What a full renovation in the Eixample involves
A full flat renovation in the Eixample almost always means replacing every service, checking the floor structure and load-bearing walls, and redesigning the layout inside a building that is over a hundred years old. As a guide, our prices start at €1,000/m² excluding VAT for the Basic level, €2,000/m² for Standard and €3,000/m² for Luxury. The exact figure comes from a quote after we visit and measure the flat.
The typical flat here is long and narrow, running from the street facade to the facade overlooking the inner courtyard of the block. Expect a long corridor, high ceilings, cornices, hydraulic tiles and timber beams in the floors. Over more than a century plenty of tradespeople have worked on it, and each one left something behind. So the renovation does not start with choosing tiles. It starts with understanding exactly what you have bought.
What to check before the quote, and in what order
First, the floor structure. Buildings from the late 19th and early 20th century usually have timber or iron beams with Catalan vaulting (volta catalana) between them. Beam ends along the facade and under bathrooms suffer from rot or corrosion, especially where a leak went unnoticed for years. You only know for certain once the floor is lifted, but sagging and cracks in the downstairs neighbour's ceiling give early clues.
Second, the walls. In the Eixample many interior walls are load-bearing, however thin they look. Before anyone promises you an open kitchen or two rooms knocked into one, a technician has to establish which walls carry the floor above and what it takes to open them.
Third, the soil and rainwater stacks (bajantes). Lead pipes and fibre-cement stacks containing asbestos still turn up. Asbestos can only be removed by an authorised company under its own work plan, which means time and money that belong in the schedule from day one. The stacks are shared building elements, so replacing them has to be agreed with the comunidad de propietarios.
Fourth, the wiring and power supply. Old wiring is replaced entirely, and at the same time we check how much power the flat can actually get if you want induction, air conditioning in every room and underfloor heating.
Permits, neighbours and logistics
A full renovation needs some form of permit from Barcelona's Ajuntament, from a notification for minor works up to a major works licence if the structure or facade is affected. Which one applies depends on the scope; timescales and fees are confirmed with the Ajuntament or a gestor. If the building is listed, restrictions cover the facade, balconies and windows, and sometimes interior features too.
Noise hours, use of the lift and protection of the entrance hall and staircase are agreed with the comunidad de propietarios in advance. A skip on the street needs its own permit to occupy the pavement. In a building with no goods lift, carrying rubble down and materials up to a fifth floor on an old staircase is a line item of its own, and it should be in the quote from the start rather than surfacing later.
Example: the Urgel flat, 109.80 m²
In the Urgel flat in the Eixample, 109.80 m², we created four bedrooms, two bathrooms, an open kitchen and a herringbone parquet floor. It shows clearly where a full renovation in this district is won or lost.
Two bathrooms in a long, narrow flat are above all a drainage question. Each bathroom needs a fall to the stack, so the stacks decide where bathrooms go, not just convenience. Push one too far away and you have to raise the floor or fit a pump, and neither is a good outcome.
An open kitchen in the middle of the flat lets light in from both facades, but you have to solve extraction and check the wall you are opening. Herringbone parquet emphasises the long axis of the home, yet it is less forgiving than plank flooring: the base must be flat, and old Eixample floors almost never are.
Mistakes that cost real money
Ordering the kitchen, doors and built-in joinery before demolition. Once walls are opened, door openings and floor levels change, and furniture made to the old measurements has to be redone.
Leaving floor levelling out of the plan. In an old flat the floor can drop several centimetres from one end to the other. Ignore it, and the doors and skirting boards give it away on day one.
Running air-conditioning ducts through rooms with original cornices. Routes are planned in advance and hidden in the dropped ceiling of the corridor or bathrooms, where there is height to spare and the original decoration stays intact.
Replacing facade windows without checking the building's status. In a listed building the shape, material and colour of the frames may be fixed. Finding that out after placing the order costs money and weeks.
How we run a project like this
Most of the work is done by our own crew; specialist tasks such as asbestos removal or joinery manufacture go to subcontractors we trust. One person is responsible for the whole project, and you can talk to them in Spanish or Russian. Payments follow the contract, stage by stage.
If your flat is in the Eixample, send us the address, photos of the rooms and ceilings, a floor plan if you have one and what you want the finished home to be. We reply to every enquiry within an hour, and after the site visit we will tell you what needs checking in your particular building before the quote is final.