DIY Repair at Home: Essential Milestones to Succeed

Do-it-yourself overhaul repair implies a lot of significant changes in the apartment or house. Such repairs often entail the replacement of windows, doors, the dismantling of floors and, in some cases, walls, and the replacement of communications. Sometimes, when carrying out a major overhaul of an apartment or house, you have to contact the permitting authorities and involve apartment renovation specialists.

A Well-thought-out Repair Plan Is Already Half the Battle

So that the overhaul does not develop into an endless process that takes time, effort, nerves, and money, you need to properly prepare for it. After all, the result of the repair work, exactly like any business, depends on its planning. Even if you have decided to select a DIY approach, it will be complicated without resorting to professionals at all. You might need to involve a pro to create a design project or hire a team of cleaners from livecleantoday.com, to help you clean everything up after you are done.

Be prepared for the fact that you will have to do a large amount of work that requires qualifications and experience. For example, you can expect the installation of sewerage, heating and water supply communications, electrical work, plastering, and painting, as well as the replacement of double-glazed windows and entrance or interior doors, etc. Therefore, if you do not have enough knowledge and experience in any type of work, you will have to resort to the services of a specialist. And at the planning stage, you should take this into account.

So, what should an effective, thoughtful apartment renovation plan include? Here are the most significant steps that you should take. But, undeniably, it is complicated to foresee everything since every dwelling is in a different condition and requires a different range of work.

1. Creation of a design project

To accurately calculate the quantity and cost of the necessary equipment and building materials, you will need to draw up a detailed project of how you see the premises after a major overhaul.

To draw up a design project, you will need an apartment diagram with all the necessary dimensions of the heights, lengths, and widths of all rooms. In the project, you need to take into account all the nuances, so that later you do not waste time searching for and acquiring any tool or material.

2. Calculate the required amount of building materials required for repairs

We recommend you purchase building materials in quantity based on your calculation and add about 8-10%. Here, you can also include payment to specialists (if you decide to involve them in the work).

3. Estimate and add transport costs to the repair plan and estimate

Delivery of building materials and garbage disposal might also require expenses from you, and sometimes they might be even considerable. So, find out the prices of delivery services to estimate the cost in advance.

4. Determine a step-by-step repair algorithm in the apartment

It is advisable to start with which room you want to renovate first, and then build up. You should also take into account the fact that you may need the services of plumbers from the housing office to be able to close the supply of the water to your apartment. And for this, you need to know the phone numbers of reliable specialists to whom you can entrust the task.

The Preliminary Sequence of Overhaul Repair

To effectively organize and carry out repairs, you need to determine a clear sequence of all repair operations:

• Step 1. Overhaul always begins with the dismantling of doors, windows, old pipes of the heating system, water supply, and sewerage systems, as well as flooring. It also includes washing off all the paint and coverings from walls and ceilings.
• Step 2. Preparing the walls. Wiring should be done without installing any appliances. This is where you will need your apartment renovation plan, in that part of the circuit where electrical appliances (switches and sockets) are located. More so, it is generally not recommended to resort to DIY wiring if you are not experienced in this. Hire a qualified electrician who will take care of the task. You will avoid the problem with electricity in the future. In this case, you might even need to change the wiring if you have made mistakes. This will inevitably spoil the repair you have done.
• Step 3. Alignment of the walls and ceiling. If you have uneven floors, screed the floors throughout the apartment, it is necessary to align them. It is a time- and labor-consuming process, so be prepared.
• Step 4. Piping: This includes heating, water supply, and sewerage work.
• Step 5. Bring your design project to life: install all the plasterboard structures that were included in the design of the apartment. This material allows you to implement various forms in the interior.
• Step 6. Fine finishing work: wallpapering, painting, installing doors, laying tiles, etc.

When planning repairs, including your step-by-step repairs, you need to take into account the main direction: repairs should start from the backroom and go towards the corridor or hallway.

Important reminder! It is better to start repair work from the ceiling, gradually going down. If floor repairs are included in your design plan, care must be taken to cover them throughout the repair.

When drawing up a step-by-step overhaul plan for an apartment, do not forget about the significant existing sequence when performing some construction work. For example, in the kitchen, toilet, or bathroom, a professional tiler will not start laying tiles if all the necessary communications have not yet been completed.

Final Words

As you can see, an overhaul repair requires a lot of work. So, try to evaluate your possibilities objectively. If you have tried doing something and are not sure if you can handle the task on your own, it is better to stop and look for a professional. Since spoiling materials, you will have to pay twice for them, as well as for the service of a specialist who will be involved to do everything again.