How to plan deliveries during a flat renovation
Deliveries are planned around three things: the route each item takes from the street to where it is installed, free storage space on site, and the person who receives and checks the goods. Large items are only ordered once the route has been measured, and materials arrive when their area is ready, not when the supplier happens to have a sale on.
In a flat in an older Barcelona building, all three are harder than they look. Here is what to check, and in what order.
The route: from the street to the point of installation
Measure the whole way in. Where the van can stop, and the hours of the loading bay, which in the Eixample is a problem in its own right. The width of the street door, the internal size of the lift car and its door, the turns in the staircase, the flat’s front door and the turn in the hallway.
The most awkward items are a three-metre stone worktop, shower screen glass, large-format porcelain slabs, a bathtub, an American-style fridge, the sofa and wardrobe panels. A worktop can fit in the kitchen and still not get up the stairs. The solutions are well known: split the worktop into two pieces with a joint positioned at design stage, assemble furniture on site, or lift large items through a window or balcony with a furniture hoist. A hoist on the street needs a permit from the Ajuntament to occupy the pavement, and that has to be arranged in advance.
The comunidad and the neighbours
Building rules often limit the hours the lift can be used for materials and require the lift car and entrance hall to be protected. Tell the building administrator and the concierge early and agree a schedule. A skip bag or container on the street also needs a permit. Damage to common areas is paid for by whoever caused it, and arguing about that at the end of a renovation is unpleasant for everyone.
Storage on site
A flat under renovation has very little free space. Set aside as storage the area that will be worked on last, and do not turn a room that is about to be renovated into an indefinite warehouse.
Spread the weight. A pallet of tiles on one spot of an old timber-joisted floor is not a good idea. Parquet needs acclimatising according to the manufacturer’s instructions, but it should not be in the flat while plaster and screeds are drying, or the boards will take on moisture. Sanitaryware and glass are kept in a protected corner, and appliances stay in their packaging until installation.
Deliveries follow the schedule, not the discount
The best warehouse is the supplier’s. Ask how long they will hold paid-for goods free of charge, and tie delivery to the construction stage rather than the purchase date. Check manufacturing lead times and delivery dates against the works schedule: an order either arrives on time or becomes dead weight under the crew’s feet.
Tiles are ordered in a single batch, with an allowance for cuts and future repairs, typically 5 to 10 % depending on the layout. Getting the same shade and calibre later can be impossible.
Who receives deliveries, and what they check
Appoint one person to receive deliveries. They check the product reference, batch, quantity and any visible damage, photograph problems and only then sign the delivery note, adding “received subject to inspection” if in doubt. The window for claiming hidden damage from a supplier can be short, so ask about it when you order.
Delivered does not mean installed. Keep a simple list with statuses: ordered, delivered, accepted, installed. That shows what work is really left and what is still to arrive.
How much actually arrives at a flat
Take the scale of the Urgel flat in the Eixample: 109.80 m², four bedrooms, two bathrooms, an open kitchen and herringbone parquet. A flat that size receives parquet, tiles for two bathrooms and the kitchen, sanitaryware, kitchen units, internal doors, appliances and light fittings: several pallets and dozens of boxes. If all of that turns up in the first month, there is nowhere left to work.
That is why on our projects deliveries follow the construction stages, and the site manager receives them. Send us your floor plan and a list of what you have already ordered or chosen. We reply within an hour, in Russian or Spanish.