Building Work - Example Costs
After 4 lots of Bulgarian builders, I would be very wary about employing any Bulgarian 'trades men' (and I say that in the loosest of sense) As in the UK, it can be very difficult to find good, reliable builders as they are usually very busy and working on larger projects. It can be particularly difficult to find builders to do smaller jobs. Below should give you an idea of renovation costs and what can be achieved.
If you are looking for someone to do building and renovation works in the Stara Zagora/Chirpan area I have used a Bulgarian guy for the latest work on my house and he was good, the price was far cheaper than the 2 quotes from equivalent English tradesmen and he completed the task very quickly and efficiently without any problems. He speaks some English.
Example Of Renovation Costs
Below is a short breakdown of the costs you could expect for general renovations, but please keep in mind much depends on the size of your house, the state of repair, your choice of finishing works such as colour and type of PVC windows (white cheaper than wood effect say), tiles, wood or laminate flooring and of course size of rooms but it should give you some idea:
Septic Tank & Plumbing,
Pipes
etc
2,000 Euros (proper plastic tank to EU standards)
New Shower Room (say 3m x 2m) - levelling, new plumbing
etc
500 to 1,000 Euros
Taking out old kitchen units, taking off any old tiles, new tiling and
plumbing etc for new
kitchen
500 Euros (depending on size)
Roof Insulation (average 2 bed
house)
1,000 Euros [Larger house say 2,000 Euros]
Complete plaster boarding inside and ceilings of say large 3 bed
house
Around 5,000 Euros
Roof Repairs (general patchwork, work on casing
etc)
Say 1,000 to 2,000 Euros depending on size, state of roof
New PVC windows (say 8 windows of various
sizes - tilting mechanism and mosquito
nets)
Around 2,000 to 3,000 Euros
Inspection of wiring, new circuits, fuse box, switches and sockets
etc
2,000 Euros complete re-wire of large house
New internal MDF doors including fitting and plaster
work
150 Euros each
External Painting and Repair of Plasterwork for 3 bed
house
4,000 Euros
Guttering and
Downspouts
1,000 Euros
Secure metal fencing with 20 cm concrete foundation i.e dog
proof
Around 20 Euros per metre
On top of this there will be some transport and carrying costs! Carrying costs will usually be around 5 - 8 % of renovation costs depending on how far away from the nearest large town your property is for delivery of materials, removing building debris, taking workers each day etc.
IMPORTANT: To renovate an old property (bought for under 10,000E say) to a good standard with a couple of bathrooms, all new plastering, tiling, kitchen, ceilings, floors, wiring, plumbing, septic tank etc will set you back a good 10,000 Euros or more. You need to take this into account when buying an old rural property.
Examples of Building Work
Below are a few photos of my projects to give you some idea of 'before' and 'after' :
Before: 
After: 
Before: 
After: 
Before: 
After: 
Completed Renovations
'My Fourth Purchase'
Kitchens and Dining Areas
Bedrooms
Bathrooms
'My Mud Brick House'
Before: 
After: 
Large Old House
Before: 
After: 
Modern House Turned Into 2 Apartments
Before: 
After: 
Client's Project
External wooden cladding to cover
cracked plaster work
Brand
new shower room
--------------------------------------------------------
Original Old
House 
After
renovations
And inside:
-----------------------------------------------
New windows
and sanded wooden floor 
New porch