1. Preparatory stage.

Design. Any renovation starts with an idea. Many people consider spending on a designer to be an unjustified excess, so they exclude his services first of all, creating a project on their own. Definitely, you will save a lot this way, but we still suggest you contact the designers for at least a consultation. Show your concept to a specialist, he will help you avoid planning mistakes, decide on a color, and tell you what elements you should pay attention to. Some designers work in a “specialist for an hour” format. It will cost you very little, and the result will be impressive.

Estimate. Many have encountered the problem when, during the repair process, consumables run out at the most necessary moment. Or vice versa, you finish finishing and find unpacked packages of plaster. This can be avoided by using various online calculators.

For example, you can download the VOLMA mobile application and use it to calculate the quantity necessary materials. The technology is simple and clear: you indicate the parameters of your apartment, and the program calculates the volumes required Supplies, up to the number of screws. For example, if you are planning to build a plasterboard wall, you need to indicate the surface area, humidity level of the room, fire resistance requirements of the structure and plans for the installation of communications, and the calculator will calculate the potential costs and provide the necessary shopping list.

Time. When planning repairs, try to minimize the amount of “wet” work. For example, cement-sand screed can dry up to a month. If you are renovating your apartment and renting another property at the same time, this can cost a pretty penny. Our advice is to study the market. Many companies offer high-tech mixtures that will reduce time costs. For example, the mixture for self-leveling floors sets within a week.

2. Logistics.

Procurement. If at the planning stage you know how many kilograms of putty you will need, then you just need to buy it in bulk. Firstly, you will save a lot, and secondly, most hypermarkets offer free delivery for large volumes.

Take a closer look at the promotions construction stores. It is no secret that many of them have various discount systems, as well as loyalty cards with a discount for new residents, as well as buyers with a large purchasing budget.

Construction garbage. On export construction waste You can also save money. Cooperate with neighbors who are also busy organizing their homes by ordering one truck for two.

By the way, scrap metal collection points and electrical appliances can take it out on their own old stove and a refrigerator, and sometimes even pay extra for it.

3. Selection of a team of workers.
The first impulse of any person who wants to save money is to do everything himself. You can actually hang wallpaper, paint walls, and even build a partition from plasterboard yourself (including with the help of video tutorials on Youtube), but it is still worth paying for professional construction teams for plumbing and electrical work. It is advisable to choose those who have state registration (IP, LLC) and can provide a guarantee for their services.

A little trick - move some of the work to the cold season. This is the “low season” when you can count on a good discount from the work crew.

4. Finishing.

Walls. In addition to wallpaper and finishing putty with subsequent painting, there are still a lot of finishing options that may not only seem interesting, but also significantly save your budget.

You can find many application examples on the Internet. ordinary plaster as decorative. You can get excellent analogues of Venetian or textured plaster, and sometimes create real masterpieces. Some people use special rollers, a special application technique, improvised materials (sponges, polyethylene films and even a broom).

Another option original finish walls - use of OSB boards. This is compressed wood chips, the cost of which is about 200 rubles per 1 sq.m. It gives the walls a finished and pleasant look wood panel, which does not need to be additionally painted or covered with wallpaper.

Or you can completely abandon traditional decoration in favor of “loft” style interiors - brick and concrete walls with such repairs they are not finished with plaster, but are simply treated with varnish on water based. This way you can get a spectacular renovation for minimal money.

Floor. It is considered that the most budget and utilitarian option The floor covering is linoleum. It is easy to install, resistant to moisture and easy to clean. However, pitfalls may arise here too.

First of all, for linoleum flooring you need to have a very flat base. And if you bring the creaking floors of old Khrushchev-era apartment buildings to this level, then square meter“pie” will cost many times more than installing laminate floors. Speaking of squeaks. They can be removed quite inexpensively. Some craftsmen “extensively” stretch with self-tapping screws. Others drill a hole in the area of ​​the “noisy” joist and put it there polyurethane foam, filling the space and creating something like a pillow in the “sick” place. It is clear that this is just a “patch”, but it can help with total savings.

Ceiling. If you decide to save on the ceiling, choose a stretch ceiling. Its installation takes place in a matter of hours, and the work is much cheaper than leveling.

Window. Windows are the weakest link in the energy profile of a building. Despite their constant improvement, they continue to let too bright and hot rays into the room in the summer and lose precious heat in the cold season. Therefore, you should not skimp on the quality of windows. When choosing a window solution, you need to pay attention not only to the profile (of course it matters), but also to the double-glazed window. Remember that 80% of a window is made up of double glazing - and a lot depends on its quality and characteristics. Cheap double-glazed windows will allow heat to pass through, and you will soon find all that you can save on the purchase and installation of windows in your heating bills.

Each master will probably have hundreds of other ideas and life hacks on how you can save on repairs. We will be glad if you share them in the comments to this article.

We deliberately started the conversation about how to choose a team for renovating an apartment or house not with the finisher (he would hardly be objective) - the role of our today’s expert is designer Lev Borisovich Nagamov. Why designer? Yes, because it was through him that it passed a large number of construction crews, whose work he supervised. Stroyka. by is sure that these recommendations will be useful to everyone, since there is no person who has not resorted to the services of a decorator at least once in his life.

The criteria for selecting such masters are quite subjective. Some people need it quickly and cheaply, others need it more expensive, but with the highest quality... And then, what is considered high quality? For one customer, evenly pasted wallpaper is already happiness, for another, a bubble on the same wallpaper is like a knife to the heart. All the recommendations below apply to a typical customer: with an average income, sensible and moderately demanding.

« Asking a builder if he will do it quickly, efficiently and inexpensively is pointless; he will say: “Of course!” But during all the time I worked, I met only two such teams.

That’s why I want to talk about all those “bells and whistles”, nuances that you can’t miss if you want to live in a renovation that was done well and for a reasonable price.».

First, look at brigade staffing specialists. If one or two people say that they will do the entire range of work themselves, this is a reason to be wary.

“I admit that there are jacks of all trades who will install plumbing, lay tiles, and cover with drywall. But it is extremely rare that a “multi-machine operator” performs all these jobs equally well: most likely, he is a specialist who did a little painting, a little gluing, a little laying of tiles, etc. Don’t expect brilliant results from him.

Another option is when the team says that they are only doing the finishing, and look for a specialist electrician or plumber yourself. This is also fraught with trouble. For example, the wallpaper is hung, but the socket does not work. Who will be responsible? Electrician? There is already no trace of him. We have to redo it, and this is an additional expense. What if this wallpaper is also discontinued? In general, a lot of nerves.

Therefore, as I already said in, there should always be someone you can ask. If the team is complex, they themselves will find whose “jamb” and who to correct. For the same reason, I warn the customer to hire all specialists separately in order to save money.».

By the way, regarding savings, prices for services and other financial issues, Lev Borisovich does not recommend putting them at the forefront and choosing a team only according to its price list. Prices among craftsmen today do not differ very significantly, not significantly. And cheapness is often only on paper.

“You see that one master electrician costs 4 dollars for a point, and another costs 10, take it cheaper, then it turns out that the one with 4 did not turn on the strobes, and so on throughout. It’s like this: a competent estimator is able to make an offer attractive, and not leave his own people at a loss.”.

Ask where did the brigade come from. If you are from the periphery, and you are a demanding metropolitan client with interesting design project, then it’s better to refuse the services of these guys.

Separately, it is worth touching on situations where builders work with the director or foreman. All other things being equal, such a team will cost more. Why? In the case of construction organization there are additional costs for an accountant, office rent, etc. However, if the team is not satisfied, you can ask the director to change it.

In the case of the foreman, he takes up to half of the total amount for himself. For example, if you paid for plastering work two rubles, the master himself could well have received only a ruble, so you hardly have the right to demand two from him.

If there is designer supervision, then a foreman is often not needed at all. Perhaps, earlier his functions also included providing the site with building materials, but now everything is delivered on call, at least in large cities. But the foreman will not insure against fraud, because both he and the builders can attribute something.

“Renovating an apartment is very similar to renovating a car. If it’s clear that the client doesn’t understand it, it’s rare that a builder will resist the temptation to exaggerate costs: he didn’t see it, didn’t discuss it, didn’t count it.”

I wonder what age of builders also needs to be taken into account.

« If there are young guys in the brigade, no older than 27 years old, then, as a rule, they have a foreman, which, as we found out, is fraught with overpayments. Often these are inexperienced craftsmen, the quality of their work is low. The prices for such teams are usually lower. Now it’s up to you to choose what is more important - price or quality.

Middle-aged and elderly people (50-60 years old) are also not the best option. It would seem that a huge amount of experience has been accumulated. But! They do everything the old fashioned way, do not strive to learn anything, and do not know how to work with new materials.

Often these are those who have not succeeded in any other profession, that is, they are forced to work as a builder. They are completely offended White light, no matter how much you pay them, it’s not enough, and repairs are hello from the 90s!”

As with any other service, it is important recommendations, but evaluate them carefully. For example, if they tell you that the team did a great job a month ago, the value of such a recommendation is low: too little time has passed. The same thing if a “satisfied client” lives somewhere in the regional center, and your apartment is in the capital: both the builders and customers from the periphery have quality criteria repair work“inferior” to those in the capital.

If the team was working on offices, then it’s not worth letting them into the apartment, and if only apartments, trusting them with the house is also not entirely correct. The decoration of each type of room has its own nuances.

The conclusion is simple: you need to believe the recommendations given for a facility similar to yours in purpose and location, plus if at least six months have passed since the repair. When there are no recommendations at all, then either your apartment is a “prototype”, or the previous ones were such.

“It is of great importance schedule builder What does this have to do with it? Yes, very simple. If builders come for a few hours, it means they have parallel projects, this will, at a minimum, delay your repair: instead of the promised 4 months, you can safely count on six months, or even longer. The opposite situation is that the brigade sits from early morning until late at night. It would seem great, the guys are working hard... But no, this is also bad. This means that production is important to them: speed comes first, quality, naturally, comes second. The optimal schedule is “like people”from 9 to 17 (plus or minus), always a day off. Then the builders work calmly and, as a rule, well.”.

Concerning construction period, then if there are 5-6 people in a team, renovation of an apartment up to 100 square meters should last about 4 months, if there are 2-3 builders - up to six months.

“If the deadlines are initially overestimated, this does not mean that your repair will be done with incredible quality and scrupulousness. Don't flatter yourself! This means that the brigade has several more objects. In this case, as a rule, no matter how you come, 1-2 people work.”

Knowledge building codes - an optional requirement, rather an additional plus.

“Often renovations without designers are carried out with changes in the layout, as they say, by eye: they demolished here, built here. And now, I apologize, you have to enter the toilet sideways, the builder doesn’t care much - he can’t live here. Yes, we decided together, but what is the demand? And reworking is for an additional fee. A competent builder will always warn you, which means he will save you money.”.

Knowledge of materials- also a plus. It is impossible to be able to work with everything that is on the market. But, for example, he should know how tiles differ from porcelain stoneware. Brave statements like buy whatever you want, we’ll put everything (stick it, hang it) - a reason to be wary.

“Both with and without a design project, if you can see that the builder thinks, asks questions, that he cares, you can work with such a person.”.

By the way, if you have a new building, ask the finishers how the consequences of shrinkage of the house will be minimized. If the master does not see much of a difference, then be prepared that in six months or a year it will crack. plasterboard ceiling, plaster will fall off, etc.

Contrary to the prevailing stereotype, the nationality of the builder does not matter much. As well as the workload of the brigade.

“I know a lot of hacks who are constantly busy. If one team is ready to start work tomorrow, and the second one has to wait three months, it doesn’t mean anything. All the criteria described above are important.".

To facilitate the process of selecting a team, our expert suggests using a questionnaire in which each of the points can be assessed with a certain number of points, conditionally, of course: if any point is important to you, you can “add” points to it, the main thing is that the total is 100. When talking with builders, put points in the questionnaire, then in addition to rosy speeches you will have a real picture.

Part one - new hope

“I had to communicate a lot with friends and colleagues, and also dive into the abyss of the Internet - how people get out of the situation. And something interesting came to light - a revolution is unfolding in the home renovation market, similar to the one that has already bombed all taxi drivers. Boorish taxi drivers who are less You won’t be able to move your trough for less than 500 rubles. The prices are determined by the aggregator company, no matter what it is called Yandex or Uber, the service becomes predictable and inexpensive.

The situation changes in the same way construction market- Internet services take on the work of selecting a team and calculate the cost of repairs at understandable prices. As far as we have been able to find out, there are now three main leaders:

Done - quickly and adequately

The service commands respect - everything is grown-up, you choose a design, agree on the price, hand over the keys and receive a turnkey repair right on time. The question here is not how to find a team. The service takes care of all issues and resolves them. But of course it's not free. If money is not an issue, this is an excellent option; they will do everything as promised. But if the client is not a top manager at Gazprom or a colonel in the police, this can hit the pocket quite hard, especially if this pocket has become somewhat thinner over the past couple of years.

- reliable as the buildings of the Latins

Allows you to solve the most painful issue when you need to calculate the cost of repairs. Usually at the beginning the foreman says - “The owner is 120 thousand and that’s it!!” But every day there are difficulties that workers heroically overcome. But for some reason, overcoming this always leads to an increase in the cost, so you begin to think about the price of kidneys on the world market.

Smetus makes it possible to quickly calculate a repair estimate, and you don’t need to enter a lot of numbers in 10 windows. I set the dimensions with the mouse, chose one of the design options, and received a calculation. It's free and at least useful for dialogue with the repair manager. If the difference in price between Smetus and the brigade is large, this is a reason to seriously think about it. Either the knights of the puncher lower the price, raising it in the process, or they want to make excess profits. The customer is not interested in very greedy employees.

Plus, the site has a protected transaction service, which guarantees repairs at the calculated price with an accredited service team, in the proper quality and on time.

- everything is like in life

Huge selection of options. Hundreds of brigades ready to rush into the embrasure with a jackhammer. But pricing and guarantees are not very clear. It's like a station market. Someone will do the repairs for 20% market value apartments, someone is ready to do the same work for a bottle. How to choose normal employees is unclear; choosing a team is again like a lottery. At least, the selection procedure is more transparent than according to an advertisement in the business press “Announcements of ZaMKADYSH” or “From Hand to Hand”.

Part two - experience, the son of difficult mistakes

The choice was made in favor of Smetus, as the golden mean of these three options. How it all turned out. I chose a design option, entered the room dimensions, and immediately received an estimate. For those items that are familiar - the prices seem to be real, the frog is not pounding in my chest. I left a request on the website, they called me back pretty quickly and told me what they could offer. If I agree to their team, they draw up a protected transaction, i.e. All stages will be accompanied by an expert. If the team does something wrong, the expert will act as an arbiter. Well, in general it’s useful because I’m into technology construction work I understand roughly how to set up carburetors. That is, frankly speaking, a little less than nothing.

The cost of a protected transaction is zero rubles. This is if you give the go-ahead to the certified Smetus team. If I insist that the repairs will be done by my personal kunaks from sunny Tajikistan, then I will have to pay 5 percent of the repair cost. But since past experience only made me want to kick the workers, I naturally didn’t have my own team. I entrusted the choice of crew to the service, since it is in their interests to send adequate builders.

The workers arrived and the process began. Since I couldn’t understand whether they were doing everything using technology or not, I asked for an expert. Even before work began, the service created an online channel for my project, and workers uploaded reports there every evening. I couldn’t resist asking a question, and an expert joined in. In simple words explained why the team went through so much trouble with pouring screed under the laminate. It turned out that everything was based on technology.

Everything was done on time, they didn’t ask for money, materials didn’t suddenly run out - this is exactly how I imagined the turnkey renovation. I signed the act with a light heart and found no reason for modifications. As a result, I saved myself about five kilograms nerve cells and I suspect that money too. The service is really useful, I never doubted the correctness of my choice. I'm glad that they came not only for a taxi, but also for repairs. Apparently, after unmanned taxis, robots will start renovating apartments. But so far so good.

Part three - freeing you from the pain of repair

In Russia there are many services that help carry out repairs with minimal losses for mental health or wallet. the site protects against everything, and it is not the customers who pay for its functions, but the repair teams. And this is also transparent - they receive an estimate and a project that the customer made on the website, simply by moving the mouse. Therefore, you don’t have to wait for the words “This is the owner here, we need to double the budget.” There are options to organize repairs according to a transparent scheme without unclear payments.

P.S. The photo shows the apartment being renovated and after."

Repair is important stage, for which you should thoroughly prepare. Together we will tell you what you should definitely ask the person you hire. construction team to be calm about the result.

How many projects has the team already completed?

The success of your repair largely depends on the professionalism of the repair team. But, no matter how experienced the craftsmen who are renovating your living space may be, it doesn’t hurt to find out what guarantees they provide after completing the work.

In some cases great importance has the qualifications of the workers: ask whether the team has highly specialized specialists or all generalists. Does the team have plumbers, electricians, tilers?

How long will it take to repair?

Needless to say, the answer to this is important: sometimes situations occur when the repair team promises the customer deadlines that are technologically impossible to meet.

How will the work be paid?

It is advisable to clarify this issue in detail. It is best to pay for repairs in stages.

Sometimes, due to unforeseen events, the repair budget for work and materials may increase, so before starting work it is worth finding out whether it is possible to fix the cost of repairs per square meter.

Is it possible to see the team in action?

When choosing a repair team, it is important to see the result of their work live - preferably at the final stage. This is the only way you can objectively assess whether these specialists are right for you and the quality of their services.

Plus, from the process it is always clear how careful the builders are when carrying out work, whether they smoke on site, and whether they are careful with electrical appliances.

What draft materials will be needed?

And also - who will buy them. If a team is involved in purchasing them, find out how reporting on purchased materials will be organized.

Repairing an apartment is like a natural disaster, but you can survive it with minimal loss of both money and nerves with the help of a well-chosen repair and construction team. The RIA Real Estate website found out what criteria should be used to evaluate craftsmen and how to work with them.

The "sarafan" principle

During the initial selection of candidates, it is worth relying primarily on the reviews and recommendations of friends, says M9 development managing partner Maxim Morozov.

Now there are many possibilities, for example, using social networks find people who have recently done renovations and are ready to recommend teams and even show the results of their work. "Word of mouth" is the most best option when selecting workers, confirms the director of the StroyKadry company Anton Rublev.

Where to look

If you couldn’t find suitable specialists through your friends, then you should look for a team on the Internet. “It is best to use resources that have profiles of both customers and performers. Profiles will help collect feedback and get an idea of ​​the range of competencies of the performers,” Morozov points out.

It is best to contact reputable organizations that have their own website and, perhaps, even an office. At the same time, the site must work, that is, it must contain valid telephone numbers and active mail, which is regularly viewed. Yes, prices for services from such companies are usually higher, but the quality of work will also be at the initially stated level, notes Rublev.

Breaking walls: how to properly remodel an apartmentRenovating an apartment is quite a troublesome task, especially for those who are going to change not only the appearance, but the configuration of the space, because sometimes even minor adjustments can have disastrous consequences, including losing the apartment. The RIA Real Estate website learned from lawyers how to properly carry out redevelopment and reconstruction of residential premises.

Of course, you can come up with reviews on the Internet, and you can take photographs of someone else’s work; in addition, excellent private craftsmen or repair contracts who do not have the opportunity to start their own website can post their data on the Internet. Therefore, in any case, the final decision in favor of one brigade or another must be made after personal acquaintance and a preliminary conversation.

For good things, queue

Get ready to wait if you have found a really good team, says Morozov from M9 development. The presence of a long line is a positive sign, he believes. However, its absence is not necessarily evidence of incompetence. This is rather an indirect indicator.

Personal contact

In our country people are often greeted by their clothes and escorted by them, notes Rublev. Of course, if some unkempt, tipsy person comes to a meeting, then hardly anyone will want to trust him, the expert argues. But in general, you need to pay attention to the adequacy of speech; in other words, the employee must offer potential client several options for performing a particular job, explain everything very clearly and clearly, without avoiding answers and without bombarding it with a mountain of incomprehensible terms, explains the director of StroyKadrov.

Good crews usually have a portfolio with photographs of their work. You can also ask for certificates or documents confirming that the employee has a professional education, say that he is a plasterer-painter or mason, Rublev points out.

Seven tips on how to renovate your apartment without breaking the bankApartment renovation is a real “ruble test” for most people, especially for those who barely have enough money for everyday expenses. However, repairs only at first glance seem like a financially unaffordable burden. The RIA Real Estate website tried to summarize advice on how to fit home renovation into even the most modest family budget into seven points.

According to him, it is always clear when a person has already developed a well-functioning scheme: he can immediately tell you step by step about the progress of work, present everything Required documents, will stipulate all risks and responsibilities of the parties.

But the head of a private repair and construction team, Oleg Koltukov, draws attention to the fact that during the first communication, a representative of the team must immediately clearly indicate the prices for the work or provide the client with a price list. At the same time, the customer may be wary of his evasive answers to questions about the timing or cost of the work. “Of course, it’s difficult to say right off the bat how long it will take to complete and what the final amount of work will be. But personally, I usually first discuss all the details of the work with the client, find out what exactly he wants. Then I analyze all this and make calculations, and then , say, the next day, I paint for him rough plan, where I indicate how many materials will be needed and what kind, how much certain services cost,” Koltukov shares his experience.

We sign the agreement

Of course, it is worth concluding an agreement with the team for the provision of construction and repair work. Its templates can be found on the Internet. Ideally, it would be a good idea to check the contract with a lawyer and then sign it with a notary, points out Rublev from the StroyKadry company. But even an uncertified agreement will still have weight in court in the event of any controversial issues.

By the way, the contract stipulates the responsibility of both parties - both the contractor and the customer, the expert adds.

How to get rid of old furniture And household appliances In some countries of the world, at the beginning of the New Year, there is a tradition of throwing old things out of the house, thereby marking the beginning of a new life. But if you can easily say goodbye to the magazines and other annoying small things that have accumulated over the year by simply throwing them in the trash, then with large items the situation is more complicated: wardrobe, taken to the trash container, you can get a fine. "RIA Real Estate" will tell you how to painlessly part with large pieces of furniture and household appliances, and free your home from unnecessary things.

Fractional payment

It is very important to immediately decide and discuss with employees how payment will be made. “Unfortunately, it often happens that the client gives an advance to the craftsmen, after which the team disappears,” Rublev complains.

He recommends not giving advances, but making payments in stages, in parts. This is convenient for both the client and the workers, the agency’s interlocutor emphasizes, since they, too, must be sure that they will not be deceived and left with nothing. For example, you can pay for the preparation of walls for puttying or painting or leveling. “Roughly speaking, I worked for two days and received money; I worked for two more days and received money again,” says Rublev.

Competent control

Of course, during the work process, the customer has every right to control the progress of work, says Rublev. However, it’s not worth standing over the workers’ souls and watching their every move, he emphasizes. If you have already made a choice in favor of a certain team, then trust it. You just need to develop a certain schedule of inspections for yourself, for example, come to the site every two days and make some adjustments along the way, the expert says.