Covering the Sotavento, the eastern Algarve, from Albufeira. Hydraulic installations for new houses, the restoration of old houses in the centre of Tavira and developments along the Ria Formosa.
iStarTec is a hydraulic installations company founded in 2000 that works in Tavira, about 65 km from its office in Albufeira. It installs plumbing (hot and cold water, wastewater and rainwater drainage), Uponor hydraulic underfloor heating, Bosch solar thermal hot water and bathrooms, in new builds and renovations: new houses, the restoration of old houses in the historic centre and developments along the Ria Formosa. It does not do gas, drain unblocking or emergency repairs.
Tavira has the oldest housing stock in the Sotavento and, at the same time, strong demand from foreign buyers who restore town houses to live in themselves. It is a demanding type of job: rammed-earth (taipa) and stone masonry walls, high ceilings and original galvanised internal pipework that no longer delivers any pressure. Alongside this there are new detached houses on the housing plots to the north and east of the town, each with a complete hydraulic installation built from scratch.
In Tavira, most of our work is the complete replacement of the internal pipework in houses being restored, and full installations in new houses. We work with the architect from the design stage so that pipe routes do not force the demolition of what is worth preserving — in rammed-earth or stone walls, the routing decides the cost of the job.
Replacement of old galvanised internal pipework with multilayer or PEX, with accessible manifolds, and complete networks in new builds. Domestic wastewater and internal rainwater drainage in PVC-U, including stacks and ventilation.
Bosch solar thermal for hot water, with the primary circuit in copper. In restored town houses, we work out with the designer the best position for the collectors on the roof or terrace and the route of the circuit to the cylinder, so that it does not pass through areas that are meant to be preserved.
Uponor PEX underfloor heating in new builds and restorations, where the floor height allows it. In old houses with high ceilings it is the most effective way to heat without installing visible equipment.
Supply and fitting of sanitaryware, including low-profile solutions for bathrooms installed in rooms that were never originally intended for one.
15 to 80 apartments
3 to 6 bedrooms · pool
Replacing old pipework
Solar + heat pump · NZEB
Heating + cooling
Premium sanitaryware
We also work directly for homeowners in Tavira, Santa Luzia, Cabanas de Tavira, Luz de Tavira and Conceição de Tavira — including in homes that are lived in during the works. This is installation and system replacement, not repair work. A technical visit and quote are free, and we reply within 24 working hours.
Uponor hydraulic underfloor heating in new and existing homes, paired with a heat pump.
Bosch solar thermal systems, including replacing old collectors and gas water heaters.
Replacing old galvanised or lead pipework with multilayer or PEX.
Embedded fittings, plant room, saltwater treatment, lighting and pool heat pump (AstralPool).
Yes. Tavira is about an hour from our office in Albufeira via the A22. For jobs in the Sotavento we organise the work in blocks of several consecutive days rather than daily trips, which keeps the timescale and cost in line with a job in the Barlavento, the western Algarve.
Yes, it is one of the most common jobs we do in the town. We replace the internal hot and cold water pipework with multilayer or PEX, with accessible manifolds, and redo the internal wastewater and rainwater drainage. The pipe routing is designed to keep openings in rammed-earth (taipa) or stone walls to a minimum.
In a two-storey house, the plumbing work typically takes two to four weeks, depending on the condition of the walls and the number of bathrooms. That time does not include reinstating the finishes — tiling, painting and flooring are the responsibility of the general contractor.
Yes, across the whole municipality. In those localities we mostly work on new-build detached houses and on replacing the internal pipework in houses being restored, with the same team that serves Tavira itself.
No. iStarTec installs and replaces complete systems; it does not do one-off repairs, emergency call-outs, maintenance contracts or drain unblocking. For a single leak or breakdown, a local repair plumber is the right call.
Tavira is our reference point in the Sotavento. We serve the town, Santa Luzia, Cabanas and the surrounding parishes, and coordinate with Olhão and Faro on material logistics and team scheduling for jobs close to each other.
Whole municipality covered
~35 km west · District capital and new builds
~25 km west · Urban regeneration and detached houses
~65 km west · Operational base
~7 km east · Developments by the Ria Formosa
~4 km south-west · Houses and holiday lets
~8 km west · Detached houses
On request, we put you in touch with clients of ours in Tavira, Santa Luzia and Cabanas. You can check technical standards and deadlines directly with owners and builders who have been through the job.
Builders, developers and homeowners in Tavira, Santa Luzia or Cabanas — we reply to quote requests within 24 working hours, in English or Portuguese.