Renovation Cost Per Square Meter

[Moonfruit]

Im looking for a rough idea as to the renovation cost per square meter of my 180 Sqm condo in Bangkok.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Regards

[Nawtilus]

friend was just quoted 900k for 70 odd metres.

I thought that was rather expensive but.

[Moonfruit]

Yup, that does sound rather expensive to me....

[donne]

completely change -- destruct old finish (floor, wall, ceiling) and re-finish/re-wiring and install all lighting -- 40,000 b/sq.m. for luxurious room w high quality material, 25,000 b/sq.m. for a good room.

For 12,000 b/sq.m. u also can find but im not sure if its include re-wiring, lighting system and what kind of material.

[Luke06]

Hi Moonfruit,

I can't help to tell you the cost per square meter, but I have just had my condo in Bangkok refurbished - included new hard wood floor and tiling in kitchen, new kitchen fitted, re-wiring and plumbing, new suspended ceiling and partitioning also most of the furnisher made by the contractor. The room is 70-75 SQM. I had only very minor work done to the bathroom. The cost was substantially below what others have mentioned at just over 400 000 (just over because I upgraded some of the materials). Having said that the room has some problems which are being fixed - I only moved in last Sunday.

At that price though I did end up with a contractor who spoke no English (not one word) and when I spoke to him in Thai would speak very quickly and would not shut up which made it almost impossible to communicate. This meant that my fiance, friends, people at work etc.. had to communicate for me. He also managed to stretch a 60 day job over a five month period due apparently to lots of holidays although he is now on a thirty day overrun.

But when all is said and done the condo looks beautiful and the problems can and hopefully will be fixed-especially as I haven't paid him the last installment. So given the costs quoted above I would say shop around and if possible find a trustworthy Thai intermediary to do the original agreement with the contractor; it may significantly pull the cost down.

Good Luck,

Luke06

[billaaa777]

As somebody that buys, designs, renovates and sells condos in Pattaya I will try and answer your question.

First, there is no way to give you an average cost per square meter, but I will tell you the factors that will most affect your cost.

1) By far the most expensive part of your condo will be the kitchen. My cost is 16,000 per linear meter for the cabinets alone. This does not include the granite counter top, electrical work and fixtures, plumbing work and fixtures, or the appliances. So you can see it can easily get away from you. There are other luxury kitchens you can see at stores like Home Pro that can run 30,000 to 50,000 per meter. In addition, if you are going to put in a European kitchen you can be sure the electrical system in the condo is inadequate and you will need to upgrade the breaker box, the breakers and almost assuredly the electrical cable that supplies electric to your individual condo from the building itself. (Be careful here, very few of the Thai contractors will know or recommend upgrading the cable bring electric into your condo. As you know the original Thai builders did everything as cheap as possible and unless you want the breakers to go off every time you turn the oven on, make sure you upgrade this during construction. More than likely your breaker box will end up in one of your kitchen cabinets and it can be very expensive to fix it after construction is completed)

2) The bathroom is your second most expensive item. Your largest cost here are the plumbing and bathroom fixtures, and weather you going to run you tile or marble from ceiling to floor. Is it going to be a completer gut job, where you take everything out and make a completely new bathroom? If you put in a bathtub verse a shower the water heater will run 7,000 BHT more.

3) Tile verse marble. Your instillation cost should be 50% more for marble. The cost of the marble will be 3 to 4 times as much as tile.

4) New air conditioners or are you keeping the old ones.

5) Wood molding for ceiling and floors. High quality 4” molding should run you 300 to 400 per meter installed, painted or stained.

6) The quality of your doors. Are they hand carved teak doors or just average?

7) Are you going to have furniture built to specifically meet your individual condo layout?

The remaining decisions, such as lighting, painting and any ceiling renovations should have very little effect on your cost.

Good luck, Bill.

[Nawtilus]

Donnes quote is ridiculous, you can get a house built for 12k psqm.

[Nawtilus]

Billaa, out of interest do you supply 'corian' tops for kitchens and what charge if you do.

[donne]

Yes... U can built a house within 12,000 b/sq.m. budget and u will get a standard structure with ordinary finish. For 15,000 b/sq.m. in bkk is resonable for method of construction since transportation is limited (truck, traffic, etc.)

For renovation u have to multiply 1.5 for demolish and re-build.

And decoration is all about material u select....

I will compare it for u, between 35,000 and 15,000.

Floor: Imported Compressed Mable - Hard Wood Parquet

Wall : Vinyl Texture Wallpaper - Paint Finish

Ceiling : Fancy Curve with Highly Detail - Suspended Gypsum Board

Lighting : Halogen Downlight, Nice Crystal Pendent - Fluorescent Downlight

Electrical Work : Full option with A-grade System : Just wire it to Lighting

Sanitaryware : Laufen, Bath Design - American Standard

Faucet : Grohe - American Standard

Door : Temper Glass Door, Hard Wood Door - Ply Wood Door

Ironmongery : Hafele - Local or Chinese Brand

Kitchenette : Decor Mart - Masonry Wall with Stone on Top

Furniture : This is the most difficult path. It can runs from 4,000 to 20,000 baht for a chair.

Mine may be a bit overprice, just for your consideration.

Im trying my best. And its alway easier to build the new house where BoQ doesnt include loose furniture.

Good Luck...

[LOS NICK]

i think it might be best if we broke it down a bit more.

renovating rooms and condos can be expensive and time consuming.Knowing basic prices can help us all.

Please guys in the know comment on these prices..these are labor only prices..

average costs per square meter...

what is the cost to lay tile----------300 baht a square meter--from what i heard

what is the cost to lay marble--------

What is the cost to raise ceilings------

what is the cost to knockdown walls-----------

what is the cost to construct a wall----------

what is the cost to gut a bathroom----------

what is painting per square meter----------------

what is the cost of installing molding------------------

what is the cost to remove wallpaper---------------

what is the cost to install high hat or recessed lights-------

what is the cost to install ceiling fans---------------

remember we are looking for price per square meter.

in the case of the lighting--price per light.

[donne]

Sorry, but i disagree with this method.

All of labour cost can be calculated but the contractor will add it in differet way... personally technique though.

Usually labour worker cost for small portion renovation is slightly pricier than the larger one, due to the contractor will hire the same number of workers for each particular works where they may work for your place 2 days and other places so the contractor has to circulate worker and add the-waste-time cost. Sort of.

U should know how much for your budget and then evaluate from average price you have known, then select materials which fit in the budget.

U might consider where u want luxury finish and where doesnt.

For example, Put A-grade floor finish because its remarkable for your living room, then install standard ceiling with ordinary lighting. Or Just wooden floor with fancy lighting in family room to match your home theatre set...

Edited September 9, 2006 by donne

[backflip]

Another method is to visit a new condo development, and tour the model units. You'll see some very well designed rooms, and then the disclaimer that what you see is not what you get. Rather than granite flooring, you'll get ceramic tile....and on and on. You can then ask what the developer would charge to bring it up to the standard of the model unit. I've done that at several developemnts, and always get an answer of THB 30-50,000 per square meter. Yep, that's expensive...and that doesn't include - as another poster noted - the demo costs to remove the old flooring, tile, fixtures.

[thaigene2]

Another thing to consider is that in these showrooms they have the textured wallpaper, etc..Looks great - in a constantly airconditioned environment. But what would it look like after a couple of years in your condo when you're only running the air con for around 8 hours a day?

By comparison, and for those who've lived here a while, think about what happens to your books..and anything plastic - like computer casings, printers, etc..

As for other furnishings, we made the mistake of buying a leather sofa and loveseat.. Looked great in the showroom and was very comfortable. But at home with just a ceiling fan on you need to peel yourself off it!

The humidity gets into everything which I guess is why so many of these buildings look like crap (i.e. exterior walls and 'marble' floors) after just a few years.

[opothai]

As somebody that buys, designs, renovates and sells condos in Pattaya I will try and answer your question.

First, there is no way to give you an average cost per square meter, but I will tell you the factors that will most affect your cost.

1) By far the most expensive part of your condo will be the kitchen. My cost is 16,000 per linear meter for the cabinets alone. This does not include the granite counter top, electrical work and fixtures, plumbing work and fixtures, or the appliances. So you can see it can easily get away from you. There are other luxury kitchens you can see at stores like Home Pro that can run 30,000 to 50,000 per meter. In addition, if you are going to put in a European kitchen you can be sure the electrical system in the condo is inadequate and you will need to upgrade the breaker box, the breakers and almost assuredly the electrical cable that supplies electric to your individual condo from the building itself. (Be careful here, very few of the Thai contractors will know or recommend upgrading the cable bring electric into your condo. As you know the original Thai builders did everything as cheap as possible and unless you want the breakers to go off every time you turn the oven on, make sure you upgrade this during construction. More than likely your breaker box will end up in one of your kitchen cabinets and it can be very expensive to fix it after construction is completed)

gis us a job

16.000 per meter without w/tops and fixtures.

i can make and install the units in the uk for that at a very small profit therefore in thailand i should make a fortune.

cost per installation of units in the uk

base unit £25

wall unit £22

work tops 12.50 pm run

manufacture

base unit with basic doors £83

wall unit £58

but you can buy the units cheaper from bulk suppliers.

[billaaa777]

Dear Opothai,

I would tend to agree with some of your comments. The cost does seem to be a little high. If fact I have partially investigated setting up this business. I have not gone farther with it, but I should. The problem is I make over 100% return on my investments on the condos I buy and renovate, so it’s a little hard to take money away from that. Second, I have no idea how to make cabinets. But, if somebody was a cabinet maker, had a partner with sales experience and in excess of 4,000,000 BHT to start the business I think they would have a pretty good chance at success.

Here are some of the problems you would have to conquer.

A) First, although most items in Thailand are cheaper than where I come from, not all of them are due to import duties, such as cars. I know my guy imports his laminate from Malaysia and his hardware from Germany. I have no idea what is import duties do to his cost.

All the kitchen cabinet suppliers in Pattaya have their factories in Bangkok. This does not included the small Thai guys that build there own stuff, which I don’t use due to the risk factor. There is a two hour drive down and a two hour drive back. Many times my kitchens have been delayed because of rain. because the driver had to stop and let the storm blow over. So, this is a huge additional cost.

C) Lack of labor, there is not a sufficient supply of high quality carpenters in Pattaya to even install the cabinets much less make them.

D) On my last instillation I made a last minute change which required a custom door. Well, the jig they use to make that door was broken and it needed to be imported. It took over one month to get the door, when it usually only takes two weeks to get the kitchen.

E) Traffic in Bangkok. According to my guy, his partner will often have to drive around Bangkok to pick up small items and this can take two to three hours.

F) Showroom cost. I have been looking for a good location in Jontiem to set up a few businesses. And I will either have to buy out a existing business at a cost in excess of 1,000,000 or pay key money in roughly the same amount for a 3 to 5 year lease.

G) Warehouse cost. Although the cost of the warehouse would be relatively low, you will need to supply 24 hour a day security.

I personally know the 2 largest suppliers of kitchens in Pattaya. One has a four story shop house with in excess of 1,000 SM of showroom space and he must have 25 different kitchens models displayed. And he lives in a 37 SM meter studio apartment and has driven the same car for three years. So, he is not making a killing. And the other which has a much smaller set-up who I use does Ok, but nothing great.

All that being said I still think it’s a pretty good idea and maybe you should go for it. You obviously have more knowledge than I do. In fact if there is a experience cabinet maker that reads this I would be interested in talking to you. Just PM me.

Good Luck, Bill

[billaaa777]

Dear Nawtilus,

I do not use "Corian" counter tops. But, granite counter tops should only run you 3,000 to 5,000 per meter to be purchased, polished and installed depending on what granite you select. You might want to try that.

Good Luck, Bill

[frenchFARANGbkk]

Hi,

Any renovation company to advice ?

To renovate a small room at Jomtien / Pattaya.

Thanks.