Apartment renovation in Daugavgrīva - for post-war apartment buildings and the 103 series

Post-war buildings and the 103 series: what is old in a Daugavgrīva apartment

A Riga neighbourhood portal writes that the dominant buildings of Daugavgrīva are multi-storey residential buildings built in the 1950s and 1960s. Wikipedia adds that most of the earlier wooden housing was demolished and apartment buildings were built in its place, and it also mentions 103 series buildings in Daugavgrīva. Next to them there is low-rise residential housing.

In a building that was built more than 60 years ago, you cannot assume that the wiring, pipes and floors have been replaced unless the previous owners did it. In a full renovation, stripping down to the structure shows what is under the plaster and the floor covering, and then you can decide what to keep.

The 103 series is later, built from the early 1970s. Its external walls are of silicate bricks or hollow clay bricks, the partition walls are not load-bearing, and the bathroom and toilet are separate. The typical weak points of this series are the windows, the utilities and heat loss through the floor slabs. If your apartment is in a 1950s building, find out the layout of the walls and the bathroom from the building's plan, not from the series.

Daugavgrīvas šoseja and what the request needs

Daugavgrīva is entered along Daugavgrīvas šoseja and through Bolderāja, and the neighbourhood also has port and military heritage sites. Write at which entrance the apartment is and where you can stop to unload. If the apartment is in a low-rise building or a private house rather than an apartment building, write that too, because then the common property questions are different.

• the year the building was built or its series, if you know it;
• the floor and whether there is a lift;
• the area in m² and the number of rooms;
• whether the bathroom and toilet are separate;
• whether the electrical wiring has been replaced and when;
• whether you plan to change the risers or demolish a partition wall.

103 series apartment: bathroom and partition walls

Because in the 103 series the partition walls are not load-bearing, in a full renovation you can consider a new room layout. According to the Riga municipality's explanation, to demolish a non-load-bearing wall an architect prepares a plan and a construction notice is submitted in the BIS. Approval of reconstruction in Daugavgrīva is handled by the City Development Department of the Riga municipality (formerly the Riga City Building Board).

A separate bathroom and toilet can also be combined, to gain space for a shower or a washing machine. In an apartment building, sanitary rooms are placed above similar rooms; above the rooms of the apartment below they are permitted if the requirements for soundproofing, waterproofing, thermal insulation, fire safety, ventilation and safety are met. If you want to cut a door opening in a load-bearing wall, that is a different job: it needs an explanatory memorandum, an architect and a structural engineer, and the consent of more than half of the apartment owners. See 103 series apartment renovation and combined bathroom and toilet in Daugavgrīva.

Old wiring in a 1950s and 1960s building

The LV portāls explains that in many homes the electrical wiring was built in the Soviet period and the wires are 30–50 years old and worn. In a post-war building this means that before the wall finish you must decide whether to replace the whole installation. If you plan powerful appliances in the kitchen or bathroom, such as an oven and a tumble dryer, it is better to write that in the request from the start, because the number of circuits depends on it. The Fire Safety Regulations currently in force provide for an inspection of it once every 10 years, and the inspection report shows its condition.

If the installation is reconstructed, from 01.07.2025 it must be fitted with residual current protection; for socket and lighting circuits the tripping current is not greater than 30 mA. The common property power supply up to the apartment is part of the management of the building, so for the distribution cabinet in the stairwell talk to the building manager. See electrical wiring replacement in Daugavgrīva.

If a neighbour from above flooded the apartment

In an old apartment building the water can come from a neighbour's apartment or from the riser. An apartment owner is liable for the losses caused to others. In practice: immediately ask the building manager in writing for an inspection and a report, photograph the damage and keep the estimates and invoices. If maintenance of the riser has been assigned to the building manager, according to a lawyer's explanation the manager is liable under civil law for improper performance of the assigned work, so if the water came from the riser, a claim can be directed against the building manager.

In the request, write which rooms were damaged, whether the building manager drew up a report and what the wall and floor coverings are. Renovation after flooding is started only after the walls and floor have dried; before tiling, for a cement screed the manufacturer Ceresit requires moisture below 4%. See renovation after flooding and neighbours flooded the apartment.

Renovation prices in Daugavgrīva

• Full renovation: from €280/m² of apartment area
• Electrical wiring replacement in an apartment: from €20/m² of apartment area
• Replacing a section of a riser in an apartment: from €100 per riser
• Bathroom renovation (all the work): from €3,000

Prices are for labour; materials are on a separate line in the estimate. Example: a 1-room apartment of 33 m², full renovation: 33 × €280 = from €9,240 (labour). If you replace only the wiring in a 45 m² apartment: 45 × €20 = from €900, sockets and switches separately. The total changes with the condition of the walls and floors and whether the risers are changed. An exact estimate can be made after seeing the apartment. All prices: renovation prices, full renovation in Daugavgrīva.