Building products advice
 

Hi Guys,
Some of you may be aware of my Spanish story, I have always loved Spain, always wanted to live there. I bought a villa, last year, that an old lady lived in and it needs a lot of work.
It was going to be my primary residence until the Spanish government and form 720 sealed my fate as a full time UK tax resident.
But I still have to go and renovate the villa, I am going on the Bilbao ferry on Sunday (2 day crossing) with my van, all my tools, my electric bike etc to renovate my casa.
In the Uk I am an electrician by trade and property renovator by choice, therefore I know where to buy everything at the right price here in the UK.
In Spain I need to start again, I will be doing as much of the work as possible myself but I need to know the best places to buy:-

A kitchen, electrical goods, plumbing goods, internal doors, appliances, windows and doors (external), decking, pool supplies, a new gas BBQ, paint, general building supplies, and of course a pool table!

Bricomart looks quite good

I am in Fuengirola in the Malaga area.

If you have any pointers or tips I would really love to learn from you guys who have been before me

Thank you in advance

Regards
Al

Re: Building products advice
 

Leroy Merlin..there are several around and you can buy just about everything you mentioned on your list. They are like B and Q in Spain but not as good.

Re: Building products advice
 

I agree. Leroy merlin for bits and Bobs but I'd go to a local builders supplier for bricks and cement and cal and simple tiles. So much cheaper and closer. Do try to renovate like-with-like. If your walls are made of a soft material, (adobe, rammed earth or stones put together with a soft cal-based cement repair with a soft material or at least add cal to your cement mix. So many problems (damp. wells 'blowing' etc) are caused by rebuilding and or re-rendering with hard cement. I've renovated buildings in England and done some wall work here in Spain although our present house is now new-build. If I can help in any way please feel free to ask.

Re: Building products advice
 

If you're planning on doing the kitchen yourself, you could do worse than going to IKEA. You'll be able to see what all the units look like, they have a planning program for your computer and it spits out a complete list of the pieces you'll need (incl. which aisle they are in). You can check the stock levels before you go.
But best of all, you can go to the store, buy you stuff and come away with everything in one hit.

For appliances, I'd suggest ordering them online and paying cash on delivery. That way you can get stuff at the best prices and check that it's all complete, what you ordered and that the consignment doesn't go "missing" before you pay. Though CoD does incur a small premium ~ 5% - and you do need to have the cash handy.

Oh, and don't forget - practically any work yo do on a house in Spain needs a licence from your local town hall. If you're working indoors it's harder for the police cruiser to spot there's work being done, unless you have piles of blocks & "sand" outside the house ;)

Re: Building products advice
 

Bauhaus on the Guadalhorce Poligono is also good.

Re: Building products advice
 

Almacen San Anton is the place the local builders use. It's in Osunilla (Mijas Pueblo). Drive up to Mijas, go right at the roundabout at the start of the village where the BP garage is and it's a turning on the right about 1km up the road. It's well signposted.

Re: Building products advice
 

Thanks guys for your input, ikea was always a firm favourite for my kitchen as they are stylish and reasonable. Le roy Mersin I have visited and they have the odd thing I would buy.

As a trades person I am used to dealing with items at the right trade price, b n q are sometimes well over priced in comparison.

The place in Mijas village is new to me and will be on my list.

Keep them coming and thanks.

By the by has anyone dealt with Screwfix in. Spain, I understand they will deliver? And does anyone know a marble supplier, I fancy an ikea kitchen with separate marble work tops?

Regards
Al

Re: Building products advice
 

Those of you who sometimes have negative thoughts abou Spain should compare this post to anyone in a similar position in Portugal.
There it is virtually impossible to carry out major refurbs or self builds. Any significant work , construction , electrical etc must be carried out by a registered builder/ electrician etc with the appropriate certificates.
Think yourselfs lucky.

Re: Building products advice
 

Again with Marble I'd go to a local village tradesperson or three. Every village has a Marmol man and some grades are not at all expensive. if you're letting or reselling you can get some nice serviceable grey white marble (it's coming back) for a very reasonable price. I remember paying around 25 and 45 euros for one narrow and one medium sized worktops. Rounded at one end and chamfered.

Re: Building products advice
 

Thats exactly what we did. Ordered all our cabinets and appliances from Ikea using a uk catalogue which a very bright young lady in Sevilla transferred to a Spanish order form. We built up all the cabinets and set out the in-top appliances then the Marmol man from Villa Blanca came and measured up and returned a few days later fitted and finished all the work tops. That's 2x3.5m x 75cm deep.