One of the big questions that we usually ask ourselves when thinking about doing works or rehabilitating our house is how much it will cost us. And it is that this forecast of expenses is difficult to do if we do not have knowledge in this field.
In addition, that the prices of reforms and rehabilitations vary greatly between cities or autonomous communities. That is why many times we do not know if it will be 3,000 or 30,000, especially when it comes to rehabilitating an old dwelling. Today we are going to try to shed some light on this issue and do a small study of how much it costs to rehabilitate a house in Spain.
On many occasions, as users, we are not even able to understand the magnitude of the work to be done. We think that rehabilitating a dwelling is giving it a “face change”, making it more beautiful on the outside, but we do not know the depth of the internal damage. Especially in terms of electricity, plumbing or insulation.
- In the rehabilitation of our main dwelling.
- In the rehabilitation and reform of an old house in a town.
- When buying a “bargain” home that needs reform.
In all these cases, if we are not able to foresee the quote cost well, we may discover that it was not cheap.
Cost quote of a rehabilitation
In the first place, what must be considered is the surface of the dwelling in question and the surface to be rehabilitated. Since everything will be calculated based on these measurements. Both the purchase of material and the invoicing of labour is usually done by square meters. From there, forecasting costs is somewhat easier.
The initial state of the home must also be considered. If it is a home that has not undergone any type of reform or rehabilitation in several decades, surely the expenses in electricity or plumbing reform will be more expensive. On the other hand, a dwelling that has already had some type of renovation or improvement, even partial, in recent years the cost of renovation will be lower.
Besides, do not lose sight of the materials to be used. This is logical, if we want to save on cost, we can do it and it will mean a reduction in spending. But you already know that this saving will be in the short term, in the long term it may be more expensive. A restoration with the best quality materials will mean more financial outlay, but surely a longer useful life of the materials.
In the long run this will mean significant savings, not only in terms of future renovations and repairs but also in energy efficiency and cost. It seems obvious, but the saying “cheap is expensive” in the case of a home renovation is true.
Expenses of a rehabilitation
Once we have cleared the area to intervene and specifically the scope of the reforms, we can now make a more accurate forecast of the cost of rehabilitation of our home.
For this we are going to leave you some categories by the scope of the expense. With this we can now multiply the costs by the number of meters, and we will obtain approximate figures.
The expensive expenses are the most expensive that we can have in a reform. On average we can calculate that it will come out on average about 120-200 euros per square meter. As for example: reforms in the structure of the house, foundations of surfaces, enclosures.
For average expenses we can take as a reference between 70 and 100 euros per square meter where we could include: heating installation, exterior or interior carpentry, masonry, or paving.
The economic expenses are usually cheaper than those of the previous categories. As a reference, it is necessary to calculate between 20 and 50 euros per square meter for plumbing works, electrical works, installation of toilets or coatings.
In the chapter of minor expenses, they are usually the lowest expenses in any reform. As a reference, less than 20 euros per square meter can be considered for demolition of elements, removal of rubble and waste management, installation of lighting elements or ventilation systems.
Well, with this simple checklist you can already make a first forecast. We can also compare how expensive or cheap a reform will be and even compare it. For this, it considers the reference that, in Spain, building a new dwelling implies an expense of about 1,000 euros per square meter. We always talk about construction costs including the necessary material, we do not include licenses, architectural projects, etc. here.
Other expenses of the reform or rehabilitation
Although the acquisition of material and labour are the two fundamental expenses of any home renovation or rehabilitation, they are not the only ones. Especially if the reform is of draft (major renovations, facades, structure, roof, etc.) the costs of licenses and projects make the reform more expensive.
Generally, it must be considered that this type of expense represents between 10 and 15% of the total cost of rehabilitation. Mainly planning expenses and projects of architects and application for building licenses in town halls.
They may seem like great high expenses, but we must bear in mind that this type of expenses gives us:
- Legality. Our rehabilitation will respect the current legislation and will save us future problems in many aspects.
- Security. Both during the execution of the work or rehabilitation and in the post reform, our home will be a safe place in every way if the hand of a professional is behind its planning and execution.
Another small element that you should consider when forecasting the expenses of a reform is the purchase of additional material. We mean leftover tiles, floors, etc. In any renovation, it is always advisable to acquire this extra material that, even if it is not used in the rehabilitation, it will come in handy in the future if there is a small breakdown and we must replace already installed materials. Before a leak from the neighbour, for example.
square meter where we could include: heating installation, exterior or interior carpentry, masonry, or paving.
The economic expenses are usually cheaper than those of the previous categories. As a reference, it is necessary to calculate between 20 and 50 euros per square meter for plumbing works, electrical works, installation of toilets or coatings.
In the chapter of minor expenses, they are usually the lowest expenses in any reform. As a reference, less than 20 euros per square meter can be considered for demolition of elements, removal of rubble and waste management, installation of lighting elements or ventilation systems.
Well, with this simple checklist you can already make a first forecast. We can also compare how expensive or cheap a reform will be and even compare it. For this, it considers the reference that, in Spain, building a new dwelling implies an expense of about 1,000 euros per square meter. We always talk about construction costs including the necessary material, we do not include licenses, architectural projects, etc. here.
