Cost to Renovate a Spanish Apartment in 2024
Renovating a 110 m² apartment in Spain costs €20,000–€80,000. Is it worth buying older properties for renovation?
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Renovating an Apartment: Investment or Luxury? Real Prices in 2024
Is the collar more expensive than the dog? That is the question haunting anyone considering buying a 1970s apartment for renovation. With a starting price of €135,000 on the Valencian coast for 110 square meters, renovations can range from €20,000 to €80,000, depending on ambition and what lies behind the walls.
Full Renovation Costs: From €20,000 to €80,000
The numbers speak for themselves. A complete high-quality renovation involving floors, plumbing, electricity, bathrooms, and kitchen reaches €60,000–€70,000. Those who manage the project well and do some work themselves might keep it down to €20,000. But beware: individual line items add up quickly. Replacing windows and shutters costs around €15,000; removing textured paint and repainting, another €5,000; installing parquet flooring, €15,000; redistributing partitions, €10,000; a full kitchen, €15,000; recessed lighting, €2,000; and two bathrooms, €20,000. Total: €82,000. At this rate, buying already renovated makes more sense.
The Eternal Dilemma: Keep the Terrazzo or Rip It Out?
There are two camps. One argues terrazzo is timeless and looks new after polishing, while the other sees it as the epicenter of dated style. As with hydraulic tiles, what is dismissed today may be trendy tomorrow. The issue is not aesthetic but image-related: terrazzo evokes lobbies with forgotten smells. Those who remove it replace it with floating parquet or vinyl, adding costs that aren't always recovered.
Unexpected Costs That Blow the Budget
The building dates from 1978. Plumbing and electrical installations likely need updating, and insurance companies often refuse coverage if systems are over 30 years old. Adding insulation, replacing iron pipes, and upgrading electrical capacity can add €10,000–€15,000 that nobody budgets for initially.
The lesson is that the original character never fully disappears. No matter how much you paint walls or add IKEA furniture, the original layout and upstairs neighbors remain. Renovating an apartment is possible, but the true cost isn't always measured in euros.
Related Forum Discussions
Is the collar more expensive than the dog? That is the question haunting anyone considering buying a 1970s apartment for renovation. With a starting price of €135,000 on the Valencian coast for 110 square meters, renovations can range from €20,000 to €80,000, depending on ambition and what lies behind the walls.
Full Renovation Costs: From €20,000 to €80,000
The numbers speak for themselves. A complete high-quality renovation involving floors, plumbing, electricity, bathrooms, and kitchen reaches €60,000–€70,000. Those who manage the project well and do some work themselves might keep it down to €20,000. But beware: individual line items add up quickly. Replacing windows and shutters costs around €15,000; removing textured paint and repainting, another €5,000; installing parquet flooring, €15,000; redistributing partitions, €10,000; a full kitchen, €15,000; recessed lighting, €2,000; and two bathrooms, €20,000. Total: €82,000. At this rate, buying already renovated makes more sense.
The Eternal Dilemma: Keep the Terrazzo or Rip It Out?
There are two camps. One argues terrazzo is timeless and looks new after polishing, while the other sees it as the epicenter of dated style. As with hydraulic tiles, what is dismissed today may be trendy tomorrow. The issue is not aesthetic but image-related: terrazzo evokes lobbies with forgotten smells. Those who remove it replace it with floating parquet or vinyl, adding costs that aren't always recovered.
Unexpected Costs That Blow the Budget
The building dates from 1978. Plumbing and electrical installations likely need updating, and insurance companies often refuse coverage if systems are over 30 years old. Adding insulation, replacing iron pipes, and upgrading electrical capacity can add €10,000–€15,000 that nobody budgets for initially.
The lesson is that the original character never fully disappears. No matter how much you paint walls or add IKEA furniture, the original layout and upstairs neighbors remain. Renovating an apartment is possible, but the true cost isn't always measured in euros.
Related Forum Discussions
Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (150 replies).
More summaries
-
Eating alone in Spain costs between 100 and 300 euros monthly
Monthly food costs for single people in Spain range from 100 to 300 euros depending on diet and shopping strategies.
-
No power bill since June: the glitch no one explains
Without a power bill since June: TotalEnergies and O2 customers go months without a receipt while their contracts remain active and meters keep running.
-
VDA warns: Euro 7 rules will effectively ban combustion engines
Euro 7 proposes 30 mg/km NOx limits vs today's 60; German industry group VDA warns this would de facto ban internal combustion cars by 2025.
-
XZ Backdoor: Hidden in Debian and Fedora Repos for a Month
A backdoor in the xz library allowed admin SSH access and remained in Debian and Fedora repositories for nearly a month.
-
2-Euro Mushroom Veggie Dinner Sparks Forum Debate
A nine-vegetable dish with €2 mushrooms from Carrefour reignites the debate between plant-based meals and animal protein, pitting bacon against broccoli.
-
Ceiling fan installation costs €50 to €180 in Spain
Installing a purchased ceiling fan: debate between the €50 quoted, €90 real cases, and over €180 with invoice.