Renovations in Murcia

A complete refit starts by stripping out the old wall and floor tiles, the sanitaryware, the bathtub and the vanity unit. We then renew the pipework and drainage, rework the lighting points, waterproof the shower zone, tile the walls and floor with your chosen materials, and finish by fitting the toilet, basin, taps, shower screen, furniture and lighting. Rubble removal and a final clean are included — you walk into a finished bathroom, not a snagging list.

The cambio de bañera por plato de ducha is by far the job we're asked for most across the region. You gain step-free access — important if anyone at home is getting older — a more spacious feel and a bathroom that's far easier to keep clean. We remove the bath, adapt the drainage to the new level, waterproof, fit the plato de ducha (shower tray) in ceramic, resin or tiled masonry, and close it with a glass screen. Well organised, the whole swap takes a few days without touching the rest of the room.

The difference between a well-built bathroom and a problem bathroom is rarely the tiles — it's what sits underneath them. Before tiling we apply a waterproof membrane across the shower zone and seal every junction and drain with banding. Done during the works it costs very little; skipped, it gets paid for years later as damp patches on your downstairs neighbour's ceiling, with the comunidad (the building's owners' association) involved. It's the one line item we never cut, even though it's invisible in the final photos.

With the tiles off and the chases open comes the cheapest moment there will ever be to replace old iron or early-plastic pipes — very common in Murcia flats built between the 1960s and 80s. Our plumbing team renews the water supply and drainage as part of the renovation itself, coordinated with the other trades at no extra call-out cost. Retiling a bathroom over forty-year-old pipework is a false economy we see far too often.

A full bathroom usually takes one to two weeks of work depending on size, the state of the existing services and the scope; a bath-to-shower swap takes considerably less. On top of that come the drying times for screeds and waterproofing, which cannot be rushed without compromising the result. You get the schedule in writing before we start, and we order every material in advance so the job never stalls halfway waiting for a shower tray that's late.

Most kitchens we renovate are the long, closed galley rooms typical of Spanish flats built between the 1960s and 90s. Often the best investment isn't new cabinets but opening the kitchen to the living room — removing the tabique (light partition wall) where it isn't load-bearing — or reworking the sink-hob-fridge triangle so you can cook without crossing the flat. During the survey we check which walls can actually be touched, where the services run and what your home realistically allows before drawing anything.

Cabinets aren't what makes a kitchen expensive — moving service points is. Relocating the sink means rerouting supply and drainage with the correct fall to the new position; touching a gas connection, or switching from gas to induction, requires an authorised gas installer and a certificate; and a modern kitchen needs dedicated circuits for the oven and hob. All of that is settled on plan before work starts, because improvising with the site open costs more and delays every trade scheduled behind it.

Cabinets range from standard modules with laminate doors to fully bespoke lacquered kitchens; worktops run from postformed laminate through quartz and compact surfaces to porcelain, with treated wood in between. Our honest advice: put the money first into what you use every day — hinges, drawer runners, the worktop — and only then into showy finishes. We prepare the quote at different quality tiers, same metres and same layout, so you can compare like for like and decide where your money goes.

A modern induction hob draws more power than an entire kitchen did thirty years ago, and it needs its own circuit and protection at the board. Our electrician checks the fuse board during the renovation and upgrades it if needed; if your contracted power falls short you may need a power increase and, on older installations, a new electrical certificate (boletín). Far better to find out while the walls are open than after the new kitchen is in and the power trips every time you use the oven.

The building work itself — demolition, services, tiling and flooring — usually takes one to two weeks. The overall timeline is almost always set by cabinet fabrication, which runs on its own clock and should be ordered as early as possible, once the measurements are final. Coordinated well, we fit the units and worktop the moment the site is ready, and the complete kitchen is finished in roughly two to four weeks depending on scope. You get it in writing, with dates, before we start.

A partida is a work package with its own price: demolition, plumbing, electrics, tiling, painting… A serious Spanish quote lists them one by one, with materials, quantities and units, so you can compare offers line by line instead of staring at a single final figure. Be wary of one lump sum with no breakdown — that's where the mid-job 'extras' hide. And always keep a small contingency margin, because in older homes something unexpected almost always turns up.

Tiles, flooring, sanitaryware, taps, switches: the earlier they're decided and ordered, the better. A single late delivery stops the job and cascades delays through every trade scheduled behind it. That's why we close a memoria de calidades — a written specification naming the brand, model and finish of every material — before starting, signed by both sides. Changing your mind on paper is free; changing it once the tiling is up is not.

Almost any interior renovation needs at least a filing with the town hall — a declaración responsable or obra menor (minor works) notification — and we guide you through the paperwork. It also pays to notify the comunidad de vecinos (your building's owners' association) before starting: keeping to the permitted working hours, protecting the lift and common areas when moving materials, and never using the communal bins for rubble avoids most disputes. One email to the administrator before day one saves many awkward conversations on the landing.

For a bathroom or kitchen renovation you can usually stay at home with some organisation: we seal the work zone against dust and, wherever possible, leave you basic services each evening. When several rooms are renovated at once, moving out for a few weeks usually pays for itself — the job runs faster and cheaper than working in phases. If yours is a whole flat, you want the full renovation format, with a schedule and a fixed price closed from start to finish.

Cost overruns almost always share the same causes: changing decisions mid-build, not renewing pipework and wiring while the walls are open, picking the cheapest quote without reading what it includes — and what it doesn't — and skipping the technical survey. A cheap renovation that has to be redone is the most expensive kind there is. Our job is to warn you about all of this beforehand, in writing, even if that means our initial quote isn't the lowest one you receive.