Apartment and house renovation in Beberbeķi - for two-storey detached houses

Large two-storey detached houses and new private house development

The neighbourhoods portal writes that in Beberbeķi, next to allotment gardens, there are large, mostly two-storey detached houses with fenced gardens, and that suburban private house development in the neighbourhood has become more intensive. So the neighbourhood has two kinds of houses: older family houses, where a renovation means restoration, and new houses, where the interior finishing is completed for the first time.

In an older detached house, a renovation has to take into account what is hidden: pipes, wiring, the floor base and the heating elements. In a new house, the list of work is the order of finishing: floor levelling, tiles in the bathroom, skimming and painting the walls, doors. In a two-storey house, the floors may differ in use, for example the kitchen and living room downstairs, bedrooms and a second bathroom upstairs.

A detached house has no apartment owners' association, so no association consent is needed. On the other hand, the owner is responsible for the whole building, including the load-bearing walls and the roof. More on this work: private house renovation and private house renovation in Beberbeķi.

Kārļa Ulmaņa gatve and what to write in the request

Beberbeķi is reached along Kārļa Ulmaņa gatve and the roads towards the airport and Mārupe, but the street network in the neighbourhood is sparser.

• the year the house was built and the wall material, if you know it
• how many floors and on which floor the rooms to be renovated are
• the area in m², which rooms to renovate and whether the house is new (first finishing)
• the type of heating and whether radiators will be changed or underfloor heating installed
• whether you plan to change the room layout, openings or an extension

An extension or a change of layout: where to get approval

If in the house you only paint, hang wallpaper or change the floor covering, no documents are needed. If an opening is made in a load-bearing wall, it is a simplified reconstruction: the structural solution for the opening and an explanatory memorandum are needed. If the volume of the house changes, for example a terrace with a room is added, it is a reconstruction. The regulations do not have a type of construction called “room replanning”, so the type is chosen according to the content of the work, and the designer can recommend the most suitable one.

Approval of reconstruction in Beberbeķi takes place at the Riga municipality's City Development Department (Pilsētas attīstības departaments; until 1 September 2021 the Riga City Building Board), and the documents are submitted in the BIS. For buildings older than 50 years that are not state-protected, when reviewing the construction proposal the department may determine the cultural and historical value and the permitted action. With an explanatory memorandum or a building permit, work may be started only after the building board's note. See replanning and does a renovation need a permit.

Wiring and pipes in an older house

If the family house was built several decades ago, before finishing it is worth deciding about the wiring and pipes, because after tiling and painting they are more expensive to change. The Fire Safety Regulations currently in force require an inspection of the electrical wiring every 10 years, and the results are recorded in an inspection report. If the installation is rebuilt, residual current protection with a tripping current of no more than 30 mA is installed for socket circuits up to 32 A and for lighting circuits.

The electrical installation is carried out under the direction of a certified construction specialist, and the inspections are carried out by a certified electrical specialist. In the request, write whether the house has a new or an old distribution board. Socket, switch or light point: from €12 per point. See rewiring in Beberbeķi.

A house for an older person or a person with a disability

In a two-storey house, over the years the stairs can become an obstacle. Adaptation may include a threshold-free shower with a drain, wider doors, handrails and non-slip floors.

The Riga municipality pays a benefit for adapting a home for a person declared in Riga who has a group I or II disability and uses a wheelchair, and for a person with a group I or II visual disability, also for children. The benefit is up to €6,000 for a person in a wheelchair and up to €2,250 for a person with a visual disability. It is granted by the Riga Social Service, and it is not granted if unauthorised construction has previously been carried out in the home. This benefit applies only to the persons named. See renovation for seniors and shower with a floor drain.

Prices for detached house work in Beberbeķi

Tiling: from €24/m². Installing a shower drain: from €100 per drain. Bathroom renovation (the whole job): from €3,000. Installing interior doors: from €100 per door. Prices are for labour. Materials are calculated separately in the estimate.

Example for a threshold-free shower: tiling 18 m² × €24 = from €432, waterproofing 5 m² × €6 = from €30 and installing a shower drain from €100, in total from €562 for these three jobs only. For renovating the whole house, the price is by estimate, because it is determined by the number of rooms, the condition of the walls, floors and ceilings, the services and the finish chosen. An exact estimate can be made after seeing the house.