Full renovations in Dénia, Jávea and surroundings

How we carry out a full renovation

We start with the visit. We measure, look at how the water and light come in, locate soil stacks and columns and listen to what you want to change. From that we prepare an itemised quote and a sequence of work. That sequence matters: doing things out of order is what adds most to the cost of a renovation.

1. Protection and demolition. We protect the lift, staircase and communal areas and take down what is planned: partitions, tiles, floors, suspended ceilings. Rubble goes out to a skip; it does not pile up in the home.

2. Setting out and building work. We mark the new layout on the floor so you can see it at full scale. Then come the stud walls, truing up the walls and, where needed, forming new openings. In the full renovation in Ondara we opened a large opening in the living room's external wall, prepared it for a large-format window and moved the front door: the house was transformed without adding a single square metre.

3. Services. With the walls bare this is the moment for the new multilayer plumbing, drains with a proper fall and complete rewiring. If the project includes underfloor heating it is laid now and covered with self-levelling screed before the flooring, as we did in Dénia.

4. Plasterboard and insulation. Wall linings, suspended ceilings and stud walls with mineral wool. In Dénia we soundproofed an entire home with boards and wool before plastering: this is the moment to do it, afterwards it is no longer possible.

5. Flooring and wall finishes. We level the base and lay the floor throughout the home. In bathrooms and kitchen, tiling with 45° mitres cut on a wet cutter, for clean corners without trims.

6. Bathrooms, kitchen and joinery. Sanitaryware, concealed taps, shower screens, kitchen fitting, internal doors and made-to-measure wardrobes.

7. Painting and handover. Filling with roller and spatula, painting and a walk-through with you, room by room.

Materials and solutions we recommend

• Multilayer pipe for hot and cold water: it does not corrode, copes well with the hard water in this area and is fitted with reliable joints.
• Rectified porcelain in shared and wet areas; laminate or SPC in bedrooms if you want warmth and a tighter budget.
• Plasterboard with mineral wool instead of brick partitions where there is no load: faster, cleaner and better acoustically.
• Suspended ceiling only where services need to run or spotlights are being recessed; lowering the whole house for no reason takes away height and light.
• Concealed taps and wall-hung toilets if the bathroom is being redone entirely; if part of the plumbing is kept, good-quality exposed taps are the better choice.

If the budget forces a choice, spend on what is hidden (services, insulation, waterproofing) and economise on what is easily changed (taps, light fittings, doors).

Common mistakes we avoid

• Keeping old pipes "because they work". With everything open, replacing them costs little. Replacing them in two years' time means breaking up the new bathroom.
• Laying the floor before the services. It sounds obvious, but it happens when each trade works on its own. Here one person is responsible for the sequence.
• An old consumer unit in a new home. Induction hobs, air conditioning and heat pumps need their own circuits and protection.
• Forgetting the acoustics. In coastal flats with neighbours on every side, a few centimetres of mineral wool change your life.
• Changes on the fly without pricing. Every change is quoted beforehand; that way there are no surprises on the final invoice.

Typical timescales

• 60–70 m² apartment: 6 to 9 weeks.
• 90–120 m² flat with two bathrooms and kitchen: 10 to 14 weeks.
• House with a new layout and external openings: 12 to 16 weeks.

To that add the preparation: quote (up to a week for full renovations), choosing materials and, where applicable, the town hall paperwork.

Full renovations in local homes

In Dénia, Jávea and Gandía most of the flats we renovate date from the 1970s to the 90s: iron or lead pipework, terrazzo, closed kitchens and small bathrooms. The country houses and townhouses of Ondara, Pego or Benissa add load-bearing walls and rising damp that must be dealt with before anything is finished.

Being close to the sea matters too: salt air attacks metal and the humidity finds its way into any spot that is poorly waterproofed. That is why we insist on multilayer pipe, good-quality hardware and proper waterproofing in bathrooms and on terraces.

Many owners do not live in the property while it is being renovated. If that is you, Yuriy sends you photos and videos of progress and the important decisions are made by phone or at a scheduled visit. When you come to see it, it will be where we said it would be.