Where to start with repairs. Stages of repair in an apartment - how to make a good repair and not overpay? Instructions, with photos and recommendations from the pros! Tips for overhauling a country house from professionals

Last update: 12-10-2019

Also consider, due to currency fluctuations, seasonal discounts, etc. it may turn out that the same building materials will cost significantly more in a couple of weeks.

Don't forget to get discount cards construction stores, this will save.

Wiring

If there is no shield in the apartment, then put it.

Make a separate line for the refrigerator, separate for the boiler, separate light, separate sockets, separate stove. This is done for later convenience.

For example when the water is turned off in the summer, I cannot use many appliances at the same time. Either boiler + kettle, or kettle + iron, etc. Otherwise it crashes.

In an apartment with a rough finish, these works will cost less and faster.

We do the floors in the bathroom

Door installation

It is best to book in advance, along with the entrance. So you don't have to color match.

My wife and I somehow didn’t think about it and bought a reddish-brown laminate first. When we began to select doors, we realized that it was easier to change the laminate than to find the right color for the door.

Gluing wallpaper

Wallpaper 0.5 meters wide to glue for a long time, it is better to take meter ones right away. Some vinyl wallpapers can smell strongly and for a long time (from some wallpapers the smell lasted for almost a month), and some are very soft and leave dents on them, easily damaged by stickers. Keep this in mind when choosing.

Now there are many alternatives to wallpaper (paintable wallpaper, decorative plaster, decorative stone, etc.), it all depends on your financial capabilities.

Where there is a risk of damaging something due to inexperience or being transported for a long time, you should order for money. For example, bought furniture for the room, decided to assemble it on my own (it was interesting). In fact it turned out that the assembly instructions were completely uninformative and I had to take 2 days, although if I had ordered the assembly, then everything would have been done in 3 hours. draw conclusions.

  • If you decide to order, then it is best to pay in installments, upon the fact of the work performed. At least look for such conditions.
  • Get discount cards those stores where you will buy everything. Many of them allow you to save significantly compared to if you bought everything without cards.
  • Take a closer look at the Tinkoff debit card. Each quarter, you can choose 3 categories of goods for which 5% of the purchase amount is returned. You may be lucky and you can choose a category related to construction and repair. This card has other benefits as well.
  • This is how the sequence of repairing an apartment in a new building looks like with us, but in an apartment with an existing old finish, the following items may be added (dismantling the old finish, garbage collection). Although many types of work, most likely, will not have to be done.

    For those who are going to order repair services, you can save time.

    You can also plan the apartment and see how it will look after the renovation. I needed the program Sweet Home 3D, you can download it for free (the link leads to the Russian-language page of the site).

    That's what my wife and I were planning one evening.

    If you know of any other useful repair programs, write in the comments, I think it will come in handy for many.

    Repair in the apartment is now an expensive pleasure. Some save up for it for years, while others give away their last savings and fall into a debt hole. Regardless of the financial situation, everyone tries to save money, but in practice, not everyone succeeds in doing this. We will analyze what materials you can save on, and which ones are better not to, and learn how to expose hired repairmen who are trying to cash in on the ignorance of the owners.

    Different types of repairs - how much to pay the master and how to save money?

    The final estimate will depend on the type, size of the room and the complexity of the repair. There are three types of repairs: cosmetic, major and renovation. The cosmetic option is the most economical. This repair usually includes painting, wallpapering, sanding the floor. Such work is easy to do with your own hands, saving on calling a specialist. If some specialized tool is missing, it is not worth purchasing it for one-time purposes. Rent it. Make a preliminary estimate for repairs in order to adjust it in advance and find cheaper options. When deciding to hire a private specialist, redecorating an apartment will cost you, on average, 1,500 rubles per 1 m 2, and through a construction company - 2–2.5 times more expensive.

    It is much more difficult to make major repairs on your own, since many of the works require special skills and abilities. Stages of such repairs: floor screed, wall leveling, demolition and installation of partitions, dismantling of old coatings and finishes, complete replacement of water pipes, plumbing and electrical wiring, replacement of windows, doors, garbage disposal. The price for calling a master during a major overhaul increases to 6,000–15,000 rubles per 1 m 2. And that's not counting the cost of consumables.

    Here are four tips to help you save money on major repairs:

    1. 1. Remove old wallpaper, tiles, dismantle the flooring, clean and take out the garbage yourself. Such work does not require special skills and tools, and the savings are significant - 5000-8000 per 1 m 2.
    2. 2. Do not rush to spend money on finishing an expensive ceiling. Just level and paint it with inexpensive chalk paint. When money appears, sheathe the ceiling with drywall or make a stretch ceiling.
    3. 3. Do not remove plaster completely. Remove it only in those places where it exfoliates. However, take into account the peculiarity of the finish. If you plan to stick photo wallpaper, the surface must be perfectly flat. It may be necessary to completely replace the plaster, in which case it will not be possible to save money.
    4. 4. In order not to waste time on paperwork and extra money for garbage disposal, collect the waste in bags and send it to the basement, shed or leave it on the stairwell in a specially designated place, it is provided. Throw away one bag every day in the general trash can, there is nothing illegal about it.

    Renovation practically does not differ from overhaul. The cost increases due to the purchase of expensive and natural materials from well-known manufacturers. The price of materials is automatically reflected in the cost of the master's work, which starts from 25,000 rubles per 1 m 2. .

    How to check the honesty of the estimate - common tricks

    If you decide to involve an experienced team of repairmen in the repair, be prepared that you may be deceived. To test this for sure, pay attention to a few important features. The information will be useful for both beginners and experienced homeowners who decide to start a renovation.

    To display the exact cost of repair work, the foreman measures the parameters of your room with his tape measure. It seems that everything is fine and there can be no catch. In this case, we recommend that you give your own tape measure for measurements. Often, cunning repairmen cut the tape measure, for example, by 50 cm, and fasten it to another part of the tape, stepping back 20–30 cm or more. From a real size, for example, 2 m, your room increases to 2.3 m and, accordingly, the price increases, because the cost of work is calculated based on 1 m 2.

    Upon receipt of the estimate, carefully study all positions. Often, repairmen duplicate the cost of services under the guise of other work. For example, leveling walls - preparing walls for wallpaper. Read each item carefully so as not to overpay.

    Pay attention to the price for 1 m 2. Compare it with other construction companies and individuals beforehand. Prices below average should alert you. Usually, in the process of work, the repairmen who initially offered you a low price raise it and ask you to pay extra for additional services. The owner gets into a dead end, as the work is already in progress, and the estimate is automatically increased by 2-3 times.

    Saving materials and increasing the cost of work is another trick used by dishonest repairmen. For example, you can put a 1 cm layer of plaster for the price of 3-4 cm, shorten the planned route for laying electrical cables or plumbing pipes, and take the rest of the material for yourself. In fact, you overpay for material that does not "work" for you. To avoid such mistakes when performing a turnkey repair, ask the repairmen to photograph the completed work process in detail in stages and send it to you by mail.

    If you decide to put a warm floor, remember that it is not placed around the entire perimeter of the room. An unscrupulous foreman will offer you to put a warm floor under the furniture, where it is absolutely not needed, which will also increase the cost of the project.

    Complete wiring replacement is another service that almost every foreman will offer you without making sure that you really need it. You can make good money on old wiring made of copper and aluminum cores.

    And the last piece of advice: buy materials yourself, do not trust this business to the repair team. As a rule, they buy building materials in the market, where the storage conditions for many goods do not meet the standards. In addition, there repairmen can ask for a blank check with a seal, enter a list of goods themselves and their cost with an extra charge.

    In which season repairs will be cheaper - promotions and special offers

    It is better to start repairs in the off-season - in early or mid-autumn. This period is suitable for both external and internal repairs. It is still warm outside, and prices for building materials are gradually decreasing by the winter season. Savings on summer goods reach 15-20% without loss of quality. Therefore, if you planned to spend 250,000 rubles to renovate a room, know that in the fall and winter you can save about 30,000 rubles, which can be spent on renovating the hallway.

    Promotions and special offers are a special type of service where you can save. Pay attention to non-liquids. They have a limited shelf life and do not last until the next season. Hardware stores do a good discount on such goods. If you are going to make repairs right now, look at putty, plaster, glue, sealant at a bargain price, below the market average.

    Budget plumbing replacement options

    Replacing plumbing affects a significant part of the repair budget. If it is in good condition, without chips, cracks, and only the surface with an old coating makes you think about its dismantling, we advise you to clean and restore the plumbing. We replace expensive detergents with a mixture of baking soda and vinegar, which destroys stubborn plaque well. Budget option for transformation -. You can cover the bath yourself with enamel, liquid acrylic or order an acrylic liner to fit the dimensions of your plumbing. Restoration will reduce the cost of buying a new bathtub by about 4 times and, depending on the option chosen, will extend the life of the old bathtub from 5 to 20 years.

    If you still decide to change plumbing, consider buying a budget option from the so-called landfill entrepreneurs. Often, upon arrival at a new house, the owners change faience and cast-iron plumbing, which is in good condition, and throw it into a landfill. Resourceful businessmen have come up with an easy way to quickly and easily make money on this. They pick up plumbing in good condition from the landfill, wash and put it in order. They do not expose their contacts directly, working on the principle of word of mouth. In the auxiliary warehouse of such entrepreneurs, you can pick up the right plumbing and save a third or even half of the factory cost.

    Economical wall cladding and flooring in dry and damp rooms

    To save money when cladding walls, we advise you to buy not edged (planed) lumber, but slabs (wood sawing waste). The croaker is sold raw and does not correspond to the quality of the usual materials. It is easy to fix this if you purchase it in advance in March-April and keep it in a dry room until autumn. In addition, slab sheathing saves money on leveling walls. In 80% of cases, it completely hides all the irregularities. Not only to save money, but also to make wall decoration practical, the option of wall cladding with croaker to the waist and pasting the walls to the ceiling with non-woven wallpaper will help. The lower part is resistant to wear and dirt, and the upper one completes the overall picture.

    The most budget option for laying the floor in dry rooms is marmoleum. This material requires leveling the floor in only 10% of cases. However, for rooms with high humidity (bathrooms) marmoleum is not suitable, you will have to lay classic tiles. An alternative to marmoleum is laminate. This option is also inexpensive, looks beautiful and is suitable for laying under a plank floor. True, the floor will have to be leveled.

    For wall decoration in the bathroom, choose laminated hardboard. Such material is less familiar than tile, but cheaper. The ceiling is better sheathed with plastic panels. Don't skimp on waterproofing. The money spent on it will pay off and extend the life of even the cheapest finishing materials. Instead of gypsum plaster, use a cement-plaster mixture to level the walls. It is not inferior in quality and is cheaper. When deciding to tile walls and floors, buy a solid color finish. Such a tile does not need to be often adjusted and compared with the pattern, less material is used, which automatically affects the purchase price.

    What is better not to save on, so as not to pay twice later?

    When carrying out major and European-style repairs, it is impossible to do without replacing the wiring. At this event, it is better not to save money and entrust the work to a professional. It is especially important to pay attention to Soviet wiring due to the high power of modern devices, which sometimes the old cable cannot withstand. During the replacement, you will have to use a wall chaser to lay new wiring with high quality. Workers charge for this service from 100 rubles per 1 m 2.

    A complete replacement of wiring in a two-room apartment, on average, will cost 40,000 rubles. A private specialist may take less, but he does not give a guarantee for installation, so if a malfunction occurs, you will have to pay the master again for the work. To save money, we advise you to contact an electrician from the DEZ. Such a specialist performs the work slowly as the workload, however, the quality and guarantee of service is a definite plus for choosing this particular master. But sockets and switches can be installed independently.

    Another job that you need to involve a specialist and not save: replacing plumbing pipes. Choose your supplies according to your budget. Attracting a plumber will cost, on average, 15,000–20,000 rubles. If you do not have experience in connecting plumbing, we also recommend that you seek help from a specialist.

    Do-it-yourself apartment renovation where to start - this question was asked at least once in a lifetime by every homeowner. As a rule, this upcoming event evokes positive emotions among those who have received or purchased their own housing for the first time. Those who have already dealt with the work of bringing the apartment in order know how much trouble they bring, and how much effort they will have to put in to achieve the desired result.

    But, if it's time to start updating the apartment, then you will have to be patient and a decent amount, the amount of which depends on what type of repair it was decided to carry out.

    Types of repairs in the apartment

    Repairs can be major or cosmetic, covering the entire apartment or its individual premises. But you should be aware that repairs in some rooms can become more time-consuming and require more effort and effort than work in other rooms.

    Overhaul

    Capital works involve renovation from scratch in a new apartment or redevelopment with the replacement or transfer of installed elements in an old housing. The amount of work will depend on what changes it is decided to make in the apartment.

    The total scope of work may consist of the following activities:

    • It may include the demolition or installation of partitions, the consolidation or division of rooms, the transfer or expansion of doorways. If at least one of the listed actions is planned, then it is imperative to consult with a specialist who will determine whether this process is possible. All repair work related to the dismantling or installation of walls in a multi-storey building must be confirmed by the permission of the commission of the managing organization.
    • Replacement and relocation of plumbing fixtures, radiators, electrical outlets, additional lighting.
    • Replacement of windows and doors.
    • Replacing old wall and floor ceiling finishes.
    • Embedding furniture, if this process is included in the plans.

    A major alteration in an apartment is a lengthy process that cannot be done in two days or a week, while you will have to free the rooms from furniture and all things, as they will interfere with work or may be damaged by building materials. You may have to carry out repairs in turn in each of the living rooms, in this case, you will have to take care of buying a dense plastic film to curtain the doors from construction dust and dirt. But, as a rule, a major overhaul still implies that the family will have to live elsewhere for this time.

    Redecorating

    Redecoration usually involves replacing decorative finishes in one, several or all rooms. Perhaps, having removed the old coating, you will have to adjust the corners, surfaces of the ceiling, walls and floor.


    When performing a cosmetic repair option, preparing surfaces for new decorative materials can be called one of the most important processes. No matter how expensive the chosen wallpaper, linoleum or paint may be, if they are laid or applied on uneven surfaces with cracks, the expected effect will not come from them. Therefore, in order for the decorative finish to look properly, it is impossible to do without leveling the surfaces with putty or self-leveling floor.

    Having chosen the repair option that is suitable for a particular apartment, you can proceed to further work.

    Drawing up a repair plan

    The first thing to do is to draw up a plan of the apartment, which will display exact data on the area and height of the ceilings of each of the rooms, with or without partitions, in a word - in the form that the apartment should appear after repair work.


    General rules for repair planning

    The design project should show the desired color of flooring, wallpaper, as well as at least an approximate arrangement of furniture. Using this project plan, it will be easy to calculate the necessary building materials and accessories for each of the premises of the apartment. Of course, it will not be possible to take everything into account, but this will save you from some mistakes that are typical for non-professional craftsmen:

    • Given the arrangement of furniture and various household appliances, you immediately need to determine the location and number of electrical outlets and switches.
    • We must try to avoid the shortage of certain finishing materials, since if they have to be bought in addition, it will be very difficult to perfectly match the shades of the same tile or wallpaper.
    • Having made a project in color, you can visually verify the correctness of the decorative coatings selected by color, and how they will harmonize with the shades of the furniture.

    In the process of drawing up such a plan, many ideas for decorating the premises may appear, so it is recommended to make a project in several colors, and then choose the one you like the most.

    The plan can be drawn up using a computer program or on a regular A4 sheet. It must be carried out in compliance with the dimensions corresponding to the present, but on a reduced scale.

    If the plan is drawn up by hand, then having drawn it once, then you need to make several photocopies on which you can apply different shades or different arrangements of furniture.


    The presence of a graphic plan will allow you to "play" with the styles of decoration and furniture arrangement

    You can draw up a plan of the entire apartment to see its color scheme in full or make a design project for each of the rooms.

    In addition, it is very convenient to put down the stage number on each of the plans, and plan a certain work on each of them. For example, in one of the drawings you can show the redevelopment of the walls, in the other - electrical wiring and the placement of sockets, as well as the connection of various appliances, in the third - the future arrangement of furniture and color scheme.

    Dividing a room into zones

    To know where to start repairing each room, you need to determine what will be located in it.

    • In the children's room, it is desirable to separate, if the area allows, a sleeping place from the play area or from the place for the child's activities.
    • The kitchen should be spacious, so it must also be properly divided into zones, defining a working and dining place, as well as installing various appliances.
    • If you plan to separate or combine a bathroom, then on the very first drawing it is worth measuring and indicating its dimensions and the arrangement of accessories.

    • If it is started with the desire to divide it into two separate rooms, you need to measure everything very carefully both on the drawing and on the spot. In this case, you need to immediately determine the thickness of the partitions, since they also occupy a certain area.

    Sometimes such a redevelopment can also affect the hallway, since in some apartments it occupies a fairly large area. Here it is important to determine what design the partition has that separates the hallway from the rest of the rooms. If it is capital, then you cannot touch it without permits.

    • If it is not possible to divide the room with a partition for some reason, you can install a closet or shelving as a "barrier". It should also be noted on the plan.

    Selection of materials for decorative finishing

    In the next plan-drawing, it is worthwhile to deal with the finishing material and its color, since the comfort of being in the room will depend on these factors. Deciding on the finish, you need to choose it wisely. Naturally, the safest for human health is natural material, such as cork, wood, paper, ceramics and the like, however, some types cannot always be used due to the high price or inconsistency with the chosen design. So, what materials can be used for different rooms:


    • Children's room and bedroom for adults. For premises of this purpose, it is necessary to use as much as possible a natural finish that does not cause allergic reactions, “breathes” and has soundproofing qualities. If a major overhaul is being carried out, then before installing the decorative finish, the walls can be provided with a soundproof layer - materials such as texound, acoustic drywall, cork and others are suitable for this. As a finish for walls and ceilings, it is best to use plastering and coating with water-based paints or pasting with paper or cork wallpaper. Today, in building stores, these materials can be found for every taste and color.

    • Living room. For this room, you can choose from a wider range of finishes. Here, linoleum, laminate, parquet, carpet, cork and other modern materials can be laid on the floors.

    What you need to know about linoleum

    Despite the fact that many new floor coverings have appeared, linoleum is not going to give up its popularity at all. Useful information about is available in a special publication of our portal.

    Plastering and painting, pasting with cork, paper, non-woven, vinyl, textile, glass and other options can be used to decorate the walls.

    The ceiling can be plastered, covered with a stretch ceiling, single- or multi-tiered suspended structure, or also covered with wallpaper.

    Modern solution - suspended ceiling!

    In this matter, perhaps, there are no boundaries for the imagination of creative owners. In a special portal article dedicated to, you can find out a lot of useful information and even, perhaps, choose one of the options for decorating your own apartment.

    • Hallway. Materials for the walls and floor of the hallway must have a pronounced resistance to abrasion, and be easy to clean, since dirt and dust from the street first gets into this room.

    Floors can be covered with linoleum or ceramic tiles.


    The walls are pasted over with vinyl wallpaper or sheathed with plastic, wooden or laminated clapboard.

    The ceiling in the hallway should be made light, since in this room most often there is no natural light. Therefore, a light-colored suspended ceiling with built-in lighting is perfect here.

    • Bathroom. or a separate bathroom should have a moisture-resistant finish that is easy to wet clean and is not afraid of household chemicals. The traditional material for these rooms is ceramic tiles - it does not hide the already small area of ​​​​the rooms, and is also a durable, non-abrasion and easy to clean material. Ceramic tiles are perfect for both walls and floors.

    In addition to tiles, plastic panels have been increasingly used for cladding the walls of the bathroom, especially since today a wide range of this material is presented in hardware stores.

    The ceiling in the bathroom can be made of the same plastic panels, moisture-resistant plasterboard for painting, but the stretch ceiling will be the best option for a bathroom or a combined bathroom.

    Special requirements - to the ceiling in the bathroom!

    High humidity, high probability of direct water jets - all this imposes specific requirements for finishing. How to decide on the type - read in a special article of our portal.

    Color spectrum

    An important role in the design of the apartment rooms is the color scheme, as it should fully contribute to the creation of a comfortable environment. Therefore, this factor must be carefully considered.

    The harmony of the design of the rooms will depend on the shades correctly matched to each other. In this process, you can focus on this table.


    To make the room light, you should select soft white-beige warm shades. This is especially true of the ceiling surface, as its light color enhances electric lighting. Therefore, quite often in modern interiors, the shades of lamps and chandeliers are not turned down, towards the room, but towards the ceiling.

    You always want to make a children's room bright, so that its colors evoke joy and optimism. However, you should not get carried away, it must be remembered that the child will not only play in this room, but also relax, so it is recommended to decorate the recreation area in calmer colors.

    The bedroom for adults should be conducive to relaxation, and therefore it is recommended to decorate it in pastel soft and fairly light shades, which will help you fall asleep pleasantly in the evening, and wake up with an optimistic mood in the morning.

    The color selection affects the psychological and physical state of the body, because if a person does not get enough sleep or does not rest properly, then his vitality and immunity decrease, so the selection of shades should be taken seriously.

    Dark shades in combination with lighter colors can only be used in a well-lit room, otherwise they will act on the psyche, especially for children, very depressingly.

    Having decided on the materials and their colors, they measure all the surface areas on which the selected finish will be made. Next, a list of necessary materials is compiled with an indication of their quantity.

    With the list compiled, you can go shopping for the necessary materials.


    • It must be said right away that it is not worth buying everything you need for repairs in spontaneous construction markets, where, although prices are lower, no one will give a guarantee of quality. Counting on such "savings", sometimes you have to pay double or even triple the price. Cheap material applied to walls or laid on floors is not known how it will behave, and you may still have to replace it with a quality one anyway. And this is not only unnecessary spending, but also wasted time and effort. Cleaning surfaces from a new low-quality finish is an extremely unpleasant task, as the mood will be completely ruined. Therefore, it is recommended to purchase building material from a trusted seller who can provide quality certificates for all products.
    • You need to purchase material with a margin, approximately 15% of its total calculated volume. This approach will help you do the work calmly, without fear that something will not be enough. By the way, you can immediately clarify whether the store accepts the remaining surplus back - this approach is often practiced.
    • When choosing products for quality, you should examine them very carefully, as well as study the certificates that you need to request from the seller. For example, when purchasing materials such as ceramic tiles, laminate or wallpaper, you must definitely check the batch number of the product on the package - it must be the same, otherwise products in different packages may differ significantly in shade and even in quality. This difference can sometimes be noticed only in the process of work, by combining piece copies or canvases from different batches side by side - this moment can also complicate the process of high-quality repairs.
    • The choice of new doors and windows must be taken very seriously, since replacing them later will be quite difficult and expensive, since this process will necessarily affect recently repaired surfaces.

    Reliable front door - a guarantee of safety and comfort

    The front door not only protects against uninvited "guests", but also ensures that a comfortable microclimate is maintained in the apartment. It is not cheap, and in order to avoid mistakes when, read the useful information in a special article on our portal.

    • Carefully choose accessories for the bathroom. You should not succumb to the currents of fashion to purchase plumbing items made from newfangled materials, as they may not always be suitable for specific cases. First, it is recommended to study their characteristics and calculate all the "pros" and "cons".
    • Heating radiators are also carefully selected. Nowadays, these devices made from various materials can be found on sale, but not all of them can be suitable for installation in a central heating system. When purchasing radiators, one should rely not only on their operational capabilities, but also pay attention to the manufacturer and the availability of a quality certificate.

    Useful information about heating radiators

    These heat exchange devices cannot be chosen only in terms of their appearance - it is necessary to take into account their operational capabilities and thermal output, which depends both on the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe room and on some other important criteria. About all this - in a special publication of our portal dedicated to .

    • A few words should also be said about the compositions that will be needed to treat surfaces before installing finishing materials on them - these are various primers and antiseptic solutions. Such products will create better adhesion between materials and protect walls and ceilings from mold stains.

    After the necessary materials are acquired, the repair can begin a phased repair.

    Stages of repair and construction works


    Surface preparation

    One of the most important stages in carrying out any type of repair is the preparation of surfaces, since this will determine how neatly and firmly the finishing materials will adhere to the walls and ceiling. The preparatory stage includes such activities as cleaning surfaces from old coatings and repairing any flaws that may have appeared during the operation of the housing.

    1. The first step is to remove old wallpaper or paint from the walls.

    Wallpaper can be removed in several ways, depending on how tightly it adheres to the wall:

    • With the help of a spatula, with which the canvases are picked up and carefully removed completely or in large pieces.
    • If the wallpaper is glued securely and does not want to come off, they need to be wetted with water using a roller, and these manipulations must be carried out several times. When the paper gets wet, it can be easily removed with a spatula.

    • The third option is suitable if vinyl wallpaper is securely pasted on the walls, which are quite resistant to water. In this case, they can be steamed using a special device - an iron or a steam generator. If there is no such device, but there is an iron with a steam function, then you can use it, but you cannot apply a metal surface to vinyl. It is brought to a distance of 100 ÷ 150 mm to the wall and treated with steam. After that, the old decorative coating should move away from the wall and can be carefully removed with a spatula.

    The paint coating is removed using a building hair dryer or a grinder with a brush attachment installed.

    2. Next, you can move on to cleaning the ceiling. If the ceiling plaster has cracks and chips, and it is not planned to make a false ceiling, then the old whitewash, and sometimes the plaster, will have to be removed. This process is quite laborious, and it is also carried out with the help of water, which is first soaked on the surface, and then the old coating is removed with a spatula or a grinder with an iron brush.


    "Weak" places of the old plaster must be cleaned off

    If a suspended structure is to be mounted, then it is not necessary to remove the coating from the ceiling - it will be enough to treat the surface with an antiseptic and strengthening primer.

    3. The next step is to remove the floor covering. However, when redecorating, sometimes this process is not carried out, especially in cases where the floor is in good condition and suits the owners quite well.


    4. After removing the old coatings, cracks or other fairly large defects will be found on the walls and joints of the planes. They must be repaired, otherwise they may show through the new decorative finish.

    To do this, small cracks expand, primed and sealed with cement mortars, putties or sealants. , which sometimes appear at the joints of surfaces, can be filled with mounting foam.

    5. After cleaning the walls, the electrical cable is laid out if it was planned to reinstall the sockets. For cable routing in some rooms, you may have to cut strobes in the walls to hide the wiring in them.

    6. If the heating circuit is to be replaced, then at the time when the walls are cleaned, markings are made for brackets for radiators, and holes in the walls are also prepared. This must be done on the walls without finishing, so as not to spoil it later.

    Replacement of windows and doors

    The process of removing and installing these interior elements is usually carried out by specialists, as this is a rather laborious work that requires certain skills and accuracy, special tools. Therefore, if there is no such work experience, then it is better not to undertake such work on your own.


    It is also better to entrust the installation of the front door to qualified specialists, because the safety of housing will largely depend on the reliability of its installation.

    Interior doors are installed at the final stage of work, so this work can be postponed for now.

    Dismantling and installation of partitions

    The next step is the dismantling or installation of the partition, if it is planned and permissions have been obtained for these works. Both the construction and demolition of the wall can be done independently.

    How difficult is it to build a light interior partition?

    With knowledge of technology and careful performance of work with such a task, you can completely cope on your own. How to conduct, and what materials are needed for this - this information with detailed instructions can be found in a separate portal publication.

    You can also dismantle the partition between the bathroom and the toilet yourself if it is built of brick or gypsum boards. This process will require a puncher, a sledgehammer and, possibly, a grinder with a metal disk - if the partition is reinforced with a reinforcing mesh.


    This is not to say that this work will be easy, but as a result, you can get a fairly large room in which it is quite possible to carry out the planned redevelopment.

    Leveling the ceiling and walls

    When the windows and doors are installed, and the cracks and gaps that have been repaired are completely dry, you can proceed to. This process is simple, anyone can perform it - the main thing is to carry it out carefully, without missing a single surface area. The primer is carried out with a roller, and hard-to-reach places are processed with a brush.

    Then, after complete drying of the primed walls and ceilings, they need to be leveled. To do this work, you need some experience, therefore, before diluting a large amount of putty, you should try your hand at a small section of the wall by applying a little mortar.

    If the walls have a fairly even surface with minor flaws, it will be enough to use a putty composition. But in the case when the surface has large distortions, the alignment will have to be carried out by plastering along the beacons. However, if the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe room allows, then the walls can be leveled with sheets of drywall.


    A very laborious, but very important stage - leveling the walls

    No matter what technology the surface leveling process takes place, after the layer of plaster and putty has dried, the walls and ceiling should be primed again.

    The ceiling requires perfect alignment if it is not planned to be covered with a stretch or false ceiling.

    How to properly level the ceiling surface?

    The process of carrying out is quite complicated and requires special skill. Therefore, if a decision is made to do this work on your own, you should pay attention to the recommended article of our portal.

    The process of leveling surfaces also includes the finishing of slopes on window and door openings. They can be ennobled with drywall, plastic panels or plastering.

    floor leveling

    The next, fifth stage, the surface of the floors is leveled. This process in the apartment can be carried out in different ways - this is a bulk self-leveling mortar, a dry screed or installing a floor on logs, followed by closing it with plywood or other sheet material.

    All these processes may well be carried out independently, after a thorough study of the technological instructions, which can also be found on our portal.

    Use of self-levelling building compounds

    One of the methods for leveling the floor surface is the use of special construction mixtures. The technology is described in detail in the corresponding publication of our portal.

    If you are not sure that you will be able to qualitatively cope with such work on your own, then it is better to turn to specialists.

    Decorative wall decoration in living rooms

    The next step is to finish the walls - pasting them with wallpaper or painting. These works are not so complicated, and can be done on their own, so it is quite possible to save on them.

    If the decoration will be carried out with wallpaper, and they have a certain pattern, you must immediately calculate its step so that the ornament matches perfectly on the wall.


    Before cutting the canvases, the wall is marked vertically and horizontally. The lines are beaten off with a colored cord along the ceiling and one of the corners. The first sheet of wallpaper will be aligned along the vertical extreme line, and the subsequent ones are already guided by it and the upper horizontal color strip.

    If it is planned to paint the walls, then it is carried out using a roller, which is put on a special bar for convenience.

    The wallpaper glued and dried on the walls is framed along the top line with a foam or paper border, which completes the overall design of the room.

    Installation of flooring in rooms

    The process of laying the flooring must be carried out very carefully so as not to damage or stain the decorative wall finishes. If linoleum or carpet is laid on the floors, then before fixing it to glue or under the baseboards, it is laid out and left for about a day in order for it to straighten out. Cloths of this material are cut in length, approximately 10 ÷ 12 mm less than the length of the room, and laid 5 ÷ 7 mm wide from the wall. Such gaps are necessary for free thermal expansion of the material.


    It should be noted that any material laid on the floors must have such gaps. So, when laying a laminate, special inserts are used, which are removed only after the flooring is completed over the entire area of ​​​​the room.


    The installation of the floor covering is completed with the installation of skirting boards.

    Installation of interior doors

    Interior doors are installed at the last stage of work, so as not to be mistaken in the height at which the door will be installed, since the leveling layer and floor covering will raise the floor and change the level of the floor.

    In the enumeration of the stages of work, the issue of repairing the bathroom was deliberately omitted. This event has its own nuances that must be considered separately.

    This is the approximate procedure for preparing for repairs in the apartment and its phased implementation. It is quite understandable that the homeowner wants to do this at minimal cost, relying on their own strengths and abilities. But still, you should soberly assess your capabilities - it is possible that the best solution would be to contact specialists.

    At the end of the publication - an interesting video with expert advice on the initial stages of repair in the apartment.

    Video: how to start repairing an apartment

    Repair 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 the apartment do it yourself cheap and fast? Replacing windows, painting the ceiling, re-gluing wallpaper, covering the floor - all this can be done without outside help quickly and inexpensively. With the right selection of materials and a little more effort, you can make high-quality and beautiful repairs with modern finishes.

    The area 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. The tool for repairing the apartment is the cheapest to rent.

    Photo 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 repairs is autumn. In warm weather, facade work is carried out, and internal work is carried out with open windows.

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

    Photo of an inexpensive room renovation

    If it is necessary to replace old plumbing during 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 hand. Many new settlers in apartment buildings change new equipment immediately after settling in, and the equipment, leaving for a landfill, is sold by employees of this organization at a bargain price.

    Photo of a bathroom before inexpensive repairs

    The removal of construction packages, garbage is a rather expensive repair item in the apartment, but if you wish, you can take everything in bags to the nearest trash can.

    How to choose the right materials for inexpensive repairs

    Plywood, beams, slats, boards can be bought at the building materials market. Reiki for sheathing can be taken in a non-planed form. The croaker is bought raw in advance and dried. By the fall, this material, when purchased in the spring, completely dries up. Plywood of the required thickness can be taken from waste packaging material (containers). Water resistance of the material can be given with the help of two buckets of PVA-based putty.

    Photo inexpensive renovation in the bathroom

    The floor is covered with foil. The temperature should not fall 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 covered with plastic, another sheet is laid, the puttying process is repeated until all sheets are covered.

    Photo inexpensive repairs in the house

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

    Beautiful and inexpensive bathroom renovation

    If the slab is sewn on a wooden crate, surface leveling is practically not necessary. Wall cladding in an apartment can be done at chest or waist level, the remaining space can be finished inexpensively and quickly with non-woven wallpaper.

    Inexpensive finishes for quick repairs

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

    Photo of inexpensive flooring in the apartment

    If necessary, insulation, glazing of the balcony, this is done in the spring. The outer part is sheathed with siding. The inner part is finished with plywood with a self-adhesive film pasted over the surface. Wooden frames are used for windows, which can be installed independently. Windows are purchased in early spring, installation is closer to summer.

    How to start an inexpensive repair

    Doors can be simply updated. The door is sheathed on both sides with moisture-resistant plywood. Plywood is glued to the removed door with mounting glue, then everything is laid under pressure. Before gluing the sheets, the old lining is removed from the door. After the door in the apartment is pasted over with self-adhesive wood, varnished. The slopes are covered with the same plywood.

    Old plumbing is cheaply cleaned of dirt with acetic acid and washing powder. For persistent 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. The seams are painted with two layers (from a spray gun) of nitro paint. Splashes, streaks are removed with a solvent, the tape is removed.

    Photo of a beautiful inexpensive bedroom renovation

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

    Useful article: DIY liquid wallpaper, paper making

    Before repair, it is better to view 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 deciding from which room to start repairs in an apartment, you need to find out the type of repair transformations, their estimated time frame and planned costs. It is quite possible that when answering these questions, the priority room will be determined by itself, by elimination, thanks to the advice of experienced people, or for other reasons.

    How to start renovation in the apartment?

    It is best to start it with a family council. Even if you have a decisive say in all matters, you do not live alone. Repair hardships fall on the whole family - if not in terms of financial costs, but in terms of everyday inconveniences. And at least listen to the opinion of your loved ones does not hurt. The design of the children's room and the functionality of the kitchen room have the right to determine not only the heads of families, wives and children can suggest such effective solutions that designers can only envy.

    The more deeply you discuss and think about the repair before it starts, the easier and faster it will go. The decision where to start renovating an apartment depends on several factors. And they are all the most important, so the order of our list is relative:

    • What is the renovation budget? After carefully accounting for all conceivable expense items, multiply the total by a factor from 1.5 to 2. No one has yet been able to perfectly calculate the estimate for apartment repairs before it starts, so a financial “airbag” will be required. Naturally, if you do not want to give up the whole repair idea halfway through;
    • What is the cost of our renovation? Whether it concerns the entire dwelling or will affect only individual rooms, is it associated with the replacement of windows, doors, utilities and floor coverings. It is possible that a change in the layout of the rooms or the removal of the kitchen to the balcony will be required - such global transformations should be planned in advance;
    • Who will renovate the apartment. If everyone can perform cosmetic wallpapering in a children's room, then installing a new bathroom without the appropriate skills will not work. The more serious the repair, the more versatile professionals in their field are needed.. And it’s better if these are masters known to you, familiar from past affairs, and not abstract workers from an unfamiliar company with a “European level of highly qualified personnel, a hat” ...
    • Is it possible to spend repair time outside the renovated apartment. Living in the conditions of construction work is difficult even for adults, and even for children, such hardships can be insurmountable.

    All these pre-repair problems need to be addressed in a comprehensive manner - money, deadlines, capital and personnel should form a harmonious mosaic even at the planned stage. Otherwise, you can start such a long-term construction, which you will not be happy about.


    A typical list of preliminary construction and repair preparation includes:

    • Acquisition of materials and tools necessary for work and their reasonable placement in the apartment itself. The storage method “we will analyze later” is fraught not only with a loss of time to study material blockages, but also with a possible breakdown of laminate or tiles buried under blockages of cement or sand;
    • During a major overhaul, it is necessary to replace interior doors and external windows - these products are ordered in advance, and the terms of the repair themselves depend on the execution of the order. It is undesirable to put old frames in the trash and “flaunt” empty facade openings for a week or two, it is better to dismantle and install synchronously;
    • Construction debris - there will be a lot of it even with the cosmetic repairs of one room. In the case of replacing floors or redevelopment of an apartment, the disposal of construction waste will become a serious problem - city services are not required to take it out. It is only possible to stack garbage bags in the stairwell up to a certain limit, limited by the patience of the neighbors. It is most reasonable to agree on the removal of garbage deposits with representatives of city services - alas, but this will require additional costs;
    • If the apartment remains residential, it is necessary to provide sleeping places and other items for minimal comfort. If craftsmen work in it without spending the night, they will need sanitary facilities and a place to change their "civilian" clothes for a work uniform - organizational issues should be taken into account in advance.

    During a major overhaul by the forces of professional craftsmen, it is not so important from which room to start repairs in the apartment. Often repairmen themselves determine the optimal sequence, especially if their financial interest is related to the amount of work and does not depend on hourly pay. There are cases when the question “Where to start repairing a room?” they didn’t ask at all, but started it in all rooms at once, leaving the smallest room “for later”, as a headquarters-base-dressing room.

    With an independent repair of an apartment, one can only dream of such a wide maneuverability. Here are the options for the first repair steps:

    • A distant room, isolated from other rooms by a single door. You can take out all the furniture from it (pack too bulky with cellophane and move it away from the walls). After clearing the space, you can safely proceed to repair transformations;
    • Bathroom, kitchen and toilet. The laboriousness of the work in these rooms is great, plus they need to be done quickly (no patience is enough to live in an apartment without a toilet bowl). Replacement of faucets, installation of a gas stove and plumbing equipment must be completed in a few hours, for reasons of elementary comfort, and not at the expense of quality. Facing a new sink with ceramic tiles or installation PVC wall panels they do not have such time limits, these stages of repair can be stretched for several days. Functionality is primary, and design beauties are secondary, if we talk about timing;
    • The hall and corridor should be recognized as categorically unsuitable for rooms of the first repair. These premises are being repaired last, when the finish of the entire capital and cosmetic undertaking is already close.

    How to start repairing a room - step by step instructions

    The general repair sequence "from top to bottom" is valid for all types of residential premises, but with some reservations for common areas:

    Where to start repairing a room - a step-by-step diagram

    Step 1: destructive

    We take out furniture, household appliances, interior items such as paintings or sculptures - everything that can be moved to other parts of the apartment. By the way, renovation is a good reason to deal with unnecessary things that can be taken not to another room, but straight to the trash. In the room freed from the "remnants of the old" we dismantle the old finish. We tear off tatters of old plaster, beat off tiles, scrape off wallpaper, etc. We do not touch the floors yet, their alteration will be later;

    Step 2: fundamental

    We move the partitions and cut down the arches (if planned). It is necessary to avoid cluttering the room with construction debris, it will have to be taken out periodically. In the kitchen-bathroom-toilet, plumbing and gas equipment must remain operational to the last. Let the stove in the middle of the broken walls look surreal, running for boiling water to the neighbors is even more surreal ... Heavy, "dirty" work - the construction of new walls, plastering of arched openings, etc. - are performed before the replacement of plumbing. Otherwise, Dr. Proper will not wash your new acrylic bathtub from cement;

    Step 3: infrastructural

    Communications. It is necessary to replace the electrical wiring and sewerage at the stage of "bare walls", it is convenient, simple and visual. The risers of the heating pipes and the radiators themselves are mounted at the same stage. It largely depends on the quality of communications whether it is necessary to open the newly laid tile or re-prepare the walls for wallpapering - so for such a crucial repair stage it is better to hire specialists;

    Step 4: Basic

    The ceiling and walls are repaired according to the chosen project - wallpaper, plasterboard, tiles, panels with or without insulation, etc. etc. Renovation options are limited only by the imagination of the residents and their degree of budgetary freedom. We install plumbing and household equipment. Before installing a bathtub, dishwasher, shower cabin, gas stove and toilet bowl, it is necessary to repair the floor under them, and partially. This section will set the level for all new flooring;