Do-it-yourself overhaul in the apartment

In detail: do-it-yourself overhaul in an apartment from a real master for the site my.housecope.com.

If we want to turn apartment renovation into an eternal endless process, then as a rule we do not plan it and do not think about what we actually need. Many unpretentious owners often choose cosmetic repairs, and they are quite understandable if the housing is in a new building, and because of the building's upsetting, a lot will have to be redone anyway. But what to do when the house is already inhabited and it makes sense to think about a reliable long-term arrangement in order to forget about repairs at least for a ten-year period?

In this case, the right choice would be a major overhaul of the apartment.... But can you do it completely yourself?

Where do the overhaul of an apartment begin?

If the building is more than twenty years old, and the apartment has never been renovated, affecting the internal foundations, and everything ended with the replacement of external decorative coatings, then the following may happen:

The worst thing is the closure of the rotten electrical wiring, when the smoldering wires hidden in the walls begin to smolder and a fire can break out
It's scary to imagine if this happens at night or during your absence.
An equally terrible thing is the leakage of water and sewer pipes, “carefully” walled up behind tiles or panels without the possibility of access to them:
You will have to not only break the coverings, but also reimburse the costs of repairs to the neighbors from below.
The absence of a ventilation hood or its incorrect design can lead to gas poisoning when it leaks, high humidity, unpleasant odors in the apartment, etc.

Therefore, the replacement of communications, if you do not want any emergencies at home, is the first necessary condition that is included in the scope of any major repairs.

Video (click to play).

The advantages of a major overhaul:

It makes your apartment almost invulnerable and allows you to forget about everyday problems for a long time.
Allows the use of expensive and high-quality finishing coatings, preparing the right ideal base for them

It usually lasts a long time, but with the correct distribution of stages and a reasonable combination of your independent work with the work of professional craftsmen, the time can be significantly reduced
Of course, such repairs will cost much more than cosmetic ones, but if you manage to do most of the stages yourself, this will save the lion's share of the funds.
For the price, I think that independently carried out major overhauls will not differ much from the cosmetic ones performed by the repair service.

With the release of internal space.

Moving furniture or moving it to another room is not enough here:

The room must be completely freed from all objects, since it is advisable to carry out work in all rooms with a united front.

Take care of your temporary home in advance: rent an apartment or go to relatives for six months or a year.

It is assumed that there is already a plan for our future interior, and all the necessary materials and tools have been purchased.

Some tools are too expensive. You can rent it or just invite a professional at some stage if it is cheaper and the tool is no longer useful on the farm.

Overhaul of an apartment is divided into the following main stages:

Dismantling
Redevelopment
Replacement of communications
Rough work
Fine finishing works
Installation work

If you describe the whole process in detail, then the sequence of overhaul can be something like this:

Correctly planned, phased overhaul can be done in a shorter time

We start with dismantling

We demolish all the old coatings to bare walls
If a redevelopment is planned, then unnecessary partitions are demolished and new ones are erected:
When affecting load-bearing walls, it is necessary to agree on your redevelopment project with the housing inspectorate.
We dismantle communications: electrical wiring, heating pipes and batteries, water and sewer pipes
If this is included in the new apartment plan, additional partitions are installed

We replace communications

Replacement of communications is carried out at the initial stages of overhaul

Replacement of electrical wiring should be carried out up to the switchboard on the site, and not strictly to the apartment corridor panel
Before installing new electrical wiring, you must have already finally approved your future interior plan in order to rationalize all the wires around the apartment.
Slitting for cable must not be performed in load-bearing panels and floor slabs.
New pipes on risers to guarantee trouble-free operation should end at the neighbors, and not at you, so all installation work must be coordinated with the neighbors above and below
It is necessary to change heating pipes and batteries in a non-heating season
Hot and cold water risers in the house must be closed before replacing pipes

Due to the great importance of communications, it is better to entrust their dismantling and installation to professional electricians and plumbers to handle them within one or two days..

This operation is also best done with one front in all rooms.

We make arches and columns at will

At this stage, we install, if necessary, heat and sound insulation, and in the bathroom and toilet - waterproofing

At the final stage of rough work, we produce:

Carpentry work:
built-in wardrobes, door frames are installed
We order and install windows:
Hand-made production of metal-plastic windows is hardly a reasonable solution.
We connect the batteries and hide the central heating pipes
We hide water and sewer pipes in a sanitary cabinet
We produce, if necessary, according to the technical process, the installation of wooden or metal frames (for lining, suspended ceilings, etc.)

The sequence of work may, of course, be different for everyone. Someone, for example, prefers to start with a floor screed.

Exterior decoration of the premises begins after all rough work has been completed in the room and all communications have been carried out

It is better to start finishing work from the ceiling and carry it out from top to bottom, leaving the floors at last..

Such work can no longer be carried out by a united front, but by premises, taking into account the affinity of the technological process:

For example, first finish the bathroom and the bathroom, then the kitchen, then the living room and the nursery.
Corridor repairs are always done last.

Image - Do-it-yourself overhaul in the apartment

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Installation of suspended or stretch ceilings, ceiling cornices
Pasting walls with wallpaper
Decorative plastering
Installation of lining, wall panels
Laying wall and floor tiles
Laying laminate, parquet, linoleum
Filling the floor with polyurethane
Painting, varnishing, etc.

Installation work includes:

Installation of plumbing fixtures, kitchen and room furniture, entrance and interior doors
Installation of lighting, switches and sockets, skirting boards

All external cables (television, telephone, Internet) are previously hidden under the baseboard, unless they were previously laid along with the electrical wiring in the wall grooves at the initial stage of the repair.

The final and very pleasant touch of the overhaul is decorating and decorating your home with some cute things:
Flowers, paintings, macrame, totems, etc.

It is quite possible to carry out a major overhaul of an apartment on your own, but you should not strive to independently carry out absolutely all of its stages.
Make repairs yourself as long as you like it, until the moment when it becomes overwhelming
In whatever sequence the repairs are carried out, the main thing is that it is carried out amicably, cheerfully and pleases with the result.

Video: Overhaul at an accelerated pace

If you decide to carry out a major overhaul, it is very important to carefully plan everything in advance.

The question of where to start a major overhaul in an apartment is not at all idle - the correct sequence of actions will help significantly save money, time and effort, avoid inconsistencies, the correction of which can be expensive and require a lot of effort.

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Apartment overhaul design project

Where to start a major overhaul in an apartment:

Help the designers make all the necessary measurements directly on the spot, since the data indicated in the passport for the apartment may not be accurate enough.

Make sure your design takes into account:

The layout of the entire apartment after its renovation.
Laying of communications (sewerage, water pipes, electrical wiring).
Layout of the most important equipment - baths, toilet, sink, kitchen sink, gas or electric stove, air conditioner, water meters and other indicators (electricity meter, gas meter, if necessary), as well as built-in furniture.

It is very important to calculate the estimate of the planned work, which should include a small amendment upward for unforeseen circumstances (up to 10 percent). You need to decide whether you will attract specialists, or will you be able to carry out all the work on the overhaul of the apartment on your own.

Decide in advance household issues - where to move with your family and take out everyday items. If this is the summer period, the problem can be solved by moving the whole family to a country house.

When moving to a recently acquired apartment on the "secondary" market, its overhaul is especially relevant, in this case, you can use a short time period and carry out the overhaul of the secondary apartment before the final move in.

So, you moved with your family to relatives or to a country house, and you are directly concerned with the question of where to start major repairs in an apartment of secondary housing? The sequence of actions for overhaul carried out on its own includes:

Dismantling the premises inside and out: at this stage it is necessary to clean everything "to the ground". Remove furniture and accessories from the apartment in which they used to live, remove lighting fixtures, dismantle sockets and switches, plumbing, window and door openings, remove old wallpaper and all the decoration that was in the room, including plaster, as well as the floor screed. If the apartment was uninhabited, the work is a little less, but it should be done no less thoroughly.
Conduct cleaning and garbage disposal work that may be larger and more significant than you originally thought.
Disconnect all utilities. Turn off the gas and water taps, turn off the electricity in the repaired apartment.

As a result of complete dismantling, the apartment resembles a "bare box".

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The order and scope of work on the overhaul of the apartment, if necessary, can be adjusted, something to miss, something may need to be supplemented.

It is important to follow the sequence of work in order to avoid unforeseen situations, fraught with considerable additional costs. Planned, focused work will bring you great results.

The video shows a do-it-yourself overhaul of an apartment in 120 days:

Those who still did not have to deal with repairs in their home, they are happy to perceive the upcoming event and often do not think about where to start repairs in the apartment... But those who are already familiar with the repair work, understand that this process is quite responsible, laborious, requiring considerable money and time.Before starting repairs, both home owners need to know that with the correct organization of their actions, it will be possible to enjoy the end result in a fairly short time and save money and nerves at the same time.The quality of the repair in the apartment and the cost estimate depend on the correctness of the detailed plan of repair work and the observance of the sequence of work.First of all, we decide on what result we want to see after all the work, with the scale of the planned alterations.In addition, you need to decide whether repairs will be carried out in all rooms or only in some. You need to understand that repair work in some premises is much more difficult and more expensive than in other premises.And with that, and with another type of repair work, you can cope on your own. But some moments during a major overhaul are still recommended to be trusted by professionals. For example, the owners of houses and apartments should not independently engage in the replacement of electrical wiring or communications if they do not have certain knowledge in this area. This is fraught with serious consequences that can cost home owners not only considerable extra costs, but can also be life-threatening.And also do not give up on attracting designers to create a modern interior in the room. During surface redecoration, a decorative refurbishment or replacement is usually performed. It can be carried out in all areas of the house or only in selected rooms. We are replacing the floor covering, painting ceilings, slopes, replacing wallpaper, etc.

However, when starting a cosmetic repair, you need to be prepared for the fact that, for example, after dismantling an old floor covering, you will need to adjust the surface.Also, when deciding to refresh your home through cosmetic repairs, you need to understand that even the highest quality and expensive flooring or wallpaper, when applied to uneven surfaces, will not look as impressive as expected. It is necessary to be prepared for the fact that it will be necessary to start repairs by leveling the walls with putty and the floor surface, for example, a self-leveling floor.Overhaul is the execution of all work from scratch.The list of works looks something like this, where it is clear where to start the repair and what is the sequence:

Redevelopment (if planned), which implies the addition of partitions or demolition, combining several rooms into one space (for example, premises in the day zone), changing the location of windows and doorways, resizing windows and doors, etc. redevelopment of an apartment requires obtaining certain permits.

Complete replacement of electrical outlets and switches, changing their location, providing additional lighting. If the house has old wiring, then it is recommended to completely replace it during a major overhaul.

Moving and replacing plumbing; replacement of pipes, etc.

Replacement of window and door structures.

New finishes for floors, ceilings and walls.

Embedding of household appliances and furniture (if planned).

Major repairs are time-consuming and can take several months. You need to be prepared for many inconveniences during the overhaul. It is best for the family to move to another place during the renovation.If this is not possible, then it is recommended to start work in turn in each of the rooms, starting with the room located farthest from the front door.In recent decades, it is customary to distinguish between such a type of repair as renovation. It implies the development of a design project, the implementation of redevelopment, the use of equipment, building and finishing materials that meet European standards and construction standards.Having decided on the type of repair, you can proceed to further work.Many begin renovation by choosing a home design on their own or by inviting a designer for this. The work of a specialist will, of course, significantly increase the cost of repairs.As a result, you must choose one of the options:

choose one style to decorate the entire apartment

make rooms in different styles

create a mixed style that makes the home original and individual

Ideas for decorating the interior space of housing can be obtained from magazines, special catalogs or from the Internet. There you can also find programs that allow you to visualize a design project and clearly present the end result of an undertaking repair. The choice of design and the drawing up of a work plan are carried out simultaneously, because due to the arrangement of furniture in the rooms, it may be necessary to change the position of lighting fixtures, doors, partitions, etc. tools, materials, etc.It is recommended to draw up 5 sketches for each room: top view and one for each wall. On each sketch, it is necessary to write what types of work are planned to be performed and indicate at what stage they should be performed.Even having such a self-created plan, you can calculate how much and what materials will be required, make an approximate cost estimate.It is recommended to indicate the following points in the repair sketch:

Arrangement of furniture and household appliances;

Number and position of switches, sockets, chandeliers and other lighting fixtures;

The position of decorative elements (brick walls, niches, paintings, etc.);

Finish options for each surface.

When a dwelling plan has been drawn up and the order of work has been determined, you can begin to prepare the premises for repair. At this stage, surface preparation is carried out: removal of old coatings, cleaning, elimination of flaws that appeared during the operation of housing or during dismantling of coatings. First of all, old paint or wallpaper from the walls is removed. This can be done with a spatula. Wallpaper that is firmly glued can be pre-moistened with a roller and then scraped off with a spatula. Firmly glued, water-resistant vinyl wallpaper can be steamed using a special steam generator. Wall paint can also be removed with a hot air gun or sander. Then you can start preparing the ceiling surface. In the case when it is not planned to install a stretch ceiling, it is necessary to remove the whitewash from the surface with a spatula, and quite often even plaster, which must also be pre-moistened with water.After cleaning the ceiling, remove the old floor covering.When all surfaces are cleaned of the old coating, you need to assess their condition. And small and significant defects must be removed (putty, sealed with polyurethane foam, sealants, etc.).Next, you need to make the wiring of the electrical cable. To do this, you need to make gates in the walls and hide the cable in them.According to the prepared plan, we are starting to carry out repairs in our apartment. Replacement of windows and door structuresAs a rule, specialists are involved at this stage, since certain skills, experience and accuracy are required to perform such labor-intensive work.The future protection of housing from the cold depends on the quality installation of window frames. And the safety of housing depends on the reliability of the installation of the entrance group.Installation and dismantling of partitionsIf the repair plan provides for redevelopment of housing, then it is necessary to change the position of the partitions. Both dismantling and erection of partitions can be performed independently.To carry out dismantling, a sledgehammer, a hammer drill and a grinder are usually used. Since this is a very dirty work, it is recommended to dismantle all the intended partitions at once.Aligning ceilings and wallsWhen the dirtiest work is done, you can start leveling the walls and ceiling surface. Before leveling the surfaces with putty, it is necessary to treat them with a primer.Plastering in order to obtain the most even surface must be performed along the beacons. Ceilings and walls with severe defects can be leveled with drywall sheets. However, this method of alignment "eats up" the space and is not applicable for small rooms.

Read also: DIY bathroom faucet repair

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Laying communications in the bathroom.

In parallel with these types of work, the list of finishing materials, plumbing fixtures, interior doors, kitchen and bathroom furniture, and the choice of an air conditioner are finally approved.

The next stage of apartment renovation is the waterproofing of the bathroom floor, installation of the front door, windows, glazing of the balcony and loggia. One should not be surprised at such a motley set of works performed simultaneously. A team of several people is engaged in major repairs. Their simultaneous use is a guarantee of tight repair times.

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Waterproofing the bathroom floor.

Another group of specialists, which it is better to visit at a time, are representatives of contractors who connect Internet communications, satellite (cable) television, as well as the installation of air conditioners. In their presence, it is necessary to agree on the layout of all necessary cables.

Then heating radiators are installed (if you do not have warm floors). Around the same time, there is a call for a measurer for the kitchen, who will determine the places for supplying the sewage system, cold and hot water, and power supply.

When the placement of all technological equipment is finally approved and it became clear how all this is connected, the walls are channeled. After the chasing, the installation of rough electrics (cables, socket boxes, junction boxes) and rough plumbing (water supply and sewerage pipes) follows. In parallel with this, air conditioning routes are being laid, their external blocks are installed, and signaling networks (Internet, television) are being installed.

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In modern renovation, cable communications are most often laid under the ceiling, hiding them with a stretch ceiling.

Next comes the preparation of the floor for pouring the screed (over the entire area of the apartment), laying the reinforcing mesh and damper tape for the screed.
The main installation is completed by pouring the screed without a finishing layer.

At the stage of finishing installation, when renovating an apartment, false walls are often equipped to hide heating radiators and the device of secret sliding doors (if necessary).

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Sewing up the heating radiator allows you to hide the pipes, the radiator itself (which is especially important if it is old) and to avoid practically insoluble difficulties in finishing the room in the area of the junction of the risers with the floor and ceiling.

In the same period, boxes for sewing communications are mounted. Not a single bathroom renovation in an apartment building can do without this operation.

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Plasterboard box is a standard solution.

After the drywall work, a primer, installation of corners, filling is performed.

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All surfaces covered with plasterboard must be putty.

After all surfaces are formed, we call the measurer for stretch ceilings (if the ceilings are exactly stretch ceilings). At the same time, the loggia or balcony is being finished, the junction nodes are installed, the tiles are laid in the bathroom, in the kitchen, and the bathroom is installed.

This is followed by cleaning the screed from particles of building mixtures and debris adhering to it, a primer, a finishing layer of a self-leveling screed, installing window sills, countertops, plastic slopes.

The final leveling of the floor during major repairs is highly desirable due to the fact that when performing a large amount of work on the floor, various damage to the surface layer will inevitably appear. It is hardly possible to save a new screed from this. It is more convenient to underfill the main screed in height by 1 cm, and at the end of all "heavy" work, make a "self-spreading" finishing layer.
After finishing work on the floor, you can proceed to the last types of finishing work. It includes the last primer and finishing of the walls (wallpaper or painting), the installation of stretch ceilings and the installation of the flooring (laminate, linoleum, etc.). Before proceeding to the final stage, it remains only to install interior doors, arrange arches and portals (if any).

Our renovation is almost complete.To complete it, you will need the installation of kitchen and all built-in furniture, installation of baseboards, clean electrics and indoor air conditioning units. In parallel with this, we carry out the installation of fine plumbing (washbasin, toilet). This is followed by final cleaning.

The final touch is the installation of curtains, blinds, shelves, mirrors and furniture.

We hope that this article will help you understand where to start a major overhaul of an apartment and what sequence of actions should be followed in the future.

Should you be afraid of overhaul? Think, because it is performed by the same people, only they clearly know how to do it. This means that repair work will be within your reach. Listen to the advice of the masters - and everything will work out.

What you need to know about the repair

First, repairs are required. Scientists in the course of many years of experiments and observations have come to the conclusion that a person cannot stay in a room for a long time, which is not being repaired for a long time. Because the kind of destructive changes in living rooms causes stress, mental disorder, reduces efficiency, interferes with living and positively perceived the environment. And cracks, cracks from which blows, mold and germs that have lodged in the walls lead to diseases.

Second, repairs are of different duration, monetary and physical investments are different: capital or cosmetic.

If you decide to change the wallpaper, flooring, baseboards, touch up or refresh something, this is a cosmetic repair. It is usually done every five years. It won't hit your wallet that hard.

Overhaul

But your desire to radically change the apartment, for example, make a studio out of the kitchen and the room, change the wiring, doors, plumbing, level the walls and cover them with Venetian plaster, will require capital investments. Such repairs are needed in twenty years.

Of course, you can invite specialists and they will do everything themselves. Yes, only the cost of services will be two to three times higher than the cost of materials. That is, everything that you bought to repair a room, multiply by two or three - this will be the amount that you need to pay for construction services. Now it is clear how profitable it is to make repairs yourself? Of course, without certain skills, it will not be possible to quickly complete the work, but this is the only drawback.

Where is major overhaul most often needed? First of all, in new buildings and very old apartments requiring replacement of wiring, pipes, windows and doors. When buying such apartments, it is better to immediately complete the necessary work. In other cases, you can get by with cosmetic repairs.

Where to start overhaul

1. First of all, put your desire on paper. Draw up a plan diagram with the dimensions of what is - walls, communications, sockets and switches, doors, windows, plumbing, water supply. Then sketch out a plan of how the apartment should look like, where the main structures will be located, how the wiring will pass, water pipes - in general, everything to the smallest detail. Be aware that it is necessary to agree on repairs, which will affect the demolition of walls and the unification of premises, in the sanitary station, fire service, housing office, BTI. Then you need to collect a package of documents for redevelopment, get the opinion of the expert commission on the technical condition of the apartment, order a project that only a licensed organization has the right to do. And only after that you can start redevelopment.

2. Make a list of required building materials and tools. Before making a major renovation of an apartment, do not forget to take into account the required number of garbage bags, gloves, goggles, respirators, clothing, films, in order to protect the finished objects. Calculate the consumption of materials by room, it will be easier, do not miss anything and will not buy more.

3. Free the room or part of it.Remove bulky things, they can be moved to the center, cover with construction film to protect from dust and mortars. Agree on the removal of unnecessary furniture, construction waste.

4. Warn neighbors about the temporary inconvenience they will have to endure. By the way, maybe one of the neighbors will be very useful to you: they will give you professional advice, share tools, temporarily take some things, and even give shelter for the period of dismantling the water supply system.

5. Replace the windows and the front door, if necessary, but it is better to have the installers do it so that you will not be deprived of the warranty.

Do-it-yourself phased overhaul of an apartment

Any repair work begins with communications and upper sections, such as the ceiling, and gradually moves down. That is, first the wires, pipes, ceiling, walls, only then the floor.

Imagine if you make the floor and then repair the walls, the flooring could be damaged. And painting the ceiling will definitely leave marks on the walls, there will be drops, even if you are working with a roller.

Advice. Be sure to turn off the machines on the meter before dismantling work, turn off the water so as not to flood the neighbors, turn off the gas tap.

To make something new, you have to remove the old - everyone knows that. So, we start repairs with dismantling. We do not grab onto everything at once - we make major repairs in each room gradually.

We remove the chandeliers, remove the old wiring: we cut the places for laying the wires, connect the new ones, calculating the load on each point and the entire system as a whole. We change switches, sockets.

We start work from the most difficult places - the kitchen and the bathroom, because there is the most painstaking renovation.

First, we dismantle the sink in the kitchen, carefully unscrew the taps, having previously shut off the common tap. Remove the door from the hinges, remove the old loot. We change pipes, prepare for a new connection. We disassemble, observing safety precautions, the interior partition, which is not a load-bearing one, we combine the kitchen with the living room.

We dismantle the partition between the toilet and the bathroom, making a common room. We dismantle the bathroom, toilet, washbasin, old pipeline. We replace old pipes with durable plastic. We remove the tiles from the walls. If the floor is flat and flawless, we leave it, but we dismantle the skirting board.

It is very important to align the walls in the bathroom, the type of cladding will depend on this. We cover the ceiling with putty and paint with a water-based emulsion. We level the walls, carefully sealing up all cracks and crevices, and revet them with new tiles.

We lay underfloor heating on a flat old tiled floor covering. Now you can install a shower stall, toilet, washbasin, connect a washing machine.

In the kitchen, we dismantle the old flooring, trying not to get hurt, remove the apron. Renewing the ceiling, leveling the walls, covering the area at the sink and cutting table with tiles that will protect the wall from water and steam.

We level the floor with a special solution, give it time to settle. We paint the walls, lay the laminate, not forgetting about the substrate. We connect the sink. We cover or dismantle the gas oven for the duration of the work, and then the service department makes a new connection.

In the room, which has now been combined with the kitchen, we dismantle the doors and the floor. We start preparing the premises for finishing with plastering the ceiling and walls. If necessary, we install soundproof panels.

We install a new door on the foam. Only after the door is well fixed, at least a day will pass, we will plaster around the loot. After finishing the preparatory work, we glue the wallpaper, then lay the new floor and fasten the skirting boards. You can attach chandeliers and sconces.

Advice. Remember to wear gloves and a respirator when handling chemicals. When painting, stick on mounting tape to protect the adjacent surface.

We remove the old flooring in the hallway, fill the floor with a self-leveling solution, give it time to stand.

We repair the ceiling, filling up cracks and cracks. We align the walls, we go well with a primer, since the room is a walk-through, there may be dampness from the street. We install new floors by laying them on a soft backing. The walls can now be covered with wallpaper or other cladding materials such as cork panels.

Video (click to play).

As you can see, overhaul, although troublesome, is expensive, but your health and psychological comfort are more expensive. And if you make the repair yourself, then you will also save a lot, reducing the cost several times.