Renovation price myths worth unlearning

Myth: is there a standard price per square metre?

The figure most often quoted in conversation is a price per square metre for a full renovation. It is a useful shorthand for estate agents, but a poor tool for planning. Two flats of the same size in the same building can need very different work: one with sound plumbing and a recent bathroom, the other with original pipework, damp and a kitchen that needs relocating.

A square-metre figure also hides the biggest swing factor of all, which is the finish level. The same bathroom can be fitted with basic or premium sanitaryware, standard or large-format tiles, a tray or a level-access shower. The work behind them is similar; the cost is not. We explain the factors without figures on presupuestoreforma.eu.

Myth: is the cheapest quote the best value?

Sometimes. More often, the cheapest quote is the least complete. A low total frequently means debris removal, protection or cleaning are missing; waterproofing is not mentioned; materials are “to be confirmed”; or the electrical work is quoted without saying who will do it and under what authorisation.

The test is simple: lay the quotes side by side and compare them line by line. If one contractor lists a task and another does not, ask whether it is included. Our contract and quote guide lists what a complete renovation quote should contain.

Myth: does doing it in phases always save money?

Phasing spreads the spend, which can be the right decision for cash-flow reasons. But it rarely reduces the total. Each phase involves its own setting up, protection, strip-out and clean-up. Worse, if the first phase is finished before the services are renewed, the second phase may have to open walls and floors that were just completed.

If you do phase, put anything buried — pipes, cables, screeds — in the first phase, and the finishes in later ones. Our post on partial or full renovation helps decide where to draw the line.

Myth: is a vague quote more flexible?

A quote with a few lines and a round total can feel easy to work with. In practice, it gives you nothing to hold on to when the scope is questioned. Did “bathroom renovation” include the waste pipes in the floor? The towel rail? The extractor fan? With no line items, every question becomes a negotiation.

An itemised quote is more flexible, not less. Because each task has its own line, you can see exactly what changes if you swap a material, drop a task or add one. Flexibility comes from detail.

Myth: is the first estimate from photos the final price?

A first estimate from photos and an approximate floor area is genuinely useful: it tells you whether the job is in the range you had in mind and whether the contractor is a fit. But photos cannot show what is inside the walls, whether the floor is level or how the building handles access and debris. That is why the final itemised quote follows a visit.

Treat the first estimate as a starting point for a conversation, not a contract. Equally, be wary of a builder who offers a firm price without seeing the property. Either the price includes a generous margin for the unknown, or the unknown will reappear later as extras. Neither helps you budget accurately.

Myth: are labour and materials the whole cost?

They are the visible part. The rest includes access (floor level, lift, distance to parking), debris removal and any skip permit, protection of common areas, coordination time, waiting for materials, and the cost of working around occupants or bookings. Municipal fees and construction tax for the town hall notification or licence are also part of the overall spend, even though they are not part of the builder’s quote.

None of these are hidden if the quote is honest. They are simply easy to forget when you start from a price per square metre. If you want a figure that reflects your property rather than an average, send us photos and the floor area for an itemised quote; our full renovation and partial renovation pages describe what each scope includes.