Modern Villa Renovation in Mallorca
A villa built between the nineteen seventies and the end of the nineties is structurally straightforward, nothing like as old as it feels to live in, and carries a recognisable set of shortcomings that are mostly worth fixing in the same order.
This is a vintage, not a taste
That generation of building shares a construction type: a concrete frame with block infill, a flat or shallow roof, single glazing in aluminium, and services that were generous for the time and are not now. The layout tends to be cellular, the windows modest, and the best rooms often face the wrong way because the plot was laid out before anybody thought hard about it.
The good news is that a frame is easy to work with. Internal walls in this kind of house are frequently not carrying anything, so opening the layout up is a much smaller job than it would be in a stone building. What holds the house up is usually columns and beams you can find, and a company that knows the type will identify them quickly.
The less good news is the envelope. Insulation is usually absent, the glazing is thin and in frames that conduct heat straight through, and the flat roof is the single most common source of water in the building. Those three are where the comfort actually lives, and they are much less satisfying to spend money on than a kitchen.
What this generation of villa usually needs
- The flat or shallow roof, and its waterproofing, before anything else
- Insulation, which was rarely fitted and is the largest comfort gain
- Glazing and frames, since aluminium of that period conducts heat badly
- An electrical installation sized for how much is now plugged in
- Plumbing, hot water and pressure across a wide single storey
- Cooling, either added properly or replaced where it was added badly
- Opening up a cellular layout, which the frame usually permits
- Bathrooms and kitchens, which date faster than anything else
- Concrete repair where reinforcement has corroded, common near the coast
- Terraces, balustrades and the junctions where the flat roof meets them
The order that saves the most money
Roof, envelope, services, layout, finishes. It is unglamorous and it is the sequence that stops work being done twice. A kitchen fitted before the roof is dealt with is a kitchen that will be taken out again, and a beautifully finished room with the old wiring behind it is a room that gets opened up in four years.
The exception is worth knowing. If the layout is going to change substantially, that decision comes before the services rather than after them, because there is no sense running new circuits and pipework to a wall that is about to be removed. Layout and first fix are one conversation on this kind of house.
The other thing this vintage rewards is deciding early whether to modernise the look or simply the performance. A villa of this age can be made comfortable without changing its character at all, and that is a much smaller project than the one most people imagine when they start.
Where the work happens
Complete refurbishment
How your request reaches a company
Mallorca Renovation is a comparison service. A request for a modern villa renovation goes to the renovation and building companies on our list; they quote the work and carry it out, and any agreement is between you and the company you pick.
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01
Describe the job
Tell us the property, roughly what you want and where it is. Photographs and a rough plan help, though neither is required.
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02
We match it
The request goes to companies that work in your area and take on this kind of job at this size.
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03
They quote you
Each company contacts you directly with its own price, timing and approach. We do not set any of it.
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04
You compare and choose
Put the quotes side by side and take the one you want, or none of them. Using the site costs you nothing.
Are the internal walls structural in this kind of house?
Often not, which is why these villas open up so well. It still has to be established rather than assumed: the frame is regular but it has usually been altered at least once, and what is carrying the floor above is not reliably visible. It is a quick question for somebody who knows the type.
Is the flat roof always a problem?
Not always, and it is always worth looking at first. Waterproofing of that period has usually been patched more than once, and a roof that is not currently leaking may simply be between leaks. It is also the cheapest thing to deal with before the rooms below are finished.
Is it worth insulating an older concrete villa?
Usually yes, and it is the change owners notice most. Where it goes depends on the building and on whether the exterior can change, and the answer differs enough between properties that it is worth having priced both ways.
Should I replace the aluminium windows?
If they are original, they are almost certainly single glazed in frames with no thermal break, so they lose heat in winter and gain it in summer. Replacing them is expensive and it is one of the few changes that improves comfort, noise and running cost at once.