Comprehensive reform in Biarritz. Near the Palais hotel. Basque Coast.

See explanation of the project

It is an apartment located in the center of Biarritz, in a building with wooden structure of more than 100 years.

It is a 4th floor without lift, with an area of 50 m² plus a mezzanine of 25 m².

In more than 50 years no reform work had been done.

Everything is old, there is no comfort, the level of acoustic isolation is minimal, the pipes are very old, the electric water heater is in very bad condition, the bathroom is in a state of lousy health, the electrical installation is obsolete and dangerous since it does not meet current regulations and the electric box has neither a differential circuit breaker to protect people, nor magneto-thermic circuit breakers to protect electrical installations and appliances, the kitchen is shattered by use for decades, the paint is no longer well known what color it was, the doors do not close well, the windows are made of wood with simple glass and without any insulation which allows the noises and air from the outside to enter to the apartment with total ease, disturbing the harmony.

The new owner, who lives in Austria, contacts us because other customers have given her good references about us and because she is looking for a serious company that offers her guarantees of doing professional work and that takes care of everything because she cannot do it because of the remoteness.

We present her a detailed budget, in which we propose a set of ideas with the purpose of optimizing the space of her apartment and giving greater value. This apartment that now has a single room - open and without any privacy – and a single bathroom, a dark and fully enclosed kitchen and a small living room we propose to transform it into another apartment that will have two private rooms – one down and one up - and two full bathrooms (with shower, suspended toilet and sink) – one down and one up –.

Moreover, we suggest destroying the current staircase to the upper floor - which has a few steps 10 cm wide and a slope of 70 degrees - by another staircase with steps 22 cm wide and a slope of 45 degrees. This staircase will be built next to the wall in order to free up space in the bathroom on the ground floor and at the same time on the upper floor in order to be able to build a larger bathroom on the ground floor and create a new bathroom on the top floor.

The client also requires us to present sketches, drawings and 3D that allow her to visualize what the final result of each space and that of the whole will be, once we have finished the work. And so we do.

The client, after analyzing and raising some questions, accepts the proposals presented and gives us its agreement.

Subsequently, once the budget has been accepted and the contract was signed we begin with the comprehensive renewal work, which we detail below.

Demolition.

Demolition, debris evacuation, transport and paiment of recycling fees.

Demolition of kitchen walls and entrance. Furniture, appliances and closets.

Demolition of the bedroom cabinet and wall separation between the living room and the master bedroom.

Demolition of the bathroom, staircase, wardrobes, walls and door.

Complete emptying of floors, sockets, etc. Transport to the recycling point.

Removal of the carpet, transport to the recycling point and paiment of recycling fees.

Masonry.

Reconstruction of the bathroom located on the main floor, under the new staircase.

Reconstruction of the kitchen located next to the entrance and the living room.

Construction of a partition with bricks up to a height of 1.30 m for the new shower in the bathroom located on the main floor.

Construction of a shower tray – Italian shower - in the bathroom on the top floor.

Installation of Porcelain tile in both bathrooms.

Construction of a wall between the living room and the master bedroom with plasterboard upon galvanized steel profiles and with acoustic and thermic insulating rock wool inside. Completely finished.

Installation of damp-proof plasterboard panels on the walls and ceiling of the upper floor. Cover the gaskets and leave ready to paint.

Creation of a headboard for the bed of the main room, 15 cm wide and 115 cm high, with plasterboard on galvanized steel structure. Finish the gaskets, sand and leave ready to paint. Completely finished.

Construction of a countertop furniture in the kitchen of 2.5 m in length and 0.50 m wide. Water damp plasterboard wall upon galvanized steel structure. Finish the gaskets, sand and leave ready to paint. Completely finished.

Note: Tile, sink + closet, suspended toilet, granite shower tray, shower column and faucet are purchased by the customer.

Note: 20X30 cm and 30x30 cm tile size has been used.

Plumbing.

Drilling the bathroom wall that overlooks the inner courtyard to install the new toilet evacuation, located on the top floor, using 110 mm diameter PVC pipes.

Installation of evacuations for the drainage of the new shower and the sink of the new bathroom built on the main floor, using PVC pipes 50 mm in diameter.

Installation of the new copper pipes for the supply of sanitary water (cold water and hot water) for the lavabos and showers - located in both bathrooms – and cold water for the washing machine.

Kitchen: Change the location of the sink. Installing a new sink. Install the new copper pipes for sanitary water supply (cold water and hot water) for the sink and cold water for the dishwasher.

Installation of evacuations for sink drain, washing machine and dishwasher using PVC pipes 50 mm in diameter.

Installation of sanitary elements (installation of a granite shower tray, 2 shower columns Gröhe, 2 lavabos ROCA, 2 suspended toilets Geberit, etc.).

Supply and installation of 5+5 mm safety glass screens made to measure for the showers in both bathrooms.

Note: The sanitary equipment has been purchased by the customer directly.

Electricity.

The electrical installation is obsolete and dangerous because it does not comply with current regulations.

The electrical panel does not even have a differential circuit breaker, which acts by cutting the energy if there is a difference in the intensity (measured in Amperes) of current entering the apartment and the one that comes out. The differential circuit breaker is opened and its function is to protect people.

This electrical panel also does not have magneto-thermic circuit breakers, which cut off the power either because a particular circuit is overloaded or because a short-circuit occurs in the installation. The magneto-thermic circuit breaker is opened and its function is to protect the electrical installation of the house and household appliances.

Regarding the new electrical installation, We start with the installation of new corrugated tube throughout the apartment (an independent and direct line for each service, be it this lighting, general plugs, oven, washing machine, etc.), embedded by the walls and hidden in the false ceiling.

We never use old conductions (sometimes in lead material) because we have neither guarantees of their condition or thickness, nor that the electrical wire can be torn, ripped or damaged when inserted through the old tubes.

Subsequently we introduce the new electrical wire, with different sections depending on its destination (lighting, oven, etc.).

Regarding the electrical panel, we install a new one with a differential circuit breaker (to protect people’s life) and its independent magneto-thermic circuit breakers (to protect electrical installation and household appliances) for each service, according to regulations.

Telecommunications box.

In addition, we installed a telecommunications box. We install an Internet or fiber optic plug in each room and these are centralized in that box. The TV antenna is also centralized in this box. This facilitates possible telecommunications operator's change and prevents the installation of loose or overlapping cables by the plinth, etc.

Kitchen: installation of plugs for vitro, oven and washing machine. One line for each device.
Kitchen: installation of 8 plugs, 1 switch and 2 light points.
Bathroom 1. Installation of 2 plugs, 1 switch and 4 light points.
Bathroom 2. Installation of 2 plugs, 1 switch and 2 light points.
Living room: installation of 8 plugs, 3 switched switches, 2 light points, 1 TV antenna output and a fiber optic connection for internet access.
Room 1: installation of 4 plugs, 3 switches, 2 light points, 1 TV antenna output and a fiber optic connection for internet access.
Room 2: installation of 4 plugs, 2 switched switches, 3 light points, 1 TV antenna output and a fiber optic connection for internet access.
Hall: Installation of 4 plugs, 3 switched switches and 2 light points.
Mezzanine: installation of 4 plugs, 2 switched switches, 1 TV antenna output and 3 light points.
Installation of 3 electric radiators and 2 dry - electric towels.

Note: Radiators and electric towel dryers have been purchased by the customer.

Carpentry.

Installation of 3 interior doors with pre-frame, frame, jambs and handles. Completely finished.

Supply and installation of an armored entrance door with 3 security points.

Replacing the single glass by double glazing in the living room and master bedroom windows.

Manufacture of a wooden window, for the separation between the living room and the main room, with double glazing. Completely installed and finished.

Construction of two windows at the entrance of the master bedroom, one on each side, with double glazing. Completely installed and finished.

Manufacture and installation of a custom made staircase to access the upper floor. Under the staircase has been installed an IPN beam on which steel steps have been welded to support the steps of solid wood.

Manufacture of custom cabinets under the stairs, with shelves and doors.

Manufacture of a custom cabinet with two sliding doors on the top floor. On top of this cabinet has been installed the electric wáter heater of 100 liters capacity on horizontal position and has been left free the bottom to be able to store suitcases, etc. Completely finished.

Replacement of the current velux. Installation of a new high-end VELUX, with curtain. Manual operation.

Lift the wooden floor of the mezzanine to discover the beams, cut 3 beams and reinforce the entire structure in order to be able to install the new staircase.

Installation of 48 m² of solid and sturdy floating parquet on the ground floor of the apartment.

Installation of 30 m² of solid and sturdy floating parquet on the top floor of the apartment.

Installation of 45 linear meters of plinth on the perimeter where the floating parquet has been installed.

Assembly and installation of all kitchen furniture: furniture, cabinet doors, drawers, countertop, etc.

Installation of all appliances: sink, vitro, oven, refrigerator, dishwasher, smoke extractor Hood, etc.

Note: the floating parquet, plinth and doors have been purchased by the customer. And also the Kitchen furniture and appliances.

Painting.

The apartment featured multi-layered mixture of gotelé, wallpaper, paint upon wallpaper, etc. In addition, the walls were curved, with concavities and convexities, misaligned.

For decades, the gotelé has been used to conceal the finishing imperfections. But the current style of clean walls and straight lines requires a perfect finish. So we decided to remove the old coats of paint, apply plaster on the walls to cover imperfections and cracks, polished and smoothed them in order to obtain a completely homogeneous surface. Previously, we have plastered all the gaskets of the plasterboards and the ceiling of the apartment, sanding everything afterwards. To carry out this work we have used an electric device called the giraffe.

And then apply a primer. Afterwards, we paint all the walls and ceilings with three mate white painting coats to achieve a perfect finish.

When choosing the color of the paint, we offered the customer a table of colors - from which two or three were chosen - and a sample was applied on the wall so that the customer got a plausible idea of the colors and made the final choice.

We have also removed the old painting coats of 5 wooden windows (living room, master bedroom, kitchen, master floor bathroom and upstairs room), removing them and repairing the cracks and sanding. Afterwards, we have painted them using a compressed air pistol and lacquered.