What is a memoria de calidades and what must it contain?
A memoria de calidades is the list of every material and piece of equipment in the renovation with its exact position: manufacturer, series, format, thickness, colour and class. It turns a quote into a document you can check and compare with another offer. «Premium tile» can mean a ceramic at 25 €/m² or a stone at 250 €/m² (illustrative figures).
The document has two parts. The first is a table by room: floor, walls, ceiling, doors, sanitaryware, lighting and bespoke joinery. The second sets the general technical requirements: slip-resistance class, permissible moisture of the substrate, acoustic performance of windows and doors, and how smooth the walls must be before painting. For a flat of a hundred square metres or more it usually runs to several dozen pages and a hundred or two hundred lines.
The memoria only works when it is attached to the contract. Both sides sign every page, and the quote refers to its lines by number. If the specification sits in a loose, unsigned file, it proves nothing in a dispute.
What does a vague line look like next to a precise one?
A vague line gives you no right to demand a specific result; a precise line does. Two examples show the difference.
Living-room floor. Before: «Oak parquet, oil finish, premium quality». After: «Engineered oak, herringbone at 90°, plank 90 × 450 mm, thickness 15 mm, 4 mm wear layer, natural matt oil, glued onto a screed whose moisture is within the manufacturer's limits, concealed aluminium skirting 60 mm, substitution only with written approval». With the second version the contractor cannot fit a board with a 2 mm wear layer, and you can check it with a ruler at handover.
Bathroom. Before: «Premium tile, shower area». After: «Porcelain stoneware 60 × 120 cm, rectified, thickness 6 mm, 2 mm joint, epoxy grout, barefoot slip-resistance class (scale C) or at least R10 in the shower, 800 mm linear drain in stainless steel, 1–2 % fall towards the drain». Every number is a reason to ask a question and every one can be checked on site.
Which characteristics of each material must always be stated?
State everything that affects price, lead time and appearance. The minimum for any item is manufacturer, series or article number, format, thickness, colour and finish, and quantity with an allowance for cuts.
Tile and stone: format, thickness, rectified or not, joint width, slip class and, for stone, quarry or origin. Slabs for one wall or one floor are ordered from the same batch, otherwise the shade drifts between boxes. Timber: species, cut, wear-layer thickness, finish and fixing method. Joinery: frame material, veneer or lacquered MDF, make of hinges and soft-closers, tolerances. For flush hidden doors, common in the Eixample, also write the height (full to ceiling or standard), leaf thickness and frame type.
Paint: make, number of coats, sheen and substrate preparation. With high ceilings and pale matt walls it is sensible to demand a high finish level (for example Q3 to Q4), because raking light shows every flaw. What you will not see in the finished home still deserves a line, such as the make of the waterproofing under the shower.
Which building-services items cannot be left without a make?
The electrical board, cabling, pipework, climate system, ventilation and windows cannot be left without a make, because none of them can be replaced later without opening the walls. This is exactly where «premium» most often turns out to be an empty word.
Electrics: number of modules in the board and spare capacity (usually 20 to 30 %), type of residual-current devices, switch series and frame colour, cable sections by circuit, number of points per room. Lighting: recessed profiles, colour rendering index CRI of 90 or more, colour temperature (2700 to 3000 K in living rooms is typical), dimming system. Water: make of manifolds and multilayer pipes, isolation valves for each zone, silent drainage with acoustically wrapped stacks.
Climate: manufacturer, capacity, indoor-unit noise level in dB(A), airflow and efficiency of the heat-recovery unit if there is one. Windows: thermal transmittance Uw, acoustic rating Rw, glazing type and frame. These figures are on product data sheets, and a contractor should not object to writing them down. If they do, take it as a signal.
Who approves a substitution and how is it recorded?
The owner approves a substitution, in writing and before the material is ordered. The contractor proposes, you decide, and installing something «as it happened» does not count as consent.
The memoria sets a substitution rule: an equivalent no lower in the listed parameters (format, thickness, class, manufacturer or series), only with written approval, with a sample and a price adjustment in both directions. If the substitute is cheaper, the difference goes back into the quote instead of staying with the contractor. If it costs more because of lead time or batch, you approve the extra before the order.
Three causes are common: the series has been discontinued, the delivery time breaks the schedule, or the new batch has a different shade. Keep a log at the end of the document for every substitution: date, line, reason, old and new material, price difference and signature. Approve samples before the walls are closed and floors laid, because once the material is fitted the question «could it have been done differently» is closed. The sample procedure is covered in our guide on sample approval.
How do you compare two renovation quotes?
First bring both quotes to the same specification, then compare prices. Comparing two totals without that step tells you nothing.
Take the more detailed memoria from one company and ask the other to reprice its quote against the same lines. Then check four things. One: partidas alzadas, meaning lump-sum allowances instead of a price. Each one reads «the cost is not known yet», so add them up separately and compare their share. Two: materials «chosen by the owner» with an allowance per square metre; an allowance of 40 €/m² for tile in one quote and 120 €/m² in another makes the totals incomparable. Three: measurements; cross-check tiled area, metres of skirting, number of doors and sockets. Four: exclusions, such as furniture, lighting, climate system, waste removal, the licence, and the same treatment of VAT.
In practice a gap of 15 to 20 % between two quotes is more often explained by a different specification than by more efficient crews. The lowest quote is often also the shortest in text. If the specification can be read in ten minutes, items are almost certainly missing.
How does BCN YARD handle this?
BCN YARD prepares detailed quotes broken down by item and runs projects in Russian and Spanish, so the specification can be read and signed in the language you prefer. One person is responsible for the project and for making sure that what is written is what gets installed.
Price guides excluding VAT: Premium from 1 000 €/m², Luxury from 2 000 €/m², Signature from 3 000 €/m². The exact price is set after a site visit and measurements, once the state of the services and the specification itself are visible. Payment follows the contract, in stages.
If you already have a design or a quote from another company, write to us: we reply within an hour and can discuss how to build the specification for your home. A good starting point is the page on detailed estimates and planning.
Frequently asked questions
What is a memoria de calidades in plain words?
It is the table of materials and equipment for your renovation: exactly what will be installed, from which manufacturer, in what format, thickness and class. It is attached to the contract and the quote. It shows what you are paying for, and at handover you can check that precisely this was installed.
Do I need a memoria de calidades if a designer has already drawn the project?
Yes. A design project usually has drawings and renderings but not every technical parameter, such as slip class, makes of the services or the substitution rule. The contractor prices from the specification, and if it is not in the contract, responsibility for what was chosen gets blurred. Designer and contractor should work from one document.
Which material characteristics must be written into the contract?
Manufacturer and series or article number, format, thickness, colour and finish, quantity with allowance, slip class for tile, wear-layer thickness for timber, capacity and noise levels for services. The substitution rule and how it is approved are written separately. That way every item has something measurable.
What should I do if the contractor proposes changing a material?
Ask for the substitution in writing: what changes, why, the characteristics of the new material, how price and lead time change, and see a sample. Nothing is ordered or fitted before you sign. If the reason is delivery time, ask whether the schedule can move instead of the material.