Kitchen and Bathroom Renovation in Antigua Guatemala

Most colonial homes in Antigua Guatemala still have their original kitchen and a single small bathroom, and renovating both is one of the most common projects in the city. A full kitchen rebuild costs Q40,000 to Q115,000 ($5,200 to $15,000), and a full bathroom rebuild costs Q19,000 to Q58,000 ($2,500 to $7,500). The work behaves differently from a modern house, because 40 to 80 cm walls, interior patios and heritage rules set the limits before the budget does.

What does a kitchen or bathroom renovation cost in Antigua Guatemala in 2026?

Typical 2026 quotations from tradespeople working in Antigua and Jocotenango, in quetzales with the dollar equivalent at Q7.7:

Imported fittings change the total quickly: a European faucet runs $300 to $600 against $40 to $80 locally, and appliances carry duty on top of the price.

Why does a colonial house change the way you renovate?

The building decides the plan before you draw it. Walls 40 to 80 cm thick cannot be chased to hide pipe, so supply and drainage lines run along the interior face of patio walls and are boxed in or left exposed. There is no dropped ceiling to carry an extractor duct, because the roof is vigas and teja de barro with nothing above it. Kitchens and bathrooms here sit off the courtyard, which is also where light and air come from, so a window onto the patio does the work of an extractor fan. Expect 220 volt circuits, propane rather than piped gas, and water pressure that varies through the day. The utilities guide covers the supply side.

What should you plan for in a colonial kitchen?

Most colonial kitchens in the centre are a single galley along one wall, or an L, not an open plan with an island. That shape is worth keeping: it keeps the work area compact, fits the room without touching structure, and avoids the permit question a wall removal raises.

Three decisions drive the cost:

• Keep the sink under a patio window. Light and cross ventilation matter more here than a view.
• Choose the counter material honestly. Tiled concrete is cheap, repairable and suits the house. Granite and quartz cost two to three times more and only pay off in a premium rental.
• Plan the gas from the start. Cooking runs on a cylinder, so the regulator, hose and a ventilated cabinet have to live inside the kitchen or just outside the door.

Cabinetry is almost always made to measure, since no two wall runs here are square or the same length.

What should you plan for in a colonial bathroom?

Older homes in Antigua often have one bathroom for the whole house, sometimes added in a corner of the patio decades later. Four things decide whether a rebuild goes well:

• Hot water. Point of use heaters are standard, either a gas calentador de paso or an electric unit, not a central boiler. The hot water guide covers running costs.
• Drainage and floor level. Shower water must fall to a drain that discharges into the municipal drenaje or a fosa séptica. If the floor cannot fall, you need a raised shower base instead of a flush walk-in. See the septic and sewage guide.
• Ventilation and damp. A windowless bathroom off a colonial hallway grows mould between May and October, so prioritise a window, a high level vent, or extraction that reaches the patio.
• Waterproofing. A membrane under the shower is the difference between one renovation and two, and it is the one line that cannot be repaired later without pulling the tiles off.

Does a kitchen or bathroom renovation need heritage approval?

Inside the protected historic centre, the street facade is the protected element. Interior fittings, cabinets, tiles and sanitary ware are normally outside the permit scope, so a like for like renovation usually proceeds without drama.

The permit question appears when the work touches structure or anything the public sees:

• Removing or moving a structural wall, or adding an opening on the street facade
• Extending the building envelope, including a new bathroom outside the existing footprint
• Any change to the roof, the building profile or exterior materials

Check before you order the cabinets, not after. It is the same logic that governs windows and doors on a colonial facade: what the street sees is regulated, and what the courtyard sees is flexible. Built-in cabinets also normally pass with the house under the sale inclusion rules.

How do you keep the cost down without wrecking the job?

• Get three written quotes with an identical scope. Compare line by line, because the cheapest quote is usually missing something.
• Pay in stages. Thirty percent to start, forty at midpoint and thirty on completion.
• Buy the sanitary ware and appliances yourself. You control quality and see where the markup sits.
• Use local tile and carpentry. Pastores, ten minutes away, is the furniture town for cabinets and doors.
• Repair before you replace. Retiling a sound floor or resurfacing existing cabinets costs a fraction of a rebuild.
• Renovate between tenancies if you rent the house out, since work done between guests costs no bookings.

What should you check before buying a colonial home with an old kitchen?

• Run every tap, including the hot ones, and ask when the calentador was last serviced.
• Flush each toilet and watch how fast the water leaves.
• Look for damp behind the shower and under the sink cabinet.
• Open the cabinets and check the frames for termites.
• Confirm the drainage route and where the fosa séptica sits.
• Get a rebuild quote before you make the offer, not after.

A dated kitchen or bathroom is one of the few problems in a colonial house that can be priced precisely, which makes it the easiest thing to negotiate rather than guess at.

Looking at property in Antigua Guatemala? Get in touch and I will tell you what the kitchen and bathroom will really cost, and point you to tradespeople who quote honestly. Browse available properties, read the full renovation cost guide, or see the storage and closets piece if the house is short of space as well.