Renovation and finishing in Dārzciems - for 103 and 119 series apartments and detached houses

103 series, 119 series and the French project: what changes in each building

A Riga neighbourhood portal writes that the multi-storey buildings of Dārzciems are made up of 103 and 119 series buildings, small-family project buildings and individual buildings of other projects, and that they were built in the 1970s and 1980s. Wikipedia also mentions French-project high-rises. Each of these buildings has its own logic in renovation.

In the 103 series the external walls are of silicate bricks or hollow clay bricks, while the partition walls are of aerated concrete or expanded clay concrete panels and are not load-bearing. The bathroom and toilet in this series are separate. So in a full renovation you can consider here whether to combine the bathroom with the toilet, or the kitchen with a room, and the documents needed for demolition are described in the next sections. If your apartment is in a small-family project building, check the plan separately, because that is a different building with its own structure.

According to nopo.lv, in the 119 series the ceilings are about 2.6 m, and in most apartments only the external walls are load-bearing. Before the bathroom renovation, check in your apartment whether the toilet is separate. A French-project high-rise is a monolithic reinforced concrete building with 16–18 floors: which wall is load-bearing is shown by the building's design; an opening in a load-bearing wall needs a certified architect and a certified structural engineer.

Dārzciema iela, Lubānas iela and what to write in the request

Dārzciems is crossed by Dārzciema iela and Lubānas iela, and the Southern Bridge corridor is nearby. In the neighbourhood, next to residential buildings there are warehouses and car repair shops, so access to a particular building can differ. In the request, write where materials can be unloaded near the building and whether there is vehicle access to the courtyard. If the apartment is on an upper floor of a high-rise, mention the size of the lift, because it determines whether long plasterboard sheets and boxes of tiles can be taken up in it.

In the request, state:

• the series (103, 119, French project) or the year the building was built;
• the floor and whether the building has a lift;
• the apartment area in m² and which rooms you will renovate;
• whether you plan to demolish a partition wall or change the risers;
• for a detached house: the number of floors and the type of heating;
• the condition of each room and of the bathroom.

Partition wall in a 103 series apartment: plan and notice

If in a 103 series apartment you want to combine the kitchen with a room, demolishing a non-load-bearing partition wall is not just removal. According to the Riga municipality's explanation, for such work an architect prepares a plan, and a construction notice is submitted in the BIS as simplified renovation. The notice is accompanied by the room group plan with the changes and an explication with the room heights.

The typical weak points of this series are the windows, the utilities and heat loss through the floor slabs. In a full renovation the pipes and wiring can be replaced at the same time as the wall finish, so that the new walls do not have to be opened a second time. The windows are an external structure of the building, and the owner may replace them at their own expense, in agreement with the building manager. More about this building: 103 series apartment renovation and kitchen combined with a room in Dārzciems.

Approval of reconstruction in Dārzciems: which document for which work

Approval of reconstruction in Dārzciems is handled by the City Development Department of the Riga municipality (formerly the Riga City Building Board). In Riga the BIS notices are checked by its Architecture Department, and non-compliant notices are annulled.

• Painting, wallpaper, replacing the floor covering: no construction documents are needed.
• Demolishing a non-load-bearing partition wall: a construction notice with a plan.
• An opening in a load-bearing wall: an explanatory memorandum, an architect and a structural engineer, and the consent of more than half of the apartment owners.

Some of the multi-storey buildings in Dārzciems built before 1976 are already older than 50 years. In Riga, for such buildings, if they are not state-protected, the department can determine the cultural and historical value and the permitted actions when it considers a proposal. If approval is needed, write that in the request. See approval of replanning and does a renovation need a permit.

Floors in an old multi-storey building and in a detached house

After the Second World War extensive detached-house development was carried out in Dārzciems, and these houses now stand alongside the buildings of the 1970s and 1980s. In both kinds of building, new laminate or tiles need a level base, and removing the old covering can show what the screed under it is like. In a detached house the floor structure can be quite different from a reinforced concrete floor slab, so in the request describe what the base is like once the old covering has been removed, if that has already been done. The manufacturer Quick-Step requires unevenness greater than 2 mm per 1 m to be levelled.

Ceresit CN 76 self-levelling compound can be poured in a layer 4–50 mm thick; a thicker layer costs more. If in an apartment you want underfloor heating with water from the building's heating, it affects common property and needs the consent of the apartment owners' association. See floor levelling in Dārzciems and underfloor heating.

What renovation costs in Dārzciems

• Full renovation: from €280/m² of apartment area
• Plasterboard partition wall: from €12/m²
• Floor levelling, pour or screed: from €6.50/m²
• Bathroom renovation (all the work): from €3,000

Prices are for labour, and materials are calculated separately in the estimate. Example: a 2-room apartment of 50 m², full renovation: 50 × €280 = from €14,000 (labour). If in place of an old partition wall you put in a new one of plasterboard: 3 m × 2.6 m = 7.8 m² × €12 = from €93.60 (the partition wall only). The total changes with the condition of the walls and floors, whether the risers are changed, and the chosen finish. An exact estimate can be made after seeing the apartment. All prices: renovation prices, full renovation in Dārzciems.