks to make a trench for the pipes of the sewer system in to a septic tank that is halfway down the hill.

The good thing about the long roof platters is that there are only 4 connections on the whole roof, so it's absolutely watertight. I am aware that this wouldn't work in a place like Norway because it couldn't hold the weight of all the snow in winter. Although the company who makes them says the can hold 300 kg.p / m2 if supported with beams every meter. (it's the strength of the beams that count, and the angle of the roof)

Thanks for being so interested in my blog about this rebuilding. Sometimes it's just taking to long and it's nice to get all these interested comments here. Now… I have to finish it all to get an ending at these blog series (in time)!


----------



## Serradura (Jan 29, 2013)

*The last stones (we thought)*

The roof was on, time to get the "workshop to be" closed up to keep the rain and wind out.




























Easier sad than done though, because we were still aiming on a authentic look. There used to be a door on the road side, not very practical, because this street is so narrow and safety reasons were also to take in consideration. First job was to fill that gab on the street side. We've decided to convert it in to a window, using old beams from the ruin itself.










At the same time we had to lead the drain from the gutters thru the inside and than out the wall again. Because of the narrow road it would have been to big to put it along the outside wall.




























To be able to work in the evenings to we decided to get some lights in before moving on to doors and windows.



















Before we could decide on how to go forward, we got some unexpected helping hands from family members. That our house happens to be a nice place to spend your holidays could have something to do with it.










The last bigger job was making the carport, so we did.























































What we didn't know at the time was, that a few months later a hurricane would pass our village and would lift up that whole carport including it's concrete pillars and the rocks where it was mounted on.



















Luckily we could repair everything and did not have to buy new materials for it. This time we put some steel brackets inside the concrete all the way down in to the ground.










Next time; Doors and windows of a different kind


----------



## GrandpaLen (Mar 6, 2012)

Serradura said:


> *The last stones (we thought)*
> 
> The roof was on, time to get the "workshop to be" closed up to keep the rain and wind out.
> 
> ...


You are making wonderful progress with your restoration and with keeping it true to it's original 'period' look with a few modern updates.

Into every life a little rain must fall, ...but it should never be followed by a hurricane. Happy to hear no one was injured and that you were able to salvage the materials.

Best Regards. - Grandpa Len.

Work Safely and have Fun.


----------



## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

Serradura said:


> *The last stones (we thought)*
> 
> The roof was on, time to get the "workshop to be" closed up to keep the rain and wind out.
> 
> ...


Fantastic workspace. Looking forward to seeing projects roll out of it.


----------



## DocSavage45 (Aug 14, 2010)

Serradura said:


> *The last stones (we thought)*
> 
> The roof was on, time to get the "workshop to be" closed up to keep the rain and wind out.
> 
> ...


Nice rock work on the outside of the window! I'm glad that you all were safe and the problem was a no money fix. I use hurricane clips as that extra precaution here in Minnesota. LOL!

Your first piece of woodwork should have a stone inlay! :<)

Wondered how you were doing. Thanks for sharing your journey.


----------



## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

Serradura said:


> *The last stones (we thought)*
> 
> The roof was on, time to get the "workshop to be" closed up to keep the rain and wind out.
> 
> ...


Wonderful work on your shop and the carport. It is much fun watching it all come together. I'm glad for you that there wasn't major damage from the hurricane.

I had a rather nice and expensive cabin built in the mountains near where I live. The walls were up and the roof on waiting for the windows and doors when we had our version of a hurricane (orkan) one night. We drove up to see if there was any damage the following day and the roof, a rather large and heavy affair, had blown about 50 meters away and the rest of it had moved about a meter on the foundations. The whole thing had to be torn down and rebuilt with hidden steel reinforcement plates just about everywhere. Luckily the builders insurance covered all the extra cost.


----------



## JoeinGa (Nov 26, 2012)

Serradura said:


> *The last stones (we thought)*
> 
> The roof was on, time to get the "workshop to be" closed up to keep the rain and wind out.
> 
> ...


Coming long nicely. And you must have some REALLY narrow streets if you were worried about somebody hitting a drain pipe! If they'd hit that pipe, then I'd worry about someone coming thru the wall!


----------



## Serradura (Jan 29, 2013)

Serradura said:


> *The last stones (we thought)*
> 
> The roof was on, time to get the "workshop to be" closed up to keep the rain and wind out.
> 
> ...


@ joein10asee; Yes, the street is that narrow…. it wasn't made 700 years ago for cars or trucks… Luckily the walls are 70 cm. thick!

@ stefang; We are on top of a hill… nice views to all directions in to the valley(s).... but there's always a downside, when there is a storm, we are always at the wrong place.


----------



## whitebeast88 (May 27, 2012)

Serradura said:


> *The last stones (we thought)*
> 
> The roof was on, time to get the "workshop to be" closed up to keep the rain and wind out.
> 
> ...


very good progress.sorry to hear the hurricane took your carport off,but glad you were able to save it.you've come a long way on it.keep us posted and thanks for sharing…...


----------



## yrob (May 26, 2008)

Serradura said:


> *The last stones (we thought)*
> 
> The roof was on, time to get the "workshop to be" closed up to keep the rain and wind out.
> 
> ...


Beautiful. Since I was born in France, I love old stone buildings. I always lament to my wife that here in the us, we have fake houses because they are made of wood and drywall.. This old building is the real deal and it is a wonderful thing that you guys are restoring it.


----------



## dshort824 (Jan 12, 2011)

Serradura said:


> *The last stones (we thought)*
> 
> The roof was on, time to get the "workshop to be" closed up to keep the rain and wind out.
> 
> ...


Great progress, I am going to be super envious when you have it completed. I especially like the pergola type touches on your carport overhangs. Tough break about the hurricane winds though. It's testing that craftsmanship of yours, putting it to the test. I say you passed with flying colors. Great job on the upcoming shop.


----------



## Serradura (Jan 29, 2013)

*Doors and Windows*

No, sometimes it doesn't feel all that smart, working with wood. Every time there's a bushfire you start to think of making doors and windows out of steel. But as a woodworker you'll get over that thoughts quickly if you walk around a lumberyard in search for some wood to make the doors.The smell of sawdust is just to familiar and no other material can compete with that.




























It's a not just dangerous living among all those trees during a 3 months rain free and hot period, this landscape is one of the reasons we moved to Portugal. Most of our free days are spend outdoors, we don't have to travel, we're living in the middle of a beautiful holiday destination. But, work has to be done so….










The double doors on the front are made out of pine, bought about a year before the start of the project. Well, yes, at the lumberyard they call it "secco" (so it should be dry), but we've got some experience now.





































We just made it all simple, no locks, no handles no key to open the front doors. Just three sliding pieces of hardwood to close up the doors safely. They only will be used to get bigger items in and out the workshop.




























The windows are re-used. They came out of an old house that sadly had to move for a new one. Not many Portuguese take on a restoration, they just knock the old buildings down and start from scratch with cheap bricks and lots of concrete.



















The back door is made after an example of a traditional Portuguese door. Big a-symmetric horizontal dovetails keep everything together. This door I previously put on Lumberjocks as a project.



















Now all the workshop needs is a floor…....


----------



## GrandpaLen (Mar 6, 2012)

Serradura said:


> *Doors and Windows*
> 
> No, sometimes it doesn't feel all that smart, working with wood. Every time there's a bushfire you start to think of making doors and windows out of steel. But as a woodworker you'll get over that thoughts quickly if you walk around a lumberyard in search for some wood to make the doors.The smell of sawdust is just to familiar and no other material can compete with that.
> 
> ...


New buildings may be nice, but often lack the character, charm and personality that you have reclaimed in yours.

You should be very proud of your journey, efforts and labor.

A 'Wink and a Nod' from Mother Nature for saving and repurposing this fine old structure.

Best Regards. - Grandpa Len.

Work Safely and have Fun.


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## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

Serradura said:


> *Doors and Windows*
> 
> No, sometimes it doesn't feel all that smart, working with wood. Every time there's a bushfire you start to think of making doors and windows out of steel. But as a woodworker you'll get over that thoughts quickly if you walk around a lumberyard in search for some wood to make the doors.The smell of sawdust is just to familiar and no other material can compete with that.
> 
> ...


Very nice work, and in keeping with your local surroundings. Well done!


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## DocSavage45 (Aug 14, 2010)

Serradura said:


> *Doors and Windows*
> 
> No, sometimes it doesn't feel all that smart, working with wood. Every time there's a bushfire you start to think of making doors and windows out of steel. But as a woodworker you'll get over that thoughts quickly if you walk around a lumberyard in search for some wood to make the doors.The smell of sawdust is just to familiar and no other material can compete with that.
> 
> ...


A beautiful place and a shop to match. what could be better. LOL! I made a mistake in rebuilding my little barn that was similar to your building. Grandfathered in before the streets. I didn't pour the concrete floor in the main part of my shop first. did it on the additional room that I put on.

What material do you plan for the floor? And you do have those well made pine doors for access.

Thanks for letting us go along to watch.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Serradura said:


> *Doors and Windows*
> 
> No, sometimes it doesn't feel all that smart, working with wood. Every time there's a bushfire you start to think of making doors and windows out of steel. But as a woodworker you'll get over that thoughts quickly if you walk around a lumberyard in search for some wood to make the doors.The smell of sawdust is just to familiar and no other material can compete with that.
> 
> ...


Looks Great very nice work


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## pauldye (Sep 10, 2012)

Serradura said:


> *Doors and Windows*
> 
> No, sometimes it doesn't feel all that smart, working with wood. Every time there's a bushfire you start to think of making doors and windows out of steel. But as a woodworker you'll get over that thoughts quickly if you walk around a lumberyard in search for some wood to make the doors.The smell of sawdust is just to familiar and no other material can compete with that.
> 
> ...


The doors look very well done. Strong, but keeps a rustic look. It all goes well with the stonework, too. Thanks for sharing your adventure. Portugal is a beautiful place.


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## JoeinGa (Nov 26, 2012)

Serradura said:


> *Doors and Windows*
> 
> No, sometimes it doesn't feel all that smart, working with wood. Every time there's a bushfire you start to think of making doors and windows out of steel. But as a woodworker you'll get over that thoughts quickly if you walk around a lumberyard in search for some wood to make the doors.The smell of sawdust is just to familiar and no other material can compete with that.
> 
> ...


I LOVE the "hinges" you added to the exterior of the entrance door.
The double-doors look very heavy. There appears to be quite a gap under the double doors. Will you be pouring a floor? Or do you have to worry about cats (or other rodents) coming under and making a nest (or big mess) in your shop?


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## whitebeast88 (May 27, 2012)

Serradura said:


> *Doors and Windows*
> 
> No, sometimes it doesn't feel all that smart, working with wood. Every time there's a bushfire you start to think of making doors and windows out of steel. But as a woodworker you'll get over that thoughts quickly if you walk around a lumberyard in search for some wood to make the doors.The smell of sawdust is just to familiar and no other material can compete with that.
> 
> ...


great doors and window.it's coming along nicely.you have a beautiful view if it weren't for the wildfire.
stay safe and thanks for sharing.


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## NormG (Mar 5, 2010)

Serradura said:


> *Doors and Windows*
> 
> No, sometimes it doesn't feel all that smart, working with wood. Every time there's a bushfire you start to think of making doors and windows out of steel. But as a woodworker you'll get over that thoughts quickly if you walk around a lumberyard in search for some wood to make the doors.The smell of sawdust is just to familiar and no other material can compete with that.
> 
> ...


Great job, moving right along


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## Serradura (Jan 29, 2013)

*Finally a floor in the workshop and some more...*

It's all because of a lovely lady that the floor became a reality in our workshop. Yes, she raised me and gave me my motto in life.. "Doing things for free, doesn't mean doing them for nothing. Appreciating all work that was done, she decided, while spending a 3 months holiday in Portugal, that she could only leave after being sure that her son would finally had a finished workshop in which he could work on a brighter future.



















We started with the concrete beam beneath the front doors. Because the workshop is a bit underneath street level, it had to keep the majority of water out. Yes, it works! It took a lot of concrete, but than, that by far is the cheapest building material in the country.










Way back, we decided that we wouldn't have a concrete floor in the workshop. Extremely long periods of heavy rainfall made us realize that in the worst circumstances the water should be able to sink in the ground.
This also means that we have to put as many things as we can on wheels or legs. Now, maybe it will never happen, but when water would flow in the workshop it won't do any damage.



















So we got 4 pallets of bricks and 2 pickup trucks full of sand and made ourselves a (more or less) leveled floor….



















Now we did get more bricks donated than we needed for the workshop. The thought on that was being able to get to the door without going thru the mud. Just in two days we finished all the pavement in the back garden, making it also accessible and useful for a wheel barrel etc. The garden itself will be a project on it's own (in the future), but still we enjoy the olives every year that our three trees provide us with.




























Re-using old materials and giving secondhand objects a new life is all about being flexible and anticipating early in the project on the possibilities that lay ahead. Our old miter saw back fence was broken (by some hard dry walnut piece that got stuck because it broke) and needed replacement. It was the reason for making a miter saw station and incorporate that missing fence in to it.










I found some old doors from a hotel kitchen, an old audio cabinet and, when coming for a holiday, some family members brought two pieces of 70×70x7mm. aluminium. These were the ingredients, together with the 15 year old miter saw that runs on selfmade brushes, to make a usable tool. The cheapest way to make the base was brickwork. These big brick (50×20x10 cm.) come at just 35 cents a piece and they make a strong and waterrisistend base. Nice thing next to that is the way we could reinforce the wall behind it by poring in some concrete.



















It took some effort to get everything lined up and calibrated into 90 and 180 degrees all the way, but in the end it works! Now, nothing is finished at this point.



















There's a lot of things to be recycled and to be made to size of the workshop. Sometime somebody gave me a tip about an old hotel that was renovating and was having a lot of old furniture left over. I did what I alway do and took the opportunity to get free cabinets and workbenches. I repaired some of the cabinets and sold them, leaving me with all the storage space, tables and wood that I need, for free!










Next time: interior design and workshop layout….


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## mojapitt (Dec 31, 2011)

Serradura said:


> *Finally a floor in the workshop and some more...*
> 
> It's all because of a lovely lady that the floor became a reality in our workshop. Yes, she raised me and gave me my motto in life.. "Doing things for free, doesn't mean doing them for nothing. Appreciating all work that was done, she decided, while spending a 3 months holiday in Portugal, that she could only leave after being sure that her son would finally had a finished workshop in which he could work on a brighter future.
> 
> ...


You will have the classiest workshop in the world. It's looking beautiful.


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## Oldtool (May 27, 2012)

Serradura said:


> *Finally a floor in the workshop and some more...*
> 
> It's all because of a lovely lady that the floor became a reality in our workshop. Yes, she raised me and gave me my motto in life.. "Doing things for free, doesn't mean doing them for nothing. Appreciating all work that was done, she decided, while spending a 3 months holiday in Portugal, that she could only leave after being sure that her son would finally had a finished workshop in which he could work on a brighter future.
> 
> ...


I envy you, going to the workshop will be like going on holiday. That is becoming one very fantastic place to spend your time, beautiful and comforting. This shop exudes with the love and thought put into it. Enjoy.


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## SPalm (Oct 9, 2007)

Serradura said:


> *Finally a floor in the workshop and some more...*
> 
> It's all because of a lovely lady that the floor became a reality in our workshop. Yes, she raised me and gave me my motto in life.. "Doing things for free, doesn't mean doing them for nothing. Appreciating all work that was done, she decided, while spending a 3 months holiday in Portugal, that she could only leave after being sure that her son would finally had a finished workshop in which he could work on a brighter future.
> 
> ...


This is such a fun blog to watch.
You are truly a craftsman. 
My back hurts just looking at the pictures.

Steve


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## JoeinGa (Nov 26, 2012)

Serradura said:


> *Finally a floor in the workshop and some more...*
> 
> It's all because of a lovely lady that the floor became a reality in our workshop. Yes, she raised me and gave me my motto in life.. "Doing things for free, doesn't mean doing them for nothing. Appreciating all work that was done, she decided, while spending a 3 months holiday in Portugal, that she could only leave after being sure that her son would finally had a finished workshop in which he could work on a brighter future.
> 
> ...


Thanks so much for doing this blog. Watching your shop come to fruition has been a pleasure (and like Steve said , My back also hurts just LOOKING at these pictures!)

And I absolutely LOVE the paver floor. I may look at something similar when I finally get to build my new shop. It "MIGHT" just be cheaper than a poured concrete floor and allow any water that gets in to seep away thru it. Interesting concept!


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## DocSavage45 (Aug 14, 2010)

Serradura said:


> *Finally a floor in the workshop and some more...*
> 
> It's all because of a lovely lady that the floor became a reality in our workshop. Yes, she raised me and gave me my motto in life.. "Doing things for free, doesn't mean doing them for nothing. Appreciating all work that was done, she decided, while spending a 3 months holiday in Portugal, that she could only leave after being sure that her son would finally had a finished workshop in which he could work on a brighter future.
> 
> ...


As well as being a creative person, you are practical, and waste nothing. You have used the Wabi-Sabi mindset well. Great that you have loving and supportive people to make your karma and dogma work in sync.

Saw your video's, enjoy your blog. You have worked hard but you have shown that it pays off.

"I do what I always do." Some people would not even think to do what you do!

did you provide drainage tile? Or is the soil sandy and drainage is natural?


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## whitebeast88 (May 27, 2012)

Serradura said:


> *Finally a floor in the workshop and some more...*
> 
> It's all because of a lovely lady that the floor became a reality in our workshop. Yes, she raised me and gave me my motto in life.. "Doing things for free, doesn't mean doing them for nothing. Appreciating all work that was done, she decided, while spending a 3 months holiday in Portugal, that she could only leave after being sure that her son would finally had a finished workshop in which he could work on a brighter future.
> 
> ...


the shop is coming along nicely.great save on the hotel furniture,hard to beat free stuff.your shop is beautiful and you've done some amazing work.


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## weav (Dec 2, 2011)

Serradura said:


> *Finally a floor in the workshop and some more...*
> 
> It's all because of a lovely lady that the floor became a reality in our workshop. Yes, she raised me and gave me my motto in life.. "Doing things for free, doesn't mean doing them for nothing. Appreciating all work that was done, she decided, while spending a 3 months holiday in Portugal, that she could only leave after being sure that her son would finally had a finished workshop in which he could work on a brighter future.
> 
> ...


Amazing. I love reading the progress and completion of workshops. They give me ideas and encouragement to improve my own which is just a few tools in my garage/storage barn. Your shop is amazing. And we're just seeing the outer walls. I think a better word than workshop would be "enjoyment center" because when someone is walking toward the door your not thinking your going to be seeing sawdust and hearing saws and hammers. It's a WOW


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## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

Serradura said:


> *Finally a floor in the workshop and some more...*
> 
> It's all because of a lovely lady that the floor became a reality in our workshop. Yes, she raised me and gave me my motto in life.. "Doing things for free, doesn't mean doing them for nothing. Appreciating all work that was done, she decided, while spending a 3 months holiday in Portugal, that she could only leave after being sure that her son would finally had a finished workshop in which he could work on a brighter future.
> 
> ...


An amazing transformation inside and out. Your miter saw set up looks great and you will surely never regret having made it so well. The cabinets were a real find. I like the glass doors that let you see what is in the shelves. Very handy. The floor was an excellent idea too. Interlocking tiles are used a lot here in Norway for driveways and also sometimes in the garages. I know they use them a lot in Holland too. A good choice for your shop floor, but you might want some resilient mats place around to save your legs.


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## NormG (Mar 5, 2010)

Serradura said:


> *Finally a floor in the workshop and some more...*
> 
> It's all because of a lovely lady that the floor became a reality in our workshop. Yes, she raised me and gave me my motto in life.. "Doing things for free, doesn't mean doing them for nothing. Appreciating all work that was done, she decided, while spending a 3 months holiday in Portugal, that she could only leave after being sure that her son would finally had a finished workshop in which he could work on a brighter future.
> 
> ...


Wow, great job, congrats


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## Serradura (Jan 29, 2013)

*Not much happened lately..*

Now I wish I could show you a bunch of new pictures of our workshop. Specially after the attention we got as workshop of the month. Now we do promise to keep you up to date on the work, but for now we have reached the end of our budget. So, it's all about working hard, doing as much client projects as possible and trying to save as much as possible. There's still a lot to be done!

At last we did get the floor in as mentioned in our latest blog. And yes…. we did get a new table saw!









It's not the most expensive tablesaw, but it does it's job well.

We are working on our router table, workbench, a second (shop-made) table saw, cabinets to store the planes and chisels which I use (as a third generation, most of my hand tools belonged to my grandfather and father before me)... and of course doing all these little jobs as painting etc. Every week something is happening, and we do make pictures (and video), so there will be updates in the new year!

Anyway, we just wanted to thank everybody here on Lumberjocks for their friendly comments on our blog series and wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy and sawdustmaking 2014. Underneath you'll see a link to a short video of me making a poor man's Christmas tree. (just a bit of fun, but at least you can see the back of our restored workshop.










A POOR MAN'S CHRISTMAS TREE: THE PALLET TREE


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## Oldtool (May 27, 2012)

Serradura said:


> *Not much happened lately..*
> 
> Now I wish I could show you a bunch of new pictures of our workshop. Specially after the attention we got as workshop of the month. Now we do promise to keep you up to date on the work, but for now we have reached the end of our budget. So, it's all about working hard, doing as much client projects as possible and trying to save as much as possible. There's still a lot to be done!
> 
> ...


First - Merry Christmas to you and your wife, and family and friends. Have a very happy holiday.

Saw your tree build video on YouTube a few days ago, really enjoyed it. Thanks for making it and the poor man's tree, quite unique & very entertaining.

I hope the new year brings you many prosperous commissions and a successful woodworking venture. I enjoyed all of your videos this year, was impressed with all your hard work to reclaim the building. Good luck in the future,

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year.


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## whitebeast88 (May 27, 2012)

Serradura said:


> *Not much happened lately..*
> 
> Now I wish I could show you a bunch of new pictures of our workshop. Specially after the attention we got as workshop of the month. Now we do promise to keep you up to date on the work, but for now we have reached the end of our budget. So, it's all about working hard, doing as much client projects as possible and trying to save as much as possible. There's still a lot to be done!
> 
> ...


great video on the tree,looks great.congrats on the new table saw.will look forward to seeing updates on your shop and your projects!!!

merry christmas and happy new year!!!


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## DocSavage45 (Aug 14, 2010)

Serradura said:


> *Not much happened lately..*
> 
> Now I wish I could show you a bunch of new pictures of our workshop. Specially after the attention we got as workshop of the month. Now we do promise to keep you up to date on the work, but for now we have reached the end of our budget. So, it's all about working hard, doing as much client projects as possible and trying to save as much as possible. There's still a lot to be done!
> 
> ...


Because I'm working for someone else right now, I've only been following a few folks these past 5 months. Missed your recognition. I did follow your blog and you tube videos. You will get where you want to go. As long as your strength of body and perseverance of mind hold out. You are in a creative place both in mind and body. You can look around you while I look only where you guide me. It is inspirational. Hope you hold onto it. Give your wife a hug. and your friends. Open a bottle of cheap wine, and salute them and yourself. Cheers!

Morgan Freeman as God in "Evan Almighty said.." People ask me for stuff all the time. I just give them the opportunity."

Looking forward to tagging along when you let me. LOL! May you be blessed with many opportunities!

Grandfather's chisels are the best ones to own.


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## Bluepine38 (Dec 14, 2009)

Serradura said:


> *Not much happened lately..*
> 
> Now I wish I could show you a bunch of new pictures of our workshop. Specially after the attention we got as workshop of the month. Now we do promise to keep you up to date on the work, but for now we have reached the end of our budget. So, it's all about working hard, doing as much client projects as possible and trying to save as much as possible. There's still a lot to be done!
> 
> ...


Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to the wonderful people at Not Just Sawdust. I have enjoyed watching
you build your shop and hopefully becoming a productive and profitable workshop. I am still busy playing in my
shop in my spare time. A friend needed a little help building a custom quartersawn white oak kitchen, only 83 
door and drawer panels, and it has taken just a little time on the build with a few interruptions. The new year
should see me playing a little more in the shop, and I hope to see quite a few projects emerging from your new
shop. Thank you for sharing.


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## niftynoel (Mar 2, 2014)

Serradura said:


> *Not much happened lately..*
> 
> Now I wish I could show you a bunch of new pictures of our workshop. Specially after the attention we got as workshop of the month. Now we do promise to keep you up to date on the work, but for now we have reached the end of our budget. So, it's all about working hard, doing as much client projects as possible and trying to save as much as possible. There's still a lot to be done!
> 
> ...


Well, ya sure made my day - now, how do we get information on your B&B?


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## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

Serradura said:


> *Not much happened lately..*
> 
> Now I wish I could show you a bunch of new pictures of our workshop. Specially after the attention we got as workshop of the month. Now we do promise to keep you up to date on the work, but for now we have reached the end of our budget. So, it's all about working hard, doing as much client projects as possible and trying to save as much as possible. There's still a lot to be done!
> 
> ...


Waaayy past the curve, but any updates???


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## DocSavage45 (Aug 14, 2010)

Serradura said:


> *Not much happened lately..*
> 
> Now I wish I could show you a bunch of new pictures of our workshop. Specially after the attention we got as workshop of the month. Now we do promise to keep you up to date on the work, but for now we have reached the end of our budget. So, it's all about working hard, doing as much client projects as possible and trying to save as much as possible. There's still a lot to be done!
> 
> ...


Smitty You can find him on YouTube in a vlog entitled not just sawdust to see what Garret is up too.


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## Serradura (Jan 29, 2013)

Serradura said:


> *Not much happened lately..*
> 
> Now I wish I could show you a bunch of new pictures of our workshop. Specially after the attention we got as workshop of the month. Now we do promise to keep you up to date on the work, but for now we have reached the end of our budget. So, it's all about working hard, doing as much client projects as possible and trying to save as much as possible. There's still a lot to be done!
> 
> ...


Here's the link to my channel


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