Where to start an apartment renovation

First steps before the renovation

1. Write down what you will change Go through the rooms and write down: walls, ceilings, floor covering, doors, electrical wiring, pipes, bathroom, kitchen. Add the area in m² and the building series or year of construction. This list becomes the basis of the estimate.
2. Decide the type of renovation If the existing electrical wiring and pipes stay, a cosmetic renovation is usually enough. If rooms are stripped down to the structure and the utilities are changed, it is a full renovation. More: cosmetic or full renovation.
3. Separate your part from the common property The Law on Residential Properties states what belongs to the apartment and what to the whole building. Load-bearing walls, risers and the building's utility systems are common property, and work on them needs the association's consent.
4. Check whether documents are needed Construction documents are not needed for painting, wallpapering or replacing the floor covering. For demolishing a wall or an opening in a load-bearing wall they are needed. A table by type of work: does a renovation need a permit.
5. Ask the building manager Find out whether the building has house rules adopted by the association or set renovation hours, how the water is shut off, and how draining the heating system is agreed if you are replacing radiators.
6. Agree in writing Write the list of work, the price and the deadlines into the estimate and the contract. What it must contain: renovation contract.

What is your apartment and what is common property

This boundary decides what you may do on your own and where the consent of other owners or the building manager is needed. An owner may carry out construction work in their apartment without the consent of other owners if the regulations are followed and the work does not affect common property or other apartments.

The order of an apartment renovation

Renovation work usually goes from rough work to clean work: first what creates dust and moisture and stays inside the walls, then the finishing. In a particular apartment the order may change, but the general order is as follows.

1. Demolition: the old finish, tiles, floor covering, partition walls if they are being changed.
2. Utilities: electrical wiring, water and sewage pipes up to the riser, heating.
3. Floor levelling or screed and wall plastering.
4. Wet rooms: waterproofing and tiling.
5. Plasterboard structures, skimming, ceilings.
6. Painting or wallpaper.
7. Floor covering, interior doors, skirting boards.
8. Installation of plumbing fixtures, sockets, switches and light fittings.

The order is not just habit: materials have drying times. For example, the technical data sheet of Ceresit CM 17 tile adhesive requires the cement screed and plaster under tiles to be at least 28 days old and the moisture below 4%. More on this: how long an apartment renovation takes.

In old buildings, demolition can uncover materials that may contain asbestos, for example old vinyl floor tiles and their adhesive. This cannot be determined reliably by appearance; it is determined in a laboratory. More: asbestos in an apartment during renovation.

How much an apartment renovation costs

Prices are for labour. Materials are calculated separately in the estimate. The main lines: cosmetic renovation from €100/m² of apartment area, full renovation from €280/m², turnkey renovation from €600/m².

Example: a 2-room apartment of 50 m². Cosmetic renovation: 50 × €100 = from €5,000 (labour). The same apartment with a full renovation: 50 × €280 = from €14,000 (labour).

The price is determined by the apartment area in m² and the number of rooms, the type of renovation, 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. All lines: prices.

What can go wrong

• The finish is started before the utilities: afterwards freshly painted walls are chased for wires and pipes.
• An opening is chiselled out in a load-bearing wall without an explanatory memorandum. The Construction Law provides for a natural person a warning or a fine of up to 400 fine units (up to €2,000), and the building board can order the previous condition to be restored.
• The riser is boxed in. The owner must allow specialists authorised by the building manager to reach the building's utilities, so leave a hatch.
• Agreement is made orally. An oral contract can be valid, but in a dispute the customer has to prove what was agreed and how much was paid.