Renovating a Kitchen in Mallorca While Living Abroad
Key takeaways
- One company responsible for the whole kitchen, trades included.
- Every decision that would be made by standing in the room is made in writing, in advance.
- One visit for the survey and the samples; the rest from anywhere.
- Plan the winter backwards from the day you next arrive.
A great many kitchens on the island are renovated while the owner is in another country, and most of them go well. The ones that go badly share a cause: something that a resident would have decided on a Tuesday afternoon by looking at the wall was left to be decided later, and later was a fortnight, three emails and a fitter standing idle.
One company
Ask who is responsible for the plumber, the electrician, the plasterer and the tiler, and choose the company whose answer is “we are”. Three cheaper companies who each need coordinating are a full-time job for somebody, and that somebody is not in the country. The renovation page is where that request goes, and it is worth saying in the brief that the owner is abroad.
One brief, and a decision schedule
The brief is the room, the layout decision, the cabinetry level, the worktop, the scope and the calendar, with photographs and measurements. The decision schedule is the list of everything that still has to be chosen – fronts, handles, the tap, the tiles, the lighting – with a date against each, agreed with the company before the work starts. A schedule with dates is the single thing that keeps an absent owner’s kitchen on its calendar.
One visit
The survey and the samples want the owner in the room. Samples looked at under showroom lighting look different on a north-facing wall in Sóller, and a survey is where the awkward answers about the building surface. Plan one trip for exactly that, and make every other decision from wherever you are.
A key, and photographs
Somebody on the island has to open the door: a property manager, a neighbour, a friend. The company has to agree to work with them, and to send photographs at each stage and call before anything irreversible – the wall, the worktop cut, the tile laid. A handover written for somebody who is not there says what was done, what was not, and what to check on arrival.
The calendar
| When | What |
|---|---|
| Autumn | Brief, quotes, the one visit, decisions made and scheduled, the order placed. |
| Winter | The crossing, the strip-out, the fitting, the worktop, the finishing. |
| Before you arrive | Snagging by the company, the handover written, the photographs sent. |
| When you arrive | The check, and the adjustments the first use always asks for. |
What to specify differently
- Surfaces that do not mind a house shut for months: porcelain or quartz rather than wood
- Cabinetry specified for humidity, especially near the coast
- Appliances that can be isolated, and ideally seen from abroad
- A layout a guest can read on the first evening, if the house is let
The second-home owners page is the short version; the timeline article has the stages.
Can a kitchen really be renovated without me there?
Yes, and many are every winter. It needs one responsible company, a written brief and decision schedule, a key-holder, and photographs at each stage. One visit for the survey and the samples is worth planning.
What goes wrong most often?
A decision left for later. A choice that a resident makes in an afternoon takes a fortnight from abroad if it was not scheduled, and the fitter waits.
Should I use a property manager?
If you have one, they are usually the key-holder the project needs, and they are used to letting trades in. The property managers page describes what they ask for.
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