Finishing Costs: What Drives the Price
Most owners ask first: "What is the per-meter finishing price?" The first honest answer: a number without a specification means nothing. The same meter spans widely separated material grades and unit conditions, turning the ready-made price into a comparison trap. This article organizes the factors that actually move cost, so you can read any figure in context.
Why the ready per-meter price misleads
The circulating per-meter figure is a constructed number: an assumed total cost over an assumed area under an unwritten specification. Comparing two offers by "price per meter" compares two unknown specifications, not two numbers. The usual result: the lower quote excludes items or assumes lower-grade materials, and the real difference appears during execution as extras.
Use a per-meter figure only as an opening indicator. No signature and no final comparison except on itemized pricing against a written specification.
Unit condition is the starting point
A red-brick shell needs complete rough-ins: plumbing, electrical and HVAC from zero. A semi-finished unit may save much of that if the rough-ins are sound, or add removal cost if they are defective. Renovation in an older building adds the discovery item: what lies behind the plaster is unknown until opening.
No honest contractor can give you a number before an inspection: the condition the work starts from is part of the cost itself.
Materials: same item, different grades
The item "flooring" can mean local ceramic, imported porcelain or natural marble; "painting" can mean two coats over old filler or a full system of skim coat, sanding and coats. The differences between grades within a single item sometimes exceed the per-meter difference between two complete quotes.
Ask for each main item's material, grade and origin by name. Treat any unnamed item as an item with an unknown real price.
Custom details cost more than floor area
Designed gypsum, cove lighting, custom carpentry, metal trims and worked marble are craft items: their cost sits in skill and time, not area. A mid-size apartment dense with custom details can cost more than a larger apartment with straightforward finishing.
When reviewing, separate detail items from area items and evaluate each on its own nature.
Bathrooms and kitchens: compare the scope
Bathrooms and kitchens combine waterproofing, services, finishes and fixtures into a small area; compare these items specifically in the quote instead of assuming a uniform per-meter rate. Two units of the same size differ materially if one has three bathrooms and the other one.
Compare offers on the number and condition of bathrooms and kitchens, not on gross area alone.
How to read a figure that is fit for comparison
A usable number comes with three attachments: a written specification of materials and grades, an itemized price list that can be moved into a comparison table, and a statement of what is excluded. Only then does "price per meter" become a transparent result you can compute yourself by division, instead of a slogan.
To fix the scope before prices, read our article on turnkey finishing and scope boundaries, and for the execution itself see the Interior Finishing page.
Divide your budget before requesting quotes
Split your budget into rough-ins, materials, details and final finishes, and set your priorities: where a mid-grade is acceptable and where you want the top. The discussion with the contractor then shifts from haggling over a total to specific decisions you own.
Keep a contingency for items discovered during the work, especially in older units. Projects that stall usually did not err on the per-meter price but on the absence of a reserve.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a fair per-meter finishing price?
No single fair number exists outside a specification. A per-meter price is only meaningful with a defined material and item list and a known unit condition.
Why do two apartments of the same area differ in finishing cost?
Because of differences in rough-in condition, number of bathrooms and kitchens, material grades and the volume of custom details, none of which appear in the area figure alone.
Is owner-supplied material always cheaper?
Not always. It may save the supply margin but shifts responsibility for quantities, wastage, storage, delivery sequencing and manufacturing defects to you.
How do I set a realistic finishing budget?
Start with a written specification and an inspected unit condition, obtain itemized pricing from more than one contractor, and allocate a contingency for items discovered during the work.
Sources and limits
Prepared 4 November 2026. General guidance on reading finishing cost, based on common pricing practice. We reviewed no specific quotation, actual unit or current market prices, and this version publishes no price figures because they change and vary by specification.
The content is not a cost estimate for your project or purchasing advice. Binding decisions rest on written pricing against a defined specification after inspection of your unit.