When to start building in Bulgaria
This article will be useful for all foreign property owners who are planning to renovate a property in Bulgaria or to build a new one too. We will straighten the range within the boundaries of the Black sea coast (Bourgas region) where our company Investconsult Ltd. operates. The observations we would like to share with you are mostly related to our previous experience with property owners from the UK. Many of you have bought a property that needs renovation or a plot of land for building a new house. We have noticed that you do not always set the terms for starting and finishing the building or renovation works correctly and do not pay enough attention to the weather condition in Bulgaria that are quite different from those in the UK.
Building in resorts and sea towns
The first thing the owner should be aware is that if you intend to carry out some building activity in resorts, towns and villages on the Black sea coast, in most of them building activities are forbidden from middle of May to the end of September by the local authorities. This prohibition is due to the summer tourist season and seeks to assure comfort and peace to the millions of tourists spending their holidays here.
Building in summer months
But if is to be built or repaired in other areas, in the countryside for example it is good to be aware that the hot summer months (especially July and August) are not that optimal for any building activities. Often the daily temperatures are above 35º C and this leads to unsatisfactory results when wet processes are used. Concrete and every building material containing cement, like tiles adhesives, dry out very quickly and their use in such hot weather becomes ineffective and there is a risk that the cement falls down by next winter and you will have to redo or repair the job next summer.
The summermonths are too hot for building in Bulgaria
Building in winter months
Building activities in winter, especially in January and in February when the temperatures may go down way below 0º C should be avoid due to the reasons mentioned above – it is risky, of poor-quality and it is not worth doing something you will be sorry for later on. There are some supplements that can be added to the concrete, cement grout and adhesives and this allows working up to – 10º C but we would not recommend this. Every cement additive weakens its strength and makes it more difficult for application. That is why when the outside temperature gets very cold (below -5º C) outside building works should not be carried out.
Building in spring and autumn
Spring and autumn are the most suitable seasons for any kind of outside construction works. There are some rainy days during these seasons which make outside building works impossible on that day. But these days are great for indoor building works. Temperatures are great for brickwork, plastering, tiling, painting etc.
So it comes out that the building process depends very much on the weather conditions. In this regards, we would like to give you some practical advices depending on your investment intentions:
If you are planning to build a new house in Bulgaria:
- Provide at least 6 months for preparation of the project and the relevant paperwork that is required for acquiring a building permission. Start this process in the beginning of the year and hopefully you would be ready to launch the project by September. Depending of the location of your future property, have in mind that within summer months (from May till September) building permission are not issued for properties on the Black sea coast. If this is the case you have to start preparing the project and the needed documentation a few months earlier in order that you receive your building permission by April.
- Use the period from September till December to perform the construction building works – building the house shell and putting up a roof, thus the house will be ready for the rainy days. This way it would be possible to continue working inside on the property even within winter season.
- The period from January till March can be used for some building works only indoors with their respective preparation and heating the premises.
- From March till June you may organize to complete some additional outside building works.
- If the summer months are too hot avoid any building works that are related with the use of cement; you may do some assembly works or just work on the garden instead.
In case the property is not large it has to be finished by the beginning of the summer season. If this is impossible you’d better leave the finishing building works for autumn.
If you are planning to renovate a property
- If your property does not require a serious reconstruction you can start at any time of the year but it is recommendable the outside repair works to be carried out in Spring and in Autumn while the inside works can be performed at any time in accordance with the respective technical requirements depending on the season.
- It is advisable that the renovation is performed by an experienced building company that has a good reputation along with good references. It should be a company with experience in renovations and employing the required skilled workers.
- An experienced builder will be able to give you a professional advice on taking the decision what exactly and how it can be done.
We have many years experience in building and renovations and we are able to advise and guide our clients through a renovation project. Probably most of you have never done a large renovation project sometimes even not a small one. You can rely on our help from the very beginning to the happy end. This will be a building project made easy for you.
You can contact us if you are looking for a Builder in Bulgaria. We are general builders covering all aspects of construction including Property Renovation, Repairs and Property finishes in Bulgaria. Click here to >> Contact us <<
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