Cosmetic or full renovation

What a cosmetic renovation is

A cosmetic renovation is a renewal of the finish: skimming and painting or wallpaper, ceilings, floor covering, interior doors, skirting boards. The existing electrical wiring and pipes stay, and sockets and switches can be replaced in the same places.

Building documentation is not needed for such interior work. The municipality explains this with examples: painting walls and ceilings, wallpapering, replacing a floor covering.

What a full renovation is

A full renovation is demolition back to the structure and everything new: electrical wiring, water and sewer pipes up to the risers, screed or floor levelling, plaster, waterproofing of wet rooms and all the finishing.

• When electrical wiring is reconstructed, since 01.07.2025 it must be equipped with residual current protection (residual current devices).
• The electrical installation is carried out under the direction of a construction specialist, and the tests are done by an electrical specialist with a certificate.
• Risers and radiators that depend on the building's heating are common property: replacing them is agreed with the building manager and the owners' association.
• If a full renovation includes demolishing walls or openings, a construction notice or an explanatory memorandum is needed.
• The Fire Safety Regulations currently in force require a stand-alone smoke detector in the apartment, at least one on each floor of the apartment.

The differences in one table

How to choose

1. Check the electrical wiring The Fire Safety Regulations currently in force require an inspection of the electrical wiring once every 10 years, with an inspection report. The LV portāls writes that in many homes the wiring was installed in the Soviet period and is 30–50 years old. If the inspection shows problems, a cosmetic renovation will only hide them.
2. Look at the pipes and the bathroom If the pipes are old, or the bathroom needs new tiles and waterproofing, that room needs a full-renovation approach anyway.
3. Assess the floors If the floor is uneven or creaks, the new covering will not solve that on its own. The Quick-Step instructions, for example, require levelling base unevenness greater than 2 mm per 1 m. More: uneven or creaking floor.
4. Think about the coming years After a cosmetic renovation, replacing the wiring means chasing into the new walls. If the wiring and pipes must be replaced in the near future, a full renovation is usually more logical.

You can also choose a mixed option: a cosmetic renovation in the rooms and a full renovation in the bathroom and kitchen.

How much cosmetic and full renovation cost

Prices are for labour. Materials are calculated separately in the estimate. Cosmetic renovation: from €100/m² of apartment area. Full renovation: from €280/m². Turnkey renovation, where all the work from demolition to finishing is in one order: from €600/m².

• A 2-room apartment of 50 m², cosmetic renovation: 50 × €100 = from €5,000 (labour).
• The same apartment, full renovation: 50 × €280 = from €14,000 (labour).
• A 1-room apartment of 33 m², full renovation: 33 × €280 = from €9,240 (labour).

The price is set by the apartment area and the number of rooms, the condition of the walls, floors and ceilings, whether the electrical wiring, pipes and risers are changed, and the chosen finish. An exact estimate can be made after seeing the apartment.

What goes wrong

• A cosmetic renovation over old wiring: later the new walls are chased again.
• A full renovation without time for the screed to dry: tiles on a screed that is too damp.
• In demolition in old buildings the materials are not checked: old vinyl floor tiles and their adhesive can contain asbestos, and this is determined only in a laboratory.
• A riser is boxed in without an access hatch, although the building manager's specialists must be able to reach it.