The quote said 84,000 PLN. The account showed 112,000 PLN. The gap was not a hidden contractor margin — it was fourteen lines nobody costed, because none of them is labour or a finishing material.
Problem
A contractor quote describes building work. A renovation is a great deal more than building work — and the rest comes out of the same wallet.
These lines share one trait: each looks trivial on its own. 900 PLN for a skip, 400 PLN for furniture storage, 1,200 PLN for an internal door you forgot about. Added up they usually come to 18-30% of the quoted value.
Here is the full list, ordered by how often each is missed.
Solution
Around the site
1. Debris removal and skip — 800-2,600 PLN. A 5 m³ skip in Warsaw is around 900 PLN, and a full flat renovation often needs two. Add carrying rubble down if there is no service lift.
2. Protecting the untouched part of the flat — 300-900 PLN. Sheeting, tape, floor protection boards in the hallway and stairwell.
3. Building management consent and deposit — 0-2,000 PLN. Many buildings charge a deposit for use of the lift and common stairs.
4. Power and water during the works — 200-700 PLN. More on a full renovation with drying and forced-air heating.
Around you
5. Temporary accommodation — 0-14,000 PLN. A full renovation means 2-3 months out of the flat. The single most under-counted line on this list.
6. Furniture storage — 300-1,800 PLN. Self-storage, 8-14 m³ for 2-3 months.
7. Transport and moving — 600-2,500 PLN, counting both directions.
Part of the renovation, absent from the quote
8. Internal doors with fitting — 900-2,600 PLN each. Across four rooms that is 4,000-10,000 PLN.
9. Lighting and electrical fittings — 2,000-9,000 PLN. Fixtures, sockets, switches, LED strips with drivers.
10. Sanitaryware and fittings — 3,000-25,000 PLN. Taps, WC, basin, shower or bath. Almost always outside a labour quote.
11. Curtain rails, blinds, insect screens — 800-4,500 PLN.
12. Post-renovation cleaning — 400-1,400 PLN. Construction dust needs three passes, not one.
After completion
13. Snagging and defects — 500-3,000 PLN. Even with a good crew, some defects only surface after a month of use.
14. Finishing after the crew — 1,000-5,000 PLN. Silicone, skirting, thresholds, door adjustment, touch-up paint.
What it comes to
For a 58 m² flat at standard finish against an 84,000 PLN quote, these lines realistically run 16,000-31,000 PLN. Even the lean version, with no temporary accommodation, comes to about 12,000 PLN.
Which is why a 15-20% contingency is not caution — it is simply the rest of the renovation, costed properly.
Checklist
- Put the skip and debris removal in the budget — 800-2,600 PLN
- Cost temporary accommodation for 2-3 months
- Add furniture storage and transport both ways
- Cost internal doors separately — 900-2,600 PLN each
- Budget for sanitaryware, fittings and lighting
- Check whether the building charges a deposit for lift and stairs
- Set aside 400-1,400 PLN for post-renovation cleaning
- Leave 1,000-5,000 PLN for snagging and finishing after the crew
