Ask what a bathroom costs in Altea and the honest first question is: which Altea? A narrow house in the old town with a bathroom tucked into a corner is a different job from a villa en-suite with room to spare, even when the finished rooms look similar in size.
Start with the building, not the tiles
In an old town house the walls are thick, the floors are rarely level and the pipework follows the history of the building rather than a plan. Before anyone can say what the work involves, someone has to open things up and see how the drainage runs. That investigation is where an honest quotation begins, and it is why we look at the walls and floors at the first visit.
Villas usually give you more to work with: longer pipe runs, bigger rooms, more natural light. The cost there is more likely to come from what you choose to put in the room than from what is hiding in it.
Getting everything through the door
On a hillside, access is a cost in its own right. Shower screens and porcelain slabs have to be measured against the stairway before they are ordered, and materials may be brought in by hand over several trips, with waste leaving the same way. None of that adds a single tile to the room, but it adds time, and time is what builders charge for. We write it into the quotation so it is not a surprise later.
What moves the price most
- Moving things. Keeping the toilet, basin and shower where they are is the simplest job. Relocating them means new waste runs and falls, and in thick walls that means more chasing.
- Preparation. Uneven walls and floors are prepared properly rather than hidden under thick adhesive. It is unseen work, but it is what lets frameless glass and large tiles sit correctly.
- The shower itself. A walk-in shower with concealed drainage needs the floor built to suit it. Our walk-in showers and wet rooms page explains how the structure under the tiles decides what is possible.
- Comforts. Underfloor heating and a heated towel rail are easiest while the floor is open, so decide on them before the build, not after.
Finishes that suit the setting
Stone-effect walls, textured plaster and a natural timber vanity with a stone-style basin are popular here and sit well in old town houses. Curved details such as an arched opening or a shower niche are achievable but depend on good preparation. In a villa you may want a freestanding bath and a floating vanity with good lighting. Each choice shifts the budget, and we help you decide where to spend and where to keep things simple.
The cost of salt air and humidity
Sea air and humidity are part of life here, so extraction and waterproofing are planned as part of the design. Skimping on either is the kind of saving that returns as a repair. If the property has damp, or the villa stands empty for long periods, we raise it in the quotation instead of leaving it to be found later.
Reading a quotation sensibly
Plumbing, electrics, tiling, plastering and painting are run by our own team on one programme, so you are not comparing several trades' prices. When you compare quotations, compare what each one covers, including strip-out, making good and any work to the floor, not just the total at the bottom. Ours is free and the work is guaranteed within the scope set out in the quotation. If you live abroad, we keep you informed with calls and photographs.
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Property Renovations Across the Costa Blanca
Dragon Reforms provides property renovation advice for homeowners throughout Altea, Callosa d'en Sarrià, La Nucía, Finestrat and Villajoyosa and towns right across the Costa Blanca.