Bricklayer & Masonry in Alfama

About our service in Alfama

The walls here are not modern walls. Behind the render you commonly find rubble stone bedded in earth or weak lime mortar, sometimes tabique partitions of lath and plaster, and both were built to move slightly and to dry out through their surfaces. Skim a wall like that with a rigid cement mortar and the moisture has nowhere to go: it collects behind the render, pushes it off in sheets and often reappears higher up. So we use lime-based mortars on old fabric, and we look for the reason a wall is wet before we close it. In these lanes the reason is frequently a neighbour's failed waste pipe, rain driven onto a wall that never dries in shadow, or ground moisture rising through the base of the building. Much of what we are called out for is smaller and more practical. Bathrooms and kitchens in Alfama flats get rebuilt in a corner of a room that was never square, tiles crack where a floor has always flexed, and a plumber or electrician leaves open chases that someone has to fill properly. We do that making good, retile walls and floors, rebuild steps worn hollow by use, and seal the small terraces and roof landings that leak onto the flat below. On cracks we are straight with you: a fine, stable crack we cut out and fill, but one that runs right through the wall, opens in a staircase pattern along the joints or keeps widening may be structural, and that needs a technician to look at it rather than a bag of filler. Planning matters more here than the work itself. We agree how materials will reach the flat and where the rubble goes, because in Alfama there is no skip outside the door and often no legal place to leave a van while loading. Neighbours are within arm's reach, so noisy stages get scheduled, and condominium rules commonly restrict the hours in which they can happen. If the job involves the facade, the roof or any shared part of the building, the condomínio must agree first. We survey, quote in writing, and set a timescale before starting. Our working days are Monday to Saturday, from 9am to 8pm, and we are closed on Sunday.

What we typically do in Alfama:

Services Included

• Lime rendering and repointing on old stone and tabique walls
• Retiling of small bathrooms, kitchens and worn floors
• Making good after plumbers and electricians in tight, irregular rooms
• Sealing and waterproofing of small terraces, landings and roof access
• Rebuilding of stone steps, thresholds and outdoor paving

Areas We Serve

Our team travels out to the Castelo, the Sé, Mouraria, Santa Apolónia and the lanes and stairways around the Escadinhas de São Miguel.

Work Gallery