What drives the cost of an apartment renovation in Sallanches

A price per square metre is not a price

Two 70 m² flats in the same street can differ by a factor of two. One has a sound electrical installation, a bathroom that only needs new fittings and a floor that can be sanded. The other has two-wire wiring without earth, a lead bathroom drain and a load-bearing wall where the client wants an opening. The surface is identical; the work is not.

The m² figure survives because it is easy to quote on the phone. It is useful for a rough order of magnitude before a visit, and misleading the moment you use it to choose a firm. The only number that means anything is a written, itemised quote based on the actual property.

The five factors that decide the budget

In the order in which they weigh on a project: the state of the networks (electricity, plumbing, heating), the amount of structural work (openings, floors, staircases), the number of wet rooms, the level of finish chosen, and access to the building.

The last one is underestimated. A third-floor flat with no lift, in a pedestrian street where the lorry cannot stop, costs more than the same flat with a lift and a courtyard. Protection of common areas, carrying, and waste removal are real hours, and they appear in the quote or they appear as a surprise later.

• Networks: rewiring and replumbing usually cost more than the visible finishes
• Structure: every opening in a load-bearing wall needs a study and a lintel
• Wet rooms: waterproofing and ventilation are not optional
• Finishes: the gap between entry-level and high-end is mostly in the details
• Access: floor, lift, parking, authorised hours for deliveries

What a quote must show

A quote you can compare line by line states the quantities, the references of the materials, the labour per phase, the schedule in weeks, and what is excluded. The exclusions matter more than the inclusions: a quote that does not mention the removal of rubble, the protection of common areas or the electrical certificate is not cheaper, it is incomplete.

Ask for the payment schedule and the conditions for additional work. A firm that cannot describe how it prices an unforeseen discovery will price it after the fact, when you have no room to negotiate.