The age and structure of the building
Much of central Lisbon is built with timber floor structures, lath and plaster, and walls that are not where the plans say they are. Once you open a floor you find out what you actually bought. A sound building costs less to renovate than a tired one, regardless of how the apartment looks today.
Whether the services have to be renewed
Original plumbing and pre-war electrical installations are the single most common cost driver. If the water pipes, waste, and wiring need replacing, the work touches every room, and that changes the project from a refresh into a renovation.
Layout changes and anything structural
Moving a bathroom is expensive because drainage has to go somewhere. Removing a wall may need engineering approval. Both are worth doing when they fix how the home lives, but they should be decided early, not discovered mid-project.
Licensing, the condominium and access
Protected façades, condominium rules, permitted working hours, no lift, narrow stairs, and a street you cannot park on all add real cost and real time. This is where budgets quietly fail.
- Condominium approvals and notice periods
- Municipal licensing where the intervention requires it
- Protection of common areas during the works
- Deliveries and waste removal in a tight street
Specification, and where it actually matters
Finishes are the part everyone focuses on and the part that is easiest to control. Spend on what you touch and what is hard to change later: taps, joinery, waterproofing, glazing. Save on what can be replaced in a weekend.
- Can anyone give me a price over the phone?
- They can give you a number. They cannot give you a price. Until someone has seen the state of the services and structure, any figure is a guess that gets revised once work starts.
- How long does an apartment renovation take?
- It depends far more on approvals, lead times and the condition of the building than on the size of the apartment. A realistic programme is produced after the assessment, not before.
- What is the most common surprise?
- Water. Old plumbing, old waterproofing, and damage that only becomes visible once tiles come off.
Written by the Aurea team. If something here does not match what you have been told, ask us why.
