Ask ten villa owners in Lanzarote about their worst renovation experience and nine of them will describe a variation of the same story: the quote was one number, the final bill was another, and the difference was explained away with phrases like “unforeseen circumstances” and “materials price increases.”
This is the norm in construction. It shouldn’t be.
How Most Quotes Actually Work
A traditional renovation quote is, at best, an educated guess. Contractors estimate materials based on current prices, labour based on hoped-for efficiency, and leave themselves room for movement with language like “subject to survey” or “plus materials.”
When the job takes longer than expected — and it usually does — the cost goes up. When materials are substituted or upgraded without your clear sign-off, the cost goes up. When the scope creeps incrementally across dozens of small decisions, the cost goes up.
For owners who are present throughout, this is manageable with vigilance. For owners based overseas, it’s a recipe for a very unpleasant phone call at the end of the project.
Fixed Price Means Fixed Price
We work differently. Before work begins, we visit the property, agree on scope in detail, and issue a fixed-price proposal. That figure is what you pay — not a range, not a starting point for negotiation, not an estimate that will grow.
The fixed price covers everything in scope: labour, materials as specified, subcontractors, waste removal, and the small costs that add up (fixings, adhesives, finishing products). Nothing is excluded to make the headline number look smaller.
What Happens When Something Unexpected Arises?
It does happen. Open a wall in a 30-year-old Canarian villa and you may find something the survey didn’t anticipate — old plumbing, compromised structure, materials that need remediation. This isn’t unique to Lanzarote; it’s the nature of older buildings everywhere.
When this happens, we stop. We document what we’ve found, explain the options, and give you a clear cost for each path forward. You decide. Only when you’ve agreed to the revised scope in writing does work continue.
This is the only honest way to handle genuinely unforeseen issues. It is not a mechanism to inflate the project cost after the contract is signed.
Why This Matters More Than You Think
Beyond the financial protection, fixed-price contracting does something more valuable: it forces clarity before work begins.
When we’re preparing a fixed-price proposal, we have to think through every aspect of the project in advance. Materials need to be specified. Sequencing needs to be planned. Subcontractors need to be confirmed. Potential complications need to be anticipated and priced.
This upfront rigour means fewer surprises for both sides. Projects run more smoothly because they’ve been properly planned. And you, as the client, can approve a scope with full confidence — because you know the number on the proposal is the number you’ll pay.
Asking the Right Questions
If you’re speaking to renovation companies in Lanzarote, the most important question isn’t about price. It’s about how the price works.
Is this a fixed price or an estimate?
What does it include and exclude?
Under what circumstances can it change?
How are changes communicated and approved?
The answers tell you more about how a company operates than any portfolio or testimonial.
We’re happy to answer these questions — and to put the answers in writing before work begins.