Renovation budget and contingency for a 240 m² Athens apartment

D

drawTheTrail

Homeowner
Established
I have priced the visible work, but the unknowns are still too loosely defined. The working total is €81,320 for a 240 m² one-bedroom apartment in Athens, including kitchen and bathroom work, new finishes, electrical inspection and some energy improvements. There is no added floor area in the plan.

Contractors are making different assumptions about what is included, so their totals are not directly comparable. Before fixing the reserve, I want to understand whether moisture, previous alterations or opening up floors and walls could lead to structural or service work. What would you ask the surveyor to inspect, and how large a contingency would you retain until those risks and the work sequence are clearer?
 
At this stage I would model 15% contingency and test whether the finances still work at 20%. That is not an Athens price rule; it reflects how loosely some of the scope is currently described. “Electrical checks” and “moderate energy upgrades” could mean very different things to different bidders.
 
How many bathrooms are involved, and is the apartment occupied? I’d also clarify its age, floor, lift and delivery access, whether all 240 m² receive new flooring, and whether plumbing or heating systems are shared with the building. Those details could explain more of the quote variation than the bedroom count.
 
Before choosing a contractor, settle the kitchen and bathroom layouts and map every electrical, plumbing and cooling change. Then ask whether limited opening-up can be agreed at likely trouble spots before the final price. Otherwise demolition becomes the moment when everyone discovers that their assumptions were different.
 
Moisture deserves its own investigation rather than a line saying “make good as required.” Ask where staining or damp readings are found, whether the cause is internal plumbing, an exterior surface or another part of the building, and what the quote includes after the cause is exposed. Repairing a finish without resolving the route of moisture just moves the cost later.
 
Put the bids into one table with identical rows: demolition and disposal, protection, plumbing access and reinstatement, wiring and distribution board work, floor preparation, waterproofing, painting preparation, delivery, lifting, cleaning and taxes. Leave no blank cells—each contractor should mark included, excluded or provisional. That usually reveals why the totals look inconsistent.
 
I would not decide that €81,320 is adequate or inadequate from area alone. It is roughly €339 per m², but the useful comparison depends on quantities and specification. A 240 m² one-bedroom layout might have extensive living areas yet only limited wet rooms. Conversely, difficult access or full floor replacement can dominate. Is the stated area entirely internal?
 
Permit and building-approval timing should be separated from construction time. The applicable requirements depend on the exact works and local circumstances, so ask who determines what is needed, who submits anything required, and whether the programme allows for that process. Also establish who coordinates access or shutdowns involving shared building systems.
 
For materials, ask each bidder to attach a procurement schedule to the works programme: selection deadline, ordering point, expected delivery and acceptable substitute. Kitchens, bathroom items and flooring should not simply appear as one installation week. If a delayed item holds up several trades, the sequencing risk can exceed the item’s price.
 
I disagree slightly with leading on a large general contingency. It can hide an unfinished scope and make an apparently cheap quote feel safe. First reduce the unknowns through surveys, measured quantities and explicit assumptions. Then separate reserves for hidden conditions, design changes and price or delivery movement; otherwise every overrun gets called unforeseen.
 
That separation makes sense, but some reserve still needs to exist before opening floors and walls. I’d create a short risk list showing the possible event, who investigates it, when the decision must be made and which budget pot covers it. Plumbing access, moisture and the existing electrical installation would be near the top based on the opening post.
 
One contractor question I’d add: “What must be true for this price and duration to remain valid?” Get the assumptions written down. Then ask what happens if concealed pipework needs replacement, floor levels require more preparation, specified materials are unavailable, or access hours change. The answers matter more than a generic promise to include normal unforeseen work.
 
A sensible next step is a pre-construction package rather than another round of headline quotations: confirmed room areas and quantities, agreed layouts, electrical and plumbing scope, moisture findings, finish schedule, procurement dates, approval responsibilities and a common exclusions list. Reprice that same package, then set contingency against the remaining named risks. That should also produce a programme that can be tested trade by trade.
 
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