How to make budget repairs yourself?

Visualize the future interior

For success, it is not enough to realize that you want to see a flat ceiling and walls, beautiful furniture and decor, modern technology and electronics. You need to decide in advance both with the color, and with the dimensions, and with the location of the interior elements, then you will not have to change plans on the go and incur the associated material and nervous losses.

Frequent situations:

• the ordered furniture set did not fit in the allotted place or did not fit into the doorways;
• inexpensive curtains, carpets, or decorative items that you spot in the store do not fit into the decor;
• the technique "does not reach" the sockets or there are not enough of them;
• lighting devices do not cope with their functions, the room is dark or uncomfortable from too bright light.

Ill-conceived interior forces people to do unplanned work or buy things at exorbitant prices, just to fit. To prevent repairs from becoming a real test, it is better to use a planner program and calculate everything to the smallest detail.

Sample programs:

• Planoplan;
• Remplanner;
• Sweet Home 3D;
• Astron Design;
• Interior design 3D;
• SketchUp;
• Homestyler;
• PRO100;
• Planner 5D.

The listed applications are distributed free of charge or have a trial demo version, most have an intuitive Russian-language interface, do not require special knowledge from the user and take a couple of hours to master.

With the help of programs, you can create and print a layout on which all interior details will take their places and acquire exact dimensions, which is especially important in the case of built-in furniture. Some planners allow you to virtually walk through your future apartment and follow how natural light changes during the day.

Many people are intimidated by repairs not so much because of the lack of technical skills, but because of the lack of original design ideas. And here the planner program comes to the rescue with an extensive catalog of ready-made stylish interiors.

Make a detailed work plan

The eyes are afraid, the hands are doing - for this saying to work in your case, you need a clear sequence of actions. It is always more convenient to complete individual parts of a large task, with satisfaction putting a tick in front of items in the list of planned jobs.

It is especially important to make a plan and stick to it if you are going to make major renovations and continue living in a house or apartment.

Think over which room you will live in and how to move around so as not to carry dirt, where for a while put everything that bothers you. In case of large-scale "destruction" in the kitchen and in the bathroom, you should try to plan your actions in such a way as to be left without conveniences for the minimum time.

Prepare an estimate in advance

Having a design project and an action plan in hand, you can draw up a detailed estimate. And when you already know what and how much you need, it's time to scout out the situation in construction hypermarkets for discounts and promotions.

Useful Tips:

• calculate the amount of materials with the recommended stock, because there is no more offensive situation than the lack of half a roll of wallpaper or several tiles from an already sold-out collection;
• shop in large stores with a decent reputation and certified goods, otherwise it is easy to run into counterfeit;
• choose one supplier from whom you can buy most of the necessary consumables - this way you will receive a discount on wholesale, a discount card, free delivery of goods;
• do not buy anything suspiciously cheap - if in other places it costs 2-3 times more, it is probably fake, low-quality or expired;
• If you don't understand the technical nuances, invite a competent acquaintance with you to purchase, who will not allow dishonest sellers to fool you.

Entrust complex works to professionals

It is not difficult to make repairs on your own if we consider relatively simple tasks: whitewashing ceilings, painting windows and doors, padding and plastering surfaces, wallpapering... Even an attentive and neat beginner who has thoroughly studied the "materiel" can even lay tiles, laminate or floorboards. But there are tasks for which it is better not to tackle on your own.

It's about performing potentially dangerous work. Incorrectly installed plumbing threatens with a breakthrough and a flood, incorrect electrical wiring - a short circuit and fire, poor-quality ventilation - musty and mold.

Activities requiring narrow technical knowledge or certifications must be performed by professionals. This applies to the construction of stoves, fireplaces and chimneys, installation and maintenance of gas equipment, installation of heating systems, hanging heavy objects.

The layman will not be able to calculate whether the wall will support the weight of the boiler or kitchen cabinets. But they can collapse not only on the floor, but also on the head.

Follow the correct repair sequence

Suppose you have to make major repairs alone, and there is an opportunity for this period to settle in another place.

It is wise to act in the following order:

1. Replace windows.
2. Dismantle unnecessary curtain walls, coordinating the redevelopment with the BTI.
3. Erect new partitions in the required places.
4. Lay water and heating communications, install radiators.
5. Dissolve all the electrics - prepare future sockets and fixing points for lighting fixtures, lay network cables. If the walls and ceilings are covered with plasterboard, you need to hide communications behind it.
6. Align and prime ceilings and then walls if drywall is not used.
7. To deal with floors - make a screed, subfloor, warm floor in the bathroom, if any.
8. Lay tiles and mosaics wherever intended.
9. Install plumbing.
10. Perform the final finishing, starting from the ceiling and going to the walls - paint, wallpaper, cover with decorative plaster.
11. Install a clean floor.
12. Assemble the entire "installation", bring in large-sized furniture.
13. Insert interior doors.
14. Install sockets and lighting.

If it is not possible to move out during the renovation, and the scope of work is serious, it is better to start with the bathroom, kitchen and adjoining corridor.Then you can move on to the living rooms. When there are several of them, you need to move from the farthest to the exit.

Use a quality and professional tool

Poor tools can easily spoil the material and can lead to injury, especially if the repair is done by an inexperienced technician. And cool equipment, be it a hammer drill, drill or circular saw, costs a lot of money that no one would spend on one occasion.

The way out is obvious - you need to borrow a tool from friends, and if this is not possible, it is not difficult to rent it. Offers can be found on free classifieds sites or thematic communities.

Before starting each type of work, prepare a good theoretical base

To feel confident doing repairs yourself without experience, you need to understand the specifics of the tasks ahead.

For the preparation of:

• talk to relatives or friends who have already gone through this - they will surely save you from annoying mistakes;
• ask questions to designers, builders and finishers on the forums or in person if you have specialized specialists in your environment;
• check out the detailed video instructions.

It is better to see once than hear a hundred times, and this applies to repairs to the full. After reading the manual, few people will be able to understand the topic so well that they can immediately install a mixer, lay flooring or correctly align the walls with lighthouses. But a high-quality training video will be able to shoe an inexperienced master.

Even if you are a fragile woman who has never held a hammer in your hands, with the current level of access to information, you can easily grasp the essence and cope with cosmetic repairs alone. And for large-scale work requiring special skills, knowledge and strength, it is not a shame to call for help from professionals. Therefore, stop looking at the disgusted walls with despondency - get down to business and fulfill your dream!