House Renovation in Mallorca
Town houses, terraced property and village houses, where the building is attached to its neighbours and the street is the only way in. Describe the property and the work, and we pass the request to renovation and building companies on Mallorca that work on that kind of house.
What a town house asks that a villa does not
A village or town house is usually narrow, deep, tall and attached on at least one side. Light arrives from the two ends and from whatever patio or light well sits in the middle, which is why so many renovations on this kind of property turn out to be about light rather than about space.
The party walls belong to two buildings at once. Cutting an opening, taking out a chimney breast or replacing a floor that bears into a shared wall is work with a neighbour on the other side of it, and that is a conversation as well as a calculation.
Then there is the street. There is often nowhere to put a skip, nowhere for a lorry to wait, and a delivery window somebody else decides. On a villa that is a detail. In the old part of a town it shapes the programme, and it shows up in the price.
Older village property also tends to be built in stone and lime rather than block and cement, so much of what applies to a finca applies here too, in a building that happens to have neighbours.
What a house renovation request usually covers
- A walk through the property and what is being kept
- Layout changes, and which of the walls are shared
- Light: patios, light wells, roof terraces and new openings
- Stairs, levels and how the floors connect to each other
- Electrical installation, brought to current standards
- Plumbing, drainage and hot water
- Damp in ground floors and party walls
- Kitchen and bathrooms
- Flooring, plaster and paint
- Windows, shutters and the street facade
- Roof, roof terrace and the tiles that go back on it
- Access, deliveries and where the waste goes
How a house renovation usually runs
On an attached property the neighbours and the street set more of the order than the rooms do.
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01
Survey and scope
Someone walks the house, works out what is structural and what is not, and writes down what the job actually contains.
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02
Neighbours and shared structure
Anything touching a party wall, a shared roof or a common drain is raised early. It is rarely a problem and it is often a delay, which is a reason to start it rather than to leave it.
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03
Permissions
What the work needs depends on what it touches, and work that changes the street facade is usually treated differently from work behind it. The company quoting the job says what it needs before it can price it.
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04
Strip out
Demolition and removal, through a front door on a street that may not take a skip. This is also when the surprises appear.
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05
First fix
Structure, electrical and plumbing, before anything is closed up.
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06
Second fix and finishes
Kitchen, bathrooms, flooring, plaster, paint, joinery.
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07
Handover
Snagging, the certificates the installations need, and the street put back as it was found.
Nearby on this site
Villa renovation
How your request reaches a company
Mallorca Renovation is a comparison service. A request for a house 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.
Is a town house cheaper to renovate than a villa?
Per square metre, often not. The floor area is usually smaller, which brings the total down, but access, party walls and working in a street add cost that a villa on its own plot never carries.
Do the neighbours have to agree?
For work contained inside the house, normally not. For anything touching a shared wall, a shared roof or a common drain it is worth raising early, because a neighbour who first hears about the work through the wall is a much slower conversation than one who was told.
Can a village house be opened up?
Often, and it is the most common request on this kind of property. How far depends on what is carrying the floors above, and that is a question for a survey rather than for a plan drawn at the kitchen table.
Should I get more than one quote?
Yes, and check that each one is pricing the same access arrangements as well as the same building work. On a narrow street the logistics are a real line in the price, and the quote that has not thought about them is the one that changes later.
Get house renovation quotes you can compare
Describe the house once and let several companies price it against the same brief.