obra menor – Specialised Build

Complete Villa Renovation in Coin, nr Marbella, Costa del Sol

The joy of purchasing a home on the Costa del Sol, is that you are able to put your stamp on it and make it truly personal. Renovating or reforming an existing finca or villa is a way of doing just that. It allows yo to get the finish that you want from your swimming pool area, terrace and interior living spaces.

Planning the schedule of works is the first step. We will not only discuss your immediate plans, but also your future plans to ensure that no unnecessary works are done and that no extra cost is incurred in the long term.

Part of our service can include the application for the correct licenses from the town hall (ayuntamiento), whether it be small works (obra menor) or major project (obra mayor). In general, for an obra mayor an architects project is required.

Our team of specialists includes architects, plumbers, certified electricians, tilers, painters.. we have it covered.

In this example, the project was of a huge scale, taking just under 6 months to complete. The entire home was stripped out down to bare walls and floors and then started again. This included all the electrics and plumbing. The villa was completely rewired and supplied with a new Boletin (safety certificate required by the energy company). Some of the plumbing was not good as new pipes had been added, others blocked off etc.. so leaks would probably be a problem in the future.

Each room was completely stripped out, rendered and plastered, then new high quality tiled floors put down. New windows and doors were installed.

Here are some progress photos, in later posts, we will post finished pictures and detailed descriptions of the building work involved.

Progress with interior renovation of villa

Exterior

Repair of leaking roof on a large villa, Costa del Sol

This large villa in Estepona had a roof that had leaked slightly over the last 20 years, however with the record breaking rainfall in the autumn of 2016, the roof leaked through into the house all over, causing massive damage to the plastered walls and ceilings.

The tiles were all stripped off the roof, the sand cement mix under the tiles was all removed and cleaned off, giving us access to seal the concrete slabs with a bitumin based product.

Access was particularly difficult as the villa is 3 stories, requiring scaffolding to be erected according to the current legislation, as specified by the Junta de Andalucia. This type of scaffolding has to be erected by a homologated company, who supply a safety certificate. Our number one priority is safety, both for our workers and people passing by. In addition, the use of scaffolding with nets helps to prevent damage and injury from falling objects.

Once we sealed the roof, an new bed of sand cement was laid on top, giving a good base for the roofing tiles to be put back. Most of the roofing tiles were reused, but some were broken during the work, so reclaimed tiles were sourced so that the roof all matches.

It is important to note that the way most houses are constructed in Spain, the roof tiles do not provide the waterproofing, they simply help to shield from the sun direct the water away from the concrete slab and sprayed insulation layer underneath the roof tiles.

The hardest part of this project was obtaining the correct building license, in total it took 11 weeks. This needs to be considered if you are planning these types of building works, especially in the Marbella and Estepona areas. Mijas and Fuengirola seem to be more efficient from our experience.