Throughout our professional career we have installed countless materials, products and equipment, and we have solved many problems that have arisen in all the renovations.
First I would like to differentiate between an “expensive” product and an “expensive” product. An expensive product is one that has a very high price for what it is or for the benefits it offers us. An expensive product is one that has a high cost because it offers high quality and features, above what is considered standard level. In any case, there are always ways to carry out a comprehensive renovation suitable for any budget, because we combine features and design where it is needed and functionality in others.
DIVIDERS (PARTIVATIONS)
Following the order in which we structure our budgets, we will start with the divisions within the home . To define “fixed” spaces, the quickest and most economical way is to work with plasterboard plates (popularly known as plasterboard), where you can also place a thermo-acoustic insulator such as rock wool. Another system is to make the divisions with ceramic bricks , which I recommend that they be 7 cm thick with double holes, to be able to make the regattas of the facilities without excessively weakening the partitions. This system is more expensive because, basically, the performance is lower and several tasks are required to finish them (raising the partition and then plastering and/or plastering).
The needs and customs of the family unit or couples are changing, and now they ask us for spaces that are versatile and adaptable to the circumstances of each moment, being able to give several uses to the same room or expand their surfaces. To do this, it is necessary to work with mobile elements such as sliding screens , mobile partitions , transparent or translucent, with lower and/or upper guides, with a Japanese panel , and it is also possible to do it with furniture having an open space.
COATINGS
We understand coatings as those that are placed or applied on vertical walls. Nowadays, apart from considering the price, we must take into account other concepts such as the carbon footprint they leave during their manufacturing and transportation to the place of consumption, and the goodness they can offer regarding the health of the people who occupy them. the homes.
The most affordable coating is undoubtedly a plastic paint , anti-condensation and washable. If that paint can be with natural pigments, much better (lime paints, potassium silicate paints, etc…); varnished and lacquered . From there, we can go up in price with other coatings such as ceramics , durable, easy to clean and with the possibility of making interesting combinations; vegetable fiber cladding woven natural (sisal, esparto grass, etc.), metal plating (corten steel and metal sheets with different finishes); natural stone veneers; wood coverings (type DM, OSB, solid wood boards, veneers, etc.); stuccoed (lime, with plaster paste, etc…); microcements (with a wide variety of colors and combinations). Another possibility of finished coating is the recovery of old walls made of solid brick , applying a fixative and a water-based varnish, after applying the mortar.
PAVEMENTS
The flooring that has the best price-quality ratio is synthetic laminated parquet that is laid dry, and must be high-performance. It has very good resistance to wear, impact, scratches, and is easy to clean, and its installation is very quick. Another warmer option is natural wood parquet (currently bamboo is a good choice and is totally sustainable) , floorboards , etc. but they are more expensive.
Then there are floors with ceramic pieces of different formats, which have good resistance to wear but are fragile when objects fall from a certain height. Currently the trend in flooring is to place large formats to avoid joints and give the floor a greater appearance of continuity. As large-format pieces, there are also sintered stones or high-performance porcelain tiles that allow you to place large slabs due to their great hardness and aesthetic possibilities.
Natural stone pavements (marble, granite, basalt, etc.) are of great beauty but some of them are expensive, as is the original hydraulic mosaic . Another variety is terrazzo that can be placed “in situ” or in pieces of 30×30 cm, 40×40 cm, etc.
PVC flooring is an alternative that is now trending. Natural linoleum flooring is also a possibility that is no longer in use but is natural.
Finally, as pavements, there are continuous pavements , without joints, among which are floated (polished) concrete pavements , resin pavements for the residential sector and microcements , which are usually more expensive. These last 2 are thin layer and it is not necessary to lift the existing pavement.
Apart from the best-known flooring, there are woven textile flooring , such as carpets , doormats , and as a decorative touch, rugs of all kinds. These can be made to measure and with a perimeter trim or festoon.
PRACTICAL ENCLOSURES
The best quality-price ratio comes from PVC windows and balcony doors from recognized European brands as they improve thermal comfort and acoustic comfort. Then there is aluminum , which is more expensive than PVC because the profiles have to be duplicated to resolve the thermal bridge with a piece of polyamide that joins the two profiles. The material also requires a more complicated process of obtaining raw materials.
Wooden windows and balconies are a classic that are now slowly making a comeback. Especially in urban protected areas of Barcelona. The problem you have is the maintenance that has to be done every 2-3 years.
Then there is a group of materials that are more expensive than any other, such as stainless steel and laminated iron enclosures that we use in high-quality comprehensive renovations.
KITCHENS
In this section we now enter into what would be combinations of materials depending on the design we want or the client’s possibilities. We are going to order the basic elements that make it up by price:
- The doors whose price-quality ratio is better are the postformed , polylaminated or stratified ones , which have a pleasant aesthetic and reasonable durability and there is a wide range of colors. The cheapest option is melamine .
On the other hand we have wood veneered , lacquered and solid wood doors. Glass doors can also be manufactured to make combinations with glazed parts.
- The countertops whose price-quality ratio is better are those made of natural granite . They are resistant to all types of attacks but with limited designs. The cheapest countertops are postformed or melamine or other plastics.
Other alternatives are the popular silestone (resins and silica) with a very extensive color catalog and the so-called porcelain tiles (resins, quartz, recycled glass, etc.) which are higher-end.
Then there are other possibilities that are aesthetically very beautiful but very delicate, such as those made of wood and stainless steel.
- There are more and more types of materials with which sinks are made. Those that offer the highest quality in relation to their price are those made of shiny stainless steel . The matte ones are more expensive. Then there are roughly the single pieces of porcelain , stoneware and some composite .
They can also be manufactured in pieces if we want them from silestone , porcelain panels or natural stone .
- The faucet must have a rotating and removable spout and of a height that allows us to rinse or wash the largest kitchen utensils.
BATHROOMS
Like kitchens, there are many possibilities to design this room. Let’s order the main elements by price:
- The most economical and sustainable option is the shower. The ones with the best quality-price ratio are resins with a non-slip finish . It allows you to install with a low profile, if not level (depending on the location of the building’s drains).
There are also porcelain shower trays, acrylic shower trays, and natural stone shower trays.
There are also nestable or free-standing island-type bathtubs that are very beautiful but require a lot of space and are not very sustainable in terms of water consumption.
- The toilets par excellence are the traditional ones made of white porcelain or in some other color . A good option is suspended toilets, which are aesthetically more beautiful and also allow you to clean the bathroom better. There are also some stainless steel toilets for different environments.
- The shiny chrome faucets are the most placed. Matte and colored faucets are also appearing. The most economical option is the faucets that are mounted on the surface , without being recessed. Built-in faucets are aesthetically more beautiful and easier to clean but are more expensive.
- The bidet is a toilet that tends to disappear to enlarge the bathrooms, and to replace the function it performs, washing kits are mounted next to the toilets.
- Bathroom furniture can be made of laminated boards of various plastics in single color or in different combinations. They can be with doors or drawers and have many accessories to classify everything that can be put in them. It is the most economical option.
They can also be veneered , lacquered and made of treated natural wood , which are more expensive. A piece of advice: when the bathroom has little ventilation, it is better to place a jointless lacquered or solid wood piece of furniture.
- The screen whose price-quality ratio is better is the one with sliding doors and transparent glass with or without anti-limescale treatment. This treatment is a layer that disappears over time and in the end it turns out that the lime in the water can do everything. An interesting option for screens is to install printed glass that masks lime deposits and it is not necessary to clean the glass after each shower or bath.
Depending on the dimensions of the bathroom, you can choose the most appropriate screen. There are hinged , folding , corner , angled , free-standing leaves , etc. The material of the profiles can be from