The usual everyday business: the apartment clearly needs repair, but there is not enough money. How to do inexpensive repair do-it-yourself apartments It seems to be the simplest the obvious way: superficial redecorating. That is, plywood wallpaper, whitewashing the ceiling, painting, fixing the creaky floor; Possibly window replacement.

However, if you calculate the labor costs and consumption of materials, it turns out that by increasing labor costs by half, and spending money by a quarter, you can give the apartment a completely different look, and for a long time. How much you need to invest specifically depends on the prices in the region, but the general methods by which you can make an apartment cozy and elegant inexpensively are the same.

Saving Money when repairing an apartment with his own hands, he stands, like the Earth in ancient legends, on three whales and a slowly hurrying turtle under them:

1. We are not afraid of work. Nothing comes from nothing. Either money or labor.
2. Wherever possible, we do not change the capital, but the old one that has lost its appearance, but renew it.
3. We attribute the maximum savings to where it will not affect the quality of work and will not be visible.
4. We spread the costs of labor and money over time: having conceived repairs in the summer or autumn, we spend a year on preparation, and then we pile on and quickly do everything. To lay out 200-300 thousand rubles at once is a problem, but it is quite possible to break them up in parts for a year. In addition, there will be time to measure seven times - cut once.

Where it's hard to save

The only area where you have to invite a specialist is to remake and strengthen the electrical wiring if it is old and weak. Here, the only way to save money is to negotiate with the DEZ electrician. He will do the work in pieces, in free time, but the probability of hack-work will be even less than that of "branded" specialists: after all, he will then serve all this.

It is better not to save on electrics and wiring, however, some points, such as installing sockets, can be done independently.

Tool

A good specialized tool makes the job much easier and cheaper. But it's hard to buy. Therefore, it is better to rent a tool as needed. In terms of costs, it will come out a little if you decide in advance on the design and draw up an approximate work plan for yourself.

Season

Plumbing

A sore point with independent cheap repairs is the replacement of plumbing. If it is still “alive”, only filthy, then it can be cleaned and painted. How to do this will be described below. But if there are chips and cracks, then, if you like it or not, you need to change it.

For such a case, here is some information for you: new settlers, especially in houses above the budget category, often start a major overhaul immediately upon entering, and excellent, completely new faience and cast-iron plumbing equipment ends up in a landfill. Landfill operators (simply - landfill scavengers) have long turned this circumstance into a profitable business.

They do not make direct contact by office phone with strangers, but it is quite possible to get through to them using word of mouth methods. The rate is from a third to a half of the factory price for a household item. And do not think that they will take you to the dump and show you where it lies. In the back room you will be offered a choice of clean, carefully washed products, which you can sit down on at least immediately.

Construction garbage

The next sore point is the removal of construction waste. The operation is not cheap, and requires paperwork. Exit: basement, barn, cottage or closet and a few bags of used plastic sackcloth, bought for a penny. Construction debris does not sour and does not rot, it can then be poured into a container in a garbage dump in a bucket. There is nothing illegal in this.

A major overhaul of even a part of an apartment is a costly business. The legacy of the Soviet era still lives in many, many thousands of apartments: a wooden floor creaking from old age, crumbling plaster, wonderful uneven ceilings. And this is only part of the problem, because there are still clogged water pipes, ugly batteries and cracked wooden windows. But what if you have neither the means nor the opportunity to make extensive repairs, but you still want to refresh the apartment? We will now look at how to do do-it-yourself apartment renovation quickly and inexpensively.

There are quite budgetary ways bring housing into a very presentable form. At one time, I had to renovate an apartment immediately after buying a home, when all available funds had already been spent, and the need to make at least cosmetic repairs and refresh the interior was very acute. There was only one way out: to do repairs yourself in order to save money.

Walls- this is the first thing that always catches your eye. Of course, smooth walls and beautiful stylish wallpapers will appeal to everyone, but if there is no money for leveling and expensive materials, you can limit yourself to simply replacing old wallpapers. Only by re-gluing the wallpaper will you already transform the apartment. It is quite possible to pick up inexpensive dense wallpaper on a paper or non-woven base, and you can stick them even on not very even walls. Non-woven wallpaper hides small irregularities especially well.
There is another option. The previous owners left a couple of rolls of wallpaper in the apartment, which they did not need during the renovation. For example, I just changed some particularly dirty and torn sections of the wallpaper. It was enough to replace the wallpaper strips where they suffered the most. These are protruding corners, places near door jambs, in the hallway at the entrance, in the kitchen not far from the stove - all this will cost much less than a complete replacement, and the housing will look much better.

ceilings. If we are dealing with whitewash or lime layers, it is best to clean them first. Numerous lime deposits, flaking and crumbling, are not only aesthetically ugly, but also harmful to health. It is not difficult to blur lime, you must first soften the layers, wetting small areas ceiling with water from a spray bottle, and then clean off white with a hard spatula or scraper. If there is old peeling wallpaper on the ceiling, they need to be removed.
After stripping, the ceiling can be further sanded with ordinary sandpaper, that is, sandpaper, and primed. If the surface is smooth, without pits and cracks, it will be cheaper to paint the ceiling acrylic paint, it is better to use matte paint light pure colors. If there are small defects, the wallpaper will hide them. Wallpaper for the ceiling should be chosen white or very light, without a pronounced pattern and with very fine corrugation. Another economical option to transform the ceiling is to glue foam boards.

floors. If these are concrete floors, as a rule, nothing further needs to be done with them in terms of preparation, they are quite even and durable. Squeaky wood floors are a much more serious problem, and their repair, at least with time, cannot be avoided, but the creaking problem can be temporarily solved. Creak in wooden floors occurs when adjacent boards rub against each other. In particularly "loud" places on the floor, you can drill a few holes with a conventional drill and pour a little polyurethane foam. The foam will fill and seal the voids between the boards and the floor will stop creaking. This must be done carefully, without fanaticism, so that the floor does not swell.
You can even out strong “waves” and uneven wooden floors by nailing hardboard, plywood or OSB sheets. For the necessary strength, the thickness of plywood or OSB should be about 1 centimeter. As a floor finish, linoleum is still the most economical and durable. Fortunately, the choice of linoleum in stores is extensive.

Tile. If we have already figured out the wallpaper on the walls, then what to do with the tiled floor? Replacing the tile, of course, can be a way out if the tile does not stick to the wall, because there is no other way out. On rare occasions when tile easily moved away from the solution, and the solution itself keeps well on the wall, the tile is easy to restore by smearing it with a thin layer of PVA glue and pressing it firmly into place against the solution. Here the main thing is to get the right side of the tile into its imprint on the mortar, and the PVA glue will very firmly glue the ceramics with the mortar - checked! But if the tile is holding tight, and buying a new one is expensive, you can work a little on what you have.
Tiles, firstly, can and should be thoroughly washed. Since it is a tile, it will withstand much more aggressive cleaners than dish gel, but it will also look much better when it is cleaned of limescale, rust and other traces of use. It is also necessary to clean the seams between the tiles. There is no need to be afraid to damage the grout, on the contrary, you need to clean as much grout as possible. Mold often settles between the tiles in the bathroom and it is very difficult to remove it from there.
After removing as much grout as possible along with unwanted flora and fauna, the seams can be treated with a special antiseptic agent. After that, they can be filled with fresh grout. It is better to choose a grout color that is neutral or close to the color of the tile.

Plumbing. Carefully inspect plumbing fixtures. No cracks or chips? There is no need to change plumbing. Plumbing cleaners will help bring all the surfaces of sanitary ware into a more presentable look, and a bright shower curtain will complete the job. By the way, you can refresh with paint and cast iron bath. Not from the inside, of course, but from the outside. But, shining with freshly painted sides, the bath will immediately take on a more elegant look. And if, nevertheless, the inner surface of the bathtub is damaged and worn out, it makes sense to turn to specialists in the restoration of bathtubs, who will cover the surface of the bathtub with new enamel right at home. As a rule, such a service is cheaper than buying and installing a new bath. And here is another option: make a bath curtain not only for the top, but also for the bottom (use glue and Velcro).

electr ica. Check all outlets. If you see melted plastic around the plug holes or even just dark spots, these sockets should be changed without hesitation! Fixtures are changed as needed. If they are intact, not obsolete and all the bulbs are on, it is enough just to remove them, wash them and hang them back. Do not forget to turn off the power in the apartment when working with an electrician!

What can't be saved?

Window. It is quite difficult to repair them yourself, besides, now more and more are in use. plastic frames and vacuum double-glazed windows.

Faucets in the bathroom and kitchen. Poor quality mixer you will have to change very soon, and incorrect installation threatens to flood. The same applies to flexible hoses: probably half of all recent floods are due to cheap plumbing hoses.

Electrical and wiring. Faulty wiring is a threat of fire or equipment failure. If anything sparks, crackles, or flickers, contact an experienced electrician. And yet, in no case do not change the apartment circuit breakers(plugs) to more powerful ones. Otherwise, it may happen that the old wiring starts to burn, and the brand new powerful fuse does not even think to turn off, because it is designed for powerful wiring!

Cheap but stylish renovation small apartment

Many panic at the word repair. First of all, because this phenomenon is directly related to at great expense. Yes, after the repair, many feel as if they were robbed. It is impossible to exclude expenses, but it is in your power to reduce them, without compromising the quality of the repair. So, how to make an apartment stylish, spending a minimum of savings on it?

What not to save on

The most important thing in repair is a quality foundation. This means that the floors must be even, the walls smooth and also even, and the corners must be strictly 90 degrees. What threatens such disproportion? Everything is known in the details. So, if you have uneven walls, it meansthat the skirting boards will not completely adjoin them, ugly gaps will appear, unambiguously spoiling the appearance. Further, problems with uneven corners will show up when you install cabinet corner furniture. Well, on a crooked floor, lockers will stand shaky-roll. In general, if you decide to rely on independent forces for repairs, your work must be perfect. Pouring floors, leveling and plastering walls,engage in wall decoration, installation of suspended ceilings - all this should be done by professionals. Believe me, having saved on the base, you risk later laying out a much larger amount to correct errors.Do not forget that it is very important to properly lay wires around the apartment, pipes in the bathroom.Much also depends on the quality of the finish, namely its practicality andappearance. Even the most expensive ceramic tile, laid out crookedly, or cut off unevenly, will spoil the entire interior of the room.

Expensive does not mean stylish

For some reason, we mistakenly believe that expensive building and finishing materials look better, and as a result, they are 100%guarantee of a successful repair. Unfortunately, it is not. Of course, we do not put you in front of a choice between the cheapest and most expensive material. This is not entirely true, because first of all we should talk about quality and reliability, whether it is a building mixture, a finishing material or an interior item. Quality is above all, the rest is up to you. And it should fall on the most profitable options for the wallet. Repair is serious business, so take it seriously. Compare various options read reviewsabout finishing materials on the Internet.

How to reduce repair costs

We will not go into details about which building material is better to choose, because. as mentioned above - the main quality. Consider the interior elements that form the basis of design.

Let's start with the design itself. It’s not worth spending money, I’m hiring a designer to tell you which corner to put the sofa in and which TV. To date, a lot interesting options for apartment design different area and designs can be found freely available on the Internet. This is easy to do, you just need time to choose one or another design option. It is not necessary to repeat it exactly, you can just see what color variations are combined, what is more suitable for one or another type of finish, and finally, how upholstered furniture looks in the interior of the room.

The main components of the interior are finishing material for walls, furniture, decor items and floors.

Let's start with the floor. Many cover it with linoleum, which is quite justified. This material is relatively cheap. practical, but if we are talking about stylish apartment- this is definitely not the linoleum should decorate.Options: laminate, self-leveling floors. Laminate is cheaper than self-leveling floors and it looks very nice. This is a versatile material that can be matched in style to any interior.

Wall decoration - there can be a lot of variations on this theme. Cheap options - wallpaper. But, you have to really work hard to find cheap wallpapers of decent quality and with a pattern not a la "I'm visiting my grandmother."Did you know that many designers offer their clients not to cover the walls with anything at all, leaving the brick for everyone to see. The idea is very interesting, but requires a style specification (combine this option with a fireplace - it will be ideal). dear decorative plaster can be replaced with a normal, superimposed embossed roller, all this splendor can then be painted in any color, but just carefully select the paint.

Interior items - exactly onthey spend a huge chunk of their money. Minimalist style to help you. Buying cabinet furniture is not cheap. However, as practice shows, much cheaper and more practicalbuy itemsinterior separately.

Pay attention to the junk that is left of the former situation. Now this is called vintage, and if you skillfully beat this style in the interior (including wallpaper, purchase a couple of antiques, hang black and white photographs), then you won’t have to buy anything. A rocking chair will perfectly complement the interior, they are usually cheaper than ordinary soft chairs.

Cheap but stylish renovation - photo

Repair in the apartment is now an expensive pleasure. Some save up for it for years, while others give away their last savings and fall into a debt hole. Regardless of the financial situation, everyone tries to save money, but in practice, not everyone succeeds in doing this. We will analyze what materials you can save on, and which ones are better not to, and learn how to expose hired repairmen who are trying to cash in on the ignorance of the owners.

Different types of repairs - how much to pay the master and how to save money?

The final estimate will depend on the type, size of the room and the complexity of the repair. There are three types of repairs: cosmetic, major and renovation. The cosmetic option is the most economical. This repair usually includes painting, wallpapering, sanding the floor. Such work is easy to do with your own hands, saving on calling a specialist. If some specialized tool is missing, it is not worth purchasing it for one-time purposes. Rent it. Make a preliminary estimate for repairs in order to adjust it in advance and find cheaper options. When deciding to hire a private specialist, redecorating an apartment will cost you, on average, 1,500 rubles per 1 m 2, and through a construction company - 2–2.5 times more expensive.

It is much more difficult to make major repairs on your own, since many of the works require special skills and abilities. Stages of such repairs: floor screed, wall alignment, demolition and installation of partitions, dismantling of the old coating and decoration, complete replacement water pipes, plumbing and electrical wiring, replacement of windows, doors, garbage disposal. Price for calling the master during the overhaul increases to 6000-15000 rubles per 1 m 2. And that's not counting the cost of consumables.

Here are four tips to help you save money on major repairs:

1. 1. Remove old wallpaper, tiles, dismantle flooring, clean up and take out the garbage yourself. Such work does not require special skills and tools, and the savings are significant - 5000-8000 per 1 m 2.
2. 2. Do not rush to spend money on finishing an expensive ceiling. Just level and paint it with inexpensive chalk paint. When money appears, sheathe the ceiling with drywall or make a stretch ceiling.
3. 3. Do not remove plaster completely. Remove it only in those places where it exfoliates. However, take into account the peculiarity of the finish. If you plan to stick photo wallpaper, the surface must be perfectly flat. It may be necessary to completely replace the plaster, in which case it will not be possible to save money.
4. 4. To avoid wasting time on paperwork and extra money for garbage disposal, collect waste in bags and send it to storage in the basement, shed or leave it on stairwell in a specially designated place, there is it provided. Throw away one bag every day in the general trash can, there is nothing illegal about it.

Renovation practically does not differ from overhaul. The cost increases due to the purchase of expensive and natural materials from well-known manufacturers. The price of materials is automatically reflected in the cost of the master's work, which starts from 25,000 rubles per 1 m 2. .

How to check the honesty of the estimate - common tricks

If you decide to involve an experienced team of repairmen in the repair, be prepared that you may be deceived. To test this for sure, pay attention to a few important features. The information will be useful for both beginners and experienced homeowners who decide to start a renovation.

To display the exact cost of repair work, the foreman measures the parameters of your room with his tape measure. It seems that everything is fine and there can be no catch. In this case, we recommend that you give your own tape measure for measurements. Often, cunning repairmen cut the tape measure, for example, by 50 cm, and fasten it to another part of the tape, stepping back 20–30 cm or more. From a real size, for example, 2 m, your room increases to 2.3 m and, accordingly, the price increases, because the cost of work is calculated based on 1 m 2.

Upon receipt of the estimate, carefully study all positions. Often, repairmen duplicate the cost of services under the guise of other work. For example, leveling walls - preparing walls for wallpaper. Read each item carefully so as not to overpay.

Pay attention to the price for 1 m 2. Compare it with others first. construction firms and private individuals. Prices below average should alert you. Usually in the process of work, the repairmen who originally offered you low price, pick it up and ask to pay extra for Additional services. The owner gets into a dead end, as the work is already in progress, and the estimate is automatically increased by 2-3 times.

Saving materials and increasing the cost of work is another trick used by dishonest repairmen. For example, you can put a 1 cm layer of plaster for the price of 3-4 cm, shorten the planned laying path electrical cables or plumbing pipes, and pick up the remaining material for yourself. In fact, you overpay for material that does not "work" for you. To avoid such mistakes when performing a turnkey repair, ask the repairmen to photograph the completed work process in detail in stages and send it to you by mail.

If you decide to put a warm floor, remember that it is not placed around the entire perimeter of the room. An unscrupulous foreman will offer you to put a warm floor under the furniture, where it is absolutely not needed, which will also increase the cost of the project.

Complete wiring replacement is another service that almost every foreman will offer you without making sure that you really need it. You can make good money on old wiring made of copper and aluminum cores.

And last tip: buy materials yourself, do not trust this business to the repair team. As a rule, they buy building materials in the market, where the storage conditions for many goods do not meet the standards. In addition, there repairmen can ask for a blank receipt with a seal, enter a list of goods themselves and their cost with an extra charge.

In which season repairs will be cheaper - promotions and special offers

It is better to start repairs in the off-season - in early or mid-autumn. This period is suitable for both external and internal repair work. It's still warm outside, and the prices for Construction Materials gradually decrease towards the winter season. Savings on summer goods reach 15-20% without loss of quality. Therefore, if you were planning to spend 250,000 rubles to renovate a room, know that in the fall and winter you can save about 30,000 rubles, which can be spent on renovating the hallway.

Promotions and special offers are a special type of service where you can save. Pay attention to non-liquids. They have a limited shelf life and do not last until the next season. Hardware stores do a good discount on such goods. If you are going to make repairs right now, look at putty, plaster, glue, sealant at a bargain price, below the market average.

Budget plumbing replacement options

Replacing plumbing affects a significant part of the repair budget. If it is in good condition, without chips, cracks, and only the surface with an old coating makes you think about its dismantling, we advise you to clean and restore the plumbing. Expensive detergents replace with a mixture of baking soda and vinegar, which destroys stubborn plaque well. Budget option for transformation -. You can cover the bath yourself with enamel, liquid acrylic or order acrylic liner according to the dimensions of your plumbing. Restoration will reduce the cost of buying a new bathtub by about 4 times and, depending on the option chosen, will extend the service life old bath from 5 to 20 years old.

If you do decide to change plumbing, consider a budget option purchases from the so-called landfill entrepreneurs. Often upon arrival new house the owners change faience and cast-iron plumbing, which is in good condition, and throw it into a landfill. Resourceful businessmen came up with easy way make money fast and easy. They pick up plumbing in good condition from the landfill, wash and put it in order. They do not expose their contacts directly, working on the principle of word of mouth. In the auxiliary warehouse of such entrepreneurs, you can pick up the right plumbing and save a third or even half of the factory cost.

Economical wall cladding and flooring in dry and damp rooms

To save money when cladding walls, we advise you to buy not edged (planed) lumber, but slabs (wood sawing waste). The croaker is sold raw and does not correspond to the quality of the usual materials. It is easy to fix this if you purchase it in advance in March-April and keep it in a dry room until autumn. In addition, slab sheathing saves money on leveling walls. In 80% of cases, it completely hides all the irregularities. Not only to save money, but also to make wall decoration practical, the option of wall cladding with croaker to the waist and pasting the walls to the ceiling with non-woven wallpaper will help. The lower part is resistant to wear and dirt, and the upper one completes the overall picture.

The most budget option for laying the floor in dry rooms is marmoleum. This material requires leveling the floor in only 10% of cases. However, for rooms with high humidity(bathrooms) marmoleum is not suitable, you will have to lay a classic tile. An alternative to marmoleum is laminate. This option is also inexpensive, looks beautiful and is suitable for laying under a plank floor. True, the floor will have to be leveled.

For wall decoration in the bathroom, choose laminated hardboard. Such material is less familiar than tile, but cheaper. The ceiling is better to sheathe plastic panels. Don't skimp on waterproofing. The money spent on it will pay off and extend the life of even the cheapest finishing materials. Instead of gypsum plaster to level the walls, use a cement-plaster mixture. It is not inferior in quality and is cheaper. When deciding to tile walls and floors, buy a solid color finish. Such a tile does not need to be often adjusted and compared with the pattern, less material is used, which automatically affects the purchase price.

What is better not to save on, so as not to pay twice later?

When carrying out major and European-style repairs, it is impossible to do without replacing the wiring. At this event, it is better not to save money and entrust the work to a professional. It is especially important to pay attention Soviet wiring due to the high power of modern devices, which sometimes the old cable cannot withstand. During the replacement, you will have to use a wall chaser to lay new wiring with high quality. Workers charge for this service from 100 rubles per 1 m 2.

Complete wiring replacement two-room apartment, on average, will cost 40,000 rubles. Private specialist it may take less, but it does not give a guarantee for installation, so if a malfunction occurs, you will have to pay the master again for the work. To save money, we advise you to contact an electrician from the DEZ. Such a specialist performs the work slowly as the workload, however, the quality and guarantee of service is a definite plus for choosing this particular master. But sockets and switches can be installed independently.

Another job that you need to involve a specialist and not save: replacing plumbing pipes. Expendable materials choose according to your budget. Attracting a plumber will cost, on average, 15,000–20,000 rubles. If you do not have experience in connecting plumbing, we also recommend that you seek help from a specialist.