Are you planning to renovate your apartment? We decided to do it ourselves, although you have little experience in gluing wallpaper, and with other tools in the form of a screwdriver, spatula, wrench rarely worked. Therefore, this repair will be a test of strength for you. And although as a beginner you can be forgiven for making mistakes, the worst ones can still be avoided. What are the most common things home craftsmen do? We offer you a selection of mistakes made by experienced owners, which they share on Internet forums.
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APARTMENT RENOVATION, USEFUL TIPS, HOME AND FAMILY
Don't rush
You have decided to start repairs, do not rush to run construction market for the purchase of finishing materials. ?
First you need to do a project so as not to be left, like that Pushkin old woman with nothing. We are planning to move the partition and need a project for this. Projects are carried out when remodeling premises, moving plumbing, laying electrical networks. You either do it yourself or order it from specialists. Completing the project is an expensive pleasure, but it will protect you from mistakes and blunders. If you order a project, be careful when drawing up the contract.
The procedure for performing repairs in an apartment
Everything needs to be carefully thought out, weighed and carried out in a certain way.
If you are planning to move partitions, do them first. Then you deal with communications: plumbing, moving plumbing, ventilation, laying electrical networks, replacing windows and doors. Then comes the turn of the ceiling, walls and floor.
Renovation in a new building
Having bought an apartment in a new building, most residents try to immediately make luxurious renovations. This is a big mistake and a waste of money, time and effort. You should do the simplest finishing and live with it for at least a year, waiting for the house to shrink. Otherwise, you will encounter tiles breaking off, cracks appearing, wallpaper tearing in places, and the floor creaking.
Repair errors
So, what mistakes have experienced home craftsmen encountered?
Bathroom and bathroom
- When replacing water supply networks, preference is often given to metal-plastic pipes, but they do not take into account or simply do not know that joints weaken during operation and begin to leak. This will not cause problems if the pipes are freely accessible. If you are hiding communications, be sure to make a pipe routing diagram to speed up access for repairs if necessary.
- For hot water use special galvanized pipes, which are more expensive but last longer. Do not distribute the water sequentially. And be sure to consider installing a heated towel rail.
- Many people are now trying to combine a bathroom with a toilet. This redevelopment is appropriate for a small (no more than two people) family.
- You cannot put space under the bathtub, otherwise it will be difficult to reach the pipes if necessary.
- Never skimp on bathroom fixtures. Then no design will hide an ugly bathtub or sink. When installing the bathtub, tilt it slightly towards the drain.
- Provide two waterproof outlets in the bathroom for a hair dryer, razor or heater.
- If you are having problems with hot water, then install a capacitive water heater for 80-100 l.
- Plastic sewer pipes are good, but they are too noisy, so sound insulation must be provided.
- Wall decoration in warm colors creates the feeling that the water is several degrees warmer. But white walls are associated with a hospital, so white tiles need to be combined with another color.
- It’s a good idea to lay the floor tiles in such a way that there is a slope in the middle of the floor, then you will very quickly detect any leaks. Install heated floors in the bathroom - this makes it much more comfortable.
- When installing a hood, do not forget to install a distribution valve, whose task is to regulate the air in the apartment. Otherwise, you will find the toilet smell in the kitchen.
Electrics in the apartment
Be sure to draw a wiring diagram with dimensions or take a photograph; provide more sockets than you plan by 15-20%, especially in the kitchen. Immediately plan the arrangement of furniture and household appliances. You should not make sockets on the floor, where they interfere with cleaning and accumulate dust. Do not install single sockets, double ones are better.
If there are children in the house, then install the switches at a height of 80 cm so that they can be easily turned on without jumping. And in the bedroom, provide two switches, one by the bed, so that you can turn off the light right in the bed.
In the children's room, install rheostats to slowly turn off the lights.
Please note: the switches should be on the handle side, not the hinge side.
Plasterboard partitions
IN recent years drywall has become extremely popular due to its low cost and ease of installation. However, you must remember that partitions made from it are not strong enough to hang shelves with heavy books on them or install wall bars. For these purposes, the partition needs to be strengthened.
apartment renovation Windows
Installation of new windows is carried out before finishing works walls Make sure that there are high-quality slopes and that there are no gaps left. Order windows with micro-ventilation and mosquito nets.
Warm floor
This great option for comfortable living. If you decide on heated floors, then think about arranging furniture in the room. It is not at all necessary to create a warm floor under furniture, a refrigerator, hob. Don't forget to set a timer, as it takes time for the floor to warm up. Do not install the floor sensor next to hot water pipes or heating appliances.
Floor decoration
A light, plain or dark floor looks amazing, but every speck is visible on the surface and requires constant maintenance.
It is better to choose a dark grout for the floor, light color will quickly lose its attractiveness. Relief tiles with a convex pattern or with deep chamfers quickly become clogged with dust, dirt, and cleaning the floor is very difficult and time-consuming.
Wall decoration
Choose wallpaper with a pronounced relief for painting. Protect corners from abrasion and damage.
Don't hang too much open shelves with souvenirs and books, a lot of dust collects there.
Do not place handles with sharp surfaces on interior doors, as you may get injured.
Mistakes when renovating an apartment not only lead to poor-quality finishing, but can then cause a lot of inconvenience and spoil the mood. We hope that with the help of our article you will avoid. Good luck to you.
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Everyone dreams of their apartment being perfect. Therefore, before starting repairs, it is necessary to think through everything to the smallest detail in order to prevent future mistakes.
1. It is better to entrust rough work to professionals who will tell you which brand of materials is of the highest quality.
2. Before making electrical wiring, you need to draw a plan from which you can clearly see where the furniture is located.
3. To make it convenient for you to get items from the upper cabinets, install them at eye level.
4. If in your roomThere isa meter or half a meter extra, make an excellent dressing room out of it.
5. You should not lay laminate flooring in the kitchen; water may cause it to swell.
6. If your kitchen resembles a rectangle in shape, you should give preference corner set, and put a table with chairs or even a bar counter in the remaining space.
7. Be sure to lay a wide cable channel at the entrance to the house, which will allow you to hide all the wires.
8. For convenience hob must be located near the work area.
9. A lot of wool and dust accumulate on a dark floor.
10. Do not buy white tiles for the bathroom, as it will look like you are in a hospital room. Give preference to more delicate shades: beige, cream, powdery.
11. Children are often afraid of the dark, so parents sometimes leave the light on. Install brightness controls in the nursery, and your child will fall asleep peacefully in dim light.
12. Warm floors are very necessary in the cold season. Think carefully about where you place them. For example, it is prohibited to install them under the refrigerator.
13. Due attention should be paid to rough finishing. For example, you may not immediately notice a mistake in waterproofing. It will appear after a while, and you will be forced to start the repair again. Therefore, you need to control every job: plumbing, electrical installation work, quality of leveling floor screeds, insulation work.
14. Optimal location switches at a height of 89–90 cm.
15. Make at least 2 sockets in the bathroom.
16. If you want your kitchen to always be light, built-in lighting will not be enough. It is necessary to provide additional lighting, for example, above kitchen cabinets.
17. Floors should be smooth, then cleaning will take less time.
18. If you have long corridor, make two switches: one at the beginning, the other at the end.
19. Purchase windows with options for micro-ventilation and a protective mechanism.
20. It is better to make borders in the bathtub so that water does not accumulate on it.
21. Instead of one outlet, make two at once.
22. If you want the slopes on the windows to be smooth, call the specialists.
23. Not always interior doors must be glass. Sometimes they are completely inappropriate. For example, children are sleeping in the room, and there is a light on in the corridor that penetrates into the nursery.
24. You can make suspended ceilings in the bathroom. They will hold back the water, in case your neighbors suddenly flood you.
25. Consider soundproofing plastic sewer pipes. Then there will be no extraneous sounds in the house.
26. Remember, the bathtub should be slightly inclined towards the drain.
27. Large objects such as a TV should not be hung on plasterboard walls.
28. If you are planning a renovation, then you should first change the windows, and only then do the finishing.
29. Before installing the switch, think about which way the doors will open.
30. White grout will turn yellowish over time.
31. When you buy tiles, check each box, sometimes tiles come across different colors or with defects. You also need to purchase tiles with a reserve, in case something cracks or falls off.
32. The bathroom must have sockets protected from moisture.
33. It’s good when the kitchen has a lot of different drawers for storing essentials. You should not make a lot of open shelves and racks, as dust accumulates there, and take out some thing from top shelves very problematic.
34. If you still decide to high-quality repairs, it is better to trust the professionals. A high-quality design project will allow the team to do everything at the highest level.
35. Choose your flooring carefully. Avoid carpet as it has many disadvantages.
36. Leave the area under the bathtub empty, as you will someday have to repair the vents or pipes.
We hope that with the help of these tips you will be able to plan correctly renovation work and avoid mistakes.
Price savings
We have heard more than once about buying something cheap and, as a result, early replacement, inconvenience or at least frustration from the rapid deterioration of things. Here are examples of what Forum residents saved on and regretted:
“I regret that two years ago I wasted money on normal radiators and installed Chinese ones, from which the paint has already peeled off and they don’t heat a damn thing.”
“We don’t save any more money on the doors; the locks are magnetic, so you can’t even hear them.”
“I don’t save money on faucets anymore, after ours, bought on the Internet, became stained with stains that cannot be washed off with anything (although it’s from GROHE) - apparently, it’s a fake. Now we ordered from a fairly well-known company, even if it was more expensive.”
“I regret that they put laminate on the floor: it is cold and not waterproof, it was necessary to fork out a little money and lay parquet, and install electric heating under it.”
“I’m really worried that I wasted money on heated floors in the bathroom. But the laminate flooring in the kitchen and hallway was laid on a heated film floor, and now it’s warm there! At least to the legs."
“I installed windows about 4 years ago. Then I sculpted the simplest slopes, without attaching any importance to it. Now I would put it more decently.”
And it happens the other way around:
“I wouldn’t make custom cabinets in niches. If I bought them and cashed them ready-made, it would have been three times cheaper according to my budget. Unfortunately, they only did this in the hallway, when they realized with the bedrooms that they had ended up with an immodest sum.”
“This was our first apartment, we wanted to make everything super-duper, so we have almost everything: Belgian wallpaper, Italian and Spanish tiles, Swedish and Finnish plumbing, Italian lamps, switches and furniture. Having lived in an apartment for 4 years, I can say that depending on the wallpaper on your walls, tiles in the bathroom and lamps on the ceiling - you won’t walk and touch them every day, you can choose something nice from cheaper analogues.” .
Bad plan
Even when doing renovations without a designer, it’s better not to forget about necessary plans and diagrams that will indicate down to the centimeter what hangs where and in what direction it is laid. You shouldn’t count on responsibility and sense of taste from craftsmen.
“The layout of the tiles must be drawn in advance! So that you don’t end up with cuttings where you don’t need them.”
“Before firmly nailing down a floor covering (board or tile), it is better to first lay it out, see how it will look, select a pattern (transitions), and then give the go-ahead to the builders!”
“I didn’t think through the sockets carefully enough: there aren’t enough for everything next to the bed, it’s good that I at least made five at the desk.”
When planning, any ideas need to be examined for the availability of implementation:
“I regretted that in one of the bathrooms I planned all the accessories and plumbing components in bronze. The taps, mixers, and heated towel rails themselves are not so bad. But all sorts of drains, toilet connections, corrugations, faucets, bars on the bathtub and sink are terrible. Firstly, the price of the issue doubles. Secondly, finding and picking all this is a rare hemorrhoid. As a result, all sorts of small spare parts were left in chrome, because there was no longer any strength, time, or finances to look for them in bronze. If I had initially done everything in chrome, I wouldn’t have known grief. Although aged bronze in accessories is beautiful.”
Procedure
Choosing a sofa before creating an electrical diagram may seem strange. But this is exactly what will help you plan everything in the best possible way, not to mention the order of actions directly during the repair. Here's some advice from forum users:
“You need to select the furniture before doing the electrical work, and think through the arrangement in advance in order to understand where and how the lamps (floor, ceiling, wall) will be hung/built-in, and what area they will illuminate.”
“We had to carefully think through the order of work. We relied on the foreman, and in the end the already laid, oiled parquet had to be covered in order to do another putty and painting. And then wipe off the construction dust. In general, you have to be careful when more than one master or team is working: they do their job and leave, and they don’t care what happens to that painting and parquet. We have to plan everything in advance.”
Storage spaces
This is something that is never enough. But in addition to wardrobes, it’s worth considering very specific storage spaces:
“Don’t forget about storage places for the vacuum cleaner, ironing board where things will be dried and cleaning equipment. We don’t have any room for a vacuum cleaner now.”
"IN new apartment We haven’t thought through places to store food for dogs and cats. Of course, we ended up buying beautiful containers, but they are still an eyesore. It was necessary to make a special compartment in the closet in the hallway next to the bowls.”
Choice of materials and colors
Selecting colors and materials is one of the most difficult tasks. It is almost impossible to cope with it perfectly without experience or the help of a designer, this is confirmed by forum users:
“I wouldn’t put dark-colored wallpaper in the living room - it’s pressing and the dust is visible on it.”
“The mistake is linoleum. I would put it better tiles into the corridor."
“I regret that I bought cheap plaster for the ceiling in the bathroom: we had to buy some special waterproof one, because ours swelled very quickly in the corner and peeled off due to humidity. For the rest of the ceiling, we bought tiles made from a material like foam plastic - it was very convenient and quick.”
“Light cream tiles on the floor of the toilet and bathroom: every speck is noticeable and the light-colored grout between the tiles quickly becomes dirty.”
“During the last renovation I really regretted:
- laminate (slippery, class 33 quickly became unusable);
- that instead of a tile apron in the kitchen, they made a wall relief panel (compared to tiles, it’s difficult to clean).”
“Light facades of the lower tier of the kitchen. Never ever! And it’s not even about the facades themselves, but about this very bottom bar - the plinth. He is always the dirtiest!”
"Black, dark horizontal surfaces, dark glossy coatings- every speck of dust, fingers, etc. is visible. And it was conceived so beautifully.”
If you are worried about the cost of repairs, here is an inspiring opinion:
“I regret that my renovation and the crisis in the country began almost simultaneously (the crisis started a little earlier). Because of this, I had to abandon a lot of what was planned. And if a year ago I declared with aplomb that I would never have laminate flooring again, and was looking for myself massive board, and also did not recognize any suspended ceilings, now I am glad of both.
On the other hand, the increased estimate allowed me to reconsider my original sophisticated, with many complex elements, design to be more concise, practical, easily renewable (which is very important with three children), and most importantly - to understand that all this is such nonsense that is not worth the wasted nerves or money. The only thing in which I did not deviate from the original plan and did not spare money was the thoughtful redevelopment and installation engineering systems. Well, finishing is a costly matter.”
More useful
Before a major construction project or major renovation, we recommend reading about the main mistakes in home renovation so that you are satisfied and do not have to redo the work.
Top 5 - the largest and most basic repair mistakes
- Apartment redevelopment
- Combining rooms
- Electrical and wiring
- Bathroom and plumbing
- Organization of space
1. Apartment redevelopment
If you are going to tear down walls, even if self-repair a project is needed in which the little things will be spelled out - the volume of demolished and erected walls with all dimensions and references.
Measure twice, cut once, don’t tear down walls without a project!
Before redevelopment, the project must be approved by the district design and inventory bureau. Collecting documents will take from a week to three months. Only after approval can redevelopment be done.
2. Combining rooms
Combination of bath and toilet.
After the remodel, more than 50% of people claim that this was the MAIN mistake in renovating an apartment that does not have a duplicate bathroom. This is impractical if more than one person lives in the apartment.
Kitchen and living room
3. Electrical and wiring
So that the electrician does not become main mistake repair, it requires an electrical design, which includes a plan of sockets, arrangement of lamps and switches.
Before repairs, you need to think about the final arrangement of furniture and the necessary electrical outlets.
Sockets in the middle of the wall look unsightly, and extension cords will constantly dangle under your feet and get in the way. On the other hand, without calculating, for example, the height of the sofa, you can install a socket for a sconce behind its back, which will be useless and unjustified.
4. Bathroom and plumbing
Don't skimp on plumbing and finishing materials.
The bathroom and toilet are the most problematic areas of renovation.
In order not to relay the tiles several times, first replace all old communications, check the location of the toilet, bathtub, sink, washing machine, water heater and heated towel rail.
ABOUT warm floors also think ahead. We also recommend buying a little more tiles for the bathroom than necessary - perhaps after a while they will be discontinued, so you will have to redo the entire bathroom.
High-quality materials and new communications will increase the cost of an apartment or house, so saving on them is a mistake in repairs and the threat of quick alterations.
5. Organization of space
In order not to waste time and energy, think through your dressing room or closet in advance.
As practice shows, a separate dressing room is much more more practical than a closet! It holds more clothes, household appliances, bags and shoes.
Filling a dressing room is much easier to organize, and tightly closed doors will maintain comfort in the room. One of the important advantages of a dressing room is that dust accumulates in it much more slowly than in a living room. And of course, for greater comfort, consider proper lighting in the dressing room!
- Think it over floor coverings in advance - the floor under the tiles should be 3-5 cm below the general level
- Laminate and parquet in the kitchen will last until the first leak
- Light-colored grout gets dirty quickly, do not use it on the floor.
- Install moisture-proof outlets in the bathroom for hair dryers, razors and other small household appliances. This is very practical in a house with a large family
- Install dimmers in bedrooms and children's rooms - smooth switching of light will make the room cozier and more comfortable
- In the toilet and bathroom suspended ceiling will last longer than other materials
- When planning your kitchen, consider a closed hood box
- The kitchen needs a lot of sockets, at least 3 over work surface and several hidden pins for built-in equipment
- It is practical to think about connections for TV and Internet in each room, even if you do not use a TV.
- Distribute the electrics among several toggle switches; if the microwave breaks the plugs, electricity will remain in the apartment.
We looked at the most important DIY repair mistakes, but there are many more pitfalls and nuances. Experienced designer organizes work faster, saves your money and takes into account every little detail.
1. There is no need to combine a toilet and a bathroom if there is no “understudy”. There is such a rush in the mornings! And it’s not aesthetically pleasing at all, one is splashing in the bathroom, the other wants to sit on the toilet...
2.Linoleum is terrible, and whitewashing ceilings is doubly stupid.
3. Don’t trust your wife to do the repairs. Let her do it under the guidance of a designer. Otherwise, most of the apartments of my friends are no different from each other.
4. Do you want painted walls? But in everyday life they may turn out to be impractical. Especially in the area of switches, fingerprints remain.
5. In the kitchen, it is still better to provide a box under the corrugation for the hood.
6. Never wall up the space under the bathtub!
7. Never share the kitchen cutting area with the hob!
8. Never install carpet! Allergy to dust is guaranteed.
9. You should never use grey-blue, blue and malachite shades for your bathroom!
10. Never hang upper cabinets kitchens above the eye line!
11. I do not recommend installing laminate or parquet board. The first leak and the kerdyk... And in general I’m skeptical about laminate. From a purely practical point of view, any dropped object will cause a scratch or chip. And in the end, the laminate turns into a complete ugliness.
12. Do not put white or very light tiles in the bathroom, it will feel like you are in a hospital.
13. In vain they placed kitchen furniture along the entire wall in rectangular kitchen, it is much more convenient to place it at an angle.
14. Don’t skimp on plumbing and tiles – it will look bad for several years, but you won’t be able to redo it.
15. It was in vain to make a small dressing room so that there would be more space in the room. These half a meter to a meter won’t save the room, and when the dressing room is packed, you won’t be able to build another one.
16. You should never install electricity in your apartment without first making a furniture arrangement plan - and a final plan that will not change!!!
17. It's terrible - dark floors and dark tiles (especially on the bathroom floor). Any dirt is visible - every speck of dust and drop, especially from the washing machine. You need to clean several times a day.
18. Lots of open shelves with a bunch of souvenirs. This is an unreal dust collector!
19. Do not install sockets “in the floor”. Very inconvenient, they are constantly open, dust accumulates and it is impossible to clean the floor properly.
20. It is better to install automatic machines on every monster that consumes electricity, so that later you do not have to suffer with the lack of light due to the inclusion of the “kettle-washing-microwave” complex.
21. Don’t forget to install sockets right in the bathroom for a hair dryer, electric manicure set and razor. You can have one, but then choose a mirror that also has built-in sockets like an extension cord.
22. Provide rheostats (dimmers) in the child’s bedroom so that the light turns on slowly, rather than abruptly.
23. Make a warm floor. In principle, at first you don’t even have to turn it on, but it’s better to do it right away. It would be nice in the hallway too.
24. There is no need to buy chandeliers with flat horizontal open shades - so many midges accumulate there, you will get tired of cleaning them.
25. It is better to choose halogen light bulbs with an angle of inclination rather than rigidly fixed ones.
26. If the wiring is old, it is better to completely replace it. By the way, it would be good to write down (or take a photograph with measurements) its location, otherwise you will end up in the wiring later.
27. Provide an entrance to the apartment for all possible cables (wide cable channel).
28. All switches are “Euro” (at a height of 80-90 cm) - so that children can turn on the light without jumping.
29. Light for the balcony and an outlet just in case. Might come in handy.
30. Lighting in the kitchen directly above the work surface (built-in lights in the kitchen canopy are beautiful, but not functional).
31. Use two light switches/switches - at the entrance to the bedroom and at the bed in the bedroom, so as not to get out of bed wanting to turn it off.
32. Do not place rough tiles on the floor in the hallway and kitchen. Impossible to wash! The rag is torn, and it’s so hard to wash away the dirt!
33. Be sure to provide warm floors with a timer; if you turn them on in the morning, they don’t have time to warm up.
34. Decide right away where the kitchen furniture and refrigerator will be located; you cannot put a heated floor under them! My friend has a depth of floor cabinets of 60 cm, and the floor does not heat 1 meter from the wall. You stand, cook, but your feet don’t get warm. And under the refrigerator it warms. It’s better to warm up the entire hallway so that the shoes dry out.
35. Windows are better with a micro-ventilation function - it’s safer for children and animals.
36. The location for the counter must be selected in advance. If the meter hangs poorly, it is scary to drill into the wall above it - wires. And the position of the switch in the hallway needs to be measured more carefully so that you don’t have to cut a hole in the furniture for it later.
37. Doors with glass insert Personally, I didn’t like it, if a child falls asleep in the room, the light in the corridor shines.
38. In the nursery, think over the sports complex in advance and strengthen the holes for the wall bars.
39. About warmth. Should be placed near hot surfaces fireproof materials. We have polypropylene trim near chimney pipe The glass on the wall melted.
40. The batteries do not need to be sewn up too tightly; leave access to their overlap.
41. Many people regret that they did not find a place for the boiler in time in case the hot water was turned off or its temperature was extremely low.
42. One more thing - I don’t have much enthusiasm for ideal smooth walls, so I never advocate for their particularly careful alignment. But, if you are going to make built-in wardrobes or chests of drawers to order, you need to level the walls!
43. You need to think through little things in advance. If, for example, after renovation you buy an 80-liter water heater and decide to install it in the toilet, you will need an outlet so as not to scratch the new wallpaper or tiles, provide it in advance.
44. In the kitchen, floor tiles that were too slippery were laid and grouted with light-colored grout (at first it was very beautiful, but now the grout has become stained, it doesn’t wash off, it looks terrible)
45. When installing the bathroom, they did not put borders on the wall where it meets the tiles, but simply rubbed silicone sealant... As a result, there is always water in the corners.
46. You regretted spending money on heated floors in the kitchen and hallway, they only did it in the bathroom, now do you regret it? There is only one excuse. By the end of the renovation there was no money at all, the estimate had ballooned out of proportion.
47. Pipes to the batteries run in the floor. In the bathtub, the floor heating sensor was placed too close to them. Bottom line - when you turn on the heating, the thermostat has only two modes: off or at full power.
48. The tiles on the bathroom floor are too rough. Labor-intensive to care for (does not wash well).
49. Stitched in plasterboard ceiling The ventilation duct is too narrow for exhaust. The result is a drop in the suction power of the hood.
50. When dividing the floor in the kitchen-living room into work area(tiles) and the seating area (parquet), they put too many tiles. Conclusion: you need to plan more carefully and take into account the volume of future furniture.
51. Water distribution was done according to sequential circuit and didn’t force the plumbers to redo it. They didn’t think about this point before starting work, but they did what was easier for them.
52. The tiles in the kitchen are very beautiful, but there is one drawback: the chamfers are very deep, all kinds of dirt quickly accumulate there and are difficult to wash out. It was necessary to choose an absolutely smooth one, but not glossy and so that there was almost no chamfer.
53. It’s better to make more sockets than to scratch new wallpaper later. Immediately plan wherever there is at least a hint that you will someday have something standing here. It’s better not single ones, but double ones, the price is almost the same, but then you won’t be overjoyed.
54. It’s great that they made switches in the hallway and bedroom. In the hallway you don’t have to walk back and forth to turn off the light, and in the bedroom you can turn off the light while lying on the bed.
55. The windows were installed poorly. Be very careful that the slopes are made, that everything is thoroughly foamed there, and that the outside is properly sealed so that there is not a single hole!! Otherwise it will blow.
56. When installing a bathtub, make sure that the bowl is tilted towards the drain, otherwise the water hardly leaves if the bathtub is placed level.
57. Forced the foreman to make a bend floor tiles in the bathrooms and kitchen. Those. if somewhere under the bathroom or kitchen furniture water is leaking, it flows into the middle of the room (you can immediately sound the alarm)
58. When choosing tiles (especially ours), we encountered many problems: different colors (I was tired of laying out color palette), different size(up to 3mm), pattern inconsistency. There were no such problems with Spanish and Italian.
59. If funds allowed, I would replace all (and not just one) windows, ebbs, slopes, etc. Our house has the cheapest double-glazed windows and the installation quality is appropriate. I had to insulate and seal the cracks myself.
60. Don’t forget, like me, about the heated towel rail!!!
61. Very noisy sewer pipe when neighbors upstairs use the toilet. Good for everyone plastic pipes, but they make a fair amount of noise, so make soundproofing - wrap it in something.
62. If you have a small, curious child, it is better to make keys or wraps on all doors, especially to the bedroom. And store the backups high up, but in an accessible place.
63. If you buy corners for the bathroom yourself, then protect them from scratches and damage during transportation.
65. Install suspended ceilings throughout the entire apartment at once and bargain with the company where you will order (if you have a decent area - from 50 sq.m.);
66. And yet, in my opinion, the most important thing at the time of starting renovation is to have a complete understanding of the arrangement of furniture. Plan your kitchen right away. The supply of many communications depends on this.
67. I would never make a corner dryer in the kitchen - it’s very inconvenient.
68. I wouldn’t make a plain light-colored floor in the bathroom—every trash can is visible, at least once in my hour. And my dark hair on it... just a nightmare!!!
69. Problems arose with the boiler, no one warned that plasterboard wall dangerous to hang. So now we are without a boiler.
70. You must first think whether you want to change the windows, and then do it cosmetic repairs in the apartment. Replacing double-glazed windows after wallpapering is just stupid...
71. Do not use white grout for tiles in the kitchen - it will look dirty.
72. First you need to think about the electrical wiring in the bathroom, and then lay the tiles.
73. Be sure to install heated floors in the bath and toilet - it’s such a pleasure!
74. Don’t skimp on water heating – buy at least 80, and preferably 100, liters of storage for your family.
75. It is better to design a bathroom in warm colors. This is the first time I’m living in one now – it seems that the temperature inside is 56 degrees higher.
76. Now I would strictly forbid builders to touch kitchen appliances made of stainless steel! They wiped mine with God knows what, and now there are scratches on the hood.
77. I would not buy parquet boards, but real parquet, because... After a few years, the board, even a very expensive one in my case, began to peel slightly, and the seams between the boards widened slightly.
78. SOCKETS!!! Don't regret it. I read this advice before, but my husband tugged at my sleeve (moderated my appetites), and as a result, extension cords appeared, which I would really like to avoid.
79. Warm floors: Wherever there are tiles, they are a must. We made the bed and are very happy. In the kitchen - for some reason the children love to lie and draw on the floor, in the corridor - after going outside, we lay out all the wet overalls and jackets on the floor and they dry out very quickly, the same with shoes. In the bathroom and toilet - a must. You also need to foresee in advance where the furniture, plumbing, etc. will be located, and do not lay warm floors in these places.
80. Doors: when the interior doors were installed, it didn’t even occur to me that the switch should be located next to the handle that opens the door. And we hung them so that the switch was on the side of the hinges. Now you have to turn on the light (eg, in the bathroom, toilet, closet), and then go to the handle and open it on the other side. It seems like a small thing, but it’s so inconvenient!!!
81. Pantry: If there is any space you can donate to a pantry, do it! Vacuum cleaners, roller skates, sleds, skis, New Year's toys, mops, basins, buckets, household appliances that we don’t use every day - everything is there.
82. Parquet: we have dark merbau parquet. It looks very nice, but on this dark floor, especially on a sunny day, every speck of dust is visible, so you have to clean it every day.
83. Ceiling: miss - done glossy ceiling in the living room, but did not take into account that underneath there is another level of ceiling with lamps built inside - all these lamps now do not scatter a pleasant light around the perimeter of the room, as expected, but are reflected in the ceiling, as in a mirror. Horror!!! The whole inside out, as they say, is there.
84. In the toilet, bathroom (and anywhere there is a lot of moisture) a suspended ceiling is required. Nothing swells, nothing falls off, but the most important thing is that if your neighbors flood you, the water does not spread widely throughout the apartment, but collects in this very ceiling. The ceiling sags and water remains inside. Then the craftsmen removed part of the ceiling, drained the water, and installed it back.
85. Loggia (or balcony): you need to remove the lighting and be sure to have an outlet! I adapted mine into a utility room, drying and ironing clothes there.
86. In the bathroom, sockets must be waterproof (with a lid) - washing machine, hair dryer, razor are simply vital.
87. Needed forced exhaust in the bathroom. Now it turns on automatically when we turn on the lights. And only now I realized that it was necessary to make a separate switch. Otherwise it’s so annoying and you can’t turn it off.
88. I gave in to my husband’s persuasion, but in the end they didn’t do it hidden places for storage (for example, buckets, rags, chemicals and other household supplies), although it was possible to play around with some options with built-in cabinets. He really wanted some kind of “glamorous” look imposed by magazines, but he didn’t take into account the fact that people would live in the apartment and do the cleaning.
89. From what we did correctly: 1. B guest bathroom They installed a shower stall. We need to quickly, we wash ourselves there, and it’s also very convenient to wash the dog; 2. Warm floors, boiler, insulated loggia (with warm floors, light and socket); 3. Lots of drawers and closed shelves + a wardrobe in the children's room, there is a place to hide all the children's belongings; 4. Built-in dishwasher is a dream.
90. I would fork out for a designer so I could see the whole picture at once! There are a lot of things I don’t like precisely because they haven’t been thought through.
91. When planning sleeping places, it is necessary to take into account the direction of drafts.
92. I’m also fed up with the button plugs and the joints on the baseboards – I really don’t like them. Looks like they matched the color. And my sister had them in the same collection - they are practically invisible.
93. Door handles with sharp corners - periodically someone touches them with their hand or something else, it hurts and the clothes tear.
94. Vinyl wallpaper for painting, made in Ukraine - in one room they foolishly stuck it on - horror, horror! In another they put German ones - super.
95. You should not move into an apartment with unfinished renovations and incomplete furniture. Then the process will drag on.... It seems like we’ve already gotten used to it, but there’s always not enough time to finish everything.
96. Single sockets are just ridiculous! Now I live with the tees I hate.
97. So much has already been written about light grout on the floor!!! But, apparently, I wasn’t enough... A very unkempt appearance.
98. I will never put “fluffy” wallpaper in the nursery that can be torn off while falling asleep. The children pick at it with their fingers all the time - they've already torn off everything near the bed.
99. All exact dimensions of furniture must be found out before repairs.
100. We survived major renovation and realized that the most important thing is not to skimp on materials - wallpaper, paint, adhesives - everything must be of good quality!