The short answer: there is no reliable price per square metre of living space for a remodelling project — it is made up of individual items, depending on what changes in the floor plan. Demolishing a light partition wall costs CHF 28 to 45 per m² for labour with us, a new plasterboard wall CHF 58 to 78 per m². What follows is often more expensive than the wall itself: floor, ceiling, pipes and cables, and painting. Our examples: around CHF 5'000 to 7'300 for an open-plan kitchen, around CHF 2'600 to 3'500 for an extra room. All figures cover labour only, excluding VAT; materials are extra.
Remodelling is not renovation
A renovation refreshes what is already there: painting walls, replacing floors, renewing a bathroom or kitchen (see What does a renovation cost?). A remodelling changes the layout or the use: a wall comes out, a new one goes in, the kitchen moves to another wall, the bathroom gets bigger. Every change to a wall also affects the floor, ceiling, pipes, cables and surfaces around it.
Guide prices for the individual tasks
The lower figure applies with good access and a sound substrate, the upper one under more difficult conditions.
- Demolishing a light partition wall (plasterboard or lightweight construction): CHF 28–45 per m²
- New plasterboard wall, single or double boarded: CHF 58–78 per m²
- Suspended ceiling, plasterboard on a substructure: CHF 68–90 per m²
- Skim coating Q2 or Q3: CHF 18–25 per m²; plaster repairs: CHF 25 per m²
- Brickwork, for example to close an opening: CHF 95 per m²
- Core drilling up to 120 mm for a pipe through a wall or floor slab: CHF 220 each
- Water pipe up to 32 mm, with pressure test: CHF 55–70 per running metre
- Removing floor coverings: CHF 15–25 per m²; removing tiles: CHF 32–40 per m²
- Parquet: CHF 45–70 per m²; skirting boards: CHF 12–18 per running metre
- Painting walls: CHF 18–25 per m²; ceilings: CHF 20–28 per m²
Worked example 1: open-plan kitchen
A 3.5-room flat: between the kitchen and the living room there is a non-load-bearing lightweight wall, 4 m long and 2.5 m high. It is to come out, and the kitchen stays where it is. The result is one room of around 35 m² with new parquet; two sockets from the old wall move to another position.
- Demolishing the partition wall, 10 m² at CHF 28–45: CHF 280–450
- Plaster repairs at the ceiling and wall junctions, 4 m² at CHF 25: CHF 100
- Skim coating Q2, 12 m² at CHF 18–25: CHF 216–300
- Two new sockets at CHF 95–120 each, by a licensed electrical firm, coordinated by us: CHF 190–240
- Removing floor coverings, 35 m² at CHF 15–25: CHF 525–875
- Parquet, 35 m² at CHF 45–70: CHF 1'575–2'450
- Skirting boards, 24 running metres at CHF 12–18: CHF 288–432
- Painting walls, 60 m² at CHF 18–25: CHF 1'080–1'500
- Painting the ceiling, 35 m² at CHF 20–28: CHF 700–980
- Total labour: CHF 4'954 to 7'327
If the screed under the old wall is not at the same level, levelling is added: up to 3 mm CHF 22, from 3 to 10 mm CHF 35 per m².
Worked example 2: one more room
A large living room is divided by a plasterboard wall, for example for a home office. The wall is 4 m long and 2.5 m high, around 8 m² after deducting the door opening. Three sockets and switches are added in the new room, and in the hallway new pipes and cables disappear behind a suspended ceiling.
- New plasterboard wall, 8 m² at CHF 58–78: CHF 464–624
- Skim coating Q2 on both sides, 16 m² at CHF 18–25: CHF 288–400
- Three new sockets and switches at CHF 95–120 each, by the licensed electrical firm: CHF 285–360
- Painting walls, 40 m² at CHF 18–25: CHF 720–1'000
- Skirting boards, 8 running metres at CHF 12–18: CHF 96–144
- Suspended ceiling in the hallway, 8 m² at CHF 68–90: CHF 544–720
- Painting the ceiling, 8 m² at CHF 20–28: CHF 160–224
- Total labour: CHF 2'557 to 3'472
The door is not included: frame and door leaf depend on the model and appear in the quote after the site visit. Important for the schedule: a newly added partition wall goes through the notification procedure (see below).
Moving the kitchen, enlarging the bathroom
If the kitchen moves to another wall, the pipework determines the price: removing the old kitchen CHF 500 to 1'500, new water pipes CHF 55 to 70 per running metre with pressure test, core drilling CHF 220 if a pipe has to pass through a wall or floor slab, complete kitchen installation CHF 900 to 1'800 and the splashback CHF 62 to 85 per m². For the waste water, what matters is where the existing soil stack is — we check this during the survey. Extraction to the outside needs an opening in the external wall, which means work on the facade. If the bathroom gets bigger, we price the wall as above and the bathroom at our guide price: CHF 8'500 to 19'000 for labour covering dismantling, new pipework with a pressure and leak test and report, bonded waterproofing, tiling and fixtures.
Openings and load-bearing walls
An opening in a light partition wall can be priced by area using the guide prices above. A load-bearing wall is different: whether it carries loads and how the load is transferred is first clarified by a structural engineer — we coordinate this. Only then can the work be quoted — so there is no guide price here. In condominium ownership (Stockwerkeigentum), building elements that are important for the stability of the building are not part of the individual unit (Art. 712b of the Civil Code, ZGB) — clarify the work with the property management first. As a tenant, you need the landlord's written consent for alterations (Art. 260a of the Code of Obligations, OR).
Does the remodelling need a permit?
Under § 1 of the cantonal Building Procedures Ordinance (Bauverfahrensverordnung, BVV), bathroom, laundry and toilet installations as well as water and electrical connections that are not visible from outside normally need no building permit (Baubewilligung) in the building zone — nor does removing interior partition walls between living rooms; the same applies to ‘altering openings in such walls’. Changes of use and structural changes beyond that, for example to the facade or load-bearing walls, do require a permit (§ 309 of the Planning and Building Act, PBG). If an interior partition wall is moved or a new one is added, the notification procedure (Anzeigeverfahren) applies (§ 14 BVV): without profiling poles (Aussteckung) or public notice, with a processing period of 30 days (§ 13 BVV). In the City of Zurich this usually takes about two months, including the preliminary review. The building authority makes the binding decision; we clarify your case before work starts.
What pushes the price up
- Load-bearing or not: a load-bearing wall brings structural engineering, a permit and load transfer with it.
- Pipes and cables in the wall: if water, waste water or electrics run in the wall that is to come out, they have to be rerouted.
- The year of construction: what lies behind old linings only shows during strip-out. Then we stop, document it with photos and send you a change order with a price; nothing is carried out until you approve it.
- Access: a narrow stairwell without a lift costs time — we plan this into the quote.
What these figures do not include
- Structural engineering: if a load-bearing wall is altered, a structural engineer is needed; we show their costs separately.
- Permit fees: building decisions are subject to fees; in the City of Zurich, the fee for alterations depends on the construction costs.
- Planning: floor plan and construction drawings as a separate item, see Planning & design.
- Materials and disposal: separate from labour; skip, transport and fees as a separate item, with a weighbridge ticket.
- Hazardous substances: for buildings constructed before 1990, the asbestos checklist from Suva and the Federal Office of Public Health (BAG) says an asbestos survey must be ensured before remodelling.
How to get a binding figure
A floor plan and photos are enough for a first estimate. The price becomes binding after the site visit by our chief engineer: within 48 hours you receive the fixed-price quote, item by item, materials separate, with a construction schedule. The work is carried out under one site management that coordinates all trades.
Guide prices for labour (as of October 2026), excluding VAT and materials. They do not replace a quote; the decision of the building authority is what counts.