Wooden house apartment renovation

Riga's wooden apartment houses

Āgenskalns has about 600 wooden buildings. In 1913 Čiekurkalns had 802 residential buildings, mainly wooden, and Maskavas forštate has wooden buildings preserved from the early 19th century. There are also wooden apartment houses in Grīziņkalns, Torņakalns and Zasulauks. They are low-rise buildings, but the number of floors, the layout and the condition of the floor slabs differ from building to building.

In the request, describe the wall finishing, the floors and where the wiring and pipes run.

What belongs to the apartment and what to the whole building

If a wooden building is divided into apartment properties, the external walls, roof, windows in the external structures, load-bearing walls and floor slabs are common property. The apartment owns the non-load-bearing partitions, the finishing of walls, ceilings and floors, the doors and the utilities up to the risers. Work on common property needs the consent of the apartment owners' association.

In 2025 LSM described a wooden apartment building on Kuldīgas iela which, after renovation, has new windows and doors, new facade cladding, a partly new roof and repaired water supply and sewage, while the decorative elements were preserved. That is work on the whole building, decided by the association; the apartment's interior work can be planned independently of it.

Wet rooms, electricity and windows in a wooden house

• A bathroom or toilet is placed above similar rooms; above the living rooms of the apartment below, sanitary rooms are permitted if the requirements for sound insulation, waterproofing, thermal insulation, fire safety, ventilation and safety are met.
• Waterproofing: the manufacturer of Ceresit CL 51 requires a dry, load-bearing and stable base and recommends at least two coats. On a wooden floor this means a stable base has to be prepared first.
• Electrical installation: a new installation is carried out under the supervision of a certified construction specialist, and when it is rebuilt, residual current protection is needed.
• Windows in external structures: replacement is agreed with the building manager; the association may decide that its consent is also needed. No documents are needed in buildings of the second and third group if the window division, proportions and frame colour are kept.

The order of work

1. Decisions What to keep and what to change, where the wiring and pipes run.
2. Demolition The old finishing layers; what to keep (plank floor, doors, trim) is decided beforehand.
3. Utilities Electrical wiring with residual current protection, pipes within the apartment.
4. Walls and floors Plasterboard lining or plastering, the floor base or restoring a wooden floor.
5. Finishing Skimming and painting, tiles in wet rooms, floor covering.

How long a renovation takes depends on the scope of work and the drying time of the materials.

What to write in the request

• the address and the building series or year of construction;
• the apartment's floor area in m² and the number of rooms;
• the condition of each room;
• what you want to keep: a plank floor, old doors, a stove or trim;
• whether you will change the wiring, pipes and riser sections;
• whether you will choose the materials yourself.

Renovation price in a wooden house apartment

• Cosmetic renovation: from €100/m² of apartment floor area.
• Full renovation: from €280/m² of apartment floor area.
• Plasterboard partition: from €12/m².
• Parquet sanding and varnishing: from €23/m².

Prices are for labour. Materials are calculated separately in the estimate. Example: a 2-room apartment of 50 m², cosmetic renovation: 50 × €100 = from €5,000 (labour).

The price changes with the floor area and number of rooms, the type of renovation, the condition of the walls, floors and ceilings, whether the wiring, pipes and risers are replaced, and the chosen finish. An exact estimate can be made after seeing the apartment.

What a full renovation includes