Apartment renovation in Baloži - for the peat factory village and the 1980s buildings

Peat factory village, the 1980s district and garden allotment areas

Baloži grew up around the workers' village of the peat factory founded in 1947. The oldest part of the village is dominated by buildings from the 1950s to 1970s, while one part of the town was built anew in the 1980s, also as a workers' village. So many apartment buildings in Baloži are several decades old, and the scope of a renovation is set by what has already been changed in the apartment and what is still original.

If the apartment still has its original wiring and pipes, a cosmetic renovation does not touch them: it refreshes the walls, ceilings, flooring and doors. In a full renovation, the apartment is stripped back to the structure and new wiring, pipes, screed, plaster and finishes are installed. In 1991 the nearby horticultural societies were also incorporated into the town, so Baloži also has private houses and garden houses, where a renovation can mean adapting them for year-round living (summer house renovation).

If you are renovating the whole apartment, the order of work is usually as follows: demolition, new wiring and pipes, plaster and screed, tiling, skimming and painting, and at the end the flooring, doors and skirting boards. If you are only refreshing rooms, the order is shorter. The difference is explained in cosmetic or full renovation.

Titurga, courtyards and the road from Ziepniekkalns: what to put in the form

The functional area of Baloži beyond the historic centre is extended by Titurga and other nearby residential estates. Travel to Riga is mainly along the roads towards Ziepniekkalns and Ķekava. In the courtyards of apartment buildings and in the new detached-house districts, parking space differs.

• the year the building was built, or at least the district (the old village or the 1980s part);
• the floor and whether the building has a lift;
• the apartment area in m² and the number of rooms;
• whether you plan to change the risers, wiring or radiators;
• whether there is a balcony or loggia that also needs renovating;
• the condition of each room, the bathroom and the electrical panel.

If you are renovating the apartment while living in it, write that too, and which rooms must be left free until last.

Risers in an old apartment building: who owns what

The apartment owns the utility lines up to the common-property risers, but the riser itself is the common property of the apartment owners (Law on Residential Properties, Sections 3 and 4). If, in a bathroom or kitchen renovation, you want to replace a section of the riser, the work affects common property and the consent of the apartment owners' association is needed. In practice, talk to the building manager first, because the replacement can also be planned for the whole riser, from the basement to the top, not just for one apartment.

Riser replacement is usually paid for by all owners according to their shares of the common property, on the basis of a decision of the association. In the finishing, leave a hatch by the riser, because the owner must allow specialists authorised by the manager access to the building's utilities. Read riser replacement in Baloži and who pays for risers.

Old wiring in the apartment and new electrical wiring

According to an explanation on LV portāls, in many homes the electrical wiring was installed in Soviet times, and the wires are 30–50 years old and worn. This does not apply to every apartment, but in a 1950s to 1970s building it is worth checking whether the wiring has already been replaced. The Fire Safety Regulations currently in force provide for an inspection of the electrical wiring every 10 years, with an inspection report.

If the wiring is replaced, this is done at the start of a full renovation, before plastering. Since 01.07.2025, rebuilt electrical wiring must have residual current protection, with a tripping current of no more than 30 mA, for household socket and lighting circuits (LBN 261-15). The staircase distribution board and the common property's electricity supply are a matter of managing the building. See rewiring in Baloži.

Balcony or loggia in a village building

The external structures of balconies and loggias are common property. Ask the manager what you may do on the loggia. Joining a loggia to a room affects common property, so the association's consent is needed. No documents are needed for glazing a loggia if a facade glazing sketch or passport has been agreed with the building board, or the work matches the municipality's model sketch. In Baloži, ask the Ķekava Municipality Building Board and the manager about this. See loggia renovation and balcony renovation.

What a renovation of an apartment in Baloži costs

• Full renovation: from €280/m² of apartment area
• Rewiring in an apartment: from €20/m² of apartment area
• Socket, switch or light point: from €12 per point
• Replacing a riser section in an apartment: from €100 per riser

Prices are for labour. Materials are calculated separately in the estimate. Example for a 50 m² apartment: rewiring 50 × €20 = from €1,000 and 25 points × €12 = from €300, in total from €1,300 (labour). If everything else is changed too, the same apartment in a full renovation is 50 × €280 = from €14,000. An exact estimate can be made after seeing the apartment. Other work: full renovation in Baloži, bathroom renovation in Baloži and radiator replacement in Baloži.