DIY repair in a townhouse

In detail: do-it-yourself repair in a townhouse from a real master for the site my.housecope.com.

Recently, there has been a tremendous growth in the popularity of townhouses - low-rise suburban buildings for living. It is somewhat reminiscent of a residential complex - in a townhouse, as a rule, there are several suburban two-story apartments at once, each of which has its own entrance and parking space. Today, construction companies pay special attention to this area, since this kind of housing is in demand due to its more affordable cost, especially compared to a cottage.

Any apartment in a townhouse is individual, as it can be fully and fully equipped in accordance with the wishes of the customer. For this, a design project is specially developed. Of course, all structures of this kind have a standard vertical layout, but inside, everyone can create everything the way he wants and more convenient. If you have purchased a newly built townhouse without interior decoration - what to do? First of all, you should contact our company for help - we will be happy to help you. You can contact us in a way convenient for you.

As practice and our experience show, repair work of this nature is best carried out between April and November. This is due to weather conditions, since the better they are, the faster and better the repair of the living space will be.

First of all, you should start with the development of a unique design project. For these purposes, our staff has a professional designer who, having listened to all your wishes and possibilities, with the help of modern programs, will create a model of the future home. If the customer liked it, then we agree on it, prepare all the technical documentation necessary for this and proceed directly to work after signing the contract for the provision of construction and repair services. You can get acquainted with our prices on the website or by contacting our consultants who are always ready to answer your questions.

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Already in accordance with the project plan, then all the necessary building materials are purchased. For many years of experience in performing this kind of work, we have managed to establish contact with excellent suppliers who provide high-quality building materials at affordable prices.

Now you can start directly with the renovation work in the townhouse. As practice shows, they are implemented with a rough finish, that is, with a minimum amount of work performed for the comfortable operation of the house. But this also gives its advantages - the owner of the house can independently implement all ideas about design and interior design - and we will definitely translate them into reality.

At this stage, there is a huge front of rough work:

Aligning walls and laying interior partitions (if necessary).
Laying of engineering networks (electricity, sewerage, water supply and heating).
Finishing the floor and ceiling for further furnishings.

The implementation of these stages, as a rule, takes the most time, since it is important to do everything competently and efficiently - after all, the further comfort of living in a townhouse depends on this. Our team employs real professionals in their field, behind whom there are many successfully implemented projects - there is no reason to doubt that everything will be done in bad faith.

After that, the next stage begins - this is the final finishing of the country house.This includes all painting work (painting, wallpapering, etc.), and the installation of plumbing and lighting equipment, and the installation of stairs connecting the floors, and the laying of flooring and stretch ceilings (if necessary). At this stage, it is important that all work is carried out by highly specialized specialists - and we follow this rule. They will not only do everything efficiently and quickly, but also help with advice in further operation. In this case, it is important to maintain proportions - if this is not done, then the townhouse will lose its individuality and style. It is important to pay attention to the details - from the arrangement of the furniture to the color of the flooring, wallpaper or the paint used. As practice shows, an incorrectly placed chair can significantly reduce the aesthetic beauty in the house. It is not for nothing that there are designers who are always ready to help.

In fact, all the work has been completed on this - there remains general cleaning and removal of construction waste. We are also engaged in similar work - you should clean up after yourself so that the customer will end up with an object that is already ready for living. A large number of clients who have used our services are ready to confirm the quality of our work. We appreciate everyone who turns to us for help, therefore we approach individually to the implementation of absolutely every project.

Most often, townhouses are bought at the "box" stage, when inside there is still no rough finish, no floors, no stairs in the usual sense. Almost never in townhouses there are no partitions. That is, the designer gets a “blank slate”: a truly free layout, in contrast to the “pseudo free” layout in apartments, where a partition can actually be erected only in a specific place and this place is planned “in the floor of a brick”. You can put the wall anywhere and no approval is required. As a result, each townhouse owner is free to decide for himself whether there will be two or three rooms on the second floor, what configuration and purpose.

Another advantage is the ability to radically transfer communications, because the bathroom, pipes and cables do not need to be hidden. Only the transfer of the gas boiler and the meter will have to be coordinated; in the transfer of plumbing, you are not obliged to report to anyone (if you fill it, then only yourself).
When planning, it is important to take into account that the kitchen is not too far from the gas boiler, and the bathrooms on each floor are located as close as possible to each other and, preferably, close to the sewer. This logic, firstly, allows you to avoid financial losses when purchasing additional materials for laying engineering systems. And secondly, it is advisable to do this in order to save the height of the room, because somewhere you need to remove all these communications, and, in the end, you don’t have to invent something with boxes and a gas pipe.

In a townhouse, each apartment has a separate entrance, the owner gets 2-3 floors of living space. And the task is to expediently distribute the purpose of the premises within the framework of such a vertical layout.

Typically, the lower the floor, the more often it will be used. Accordingly, it is on the lower floors that it is important to place all active zones (kitchen and living room, at least). The ideal option, which we came to in our practice, is when on the ground floor there is an entrance hall, living room, kitchen and bathroom; on the second - a nursery, a dressing room and an office or bedroom; on the third - a bedroom and a second living room of interest (hookah, gym, billiard room, home theater) - that is, those places that are actually visited once a day.

The living room needs to be oriented towards the backyard, the kitchen and technical rooms - preferably towards the street. In the backyard area, you can arrange a summer veranda.To prevent the canopy from blocking the light entering the living room area, an open terrace with a sliding awning is left behind the house, or a covered gazebo is arranged at the end of the courtyard.

Most often, townhouses have either panoramic glazing or French balconies (in fact, floor-to-ceiling windows). It is important not to forget here that convectors must be installed around the perimeter of all such windows.

Usually, customers do not plan to somehow radically change the size of the existing windows: everyone is satisfied with French glazing. Another thing is the windows on the top floor (usually they are not enough). If we are talking about roof windows, then it is not very difficult to cut through one or two additional windows. And even there are technologies that allow you to lay out such a window into an impromptu balcony.

In this case, the windows in the attic must correspond to the final layout. So that there is no such thing that the window is divided in half by an interior partition or there is a wardrobe under it. That is, you first think over the complete plan of the upper floor, right down to the sockets, then chop down an additional window.

It is important to take into account that the placement of the window must fit not only into the layout, but the uniform ergonomics of the room. For example, if the future window is above the TV, then the screen will glare - this is not good.

We advise you to carefully check the operating conditions of the roof: very often, with the installation of additional windows, the roof warranty can be lost. In this case, it is important that the window installer takes over this guarantee.

Living space in a townhouse is usually built around a staircase that vertically connects zones of different functionality. In this regard, it is advisable to include 2-3 flights of stairs in the overall concept of interior design.

You need to understand that the stairs take up quite a lot of space. An apartment in a townhouse turns out to be not so big, if you imagine 100 meters, spread over several floors. And if in a traditional apartment you can connect corridors or somehow play with the overflow of each other's zones, here everything is built around a vertical and a staircase. In the townhouse, the real area of the premises will be approximately 80 sq. M.

Secondly, the choice of stairs. It is quite simple here: if you are making a staircase on the ground floor and plan to use the space under it (for a bathroom or pantry), the staircase should be closed, and you need to make it from a lightweight monolith.

Many will assure that a staircase on a metal frame or (God forbid) a wooden one also has a right to exist, you should not believe it. It’s not even about the fact that wooden stairs and on a metal frame will somehow be more "loud", but that this is still a huge dust collector. No kidding, health problems can arise.

That is, the rule is this: on the first floor we make a staircase from a lightweight monolith so as not to suffocate from dust. On the second - if stylistically there is such an opportunity, you can do it on braids, and on bolts, and even (much less desirable) wooden.

A funny, but important point, which for some reason is forgotten in work - when planning, you should constantly keep in mind that, due to narrow flights of stairs, there may be problems with the skidding of dimensional furniture and materials to the upper floors.

The mistake of customers who are not yet accustomed to suburban life is that minimum attention is paid to noise and sound insulation. It would seem why: I have only two neighbors. And even then (if you're lucky), the walls are not adjacent. If soundproofing in apartments is a desirable option, then within the framework of living in a townhouse it is a necessity. It's not about the thickness of the walls, it's about the absence of constant noise. And with such a lifestyle, any sound is heard stronger and seems sharper. Isolating noise and preventing unnecessary sounds is very important, isolation is a must.

Thermosvukoizol copes best with sound insulation. This material must be installed under the floor screed. After that, the threshold of audibility of sounds between floors will be significantly reduced.

Problems with soundproofing walls are much less common. But they can also be solved by mounting on a previously prepared frame of mineral slabs. This method is most widely used for the specified type of housing. Of course, soundproofing in a townhouse is costly due to its large area. However, all the money spent will be of great benefit after you compare the audibility in rooms before and after installing the soundproofing system.

You don't just have an apartment - you almost have a house. It is important to draw conclusions of electricity and water to the street - they are really needed. If we are talking about water, then the output on the first floor is sufficient. When it comes to electricity, consider floor sockets. If you want to dress up the house for the holidays and decorate the facade with garlands, this will come in handy.

It is equally important to properly plan your systems. For example, the minimum necessary for the normal functioning of a townhouse is a coarse water purification system (at least two filters in a row), as well as an additional boiler (preferably indirect heating to save energy). Such a bundle will allow you to get clean water, and an additional pump will help it deliver well even to the third floor, while the water switching will be smooth and fast.

Townhouses are often built on the site of old summer cottage cooperatives or small suburban villages. For developers, this means the availability of electric lines, water supply, sewerage and heating networks - no need to spend their own funds on laying communications. The developer takes responsibility only for the internal engineering systems, while the external infrastructure remains under the jurisdiction of the state. Residents find themselves in an unpleasant situation when the communications that have already existed for several decades are worn out and cannot cope with the increased load at all, and it is not known who to turn to for solving problems.

Salvation can be the organization of a homeowners' association - for short, HOA. According to Art. 136 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, a partnership can be created by the owners of several nearby residential (and even dacha!) Houses. After the appearance of the HOA, residents will be able to make decisions on the repair and reconstruction of external engineering networks. Activists are able to change the living conditions of each owner, making the houses comfortable and, which is also important, economical in terms of resource consumption.

The popularity of townhouses in recent years is simply enormous, which made the question of their renovation urgent. The classic version of the offer of housing in a townhouse, if we talk about the primary market: with a rough finish (floor without screed, walls without plaster, installed communications). It accounts for approximately 80% of all offers on the market. Semi-detached houses with a fine finish (half-screed, plastered walls, communications around the house) account for 15%. And only 5% - housing with a turnkey fit-out.

Not every buyer can make the premises fit for housing on their own. There are many reasons for this:

A large amount of work (the average area of townhouses is 100-130 m 2);
The technical complexity of the work is due to the following:

unlike an apartment, in a multi-storey building, in a townhouse it is often necessary to carry out the wiring of engineering networks;
modern structures, for example, partitions and frame walls, require special qualifications;
intricate ideas of consumers in terms of design, which cannot be realized on their own.

So, the two most convenient options for renovating a townhouse: repair from the developer and repair by a specialized company.

Usually the developer pays all attention to the sale and construction part. The department that carries out the finishing is either outsourced or in oblivion.Therefore, it is not necessary that the beauty that you found in the showroom will be accurately reproduced in your apartment. Moreover, the "salesmen" are responsible for the showroom, and not the refiners.

Usually, repairs from the developer are typical, neutral, in a modern spirit. That is, decorating a renovated room in the Art Nouveau, loft or Art Deco style, in the spirit of country or Baroque, is unlikely to work. An expressive setting can conflict with its invisible texture and calm finishing colors.

True, for such a renovation, you can choose an original design in the style of high-tech, fusion, provence, classic. As a rule, finished townhouses are in the economy segment. As a result, the availability of finishing increases their cost by 20% (or even more).

A ready-to-live townhouse from a developer in the business segment can be called a rarity. If this can happen, then, most likely, the developer will offer something original, for example, an original design in the format of the village. However, the cost in this case is calculated according to the individual estimate.

Its cost directly depends on the complexity of the task and the degree of construction readiness of the townhouse. There are several options for renovating townhouses to choose from (calculated for 1 m 2 of floor space):

cosmetic (painting floors and then covering them with linoleum or laminate, wallpapering, installing electrical outlets) - from 2,000 rubles per 1 m 2 (with rough building materials from 3,000 rubles per 1 m 2);

overhaul (installation of door frames, dismantling of old finishes, installation of new sockets and channeling, installation of switches; leveling the ceiling and walls without a level, by eye; installation of plumbing) - 5,000 rubles per 1 m 2 (8,000 per 1 m 2 - with rough materials );

complex economy (screed and flooring of linoleum or some other coating; putty of the ceiling and walls; installation of a false ceiling; installation of door blocks; replacement of sockets; installation of plumbing) - 3000 rubles per 1 m 2 (5000 rubles - with rough materials);

complex European standard (redevelopment and dismantling of old finishes; walls with decorative elements; improvement of storage rooms and loggias; arches, leveling of ceilings and walls in a plane; installation of suspended ceilings of any complexity; installation of plumbing and utility networks; floor screed and installation of the "warm floor" system with further finishing) - 7,000 rubles per 1 m 2 (from 12,000 rubles per 1 m 2 - with rough materials);

luxury class renovation, which implies the work of a designer, the creation of an individual air conditioning and ventilation system, installation supervision during the installation of equipment - it is impossible to name the cost for it even approximately, since everything here directly depends on the income and tastes of the townhouse owner.

All options listed above do not include materials such as tiles, wallpaper, flooring, etc. Their prices are always calculated separately. But garbage collection, delivery of building materials is included in the cost of repair and finishing work.

Considering the condition of the rough-finished townhouses (there are no internal partitions, no screeds on the floors, no distribution of engineering networks), complex European standard repair and complex economy are most suitable for them.

How much does it turn out in practice?

Owners of townhouses, communicating on forums, share their experience: who spent how much on a building that was bought "in rough finish" in order to make it a residential building. These are different numbers. How much the cost of cladding depends on the decency of the construction company and the owner's appetites can be seen in the examples we have given of already completed renovations of apartments in semi-detached houses:

townhouse 230 m 2: 1.3 million rubles was spent on finishing the economy class, which was carried out by a construction team from the provinces, not counting building materials and 400,000 rubles for the installation and decoration of two monolithic staircases with wood;

townhouse 160 m 2: 8 million rubles spent on interior decoration, incl.fireplace and stairs, lined with stone, as well as for the laying of engineering networks, including modern ventilation;

townhouse 190 m 2: 2.5 million rubles.

Having gained experience, the owners of townhouses recommend using the services of trusted construction companies, but ordering not a turnkey repair, but a phased one. So it is much easier to control the cost of materials, work, check the quality. On the other hand, you will have to accept the work in stages, but it is better to order them in one company so that unscrupulous builders cannot shift their blame onto another.

In order for there to be no surprise during the renovation, such as the doubled price of finishing work, start with a competent design project. It will serve as the basis for the estimate.

So, a ready-made repair from a developer company will cost less, but at the same time it will be typical, namely, an economy option. If you dream that the look of your house was individual, contact a construction company. At the same time, carefully control all costs and the process itself. Otherwise, the price announced by the company may more than double.

A townhouse can become a profitable alternative to a separate country house: having your own plot, the same beauty of the surrounding landscape, the absence of city noise - and all this for less money. However, this type of housing is not without serious drawbacks, which developers and realtors prefer to keep silent about.

1. Lack of privacy. Despite the visual similarity with a country house and the presence of its own separate entrance, a small plot and a garage, in essence a townhouse is an apartment. Shared walls with neighbors do not provide perfect sound insulation and transmit all the everyday sounds that apartment residents encounter - conversations, loud music / working TV, repairs involving an unbearable puncher, crying children, etc.

A common fence and a very close arrangement of windows and balconies against the background of the surrounding suburban silence can make the features of your family communication public. So it is better not to discuss business secrets on the balcony, but to conduct intimate conversations with closed windows.

However, you can't get away from the visibility of your site from the neighboring windows, even with high fences - so only the bravest will be able to sunbathe topless. It would seem a trifle, but private life is still important.

2. Legal status. Legally, a townhouse is often registered as an apartment with all the nuances that follow from this. For example, the area that is not taxed on real estate is less for apartments than for houses (according to Ukrainian law). That is, from this point of view, it is more profitable for the owner that the townhouse be registered as a house.

3. Inconvenient layout. Terraced buildings assume a small width of the house, therefore, in order to increase the area, townhouses are usually made three-story (two floors plus a residential attic) and with a basement. In practice, even young athletic residents find it uncomfortable to actively move between floors.

Unlike living in a one-story, well, a maximum of two-story house, here you have to learn to be collected and, leaving the third floor, think over what you might need on the first. Because going up several times in a row for various trifles or a phone forgotten in the attic is rather tiring. Whereas, for example, in an apartment you don't even think about such things. You will also have to learn to scream loudly so that your family can hear you on another floor. In the end it will get bored and you will spend money on intercom.

4. Small narrow section with an area of 1-3 acres imposes many restrictions on landscape design options. Moreover, the close proximity of neighbors makes you dependent on their design decisions.For example, a high solid fence from the side of some neighbors will force you to fence off your entire plot in this way. This can ultimately make it look like a deep box with little sunlight and high humidity.

5. More responsibility. Despite the fact that the buyer of a townhouse legally and practically gets a multi-level apartment, in everyday life he is faced with questions related to a full-fledged country house: garbage disposal, sewerage, autonomous heating, security, etc. questions will be taken over by the service organization. And if this is a small ordinary building in the private sector, you will have to take on the solution of all these issues and the associated costs.

6. Repair will cost more than in an apartment. If you have a certain budget for buying a home, and you are choosing between a new apartment and a new townhouse, keep in mind that renovating a townhouse will cost significantly more. Even an inexpensive renovation and arrangement of a townhouse will cost almost the price of its purchase. The fact is that when you buy an apartment, you get “all inclusive”, except for cosmetic decoration of walls and floors, plumbing, lighting elements and furniture. And in a townhouse, in addition to all this, you will have to carry out heating yourself (from $ 10 thousand and above), equip a staircase (from $ 5 thousand), improve the site and install a fence around it. It should be noted that all this is relevant when the area of the apartment is less than 150 sq. m. and it is not two-, three-level. Otherwise, buying a townhouse together with renovation can be cheaper than such a luxury apartment in a city high-rise building.

7. Limited parking space. If in a private house you can always equip an additional garage or awning on the site, then this number will not work with a townhouse. Here you have a garage and, at best, space for another car in front of the main facade. Since the site is most often located from the rear facade, and the fence can adjoin neighboring sites, it will not work to make a garage there. So if the number of cars in the family increases over time, the issue of parking will become acute.

Summary
Even with the disadvantages listed above, you can learn to have a good time in your townhouse. A good alternative to a townhouse can be a duplex, especially if there is a possibility of joint purchase of a house with someone from friends or relatives. However, if the budget allows, it is worth choosing the latter between a townhouse and a small country house.