SERIES No. 1 BEGINNING Good day to all readers of this wonderful site! I just recently discovered it and now I can’t put it down. I read professional projects, ideas and personal experience. P...
SERIES #1 BEGINNING
Good day to all readers of this wonderful site!
I just recently discovered it and now I can’t put it down. I read professional projects, ideas and personal experiences. I’m trying to learn something, gather information, adopt experience... I’m happy for those who have already gone through this long and difficult repair process and are enjoying an excellent result. I understand those who have just started... and whose head is spinning... and there are a lot of ideas that cannot come together and will be sorted into shelves. I hope for the experience of professionals and just good, useful advice from those who will not pass by my blog.
Ten months ago, my husband and I became the happy owners of a wonderful four-room apartment in an old building with an area of 91.3 m2. (After the "Khrushchev" with an area of 44.3 m2, this one seemed like just a stadium to us:)) The house was built in 1958 (this fact really scared me), brick walls, huge windows, high ceilings, the third floor of four of them, a bedroom, an office and a children's room to the south.... In short, there are a lot of advantages for us, except for the upcoming grandiose, expensive and very time-consuming repairs!! But this did not scare us, since the desire to live in a bright, spacious and cozy apartment was stronger than fears about the upcoming repairs.
This was the original plan:
original layoutAnd then the X-hour came, and the work began to boil... To begin with, we had to get rid of all old decoration. Namely, dismantle all wooden floors, demolish all non-load-bearing interior partitions. By the way, they were also made of wood. Remove all the old plaster from the walls down to the brick, dismantle the bathrooms. There was so much work to do that I was already scared. But dreams of candy brought me back to my place. On top of all this, my husband and I had to do the entire dismantling process together!!
Tons of garbage were taken out, dozens of pairs of gloves were torn, more than one wound received from sharp and treacherous nails in the walls was sealed and smeared with brilliant green...
And now the apartment was exposed to its foundations. And what we got as a result of dismantling: crooked walls with a difference of 4-5 cm, or even more in some places. Terrible floor slabs with sagging old mortar, with 5 cm gaps between them, with holes and potholes. The ceiling was in the same condition. No geometry. The pipes and wiring are also in poor condition, everything needs to be replaced.
We gathered strength, patience and, if possible, funds... and began to repair. Now our Sweetie was waiting for a new wrapper and delicious filling.
Even at the stage of choosing our future home, and this search lasted more than 4 years, my husband and I were presented with certain requirements for our future apartment. These include south-facing windows, high ceilings, the possibility of combining a kitchen with a living room, and a middle floor in a low-rise building. And this option suited us immediately, as soon as I entered there, I immediately understood where and what I would break, and what I wanted to get in the end. And this is what happened after the redevelopment and construction of new walls from sibit:
There are no miracles, but there are honest ways to save on services and materials. We recall the main ones together with our expert
When the renovation task is “given” – an apartment in an old building with worn-out communications, a dilapidated bathroom, creaky chipped parquet flooring, wooden windows with cracks, torn wallpaper and split tiles, and the “condition” is to put the apartment in order without inflating the budget, a solution has to be found through a constant search for a compromise, says our expert Andrei Lyamin-Borodin.
1. Keep only what is valuable
If the apartment and house are ordinary, are neither an architectural monument nor your family nest, the main surfaces are in a deplorable condition, the electrical system has never been changed, and the pipes are leaking - repairs involve complete dismantling.
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2. Determine your budget
Make a complete list of work, dividing it into the categories of “what must be done” (this will include replacing windows, floors, electrical wiring, pipes) and what is “possible” (for example, replacing radiators) - something that theoretically can be done later.
Highlight the budget items that you can influence (by choosing cost-effective alternatives) and those that you cannot. Based on your current and future financial capabilities, determine your final budget.
3. Don't give up on a design project
In order not to forget about the important, it is necessary to think through everything before starting work or at its earliest stage. Those who strive to do the most budget renovation, as a rule, they save on the design project. From the point of view of savings, this is not always justified - its share in the total repair budget will be insignificant, but there may be a lot of unplanned expenses due to alterations.
The key to a successful renovation is a clear vision by the customer of the final interior. This will directly affect the entire “invisible front”: engineering systems, electrical wiring, low current, location of plumbing and electrical appliances. It is necessary to immediately find out, down to specific articles: what, what dimensions and where it will be located.
4. Don't create extra work
This applies to both global issues - such as redevelopment (if done, then agree on it yourself and try to limit yourself to those interventions that do not require the creation of a project and inspection of hidden work), and to local ones (“warm” floors are nice, but “plus” to the estimate).
5. Prepare for surprises
Floors – important stage renovation in the old building. The full scale of the upcoming repair work and, accordingly, the budget becomes known only after they are opened. The condition of the floors is examined, and in the worst case, the need for their repair or strengthening is stated.
This is especially true for houses with wooden floors which could rot in places, then the logs are locally or completely replaced with new ones, possibly reinforced with metal structures. Such work is carried out according to the project. It must be borne in mind that changing the design of the floors is considered redevelopment.
6. Choose not the most expensive materials
When purchasing any materials, there is a temptation to choose a better option, then an even better one, and so on. These thoughts must be driven away; they lead to an inflated budget at every stage. Cheap doesn't mean bad. If you need a renovated apartment here and now, it is better to choose the materials that you can afford.
If you are forced to use simple materials, let them remain simple. Don't buy cheap imitation natural stone or wood. It is better if the tiles are monochromatic - it is more difficult to “calculate” the cost.
An exception is engineering and electrical equipment. Don't save money and buy only originals from well-known companies. But there is a choice between good and good here too. When planning electrical and protective devices The question may arise about choosing between a combination of automatic + RCD or difavtomatic. Calculations show that an automatic machine + RCD is a slightly more budget-friendly solution. When installing water supply systems, the choice turns out to be cheaper polypropylene pipes instead of metal-plastic ones.
Limit yourself to visual alignment of the walls. Leveling at 90 degrees leads to a large consumption of materials, an increase in work time due to the long drying of the plaster and is not justified throughout the entire area of the apartment, with the exception of several corners for plumbing and built-in furniture, the area where skirting boards and door frames adjoin.
The shock of the price for dismantling is the first thing that an owner of an apartment in an old building who is planning to do renovations faces. This part of the renovation, coupled with renting dumpsters and loading work, really takes up a significant portion of the total budget.
You can reduce costs by doing the dismantling yourself (understanding that this is not an easy job), or by hiring less qualified workers than those finishing craftsmen who will do the bulk of the work.
Nina Frolova
Characteristic smell One experienced realtor shared with me the classification of “killed” secondary housing. “Resale” apartments are divided into two types: they have not been renovated for a long time and they “smell” - read, “killed”.
The first ones could not be repaired for decades. But bubbling, several-layered shreds of ancient wallpaper hanging from the walls are not “killed.” A ruined apartment is revealed by the ineradicable smells of mold, dampness, and everyday life. In the first case, when renovating, you can limit yourself to cosmetics and do it slowly, from room to room. You can live in an apartment at this time (extremely important for those who pay a mortgage).
In the second - it will only save major renovation. Where to start renovating a secondary apartment? Of course, with the bulkhead of the floors.
Ekaterina Saranduk
Stages of repair in the secondary market (step-by-step instructions) Step 1: Floor Inspection
This is not about new laminate or parquet board- the entire “pie” of the subfloor will have to be updated. It is he who fills the apartment with smells characteristic of “heavily used” housing.
Necessarily: The subfloor needs to be changed in ground floor apartments located above the basement. To avoid breathing basement fumes, you will need a waterproofed screed. In other apartments, everything depends on the condition of the floors, but usually it is enough to limit yourself to the kitchen.
There are options: If the parquet in the rooms has gone in waves, it will not be possible to restore it. If the parquet looks decent, although shabby, you can scrape and varnish (bearing peace with possible squeaking).
Fact: The complexity of floor repair depends on the design of the floors. So, in the old fund and pre-war Stalin's houses with wooden or metal beams you will have to remove the old parquet, subfloor boards and carefully rake out the filling between the beams (as a rule, coal slag, construction debris covered with fungal mold, soil). In Khrushchev and Brezhnevka apartments - with joists and plank subfloors laid on top of the floor slab - it is necessary to remove boards, generously sprinkled with dusty sand, to rake out artifacts of impact construction (there are newspapers, bottles, scraps). Next - get to the concrete, prime it so that it does not create dust, and make a new screed.
In the relatively new “panels” with linoleum on concrete, everything is much simpler. Yes, the screed here is usually “humpbacked” and has crumbled in places. But leveling it is not a problem.
Important: Before you start renovating an old house with beamed floors, call a professional management company to inspect and photograph the condition of the walls and ceilings of the premises on the floor below and draw up appropriate reports. This is a sure chance to protect yourself from the claims of neighbors who dream of repairing their ceilings at your expense.
Photo "before"
Malermeister Sebastian Sanchez de Pedro
Step 2: Inspection of electrical wiring The standard electrical equipment of a Soviet apartment is usually modest: ceiling lamps with one- or two-key switches, and two or three sockets in each room. This is obviously not enough. The previous owners of the apartment also had tees, extension cords, or additional sockets with wiring made using whatever wire came to hand.
Necessarily: We get rid of the wires under the wallpaper (like those in the photo). And also from wires on the baseboards and under them - the wiring should be hidden (if this is not a special design idea).
There are options: But what to do if there is no makeshift wiring “in plain sight” in the apartment? Do I need to redo the hidden one? The usual advice is “yes”, it needs to be completely rebuilt (and start with rebuilding the panel with the meter at the entrance). But not all new residents are ready for such a scenario. You can get by with “little expense” if the wiring is copper. Then don’t redo anything, live calmly. If you're unlucky and yours is aluminum, you'll have to replace it. And throughout the entire apartment.
Given the current load that electrical appliances place on the network, aluminum wire is recommended as temporary wiring - with a service life of no more than two years. In houses built in 1970–1980, which were equipped with standard aluminum wiring, it is already more than a dozen old, and it is brittle. And wet plastering and putty work can hasten its demise. A failed socket and a chandelier that goes out after wallpapering is not the worst evil: a fire is much worse.
What if you need grounding?
Many modern household appliances (for example, washing and dishwashers) require mandatory grounding. What if it is not provided in the house?
The minimum program is to change the electric meter, the circuit breaker block and make an additional line of power sockets with a three-core copper wire connected through a 16 or 25 ampere machine and an RCD. Further, when, as a result of the planned modernization of the electrical networks in the house, grounding is done, you will connect to it.
And if you have copper? It is not necessary to change the entire copper wiring - it will still serve. Remove only ancient sockets and switches, but be sure to remove them along with the mounting boxes (old “tin cans” will not hold modern electrical installation products).
Sockets and switches can be moved without problems, as well as new ones can be installed by wiring from old boxes using copper wire. And cover the boxes themselves with circles of plasterboard and carefully putty them together with the grooves.
Important: The grooves must be strictly vertical or horizontal - no diagonals. If you are not an electrician, do not conduct installation work on one's own!
Step 3: Windows, doors, fresh air Shabby interior doors and the window blocks of the Brezhnev era have already served their purpose. Most likely, you have already decided to replace them with new ones and are studying the offers of window and door installers. Unfortunately, the vast majority of those who are puzzled by repair issues for the first time completely forget about supply ventilation. And window installers don’t remind them of this.
Maria Pilipenko
The fact is that in Soviet-built houses there is no provision for air supply. In winter, the radiators were “fried” in the apartment, and fresh air from the street, even with closed windows and vents, entered the premises through unplanned gaps in the window blocks and was removed through the hood in the kitchen and bathroom.
An old apartment with new windows is a real resort for mold and dust mites. Replacing windows and installing doors with thresholds worsens air exchange and changes the air regime familiar to Khrushchev or Brezhnevka. The apartment becomes warm, but stuffy, condensation forms on the windows, and the invigorating smell of fresh plaster is replaced after a couple of years by the aromas of mustiness and dampness in the bathrooms .
Necessarily: Install fresh air valves. They can be embedded into a window (if the frame width is sufficient) or into holes in external walls - the choice of a suitable design depends on the type of house.
Studio Bazi
Provide ventilation gaps between the threshold and the door and ventilation grilles at the bottom of plumbing doors. This is called “overflow”: the fresh air that enters the rooms must leave through those parts of the apartment where there is ventilation duct(usually this is the kitchen and bathroom). He came into the bedroom and left through the bathroom.
Nikita Maksimov
Finally, check that the hoods in the kitchen and bathroom are working properly. Demand that the management company timely clean the ventilation ducts. Do not block them yourself, for example, by incorrectly installing a kitchen hood over the stove.
ADWorkshop
Step 4: Acoustic comfort - the most important of the minor Noises from busy streets are “treated” by installing double-glazed windows and the already mentioned fresh air ventilation valves with filters (models built into the wall absorb dust and noise quite well - you don’t have to keep the window open). Most often, special noise-proof windows are not needed in an ordinary apartment, but it happens that they won’t hurt either.
Nadya Karmin
Noises from the landing are cut off by installing a metal front door with improved sound insulation and double-circuit seal. If you have a “walk-through” first floor, temperamental neighbors or an elevator opposite, it makes sense to put an additional door in the opening - inside the apartment. And not an armored one, but an ordinary interior one that fits into the design of the hallway.
TrioDesign
Inter-apartment sound insulation in panels usually does not cause problems. If you can clearly hear the voices of neighbors in the room, the culprit is most likely electrical sockets and switches installed in through holes V common wall. The problem is eliminated by moving the sockets and sealing the holes. Important: When “changing floors,” don’t forget to put down a soundproofing underlay and make sure your upstairs neighbors do the same.
Step 5: Replace the pipes
It is impossible to make repairs in the secondary market without replacing the pipes. Steel pipes water supplies clogged with scale and sediment will have to be replaced with metal-plastic or welded propylene. This is a necessary and, fortunately, not too expensive event. But appetite, as we know, increases during eating. In apartments of the Brezhnev and Khrushchev era, the so-called tee wiring diagram was used water pipes. IN modern houses- collector: they, as a rule, have a collector cabinet in which the collectors themselves, meters, and main filters are located. And in some cases, apartment owners install a boiler in case the hot water is turned off. For those who are today undertaking large-scale modernization in a Soviet apartment, the craftsmen offer to update the water supply system. And instead of tee wiring, make a collector one. Yes, this is beneficial for them, because there is an additional scope of work. How much collector wiring necessary for the apartment owner - the question is open.
In old houses, spacious “Stalin” buildings and apartments with several bathrooms, it justifies itself. At the same time, for a small apartment with a compact kitchen and miniature bathrooms, this is almost an obvious overkill. First of all, because you will have to sacrifice part of the already limited area for the manifold cabinet. Moreover, such modernization is a reconstruction that necessarily requires approval.
Necessarily: Regardless of the scale of the repair, replace all indoor drainage pipes, as well as piping and drains for plumbing fixtures. Firstly, the service life of all these products is limited, and they cost mere pennies compared to repairs from neighbors downstairs. Secondly, after finishing is completed, access to them will be difficult.
Step 6: Pre-finishing In Soviet times, new wallpaper was pasted on top of old ones, and old wallpaper was pasted on top of newspapers. Nowadays this is not accepted. To refresh the apartment once and for all, you need to carefully remove all these layers, get to the concrete, prime, plaster all the dips and holes and level with several layers of putty.
The same is done with the ceiling, only all layers of whitewash are removed from it (not a single paint will fall on the chalk). We clean it down to concrete, level it, prime it.
Required: Seal crumbled joints in corners, cracks and potholes in concrete. It will be useful to treat surfaces with antiseptics, mold repellents, remove dust and prime them. But choose the type of wall alignment itself at your discretion.
There are two alternatives to full alignment: a deliberate grunge-style negligence or partial alignment. In the latter case, we draw out the corners adjacent to the cabinet furniture, align the walls around the doors and above the baseboards. However, both indicated options imply that by the start of the renovation you have a design concept and a project with a furniture arrangement diagram, which allows you at least not to “miss” with the location of the sockets.
Sep 23, 2018 Sergey
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We will purchase high-quality roughing and finishing materials according to the most favorable price in Moscow!
Full control of repairs
The personal foreman communicates with the foreman every day and comes to check the work in person 2-3 times a week.
Renovating apartments in an old building has significant differences from finishing housing in a new building. Worn parts need to be replaced utility networks, which can only be produced by highly qualified builders. This requires experienced professionals who are familiar with the features of outdated technologies and modern solutions and capable of making the living space cozy and comfortable.
Renovation of a 1-room apartment in Khrushchev, 33 sq.m.
By using our company’s free service of calling a surveyor, you will receive detailed advice on all issues of upcoming repairs, and will also draw up an estimate specifically for your project.
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How professional repairs are carried out in an old building
The utility networks in the old housing are outdated and worn out, so it is impossible to do without replacing them with new ones. RVT masters lay communications using new methods. Partitions, walls and ceilings also need urgent updating. Carry out this amount of work on our own difficult. Special knowledge is required about the features of old buildings and construction technologies of the past. The only reasonable solution is to turn to craftsmen who know the intricacies of repair and construction work in secondary residential premises.
The price of services of builders and designers depends on several factors. This is the condition of load-bearing structures, utility networks, the need for thermal insulation and redevelopment. The work of RVT employees will lead to results with a guarantee at an adequate price.
Find out the cost of your repair
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No need to move out during repairs
The toilet and water supply remain in working order.
No prepayment required. The repair takes place in 3-4 stages, each is paid separately when ready
We adapt to your schedule
We work at your convenience. Tell me to do it renovation work from noon to eight - that's what we'll do.
Repair of various types of secondary housing
Panel or brick houses Khrushchev-era buildings were built in Moscow and other cities of the USSR from the 1950s to the 1980s. Khrushchevka- a common type of housing. Significant disadvantages of Khrushchev-built buildings:
- small living space;
- availability of walk-through rooms;
- low noise insulation;
- small area kitchens;
- combined bathroom
- low ceiling.
Despite these disadvantages, thanks to thin partitions, the room can be easily redesigned. Employees of the RVT company will carry out competent renovation of an apartment in a Khrushchev-era building and transform the home, changing it for the better.
Houses of the P-111M series
Large-panel buildings are distinguished by larger apartments of various layouts. In Moscow they are located in the districts of Pechatniki, Golyanovo, Biryulyovo, Kuntsevo, Zhulebino, Yuzhnoye Butovo, etc. In the Moscow region they can be found in Golitsyno, Mytishchi, Balashikha, etc. Currently, the construction of houses of this series in Moscow has been stopped.
Home episode 137
Panel buildings have important advantages: speed of construction and reasonable price of housing, smooth walls, separate rooms, utility rooms, large kitchens. Such premises do not require additional rough finishing. The disadvantages of buildings of the 137 series include low sound insulation and inconvenient layout. They also have insufficient air permeability and thin floor coverings, problems with tightness panel seams. Carry out redevelopment and renovation of an apartment in panel house- a labor-intensive process that only qualified specialists from the RVT team can do.
Houses 502 series
Buildings of the 502 series were erected during the reign of Leonid Brezhnev. As a rule, these are five-story buildings with small apartments. Poor planning is the main drawback. Since the majority interior walls load-bearing, only professionals can carry out the redevelopment.
Houses 504 series
These are multi-apartment residential buildings that were built in 1959-1972. They are similar in layout to house-ships, but the windows are lower. The disadvantages of living in such buildings include a small kitchen and an inconvenient location of the bathroom. However, the 504 series houses have excellent sound insulation, and there is a built-in wardrobe in the hallway. Redevelopment is easy to do: internal partitions can be demolished. But load-bearing walls thick and reliable. We use high quality Construction Materials and new technologies to achieve successful transformation.
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“As a result of the repair, I want to get new apartment. Even if it used to be a Khrushchev or “Stalin” building with a communal past, decorated by previous residents,” say the designers’ clients who bought an apartment in an old building. If the old home is “very used”, in addition to painting the ceilings and wallpapering, you will need to level the walls, replace floors, communications, windows and door blocks. Is there a difference in the renovation of old apartments of “different generations”? We'll tell you where to start a major renovation in an apartment, what to pay attention to and what cannot be neglected in houses of different structural types.
Major renovation of an apartment in the “old building”
Today's clients of realtors call almost any "killed" apartment "old stock". But it's not right. The old building is, after all, pre-revolutionary houses, those built before 1917. For example, in St. Petersburg, old apartments make up almost 10% of the housing market supply. In Moscow and other cities of the European part of Russia their share is noticeably smaller.
The focus of our article is design features similar apartments. For the old foundation, these are massive external walls made of ceramic bricks, narrow window openings, plank floors with wooden or metal beams. Some old houses underwent a major overhaul, which could be comprehensive or selective. During selective work, the rotted beams were strengthened and partially replaced. With a complex construction, only the outer walls remained of the building, the historical interiors were lost, but prefabricated reinforced concrete floors appeared.
The designers of the old buildings could not foresee that someday, instead of rare cab drivers, buses would smoke under the windows and trams would rumble; stoves and fireplaces will be replaced central heating, chimneys are eliminated, and ventilated wooden frames will give way to sealed double-glazed windows. Everything new is a serious burden on the ancient walls.
In winter, such houses are generously heated from the inside, but condensation accumulates in the under-roof space, and ice forms on the roofs.
As a result attic floors, the main fillers of which were soil, slag and construction waste, become breeding grounds for mold. And the only way to get rid of the odors inherent in almost any old apartment is renovation.
Advice: Before starting repairs, it is necessary to conduct a selective opening and inspection of the structures of ceilings, floors, walls and partitions, primarily in the areas where beams adjoin external walls, as well as in wet areas: in kitchens and bathrooms.
Floor
The most expensive part in the estimate for apartment renovations in the old building is the floors. If the parquet has dried out, it will most likely not be possible to restore it, don’t even try. And the classic “herringbone” has no artistic value; you just need to replace the parquet with a new one. And before that, be sure to completely change the filling (previously, parquet was laid on joists, and the space between it and the subfloor could be filled).
Most likely, you will see ordinary construction waste: shavings, chips, broken brick, soil, sometimes coal slag. Over the years of operation, the contents absorbed all the liquids spilled on the floor (from water to mercury from broken thermometers) and turned into an ideal “vegetable garden” for fungal mold. Hence the smell that almost always follows us in old houses.
Walls
Wall repairs will have to begin with thorough cleaning of many layers of wallpaper, newspapers, paint and plaster. All this has also absorbed the aromas of communal life and poisons the atmosphere.
Leveling brick walls with restoration plasterboard is not the best solution. Again, due to condensation, which is typical for the old foundation. The preferred option is plasters based on natural lime or clay, which give the walls the opportunity to “breathe”. And when you get to the brick, you can actually make a fragment brick wall decorative element interior
Ceiling
It's not easy with the ceiling. Stucco molding that has artistic value is rarely found in ordinary houses. Typically, their ceilings were decorated with standard false plaster cornices and rosettes, which were then puttied and whitewashed many times. And cleaning off layers of whitewash from jewelry and filling up potholes is a Sisyphean task. Plastering works under the ceiling is a difficult task and, as a result, expensive for highly qualified craftsmen. At the same time, keeping the ceiling updated through their efforts without cracks under increased vibration loads in urban conditions is almost impossible.
A compromise option for renovation in “retro style” - suspended ceiling made of two layers of plasterboard: neatly puttied, painted, with plaster or polyurethane cornices and rosettes. With a barely noticeable decrease in height, it will be possible to maintain the proportions of an ancient room with tall narrow windows and at the same time create the illusion of an impeccably preserved ceiling.
Window
The wooden frames, of course, have served their purpose, I want to order new ones. But the binding plastic frame wider than wood: in deep window openings it looks sad - like in a budget government institution. "Correct" window unit in an old house it should consist of two frames. Internal - wooden with double-glazed windows, and external - with single glass (can also be wooden or made of aluminum profile). In terms of glazing and color, it must correspond to the façade solution.
Fact: The air gap between the frames serves for additional insulation of street noise.
