Whatever the financial situation, nobody needs the extra costs. Unfortunately, during the repair work, far from everything can be saved, especially if there is no desire to correct the repair flaws every six months. To prevent this from happening, you should follow simple rules. The article provides recommendations on how to save on apartment repair.
What can not be saved
Initially, you should understand what you do not need to save on when carrying out repairs. If large-scale work to improve housing is undertaken for the first time and there is no experience in drawing up a functional and attractive design project today, you must definitely use the services of an experienced designer. A specialist who understands fashion trends will help to visualize wishes and make a preliminary cost estimate. Saving on this is definitely not worth it, but it is not necessary to choose a specialist from the Top 10 best designers. There is a high probability that someone from your environment has already collaborated with a designer and can tell a good specialist who provides services at an affordable price.
Also, do not save on the purchase and installation of engineering equipment, as cheap options will quickly fail and at the most inopportune moment. Such systems include:
- Power supply.
- Gas supply.
- Sewerage.
- Water networks.
- Heating.
- Ventilation.
It is important to remember that the safety and comfort of staying in premises directly depend on the quality of engineering equipment and well-formed communications. The location of sockets, switches and the location of the power wire are determined at the planning stage of repair. Even one improperly located outlet can ruin the whole picture.
A long-term investment in the comfort of staying in a house or apartment is the installation of high-quality plumbing. Savings here are inappropriate. It is important to acquire plumbing for a bathroom, toilet and kitchen only from well-established manufacturers. You should carefully check the documents and the integrity of the plumbing in the box.
How to save on apartment repair in this situation? Experts advise you to buy a steel bath, which will last a long period of time. You can eliminate the shortcomings by independently performing the bath lining with sound and heat-insulating materials. If an old cast-iron bathtub is already available, you can update it with an acrylic insert. Specialists do not recommend using plumbing if chips and cracks have already formed on it.
No need to buy "just in case"
It is quite possible to do a budget apartment repair yourself. Photowall-paper, several square meters of tiles or several stripes of lining - such remnants from repair work are likely to be found in every second. It is a pity to throw out materials, so they lie for years in dead weight in cabinets or on balconies. This is due to the fact that before the start of work, the estimate was incorrectly drawn up or it was completely absent.
At the first stage, the repaired premises should be carefully measured and the exact volumes of consumables needed for the repair should be determined. No need to buy wallpaper, tile or laminate "just in case". If it is difficult to independently perform such calculations, you should contact the specialists of construction companies. It is important to remember that the excess finishing materials remaining after the repair, mixes, wallpaper, tiles, etc., are money wasted.
Studying the proposals of the construction market
Many people ask: “How can you save money on apartment renovation?” Of course, on consumables. Please note that for wallpapers, linoleum, paint and other finishing materials from one manufacturer, prices in different construction stores and markets may differ, and the spread is significant: 10-30%. Before starting the budget option of apartment renovation, photos and other information can be studied in advance by looking at promotional products, as well as visiting markets and building materials stores. Based on this, all offers are evaluated, based on which you can determine where and what material you can buy cheaper.
Do you want to carry out budget repairs of a one-room apartment in a new building? An excellent solution will be the wholesale purchase of everything at once in one building supermarket. Someone from relatives or acquaintances may have a discount card for this hardware store. Thus, it is quite possible to buy almost all materials not at retail, but at a wholesale price. This is a significant savings!
Repair plan and estimate
If you do all the work yourself, save on the repair of an apartment is quite realistic, you should only thoroughly prepare. So, first of all, you need to draw up a detailed plan and indicate on the diagram the exact dimensions of the premises. This will allow not only with high accuracy to calculate the required amount of finishing materials, but also to plan the entire repair process in stages.
Important information! The repair should be carried out in such a way that the work starts from the farthest room, after which it gradually moves to the hallway. Decorating the kitchen and bathroom is done either at the very beginning, or at the final stage.
Even if you plan to do a budget apartment repair yourself, you should definitely familiarize yourself with the photo of the design of the premises in advance. Firstly, the people who created them are professionals. An experienced designer knows how to correctly combine elements of different styles in one project so that the overall picture remains holistic and harmonious. And even if the interior in the images looks much richer than you planned, it’s not scary: no one canceled the fantasy. Take note of what you liked, remove the excess (and it will always be found) - and you will get a project of almost your dream. Secondly, an integral part of the work on the interior is the selection of contrasts and accents. In the photo you can see what the finished room looks like. It is convenient and practical: if you did not like the combination of colors and textures, which at first seemed interesting to you, you can only turn the page with the photo. You don’t have to spend money on the purchase of new materials, as well as remodeling everything in the room.
In addition, a detailed estimate is made, in which the following are calculated:
- Prices for finishing materials.
- Shipping costs.
- Funds for the removal and disposal of construction waste.
- Costs remuneration of labor performers.
Choose the right wallpaper
When they think how to save money on apartment renovations, they most often prefer using paper wallpapers, and this despite the fact that today they are considered almost archaism. However, experts argue that this is just the case when the avaricious pays twice. Most paper-based wallpapers are not washed and fade in the sun. In addition, they are short-lived and fragile. To minimize the chance of material peeling off the wall, you can use special wallpaper for painting, which is periodically updated with rubber or acrylic paint. The cost of such wallpaper is affordable.
Hide all kinds of wall defects will help vinyl wallpapers, which have high strength and density. A more expensive option is non-woven, which easily stick, do not deform and do not “swell”. They paint perfectly.
If you want to save on repairing an apartment in a new building, you can study the remnants of vinyl and non-woven wallpaper in building supermarkets, as the last rolls are sold at a reduced price. This option is suitable for those who planned to carry out wallpapering, combining several shades. This solution is suitable for a child’s room, because cartoony wallpapers are expensive and quickly bored. So it is better to choose a budget monophonic accompaniment to bright colored canvases.
Ceiling and doorways
How to save on apartment repair and at the same time create a cozy atmosphere? In the design of the ceiling do not get involved in expensive multi-level structures with curved partitions. If you choose such a fast finishing method as stretch ceilings, then you can save money by replacing the glossy canvas with matte and abandoning additional decor.
How to save on the repair of a 3-room apartment if there are many doorways? The design of the openings in the form of a rectangle will be cheaper. Arched structures and other design sophistication are much more expensive and not always appropriate.
You can remove the old paint layer from the door yourself, which will significantly reduce the cost of repairs. To do this, grease the old coating layer with a solution of sodium silicate on water, after which the paint will be fairly easy to remove. Dents and nicks on the door leaf are removed with a primer. These works do not require special skills, any home craftsman will cope with them.
Many people think that budget repairs and apartment design (photos of some options posted on specialized resources, sometimes amaze with the simplicity and at the same time harmonious facilities) are absolutely unrealistic thing at the present time. Yes, now everything is expensive. But if you have an ordinary apartment, and not royal mansions, then it’s not necessary to buy all sorts of stylish things at a fabulous price, right? A cozy and comfortable home environment can be completely created independently and for a minimal amount. Do not believe? Take a look at the photo below!
Flooring
Looking at the photos before and after a budget apartment renovation, you can see that expensive flooring in the form of parquet is often replaced with carpet and linoleum. Today, a wide selection of such coatings is presented: from the cheapest synthetic to natural. Many of them successfully imitate different types of flooring and natural materials. By laying a modern insulated linoleum in the apartment , you can save on rough floor preparation. Experts attribute this to the fact that it does not require a perfectly even base for its flooring. Carpet and linoleum are fixed with a plinth and do not require the use of any adhesive solutions, which will also help to save on repairs.
A good alternative to parquet is parquet board. A cheaper option is laminate. Wear-resistant flooring is quickly installed, but requires the use of a substrate, which will entail additional costs.
It will not work to save by laying Italian or Spanish tiles, since one square meter of material will cost 1,500-3,000 rubles. You can significantly reduce the cost of tiles by acquiring tiles from Russian and Chinese manufacturers: the cost of such materials starts from 500 rubles per "square".
Electrician
Incorrectly located sockets and switches, as well as illiterate wiring of electrical wiring occupy the first lines in the ratings under the name "100 repair errors." Savings on the electrical part contribute to unpleasant consequences in the form of the use of unaesthetic extension cords. A manually formed network may not be able to cope with the load from familiar household appliances, for example, washing and drying machines, ovens. In the best case, cheap wiring will lead to “knocking out” of machines, in the worst - to a fire.
The wiring in the walls should not be “diagonal”. This is necessary so that when drilling holes in the wall for paintings or shelves, do not damage the wires. To replace the damaged area, finishing wall materials will be removed, which will definitely not reduce the cost of repairs.
Independent preparatory work
You can safely take on the implementation of many construction works that do not require high qualification of the contractor. Remove the door, the old linoleum, skirting boards and wallpaper, literally everyone can remove the whitewash layer from the ceiling. Savings in dismantling fees can be quite substantial. If possible, take out construction waste yourself yourself - such services hit the budget very sensitively.
Labor choice
But what if you do not manage to complete the entire volume on your own? Or is it more likely that a home master can be called a “lomaster”? Trust in hired workers. Not the best option in terms of economy, but sometimes circumstances are stronger than us. And here the main thing is not to miscalculate with the workers.
So, how to save on repairing an apartment in a new building, namely on performing work? Today it’s hard enough to find professionals. Key secrets and tricks when choosing repairmen:
- In advance (2-3 months before the start of repair work) it is necessary to try to find competent specialists, come to an agreement with them about the amount of remuneration, the features of the decoration and the amount of work. Find qualified professionals can help friends and relatives who have already experienced repairs, or specialized resources, of which now a dime a dozen. Read the reviews carefully!
- When hiring a specialist, proceed not only from the low cost of his services. The combination of the words "repair quickly, efficiently and inexpensively" in the ads must be in doubt. Professional repairmen know their worth and adequately evaluate their work. Decorating a room made by unfortunate specialists can cost an exorbitant price.
- It is important to trust the workers, but still control every stage of the work.
- To avoid fraud, payment for construction and repair work is carried out on the fact. If any defects have occurred or defects have been noticed, they must be rectified immediately. In the contract with the repairmen, which is concluded before the repair, the amount to be deducted from the person for the poor performance of his duties is preliminarily stipulated.
- In many cases, specialists must warn of the risk of certain errors during repair. This will allow you to assess the situation in advance and prevent a catastrophe, mutual reproaches and additional financial costs due to damaged materials and nerves.
On a note!
Following simple recommendations, it is quite possible to make budget repairs in the apartment. How to reduce the cost of repairs:
- Wallpaper behind the headset or behind kitchen cabinets can not be glued: firstly, over time, the material will still lose its color and will need to be changed, and secondly, the wallpaper is not visible at all behind the cabinets.
- To reduce the cost of repairs, you can select wallpapers from past collections, the prices of which are much lower.
- If we talk about curtains, it is best to purchase ready-made products that do not need to be hemmed.
- Finishing work begins with walls or floors, and only then it is necessary to repair the ceiling. This is due to the fact that all building dust rises up, which makes the ceiling quickly polluted.
- Only after the completion of all work, fixtures are mounted and furniture is arranged.
- Instead of wallpaper, you can use decorative plaster, which can be updated from time to time.
- Wallpaper with a pattern is an expensive pleasure, since you will have to buy 1-2 rolls more to achieve a matching pattern.
- If you independently perform the lining of the bathroom, then you can use special plastic - it is inexpensive. By choosing this option, you can forget about the problem for at least 10 years.
The purchase of household appliances can be postponed until later, however, it is necessary to allocate a place for a dishwasher and other machines already at the repair stage. The best time of the year for repairs is autumn and winter.
Options for budget apartment renovation, photo designs of which are given in the article, prove that it is quite realistic to create a cozy atmosphere for little money.
Repair is, of course, a serious matter, but it does not need to be overestimated in our lives. 5-6 years will pass, and again there will be a desire to change something in your own home. Therefore, repairs should be done with ease and not focus on trifles.