How to make repairs and not be left without a penny

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Experts advise what you can save on and what you shouldn't, what style to choose and what you can do with your own hands.

Estimate the raw data of the room

Understand what potential an apartment has in order to find the least costly finishing option.

Svetlana Valuyskaya Practicing architect.

If you got an apartment in a new building with a rough finish, then why not take a closer look at the loft style, because it is characterized by raw brick and concrete walls.

The expert advises owners of a secondary property to think about country and Scandinavian style. Such interiors turn out to be light, cozy, and you can do a lot with your own hands.

Develop a project

It is not necessary to involve a designer in this work if your budget is limited. With the peculiarities of a particular style, if you are not aiming at something outstanding, you can figure it out on your own. But you will need a furniture layout project and an electrical plan.

Valeriya Kuznetsova Chief architect of projects for major overhaul of apartments "Sdelano".

This is an irreplaceable thing before starting a renovation. It is easier for a team of craftsmen to work on technical drawings, so their services will be cheaper, and it will be easier to control the work.

This is where the help of a designer may be needed. Layouts should be literate, taking into account the needs of your family and design norms. At the same time, be sure to discuss the budget with the designer so that you are not offered expensive solutions.

If funds are very limited, remember that professional help can be obtained free of charge.

Tatiana Chabrova Expert of the OBI hypermarket chain for repair and dacha.

In chain hypermarkets, you can, for example, make a bathroom design project out of the tiles presented in the store. This service can be obtained for a symbolic 250-500 rubles, and this money will be returned to you if you buy materials selected by the designer.

Make an estimate

Before going to the store, decide on the materials for finishing floors, walls and ceilings. It is not necessary to immediately choose the exact shade and texture, but at least decide where you will have tiles, where is the laminate, in which room is the wallpaper, and where is the paint or wall panels. You can also immediately include in the estimate the costs of furniture and additional decor: curtains, chandeliers, mirrors, carpets, and so on.

After that, estimate the scale of the upcoming costs. For each room, write down all the materials, indicating the required amount: from plaster and grout for tiles to switches and baseboards. Competent and accurate calculation of all repair costs will avoid unnecessary overpayments.

There are several life hacks that can help you save money.

1. Lay tiles only in wet areas

The bathroom does not have to be tiled from floor to ceiling, as everyone is used to.

Irina Krapivina Interior designer, founder of the ArtiDomo design studio.

Only use the tile where water can enter. Paint the rest of the walls with a special paint for wet rooms.

2. Consider the wear resistance of the materials

Durability is one of the factors affecting the price of a product. Therefore, analyze where to use which material. For example, for a bedroom, where there is not so much traffic, you can take an affordable laminate of the 31st class of wear resistance, and in the corridor, where the load on the floor is much greater and the area is less, it is more durable - the 32nd or 33rd class.

3. Choose domestic manufacturers

If you buy Russian-made tiles, you can save money. According to the architect Svetlana Valuyskaya, most large factories operate on Italian equipment, so the tiles have a clear geometry and high quality. The same applies to plumbing and many other materials.

4. Keep an eye on sales

Here, a preliminary estimate is especially useful, since you will not need to buy materials at the last moment, you can look around and find great deals.

5. Don't be afraid to take too much

In order to save money in the end, it is better to take an extra roll of wallpaper and a pack of tiles. Shades in different batches may not match. And, if at the end of the renovation it turns out that a couple of packages of porcelain stoneware are missing, you may simply not find the batch you need.

It is better to buy material with a margin, and then hand over the excess. Construction hypermarkets provide this opportunity.

6. Look for budget counterparts

Valeria Kuznetsova advises using laminate instead of parquet for budget repairs, cork or polyurethane skirting boards instead of MDF, stretch ceiling and plain wallpaper instead of leveling the surface for painting.

7. Choose plain materials

Tile and wallpaper with patterns will have to be customized to match the pattern. This increases the consumption of material.

8. Don't skimp on strategically important things

First of all, this is a rough finish and engineering communications. If you flood your neighbors because of the pipe, on which you decided to save a couple of thousand, or the wall is decorated with a huge crack due to poor-quality, but very cheap plaster, it will turn out to be much more expensive. You should also pay attention to the more expensive wall paint.

Naylya Rumyantseva Interior designer, performer of the online consumer services YouDo.сom.

The colors of English, Japanese, American paints are bright and persistent. Even after many years, the desired shade can be accurately reproduced - each has a unique tinting code.

Find a brigade

Architect, co-founder of the HEADS Group architectural bureau Arsen Khairov proposes to arrange a kind of tender and consider several proposals.

Arsen Khairov

The more experienced the team, the more detailed the estimate for the work it will provide. If builders say only the cost per square meter, refuse immediately.

At least all wet processes, painting and decorative finishing should be delegated to specialists. In this regard, qualifications have a very serious impact on quality and aesthetics. There are hardly any people who want to admire the curved ceiling or walls.

In addition, you need an experienced plumber and electrician. Savings here are fraught with accidents with unpleasant consequences.

Take on some of the work

Surely you can, on your own or with friends, dismantle old repairs, prepare walls, if irregularities are not critical, paint something or glue the wallpaper. Also, you will definitely cope with the installation of skirting boards and mixers.

You can take over the installation of waterproofing or soundproofing in front of the floor screed.

Leonid Novgorodov Head of the TECHNONICOL training center in St. Petersburg.

Working with roll materials sold for these purposes does not require any special knowledge and skills at all.

Observe the correct work order

Often, repairs have to be updated or redone simply because the actions were performed in the wrong sequence, notes Valeria Kuznetsova.

During the roughing stage, the workers dismantle the walls, if you are planning a redevelopment, chase, lay electrical wiring routes, bring communications, plaster surfaces, and screed floors. Then comes the stage of finishing: laying the flooring, painting walls or gluing wallpaper, installing sockets and plumbing, assembling furniture.

Leave the doors at the very end of the work, and, on the contrary, do the replacement of windows as early as possible.

Buy ready-made furniture and curtains

Decorating is an important stage of renovation, the necessary interior items and accessories will require significant costs. Choose ready-made furniture and curtains: buying something made in a large batch is usually more profitable than making an individual order.

Look for lamps, textiles and decor items not only in specialized stores - pay attention to AliExpress. Don't be afraid to DIY furniture and accessories.