Apartment and house renovation in Lucavsala - for garden houses and seasonal buildings

Allotments, a recreation park and few permanent houses

Lucavsala has allotments and a recreation park. Lucavsala is an island in the Daugava and one of the Riga neighbourhoods with recreation infrastructure, sports and event venues and limited permanent development. Life here is mainly seasonal: recreation, sport, events and work in the garden.

For renovation, it follows that work in Lucavsala may be in a small building that is not an apartment in an apartment building. Allotments are rented out to residents, cannot be bought as property and are managed by societies and cooperatives. So before bigger work, such as extending the house or a new water or electricity connection, find out the conditions of the lease in your society or cooperative. There is no apartment owners' association here, and there are no shared utilities of an apartment building: electricity, water and sewerage are as installed in the particular place. If your apartment is in a nearby neighbourhood, for example Torņakalns, Zaķusala or Krasta rajons, see its page below; there the development and the renovation questions are different.

Garden house interiors: from the floor to the walls

In a small building used seasonally, the choice of materials is determined by the fact that in winter the rooms may be unheated. Manufacturers state working temperatures: Ceresit CL 51 waterproofing is applied from +5 to +30 °C, and for Tikkurila paint the surface must be dry, not cooler than +5 °C, and the air humidity no higher than 80%. So for finishing work, the warm season or a heated room is best.

For the floor, the base is checked first. Quick-Step states that laminate panels acclimatise for 48 hours in unopened packaging in the room where they will be laid, and that an expansion gap of at least 8 to 10 mm is needed along all edges, around pipes and at thresholds. Unevenness greater than 2 mm per 1 m is levelled out before laying. See laminate installation, vinyl flooring installation and summer house renovation.

Electricity in a small building

If the garden house has electricity, check the wires and the distribution board before finishing. The Fire Safety Regulations currently in force require an inspection of the electrical wiring every 10 years, and the result is recorded in a report. If the installation is reconstructed, from 01.07.2025 it must have residual current protection. For socket circuits up to 32 A and lighting circuits, the tripping current is no more than 30 mA.

In the request, write how many sockets and light points are needed and whether you plan an electric heater or cooker in the house; that changes the load on the installation. More: electrical wiring replacement.

A shower or kitchen corner in a house with water

If the house has water and you want to fit a shower or sink, waterproofing is applied in the wet zone before the tiles. The manufacturer of Ceresit CL 51 intends it for walls and floors in wet rooms, recommends at least two coats and tape in the wall and floor joints; collars or membranes are used at pipes and drains. The base must be dry, stable and clean.

In residential buildings a shower room is ventilated through a natural exhaust duct; in a small building too, a wet room needs air exchange so that moisture does not build up in the walls and ceilings. In the request, write where the wastewater goes, because whether a shower is possible at all depends on it. See shower with a floor drain.

Salu tilts and events: how to get there

Lucavsala is reached by the Salu tilts (Island Bridge) junctions, and during large events the traffic here changes. Access by the allotments can be restricted, so in the request describe how close to the building a car can drive. If the allotment area has a gate or barrier, also write how it can be opened and whether there is a set time when vehicles may enter the area for the work.

• Building: garden house, seasonal building or other; approximate area in m².
• Whether there is electricity, water and sewerage.
• What work: floor, walls, ceiling, electricity, doors.
• Whether the building is also used in winter.

Extending or reconstructing: documents

For interior finishing, such as painting walls or replacing the floor covering, no construction documentation is needed. If the building is extended or its volume is otherwise changed, under the Construction Law that is reconstruction. The regulations have no separate type called “replanning of rooms”, so the type of document is chosen by the content of the work, and a designer can recommend the most suitable one.

Approval of reconstruction in Lucavsala is handled by the City Development Department of Riga Municipality (formerly the Riga City Building Board), with documents submitted in the Construction Information System. For buildings older than 50 years that are not state-protected, the department can determine the cultural and historical value when it examines a proposal. The part of Lucavsala to the north-west of the Salu tilts is in the protection zone of the historic centre of Riga, where new buildings must keep the view of the Old Riga panorama.

The executive director of Riga City, Jānis Lange, has stated that a third of Lucavsala is planned to be built up because apartments are needed. So before extending, find out which rules apply to your plot of land. See does a renovation need a permit.

Prices in Lucavsala

• Laminate installation: from €6.50/m².
• Vinyl flooring installation: from €10/m².
• Painting walls or ceilings: from €4/m².
• Socket, switch or light point: from €12 per point.

Prices are for labour. Materials are calculated separately in the estimate. Example: laminate in an 18 m² room, 18 × €6.50 = from €117 (labour; base levelling and skirting boards separately). Painting is calculated by the area of the walls and ceilings, not the floor. An exact estimate can be made after seeing the building.

Work: summer house renovation in Lucavsala, laminate installation in Lucavsala, wall painting in Lucavsala, minor repairs in Lucavsala.