What is a provisional sum in a renovation quote?
A provisional sum (also called an allowance; in Spanish quotes partida provisional or partida alzada a justificar) is an amount for an item not yet defined: the material is not chosen, the size is not approved, or the quantity is still being refined. It holds a place in the quote and the budget until a decision lets you replace it with the actual price.
It is needed where the calendar pushes you to price the job while decisions run late. A typical case: in a flat or a villa the stone for the bathrooms, the light fittings and the sanitaryware are still being chosen, and the contractor must name a price and start the rough works. The sum is not the price. It is your allowance for the material, and the difference between it and the supplier's actual invoice is recalculated under rules written into the contract. Without those rules, a provisional sum stops being a tool and becomes a source of disputes.
Why should expensive items not be left for later?
Because stone, lighting and sanitaryware determine work that comes before the finishes. Choosing after the rough works have started means rework: cutting a recess, changing the substrate, moving a water outlet or a power line.
The price gap between options within one category is huge. A marble slab and a marble-look ceramic in the same bathroom differ many times over in material, thickness, weight and substrate preparation. Recessed fittings need recesses and ceiling depth; linear profiles and concealed lighting need drivers and access to them. A wall-hung toilet with a concealed cistern and a hidden rain shower fix the pipe positions and the wall thickness. All this must be known before chasing and screeding.
Lead time adds to it. Stone, large-format tile, designer lighting and imported sanitaryware in practice take from several weeks to several months, and there is a separate article on this site about that. An item ordered on time does not hold the build up; an item chosen at the last moment stops the finishing.
How do you set an allowance for stone, lighting and sanitaryware?
Separate the material from the labour line, name the unit and the amount, define what is included, and set a selection date. These four parameters turn a vague "your choice" into a working allowance.
An example of wording in a quote, with illustrative numbers. "Wall cladding in bathroom 1 in marble: material at a provisional sum of 380 €/m² excluding VAT, including 12% waste; delivery separate; fixing, adhesive, substrate preparation and grouting as a separate line at a fixed price. Material to be selected by the 15th of the stated month. The difference between the supplier's actual invoice and the allowance, up or down, is for the client's account plus VAT." The numbers illustrate; the structure is the working part.
What is worth writing down. The unit: per square metre of slab, per sanitaryware set, per fitting. Waste: for stone with strong veining, where slabs are book-matched, it is usually higher than for plain ceramic. Whether delivery, cutting and transit protection are included. VAT: in our quotes VAT on renovating a resale home is usually 21%, and the allowance is recorded excluding VAT. The 21% applies because in our renovations materials usually exceed 40% of the taxable base; when they do not, renovating a private individual's home is taxed at 10% (Law 37/1992, art. 91). The selection date and what happens if it is missed: a shift in the schedule or a switch to a default item.
What happens if the tile you choose costs more than the allowance?
The difference is added to the price at actual cost. It is calculated as (price of the chosen material minus the allowance) times the quantity, plus VAT. If you choose something cheaper, the same formula runs in reverse and the amount is refunded or deducted from the next payment.
Look for the two-way clause. If the quote allows adjustment only upward, the allowance is a way to lower the price on paper, and that is a red flag. An honest wording recalculates both ways against the supplier's invoice, which you can check.
A second layer: the material changes the work. A 3 cm slab instead of 2 cm calls for a different adhesive and preparation, a large format needs a flatter wall, a heavy bath needs a reinforced substrate. These effects are recorded in a separate written change to the quote (a variation) before the material is ordered, with an amount and a time impact. A variation signed before ordering protects both sides. An argument of "that is not what we agreed" after fixing costs more than any price difference.
Which items in a luxury renovation should be fixed early?
Before the rough works begin, choose everything that defines walls, ceilings, services and substrate: stone and large-format tile, concealed sanitaryware and cisterns, recessed and linear lighting, concealed doors, climate systems with grilles, fitted furniture and kitchen appliances.
The reason is simple: each of these has a size, weight or connection that cannot be changed once the walls are closed. The dimensions of the fridge and oven set the kitchen recess and the electrical line. The slab format sets the layout and the joints. The climate system sets the position of the units and routes.
Later you can choose decorative fittings onto finished preparation, furniture, textiles, accessories and part of the ironmongery, if the preparation is standard and the quote leaves a margin. Even so, a date is worth setting. For things defined by appearance alone, a loose date does little harm. For things defined by connection, it does.
Who is responsible if the materials allowance is exceeded?
The client is responsible if you choose a material that costs more than the allowance. The contractor is responsible if the quantity or waste was miscalculated, an order was wrong, or an unrealistic allowance was set without warning.
Separate the causes. If you choose a marble at 600 €/m² against an allowance of 380, the difference is yours. If the contractor counted 40 m² of slab and the layout needs 46, the quantity error is theirs. If the sanitaryware allowance sits at a level where no models of your class exist, check whether the quote was trimmed to show an attractive total.
Red flags in a quote: unchosen materials do not appear at all, meaning a "standard option" is assumed without description; allowances are too low for the declared level of finish; the adjustment works only upward; there is no selection date. If you buy part of the materials yourself, responsibility changes, and that is covered in the article on client-supplied materials. For replacing a material during the works there is a separate article on substitution review.
How does BCN YARD work with materials not yet chosen?
After the survey and measurements we prepare a quote in which everything defined is priced and everything unchosen is set out as separate items with an allowance, a unit, a selection date and a recalculation rule. Reference points by tier: Premium from 1,000 €/m², Luxury from 2,000 €/m², Signature from 3,000 €/m², excluding VAT; the exact price is in the quote.
One person is responsible for the project, and that person watches the selection calendar: when stone must be decided before the electrics, sanitaryware before the screed, doors before the frames. We run projects in Russian and Spanish, answer an enquiry within an hour, and payment follows the contract, in stages. If you live outside Spain, materials can be chosen from photos and video and checked later in a showroom. Items like the marble wall in the Urgel flat in the Eixample are chosen before the rough works, because everything inside the wall depends on them.
Send us the layout or the project and we will show which items in your quote should be fixed now and which can safely stay as provisional sums.
Frequently asked questions
What is a provisional sum in a renovation quote?
An amount the contractor reserves for a material or task while it is not yet chosen or refined. It keeps a place in the budget. Once the choice is made, the sum is replaced by the actual price from the supplier's invoice, and the difference up or down is calculated under the rule written in the contract.
What if the tile I choose costs more than the allowance?
You pay the difference between the price of the chosen tile and the allowance, multiplied by the quantity, plus VAT. If you choose cheaper, the difference is returned. Check that the quote recalculates both ways and that the material does not change the fixing method: if it does, a separate written revision of the work is needed before ordering.
Which items in a luxury renovation are best fixed early?
Everything that affects walls, ceilings, services and substrate: stone and large formats, concealed sanitaryware and cisterns, recessed lighting, concealed doors, climate systems, fitted furniture and appliances. These items set recess sizes, supply lines and substrate preparation, so they are chosen before the rough works.
Who is responsible if the materials allowance is exceeded?
If you choose above the allowance, you pay the difference. If the contractor erred on quantity, waste or the order, the error is theirs. If the allowance was unrealistically low and you were not warned, that is a complaint about the quote. That is why allowances should be checked against real prices before the contract is signed.