The Condoarade method for condominium refurbishment works

Whenever refurbishment works are proposed in a condominium under our management, Condoarade follows the same method in every building. Three technical documents prepared before the tender, a consultation of at least three firms with the same dossier, and a comparative table of bids presented at the assembly for a reasoned decision. It is what protects the owners' investment and what makes the assembly's decision auditable years later.

Why there is a method

Refurbishment works happen once every ten to fifteen years in each building. They mobilise extraordinary levies running into the tens of thousands of euros, or the common reserve fund built up over a decade. The assembly's decision has to be technically and financially defensible — not only before those present, but before the owner who bought the unit three years later and discovers, from the minutes, that an eighty-thousand-euro works contract was approved.

Without a method, the typical sequence is: someone asks three known firms for three prices, each one pays a quick visit, three weeks later three round totals arrive on A4 sheets, the cheapest is awarded the contract, and halfway through the works it turns out there are extras no one had foreseen. The administrator replies "that's what happens when it isn't budgeted for" and the assembly swallows a twenty per cent overrun. With a method, this does not happen — not because the unforeseen disappears, but because it is bounded, put under contract and made justifiable.

The three documents prepared before the tender

The technical dossier is drawn up by an engineer registered with the Order of Technical Engineers, a permanent partner of the firm. The three documents are inseparable and become contractually binding on the works contract: whoever signs the bid signs up to full compliance.

Special Technical Specification

It defines how each technical operation is carried out. For a façade rehabilitation with treatment of exposed reinforcement, it describes, for example, the protocol for applying water jetting at controlled pressure, mechanical scabbling with electric breakers under 7 kg, surface preparation, treatment of reinforcement by steel-brushing, application of anti-corrosion mortar in two coats, class R3 repair mortar to standard NP EN 1504-3, a corrosion inhibitor, a general skim coat, and a final paint system. It also specifies the cross-cutting requirements: a construction site under the terms of Decree-Law 273/2003, a Health and Safety Plan with a co-ordinator, a Waste Prevention and Management Plan routing waste to a licensed operator, a site information board, and scaffolding with its own safety standards.

Descriptive and Explanatory Statement

It defines what will be done, in what order and why. It identifies the object of the works contract, presents reference areas by element, describes the building's constructional features, and documents the defects with a photographic record. The critical piece is the phasing by priority: the works are presented broken down into blocks that can be executed in isolation, so that the assembly can award the contract in part if the treasury cannot bear the whole in a single financial year. The Statement also sets the contractor's eligibility criteria (a licence of the appropriate class, a minimum of two years' activity, valid insurance policies, declarations of no debt to the tax authority and Social Security, a track record with at least two works of identical nature) and the mandatory format for submitting bids.

Bill of Quantities

It is the operational piece of the tender. It lists, item by item, all the works foreseen, with a technical description, the unit of measurement and the quantity. The unit-price column is left blank — that is what each bidder fills in. The subtotals per chapter and the overall total are calculated automatically. The three firms receive the same Excel file, with the same fifty to eighty lines, and return the same file with the column filled in. When the bids come in, they are lined up side by side line by line — who charges more for the washing, who charges more for the scabbling, who charges more for the waterproofing. The differences show up by item, not by round total.

The market consultation

Three firms with demonstrated capacity for the type of works are invited. Each one receives the full package — Special Technical Specification, Descriptive Statement, Bill of Quantities in Excel, and the list of contractual documents required. The deadline for replies is set on a fixed date, typically three weeks from the date of sending. Consulting a minimum of three suppliers is settled practice of the firm and is in line with the principles of transparency reinforced by Law 8/2022 of 10 January, within the framework of the amendments to the legal regime of horizontal property.

The comparative table presented at the assembly

Once the bids are received, Condoarade prepares a one-page comparative table summarising the value, timescale, guarantee and documentary compliance of each bidder. It is not a neutral table — it is a technical document with a reasoned recommendation. When a bid contains a calculation error (for example, applying VAT at the single 23% rate instead of the mixed rate that applies to residential refurbishment works), the table documents the error and proposes outright exclusion. When a bid offers a guarantee below the one required, it is recorded. When a bid omits the access equipment, it is recorded.

This document goes onto the assembly's agenda as a self-standing item: "presentation of the comparative table of bids and decision on the award". The assembly decides on the basis of prepared technical information — it does not choose between three numbers plucked from thin air.

The cycle closes with site supervision and project management

The assembly's decision does not cover only the award of the works contract. It covers three appointments as a package: the successful contractor, independent technical site supervision (an engineer registered with the Order of Technical Engineers, in a specialist firm external to the contractor), and the administrator's project management (which is a service distinct from the day-to-day management of the condominium and has its own budget). The three contracts run in parallel and close at the final acceptance of the works, typically one year after provisional acceptance.

Independent supervision is what ensures the anti-corrosion mortar was actually applied before painting, that the curing times were observed, and that the brand of the materials is the one approved. A good part of the operations becomes invisible once the finish is on — without supervision, the condominium is left to take the contractor's word for it. Project management closes the operational loop: contracts, phased invoices (typically 30% on award, 40% midway, 30% on completion), a 10% retention until final acceptance, periodic communication with owners, and a complete documentary archive on the condominium's platform.

What you can ask the administrator when works are on the assembly's agenda

This method in practice

As a brief illustration: the method was applied recently to a multi-family building under our management, with around 1,700 m² of façades to rehabilitate. The three technical documents were prepared, three firms with the appropriate licence were invited, and the three bids were received on time. One of the bids was excluded for a VAT calculation error. Of the two remaining, the assembly was recommended the one that combined the lowest value, the shortest timescale and the longest guarantee. The decision covered the full package — works contract, independent supervision, project management — within the extraordinary levy previously approved for the purpose. The process, from the decision to carry out works to the signing of the contracts, took about three months.

For condominiums in Portimão, Lagos and Lagoa

Condoarade is a Digital Condominium Administration based in Portimão. In Portimão, Lagos and Lagoa we deliver directly the regular operational coverage of buildings and the technical dossier for refurbishment works. Façade rehabilitation works are, in this geographical context, recurrent — the proximity to the sea accelerates the attack of chlorides on reinforced concrete, UV radiation degrades finishes, and the daily thermal cycles work the joints. No works contract of this scale is taken to the assembly without a complete technical dossier and without a proposal for independent supervision. It is the house method, without exception.