Self-repair

Recommendation points

• Apartment renovation on your own
• Preparation for apartment renovation
• How to calculate the preliminary cost of finishing an apartment
• Apartment renovation – the first stage
• Preparing premises for renovation
• We continue to renovate the apartment on our own
• Apartment renovation – the next stage
• The next stage is finishing the apartment
• Completion of finishing the apartment
• In conclusion – some tips

In this article: rules and procedures for apartment renovation; how to make a repair estimate; how to choose the right building materials; the sequence of premises renovation; security measures for home repairs; apartment renovation tips.

Apartment renovation on your own

What are the reasons that prompt us to do cosmetic repairs ourselves? In the first place, of course, the condition of the premises – faded wallpaper, faded and peeling paint in places, some kind of dark ceiling (it used to be white), scratched and fairly darkened parquet. The second reason is the desire to save money, which is quite natural. The services of professional craftsmen are not cheap, but in some types of home repairs you cannot do without them – for example, it is impossible to replace the water supply system without special skills.

Preparation for apartment renovation

To bring the apartment into proper form will require working hands, construction tools, time and money for construction materials. As a rule, apartment repairs on their own are planned for the period of the head of the family’s vacation and future vacations depend on how well this repair is carried out – if you make a quick repair, you will have to do it annually.

After determining the start date of work, the next step is to estimate the amount of upcoming repairs. I will note right away that with your own hands only a cosmetic repair of the apartment is possible, such as: leveling the walls and the main floor (its concrete base), sealing cracks, sticking wallpaper, laying linoleum, carpet or laminate flooring, installing interior doors, replacing sockets, etc. … Overhaul, especially if it is associated with the redevelopment of premises, it would be more correct to entrust the specialists (remember that the redevelopment must be coordinated with the supervisory government agencies!).

Think over the design of each room, consult with familiar designers (if any), look through photo catalogs and specialized sites on the Internet. Having decided on design issues, we turn to the estimate for building materials.

It is necessary to determine the consumption of materials, their list and the amount of money required for their purchase based on the area of ​​the surfaces to be repaired. After calculating the amount of building materials, increase the amount of each building material calculated by you by 10-15%. This will slightly increase the cost of repairs, but you need to take into account that there will be defects and illiquid trimmings, you will need to match the pattern of finishing materials (linoleum, wallpaper, etc.).

How to calculate the preliminary cost of finishing an apartment

To do this, you will need data on the number of building materials and sources of price information, which are suitable for price lists of building stores on the Internet and visits to building markets. If an estimate for building materials is drawn up, say, six months or a quarter before the actual purchase, focus on the average price range – as you know, in the summer season, prices for building materials rise simultaneously with an increase in demand for them. Do not forget to take into account the transportation of building materials to your home in the cost of apartment renovation – this cost item can be quite high, so estimate how much higher the prices in the nearest hardware store are compared to prices on the construction market, especially if the latter is located far enough away. Wouldn’t it be more profitable to purchase basic building materials at the nearest retail outlet, taking into account transportation costs?

After determining the cost of the upcoming repair, increase it by 10% (unforeseen expenses) – the resulting figure will be the preliminary cost of repair costs.

Apartment renovation – the first stage

So, here it is – the first day of self-repair of the apartment! First of all, you need to thoroughly rid the premises of various rubbish, in other words, from a heap of absolutely unnecessary things accumulated over many years: faulty household appliances, unnecessary clothes, broken toys, etc. Do it, because apartment renovation provides an excellent opportunity to make changes in living conditions.

Be sure (be sure!) To visit the neighbors of neighboring apartments, carefully warning them about the beginning of repair work, which means an increased noise level. By the way, according to the current legislation, to make noise after 23 hours is to violate the conditions of the current legislation (remember this!).

Preparing premises for renovation

As a rule, repairs in an apartment begin with a bathroom and a kitchen – the so-called essential premises. It is most convenient to carry out repair work in a completely empty room, so you need to take out all the pieces of furniture and household appliances.

If the repair (replacement) of the floor covering will not be carried out, it must be completely covered with plastic wrap, fixing it around the perimeter with masking tape (unlike usual, masking tape is removed without traces at the end of the repair work).

Sockets and switches must be removed after turning off the power supply. The bare wires remaining in the socket recesses must be carefully wrapped with electrical tape (each wire separately, in no case connecting the bare ends to each other!) And slightly bent inside the socket so that they do not stick out. The ceiling light must also be removed by insulating the bare wires. If the interior doors interfere with the renovation of the room, we remove them and move them to another room..

We continue to renovate the apartment on our own

We carry out preparation of surfaces – walls, ceiling and floor. It is necessary to remove the old painting – some DIYers do not do this, thus trying to reduce the amount of work, but this is not correct. If the strength of the old paintwork is broken and the layer of plaster underneath has lagged behind in some places, then the freshly applied paint will cause cracking and partial collapse of the plaster.

The most difficult thing to remove is water-dispersion, oil paints and enamels, they will have to be literally ripped off the walls and ceiling.

I recommend equipping yourself with a steel spatula, using it to scratch the painted surface and, holding the spatula in your right hand, pull off the paint with pressure, exposing the layer of plaster. Be sure to protect your hands with canvas gloves, otherwise you will seriously damage your skin – up to cuts of different depths. And more – wear safety glasses.

Dear home craftsmen planning to apply a new layer of lime whitewash over the old one – do not try to make your task easier, remove the old whitewash, otherwise all your work will begin to crumble in a couple of months! The old whitewash must be removed completely by rinsing it off with a cloth soaked in water or scrubbing with a spatula from a previously moistened surface (use a hand-held water spray) – the work is simple, but time-consuming.

Removing old wallpaper is necessary because the methods of applying a new layer of wallpaper over old ones are at least a quarter century old. The surface for wallpapering should be leveled with water-solution dry mixtures based on gypsum or cement. It is quite simple to remove the main part of the old wallpaper from the walls – you need to find the edge of the wallpaper that is lagging behind the wall and pull it slightly. The same areas of wallpaper that are firmly adhered to the wall should be moistened with water using a wet rag or spray and removed with a spatula.

After removing the old wall and ceiling finish, assess the condition of the plaster – in places where the plaster has fallen behind, it must be completely removed and new plaster applied. Try to expand (expand) all cracks found during inspection using a rod.

Apartment renovation – the next stage

Now is the time to replace double-glazed windows, lay new electrical wiring and water pipes (of course, if your repair involves these works).

After installing the window frames, do not rush to remove the protective film from them, on the contrary – take a pvc film of sufficient size and close the entire glass unit with it, securing it with tape. This measure will protect new glass units from contamination during further finishing work..

Please note that laying new wiring will be extremely difficult and will require a special power tool (a punch will not be enough). Carefully think over the location of electrical outlets, switches, draw a diagram for laying new electrical wiring (required!) And try very hard not to lose it.

One of the elements of modern apartment renovation is the sewing of pipes of water supply and heating systems into the walls so that they do not spoil the interior of the premises. As a result, the overall design of the apartment benefits from this, but here you need to remember that any leaks in the pipes will require opening the finish for repairs. It is important to draw up a detailed diagram of the new wiring of water supply and heating systems in advance, otherwise, if the neighbors are flooded from below, you will have to break all the lining in search of a leak.

The next stage is finishing the apartment

We are engaged in leveling the floor – casting a new screed (if necessary) or repairing the old one. By the way, when casting a new screed, keep in mind that its complete drying and sediment will take at least 3 weeks. At this stage, the decorative coating does not fit on the floor, because there will be a lot of dirt in the finishing process.

We proceed to applying plaster and putty to the walls and ceiling. It is necessary to close up all the cracks, form the correct geometry of corners and protrusions, align the walls and ceiling with the lighthouses.

There is a way to solve several problems at once – to get perfectly flat walls and lay new electrical wiring without punching channels in the walls. To do this, you will need to mount drywall sheets over the walls, fixing them on a galvanized profile or wooden beam and filling the joints. Although plasterboard cladding will cost more than dry putty, a significant reduction in the repair time will serve as some compensation – by about 3 times.

Completion of finishing the apartment

Ceilings, tiling, wallpapering, flooring, installation of ceiling and floor skirting boards.

For painting ceilings, water-based paint (WDAK), applied in several layers (usually 2-3 layers), is best suited. If a white ceiling is required, only water-dispersion paint will be enough (any VDAK is always white); to obtain a colored ceiling, you need to purchase a color scheme of the desired color and tint the paint – it is important to immediately determine how much paint is needed to paint the ceiling and tint all of it at once … Non-simultaneous tinting paints will have different shades of color. I will give this advice – always purchase VDAK for outdoor use, regardless of where it will be applied (outside or inside the building). Water-based dispersion paint for outdoor use always has a better composition, since the surfaces painted with it are exposed to atmospheric influences.

Wallpapering should be done only on prepared walls (leveled with putty, cleaned, etc.). Wallpaper glue should be matched to the type of wallpaper that you purchased. I recommend that you choose a European-made wallpaper glue – it is guaranteed to fulfill its tasks, you only need to follow the instructions for its preparation exactly.

When laying linoleum on a concrete screed, glue mastic on a silicate basis will be effective – its use will make it possible to do without soldering linoleum at the joints and securely fix the linoleum coating in its place.

If the old paint on the floor plinth does not allow you to apply a new paint and varnish layer without visible flaws, it would be more correct to replace the plinth with a new one. It is almost impossible to completely remove layers of old paint from skirting boards..

In conclusion – some tips

Try not to purchase cheap building materials – as a rule, their low price means a lack of quality.

Wallpapering should be done only in the absence of drafts..

Regarding the independent preparation of building mixtures for plaster, putty and concrete screed, I recommend not to try to make the mixture you need on your own, but to purchase a ready-made dry mixture, packaged in bags. You cannot surpass industrial methods of creating building mixtures..

Do not save on construction power tools – its use will significantly reduce the overall period of apartment renovation, reduce injuries and facilitate the severity of work.

Always use protective equipment – canvas or fabric construction gloves, goggles or a mask, if necessary – a respirator. It will be more correct to perform construction and repair work in overalls and shoes.

Carrying out repairs on your own – do not rush, it is better to make sure once again that you are doing everything right than to get a pile of defective building materials, wasted time and spoiled mood.

If, in your opinion, the involvement of professional craftsmen is required, contact them, entrust the execution of some of the work and you will get a guaranteed high-quality result (demand from craftsmen is always higher than from households).

Be extremely careful when working on electrical wiring, water and gas lines.