Renovation in Ciutat Vella

In Ciutat Vella you may be buying into a building four or five centuries old that has been altered repeatedly across generations, so nothing about its structure can be assumed: drawings are unreliable, earlier work is undocumented, and previous alterations often left walls carrying load they were never built for. That is why we open three or four inspection holes before quoting, checking timber beam bearings on masonry, damp rising from the ground on lower floors and whether the vaulted ceilings are original or later infill. Heritage protection then sets the limits and varies building by building, sometimes floor by floor — the façade is untouchable in composition, openings and materials, external joinery must follow a specified design, and an external air conditioning unit is normally prohibited on the street façade, leaving an internal courtyard, the roof with owners association consent, or a system that needs no external unit. Access is the third honest cost: streets too narrow for a vehicle, restricted delivery windows, stairwells with no lift and waste removed in bags, which is why a flat here sits at the upper end of the €780–1,600/m² range rather than the middle, and we say so before starting rather than mid-project.

Buildings here can be four or five centuries old, altered repeatedly across generations. Nothing about their structure can be assumed.

What we check first

• Timber beam bearings on masonry walls, where rot concentrates
• Earlier alterations that left walls carrying load they were not built for
• Damp rising from the ground in lower floors without any barrier
• Floor levels that vary across the same flat after centuries of repair
• Vaulted ceilings and whether they are original or later infill

Why we always open inspection holes

In a building this old, plans are unreliable and previous work is undocumented. We open three or four points before quoting. It is the only way to fix a price that holds.