Renovation FAQ · Barcelona
Renovation FAQ Barcelona
16 questions, 16 honest answers — before the call.
The 16 questions we hear most often, with the answers we'd give over the phone — not catalogue copy. Pricing per m², timeline ranges, the 24-month workmanship warranty, llicències, mosaic preservation, overseas-owner workflow, and what's in the handover folder. If your question isn't here, ask Vladimir directly.
FAQ · BARCELONA · 2026
Projects since 2018Same questions every week
Quote turnaroundAfter the on-site visit
Workmanship warrantyPlus 10y LOE structural
Google Reviews128 reviews
Pricing & Tier
What things cost in Barcelona.
Cosmetic refresh €230-380/m². Standard reform €450-580/m². Designer tier €650-720/m². Plus VAT (10% on residential reform with cèdula d'habitabilitat, 21% otherwise). The exact price comes from the line-by-line quote after the on-site survey, not from a calculator. Pre-war buildings with original mosaic, structural surprises or comunitat-protected facade can shift the per-m² rate by ±15%.
Yes. After the on-site survey we send a line-by-line quote with every material named (model + supplier), every trade priced, every variation defined. The price you sign is the price you pay — variations only happen with your written approval. We commit to the timeline at contract signing too and pay liquidated damages if we run beyond it without an approved variation.
Yes. Standard payment schedule is weekly, tied to milestones — 15% on contract, then weekly increments matching photo-report progress, 5% retention until snag-list closure. No upfront full payment, no surprise interim invoices. Investor projects can use a milestone schedule (5 payments tied to phase completion) instead of weekly.
Yes — Sara designs Investment-tier reforms specifically for rental: durable washable paint, neutral palette that survives the next tenant, fittings that won't need replacing in 5 years, kitchen carcass over front-replacement so future cosmetic refreshes are cheap. Different brief from owner-occupier — see /investment-renovation/.
Timeline & Process
How long, and how it runs day to day.
Cosmetic 4-6 weeks. Standard 9-14 weeks for a typical 2-3 bed flat. Designer 16-24 weeks. Pre-war buildings with structural surprises (cast-iron baixants, mosaic tile to preserve, beam reinforcement, asbestos in old joints) add 2-4 weeks. We commit to the timeline at contract signing and pay liquidated damages if we run beyond it without an approved variation.
Cosmetic refresh: yes, room by room with plastic sealing between zones. Standard reform: only with phased plastic-sealed zoning and a temporary feed for water/electrics, +30% timeline. Major reform: no — power and water get cut, plaster dust is everywhere, plumbing pressure-tests interrupt service for hours. Most owners stay elsewhere for the noisiest 4-6 weeks.
Dani (foreman) sends a WhatsApp photo report every 3-5 days from his phone. Phase milestones get a longer email update with photos and the next-week plan. Overseas owners get a video walkthrough at every milestone — useful for absent landlords who can't physically attend the snag walk.
Yes — about 30% of our projects. Vladimir handles the contract in English or Russian, Núria does the material session via video call with samples couriered to you, Dani sends the weekly photo report. Snag walk happens with your local rep or via video. We've delivered apartments where the owner first saw the result on handover day.
Permits & Compliance
The paperwork that comes with the work.
Comunicat (informational) 2-4 weeks for light scope (no walls moved, no MEP changes). Llicència obra menor 4-8 weeks for redistribution and MEP rebuild. Llicència obra major 8-24 weeks for structural changes (slab penetrations, load-bearing wall removal, facade modifications). We file the right one as a separate line on the quote and chase the Ajuntament if it slows down.
24-month workmanship warranty covers every joint we make, every line we run, every fixture we fit. Plus the 10-year LOE structural cover required by Spanish construction law (Ley de Ordenación de la Edificación) for everything that touches structural elements. Materials carry their own manufacturer warranty — usually 2-10 years depending on the brand and product.
As-built plans, butlletí REBT signed by Joan (master electrician), butlletí del aigua signed by Pere (master plumber), photos of every junction box and pipe joint before walls closed, calibration sheets for each RCBO, codi LER waste tracking, material invoices, valve location map for future maintenance, all subsidy paperwork (ICAEN, NextGen) if applied for. Complete folder, also digital copy.
For interior reform — usually no, just inform the comunidad president in writing 7 days before work starts. For anything that touches the facade (windows, balcony, AC outdoor unit, satellite dish, photovoltaic panels) — yes, written comunidad approval is needed before the Ajuntament accepts the llicència. We draft the comunidad request on your behalf and brief the president.
Special Cases
The edge cases that come up most.
Yes. Núria is a COAC-registered architect on staff. For Designer tier the architect work (concept, 3D visualisation, working drawings, lighting plan, material session at the Maragall showroom) is included in the quote. For Standard tier you can add it as a line on the quote, or you bring your own architect and we coordinate with them.
Yes — Albert has restored original modernista mosaic in 60+ Eixample apartments. Lift-and-relay where we need to chase the floor for plumbing, fill missing pieces with matched-tile from the local cooperative (Mosaics Martí), polish and seal. Adds €60-120/m² but preserves what makes a pre-war flat actually rare on the market.
Spanish gas regulations require a separate installer with empresa instaladora autorizada in category B and a butlletí del gas — that paperwork can't be replaced by general plumbing. We coordinate with one of two registered gas companies we work with regularly and they sign their own butlletí. We hand the cleared line over to them, they install, we reconnect on the appliance side.
All 10 Barcelona districts plus the inner metropolitan ring — Badalona, L'Hospitalet, Sant Adrià, Esplugues, Cornellà, El Prat, Sant Cugat. Outside that perimeter (Castelldefels, Sitges, Vilanova) we work but only at the Designer tier with longer crew-logistics timelines, because daily transit eats into the work day.
Different question?
Ask Vladimir directly.
Send the question and your apartment details. Vladimir reads every email and replies within a working day with either the answer or the on-site survey slot.