Apartment renovation in Voleri - for 1930s one- and two-storey houses along the Daugava

A row of houses along the Daugava bank from the 1930s

Voleri is a port and residential area on the left bank of the Daugava between Iļģuciems and Spilve; the neighbourhood also includes Krēmeri, Lejas Podrags and Krievu sala, and the surrounding land is mainly used for port needs. Voleri and Krēmeri, as part of Bolderāja parish, were included within the administrative boundaries of Riga in 1924. The residential development is a row of one- and two-storey houses along the Daugava bank, which took shape in the 1930s.

In low-rise buildings the typical work is renovating the interior, fitting out bathrooms and kitchens, and reconstructing or extending the living area. In a house built 90 years ago, the wiring, pipes and floors may have been changed several times or not at all. If an apartment has not yet been fully renovated, old apartment renovation in Voleri suits it better than a cosmetic job alone.

If a two-storey house has several apartments and is divided into apartment properties, the external walls, the roof, the windows in external structures and the building's engineering systems are common property. In your own apartment you may renovate without other owners' approval, as long as the work does not affect common property or other apartments.

Daugavgrīvas šoseja, port roads and the request

Voleri is reached along Daugavgrīvas šoseja and the port access roads, and in some zones access is restricted. In the request, write which road can be used to reach the house.

• how many apartments the house has and which floor your apartment is on
• the area in m² and the rooms you will renovate
• how the apartment is heated: a stove, radiators or electric heating
• whether the floor is wooden boards or concrete
• whether the wiring and pipes have been changed and when
• a short description of the condition of the rooms; you can send photos or a plan to the specialist when they contact you

Old wiring in a house nearly a century old

The Fire Safety Regulations currently in force require a check of the wiring once every 10 years, and the results are recorded in an inspection report. If the check or the renovation shows that the wiring has to be replaced, a reconstructed installation must be fitted with residual current protection from 01.07.2025. In households, residual current protection with a tripping current of no more than 30 mA is installed for socket circuits up to 32 A and for lighting circuits.

In an old building, rewiring is planned before the walls are plastered and skimmed, because the chases are not made afterwards. The user is responsible for his or her own electrical equipment, while the electricity supply of common property is provided as part of managing the building. In the request, write how many sockets and light points are needed. See rewiring in Voleri and old electrical wiring in an apartment.

A wooden floor or concrete: how to choose the floor work

In a 1930s low-rise house the floor can be boards on joists or on a concrete base, and everything that follows depends on that. Sound boards can be sanded and varnished. If the floor has to be levelled under laminate or tiles, a self-levelling compound is used on concrete; the manufacturer (Ceresit CN 76) states that it can be walked on after 3 hours and tiled after 3 days, while a thicker layer dries more slowly. On wooden joists you first need to know what they can bear.

Under laminate, Quick-Step requires unevenness greater than 2 mm per 1 m to be levelled. See floor levelling in Voleri, wooden floor restoration and uneven floor.

Heating in an old house: radiators, a stove or underfloor heating

If a two-storey house has a shared heating system, the radiators in an apartment are common property, because their operation depends on the building's utilities. So replacing or moving a radiator affects common property and needs the apartment owners' association's consent; draining and refilling the system is agreed with the building manager. If an apartment has its own heating, such as a stove or electric heaters, the decision is yours.

Electric underfloor heating in a bathroom or kitchen is one way to replace the heat of a stove in a small room; when the installation is reconstructed, it needs residual current protection. See radiator replacement in Voleri and underfloor heating.

A kitchen and a room in one space, if the house is old

In a small old apartment, combining the kitchen with a room gives more space, but it starts with the question of whether the wall is load-bearing. According to the Riga municipality's explanation, for demolishing a non-load-bearing wall in Riga an architect prepares a plan, and a construction notice is submitted in the BIS. An opening in a load-bearing wall is a simplified reconstruction with an explanatory memorandum, and if the building is divided into apartment properties, it needs the consent of the owners of more than half of the apartments.

Approval of a reconstruction in Voleri goes through the City Development Department of the Riga municipality (formerly the Riga City Building Board). For buildings older than 50 years that are not state-protected, the department can also determine a cultural and historical value and the permissible action, and 1930s houses passed that age long ago. The only cultural monument in the whole neighbourhood is the Voleri manor residential building built in the late 18th century; if a building is a cultural monument, the solution for reconstruction or windows is agreed with the cultural heritage authority. See kitchen with a room in Voleri.

Prices in Voleri

• Rewiring in an apartment: from €20/m² of apartment area
• A socket, switch or light point: from €12 per point
• Floor levelling, pour or screed: from €6.50/m²
• Full renovation: from €280/m² of apartment area

Prices are for labour. Materials are calculated separately in the estimate. Example: a 45 m² apartment, rewiring 45 × €20 = €900 and 20 sockets, switches and light points 20 × €12 = €240, in total from €1,140 (labour). If pipes, floors and the finishing are also changed, it is more economical to calculate a full renovation. An exact estimate can be made after seeing the apartment.