Tips for repairing an apartment with your own hands in a new building where to start

If you become the proud owner of an apartment in a new building, then before you move in, you will have to make repairs. Most of the housing that builders are currently renting out is not finished, and you have to equip everything to your taste, from installing plumbing and doors to painting the walls.

But where do you start? There is so much to do: there is no normal floor, the walls are crooked, no doors, no bathtubs. Today we will consider the stages of repair in a new building in order to do everything according to the rules, to save money and time on possible mistakes. This is also useful for those who already have finished apartments, because the order of repairs in the apartment does not change.

Repair in a new building differs in that it will still shrink over time, and therefore cracks may appear. The floor, walls and ceiling will crack over time, especially in the early years, and this must be taken into account when renovating. Of course, it is better not to use expensive materials in the decoration of a new building or to use those that are not afraid of cracks.

In the apartment, you can do the most dusty and noisy works immediately after entering the apartment, such as:

• installation of plumbing pipes;
• electrical wiring;

It is best to start them immediately after receiving the coveted keys to the apartment. Upon delivery of the object, residents pay for a common container for construction waste, and it is taken out within six months, you can use it. Another plus: no one still lives in the new building, and it is possible to carry out work even at night, no one will write a complaint about the noise. But when the first tenants move into new apartments, the noise will have to stop until 23:00, and in some regions even until 20:00.

Regardless of whether you are doing the repair yourself, or you will hire a team of workers, think about the procedure for carrying out repairs in the apartment - draw up a work plan.

Draw a plan of your apartment to scale on paper or in a computer program. Decide where you want to place the plumbing: bath, shower, toilet. You can also see ready-made examples of interiors in our article: toilet repair photo.

A more difficult question is the layout of the kitchen. For the correct compilation, it is worth looking through more than one hundred photos and visiting the salons-stores. For example, many interesting ideas and solutions can be found at IKEA. Decide how it would be more convenient for you to prepare food, try to place all the necessary things nearby so that you do not have to run from corner to corner. Determine a place to install cabinets, table, stove, oven, microwave, refrigerator. The laying of wiring and pipes will depend on their position. Warm floors will be installed only where you walk, you do not need to put them under the table and equipment.

Next, decide on the layout of the corridor and hallway. Choose a place to install a wardrobe for clothes and shoes, or maybe you will be interested in installing a wardrobe with your own hands. It is important to correctly install the sockets and switches so as not to hit them with your back. Of course, it is best to use built-in switches, so you have to chisel the walls.

In the bedroom, nursery and living room, you need to think about the location of cabinets, TV, computer, telephone and other equipment. The required number of outlets in the right place will depend on this.

So, you have thought of everything and have already drawn a plan, now you can draw up a diagram of the piping and electrical wiring and start carrying out repair work.

Sometimes, before you start renovating an apartment, you need to break something. If necessary, you can demolish crooked partitions, combine a bath with a toilet, a kitchen with a living room, etc. As they say, breaking is not building, but first you need to get permission for redevelopment.

Also at this stage, the joints and gaps between the slabs are closed. Large gaps can be pre-filled with foam, and smaller ones with gypsum plaster. Each crack and crack will increase the heat loss and sound permeability of the walls. If you do not want to hear noisy neighbors, then now you need to soundproof the apartment.

Now is the time to start installing plumbing and electrical wiring. Without electricity, it will be difficult to do anything, so they usually start with it. If you are thinking of where to start renovating a room, it is the replacement and installation of plumbing and wires that are important.

Next, they usually proceed to the rough finishing of the floor, laying the warm floor in the screed. If you plan to lay laminate or parquet in the future, then with a self-leveling floor it is better to wait and switch to walls and ceiling.

At the next stage, you can level the walls with plaster or drywall (it is also appropriate to create arches, niches and partitions from it).
Cracks on the floor screed and walls appear due to non-compliance with the technology and shrinkage of the house
It is worth noting that in the early years cracks will inevitably appear at the joints of the slabs. On the ceiling, you can avoid this, or rather, hide it with a stretch ceiling. Also in the early years, the grout joints on the tiled walls will crack.

We will briefly list the procedure for repairing an apartment in a new building:

• electrical wiring, antenna and telephone cable, heated floors;
• plumbing communications;
• rough finishing of the floor, walls, ceiling;
• installation of an entrance door;
• floor screed;
• replacement of batteries and windows (if they are not satisfied with the standard ones), installation of a balcony;
• ceiling finishing (whitewash / painting / plasterboard / stretch);
• laying tiles in the bathroom, kitchen, corridor (on the walls and floor);
• wall decoration;
• plumbing installation;
• installation of switches, sockets, lighting;
• laying the topcoat for the floor;
• assembly and installation of kitchens, appliances;
• installation of interior doors;
• installation of door trims, door sills, skirting boards;
• general cleaning of the entire apartment;
• arrangement of cabinets, upholstered furniture.

The correct order of repair in the room guarantees a high-quality and durable finish

Separately, it is worth discussing the stages of bathroom renovation. This instruction will be relevant both for residents of new houses and for renovations in an old house. Naturally, in each case, the order of work may differ, here are only general recommendations for planning repairs.

The repair procedure in the bathroom is as follows.

• Plastering and leveling the walls in the bathroom, leveling the floor.
• Installing pipes and creating a plasterboard box to hide them. If necessary, chipping the walls for wiring.
• Finishing the walls: laying tiles, installing plastic panels or other options.
• Installation of a suspended or stretch ceiling and installation of lighting. When laying tiles, it is worthwhile to provide a gap from above for installing the ceiling, so as not to drill it. If you decide to paint or whitewash the ceiling, then this should be done before finishing the walls and floor so as not to stain them.
• Floor renovation: installation of porcelain stoneware, tiles, etc. Do not forget to treat the floor before finishing with a layer of waterproofing. If desired, you can put underfloor heating.
• Bath and sink installation.
• Installation of a mixer, heating barrel and other plumbing fixtures.
• Sealing the joint and sealing the gap near the bathroom (see fastening the bath to the wall).

Thus, the order of repairs in the apartment goes through. It is advisable to stick to it, but, of course, in each case there may be exceptions. Much depends on the materials you use.The main thing is to carry out the work in such an order so as not to damage the already finished areas, and to preserve the result as long as possible.

Stages of apartment renovation. Description of the stages of repair in the secondary housing.

How to soundproof an apartment yourself. Sound insulation technology for walls, floors and ceilings using modern materials and non-standard methods.

Wall design with wallpaper. How to correctly combine different types of wallpaper, interior photos. Tips for choosing colors and patterns.

RemBoo »Interior design and decor» Stages of renovating an apartment from scratch in a new building

Thanks for the advice. Finally, now everything is at least a little settled in my head. And then they thought:
1.Electrics to remake;
2. Paint the ceilings;
3. Put the toilet and sink in the lavatory;
4. Lay linoleum;
5. Glue wallpaper in one of the rooms, corridor and kitchen (financial limit);
6. put interior doors everywhere;
7. Hang the chandeliers (wherever possible);
8.Put the front door;
9. To bring at least some furniture and equipment for the first time;
10. Enter and settle down further.
)))))
And now I realized that the repair will be delayed….
Hee hee

Almost always, new housing is acquired by a happy newcomer from the developer's company without interior decoration and repair, but with communications brought into the apartment. Firstly, such housing in a new building will be cheaper, and secondly, almost always the repair and arrangement of an apartment by the developer is carried out extremely carelessly, using cheap materials. Thirdly, there is a desire to complete some stages of apartment renovation with your own hands or with the hands of good craftsmen.

First, you need to make an audit and inspection of the apartment, to establish problem areas of walls, ceilings and floors. Then we proceed in the following order. We determine what requires repair and finishing in the first place. If the time and money for a complete renovation of the apartment is not enough, it is necessary to put in order first of all:

• Front door and windows, apartment ventilation;
• Perform full and highest quality electrical wiring and wiring of sockets around the apartment. This stage must be thought out in as much detail as possible, draw up a connection diagram and a circuit for laying wires into walls;
• Connect the water and collect the sewerage system in the bathroom and toilet, install a toilet bowl, washbasin and shower cabin;
• If the start time of the renovation of an apartment in a new building coincided with the heating season, be sure to check the degree of heating of the aluminum registers with a remote thermometer.

In the process of carrying out the listed preparatory work, you can calculate the sequence of repairs in a new building.

Much in the repair of housing in a new building depends on the availability of time and money resources. Having bought a "bare" apartment and having completed the necessary documents for the right of ownership, you automatically start paying rent and housekeeping, for using the adjacent territory, for the removal of household waste and construction waste. After connecting electricity and water, a new apartment in a new building began to bring you a loss in the form of costs for its maintenance and decoration. The longer the repair time for an apartment in a new building, the more it will cost you.

There are two main options for approaching the issue of finishing a new apartment in a new building:

1. Planned renovation and decoration of the apartment. In this case, the owners draw up a detailed map and a schedule for finishing work, in which all the main types of finishing and installation of devices are prescribed in stages. Such repairs, as a rule, are carried out from scratch to completion by one team of craftsmen. The completion date of a repaired object may take several weeks or months. The disadvantages of this approach include the constantly growing price and cost of work, sometimes exceeding the cost of the estimate by more than two times. As a result, if due to unforeseen circumstances there are not enough funds, the repair can be delayed for an indefinite period.
2. Fast renovation from scratch.In this case, all of the above stages of repair in a new building are carried out by the hands of hired craftsmen with direct control of the quality of work on your part. An apartment in a new building within a week will be prepared for further decoration of the rooms. In addition to communications, the smallest room of the apartment is finished and equipped with temporary linoleum and wallpaper. In such a room there are still no amenities, but it can be used as housing - a temporary hut and a warehouse for building materials. All other work is performed as free funds and time become available.

The first option is well suited if the family has small children or elderly people who need to provide some comfort and convenience. The second option is considered more economical and quicker, especially if, after finishing the kitchen, bathroom, toilet and one room, the housing is rented, with the consecutive bringing the remaining rooms of the new building to condition.

Among the most popular horror stories for new buildings, it is customary to consider stories about the shrinkage of the walls of the house and its foundation. In reality, a similar process for a multi-storey building should finally be completed by the time the building is put into operation. This period is on average no more than 18 months. If, after 1.5 years, cracks form in the corners, the ceiling or at the joints and in the masonry of the walls, the tiles in the bathroom fall off, and the doors are deformed with skewed doors, this means that the new building has certain problems with the stability of the foundation. With the repair, you should wait until the main thing is clarified - what is happening with the new building.

Before starting work, first of all, inspect the lock on the front door. The model and standard equipment of the door can be subject to separate agreement. Indicate in the addendum to the contract which model of door and lock you want to install. If it becomes necessary to take additional security measures, first of all, change the lock supplied when the new building was handed over.

At the next stage, it is necessary to resolve the issue of installing an electrical switchboard, connecting an electric meter. This will make it possible to start using a power tool when repairing an apartment. To get rid of the need to use a large number of carriers and extension cords, plan the layout of the electrical wiring in the apartment. When doing this, consider the following:

• For kitchens and bathrooms, wiring must be laid in sealed hoses and sleeves;
• Lay a separate wire cable to the bathroom for connecting a boiler or washing machine. The cable section must be rated for a current of at least 25 A;
• An additional wire must be laid to the place where the air conditioner is installed;
• It is necessary to lead a wire to the bathroom, to the kitchen, to the hall, which will be connected and used in the future when organizing additional grounding.

In addition to electricity, to create more or less normal conditions, it is necessary to connect hot and cold water meters and collect sewage in the bathroom and toilet. It is necessary to start work with the installation of a toilet and a washbasin.

Considering that good plumbing is expensive, for the first time you can install an inexpensive toilet bowl, assemble and connect plastic sewer pipes, a bellows and a washbasin sink. During the renovation of an apartment, plumbing can be replaced at any time. The installation of expensive plumbing increases the risk of damage to it during the repair; it must be installed at the final stage of the renovation of a new building.

To lay a plastic water supply using a perforator, we pierce channels in the walls of the bathroom, toilet, kitchen with a depth of 2.5-3 cm. Next, you need to solder the water pipes and connect the leads to the cistern and washbasin. Finally, we will install and connect cold and hot water meters to the domestic water supply system.

Before starting work, you will need to perform a large amount of cleaning the remnants of concrete and mortar. The main part will be for rough cleaning of walls, floor, ceiling, their chasing, alignment and trimming of seams. Such work gives a large amount of dirt and dust, so it will be necessary to organize good ventilation and wet cleaning inside the new building.

A separate point is to highlight the preparation of floors in each of the rooms for finishing. During the repairs in the apartment, it will be necessary to close up all the cracks, holes in the seams between the slabs, in the floor, in the interior walls of the new building. The most difficult thing will be leveling the floor with a cement mortar screed and reinforcing mesh. This procedure will need to be performed upon completion of the preparation of the walls and ceiling for finishing.

We will perform similar work in the kitchen, bathroom and toilet.

After rough cleaning, it will be necessary to prepare the walls in the kitchen and toilet for laying tiles on the walls and floors. Facing tiles can be laid with your own hands, but it is troublesome and takes a lot of time. Therefore, it is better to entrust the laying of tiles to masters specializing in this kind of finish. While the tiles are being laid, you can do your own repairs in one of the rooms of the apartment. The best option would be to lay decorative plaster or liquid wallpaper on the walls. If at the time of the start of repairs in the apartment of the new building the double-glazed windows in the windows were in a satisfactory condition, then you can start applying plaster on the walls of the room immediately.

Upon completion of the laying of tiles on the floor and walls in the kitchen, bathroom and toilet, you need to lay inexpensive linoleum in the corridor connecting these three rooms and the room in which the renovation was carried out using decorative plaster. This will reduce the amount of dust being raised and make cleaning the apartment easier.

Before finishing the walls in the apartment, it is necessary to align, and if a defect is found, to repair the interior doors. If your future plans include wallpapering, normally closing doors are essential for high-quality wallpapering. After the wall decoration is completed, we proceed to laying linoleum, laminate or carpet on the floor of the apartment. The most practical is considered to be a laminate for living rooms; for a corridor, an office version of linoleum with increased abrasion resistance. This type of work does not require special qualifications and is easily done with your own hands during the renovation of a new building apartment.

The final stage of the renovation is the connection of lamps and the installation of furniture in the apartment. Approximately 70% of the volume of work during repairs in a new building is quite available for doing it yourself. And only when performing special types of finishing - laying parquet, installing stretch ceilings, installing double-glazed windows or entrance doors in a new building, you will need the services of specialists.

Not so long ago, those who received a warrant for an apartment in a new building could move in and live in peace. Today, before moving into a new home, the owners will need to make repairs. Most housing is rented out without finishing. This is a way to reduce the cost of an apartment. Residents are given the opportunity to acquire their own corner at an affordable cost. The result is an economy option. The most popular type of housing is studio. The owners buy the walls without finishing, partitions. You will need to paint the walls, install plumbing, level floors, surfaces. The new settlers carry out a complete roughing and finishing work. The owners should not forget about the pre-finishing work. The correct procedure for repairs in a new building without finishing is described below.

When starting to renovate a new building, keep in mind that the finishing will be done from scratch. This is especially true for a studio apartment.Many people plan to make expensive repairs using expensive materials, which is unacceptable. The reasons for this are as follows:

• the structure undergoes shrinkage for the first year, due to which cracks appear on the surface for the first time;
• cracks are formed on the walls, ceiling, floor;
• due to deformations, the decoration and repair of the apartment in a year will have to be done again, which will cause numerous problems.

Result of building shrinkage Cracks in plaster due to building shrinkage

It is necessary to start repairs with the following processes:

• distribution of sanitary pipes;
• wiring bookmark;
• underfloor heating installation, screed filling;
• leveling the surface of the walls;
• construction of suspended ceilings.

The procedure for performing repair work in a new building cannot be changed.

Wall alignment Wiring bookmark Laying of sanitary pipes Floor screed

In the first year, you need to do the rough, dusty work with your own hands, go to the pre-finishing work, then the finishing work is done. It is recommended that you do the dirty work after you receive your keychain. This is not done by chance, new settlers who have received the keys to the apartment pay for a container for collecting construction waste. The whole house will be serviced.

The management company gets rid of the garbage within six months. If you do not start repairs right away with all the tenants, then you will have to take out the garbage, then you will have to yourself. Further export is no longer included in the cost of services.

Another important plus when performing rough, preparatory work after receiving a bunch of keys in a new building - no one lives in the house, which means that it is allowed to boldly make noise, work with a puncher, knock with a hammer at night and in the morning, which cannot be done later. After the completion of the main work, a fine finish is carried out, you can stick inexpensive wallpaper, lay ordinary linoleum and for the first year after delivery you can be content with this for now. This economy option is suitable for young families starting from scratch.

The main work has been done, the house has become clean, comfortable, you can take a break. There are a number of works that tenants in a new building would like to do, but experts strongly recommend giving up, otherwise then you will have to redo it again, both from the preliminary and all subsequent work, that is, to start from scratch.

It is not recommended to engage in the first year in a new building:

• ceilings, make the walls in a studio apartment out of plasterboard, putty on finishing, take advice not as an economical option, take into account that at first all the seams are cracking;
• laying tiles for the bathroom, any fine finish will do, poor tightness will lead to water flowing to neighbors, mold will appear from high humidity.

The tiled bathroom floor will be a barrier to other renovations.

The phrase that the miser pays twice is incorrect. The first year, such an economical solution will help save finances, especially for those who start from scratch.

If you still want to live immediately in normal conditions, then any repair work should be done by professionals. You can do it yourself if you are confident in your skill. It should be borne in mind that cracks may appear over time, but you can reassure yourself that they will be visible only when a person is resting on the couch.

In order not to have to redo something, it is necessary that any rough, fine repair work is carried out in a new building, and it does not matter whether it is a studio apartment or not, in a certain sequence. Seeing the bare walls of their home, each owner immediately has a question: "Where to start?" The repair procedure is as follows:

• planning the space is simple to do. Even before the rough work is done, you need to draw a plan of your apartment on a piece of paper (or using a computer program). Decide immediately on the place of plumbing. It is necessary to outline the place of the bath or shower stall, toilet.The photo on the left shows exactly how you can install plumbing. Outline the kitchen, corridor. Especially accurately, everything needs to be planned in a studio-type housing;

Apartment layout

• insert windows if they have not been inserted. Usually new buildings are rented already with inserted windows. But if there was an agreement that only walls would be built, then you need to immediately think about which company windows to choose and immediately decide whether the installation will be done by yourself or by specialists. It is more profitable and more convenient if the work on installing windows will be entrusted to professionals. Ideal - if the apartment is already rented out with windows;

Installation

• to lay out pipes for water supply, sewerage. The wiring starts from a common riser and is carried out for all plumbing. Install a toilet, washbasin, shower stall. Collecting the sewer is easy with your own hands. Uncertain owners should contact specialists;

Pipe routing

• carry out the installation of electrical wiring - the work must be treated with maximum responsibility. Usually, in new buildings, the wiring is done, but it is not always of high quality. Check everything, if in doubt, change it. Electrical appliances may occasionally be present, but these are usually also of poor quality. Therefore, it is better to do it yourself at your own discretion. The economy option is inappropriate for this work;

Installation of electrical wiring

• making a floor screed - arrangement in a new building is an important stage in the repair. If the building is made of concrete, then pouring the screed is necessary. It is necessary to fill the subfloor with concrete mortar, then level everything out. The lightest and most popular wet screed. The owner can make it with his own hands. With its help, the unevenness of the surface is eliminated, the cracks are smeared;

Floating screed

• to align the walls - to do something grandiose with the walls in the first year is not worth it. The house will shrink and cracks may appear. For the first time, it is better to purchase inexpensive wallpaper for an apartment. It should be borne in mind that in a year you will again have to trim the walls, grease the cracks, that is, you have to start doing all the repairs anew. If the plaster or other fine finish was not done, then it must be done, then leveled, putty cracks, irregularities. Additional finishing is not needed yet;

Aligning walls and ceilings

• to make the installation of the ceiling - this work is one of the difficult ones. The ceiling can be anything. But experts do not recommend making a plasterboard suspended ceiling in a new building. With the shrinkage of the house, distortions may appear, and cracks may go along the seams. To get started, you can simply putty, level the surface and paint. For the first renovation, such a finish will be enough;

Installation of a suspended plasterboard ceiling

• install doors - you need to install doors before wallpapering or painting the walls. When the ceiling, floor is decided, the doors are installed. Great attention should be paid to the entrance doors. It is not worth saving on them, here such an economical decision would be inappropriate. Solid ones with good sound insulation can be installed immediately.

Door installation

The studio apartment began to be in great demand. Economy option for a young family. Housing turns out to be inexpensive and young families can quite afford it. Before starting repairs in such an apartment, you need to immediately outline where the recreation area, kitchen, corridor, and bathroom will be.

Often the owners receive apartments with main load-bearing walls. This allows you to make a special layout, to show imagination. Someone is satisfied with the studio option, someone needs separate premises. Partitions are made of plasterboard. Layout options may vary. The main thing is to decide during the renovation where you need to locate a particular room so that you do not have to redo it in the future.

New housing is a huge joy. Do not be afraid of self-repair work. This approach is a profitable solution.The owners immediately equip their own corner. You should not be in a hurry with repair work. Before you start, you need to consult with experts.

All stages of renovation work in a new building.