Renovation work in an apartment - one job or several together

When individual jobs are enough

If you are changing only one finishing layer or one part of a room, a renovation of the whole apartment is not needed. If there is a lot of work and it affects several rooms, it is worth comparing with cosmetic renovation or full renovation, where the price is per m² of apartment area.

Renovation work usually goes from rough to fine: demolition, services, plastering and screed, plasterboard, skimming, tiles, painting and floor covering, and finally doors and skirting boards. For more on the order, read where to start an apartment renovation.

Walls: painting, skimming, plaster and wallpaper

Wall painting is the last layer, and its price is per m² of wall or ceiling surface, not floor area. If the surface has cracks, holes or flaking old paint, skimming the walls is needed first. If the wall is very crooked or the plaster is crumbling, start with plastering the walls.

Hanging wallpaper suits you if you want a pattern or texture without painting. Applying decorative plaster suits an accent wall or a hallway. Applying microcement is a finish for walls, floors or a shower area, and its price is set by estimate.

Plasterboard and ceilings

Plasterboard partition walls let you divide a room or make a niche without touching load-bearing walls. Plasterboard ceilings, or suspended ceilings, hide an uneven slab, cables or light fitting boxes. Stretch ceilings are a film on profiles along the walls; their price is set by estimate because it is affected by the number of corners and light fittings.

Tiles

Tiling is laying tiles on a prepared wall or floor. Wet rooms have a separate page, bathroom tiling, and for the kitchen there is kitchen splashback tiling. For large slabs, see large-format tile laying, but if the tiles are intact and only the grout joints are damaged or dirty, renewing the tile grout joints is enough.

Floors: covering and base

Floor covering has four pages: laminate flooring, vinyl flooring, parquet laying and linoleum flooring. Old parquet can be restored with parquet sanding and varnishing, and for plank floors see wooden floor restoration.

Under the covering there is a base. If the floor is uneven, start with floor levelling or a new floor screed. Underfloor heating installation happens before the covering, and its connection is planned together with the electrics or heating.

Demolition, doors and window reveals

Demolition work in an apartment is the removal of old tiles, floors, finishes or light walls. Demolishing a non-load-bearing wall also needs a construction notice submitted in the BIS; work in load-bearing walls needs an explanatory memorandum or a building design, with more detail in the section replanning. Interior door installation is usually one of the last jobs, while window reveals and sills follow after the windows are replaced.

Wiring, risers and radiators

Rewiring an apartment happens before skimming, because the cables are placed in the walls. Riser replacement in an apartment and radiator replacement in an apartment affect the building's services. The building's services are common property, and a radiator is common property if its operation depends on the building's heating. If the work affects common property, the consent of the apartment owners' association is needed, and it is agreed with the building manager.

Wet zones and insulation

A shower with a floor drain and bathroom waterproofing are two jobs that are planned together: waterproofing goes on before tiling. Soundproofing in an apartment and internal wall insulation change the wall thickness, so they are decided before the finishing. If a whole room has to be restored, see bathroom renovation.

Minor renovation work

If there is little work and it is varied, for example replacing a skirting board, filling a few cracks and adjusting a door, see minor renovation work in an apartment. There the price is set by the list of work.

Renovation work and prices in one table

How much renovation work in an apartment costs

Prices are for labour. Materials are calculated separately in the estimate. Each line is for its own unit: painting and skimming per m² of wall, laminate per m² of floor, doors and radiators per piece. That is why the price of one room is added up from several lines.

Example: a 15 m² room with 40 m² of wall. Skimming 40 × €10 = €400 and painting 40 × €4 = €160, total from €560 (labour). Laminate, 18 m²: 18 × €6.50 = from €117. Plasterboard partition 3 m × 2.6 m = 7.8 m² × €12 = from €93.60.

The price is affected by:

• apartment area in m² and number of rooms;
• cosmetic or full renovation;
• condition of the walls, floors and ceilings;
• whether the wiring, pipes and risers are changed;
• the chosen finish (tiles, floor covering, doors).

An exact estimate can be made after seeing the apartment. We agree the price and the list of work before the job starts. All the price lines are on the page apartment renovation prices.

What to know before you submit a request

Building documentation is not needed for painting walls and ceilings, hanging wallpaper or replacing the floor covering, the municipality explains. In their own apartment, an owner may do work without the agreement of other owners, insofar as it does not affect common property or other apartments. If it does, for example a riser or a load-bearing wall, the association's consent is needed.

In the form, write the address, the area in m², the building series or year of construction, which rooms and which jobs you want. In the request, also say whether you will choose the materials yourself.

What is and is not in the price