Where to start apartment renovation and finish it as soon as possible. How to make repairs in the room yourself - Do-it-yourself room repair for beginners step by step, photo and video repair
“Yes, so that repairs in your apartment do not end!” - throws a passer-by over his shoulder and leaves home. And you stand and think: “And why is he? Did you wish for wealth or, on the contrary, ... overlaid?
But indeed, the issue of repair is an unpleasant matter for the average citizen. With today's prices for materials and services of construction Jedi, you will have to fork out seriously. And how much time and nerves you have to spend, and even live in a ruined apartment! You don't wish it on your enemy. But renovation is a vital necessity, and sooner or later you will still have to face it. Some craftsmen, even in times of crisis, still manage to do the renovation of an apartment with their own hands quickly and inexpensively. But how do they do it? Inexpensive is redecorating with their own hands and domestic materials. Such repairs do not require large financial investments, but the cleanliness and freshness of your apartment is guaranteed. Cheap is not always bad.
Where to begin?
Get a small notebook. In it you will write down all ideas, prices and phone numbers of shops or specialists. But the main thing is that it will contain a plan for your repair and an expense estimate. The plan should reflect all your wishes: replacing windows with plastic, suspended ceiling or just whitewashing, new tile in the bathroom, wallpapering or a couple of new outlets in the kitchen. Write exactly what you want. Decided wallpaper - means wallpaper, you want decorative plaster- so be it. Pipes are buzzing - replace, a punctured toilet - throw away. You may think that, based on your desires, do-it-yourself apartment renovation will not work quickly and inexpensively. But you probably do not know this, but only drive yourself into the framework. If it turns out - you will do it, if not - it's not a big loss, it's just a note in a notebook. Next, get down to the estimate: what exactly do you need and in what quantity. How many meters of tiles, grout, bags of putty, wallpaper, chipboard and other things. You can always correct these entries.
To find out exactly what materials, what quality and price you need, go to online stores and construction forums for help. Carefully study the characteristics and pricing policy, approximately calculate the expense. And at the same time, calculate how to replace the faucet yourself, glue wallpaper or install drywall. Determine for yourself: I can do it myself, but here you need to look for an electrician or plumbing. Write it down.
How can you save
Lots of options. To begin with, remember: it is better to buy materials for apartment renovation in the cold season - the price is much lower. Summer is the construction season. In winter, you can stumble upon a 50% discount in building markets or the “Buy 2, get 3 for free” promotion! So you can buy the same wallpaper at a low price, but much more best view and quality. And if they lie for a couple of months in a dry pantry or closet, then nothing will happen to them. Check local forums, especially if you live in a big city. There you will surely find many people who have already done inexpensive apartment renovations with their own hands. Photos of finishes, tips, addresses and phone numbers of specialists you will surely find in the same place. And you will also stumble upon the heading “repair” and “remains of materials”. Periodically view who and what interesting sells or gives away. After repairs, people often have materials that no one will buy at the sale price, but it’s a pity to throw them away. So, you can buy a couple of bags of putty or even Spanish tiles for a ridiculous price. A person has an extra 2-3 meters left, there is nowhere to put them, and you will be fine in the toilet. There you can also find the remnants of the cable or grout “for a chocolate bar”. More impressive people, settling in new buildings, often change brand new plumbing or PVC windows to more expensive ones, and these are given away for next to nothing. Why? Because they want “Rehau” or “only France”, and such a window will do just fine for you. Everything is better than the old wooden one. When you get rich, buy yourself a Rehau.Tools for repair
A construction tool costs a lot of money, so it’s better not to spend money on it. As an option - take it for a while, it is rented everywhere. And it will be even better if you borrow it from acquaintances, friends or relatives. And be sure to thank the person for the help. How? You better know. Take this opportunity to ask if they can help you with the decoration of the apartment. Especially if your friends are well acquainted with the building charter. It will also help to do the renovation of the apartment with your own hands quickly and inexpensively, and even with high quality. Yes, and for sure your friend will make a significant discount for the old memory.
You will need:
Step-by-step instruction
1. The concept of repair includes the following list:
4. The next step is to repair the ceiling. Expand all the cracks with a spatula so that they become deeper. Prime with primer, putty with putty and let dry. After the primer dries, sand the ceiling and prime it again. Repair the walls before painting the ceiling. 5. After working with the ceiling, proceed to remove the old wallpaper. To do this, wet the old wallpaper with water, let it soak for a while, and as soon as it gets wet, remove it with a spatula. The wall must be dry and clean before you start repairing it. Expand all the cracks on the wall with a spatula, prime them with primer and seal with putty. When those places that you putty dry out, sand them, and then cover them with a primer again. If you will glue thick wallpaper, then finishing putty do not apply. 6. The next step is painting the ceiling or wallpapering the ceiling. Dilute the water-based paint as written on the can and paint the ceiling 2 times. If you decide to glue the wallpaper for painting, then glue it and paint it 2 times as well. Paints domestic manufacturer cheaper, so your budget won't suffer. 7. Before wallpapering the walls, it is necessary to paint the doors and window frames with paint. If you buy paint "P" Russian manufacturers, and not imported, it will cost you much less. After the paint has dried, proceed to wallpapering. To save money on buying wallpaper, choose a domestic manufacturer. In terms of quality and durability, wallpapers from Russian manufacturers are not inferior to imported ones. 8. The final stage is the painting of the floor. If the furniture was not taken out, then seal the legs and the perimeter of the furniture with masking adhesive tape, and remove it after painting - the furniture will remain clean. Choose domestic paint - it will come out cheaper, but it will not affect the quality of the painting.
Walls
Walls are the first thing that always catches your eye. Certainly, smooth walls and beautiful stylish wallpaper everyone will like it, but if the alignment and expensive materials there is no money, you can limit yourself to simply replacing old wallpaper. Only by re-gluing the wallpaper will you already transform the apartment. Pick up cheap dense wallpaper on a paper or non-woven base is quite realistic, and you can stick them even on not very even walls. Non-woven wallpaper hides small irregularities especially well.
There is another option. The previous owners left a couple of rolls of wallpaper in the apartment, which they did not need during the renovation. For example, I just changed some particularly dirty and torn sections of the wallpaper. It was enough to replace the wallpaper strips where they suffered the most. These are protruding corners, places near the door jambs, in the hallway at the entrance, in the kitchen not far from the stove - all this will cost much less than a complete replacement, and the housing will look much better.
Ceiling
If we are dealing with whitewash or lime layers, it is best to clean them first. Numerous lime deposits, flaking and crumbling, are not only aesthetically ugly, but also harmful to health. It is not difficult to blur lime, you must first soften the layers, wetting small areas ceiling with water from a spray bottle, and then clean off white with a hard spatula or scraper. If there is old peeling wallpaper on the ceiling, they need to be removed.
After stripping, the ceiling can be further sanded with ordinary sandpaper, that is, sandpaper, and primed. If the surface is smooth, without pits and cracks, it will be cheaper to paint the ceiling acrylic paint, it is better to use matte paint light pure colors. If left small defects, the wallpaper will hide them. Wallpaper for the ceiling should be chosen white or very light, without a pronounced pattern and with very fine corrugation. Another economical option transform the ceiling - glue the foam boards.
floors
If these are concrete floors, as a rule, nothing further needs to be done with them in terms of preparation, they are quite even and durable. Squeaky wood floors are a much more serious problem, and their repair, at least with time, cannot be avoided, but the creaking problem can be temporarily solved. Creak in wooden floors occurs when adjacent boards rub against each other. In particularly "loud" places on the floor, you can drill a few holes conventional drill and pour some mounting foam. The foam will fill and seal the voids between the boards and the floor will stop creaking. This must be done carefully, without fanaticism, so that the floor does not swell.
You can even out strong “waves” and uneven wooden floors by nailing hardboard, plywood or OSB sheets on top. For the necessary strength, the thickness of plywood or OSB should be about 1 centimeter. As finish coat for the floor, linoleum is still the most economical and durable. Fortunately, the choice of linoleum in stores is extensive.
Tile
If we have already figured out the wallpaper on the walls, then what to do with the tiled floor? Replacing the tile, of course, can be a way out if the tile does not stick to the wall, because there is no other way out. On rare occasions when tile easily moved away from the solution, and the solution itself keeps well on the wall, the tile is easy to restore by smearing it with a thin layer of PVA glue and pressing it firmly into place against the solution. The main thing here is to get it right reverse side tiles in its imprint on the mortar, and PVA glue will very firmly glue the ceramics with the mortar - checked! But if the tile is holding tight, and buying a new one is expensive, you can work a little on what you have. Tiles, firstly, can and should be thoroughly washed. Since it is a tile, it will withstand much more aggressive cleaners than dish gel, but it will also look much better when it is cleaned of limescale, rust and other traces of use. It is also necessary to clean the seams between the tiles. There is no need to be afraid to damage the grout, on the contrary, you need to clean as much grout as possible. Mold often settles between the tiles in the bathroom and it is very difficult to remove it from there.
After removing as much grout as possible along with unwanted flora and fauna, the seams can be treated with a special antiseptic agent. After that, they can be filled with fresh grout. It is better to choose a grout color that is neutral or close to the color of the tile.
Plumbing
Take a close look plumbing fixtures. No cracks or chips? There is no need to change plumbing. Plumbing cleaners will help bring all surfaces of sanitary ware into a more presentable look, and bright curtain for the soul will complete the job. By the way, you can refresh with paint and cast iron bath. Not from the inside, of course, but from the outside. But, shining with freshly painted sides, the bath will immediately take on a more elegant look. But if still inner surface bathtub is damaged and worn out, it makes sense to turn to specialists in the restoration of bathtubs, who will cover the surface of the bathtub with new enamel right at home.
As a rule, such a service is cheaper than buying and installing new bath. And here is another option: make a bath curtain not only for the top, but also for the bottom (use glue and Velcro).
Electrician
Check all outlets. If you see melted plastic around the plug holes or even just dark spots, such sockets need to be changed without hesitation! Fixtures are changed as needed. If they are intact, not obsolete and all the bulbs are on, it is enough just to remove them, wash them and hang them back. Do not forget to turn off the power in the apartment when working with an electrician!10 ways to spend less on decorating an apartment, and get a real masterpiece
Designer tips: 1. 100% polyester silk. Stone-like tiles, parquet-like linoleum, onyx-like laminate, Trekhgorka under Ralph Lauren. Porcelain stoneware "under the python". “Artificially aged” something there ... It’s embarrassing to even think about it. Alas, the number will not pass. Look through good interior magazines. There, everywhere, stone is stone, tile is nothing but tile, and wood is exactly what wood is. If there is no money for parquet, and a simple laminate is below your dignity, look for a good engineering board. As a result, you will get a floor that looks much more expensive than the money spent on it. A good alternative to porcelain tiles for kitchens, bathrooms and hallways is cement tiles. The result will look more expensive a hundred times. 2. Adjacent rooms should contrast. If you have a bright living room, let the hallway be painted in a deep, relatively dark color. In any case, the cost of paint will be the same, and the result may look really expensive. 3. If on good carpet no money, look for viscose or fiber blend carpeting that mimics a silk or wool pile carpet.
4. Plant the curtains on a thick lining. Even inexpensive curtain fabric will seriously benefit from this. Look for fabrics that are three meters wide. This results in significant savings. If you are not ready to spend a lot, give up printed textiles (fabrics with a pattern). When cutting fabrics with a pattern, due to the need to properly join the fabrics, there are a lot of scraps. The more rapport, the more waste. Do not use curtain tape for curtains. Let the seamstress lay the "manual" folds. It's not that expensive, and the folds gathered on the braid look very cheap. 5. Set-headset-set. The same things in the interior are allowed only in one case: if they are paired things that form a symmetrical composition. chandeliers, table lamps and leave a sconce from one set to those to whom God did not give imagination. They are also kits upholstered furniture"a sofa or two armchairs" and similar gentle sadness. For more details, see the next paragraph. 6. Ready solutions. Bad news: there are none. At least for us. Shower room under construction construction method because it is a room. Unless you run a student hostel or underground massage parlor with a striptease, a shower cabin (this is a sad structure of yellowish acrylic and skewed doors) will not suit you. Do not spend money on "designer" plumbing. Let be appearance sanitary equipment of the bathroom (kitchen, bathroom) will be dictated by the function. Buy sinks and faucets simple forms without inappropriate decor. The toilet bowl should be invisible and cope with its duties. No one will love them, right? 7. Paintings, prints, prints, photographs and posters frame in simple but deep frames with glass and be sure to passe-partout. Even a picture printed on a home inkjet printer(or naive children's drawing), in such a frame looks very significant. Play with the size of the passe-partout. A small work in a very wide passe-partout looks very “designer”. And, by the way, cardboard for a passe-partout can be almost any color. eight. Cosiness. Another collective fetish. According to my observations, what is called “comfort” in our Palestinians is, in 99 percent of cases, poetic crampedness. In many ways, this is a bodily memory of a bygone childhood, of a warm and affectionate meager Soviet life with carpets teeming with saprophytes, a kind grandmother, Czechoslovak crystal and Dreiser, unread by anyone, in the polished Polish wall "Hanka". The coziness will not be added by the expensive devilry of the type round bed with music and a minibar, a bar counter with a built-in aquarium, etc. The same is true for such rich things as a lambrequin, a garland and a swag. Do not worry: in a good, thoughtful interior, coziness inevitably comes naturally. Therefore… 9. … Farewell, gypsy Sera! Duvet covers made of coarse calico in a small Nefertiti, towels in scarlet roses, pillowcases with “stray-eye” shades, nylon blankets with Shanghai leopards. All these are attributes of collective farm chic, forgive me for being direct. They don't add comfort. Motley coloring is often necessary for these things solely to hide their exceptionally lousy quality. Let bed linen and Bath towels will be just white (options: ivory, ecru). But from excellent Egyptian cotton. ten. However, with ivory, it is also important not to overdo it. Peach, beige, sand… The average nuance range is good for chain hotels. Because their stencil interiors are bound to please everyone. Your interior should please you. After all, he is a manifestation of your essence, right? Pick up a fan-palette of any paint manufacturer. Do you feel a pleasant heaviness? These are your possibilities. Don't miss them!
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. At correct selection materials and the application of a little more effort, you can make high-quality and beautiful renovation 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, it is first determined suitable design and a plan is made. The best time for repairs - this is autumn. During warm weather, facade work, a interior work run 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 you need to replace old plumbing with fast 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 your hands. Many newcomers to apartment buildings change new technology 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 desired thickness can be taken from waste packaging material (tare). 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. plywood sheet closed 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. Inexpensive option for finishing walls, ceilings, this is surface cladding with laminate, MDF.
Beautiful and inexpensive bathroom renovation
If the croaker 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. For wet rooms this material is not suitable. 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 spring period. outdoor part lined with siding. The inner part is finished with plywood with a self-adhesive film pasted over the surface. Used for windows wooden frames which you can install yourself. Purchase of windows in early spring, installation closer to fly.
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 removed door using mounting glue, then everything fits under the yoke. 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 inexpensively cleaned of dirt 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. Cast iron bath can get a second life after painting with an epoxy or acrylic compound. The heated towel rail in the bathroom is cleaned up to metal surface and covered with 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.
It is very important to determine the actual scope of work and correlate them with your financial capabilities. All design decisions must be made prior to the start of the actual repair work. Redoing is expensive, time-consuming and sometimes impossible.
Where to start renovating a room?
Having coped with the preparatory process and found yourself in front of bare peeled walls, you still do not fully imagine the total amount of upcoming expenses and work. However, it is already possible to find out where and what will be located, what colors are optimal in a particular room and where a computer, TV and other electrical equipment will be installed. Be sure to pay attention to the location of the windows and the need for additional lighting rooms. What for? Because repairs should begin with equipment or re-equipment of the electrical network, including the location of fixtures - main and additional.
This should be done both in old apartments, which are completely renovated, and in new buildings. It's no secret that in new houses the wiring is installed without taking into account the wishes of the owner. Each newcomer invariably has a desire to maximally adapt housing to their needs. abundance electrical engineering requires an optimized power grid with many branches. It is very inconvenient in a new apartment to unwind all kinds of extension cords and install additional sockets.
Parallel to electrical network it is necessary to mount the air conditioning system and the fastening elements of the heating network devices. It is also necessary to perform work that requires chiselling, drilling, grooving, chiseling, recesses and other mutilation of walls, floors and ceilings, accompanied by the formation of dust and fragments of brick, concrete and gypsum. Then we calmly remove the debris and proceed to prepare the base of the future floor.
There are several options here:
installation of a rough plank floor;
pouring concrete screed;
preparation for installation of a warm floor;
What's next?
The next stage of repair work concerns windows. If a replacement is required, we change it. If the windows have already been installed and satisfy your request, then we skip this stage, not forgetting to inspect the condition of the slopes, the presence of thermal insulation, and the sealing of cracks. It is worth checking how the doors open and close, if there are any distortions, what are the vertical and horizontal levels. It is very difficult to eliminate these seemingly obvious flaws after plastering and painting walls or wallpapering. It is also desirable to install internal window sills. Plastic wrap will help protect them from splashes of paint and putty.Of course, this work can be done later, during installation. interior doors, but this option is more practical.
If the walls in the room require additional alignment and a significant amount of work before painting, then calculate the total number building mixtures required to process all walls to be repaired. Building materials, despite the high cost, should always be taken with a small margin. It is very inconvenient to run after a bag or two of putty, which, as a rule, ends at the most inopportune and crucial moment.
The sequence of work on the repair and decoration of the room: frequently asked questions
What comes first: floor screed or wall plaster/putty?The answer to this question is unequivocal - before starting to finish the walls, it is necessary to complete all the preparatory work with the floor. It should be ready, after cleaning, for the installation of decorative flooring.
The floor covering is mounted last, whether it is a laminate, parquet or self-leveling floor with a 3D effect. The prepared floor base is covered with cardboard or film - this will make it easy to remove traces plastering works, and these are inevitable.
Prior to the start of puttying and plastering, all manipulations with drywall, if any, must be completed. All partitions, niches, decorative and functional details must be done before the start of the “wet” finishing phase. All work of this kind, including leveling the ceiling, must be carried out in one technological cycle so as not to return to them, remembering, for example, that “somewhere here” a niche for storing skis or installing a safe was conceived. What comes first: flooring or door installation?
Flooring of any type should be laid before installation of interior doors. This will help to avoid errors during their installation and achieve a minimum gap between the threshold or floor plane and the door leaves. Installing the door is a clean and precise job that does not require the use of mortars, adhesives or other substances that can stain a clean floor. The tools used in this case cannot damage it, with careful work.
But this applies directly to the door. door frame can be put earlier - before leveling the walls. This will remove all the cracks and bumps near the opening. If the walls and openings are initially ideal, you can postpone the installation of the box for later.
When installing the box ahead of time, it is important to take into account the height of the future flooring!
What to do first: glue wallpaper or lay laminate (parquet, carpet)?
Wallpaper of any type on the prepared walls is glued before the start of laying the decorative flooring. This is also true for wall painting.
True, there are different opinions on this issue. Supporters of the second option answer this question in the same way as the question of what comes first: paint the ceiling or glue the ceiling plinth. According to their position, the wallpaper is glued after the installation of the floor and ceiling plinth, because you can replace the wall decoration at any time without touching the skirting boards either from below or from above. And the edges of the wallpaper can be simply cut evenly to the level of the plinth.
The ceiling is painted after the installation of the upper plinth. In this case, it is very convenient to eliminate all the unevenness and looseness of the connection, and then the baseboard and ceiling are painted in one go and look monolithic.
What first: stretch ceiling or wallpaper / painting?
The specificity of stretch ceilings allows you to install them on final stage repair work, after painting the walls and wallpapering. This work is very clean, and it is quite difficult to damage the walls or floor while doing it.
The principle of order of work "from top to bottom" in this case does not work. It concerns, mainly, traditional repair works. New technologies are making their own adjustments. The experts themselves, who install stretch ceilings, recommend inviting them to the end of the repair.
***
If you make a short list of the sequence of repairs in the room, then it will look like this:
wiring; heating and air conditioning system; floor preparation; dismantling / installation of windows; preparation of walls for wallpaper or painting; ceiling (all works); wall painting or wallpapering; finishing floor; door installation; rapids and floor plinth; stretch ceilings. This order is not an axiom. Each master chooses the sequence that is convenient for him. But in general, the sequence looks something like this.
Repair is a rather loose concept. For some, making repairs means completely destroying the entire room and finishing all surfaces from scratch, for others, replacing wallpaper is a repair. Therefore, first you need to decide what you want to do: cosmetic or major, as well as outline the scope of work and their sequence.
A well-planned renovation will take less time and will also save you money. How? This will be discussed further.
So, a few rules, following which your repair will proceed smoothly and smoothly, without unpleasant surprises and unforeseen complications.
Rule #1. Decide in advance on the design of the room. It is much easier to select materials for repairs when you know exactly what the end result should be. To develop a design, you can use the services of a specialist, or you can do everything yourself. It will not be superfluous to look at thematic magazines or sites. With the help of special computer programs for clarity, you can create a picture of the future room.
Rule #2. Check out what's new in the building materials market. Modern market offers a variety of materials for roughing and finishing surfaces, which can greatly simplify and speed up repairs. It is better to entrust the choice of building materials to experienced builders who are guided in matters of price and quality and can choose exactly what you need.
Rule #3. You need to buy everything you need for repairs in advance. Before you go shopping, you need to determine what you need and in what quantity. In order to calculate the consumption of materials, it is necessary to measure the parameters of the room: its exact area, the length of the walls, the height of the ceiling, the dimensions of the window and doorways etc. This data should be as accurate as possible, so it is better to take measurements several times. Based on the data obtained, it is possible to calculate the consumption of all materials. It is desirable that the amount of materials be determined exactly, otherwise you will either have to overpay for their excess amount, or then buy them in addition.
It is best to buy building materials at wholesale depots, where prices are lower and the range is wide enough. It will also be more profitable to purchase all the necessary goods in one place, if, of course, this is possible. Given the discount system, which directly depends on the cost of the purchase, you can count on a significant bonus and free shipping.
When using repair materials that need to be specially ordered or whose quantity is limited, it is necessary to accurately determine their consumption. If there is a shortage of such materials, the repair may be suspended or other materials will have to be used, which will necessarily affect the result.
Rule #4. Before starting repair work, it is imperative to remove all furniture and other interior items from the room. If they are left, they will not only interfere with free movement, but most likely they themselves will become unusable, covered with construction dust, scratches, stains of paint or mortar, etc. Not to mention the fact that in this case it is almost impossible to make a high-quality floor covering. So it’s better to spend a couple of hours removing furniture than throwing it away anyway. To do this, you can use the help of loaders or independently clean the repair area.
Rule #5. Prepare a set in advance necessary tools so that during the repair you are not distracted by the search for a drill or hammer. The set of tools directly depends on the planned work and the technology for their implementation. Be sure to have rags, solvents, a bucket of water at the ready. Almost no repair can be carried out without scaffolding. At home, they can be replaced by a table of suitable height, which allows the most convenient work on finishing the upper part of the walls and ceiling. Please note that such a table will almost certainly lose its original appearance after repair, and it is unlikely that it will be possible to use it further as furniture in the apartment.
In addition, you need to think about your safety by preparing a respirator, goggles, gloves, etc.
Rule #6. Be sure to completely remove old finish. This applies to flooring, old wallpaper, peeling plaster, etc. The dismantling of the finish is carried out starting from the floor. Even if you are not going to change the flooring (for example, carpet or laminate), it is better to remove it, otherwise it will not survive until the end of the repair.
As for the walls, they do not have to be cleaned to a brick or concrete base. If they are smooth, recently puttied, without cracks and roughness, they can be applied new finish. Old wallpaper or other finishes must be removed in order to apply a new one. There are usually no problems with wallpaper, but if you are “lucky enough” to deal with old paper wallpaper, which were glued "for centuries", you will have to make an effort not to damage the surface of the wall. In this case, the wallpaper is wetted with soapy water, which helps to remove it.
Dismantling the ceiling finish depends on its type. If it is whitewash, it is removed with a special brush. If the ceiling is covered with water-based paint, which has a completely normal appearance, you should not wash it off. In cases where cracks, crumbling plaster, or other serious defects appear on the surface, it must be cleaned to the ground.
If it is planned to replace windows and doors in the room, they must also be dismantled before starting repair work, since this is a rather “dusty” process, and in some cases even requiring partial destruction of the walls. If the windows and doors will be used as before, then after the completion of all work related to dirt and dust, their surface is cleaned, if necessary, polished and painted. This should be done only after a thorough wet cleaning of the apartment so that small dust particles do not settle on the painted surface. Otherwise, the result will be a rough and sloppy surface. Before installation on new windows and doors, apply protective film protecting them from potential damage. It is advisable not to remove it immediately after installation, but leave it until complete completion all repairs. At the same time, it will protect the surface from dust, drops of paint or solution and other substances that can damage it.
Rule #7. Remove construction debris after each stage of repair. For all the time it will accumulate so much that it will simply become impossible to work indoors, so it is advisable to immediately take out everything superfluous, and wash the floor regularly so that dust does not accumulate.
Rule #8. Plan the repair work so that at the beginning there are all the “dirty” processes, leaving behind a lot of debris and dust, and only then fine finishes. Let's consider in more detail the sequence of work.
Traditionally, renovations start from the ceiling.. Decide what exactly you want to do with it. If this is leveling the surface with putty, you need to immediately apply it, and then sand it, so that later you don’t have to return to the ceiling finish. It is advisable to remove the resulting dust immediately. The plasterboard ceiling is also mounted, puttied and sanded immediately, but suspended structures, panels or stretch ceilings are installed after finishing the walls, otherwise construction dust may settle on them, and their surface may become dirty or damaged.
In general, in most cases of repair, the ceiling finish comes first, although there are exceptions. For example, when it is planned to finish the ceiling and walls with putty, work is carried out in parallel, after which the ceiling, if necessary, is covered fine finish, and then a finishing layer is applied to the walls (decorative putty, wallpaper, paint, etc.).
After the ceiling comes the turn of the walls. First you need to determine their evenness, the quality of the corners, as well as the condition of the previous rough finish. If the walls were not leveled before, then most likely this will need to be done. Another common problem is uneven corners. Almost all finishes require the presence of a maximum flat surface and right angles, since they will not be able to hide wall defects. As a result, even expensive types of finishes will look pitiful on bumpy walls; when using wallpaper, there is a high probability of skewed canvases, inconsistencies in the pattern and the appearance of other defects. Therefore, the preparation of walls for finishing is an obligatory and crucial stage of repair.
The type of finish for the walls is selected depending on the chosen design style. It can be paint, decorative putty, various types of wallpaper, panels. You can start finishing immediately after finishing all work related to dust or other possible contaminants.
It is important to remember that it is the walls that largely determine the appearance of the room and the quality of the repair. Any defect on their surface can spoil the overall impression. Therefore, when working with them, you need to be extremely careful, strictly follow the application technology. finishing materials, use only quality products.
AT recent times the use of various built-in wardrobes, partitions and other functional decorative elements interior. They allow you to fully use the useful area of the room without cluttering it with heavy pieces of furniture. In addition, they create a unique interior and provide an opportunity to implement original design solutions. They are usually used to create metal profiles and drywall sheets, which, after installation, are puttied and, if necessary, painted or covered with other finishes, similar to the walls or vice versa, standing out against their background. The installation of such structures should take place parallel to the finishing of the walls. Assembly and fastening similar structures requires certain skills, so to create them it is better to seek help from specialists. Ignorance of the technology of their assembly can lead to the destruction of structures, damage to materials, and possibly the surface of the walls. So it is better not to take risks and immediately turn to professionals.
Floor repair may include both a simple replacement of the floor covering, and the replacement of its entire structure. In the first case, the floor can be done immediately after finishing the walls, in the second - before finishing. A complete floor replacement involves leveling it by pouring a concrete screed, installing a “warm floor” and other work. In this case, there is a high probability of damage to the wall decoration.
Before starting the repair of the floor, you need to remove all debris and thoroughly wash the surface. Dust, sand, earth, residues of mixtures and other foreign materials must not accumulate, and the coating must not be mounted on them. Foreign particles can subsequently cause premature wear of the floor.
The surface of the floor should be flat, and not only because it is beautiful. On the uneven surface it is quite difficult to lay the flooring, and over time it can quickly lose its appearance. The flooring itself is mounted after the final completion of all other work. During the repair, the floor is constantly exposed to loads: moving scaffolding and tools, constant walking, bumps, stains from paints and mixtures, layers of dust. If the coating is laid earlier, it will not last even until the repair is completed. The same applies to skirting boards, which are mounted after laying the flooring. Modern models skirting boards are not only fastened without problems, but also have special caps that hide fasteners.
When planning the sequence of repair work, you need to remember that the main thing is not to spoil what has already been done. If you do not follow this principle, you can immediately prepare for a new repair, requiring additional time and money.
The usual everyday business: the apartment clearly needs repair, but there is not enough money. How to make an inexpensive apartment renovation with your own hands? It seems to be the simplest, obvious way: surface cosmetic repairs. That is, plywood wallpaper, whitewashing the ceiling, painting, fixing the creaky floor; Possibly window replacement.
However, if you calculate the labor costs and consumption of materials, it turns out that by increasing labor costs by half, and spending money by a quarter, you can give the apartment a completely different look, and for a long time. How much you need to invest specifically depends on prices in the region, but common methods, with which you can make an apartment cozy and elegant inexpensively, are the same.
Saving Money when repairing an apartment with his own hands, he stands, like the Earth in ancient legends, on three whales and a slowly hurrying turtle under them:
- We are not afraid of work. Nothing comes from nothing. Either money or labor.
- Wherever possible, we do not change the capital, but the old one that has lost its appearance, but renew it.
- We attribute the maximum savings to where it will not affect the quality of work and will not be visible.
- We spread the costs of labor and money over time: having conceived repairs in the summer or autumn, we spend a year on preparation, and then we pile on and quickly do everything. To lay out 200-300 thousand rubles at once is a problem, but it is quite possible to break them up in parts for a year. In addition, there will be time to measure seven times - cut once.
Where it's hard to save
The only area where you have to invite a specialist is to remake and strengthen the electrical wiring if it is old and weak. Here, the only way to save money is to negotiate with the DEZ electrician. He will do the work in pieces, in his spare time, but the likelihood of hack work will be even less than that of “branded” specialists: after all, he will then serve all this.
It is better not to save on electrics and wiring, however, some points, such as installing sockets, can be done independently.
Tool
A good specialized tool makes the job much easier and cheaper. But it's hard to buy. Therefore, it is better to rent a tool as needed. In terms of costs, it will come out a little if you decide in advance on the design and draw up an approximate work plan for yourself.
Season
Plumbing
A sore point with independent cheap repairs is the replacement of plumbing. If it is still “alive”, only filthy, then it can be cleaned and painted. How to do this will be described below. But if there are chips and cracks, then, if you like it or not, you need to change it.
For such a case, here is some information for you: new settlers, especially in houses above the budget category, often start a major overhaul immediately upon entering, and excellent, completely new faience and cast-iron plumbing equipment ends up in a landfill. Landfill operators (simply - landfill scavengers) have long turned this circumstance into a profitable business.
They do not make direct contact by office phone with strangers, but it is quite possible to get through to them using word of mouth methods. The rate is from a third to a half of the factory price for a household item. And do not think that they will take you to the dump and show you where it lies. In the back room you will be offered a choice of clean, carefully washed products, which you can sit down on at least immediately.
Construction garbage
The next sore point is the removal of construction waste. The operation is not cheap, and requires paperwork. Exit: basement, barn, cottage or closet and a few bags of used plastic sackcloth, bought for a penny. Construction debris does not sour and does not rot, it can then be poured into a container in a garbage dump in a bucket. There is nothing illegal in this.
Laths, boards, timber and plywood
For various ancillary work and sewing up large surfaces, you will need wooden slats and plywood. You can buy slats not planed, but slabs - waste from sawing industrial wood. The slab goes on sale raw, but if it is purchased in advance, in March-April, and kept in a dry room until autumn, it will not yield to edged lumber in terms of wood quality.
As for plywood, waste packaging plywood from dismantled used containers can be turned into waterproof in the following way:
- We buy a 10 l canister or two PVA putties; it looks like very liquid PVA glue and is cheap.
- We cover the floor in the country house, in the barn, in the attic or in some other non-residential premises with plastic film. The air temperature is not lower than +13 degrees.
- We lay a sheet of plywood on the floor, pour a puddle of putty on its center and disperse it with a brush.
- We cover the plywood with plastic, lay the next sheet, putty in the same way, etc.
- We put heavier oppression on the PVA-impregnated foot of plywood; better - dispersed over the area: bricks, pieces of metal, concrete, an old TV, etc.
- After a week, repeat the procedure, turning each sheet over.
- After another two weeks, even waterproof plywood is ready for use. Additional exposure under oppression will improve its quality.
Boards and large pieces of thick timber can also be obtained from used containers - pallets for cargo. Advertisements for their sale are not uncommon.
materials
A very economical repair option - and; for economical owners richer - MDF. When sheathing on a wooden crate made of slabs, in 80% of cases it is not necessary to level the walls and ceiling, which already eliminates the high costs of labor and money.
You can save even more by sheathing the walls to the waist or to the chest, and pasting up to the ceiling with non-woven wallpaper. The work is simplified and cheaper, and the bottom of the walls, which beats and gets dirty the most, will be reliably protected by resistant material.
The most economical option for flooring -. Floor preparation for it is not required in 90% of cases. But marmoleum is not suitable for the bathroom and toilet; here you have to fork out for a tile, especially since it will take a little.
If you want to have a floor in the rooms that looks like a plank, it will not be much more expensive, but you may have to level the floor.
The walls in the bathroom can be covered with laminated hardboard instead of tiles - it is hygroscopic and does not require surface preparation.
Balcony
If it is supposed to glaze and insulate the balcony, then it is better to do it separately from everything else and in advance: from the end of March to the beginning of May. Outside, but inside it can, instead, be sewn up with plywood, pasting it with a self-adhesive film.
Windows and doors
When deciding how to repair an apartment economically, you need to pay special attention to windows and doors: they account for a significant share of the costs. As for windows, here is the most economical option:. It is more expedient to buy them in March-April, when prices for industrial wood fall, and to put them in late spring - early summer, when the tree dries out properly and shrinks. Installation technology wooden windows in the openings is quite accessible to the average home master.
Doors would be better to update. Remember the self-made waterproof plywood? So both fronts of the door are sheathed with it, on mounting glue, laying the door removed from the hinges on a plastic litter and under oppression. At the same time, you can cover the window in the interior door at the same time, if it is not needed.
This will make the door thicker. There are two options here:
- Reinstalling hinges is not the best way for the "lazy".
- Remove the old lining from the door; it is most often made of building cardboard or thin fiberboard, and put on a new frame, plywood. In this case, the broken corners immediately “leave”.
In both cases new door pasted over with self-adhesive under a tree or with a different texture and varnished. And you will be surprised (pleasantly, of course) by her new look. And rigid plywood cheeks will provide doors durability. The slopes of the doorway are better from the same plywood: it will come out cheaper and more beautiful than re-plastering.
bathroom
Toilet bowl and washbasin
Dirty plumbing, if it is intact, needs to be cleaned. The rather expensive active detergents recommended for this can be replaced with much cheaper table vinegar - after all, it is also a weak acid - followed by washing the sagging stains with the most common washing powder. Just do not use detergents with abrasives - they will scratch the icing, and objects, especially the toilet, will get dirty very quickly.
For cleaning with vinegar, they make kvass - a knob of a rag on a stick. Vinegar is poured where it will not leak, or sour milk is dipped into it, and the streaks are cleaned with circular movements with pressure. Particularly "stubborn" spots in the recesses are removed with a small kvass and technical hydrochloric acid. All this, of course, is done in latex household gloves, a plastic apron and open doors and windows. It is also advisable to wear a respirator, at least a cheap "petal".
Tiles on walls and floors
Tiles that are not chipped or cracked can be restored using a method well known to motorists; they thus update the worn plastic spoilers and bumpers:
- The entire lined surface is washed with pemolux; do not use active detergents on acid!. 1 liter is enough for a bathroom in Khrushchev; for a larger one, respectively, more.
- After pemolux, we wipe it with a rag, abundantly moistened with the same table vinegar: pemolux is alkaline, and the vinegar neutralizes its residues.
- We wipe several times with a wet rag "until a clean rag"; now we have got rid of the contaminants that have eaten into the surface.
- We paste over the edges of the tiles with masking tape (“paper tape”), except for the seams.
- We paint the seams from a spray gun with nitro paint in two layers; the second - after the complete drying of the first.
- We remove the tape, splashes and streaks of paint on the tiles are removed with a cotton swab moistened with solvent 646 or 647.
- We buy a can of liquid silicone grease at the car market or in a car shop, and properly spray the tiles with seams.
- If the grease is absorbed immediately, you will have to spray again.
- If after 2-3 days silicone is still “taken” on the tile, wipe the surface with a cloth moistened with vinegar.
The meaning of this treatment is that silicone tightens microcracks and pores in which dirt accumulates. Processing is enough for 3-5 years, and then it can be repeated.
Bath
cast iron capital bath can be restored. Complaints about its fragility arise from a violation of cooking technology coloring composition and its application. With strict observance of the technology, the restored bathtub serves for another 10-15 years.
Towel dryer
It is not at all necessary to change it to an expensive one made of stainless steel or brass and make a bypass (bypass) for it. The heated towel rail is cleaned to metal after cleaning the bath for painting with the same cord brush in the drill chuck. If no fistulas are found, it is painted with the remains of the compound from painting the bath. The look will turn out no worse than modern branded ones, and the durability is like that of a bath.
Video: economical bathroom renovation
fasteners
You can save up to 1000 rubles on fasteners during repairs by using not galvanized or cadmium (shiny), but phosphated (black). The heads of self-tapping screws and dowel-nails will still have to be sealed, and there is no rain and frost in the apartment.
Design
In order to make repairs cheaply, you must first of all know what and how to do, how the apartment should look after repair. Do not be too lazy to consult with the whole family several times, see more pictures of ready-made apartments. Design is not something incomprehensibly sublime; Most people are endowed with artistic taste. The professionalism of a designer in most cases comes down to understanding the taste of the client and guessing what he wants. And you, since you are doing for yourself, you need to understand what you want. Up to 50% of the cost of do-it-yourself repairs arise from the fact that they start at random and then correct and redo them along the way.
Sequence of work
And, finally, the work in correct sequence: we start from a distance from the front door, and in the course of work we gradually approach it. Living room, bedroom and can be renovated in any order. Then comes the turn of the kitchen. We make the entrance hall the penultimate one, and we complete the repair with a bathroom. Savings are obtained on the amount of construction waste (and half of it is the waste of materials for which you paid) and on the alteration of soiled and beaten with an unreasonable organization of work.
Based on the foregoing, you can make a comprehensive apartment renovation with original design spending little more than cosmetic repairs.
Video: reflections on the quality and cost of repairs
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Discussion:
Xenia said:
In the last year, the repair of a room in a communal apartment cost me a maximum of three and a half thousand. Of these, wallpaper and glue are about three thousand. A friend gave me putty for free three kg, patched up small irregularities, bought a spatula. I bought a can of paint and a brush. In general, with the world on a string, but the view has become completely different. Ask your friends for materials more often, many also have left after the repair, but it’s a pity to throw it away.
Olga said:
We were able to save a lot on wall decoration, but unfortunately, we did not immediately figure out how to do it, so one bedroom cost us as a corridor and an entrance hall or a hall with a kitchen.
The bedroom was wallpapered at a discount (themselves) - 4000 rubles, and the rest was plastered by the husband.
Putty (the most common) was diluted with an acrylic primer and color (on YouTube they found videos with decorative plaster).
He did it for the first time, but it turned out very worthy.
Alexei said:
When you do the repair yourself, this is savings in itself. The hired team will do everything to eventually overcharge and not the fact that the work will be done efficiently. You yourself will always do what you need and with savings. You can definitely save money on the tool, for example, ask a neighbor =). I have all the tools that are needed for repairs, so everyone I know saves on me by taking it for a while. The most important thing is to do everything without haste. It is necessary to start with small rooms or with a toilet, a bathroom and slowly do the calculation of the means and design of the repair.
Vladimir said:
I have never been particularly involved in repairs in apartments, because, due to my military profession, they were all temporary. So on trifles: glue the wallpaper, tint somewhere, tweak and nothing more. It all started with getting permanent housing in 1994. Then I had to work hard and learn a lot. I literally tortured the sellers in the stores and skilled neighbors with questions. Nevertheless, without hiring anyone, slowly but surely, I learned with my own hands how to properly glue wallpaper, lay and adjust linoleum, scrape parquet, move doors, sockets and switches, change plumbing, lay out brick walls and plaster them, as well as much more. Design solutions began to come. For example, to the general indignation of my parents, I destroyed the pantry (“my mother-in-law’s room”), resulting in an almost full-fledged 3rd room. Yes, it was a real school, which later came in handy for me many times! Therefore, it is not in vain that they say: "The eyes are afraid, the hands are doing." There is no need to talk about significant cost savings at all.