How does wall repair in a private house begin? How to start repairs in a house and apartment - step-by-step instructions Fast and high-quality repairs.

Often, it is more profitable to repair an old wooden house on your own than to demolish it and build a new one. If you have such a house and would like to bring it into its proper form, we will tell you how to do it. The main thing is to pay attention to the general condition of the building, that is, to assess the prospects of work. If you are sure that the house can still serve, feel free to start making repairs with your own hands.

First of all, you should evaluate the degree of wear and tear of existing components of the house. Take a close look at the foundation, walls, roofing and communications. Do-it-yourself repair of an old wooden house begins with the preparation of the material, and its volume directly depends on the state of the building.

Completely free the house from all unnecessary things, debris and components that are actually not related to the structure. Look closely at the wooden parts for signs of decay - these should be removed immediately. Most often, in old wooden houses, the floor comes into complete disrepair - it must be dismantled.

Pay attention to the foundation. As a rule, solid concrete fill lasts a very long time, but in some places it can break off. This requires a small cosmetic repair - using the prepared solution, simply cover up the visible imperfections, leveling the entire foundation. If the foundation of the house has fallen into disrepair (there are many large cracks around the perimeter, corrosion of the reinforcement, a significant skew of the horizontal level of the foundation), repairs will not be enough. A complete renovation is required here.

Repair of communications

Communications should be taken care of in advance, as you may want to sheathe the walls with plasterboard or other covering. So, completely dismantle the existing electrical wiring and plumbing pipes. When laying a new electrical network, be sure to wrap the wires in special tubes with a cross section of 15-20 mm. For plumbing, it is better to use plastic pipes.

Do-it-yourself repair of a wooden house, a photo of the process of which we are attaching, we will start from the walls. The logs of the crown are the most vulnerable place. Here, cracks and other damage are most often formed. The floor beams and the floor itself may also suffer (as already noted, it is better to dismantle it immediately).

Minor damage to the wood can be repaired without dismantling the walls. For this, problem areas should be cleaned, treated with an antiseptic, and then sealed with a suitable sealant. If we talk about the outside of the facade, then for cosmetic purposes, you can sheathe it with special panels of your choice. Siding is most often used, and it is mounted as follows:

Brackets are attached to the facade, on which vertical beams are installed;
The beams are installed in increments of approximately 30-40 cm.
A layer of mineral wool and an insulating film are attached between the beams with nails;
The lathing is sheathed with siding from the bottom up.

The inner side of the walls can be sheathed with plasterboard. Plasterboard installation is carried out in a similar way.

Pay attention to the beams above window and doorways - they very often suffer from moisture. Places that have rotted must be replaced - this can be done simply by cutting out a piece of the beam and inserting a new part.

Roof

If the house is quite old, you will most likely need to completely remove the roof covering. Inspect the frame, especially the condition of the rafters. The roof is easy to repair - any part can be replaced. To do this, use additional strength clamps - for a while, connect the existing beams (which you will not dismantle), nailing several boards between them. After that, you can remove low-quality rafters without fear of destroying the frame.

Take a close look at the main detail of the roof - the Mauerlat. If signs of decay are found, be sure to saw out the damaged parts and insert new ones with secure fixation with plate pads or tie bolts. Ideally, the Mauerlat can be completely replaced by carefully dismantling its parts around the perimeter and installing new ones.

After the roof frame has been repaired, re-lay the covering. If desired, the roof can be additionally insulated using, for example, mineral wool.

Windows and doors

Doors and windows in older homes will likely need to be completely replaced. But the main problem lies not in this, but in rather frequent cases of imbalance. To get rid of the skew, dismantle the door frame and level the walls using a level.

Reassemble and reinstall the door frame. All existing cracks must be blown out tightly with polyurethane foam. As for the doors, choose their model as you wish, but it is recommended to replace the windows with metal-plastic ones, since they are more durable and reliable than wooden ones, not to mention the thermal insulation properties.

Interior doors also need to be replaced in the same way along with the frames. If you have all the doors of the same format and size, then you can immediately prepare the required number of boards for the frame panels. But do not rush to install them inside the house, as you will still be doing floor repairs and finishing. You can install interior doors at the last stage of renovation work.

Floor laying

For a high-quality floor, it is recommended to make a concrete screed. If you don't have one, get to work. First of all, dismantle the logs on the floor (you do not need to cut them under the walls) and clean the area from debris and dust. The screed is laid in the following order: backfill (sand, fine gravel), insulating film, concrete layer. Be sure to level the screed. The concrete should dry for about one month at a temperature of about 20 degrees.

Then you can start laying the floor. This can be, for example, a laminate. For laying, a special substrate is first used, after which laminate sheets are laid on it, interconnected with "locks". An expansion gap of about 1 cm should be left near the walls, which is hidden by the baseboard.

If you don't want to screed, you can use planks to make the floor. In this case, the boards are simply nailed to the logs and sanded from above with a special machine. It is recommended to provide moisture insulation for such a floor by pouring a layer of expanded clay under the logs (if the logs are located on the ground).

Finishing work

The last stage of repairing wooden houses with your own hands, the video of which you can watch at the end of the article, is finishing work. If you've used drywall for walls, be sure to putty and flatten for wallpapering or painting.

A wooden floor made of boards should be treated with a special varnish and allowed to dry well. A similar procedure should be carried out with other wood materials that are in open areas.

Many residents of the metropolis dream of a country house, but buying good real estate will require a lot of money, and building a house from scratch will cost even more. Therefore, most people prefer to buy old houses that require renovation, which we will discuss below.

How to renovate an old house with your own hands

As noted above, the pricing in the real estate market is such that sometimes, in fact, it is more profitable to buy a used home. In addition to financial benefits, there is another significant advantage of old houses - most often they are located in places with a well-developed infrastructure, while progress may not reach new buildings soon.

If you buy a plot and build a house on your own, then you will have to lay communications, which takes time and additional funds. And everything would be fine, but no one canceled the natural wear and tear of the structure, and often old houses need major repairs. What is the best place to start and what to focus on in the first place.

First of all, the disadvantages of used houses are associated with the specifics of construction in the Soviet Union. In the past, most houses in rural areas were built of wood, and it is clear that after 50 years or more, these structures will need to be strengthened and restored. Wood-boring beetles most likely live inside the floor and walls, fungus and rot are visible somewhere.

If you bought Soviet-built housing, then be prepared for the fact that repairing an old wooden house will require high costs, and in some cases it will be easier to completely demolish the box, repair and strengthen the foundation and build everything from scratch.

In the period of the 90s, there was a high popularity of private housing construction, and then brick began to be used in construction. It would seem that a more durable building material should maintain its performance for longer, but the use of poor building mixtures, a lack of qualified architects, and sometimes just sloppy construction caused most of the houses to require considerable investment.

Usually in such houses there is a discrepancy between the nature of the soils and the structures of the foundation - brick buildings are heavy, so there must be a stable soil and a strong foundation under them.

If you have to work with a box of a house that does not have interior decoration, then most likely, unprotected brick walls have already begun to crumble, for this reason you will have to strengthen them or replace especially destroyed areas.

Most common damage to older homes

Before starting repairs and buying building materials, it is worth developing a detailed action plan. To do this, you need to carefully examine the home and assess its condition. What to look for when renovating an old house with your own hands?

The "weakest" points in old private houses:

External walls - often weak seams, cracks allowing water to pass through, rotten elements (beams, lathing), rusty steel beams, flaking concrete are found in them. For example, damp basement walls indicate improper design or deterioration of foundation waterproofing. Special attention should be paid to internal ventilation and wall insulation.

Internal walls - poor sound insulation, fire safety (finishing materials not treated with fire retardants are highly flammable), plaster crumbles due to poor-quality application or dampness.

Doors and windows - in 99% of cases the windows will have to be replaced. Pay special attention to window sills (integrity, strength of the coating), insulation of metal frames (condensation often forms on them). As a rule, locks and fittings on the doors suffer, sometimes when the foundation shrinks, they are repainted, the seal peels off. If there is no cold vestibule in a house with a metal door, then condensation will form on its inner side.

In the 90s, shingles were most often used as roofs, which were laid at random. It is important to pay attention to the rafter structure - whether the beams have rotted or skewed it. The roofing cake must include heat, hydro and vapor barrier, and also be intact. If roof superstructures and chimneys are used, check that they are intact. Examine the gutters carefully and check how firmly they are attached.

Interfloor slabs - floor beams crack or sag due to incorrect calculations. If there is no waterproofing between the timber beam and the wall, it will have to be replaced. Basements often contain concrete slabs or short steel beams.

Floors - there are large gaps between the boards, the wood flooring is worn out, the floorboards creak, cracks and holes in the monolithic floors, burnt or worn linoleum, a wobbly chipboard coating.

Ladders - almost all wooden ladders require replacement of damaged elements or capital elements. Fire safety requirements are often violated - there is a small distance between the balusters.

Heating - a crumbling stove, the size of the adapter does not match the connection to the gas supply system, chimneys that are too wide (accumulate soot), unusable radiators (often cast iron), lack of heating controls.

Plumbing - clogged or damaged pipes, ill-conceived arrangement of communications, as a result, constant blockages occur, the inability of a gas water heater or a boiler to heat water. In almost all cases, it is recommended to change the plumbing.

Electricity - low voltage, unusable electrical wiring (just enough to turn on the TV or light in the room, but not enough for the normal operation of household appliances), old fuses.

Most of the problems listed above are eliminated during repairs, for example, an unusable wall covering is dismantled if you plan to strengthen the thermal insulation. Replacing switches and sockets is also not difficult, you can replace old plumbing in a short time. If we are talking about a cracked foundation or a faulty roof, it will be expensive and difficult to resolve such issues.

How to renovate an old house with your own hands - planning a renovation

A major renovation of an old house should start with careful planning. After inspecting the housing and identifying all serious defects, it is recommended to start implementing the project on paper. If you do not have the makings of an artist, you can cope with visualization using design computer programs (Autodesk Homestyler, 3DMax, SketchUp Make, Ashampoo Home Designer, Sweet Home 3D, SketchUp Make).

Who needs a plan:

You will have an idea of what to do and in what sequence.
You will see in advance how the house will look and compare the result with the virtual one.
You will calculate the exact amount of building materials.

If you plan to move or demolish walls, heating or gas appliances, plumbing equipment, replacing an electric stove with a gas one, such actions will require documentary permission. To do this, you will have to contact the relevant authorities in the area.

To correct the registration certificate at home, you need to write an application and prepare a package of documents, including a description of the upcoming work. To determine whether you need to obtain a repair permit, look at the data sheet - all structures in the plan can be repaired. However, to add additional space, for example, a summer kitchen, you will need a permit. Otherwise, the extension may be considered illegal and simply demolished.

How to renovate an old house with your own hands: internal work

The fast pace of life forces people to spend time on the road or constantly work, but even the busiest person spends a third of his life at home, not to mention children, housewives and retirees. Therefore, it is very important to create a favorable atmosphere, and this applies not only to decoration, but also lighting, heat, ventilation and other important points. The psychological and physical health of the household will depend on them.

Daylight

It is important that the house has natural light, and the more, the better. Windows should occupy no more than 10% of the total area of the house. Imagine how much discomfort a person who is regularly in a shaded room will feel - he will spoil his eyesight, it is impossible to fully clean up, ventilate and grow indoor plants in this room. In addition, the lack or absence of windows will lead to high costs of electricity, and now even wealthy homeowners are trying to save on electricity.

Attention! Previously, small doorways and small windows were made in wooden houses to minimize heat loss. In those days, simple glasses were used, which did not protect well from the cold.

However, no one will allow you to simply cut through the beach window in the wall. For the expansion, transfer or replacement of windows, certain standards are provided. Please note that there are separate codes for all regions of the country, as the coefficient of natural light differs.

The damage to illumination is affected not only by the size of the window, but also by the type of glass you use. It's no secret that a double-glazed unit or ordinary glass does not transmit UV radiation, which means that it will not work to make a luxurious greenhouse or solarium. Quartz glasses are used for this, but they are expensive, so they are purchased for specific needs.

How to arrange windows in the house:

The windows in the bedroom and kitchen should face the southeast side, so that in the evening the sunset does not dazzle the household, and in the morning there is natural light.

The living room windows are usually located to the west, so that you can turn on the light for an evening rest as long as possible and admire the sunset.

The windows of the utility rooms must be oriented to the north, as usually there are equipment, tools, materials and products that do not need bright natural light.

If there are several windows in the room on different sides, then the small ones should be oriented to the north, and the large ones to the south.

South- and west-facing windows should be shaded naturally through the building's structural elements (overhanging roofs or balconies), cornices or shutters, and nearby trees.

House insulation

To a great extent, a comfortable microclimate in a house depends on humidity and air temperature. In turn, these factors are provided by proper steam and heat insulation and ventilation of the space.

The temperature in the house consists of two components - the temperature of the surfaces (ceiling, walls and floor) and the temperature of the air. Optimum surface temperature is + 17 ° C, air temperature - + 20 ° C. In this case, the individual characteristics of the tenants must be taken into account. For example, for the elderly, housing should be made warmer, so it is better to install a heating regulator in each room so that everyone can adjust the desired temperature.

As a rule, old-style houses have insufficient or no wall insulation. For this reason, there is a difference between the temperature inside and outside the building, as a result of which condensation forms, humidity increases and households feel bad because of the constant stuffiness. If the wall cannot be disassembled, we recommend that you make high-quality thermal insulation of the walls from the inside or outside.

Ventilation in the house

Due to the violation of natural air exchange, the structures of the floor, walls and ceiling deteriorate over time, which can also cause respiratory tract diseases. Previously, rarely did anyone think about creating ventilation in the roof and walls, and the reason for this was often not just the carelessness of the builders, but also the lack of well-thought-out projects.

At that time, such methods of ventilation of foundations, facades and roofs, which are used today in construction, were not yet known.

Ventilation of rooms with excessive air humidity - bathrooms, kitchens, basements - deserves special attention. If in multi-storey buildings exhaust ventilation is used, which works due to pressure drops of cold and warm air, then this method is unacceptable for private houses.

In a house on two or three floors, the air pressure is very weak, so air exchange is carried out through the walls. To ensure it, it is worth laying a vapor barrier and insulating it with "breathable" materials. These include mineral wool boards, expanded polystyrene (extruded and regular), foam flex, etc.

Additional ventilation must pass through windows and vents, but in winter this method is inconvenient. As a result, in cottage construction, an exhaust ventilation system is always provided, which works on fans - they take in warm air and remove it outside, supplying fresh air from the street. The photo below shows the principle of operation of the exhaust ventilation.

Electricity in the house

Unfortunately, the electricity supply to older homes almost always leaves a lot to be desired. If the past tenants have not taken care of improving the system, then this work will fall on your shoulders. The main problem in these cases is not rotted wiring and old outlets, but insufficient power.

Previously, people did not consume much electricity, as there was not an abundance of electrical appliances. As for entertainment, it was only a radio, TV, but now there are game consoles, computers, stereos, etc.

If you have planned the installation of a "warm floor" system, do not want to turn off the computer to turn on the washing machine, or simply risk the performance of expensive equipment, you will have to contact the district power supply organization and ask for an increase in the quota for the house.

Unfortunately, this cannot be done for most old houses, so the only correct solution would be to install your own substation. This event is quite costly, but it can pay off in the first few years and, as a result, will save money and control energy supply.

In the event that everything is fine with the power, and you only need to replace the wiring, you need to draw up a diagram of the finished system. It is necessary not only for a quick and coordinated replacement, but also for subsequent repairs in the house. So, if you are planning to demolish a wall or a doorway, then there is a high probability that absolutely the whole house will be de-energized.

Mostly open wiring in old houses (wires are outside the wall, run in corners near the floor or under the ceiling), so it will be easy to draw up a diagram. If you use closed type wiring, we recommend calling a specialist.

Attention! When drawing up a wiring diagram, we recommend that you indicate not just the location of the sockets, but also the power of the devices that you are going to connect to them. It would be nice to make a small stock of sockets if you plan to install additional equipment in the future.

High-quality heating in the house

The most common problem in old houses is the high energy consumption for heating the premises. First of all, this is due to poor thermal insulation of the floor, walls and ceiling and an outdated heating system. To reduce costs, in addition to thermal insulation, it is worth replacing old radiators (usually cast iron). The thermal insulation of the roof deserves special attention, since most of the heat escapes through it.

Attention! If you paint the batteries black, and lay foil material between the wall and them (the reflective side should be outward), then the house will be much warmer. The black color contributes to the fastest heating of the battery, and the foil will reflect the heat in the room, whereas before it went through the wall.

It is especially important to decide on the right choice of heating equipment. So, modern boilers operating on solid fuels are able to maintain the optimal temperature at the exit from the boiler in automatic mode; a capacitive heat accumulator can be connected to them, which will accumulate excess heat during the day and give it away at night. This is convenient if the residents are absent during the day, and there is simply no one to warm up.

Recently, gas-fired boilers are gaining immense popularity. Their efficiency reaches 90%, since not only wood burns, but also wood gas. They give out a small amount of the zone, significantly save fuel and do not produce soot.

As for pyrolysis boilers, they are perfect for houses with a centralized gas supply, while electric ones are recommended to be used as a safety option if your boiler suddenly fails. They are financially disadvantageous and consume a lot of electricity. However, even a high-quality boiler does not allow you to avoid heat loss, especially if it is installed in an old house.

There are several ways to help minimize heat loss:

seal or replace windows and doors;

install thresholds and gaskets between the floor and doors;

if only one glass is installed in the windows, provide it with a second frame or put a second one;

hang blackout heavy curtains in the living room, bedroom and nursery, but so that they do not cover the radiators;

it is possible to insulate the floor in the room above the basement with the help of a cork or felt backing, linoleum, thick carpet, thermal insulation boards; to enhance the effect, insulate the basement ceiling;

We recommend covering the outer surface of the heating boiler with non-combustible insulation, by the excessively warm air you can determine that the heating equipment is losing a lot of useful energy;

in the summer, special solar collectors that heat water will help save on electricity;

in places where the heat pipe passes through an unheated room, insulate it with foam or mineral wool.

Interior decoration

When the replacement of electrical wiring, plumbing, vapor barrier and surface insulation is completed, you can proceed to the interesting part of repairing an old house with your own hands - interior decoration. The specifics and scope of work directly depends on the selected material for the walls.

For example, plasterboard partitions can be covered with wallpaper, while brick walls require priming and leveling, unless, of course, you plan to finish with PVC panels.

Interior wall decoration is necessary not only for visual appeal. Its main task is to protect the heat and vapor barrier layer and the material itself from premature damage and deterioration. Therefore, it is worth choosing materials for decoration only taking into account the specifics of the room. Washable paints or putties are suitable for the kitchen and the nursery, for the bedroom it is better to give preference to something more comfortable, for example, vinyl wallpaper, for the study, wood panels are perfect.

Before finishing wood walls, it is worth treating them with fire retardant compounds that protect the wood from fire. In this regard, paint is the best option, as it performs both decorative and protective functions.

However, it should be chosen carefully. Like other finishing materials, paints can be used for interior and exterior use. The main difference between the "internal" paints is that they are not so resistant to negative external influences, temperature extremes and UV radiation, but they have a greater hiding power and aesthetics.

Also, the environmental friendliness of the material plays a huge role. In older houses, you can still find surfaces that are covered with heavy paints (they contain lead). It is also best to skip inexpensive oil-alkyd paints as they release harmful chemicals.

As for water-dispersion paints, they are great for interior decoration. They are safe for health and do not interfere with natural ventilation, that is, they allow the walls to "breathe".

Floor in the house

Typically, the floors in older homes are either planks, creaky parquet or frayed linoleum. Let's consider each of the options in more detail.

The nature of the renovation work directly depends on the flooring of the house:

Wooden covering.

Plank floor is most often found, since the floorboard provides aesthetics and comfort in the room and was inexpensive. It is durable and environmentally friendly, for this reason, if you got such a floor, do not rush to rip out the boards - if it is properly repaired, then no modern coating can compare with it in quality and beauty.

Over time, the boards dry up, begin to spring, creak and stagger, and in some places holes from wood-boring beetles appear. In this case, the badly damaged boards should be replaced. If you decide to replace a part of the board, then the patch must rest on two lags, otherwise it will be unstable. So that the floor does not creak and is level, the floorboards are rallied.

To do this, the floor is disassembled, marking the location of the boards, so as not to disrupt their order later. Then you need to check the condition, replace or lay the substrate if it deteriorates from moisture or time.

If the floorboards are sagging, this may mean that there is little lag and insufficient support underneath. Therefore, you just need to remove the boards and add logs in places of deflection. If you suddenly find holes, chips and cracks in the floorboards, they can be repaired with wood filler.

Parquet flooring.

Parquet is especially common in houses that were built in the 60s and 70s. last century. One of the most common problems with parquet at that time was the creaking and swelling of the floorboards. Such elements will have to be replaced with new ones, unless, of course, the parquet is swollen around the entire perimeter, since then it will need to be completely replaced.

Cracked planks or uneven ground are often the cause of the squeak. Previously, parquet was laid directly on bitumen mastic, and there was no question of any cork or plywood substrates. To find the cause of the squeak, you need to remove the floorboard and carefully examine the base. It is best to re-place creaking parquet on a substrate.

In the old parquet, there are cracks in which debris is regularly clogged. They should definitely be repaired. To do this, you need to clean the gap and fill with a special putty. If it is large, then use a wooden patch that is planted with epoxy glue to fix it.

If you are faced with worn, scratched and darkened parquet, there is only one way out - scraping. The scraper removes the top layer of the parquet and removes the varnish, after which you can start filling the cracks and cover the floor with fresh varnish.

Linoleum.

If there is old linoleum on the floor, it is easier to replace it than to repair it. This is one of the budget coverage options, so you do not lose financially. In addition, modern linoleums are produced with dense noise and heat insulating substrates, so they will be better than the previous coating.

In the event that the linoleum is in good condition, but there are small holes or dents in the place of furniture, put patches. Apply a new piece of linoleum to the damaged area with a slight allowance, cut out the patch, grabbing the old linoleum from the bottom.

This will give you both a patch and a suitable notch for it. Carefully glue the edges of the hole in the old linoleum and the bottom of the patch with glue, and for better fixation, place a weight on top until the glue dries. Moreover, with the help of such patches, you can create an original floor covering if you have pieces of linoleum with different patterns.

How to renovate an old house with your own hands: outdoor work

If you have renovated an old house from the inside, then for external work you will most likely need special equipment and hired workers. First of all, this concerns the exterior wall decoration on the second floor and the repair of the roof.

Features of the construction of the foundation

When buying an old private house, first of all, you need to pay attention not to wallpaper, pipes and wiring, not even to the condition of the roof and walls, but to the foundation, because if the foundation is faulty, then it is very expensive and difficult or even impossible to repair it. ...

The destruction of the foundation can lead to many problems from flooding the basement and cracking the walls to the collapse of the entire box of the house.

One of the most common problems is the change in the physical and chemical properties of the soil. If the house was previously built on stable land, this does not mean that after years the soil has not eroded and the groundwater level has become higher. As a result, the foundation falls into the ground or skews.

When the foundation of the house is settling, it is necessary to interrupt such a process as soon as possible. Usually, for this, beams are placed under the base so that they can take the load during repairs. To strengthen the foundation around the entire perimeter, a reinforcing mesh is used, which will improve the bearing capacity of the foundation by expanding it to the sides.

Be that as it may, the repair of the foundation is a responsible event that is associated with a risk to life and implies the presence of high qualifications, therefore, it is highly discouraged to do it on your own.

External walls

Most of the old outer walls speak eloquently about their venerable age with weathered mortar joints, peeling plaster, frank cracks or wet smudges. And if the plaster can be replaced, then a crack in the wall may indicate a serious malfunction of the foundation, so carefully examine the walls before buying an old house.

If fungus or mold is seen on the inside of the wall, this indicates a missing or damaged waterproofing - the difference in temperature outside and inside the house causes condensation. But in order to eliminate several problems at the same time: keeping heat, dampening walls, creating ventilation and saving energy, you should take care of laying steam and thermal insulation.

If the wall was insulated, then the laying of a vapor barrier membrane and an insulating layer will not allow the formation of condensation.

To improve the ventilation of the inside-wall space, it is enough to take a few simple measures:

Ventilate the area as often as possible.
Do not push furniture close to the walls - let there be a distance of 5 cm between them.
Space for ventilation between the battens and the vapor barrier for interior decoration.
Replace rotten parts and treat the rest with anti-corrosion compounds.

Roof of the house

The roof protrudes not only to protect against cold and rain, but also defines the appearance of the house. Depending on the design, the “mood” and the exterior of the house change. If earlier gable tile structures were in vogue, now the majority prefer "European" straight roofs. They are much easier to operate, create a laconic and stylish look, and can be used as additional usable space (applies to flat roofs).

The retention of heat and the microclimate inside the room directly depends on the integrity and condition of the roofing cake. The most common roof problems are damaged or loose roofing, rotten rafter systems, damaged waterproofing, leaky or missing thermal insulation. If you have a slate roof, then most likely it has turned green from humidity and time.

For practical reasons, it is better to replace the old slate in order to exclude the possibility of leaks, especially if you bought a house in the summer and do not know what to expect with the arrival of the rainy season.

It is impossible to tell exactly how to make repairs to an old house, since the specifics and amount of work directly depends on the nature of the damage. Above, we have considered the most common malfunctions. If you are just planning to buy an old house outside the city, pay attention to the points listed above, especially the condition of the load-bearing walls, the foundation of the roof, and then, perhaps, you can avoid expensive major repairs.

Buying an old house is a profitable investment. After all, it was built in places where the infrastructure is already developed, while progress has not yet reached new buildings. If you acquire a land plot and independently build a structure, then communications will need to be laid to it. This will take extra time and money. But old dwellings always require renovation. Where to start work and what to look for in the first place - every person who has made a decision to purchase housing built many years ago is of interest.

Standard damage in old houses

Before you start home renovation with your own hands and purchase building materials, you need to develop a clear plan of action. Inspect the building and assess its condition.

You should pay attention to:

Exterior walls. They often have weak seams and cracks. Beams or battens are often rotten. Particular attention should be paid to the system of internal ventilation and thermal insulation of the building.
Foundation. The concrete can be loose in several places. And the damp walls in the basement indicate that the waterproofing of the base is broken.
Roof. In the early 90s, it was covered with tiles. But they did not always fit well. Therefore, you should pay attention to whether the material is skewed and whether there are rotten beams. If there are superstructures and chimneys, they should also be checked for integrity.
Overlapping. As a result of inaccurate calculations, floor beams sag. If there is no waterproofing between the timber beam and the brick wall, it must be replaced. It is not uncommon to see fairly short steel beams or concrete floors in the basement.
Floors. They should be repaired if the flooring has worn down or gaps appear between the boards.
Plumbing. Due to the improper location of communications with clogged pipes, frequent blockages occur. It will not work to install a gas water heater or a boiler for heating water. Plumbing in old houses almost always needs to be replaced.

After a thorough inspection of the house, you can draw up a work plan, the degree of alteration, listen to the builders' advice, and then get your bearings and prepare the necessary tools and materials. Depending on what exactly needs to be done, the cost of the work should be calculated.

Foundation repair

First you need to inspect the foundation. Thanks to this, the cause of the destruction and the method of its repair will be determined:

If there is destruction around the perimeter, there is no need to be afraid of repair. It is inexpensive, and all work can be done without recourse to professionals. First you need to dig a trench along the base. Remove old plaster and dirt. Drive a metal mesh into the foundation and fix it to the anchors. Install the formwork, and after concreting, fill and tamp the trench.
When a part of the foundation is destroyed, it is necessary to additionally make masonry on the sides of the destroyed part. It should be such that you can tie the new and old part of the base.

Roof restoration

First, it is worth examining the inside of the roof. Check the condition of the rafters and decking, then the outer surface of the roof. In rainy weather, you can see if there is any damage, where it is leaking. Thanks to this, it will not be necessary to waste material on entire areas.

Sometimes you just need to replace the roofing material, and smear the edges of the patch with bitumen mastic.

If the roof is metal, the complexity of the work depends on the degree of damage. If they are small, you can use silicone putty or make patches from burlap, heavily soaked in paint. Sometimes the steel patch is enough. In other cases, you need to replace the whole sheet.

To insulate the roof from the inside, you can use mineral wool or liquid insulation - penoizol or polyurethane foam.

Ceiling

Ceiling repair is done only after roofing work. Otherwise, the work will be in vain. You can trim it with clapboard. If you plan to whitewash, first you need to thoroughly clean the surface of old plaster, remove mold and mildew.

It is advisable to repair home kitchens during the warm season. So there will be no problems with cooking in the summer kitchen or on the veranda.

Floors - eliminate creaking and sagging

In an old house, wooden floors often require repair:

Most often, floorboards creak annoying. This happens in connection with the boards that are not tightly fixed to the logs. If possible, you need to find the problem board from below and drive a wedge of wood between it and the log. If you cannot approach from under the floor, you can take the screws and screw the boards to the logs at an angle. Putty the caps of the screws, and the surface itself is recommended to be sanded.
If there is a deflection of the floorboards, you need to take a synthetic rope, treat it with wood glue or PVA. Then put between the floorboards. You can use PVA glue, combined with sawdust.

Beautiful facade

To repair the facade of a building with your own hands, you need to take a stepladder, remove old layers of paint or plaster. Then fill in the bumps and bumps.

After the putty has completely dried, you can plaster the surface and start painting. In other cases, it is required to insulate it first.

Ventilation in the building

If the house has poor ventilation, natural air exchange in the rooms is disrupted. This leads to deterioration of the floor, ceiling, walls and respiratory diseases.

Houses built decades ago hardly have ventilation in the roof and walls. In those days, the methods of airing foundations and roofs, which are successfully used by builders, have not yet been invented.

The greatest attention should be paid to the ventilation of rooms with high air humidity: kitchens, toilets and basements. Exhaust ventilation functions in apartment buildings, but this method is unacceptable for private houses.

Auxiliary ventilation is provided through the walls and vents. But in winter it is inconvenient to do this. Therefore, builders provide for an exhaust system that operates on fans. They quickly take oxygen from the room and send it outside. Fresh air comes from there.

Warming the room

The microclimate in the home depends on humidity and temperature. These factors are ensured by good ventilation and correct vapor and thermal insulation.

In order for a person to feel comfortable in the house, you need to take into account two components - the temperature of the air and surfaces. The normal temperature is +20 C, and the ceiling and walls +17 degrees. For elderly citizens, it is better to make the room warmer.

In old houses and apartments, wall insulation is poor or completely absent. Condensation appears, increased air humidity, the rooms become stuffy. Households do not feel well. If the wall cannot be disassembled, thermal insulation can be made inside or outside the room.

Daylight

According to the standards, 10% of the total area of the house should be windows. In previous years, builders installed small structures in order to significantly reduce heat loss. Ordinary glasses were inserted into them, but they let the cold through.

Today, preference is given to plastic structures. They are of high quality and comfortable.

Interior decoration

After replacing the electrical wiring, water supply and the implementation of vapor barrier, you can proceed to the internal processing of the premises. Partitions made of gypsum plasterboard can be pasted over with wallpaper, and brick walls are recommended to be pre-leveled and primed. This is not required if the finishing will be done with practical plastic panels.

Indoor decoration is needed not only to give comfort. The first priority is to protect the wall material from damage. Therefore, you should buy building materials correctly. For a hallway or office, wood panels are quite suitable.

Before the final finishing of wooden walls, it is necessary to treat them with fire retardant compounds. Paint is considered the best option. But you also need to choose it correctly.

Environmental friendliness of products plays an important role. In old houses in the kitchen and bathroom, you can still see surfaces covered with paint, in which lead is present. They are stable, almost do not fade, but are unsafe for human health. Cheap oil-alkyd paints should also be discarded. It is advisable to buy water-dispersion products. They are safe, look beautiful and stay on the walls for a long time, while not disturbing the ventilation of the air.

It is impossible to say exactly how to make an inexpensive renovation of this or that old house. The scope of work depends entirely on the nature of the damage. If it is only planned to purchase real estate in the private sector, it is advisable to pay attention to these points, in particular, to the condition of the roof, foundation and walls. As a result, high costs can be avoided.

Renovation is a sore subject for most owners of country houses and apartments. It often takes a lot of investment and effort to give rooms a stylish, modern look. Do not know, how to make repairs in an apartment do it yourself inexpensive and fast? Replacing windows, painting the ceiling, re-wallpapering, flooring - all this can be done quickly and inexpensively without assistance. With the right choice of materials and a little more effort, you can make a high-quality and beautiful renovation with modern finishes.

The site that requires the participation of a specialist if repair or replacement is necessary is electricity. The most economical option in this case is to call a specialist. Installation of sockets in the apartment can be carried out without his help. A tool for repairing an apartment is the cheapest to rent.

Photo of inexpensive ceiling repair

Before starting an inexpensive repair, first of all, a suitable design is determined and a plan is made. The best time for renovation is autumn. In warm weather, facade work is carried out, and interior work is carried out with open windows.

In addition, prices for material are always reduced by 15% by autumn. Many materials, such as putty, plaster, sealant, assembly glue, leveling screed, have a limited shelf life, and the store sells it at a big discount by the fall.

Photo of inexpensive room renovation

If you need to replace the old plumbing with a quick repair, you can try to restore the old one, but if this is not possible due to significant damage, chips, you can buy plumbing from your hands. Many newcomers in apartment buildings change new equipment immediately after moving in, and the equipment, going to the landfill, is sold by the employees of this organization at a bargain price.

Photo of a bathroom before an inexpensive renovation

Removal of construction packaging, garbage is a rather costly repair item in an apartment, but if you wish, you can take everything in bags to the nearest trash can.

How to choose the right materials for an inexpensive repair

Plywood, beams, slats, boards can be bought on the building materials market. Sheathing slats can be taken unplaned. The croaker is bought raw in advance and dried. By the fall, this material, when purchased in the spring, dries up completely. Plywood of the required thickness can be taken from waste packaging material (containers). The material can be waterproofed with two buckets of PVA-based putty.

Photo of inexpensive bathroom renovation

The floor is covered with plastic. The temperature should not drop below thirteen degrees. The sheet is laid out. Putty is poured into the center and accelerated to the ends with a paint brush. The plywood sheet is closed with plastic, another sheet is laid, the puttying process is repeated until all the sheets are covered.

Photo of inexpensive renovation in the house

Oppression is placed on a stack of putty plywood (over the entire surface). After a week, the sheets are turned over and putty on the other side, then they are also pressed. After two weeks, you can use moisture resistant plywood. Thick timber, boards can also be taken from disassembled containers, pallets. An inexpensive option for finishing walls and ceilings is surface cladding with laminate, MDF.

Nice and inexpensive bathroom renovation

If the lathing is done with a crochet lathing made of wood, there is practically no need to level the surface. Wall cladding in the apartment can be done at chest or belt level, the remaining space can be trimmed inexpensively and quickly with non-woven wallpaper.

Inexpensive finishing for quick repairs

An economical type of flooring in an apartment is marmoleum. This material is not suitable for damp rooms. For a bath, toilet, any tile option is used. When using a laminate, the floor needs to be leveled before laying. For the walls in the bathroom, you can use laminated hardboard.

Photo of inexpensive flooring in the apartment

If it is necessary to insulate, glaze the balcony, this is done in the spring. The outer part is sheathed with siding. The inner part is finished with plywood covered with self-adhesive foil. Wooden frames are used for the windows, which you can install yourself. Windows are purchased in early spring, installation closer to summer.

How to start an inexpensive renovation

The doors can be simply upgraded. The door is sheathed with moisture-resistant plywood on both sides. Plywood is glued to the removed door using assembly glue, then everything is placed under pressure. Before gluing the sheets, the old cladding is removed from the door. After that, the door in the apartment is pasted over with self-adhesive under the wood, varnished. The slopes are covered with the same plywood.

Old plumbing is inexpensively cleaned of contamination with acetic acid and washing powder. For stubborn stains, hydrochloric (technical) acid is used for quick removal. Cracked tiles are fairly easy to repair. First it is cleaned with pemolux and vinegar.

The edges are closed with masking tape. Seams are painted with two layers (from a spray gun) nitro paint. Splashes, drips are removed with a solvent, the tape is removed.

Photo of a beautiful inexpensive bedroom renovation

After cleaning, tiles and joints are sprayed with silicone grease (liquid) from a spray can. The lubricant is applied until it no longer absorbs. After three days, the silicone surface is wiped with vinegar. A cast iron bath can get a second life after painting with an epoxy or acrylic compound. The heated towel rail in the bathtub is smoothed to a metal surface and covered with a compound.

Useful article: DIY liquid wallpaper, paper making

Before repairing, it is better to look at the photo, then make a plan and get to work. You can also give the apartment an attractive appearance with the help of inexpensive repairs, which are done quickly enough.

Before you start restoring a house, you need to draw up an estimate, develop a detailed plan for the sequence of work, and determine the amount of repair.

Foundation restoration

First you need to decide in what condition the foundation is. If the old foundation has lost its strength and its condition is alarming, proceed to restore it. Fast in low-rise construction can be done by applying screw pile technology. The bottom line is to replace any kind of foundation with screw piles.

When reconstructing the foundation under a wooden house, the building should be raised to a certain height using jacks. If the structure shows signs of severe destruction, then it is better to completely dismantle it and install a new one. The foundation with minor modifications can be reinforced with brickwork. If it is a strip structure, install the formwork and pour the concrete mixture over the foundation.

How to update a log house

The most common material in low-rise construction is wood. Wooden log cabins can last 100 years, or even longer, but they also deteriorate and require restoration. The restoration of the old log house takes place in several stages. First, remove the old finish, look at the condition of the logs. Then the rotten crowns are replaced. Seal the seams between the logs. Today there are several options for sealing - this is the traditional old-fashioned way - caulking with tow and a modern method that has become popular in recent years - sealing with acrylic rubber sealant. The blockhouse is treated with an antiseptic.

For strengthening, the frame can be overlaid with bricks or revetted with artificial stone. A good option for renovating facades is siding.

Roofing

The restoration work is completed with the repair of the roof. A strong reliable roof is a guarantee of a comfortable warm home. Remember, roof restoration is only done in dry weather.

A waterproofing material is laid on top of the updated lathing, a new coating is laid.

Restoring an old home is a laborious process, but with the effort you can achieve remarkable results.