The two main costs when facing the renovation in Portugal are human work and supplies. I plan to do most of the property renovation myself with some help from a friend who will join me for the summer, and one of the tasks I have decided to do while planning the work is a supply price comparison between Portugal and Spain.
Lumber, ceramic tiles, cement, pipes for the watering system...
There is plenty of stuff I will have to purchase, I have a clear idea of the elements I will need, some are commodities such as lumber, and others are specific brands such as the electric switches I have chosen so I am starting to compare prices is key. Anything can be found locally in Portugal as Castelo Branco is quite a big town and is only 15km away from the village but prices can be very different and some specific supplies can be hard to find there.
I am planning a one-week trip at the end of this month to prune the rest of the trees I could not finish due to the weather conditions. My idea is to check the price of some of the products I plan to purchase in local stores here in Spain and check for the same or similar ones in Portugal. Of course, I have some restrictions as big or heavy stuff will need to be purchased there if I cannot use the trailer to transport from here, but knowing prices and material alternatives in advance and deciding alternatives ahead of time can make a huge difference in the final total cost of the renovation.
"Office" work is as important as "hands" work and I also enjoy searching and checking on the computer. The cool thing is that I am also starting to check my local contacts network to find stores that can offer nice prices on key stuff and when you discover the savings you can achieve is a nice satisfaction, similar to waking up and finding a nice crypto market up movement.
For now, I will focus on lumber, an aluminum external door, electrical and water supplies, and some equipment as a mixer. Let's see if I find big price surprises. I have some wood from the olive tree branches I trimmed on my last trip, I am expecting warm temperatures on my next trip but I will need to work on someplace to store it :)
