Renovation budget for a 245 m² villa in Barcelona

A

AriRiver

Property investor
Founding Member
€414,600 is the working figure for renovating a 245 m² Barcelona villa, and I am unsure whether it leaves enough room for discoveries once work begins. The plan is to renew the kitchen and bathrooms, deal with floors and decoration, check the electrics and make some energy improvements. There is no proposed extension.

I am less worried about choosing finishes than about assumptions hidden in the quotations. What contingency would be sensible before plumbing routes, moisture risks and electrical scope are properly tested? I would also appreciate a list of questions for the surveyor and contractors covering access, making good, exclusions, permit timing and the effect of discoveries on the sequence of trades.
 
I’d start with a 15% contingency and only reduce it once the intrusive unknowns are narrowed. Ask whether the price assumes existing plumbing routes can remain, whether the electrical allowance includes replacement rather than inspection alone, and who pays for making good after access holes. Moisture around roofs, terraces and wet rooms could disrupt several trades, so investigate that before fixing the programme.
 
How old is the villa, and will it be occupied during the work? Also, does €414,600 include professional fees, permits, temporary protection, waste removal and tax, or is it purely the contractor’s construction figure? The contingency percentage means much less until those boundaries are clear.
 
I wouldn’t automatically put 15% on the whole amount. A better approach is to separate defined work from uncertain work. Ordered flooring with an agreed installation price is not the same risk as concealed plumbing or an electrical system whose condition is still unclear.

Have each bidder list assumptions and exclusions in the same format. Otherwise the lowest proposal may simply omit access, repairs after opening walls, upgraded supply requirements, moisture treatment or permit-related delays.
 
Good distinction. The €414,600 is still a broad construction budget rather than a fully reconciled tender, so I’ll avoid treating every included item as equally firm. The questions on plumbing access and making good are especially useful.

I’m going to request separate figures for defined finishes, provisional hidden-condition work and items outside the contractor’s price. I’ll also clarify occupancy, fees, permits, waste and tax before settling on a contingency.
 
Add sequencing to that request. Bathrooms, kitchen, electrical work and energy upgrades can all require walls or floors to be opened, so painting and final flooring should sit late enough to avoid paying twice. Ask each contractor for a simple trade sequence and identify which decisions have long material lead times. Permit timing should be shown separately from the physical works rather than buried inside one completion date.
 
One more useful question for the surveyor: which apparently non-structural items could uncover structural repair? Removing finishes may reveal cracked supports, corroded elements or failed waterproofing even though no extension is planned. You don’t need to assume those defects exist, but the contract should explain the approval and pricing process if something is exposed, including who can stop work and how programme changes are recorded.
 
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