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, much later 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?

Image - Do-it-yourself overhaul in the apartment

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, replacing 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 of 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:

Image - Do-it-yourself overhaul in the apartment

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

Image - Do-it-yourself overhaul in the apartment

Replacement of communications is carried out at the initial stages of overhaul
  1. Replacement of electrical wiring should be carried out up to the switchboard on the site, and not strictly to the apartment corridor panel
  2. 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.
  3. Slitting for cable must not be performed in load-bearing panels and floor slabs.
  4. 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
  5. It is necessary to change heating pipes and batteries in a non-heating season
  6. 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: