Bathroom renovation in a 119 series building

The 119 series in brief

119 series buildings were built from the early 1980s to about the mid-1990s, usually with nine storeys, sometimes six or ten. The walls are reinforced concrete panels. In Riga they are in Zolitūde, Pļavnieki, Purvciems, Ziepniekkalns, Iļģuciems and Čiekurkalns.

In a Ministry of Economics study of 104 and 119 series buildings no typical defects were found, but there were individual shortcomings in the joints, balcony fixings and water collecting on the roof. These are issues of the whole building, which the association deals with, not the renovation of one apartment.

What kind of bathroom your apartment has

The bathroom in the 119 series depends on the apartment plan: for a one-room apartment varianti.lv mentions a combined bathroom, for a three-room apartment a separate bathroom with two toilets. So check in your own apartment and in the request write how many rooms you are renovating.

• A combined bathroom: a bath or shower and a toilet in one room, waterproofing of the whole floor. See combined bathroom renovation.
• A separate bathroom and toilet: two smaller rooms, each with its own demolition and tiling. See toilet renovation.
• Two toilets: both can be renewed, or one converted, for example into a shower or a utility room with a washing machine.

If the second toilet is converted

If a shower is installed in the second toilet, the floor needs waterproofing and a fall to the floor drain, and the ventilation must stay in its own duct.

The housing website nopo.lv writes that in most apartments of 119 series buildings only the external walls are load-bearing. This does not mean that every partition can be demolished: which walls are load-bearing can only be established from the building's design or a structural engineer's opinion. According to the Riga municipality's explanation, to demolish a non-load-bearing wall in order to join rooms a certified architect prepares a plan, and a construction notice is submitted in BIS (the Construction Information System).

Ventilation shafts and electrical risers

The housing website nopo.lv mentions electrical risers and ventilation shafts as problems of the 119 series. A bathroom and a toilet in a residential building are ventilated through a natural extraction duct. If you want a fan, note that in an apartment building it is prohibited to connect a mechanical ventilation unit to a natural ventilation duct if the room has a gas appliance and no constant air exchange.

The building's electricity supply up to the apartment is common property, provided within the management of the building; the user is responsible for their own devices and the installation in the apartment. If the electrical wiring is changed in a bathroom renovation, it is installed under the direction of a certified construction specialist and equipped with residual current protection. A socket, switch or light point costs from €12 per point.

The order of work

1. List of rooms Determine whether you are renovating one combined bathroom or a bathroom and one or two toilets.
2. Demolition After the tiles are removed, the condition of the pipes, risers and walls can be seen.
3. Electrics and pipes New points and pipes are installed before the finishing.
4. Waterproofing For the floor and the wet zone; the manufacturer of Ceresit CL 51 recommends at least two layers.
5. Tiles and fixtures Tiling, grouting and installing the plumbing.

How much a bathroom renovation in the 119 series costs

Prices are for labour. Materials are calculated separately in the estimate. A whole bathroom renovation costs from €3,000. If the apartment also has two toilets, the work in each is calculated separately: removal of old tiles from €9/m², tiling from €24/m², toilet installation during a renovation from €50 per toilet.

The price is affected by the number and size of the rooms, the condition of the walls, whether the electrical wiring, pipes and risers are changed, and the chosen finish. All prices are on the prices page.

What is included in the price