How much does it cost to renovate a 200 m² apartment in Sant Gervasi, Sarrià and Pedralbes?
BCN YARD guide prices, excluding VAT: Premium from €1,000/m², so from €200,000 for 200 m²; Luxury from €2,000/m², from €400,000; Signature from €3,000/m², from €600,000. VAT of 21% on renovating a second-hand home adds €€42,000,84,000 and €126,000 in our estimates. The word "from" matters: the exact sum comes with the estimate, after the survey and measurements.
In Sant Gervasi, Sarrià and Pedralbes the price is set not by the district but by the building: whether there is a lift, the ceiling height, the state of the floor slabs and risers, whether there is historic parquet or plasterwork to keep, and what noise and working-hours rules the comunidad imposes. Two 200 m² flats in neighbouring buildings can differ by tens of thousands of euros.
Below, what changes on large areas and what stays expensive.
Is the price per metre lower when renovating a large apartment?
Somewhat lower, but not because of the finishes. Fixed costs are spread over more metres, and anything counted per item does not get cheaper.
Fixed costs include site set-up (hoarding, protection of the lift and common areas, skips), the project and drawings, management, connection and the distribution board, minimum fees, deliveries and final cleaning. In 70 m² they take a noticeable share of the estimate; in 200 m², a smaller one. Floors, walls, ceilings, painting and ductwork grow in proportion to the area. Bathrooms, the kitchen, doors, wardrobes and windows are counted by the item.
There is no discount for size to promise: the effect shows in the estimate as a smaller share of fixed costs, not as a coefficient. If you are told that at 200 m² the price per metre drops by a fixed percentage, ask to see it in a breakdown by chapter. If there is no breakdown, the figure is plucked from the air.
What stays expensive on large floor areas?
Bathrooms, the kitchen, joinery, building services and stone. They depend not on floor area but on number and grade.
Each bathroom is a small project of its own: waterproofing, underfloor heating, ventilation, sanitaryware, stone or ceramic, glass, furniture. Four to six trades work in it, and a mistake there costs the most. The kitchen is also counted separately, often together with a utility area and laundry.
Joinery in 200 m² means ten to fourteen doors, built-in wardrobes in bedrooms and dressing rooms, panelling and niches. These are bespoke items with long manufacturing lead times. Services grow with the metres: more climate zones, longer runs, more boards and lighting circuits. Stone on large walls and floors needs slabs laid out to the pattern, and therefore extra material.
These items keep the price of a 200 m² flat close to the price per metre of a small one.
How should the budget be split by room: an example for 200 m²?
The kitchen and four bathrooms take about a quarter of the floor area and about a third of the budget. This is an example for a hypothetical flat, not an estimate: the layout is assumed and the shares are a guide from practice.
Suppose 200 m² are divided like this: living-dining room 55 m²; kitchen 20 m²; four bedrooms with dressing rooms 70 m²; four bathrooms 31 m²; hall, corridors and entrance 24 m². At Signature, that is €600,000 before VAT, it comes out as follows. Kitchen and bathrooms: 30-35%, or €180,000-210,000. Living-dining room: 25-30%, €150,000-180,000. Bedrooms with dressing rooms: 20-25%, €120,000-150,000. Hall, corridors and entrance: 8-10%, €48,000-60,000. General costs (project, management, protection of the building, waste removal): 7-10%, €42,000-60,000.
The shares already include each zone's services, lighting and joinery. If your layout is different, the proportions shift: five bathrooms instead of four weigh more than an extra bedroom.
How much do extra bathrooms and kitchens add to the budget?
Each extra bathroom adds more than an average square metre of the flat. In practice a metre of bathroom costs 1.5 to 2.5 times the average for the apartment.
Take an 8 m² bathroom at Signature level, where the average guide is €3,000/m². Multiply: 8 × 3,000 × (1.5-2.5) gives something like €36,000-60,000 before VAT. It is an order of magnitude, not a price, but it explains why a fifth bathroom moves the estimate more than a fifth bedroom. It brings new risers, ventilation, waterproofing and community approval if the pipes run through shared shafts.
The kitchen has its own nuances. Check whether the estimate includes the kitchen furniture and appliances: they are often a separate line or bought by the owner. An additional service kitchen, a laundry and a utility room also count as separate wet rooms.
Is permit documentation needed to merge rooms or apartments?
Yes. Merging two flats into one and moving load-bearing elements requires an architect's project with calculations, the community's agreement and registration of the new unit in the property registry. In Barcelona, renovating two homes at once is type I minor works under the ORPIMO and usually goes through a comunicat diferit, even with an opening in a load-bearing wall; a major-works licence only comes in if the structure of the whole building is involved. The exact package is confirmed with the gestor and at the Ajuntament.
In Barcelona the first step is the prior consultation (consulta previa), mandatory for all works: it states the regime and the list of documents. The project needs a technical suitability report from an accredited professional college or a certified body. If the building is protected or lies in a listed zone, heritage reports are added and the time grows.
Common elements are a separate matter: if you move risers, touch beams or change the facade and terrace, a community decision is needed. The details of the procedure are in the separate article on merging flats. At 200 m² this step is frequent, because that size is often assembled from two lots.
How do you check an estimate for a large apartment, and how can BCN YARD help?
Compare estimates not by the total but by chapter and room. You need separate lines for bathrooms, the kitchen, joinery, services and stone, and clear provisional sums wherever materials are not yet chosen.
What to ask the contractor: who buys the stone and sanitaryware; how changes during the works are priced; which VAT rate applies and to what (21% to second-hand homes, 10% to new ones); how payments are split into stages; what acceptance milestones there are. Ask for the same breakdown at two finish levels so you can see exactly where the price rises.
For scale: our Urgel flat in Eixample is 109.80 m², with 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and an open kitchen. In a flat nearly twice that size there are usually more bathrooms, and they are what moves the total. We give the price for your flat in the estimate, after the survey and measurements. Payment is by contract, in stages, with one person responsible for the project. We reply to an enquiry within an hour.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to renovate 200 m² in Sant Gervasi?
On BCN YARD guide prices before VAT: Premium from €200,000, Luxury from €400,000, Signature from €600,000. VAT of 21% adds roughly another fifth. The word "from" means the total depends on the building, the layout and the materials, and the exact figure comes from the estimate after the survey and measurements.
Is the price per metre lower when renovating a large apartment?
Partly. Fixed costs such as site set-up, the project and management are spread over more metres. But bathrooms, the kitchen, doors and wardrobes are counted by the item and do not get cheaper. There is no discount for size: the effect shows in the estimate as a smaller share of fixed costs.
How much do extra bathrooms and kitchens add?
Each bathroom adds noticeably more than an average metre of the flat: in practice a metre of wet area costs 1.5 to 2.5 times as much. A fifth bathroom moves the estimate more than a fifth bedroom, because it brings risers, ventilation and waterproofing. Check kitchen furniture and appliances as a separate line.
Is permit documentation needed to merge rooms or apartments?
Yes: an architect's project, a community decision and registration of the new unit. In Barcelona joining two homes usually goes through a comunicat diferit (type I minor works under the ORPIMO), and only needs a major-works licence if the whole structure is involved. You start with the mandatory prior consultation (consulta previa), which states the regime and the documents. The full package is confirmed with the gestor and at the Ajuntament.