Apartment renovation in Šķirotava - for low-rise apartment houses and private houses

Krustpils iela: private and apartment houses by the railway

Šķirotava is a south-eastern industrial and logistics neighbourhood around large railway junctions; it was incorporated into the city of Riga in 1968 and began to develop as an industrial territory in the late 1950s. The development on Krustpils iela is mainly low-rise private and apartment houses, and between Šķirotava station and the Riga boundary there is a residential zone with a geometrically regular street layout, where private houses predominate. At Gravas iela 17 a five-storey apartment building, Rubeņkalni, with 57 apartments has been built.

For a renovation the most important difference is between a private house and an apartment in a low-rise building. In a private house the owner decides about pipes, heating and walls. In an apartment house the external walls, the roof, the load-bearing walls, the walls between apartments, the floors between storeys and the building's engineering systems are common property, while non-load-bearing partition walls, the finishing, the doors and the pipes up to the risers belong to the apartment. In his or her own apartment an owner can work without others' approval, as long as the work does not affect common property or a neighbour's apartment.

Šķirotava has no notable cultural and historical values, because the territory began to be developed only in the early 20th century. Even so, for buildings here that are older than 50 years and not state-protected, the City Development Department of Riga, when reviewing a construction proposal, can determine a cultural and historical value and the permissible action, so plan any changes to windows, the facade or the volume of an older private house with that in mind.

Kitchen and living room combined in a low-rise apartment house

If in an apartment you want to combine the kitchen and the living room, you first need to find out whether the wall between them is load-bearing. The building design or a structural engineer's opinion will show it. According to Riga municipality's explanation, for demolishing a non-load-bearing wall an architect prepares a plan, and a construction notice as a simplified renovation is submitted in the Construction Information System. The notice is accompanied by a plan of the room group showing the changes and a schedule of rooms (explication) with room heights.

An opening in a load-bearing wall needs a structural engineer's calculations, an explanatory memorandum as a simplified reconstruction and the consent of the owners of more than half of the building's apartments. Approval of a reconstruction in Šķirotava goes through Riga municipality's City Development Department (formerly the Riga City Building Board). If the kitchen has a gas hob, combining the rooms also affects the ventilation; a gas hob may be replaced or moved within one room, in agreement with the gas supplier; for moving it to another room the supplier's technical conditions, a report on the condition of the flue and ventilation ducts and a building design are needed. Gas work is not part of the renovation estimate. See kitchen and living room combined and load-bearing wall.

Lubānas iela and Krustpils iela: what to write in the request

Šķirotava is reached along Lubānas iela and Krustpils iela, and the Southern Bridge connections are nearby. The railway and the freight flow determine traffic in the neighbourhood. In the private house zone between the station and the city boundary the streets are regular, but for an apartment in a five-storey building the floor and whether there is a lift matter, so write that too.

• An apartment in a low-rise house or a private house; the time of construction.
• The floor and the area in m².
• Which rooms: kitchen, bathroom, rooms.
• Whether you plan to demolish or move walls.
• Whether you will change risers or radiators.
• The condition of the rooms; you can send the building plan, if there is one, to the specialist when they contact you.

Risers and radiators: the association and the building manager

In a low-rise or five-storey apartment house, such as Rubeņkalni, the risers are the common property of the apartment owners, and so are radiators if their operation depends on the building's heating. So replacing a riser section or a radiator during a renovation needs the apartment owners' association's consent, and work on the heating and water system is organised by the building manager, who shuts off the water or the heating. The owners cover the building's management costs in proportion to their shares.

Leave a hatch at the riser, because an owner must allow the association's or the building manager's specialists to reach the building's utilities. In a private house there is no such question: the pipes and heating belong to the owner. More: riser replacement, radiator replacement and who pays for risers.

A home for an older person or a person in a wheelchair

For a person whose declared place of residence is Riga with a group I or II disability who uses a wheelchair, the Riga Social Service can award a benefit for adapting the home of up to €6,000, and for a person with a visual disability up to €2,250. In an apartment building the benefit does not cover adapting shared areas. For accessibility, an owner, after informing the association or the building manager in advance, may build a ramp or install a platform lift in the stairwell. The application is accompanied by a medical extract or a doctor's opinion, and a tenant needs a tenancy agreement for at least 5 years and the owner's written consent.

For an older person without a disability group this benefit does not apply, but the content of the renovation can be similar: a shower without a threshold, handrails, wider doors. See renovation for seniors and adaptation.

A smoke detector and an electrical check after the renovation

If the apartment is in an apartment building, the Fire Safety Regulations currently in force require an autonomous smoke detector, at least one on each floor of the apartment. The State Fire and Rescue Service explains that it is placed on the ceiling in the room where people mostly sleep or spend time, and that when buying you check the CE marking and conformity with EN 14604. During a renovation it is convenient to provide for it together with the ceiling finishing.

The same regulations require a check of the wiring once every 10 years, and the results are recorded in a report. If a renovation changes the wiring, it is better to do the check after the work: rewiring.

Prices in Šķirotava

• Cosmetic renovation: from €100/m² of apartment area.
• Demolition of walls, floors and finishing: from €6/m².
• Replacing a riser section in an apartment: from €100 per riser.
• Replacing a radiator: from €115 per radiator.

Prices are for labour. Materials are calculated separately in the estimate. Example: a 2-room apartment of 50 m², cosmetic renovation: 50 × €100 = from €5,000 (labour). For combining rooms, the estimate also includes demolition and replanning documents, the price of which is by estimate. An exact estimate can be made after seeing the apartment.

Work: cosmetic renovation in Šķirotava, wall demolition in Šķirotava, kitchen renovation in Šķirotava, house renovation in Šķirotava. For construction waste removal see buvgruzuizvesanariga.lv.