Renovating a village house in Andalusia

How were these houses built?

Traditional houses in Andalusian villages were built with what was available locally: stone, brick, earth-based walls, lime, timber, cane and clay tiles. Walls are thick and carry the floors and roof. Floors upstairs often rest on timber beams; roofs may combine timber structures with tiles laid on boards or cane. Rooms are deep, windows small, and many houses climb a slope with rooms at different levels.

Almost all of them have been altered. A back room added in brick, a concrete slab poured over part of the roof, cement render on the façade, a bathroom squeezed under the stairs, cables and pipes surface-run across walls. Understanding which parts are original and which are later additions is the first task of any renovation.

What problems are most common?

• Damp at the base of walls and in rooms built against the hillside.
• Roof defects: slipped tiles, rotten battens, decayed beam ends.
• Cracks, from harmless shrinkage to signs of movement.
• Services that were added piecemeal and do not meet current expectations.
• Poor light and ventilation in deep rooms.
• Incompatible repairs: cement render and plastic paints on walls that need to breathe.

Our page on village house renovation explains how we deal with these in practice.

Why does damp behave differently in old walls?

Thick masonry walls without damp-proof barriers absorb some moisture from the ground and the weather and release it again through their surfaces. Lime plasters and mineral paints allow this; dense cement renders and plastic paints slow it down. When an old wall is sealed, moisture accumulates behind the finish and shows as flaking, salts, mould or damp patches, often at the base of walls and in corners.

The fix is not more sealing. It starts with finding the moisture sources — leaks, rainwater runoff, raised ground levels outside, faulty drains, condensation — and removing or reducing them, then using compatible materials. Where moisture rises from the ground, an architect or building surveyor should assess it before anything is covered.

What should be checked before buying?

1. Structure: cracks over openings, leaning walls, sagging floors or roofs. If in doubt, commission a technician’s survey.
2. Roof: stains on ceilings, light visible through the roof, the state of beam ends where visible.
3. Damp: the base of walls, rooms against the slope, smells in closed rooms.
4. Services: how water, power and drainage reach the house, and their condition.
5. Access: how a van, materials and a skip could reach the door.
6. Planning and legal status: what is registered, what has permission, and what rules apply. Ask a lawyer and the town hall.

Photos of all of this, sent to us by email or WhatsApp before you commit, give us enough to say which issues are routine building work and which need a technician.

What are the rules in historic centres and rural areas?

Some municipalities protect the character of their historic centres with rules on façade colours, window types, roofs and materials, and protected buildings may need additional approvals. In the countryside, the key question is the planning status of the building itself, which determines what can be authorised. Andalusia’s planning law, Ley 7/2021 (LISTA), sets the general framework for licences and declaraciones responsables, but the detail is municipal (local conservation and planning rules: to be verified case by case).

Spain’s energy code for buildings also recognises the special case of protected buildings: its section HE1 excludes officially protected buildings where compliance would unacceptably alter their character or appearance. That does not mean old houses are exempt from good practice; it means the solution has to fit the building. In practice, the earlier you know which rules apply to your house, the easier it is to design a renovation that respects them without compromising on comfort or wasting money on details that will not be approved.

How much of the original can be kept?

More than many buyers expect. Thick walls, timber ceilings, old floor tiles, doors and ironwork can often be repaired rather than replaced. Some elements are best kept for their character and some because replacing them would disturb the structure. Others — failed services, rotten timber in non-structural positions, broken modern additions — are better replaced. We agree with you before the strip-out what stays, and protect it during the works.

How do you bring comfort into an old house?

By working with the building. Services can be routed with care, using existing voids, new floor build-ups or discreet linings. Bathrooms fit well under roofs once the roof is sound. Light can be improved by enlarging existing windows where the rules and structure allow, adding roof lights, or rethinking room use. Insulation of roofs is often more straightforward than insulation of thick walls, and for walls, breathable solutions are preferred. A kitchen can be fitted into an irregular room with made-to-measure work. The result can be as comfortable as a modern house, while still feeling like the house you bought.

How do access and logistics affect the work?

Narrow, steep streets mean smaller deliveries, more handling by hand and careful planning of debris removal. Skips and scaffolding on the street may need municipal permits. Neighbours are close, so noisy work is planned at reasonable times. None of this prevents a renovation, but it shapes the plan and the quote, and it is better understood before you buy than after.

Official sources

• Ley 7/2021 (LISTA), arts. 137–138, citada en modelo municipal DR-EO obra menor
• Ayuntamiento de Nerja – declaración responsable, obras menores sin proyecto (Anexo I)
• Real Decreto 732/2019 – modificación del CTE, DB-HE (BOE-A-2019-18528)