Reforming a stone house in Mallorca: keys and mistakes to avoid
The Mallorcan stone houses have a charm that no new work can imitate, but reforming them well demands craft. We tell you what to look at before you start, what to keep and the mistakes we see repeat over and over.
In Sóller and throughout the Serra de Tramuntana we have been working in stone houses for decades: farms, village houses and porxos. They are noble homes, built to last, but with logics other than those of a modern house. This is what we have learned to reform them.
1. Starts with diagnosis, not design
Before thinking about kitchens and bathrooms, you have to understand the real state of the house: walls, forged, covered and humidity. In a stone house the problems are not always seen in the naked eye, and discovering them in the middle of work is the main cause of overcosts.
A technical visit at the beginning gives you an honest starting point: what is healthy, what needs to be strengthened and what should be replaced directly.
2. Humidity: Number One problem
The stone walls “breath”: they regulate moisture naturally. The most common mistake is to seal them with cement or plastic paints, which trap moisture inside the wall and end up causing discomfort and salitre.
The solution passes through breathable materials, lime mortars, silicate paints, and by solving the origin: drainage, cover and carpentry. Well treated, a stone house is fresh in summer and healthy all year.
3. What to keep (and what not)
The value of these houses is what makes them unique: stone walls view, arches, wooden beams, hydraulic floors, stone stairs. Our criterion: to preserve and restore everything that structurally and economically makes sense, and to replace without nostalgia what is no longer fulfilled (installations, carpentry in poor condition, bathrooms and kitchens).
- Keep: view stone, healthy beams, arches, original recovered soils.
- Always renew: electricity, plumbing, sanitation and isolation.
- To assess case-by-case: covered, forged and exterior carpentry.
4. Modern comfort without losing character
To reform is not to museify. A stone house perfectly supports radiant ground, aerotermia, good insulation on deck and efficient carpentry. The key is to integrate the facilities with discretion so that the protagonist remains the house.
5. Permits and regulations
Many stone houses are in historic hulls or in rustic soil, with specific regulations. Depending on the scope, you will need less or greater work license, and in protected areas there may be aesthetic conditions (colors, carpentry, covers). Conting with a company that knows the town hall and the type of work saves you months.
Common mistakes that should be avoided
- Roll the stone with cement: half-term guaranteed humidity.
- Buy the finishes before you have the structural diagnosis.
- No margin for unforeseen (in old houses, there are always).
- Replace healthy wood beams "in case" instead of treating them.
- Start without a license to “go forward”: it can paralyze the entire work.
Rehabilitating a stone house is one of the most grateful works that exist: parts of something with soul and you end up with a unique and comfortable house. In Ancolem we take care of the whole process within a comprehensive reform in Mallorca: diagnosis, project, permits and execution with the same interlocutor.