Corner apartment

What kind of apartment is considered to be a corner apartment?

A corner apartment is located at the end of the building: that is, part of its walls do not adjoin neighbors, but are external partitions of the house.

There can be one apartment on the corner site - it occupies the entire end of the house, also called end. Or two - the windows of one overlook the street, the second - into the courtyard. Depends on the building plan, the layout of the premises.

There is also a "separate caste" - housing with walls in expansion joints. Such "gaps" between entrances are usually made in high-rise buildings, the main task of the created unit is to break the deformation forces during the shrinkage of the building, in case of emergency. The pros and cons of corner apartments at the seam are slightly different from the standard ones with access to the street - we will pay special attention to the topic in the last section.

Why is it bad?

It is customary to start with bad news, first of all we will discuss the cons of a corner apartment.

Temperature

Since the 2-3 sides of the room are outdoors, in winter they are 3-5C colder, and in summer, on the contrary, it is hotter. Especially if the end of the house is heated in the sun. In some cases, the difference reaches 10C - but such a difference is unacceptable, it indicates problems on the outside of the house - most likely you will have to contact the management companyby asking (or forcing) to fulfill their direct responsibilities, to close the resulting cracks.

Corner apartment it is more comfortable in a brick house with thick walls... It is not subject to such risks - the thickness of the wall acts as a buffer, preventing overheating, overcooling.

Dampness

When there is only one wall in a room connected to the outside, it usually has enough warmth in the room to avoid freezing and condensation. But when there are 2 street partitions, while they are adjacent, there is a high probability of freezing of the corner, the formation of condensation in it, and therefore mold, fungus. Their disputes not only spoil the appearance of the room, but lead to the appearance and complication of many serious diseases.

Important! Corner problems are complicated when the factors are related - too low temperature from radiators, coupled with dampness, is guaranteed to lead to moldy walls.

Noise

If in the center the noise level depends on the neighbors, then in the corner the sounds from the street are provided 100%. Especially if the house is located in the city center, and its walls / windows face a busy highway. In residential areas, park areas, this disadvantage is not too significant.

View

Apartments in houses with internal corners deserve special attention - instead of a pleasant view of the park, courtyard, or a bearable view of the road, here an excellent view of the neighbors' rooms opens up.

All would be fine, but keep in mind - the neighbors have the same excellent view of your square meters. There is only one way out - blinds, tulle, curtains, roll-curtains, other "window shutters".

What the view from the corner inside the house looks like is not the only negative. Often here there is a lack of sunlight... And if we add to this the need for curtains, we get doubly darkened rooms.

What are the advantages?

The advantages, unfortunately, are fewer, but among them there are strong arguments in favor of buying.

Low price

The most important advantage of a corner apartment, because of which they are still bought, despite the shortcomings, low demand is the cost. Savings can be up to 15-20%, which in terms of the price of the dwelling is extremely profitable.

Even if you spend part of the proceeds on improvements in the apartment (replacing windows, laying insulation), at least half will still remain in your pocket.

High humidity

If you learn to control dampness, which we talked about in the disadvantages, the minus is converted to a plus. Residents of apartment buildings often complain of excessively dry air - because of this, many develop problems with the respiratory system.

But in a corner apartment, even at the height of the heating season, the air humidity will be higher, which means that you will not have to buy a humidifier or air conditioner.

Less neighbors

For many potential owners, this advantage is even more important than the low price: you have only 1 neighbor on the site, 2 on the floor. And if you choose a corner apartment on the first/ on the top floor - the number will generally be reduced to 1 on the site, 1 on the floor.

For comparison: Inhabitants of a standard central apartment have neighbors above, below, on both sides - a total of 4 against 3 or 2. Sometimes this fact really plays an important role.

How are things going in new buildings?

The main disadvantages are a corner apartment in a panel house of an old building... In the USSR, especially after the war, the task was not to do well, but to do it quickly - after all, a large number of people had to be provided with housing. As a result, today, apartments in the corner in old buildings have more disadvantages than advantages.

If we talk about new buildings, there are 2 points of view.

• On the one hand, materials, rules, construction technologies have changed: if used correctly, they neutralize all the negative aspects of corner apartments.
• On the other hand, unscrupulous developers save on gaskets that insulate against cold and noise; there is no guarantee that your brand new apartment, which is located in the corner, will not freeze through.

Finally, as promised, we will consider the advantages, disadvantages of corner apartments at expansion joints... Their main advantage - some neighbors on the side are less. 2 plates + air distance do the trick. As for noise, dampness, cold - oddly enough, everything again depends on the developer. If the seam is closed, insulated, you will not feel the difference compared to the central position. Otherwise, a walking draft will cause cold, damp walls.

Whether to take a corner apartment depends only on you. Evaluate all its positive, negative aspects, make an informed decision. Then you can be sure that your new home will be a source of joy, not problems.