Buy-It In Israel

Home improvement season is underway

Posted on 24. Jun, 2010 by Buy-It In Israel Staff in Home Improvement

©iStockphoto.com/Michael Krinke

Traditionally the Israel home improvement season opens its doors with the start of the spring rising to a peak around the Passover holiday and ending with the last days of the summer. For one reason or another home renovations in Israel are most popular around the Passover holiday, when houses are painted or undergo basic refurbishment or in the local jargon shipputz. What this means is that demand for builders or shipputznikim is high and therefore availability of good professional workers is difficult and accordingly prices may be higher. Hence it might be a good idea when deciding to renovate a home to do it during the winter months.

From basic renovation needs of a home such as painting an apartment to adding a room, redoing a room, changing floors, windows, doors, plumbing, etc. the renovation market in Israel offers endless options and possibilities. However, before making the decision, whether you have very basic or more extensive renovation needs, it is recommended to clarify three important issues.

1. First of all before planning a home renovation you should determine your exact needs and desires.
2. Once you are clear over what your renovation needs are, it is very important to make a decision over the budget, that is how much money you want to spend or how much you can spend on renovation works. It should be taken into account that in most cases, when renovating a home, budgets are exceeded by an average of 15 percent to 20 percent often due to unforeseen circumstances or changes.
3. And thirdly, a decision should be made whether you want to hire an architect or interior designer depending on the extent of the renovation works.

The average fee for the services of an architect or interior designer starts at around 4 percent of the renovation costs. Although such services may not appear to be necessary, the investment may be worthwhile, since architects and designers can lower renovation time and costs as they can provide a number of trustworthy and experienced contractors or builders and in addition they get discounts on building materials. As for most service-related work in Israel, finding the suitable person at the desired price, it is best to ask around friends and family for recommendations of architects and designers. Still, with or without the services of an architect or designers, it is recommended to get at least two to three price quotes from builders before starting the renovation process.

In general, the renovation of an average 100-square-meter home can cost about NIS 50,000, which may include the replacement of the kitchen and bathroom tiles, repainting all the walls and replacing kitchen cabinets, while more extensive renovations, which may entail replacing all the floors, kitchen cabinets and counter-tops, as well as bathroom fixtures and wall tiles, and redoing all the walls could cost up to NIS 200,000 and more.

Painting

The cost of painting an average sized room, which should also include minor repairs to the plaster for example if necessary, is around NIS 1,000. Hence the price for painting an average sized apartment of four-rooms will cost around NIS 4,000 to NIS 5,000 depending on the type and quality of paint.

Flooring

Parquet flooring for a 100-square-meter apartment can cost between NIS 15,000 to NIS 25,000 including the cost of the labor. Laminated parquet flooring costs around NIS 90 per square meter, including installation. While, natural wood parquet is much more expensive with prices starting at NIS 270 per square meter and going up to as much as NIS 600 per square meter, depending on the quality of the wood.

Prices for ceramic tiles start at a low of NIS 35 per square meter to up to NIS 600 per square meter for the highest quality ceramic. The labor cost of laying the tiles for a 100-square-meter apartment is around NIS 15,000. Prices for marble flooring can range from NIS 120 to NIS 1,000 per square meter not including the laying of the tiles.

Kitchen

The minimum cost for upgrading a standard kitchen in Israel can range from NIS 17,000 to NIS 20,000 including basic particle board cabinets from a kitchen company or private carpenter. Higher quality plywood cabinets will cost another NIS 5,000, and another NIS 10,000 to NIS 15,000 will need to be spent for high quality finishing, sturdier hinges and better slide tracks for the drawers. The price for an island in the kitchen is around NIS 5,000.  Hence very much dependent on the quality of materials desired such as solid wood cabinets with frosted glass doors, or hand-crafted designs, which are the most expensive, the cost of upgrading to a luxury kitchen can reach between NIS 20,000 and NIS 60,000.

Bathroom

Again depending on taste and quality materials, redoing the bathroom can cost in the range of NIS 15,000 to NIS 30,000. The average price for a sink is between NIS 500 to NIS 2,000, while the average cost of a toilet bowl starts at around NIS 350 to NIS 2,500 and more. Bathroom faucets cost on average between NIS 300 and NIS 900.

When redoing kitchen and bathrooms in homes in Israel, rather than just upgrading, it is common to replace the old plumbing, which may cost around NIS 10,000.

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