Budget apartment renovation - what to change and what to keep

What a budget renovation is and what it usually includes

A budget renovation is not a separate type of work, but a choice of what to do and what not to do. Usually it is a cosmetic renovation: walls and ceilings, floor covering, doors and skirting boards. The existing wiring and pipes stay, so there is no need to cut the walls and pour new screed.

Preparation (skimming from €10/m²) can cost more than painting (from €4/m²). If the wall is even, painting is enough. If it has cracks and holes, skimming is needed. So the budget is affected most by the condition of the walls and floors, not only by the choice of materials.

Cheap renovation: where you can save

• Painting instead of wallpaper, or the other way round. Painting walls: from €4/m² of wall surface, hanging wallpaper: from €5/m². Both need a prepared wall.
• Laminate or vinyl flooring on a level base. Laminate installation: from €6.50/m², vinyl flooring installation: from €10/m². If the old floor is level, levelling is not needed.
• Only the rooms where it is really needed. You can renovate one room and the hallway, leaving the rest for the next stage.
• Doors only where the old ones no longer close or are damaged. Interior door installation: from €100 per door, doors separate.
• You choose the materials yourself. In your request, write whether you will choose the materials yourself.

Where we do not recommend saving in a budget renovation

In a bathroom, waterproofing is work you can no longer see after tiling, but it protects both your apartment and the neighbour's below. The manufacturer of Ceresit CL 51 waterproofing intends it for walls and floors before tiling in wet rooms and recommends at least two coats. Waterproofing in the bathroom: from €6/m².

Electrical wiring must be checked every 10 years, and the results are recorded in a report. In many homes the wiring was installed in the Soviet era and is 30–50 years old. If the wiring in the apartment is old, it is worth checking it before a cosmetic renovation, because after new paint or wallpaper, replacing wiring means damaging the walls again.

The order of work in a budget renovation

1. List of work For each room, write what stays and what changes. The more precise the list, the more precise the estimate.
2. Preparation Old wallpaper or flaking paint is removed, cracks and holes are filled and, where needed, the walls are skimmed.
3. Ceilings and walls Ceilings first, then walls. Absorbent and skimmed surfaces are primed before painting.
4. Floor The floor covering is laid when the wall work is finished, so that it is not damaged.
5. Doors and skirting boards At the end, doors, skirting boards and other details are fitted.

How much does a budget apartment renovation cost?

Cosmetic renovation of the whole apartment: from €100/m² of apartment area. If only a few rooms are renovated, the price is calculated from the separate jobs. Prices are for labour. Materials are calculated separately in the estimate. Construction waste removal is not part of the renovation estimate.

The price is affected by the apartment area in m² and the number of rooms, cosmetic or full renovation, the condition of the walls, floors and ceilings, whether the wiring, pipes and risers are changed, and the finish chosen.