Private house renovation - interior work from demolition to finishing

How a house renovation differs from an apartment

In a house everything is yours: the load-bearing walls, the floor slabs, the stairs, the services from the inlet to the last socket. There is no building manager responsible for risers, and no owners' association whose consent you must ask. This gives freedom, but it also means that the owner decides on the condition of the structures and on the documents.

In an old house, layers of finish can hide traces of earlier renovations: several floor layers, old wires under the plaster, pipes in the walls. That is why the estimate can be refined once it is visible what is under the finish.

When a renovation needs documents

• For interior work that does not involve renovation, reconstruction, restoration or demolition, no construction intent documents are needed.
• Simplified renovation means improvements to a building without changing the load-bearing structures, the volume and the use, and without affecting the facade.
• Reconstruction changes the volume of the building or strengthens load-bearing elements; renovation is the replacement of worn load-bearing elements without changing the volume and load-bearing capacity.
• In cases not named in the regulations, a building design is prepared and a building permit obtained. With an explanatory memorandum or a building permit, work may begin only after the building board's mark.

For work without a required explanatory memorandum or building permit, a private individual can be given a warning or a fine of up to 400 fine units (up to €2,000). Ask the municipal building board which document your work needs; more in the article does a renovation need a permit.

Asbestos and old wiring

Before demolition in buildings built before the asbestos ban, the employer finds out whether they may contain materials with asbestos. Asbestos has historically been used in the thermal insulation of pipework and boilers, and asbestos cement was used for slate, pipes and boards. Asbestos cannot be reliably identified by appearance; it is determined in a laboratory.

In many homes the wiring was installed in the Soviet era, and the wires are worn out. New wiring is installed under the supervision of a certified construction specialist, and when it is reconstructed in an existing building, residual current protection is needed.

The renovation work in sequence

1. List of work What stays and what has to be changed: the condition of the structures, floors and services.
2. Demolition Removing the old finish, floor layers and partitions.
3. Services Electrical wiring, water supply and sewer inside the house.
4. Floors and walls Screed or floor levelling, plastering, plasterboard partitions and ceilings.
5. Wet rooms Waterproofing, tiling, installing sanitaryware.
6. Finishing Skimming, painting, floor covering, doors.

How long a renovation takes depends on the scope of the work and the drying time of the materials. The manufacturer Ceresit states that a cement screed and plaster under tiles must be at least 28 days old.

How much a house renovation costs

• Demolition of walls, floors and finishes: from €6/m².
• Floor levelling, poured compound or screed: from €6.50/m².
• Wall plastering: from €8/m².
• Plasterboard partition wall: from €12/m².
• Tiling: from €24/m².
• Bathroom renovation (the whole job): from €3,000.

Prices are for labour. Materials are calculated separately in the estimate. How much a house renovation costs is calculated from the list of work and the area. The price changes with the area in m² and the number of rooms, whether the renovation is cosmetic or full, the condition of the walls, floors and ceilings, whether the wiring and pipes are changed, and the finish chosen.

Example: a room of 15 m² with 40 m² of walls: skimming 40 × €10 = €400 and painting 40 × €4 = €160, total from €560; laminate 15 × €6.50 = from €97.50. This room in total: from €657.50 (labour). We agree the price and the list of work before the job starts.

What the interior renovation work includes

For construction waste removal, see buvgruzuizvesanariga.lv.