What problems can arise during renovations in old apartments?

Budget

By buying a "secondary housing", future owners hope to save money, since the price of such housing is lower than that of a new building. But it is impossible to predict the result of the repair and plan all the costs: under the floor there can be hidden an ancient "filling", exuding an unpleasant smell, under the walls - mold and destruction.

When starting repairs, be prepared that it will be delayed or suspended due to lack of funds.

Timing

The more construction and repair work has to be done, the longer the rework will take. If you do not have the skills of an electrician, plumber, bricklayer, plasterer and designer at the same time, you will not be able to completely transform an old apartment on your own.

In most cases, you will have to hire professionals or a construction team... Thanks to the assistants, the "killed" housing will turn into a new one much faster, but hardly anyone will tell you the exact time.

What gives an apartment that has not been renovated for many years? This is a persistent smell of mold and everyday life, which can be removed only after a major alteration of the floor, communications and walls. At this time, it is impossible to live in the apartment, but repairs can progress faster - without moving things and furniture from room to room and endless cleaning.

Documentation

Before purchasing a secondary housing, in addition to basic documents, you need to study information about the house and apartment. Housing of the old fund can bring many unexpected surprises: inconsistent redevelopment, alteration of common house property (for example, the presence of electrical wiring inside the mine, in the past intended for stove heating).

Basic information about the object can be obtained from the cadastral passport - an extract from the register of the State Real Estate Cadastre. Any person interested in buying real estate has the right to order a copy of it.

Redevelopment

Before renovation, it is important to find out if the walls have been moved in the apartment and whether the redevelopment has been legalized. If you want to turn an apartment into a studio, combine premises or add an additional partition, it is necessary to invite a specialist who will make a technical conclusion... He will check the condition of the load-bearing ceilings for corrosion and fungus, check whether the floors are sagging, and also inspect the walls for cracks and the likelihood of their disclosure.

The technical opinion will indicate whether it is necessary to change communications and whether non-load-bearing partitions can be dismantled. The document will reflect whether redevelopment is allowed and what activities will be required for this to be performed.

If the house is an object of cultural heritage, organizations licensed by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation should develop the redevelopment.

Communications

In an old apartment, it is necessary to change all pipes, drains and piping, since the service life of these products could have expired several decades ago. Over the years, deposits, scale and rust have accumulated inside.

Steel pipes should be replaced with metal-plastic or welded propylene pipes, making sure to leave access to them. It is also advisable to decide on the choice of a toilet, sink, sink and bath before the start of plumbing work, since different products have different connection systems.

Replacing communications, including heating radiators, will be cheaper than repairing a flooded apartment from below.

Wiring

Another important issue that should be resolved before starting finishing work is the need to replace the wiring... If it is aluminum, you need to replace it with a new one: the material has already served its purpose, has become brittle and unreliable, and wet plastering work will harm it even more. This threatens not only with out-of-order sockets and equipment, but also with fire.

If the wiring is copper, replacement is not necessary: ​​you just need to remove the old sockets and switches with junction boxes. They are allowed to be transferred, as well as to carry out wiring from old boxes.

Windows and doors

Instead of wooden skewed window frames and blocks and shabby doors, new ones should be installed. When replacing old windows with plastic be sure to install supply ventilation valves with filters, otherwise it will be stuffy in the rooms, and condensation will appear on the glasses. As a result of a violation of air exchange in the apartment, dampness and mold will appear.

Double-glazed windows will help to fight noise from the street, and a metal entrance door with improved sound insulation will help with sounds from the entrance. If you live on the first "walk-through" floor, you should install a second door - an ordinary interior door will do.

Take a look pros and cons of an apartment on the ground floor.

Floor

The complexity of replacing floors is dictated by floor structures: in stalinkas and pre-war houses, you need to get rid of not only old parquet, but also planks, repair beams and remove inter-girder "filling" - construction waste, soil or even asphalt.

Residents of the first floors must replace wooden floors and waterproofing: otherwise they will have to breathe fumes from the basement.

In relatively new panel houses with linoleum laid on concrete, only leveling the floor with a screed is required.

Walls

Before renovating the walls, it is necessary to carefully remove all the old layers: newspapers and "collections" of wallpaper glued on top of each other - they have absorbed dirt and odors that need to be removed. The concrete should be plastered to level the surfaces and covered with a finishing filler.

Total alignment to a perfect parallelepiped is not always required: it is more economical and faster to make it in those places where furniture will adjoin, as well as in areas around doors and above skirting boards.

We do not recommend leveling brick walls with plasterboard due to the potential for condensation: it is better to use natural lime plaster.

The old housing stock has many advantages - architecture, transport accessibility, developed infrastructure. Unfortunately, most of the apartments require partial and sometimes complete alteration, which entails a lot of material, physical and moral costs.