An old centre with rules of its own
Much of the centre falls within a heritage protection zone, which restricts façade colours, tile types and window frames. Working here means finding out what is and is not allowed before the first hammer blow.
Natural Stone and Walls in Loulé
In Loulé we work stone in two different settings: masonry and detailing on the old buildings of the centre, where you have to follow what is already there, and boundary walls and cladding on houses in the outlying areas, where there is freedom of design.
We get there the same day · Free site visit and quote
Loulé, as seen by the people who work there
Loulé is our base. It is the town where our office is, where the equipment is kept, and where we know the streets well enough to know where a scaffolding van can park without getting in anybody's way.
The town grows between the old quarter at its centre and the newer housing on the edges, with the barrocal — the limestone hill country — rising to the north and the plain dropping away towards the coast. Two worlds sit side by side here: flats and houses from the eighties and nineties in the newer parts, and old buildings with thick walls, barrel tiles and worked parapets in the historic centre.
In Loulé we get everything: from the landlord who needs a flat repainted between tenants to the full refurbishment of a family home in the centre.
What we find in Loulé
Narrow streets with difficult access
No lorry fits down the streets of the centre and there is no room for a cherry picker. A lot of what we do there involves carrying material up by hand and putting up narrow façade scaffolding.
Rising damp in older houses
Stone masonry walls built without a damp-proof course draw moisture up from the ground. Painting over it without dealing with the source gives you blisters within months.
Natural Stone and Walls: what we do
- Façade cladding — Schist, local stone and irregular stone laid with a considered distribution of tones and formats.
- Retaining walls — Sized foundation, drain, gravel and drainage membrane behind — built to hold back earth, not just to look right.
- Boundary and dividing walls — In dressed stone or dry stone, finished with a coping or an upright capping course.
- Terracing and embankments — Restoring old terrace walls and building new ones on sloping ground.
- Outdoor steps and paving — Solid stone steps, cobbling and flagstones.
- Stone cleaning and treatment — Removal of efflorescence and green growth and application of a water repellent, with the right product for each type of stone.
How the work goes
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1
Looking at the ground
With walls, what decides everything is the slope, the soil type and where the water runs.
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2
Choosing the stone
We show samples and, wherever possible, finished work — stone in a catalogue photograph is never stone on a wall.
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3
Foundation and drainage
The invisible stage, and the one that determines whether the wall lasts decades or years.
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4
Laying and finishing
Laying with tones distributed, joints filled and the face cleaned down at the end.
Work in and around this area
Frequently asked questions about natural stone and walls in Loulé
Do you actually work in Loulé, or do you travel in from elsewhere?
Loulé is our base — it is where our office and equipment are. We get there the same day and we know the town in detail.
What usually goes wrong with this kind of work in Loulé?
Much of the centre falls within a heritage protection zone, which restricts façade colours, tile types and window frames. Working here means finding out what is and is not allowed before the first hammer blow. It is the situation we come across most often in Loulé, and it is why we look at the job before quoting.
Does schist need treating?
It is not compulsory, but a colourless water repellent greatly reduces the white efflorescence and the green growth on faces that get little sun. It is repeated after a few years.
What is the difference between natural stone and stone veneer?
Veneer is a thin sheet bonded to the substrate, cheaper and quicker, but with little thickness at corners and junctions. Natural stone laid with real thickness gives genuine depth to the joints and the corners — you notice it most at the arrises.
Do you build dry stone walls, without mortar?
We do; it is the traditional technique of the barrocal and the most suitable for terracing. It takes longer to build because every stone has to fit against its neighbours, and that is reflected in the quote.
Natural Stone and Walls in Loulé
Tell us what you need and we will come and look. We get there the same day and the visit is free.