The Spanish apartment
6 el Sur, calle Golf del Candado 36, el Palo, Malaga, 29018, Spain
Refurbishment requirements
Background
It is a small apartment, the main room is about 3.5m by 7m. It is one of the
oldest properties in the neighbourhood and is one of 12 small holiday apartments
built as a group in the 60’s. They are built into the side of the hill, the roof of the
lower apartments is the terrace of the one above. They rise in two groups of six
apartments each rising in three pairs. It has two bedrooms a bathroom and the
kitchen forms part of the lounge, separated from it by a chest height partition..
The windows have roller blinds.
It was home to my parents for about 15 years, but Dad died in 2003 and Mum feels
the loss keenly. We have moved her to a house not far from us here in the UK. We
have moved most of her things to her new home, but we left sufficient for the
apartment to remain operational. Some of the furniture needs to be thrown out,
but most of it needs to remain. Those items will need to be stored offsite and returned
after the work is complete.
It has suffered from termites for many years and they have destroyed most of the
woodwork.
The electrics are shot and all run from one 20amp mcb, so they need total
replacement.
There is a tall cupboard in the lobby outside the bathroom, which has always
suffered from damp and needs rectifying.
There has been quite a lot of water penetration from the terrace above. The
owners of that property (No 4) plan extensive renovation for their property
which should fix the leak from above and we can proceed with repairs to our
ceiling.
Location
Its address is 6 el Sur, calle Golf del Candado36, El Palo, Malaga 29018.
You can arrange a viewing by calling one of the neighbours there; Miss Nina Ward
in number 12 on 952 298 780 between 9:30 and 15:30 on week days.
If you need to speak to me directly at any time, please call +44 (0) 1480 861 523 in the first instance or try my mobile +44 (0) 7973 11 83 69 if there is no answer.
View photos of the apartment
here
Lounge dimensions in meters:
Front wall into kitchen 7.93
Back wall inside kitchen 2.71
Alcove in kitchen 1.40
return at end of alcove 0.61
wall section from kitchen to side wall 1.68
wall at front with door and window 3.83
front door width is 0.96
bedroom doors width 0.70
I'm not very good at Visio, so please use the above dimensions when considering
the layout drawing
Structure
Strip all wallpaper off walls and make good the surfaces. This is
difficult to gauge until the paper is off, but the termites have been eating the
plaster as well as the wood-work over the last twenty or thirty years so there
will be areas of the plaster-work that need to be replaced.
Ceiling tiles in lounge/kitchen and internal lobby to be removed and ceiling
made good. Again, we cannot judge the extent of the work required until the
tiles are removed, but some replastering can be expected. In replacing the
wiring to the central pendent, there will have to be some channelling through
the ceiling to remove the old wiring and let in the new.
All wood-work to be removed and replaced. Please include quotes that
explore all available options to replace door frames etc with materials other
than wood such as masonry or metal to minimise future termite problems, although
doors and any shelves not hidden behind cupboard doors should still be in wood
for aesthetic reasons.
Excavate floors to 150mm and replace with new damp proof concrete floor and traditional Spanish
tiled finish. The current floor tends to suffer from movement and is very poorly
constructed. It is almost certain to be the same as that found in other
apartments where it was about 50mm of screed laid directly over the natural
surface of the soil. This phase of the job will afford the opportunity to lay
any power cables or plumbing that needs to go under the floor.
We would be interested to see either samples or photographs of
suggestions you may have for tiles that could be sourced locally, together with
indicative prices. Please see the following link for
examples of the sort of tiles we have been have been attracted to so far.
The kitchen is to be totally replaced.
The kitchen area is too small at the moment and we need to replace the bar,
which currently separates it from the rest of the lounge, with a dividing wall
positioned further into the lounge to provide space for full size cupboards and
work surfaces. The dividing wall is to be solid up to approximately 1.2 meters,
with a single span arched void above to provide easy communication between
lounge and kitchen. Entry to the kitchen area is to be by way of an arched
normal door height entrance, positioned at 90% to the dividing wall and the back
wall of the lounge so as to connect the newly constructed dividing wall and the
kitchen end of the wall against which the fridge freezer is currently
positioned. Many of the apartments have already been modified in this way. Our
idea for the decorative treatment to define the arches would be to use the
locally typical small bricks all around the inside of both door and lounge to
kitchen opening arches, with a granite countertop to the dividing wall which
provides the base of the arch between the lounge and kitchen. We would be
interested to hear suggestions of alternative treatments.
We are attracted by the idea of granite work surfaces to the kitchen and would
like to understand how much that would be. Please can you give us the benefit of
your experience in respect of the pros and cons of the various options for sinks
to accompany granite surfaces.
We would like to incorporate a slim line dishwasher, a front loading washing
machine and an under-counter fridge into the design, along with an oven and
stove.
Whilst it is obvious that the existing area devoted to the kitchen is too small,
we are keen that encroachment of the kitchen into the living area is minimised.
With this goal in mind we do not think that we can incorporate full depth units
on the inside of the dividing wall, at the same time we want to avoid the
possibility and temptation of slowly building up a mess of haphazard storage
against the wall. Therefore, we had in mind an arrangement of long shelves
spanning the length of the wall between the two pillars supporting the wide
arch, faced with doors so as to keep out the dust. This idea would
incorporate the arch pillars as the ends of the cupboard, the dividing wall as
the back of the cupboard and the granite countertop as the top of the cupboard.
Lobby outside bathroom
The back of the cupboard in lobby area outside bathroom is to be stripped out,
treated to address the damp and replastered. We need to investigate the
possibility of creating a further cupboard in the void? above the existing
cupboard and on the wall opposite the bathroom door. This has been done in other
apartments such as No.5 and No.12. We need locks fitted to all of the lobby
cupboards.
Bathroom
Replace bath with a large walk in shower. Replace basin pedestal cupboard
which has suffered from getting wet on the base. Replace the toilet with one
that matches the new shower and wash hand basin. The basin pedestal should be
traditional Spanish design, such as wrought iron. The mirror above it should be
a similar or complimentary design and should provide lights and a shaver point.
Provide a heated towel rail.
Bedrooms
Top cupboards in bedrooms to have doors replaced and to be fitted with locks to
create private cupboard space.
Refit wardrobe interiors and replace wardrobe cupboard doors.
Exterior
Consider possibility of creating outside lockable cupboard in the space between
the front door steps and dividing wall with next-door apartment (No 5), as tall
as reasonably possible.
Remove bunkers from wall underneath front bedroom window,
clean back wall and renovate/replace bunkers against the wall next to front
gate. Replace tops with lifting hinged lids. Tile wall and front of
remaining bunkers and front door steps with Spanish/Moroccan tiling such
as this example.
Replace/repair external metal work.
Electrics
The electrics need total replacement. The conduit in place at the moment
is of too small a diameter to accept new modern cable and must be removed and
replaced.
Additional sockets and lighting
is needed as follows.
Back bedroom
Increase number of power sockets to 5 doubles (a pair in each corner and one
central to the long wall). Wiring for central pendant
light to be replaced and channelled in with surface made good. Add a second
lighting circuit to wall lights sharing double dimmable switch by the door. A
second switch should be available on the long wall so one can reach it from bed.
Front bedroom
Increase number of power sockets to 4 doubles (a pair by the door, one
at each end if there is a single bed along the back wall and one central to the
back wall). Wiring for central
pendant light to be replaced and channelled in with surface made good. Add a
second lighting circuit to wall lights sharing a double dimmable switch by the
door, a second switch should be available centrally on the rear wall so you can
reach it from bed.
Initially this bed is the white metal bunk bed currently in the back bedroom. It
fits along the rear wall by slotting into the skirting board. You will note this
'modification' to the skirting.
Move the telephone point into the lounge.
Lounge
Needs substantial increase in power socket supplies, they should all be double
sockets and there should be one in each corner and one between the two bedroom
doors.
Renewal of existing
lighting to provide separate circuits for the central pendant and wall lights,
fit dimmable switch by front door and additional switch to both circuits between
two bedroom doors.
Check provision for TV and satellite aerial wires. These are already
present, but will be disturbed during the work and need to be left installed
neatly terminating at proper outlets both near the TV corner which is by the
front door and in the corner at the other side of the room, by the window.
Kitchen
Requires lights under top cupboards, power for an extractor hood, wall lights to
light sink area and a central pendant. Sensible increase in provision of double
power sockets at work surface level. Electric oven and hob. Work surface
level isolation switches for all under-counter appliances.
Bathroom
The light switch is currently mounted outside the bathroom door, please let us
know what options there are to improve this. Such as a pull cord to a ceiling
mounted switch inside the room.
The water heater is currently mounted in the bathroom along with the washing
machine. The electrical supply is currently inadequate to run both at the same
time. We need a power point available for each unit and the supply upgraded to
suit. There is power to the wash hand basin's mirror at the moment. We would
like the new fitting to also provide a local light source. It should also
provide a shaver power point.
Exterior
Lighting to be improved to provide more lights on patio, including directional
lighting for barbecue, possible multiple lights/florescent tube attached to
patio roof. Weather proof mains power supply.
Two way (heating and cooling) air conditioning required in the lounge with
chilling plant fitted to the side of the property or in the space currently
occupied by the storage bunkers on the patio.
You may send us a quote using the form available here alternatively, mail it to us at quote details