1-room apartment renovation

What takes the most work in a small apartment

In a small apartment renovation a large share of the area is the kitchen, the bathroom and the hallway. That is where the tiles, waterproofing, plumbing and most of the sockets are, so these are the most labour-intensive rooms. The room is usually the simplest: walls, ceiling and floor covering.

In a one-room apartment renovation there is often also less space to put materials and furniture. In the request, write whether the apartment will be empty during the work.

Layout in different series

In publicly available plans, one-room apartments differ by series. varianti.lv states that in a 602 series one-room plan the kitchen is 7 m², in the 119 series it is 6 m² and the bathroom is combined, and in the 104 series the kitchen is 8 m² and the bathroom is also combined. Check in your own apartment.

In “Khrushchyovkas” the area of one-room apartments is 29–35 m² according to cityreal.lv. If you know your series, write it in the request, because it determines which walls can be touched. More about series on the page apartment renovation by building series.

Studio apartment renovation: kitchen together with the room

In a small apartment people often want to combine the kitchen with the room. If the wall is non-load-bearing, the Riga municipality explains that a certified architect prepares a plan and a construction notice is submitted in BIS. If the wall is load-bearing, an architect and a structural engineer, an explanatory memorandum and the consent of more than half of the apartment owners are needed.

Which walls are load-bearing can only be established from the building's design or a structural engineer's opinion. About the 602 series, nopo.lv writes that all the internal walls are usually load-bearing. If the kitchen has a gas hob, the user may replace or move it within one room, in agreement with the gas supplier; moving it to another room needs technical conditions, a report and a building design. More in combining a kitchen with a room.

The order of work

1. Survey and choice It is decided whether the renovation will be cosmetic or full and whether the layout changes.
2. Bathroom Usually the wet room comes first, because it has the pipes, waterproofing and tiles.
3. Kitchen Pipes, sockets for kitchen furniture, the walls behind the hob and the sink.
4. Room Walls, ceiling, floor covering.
5. Hallway Last, because the materials for all the previous stages are carried through it.

What to write in the request

• the apartment area in m² and the building series or year
• whether the bathroom is combined or separate
• whether the hob is gas or electric
• whether you want to combine the kitchen with the room
• the condition of each room

How much does it cost?

Cosmetic renovation: from €100/m² of apartment area. Full renovation: from €280/m² of apartment area. Prices are for labour. Materials are calculated separately in the estimate.

Examples for a 33 m² apartment: cosmetic renovation 33 × €100 = from €3,300, full renovation 33 × €280 = from €9,240 for labour. If only the bathroom has to be renovated, the whole bathroom renovation costs from €3,000.

The price is affected by:

• the apartment area in m² and the number of rooms
• cosmetic or full renovation
• the condition of the walls, floors and ceilings
• whether the electrical wiring, pipes and risers are changed
• the chosen finish (tiles, floor covering, doors)

What the price includes