# Renovation costs in Puerto Vallarta



## Perrier

We are looking at several properties right now from PVR all the way north to Sayulita.
Most of the places I have seen would need renovations. Mostly ripping out the kitchens and bathrooms and putting in all new.

Does anyone have any experience with the costs per sq.ft for these type of renovations.
I'm talking about mid priced stuff, as opposed to high end.


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## Perrier

I was at Home Depot yesterday and looked at some porcelain tile that I liked. It was $150 Pesos per Sq.meter.

So for a 1000 sq.ft. It will be under a $1000 US. IMO It's very reasonable. Don't know what the labor cost is for installation but it can be that much. 

Just a start........I have a long way to go before anything is done.


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## Gatos

For us - HomeDepot is the last place we go for something. It is probably the most expensive place. I can order stuff online and have it shipped to the house and it will be cheaper the HD. And stuff like tiles - there are probably 3 places I can pick it up along the way to HD.

We pay our albanil 350 pesos for 4-5 hours work. He does excellent work and has a soft touch. This weekend - among other things - he removed a sink faucet without breaking any tiles and without cracking the stone sink. Every Jan. we also ask him to clean out the cistern and tinnaco - he gets in there and scrubs it out. I couldn't get in there if I wanted to.


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## Perrier

Gatos said:


> For us - HomeDepot is the last place we go for something. It is probably the most expensive place. I can order stuff online and have it shipped to the house and it will be cheaper the HD. And stuff like tiles - there are probably 3 places I can pick it up along the way to HD.
> 
> We pay our albanil 350 pesos for 4-5 hours work. He does excellent work and has a soft touch. This weekend - among other things - he removed a sink faucet without breaking any tiles and without cracking the stone sink. Every Jan. we also ask him to clean out the cistern and tinnaco - he gets in there and scrubs it out. I couldn't get in there if I wanted to.


Its good to know that HD is high priced compared to other places. I told the wife that if we found a place that only sold tiles it would probably be way cheaper. Where have you been ordering stuff online?


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## sparks

I bought all my stuff locally at a place that sells everything for kitchens and bathrooms. No idea what I paid but it was inexpensive. Cheaper than the specials at Interceramic.

The guys that built my house are now working on a Canadian home here in Melaque. Maestro gets 3500 a week and helper gets 2000. Excellent work. I didn't even know about Seguro for workers but the Canadians are finding it almost doubles the cost. I live in the country so nobody checks on work but the Canadians are in town


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## Gatos

Perrier said:


> Where have you been ordering stuff online?


It depends on what we are looking for. My favorite place is Amazon because you know up front what/if any import fees are going to be - and if they end up higher they eat the difference. At Ebay I usually look for listings which will not go through their 'global shipping' program because those will go through PitneyBowes and that isn't the cheapest shipping option. Ebay does have a relationship with Estafeta. You can create an account with estafeta - with an address in Laredo TX. Ebay will ship to that address (which is the estafeta warehouse). An item with a value less than $50USD 'should' come into Mexico duty free and if it weighs 2kg or less I believe Estafeta will charge $10USD shipping.

In Mexico I have had a lot of success at MercadoLibre. And from time to time I have purchased from companies such as Dewalt (for power tools) directly - they are in Monterrey. We have also ordered pet food etc from Petco Mexico.


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## Perrier

So I've been doing a lot of research in the last few days. From what I've discovered is that you can build a, house not including land prices, starting at $50 sq.ft. And that is supposed to include all the finishings. 
Taking that into account I made the conclusion that renovations could start at $10 sq.ft. And go up from there.


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## citlali

renovations cost more thatn starting all from scratch.. I renovated a couple od fhouses in Mexico and it would have been cheaper to build a new house..
I never bought one thig on line, I like to see what I buy to start with but I live near Guadalajara so thre are lots of choices. In Chiapas same deal I shopped for everything, some were difficult to find but eventually you dind everything..


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## Gatos

We have been in our current Mexican home for 3 years now. We are the third owner. The first guy was Swiss and I think he was hardly ever here. My sense is he let some things fall into disrepair. The second owners were German/Brazilians. I think they got the house for a song. The guy worked for a German pharmaceutical company and almost always traveled. To keep his wife happy he gave her a checkbook with no limits. She almost gutted the place (except for the Mexican tile floors and cement walls). She brought in the kitchen appliances from France. She brought in the panels to heat the pool from Germany. Redid the pool deck with stone from Columbia. Replaced all the windows/doors from someplace else. And on and on. At closing she gave us the receipts for all her changes over the eight years they lived here. Amazing.

I guess my point is - costs are all relative. In both the location of the renovation and the budget and taste of the renovator.


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## citlali

SOunds like you were the winner Gatos.. The Chiapas house was a ruin and I tokk it down to the walls..no roof..nothing.. I also reinforced some of the alls and built double wall where we had adobe we could not touch. The street is extremely narrow, no parking and only one way , the trucks to take debris out or deliver had to come at night and that added up... A new house would have saved the price of the demolition..


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## Perrier

Gatos said:


> We have been in our current Mexican home for 3 years now. We are the third owner. The first guy was Swiss and I think he was hardly ever here. My sense is he let some things fall into disrepair. The second owners were German/Brazilians. I think they got the house for a song. The guy worked for a German pharmaceutical company and almost always traveled. To keep his wife happy he gave her a checkbook with no limits. She almost gutted the place (except for the Mexican tile floors and cement walls). She brought in the kitchen appliances from France. She brought in the panels to heat the pool from Germany. Redid the pool deck with stone from Columbia. Replaced all the windows/doors from someplace else. And on and on. At closing she gave us the receipts for all her changes over the eight years they lived here. Amazing.
> 
> I guess my point is - costs are all relative. In both the location of the renovation and the budget and taste of the renovator.


Totally agree. 

The renovations I want to do are kitchen and bathrooms with some new flooring. I won't be moving any plumbing or electrical. All the fixtures etc will be made in mexico. 

My price should be fairly low


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