During self-repair, you can make irreparable mistakes that will nullify all the joy of the work done. Let's consider the main ones.
Leaving the pipes in the bathroom open
In order to give the bathroom the most aesthetic appearance and emphasize the beauty of the selected materials, it is recommended to hide the pipes in special boxes. They will allow you to hide them from prying eyes, remove unnecessary load in the interior, and box doors will open access to plumbers in case of malfunctions.
Leave the old electrical wiring
When starting a repair, you should first of all think about the issue of improving the quality of electrical wiring, since to replace wires you have to hammer walls and build in new boxes, it will be simply impossible to do this after finishing work. The new wiring will not only help withstand the high current from the numerous electrical appliances that are in every apartment, but will also become a guarantee of your fire safety.
Doing few outlets
When planning the arrangement of furniture, you should determine in advance where the numerous equipment will be located, and make a sufficient number of outlets there. A desk, kitchen counter, bathroom, bed and sofa are the minimum places where you need access to a power source. It is better to make more outlets than the required number of outlets than to stumble over the extension cords later.
Choosing cheap plumbing
What you shouldn't save on during the renovation is the plumbing. It should be of high quality, because it is used regularly, and changing taps and toilet bowls every year is hardly a part of your plans. And it's not about beauty and functional bells and whistles. First of all, it is a reliable protection of the apartment from leaks and floods, and only then - the beauty of the appearance. In cheap models, water regularly leaks, leaving ugly lime stains and winding extra cubic meters on the meter. Inexpensive toilet bowls have frequent problems with water intake and valve sticking. It is especially important to choose a high-quality and reliable heated towel rail, since it is he who most often causes severe leaks. Therefore, it is at this stage of the renovation that the proverb “the miser pays twice” is more relevant than ever.
Reducing the number of radiators or moving them away from the window
Often, renovations involve replacing old batteries, and owners recklessly move them to less visible corners of the room.
It should be remembered that even in the presence of warm floors, the presence of heating devices under the windows is necessary to maintain a normal temperature in the cold season.
Under the windows, the wall is a little thinner, its freezing occurs faster, and the window itself is actually a thin partition between the apartment and the street, from which it still blows cold. It is best to choose bimetallic radiators with a thermostat. This will allow you to control the level of heating, which is especially important if the family has small children.
Dismantle the load-bearing wall
Often, young families, having moved to a new apartment and started repairs, seek to get more space by demolishing walls and partitions. It should be remembered here that there are important supporting structures in the apartment, which are strictly forbidden to be demolished or moved, as this is fraught with the appearance of cracks in the house and the destruction of the entire building.
Leave the old parquet
Many older apartments have parquet flooring. Parquet board is indeed an environmentally friendly material, but every thing has wear and tear. Even if you try to loop the parquet and re-varnish it, spending a lot of money and time on it, its life will not last long. And the old creaky floor is unlikely to add joy to the inhabitants of the apartment.
Save on the ceiling
The ceiling is an integral part of the interior, its flaws will certainly "catch" the eyes of both the owners and guests of the apartment. Puttying it and painting it is a very messy and time-consuming activity, the easiest way is to make the ceiling stretch. You can choose from a variety of materials and configurations, but even the simplest white flat cloth will give the room a beautiful finished look. Another advantage of a stretch ceiling is the ability to withstand a heavy load when leaking from above.
Do not buy wallpaper and tiles with a margin
It happens that the last two rolls of the selected wallpaper are left, and the seller promises to "deliver it one of these days." So it is with tiles. It is not worth the risk, it is better to take the option that is enough with a margin. The same wallpaper, which arrived in different batches, may slightly differ in colors, which is not very noticeable on the roll, but immediately catches the eye, being placed on the walls. Check the lot numbers on the wallpaper labels and ask to find only matching copies.
Ditch the chandelier in favor of the spot
It has long been proven that a person's well-being depends on the intensity of illumination, especially in central Russia, where it is dark and gloomy for a significant part of the year. Therefore, it is important that the apartment is light and bright. Spotlights can be used as an additional element or zone illumination, but it is better to give the role of the main lighting device to a chandelier. Moreover, today there is a huge selection of them for any interior and taste. Small hallways and a bathroom can be an exception.
Refuse floor heating
Underfloor heating involves a complete analysis of the floor covering, so it should be installed at the initial stages of repair. You don't need to give it up, because no one forces you to operate the floor around the clock and all year round. But in the off-season, it will be an excellent helper in keeping warm, and will also warm the cold tile flooring, which is indispensable in the presence of small children. The most relevant is the warm floor in the hallway, bathroom and kitchen.
Lay laminate flooring throughout the apartment
Laminate flooring is best suited for a living room or bedroom. Even a coating with a high level of strength and moisture resistance is unlikely to be able to survive the invasion of wet shoes in the hallway or regular splashes near the kitchen work surface. After some time, it will lose its attractive appearance, and its replacement requires serious long-term work.
Choosing cheap doors and hardware
Doors are another important element of the interior, which should not be saved on due to their long-term operation. You should choose solid structures with high-quality fittings. Cheap paper doors quickly lose their presentation, peel off, swell and dry out. The locks break, stop closing, and the hinges begin to creak. Therefore, it is better to choose a door that is more expensive, but be sure that it will serve for a very long time.
Combining the kitchen with the living room
The option of combining the kitchen with the living room is relevant when the first is so small that the dining table barely fits into it. Many people prefer to combine these rooms, leaving each family member a bedroom. At first, this option pleases: all household members are together, someone is playing, someone is watching TV. But in the end, these two zones will confront each other.
The smells of cooking will spread, remaining on the fabrics of the furniture, soot will begin to settle on the TV and curtains, and you can choose only one TV program, because the TV in the kitchen and in the hall is the same. Therefore, the initial pluses smoothly flow into minuses. Still, separate rooms are much more convenient, even if they are large, but a single space.
And you shouldn't combine a toilet and a bathroom into 1 bathroom, especially in three-room apartments. Treshka assumes accommodation for up to 5 people, and how these people will then use 1 bathroom. Nice, lots of space, you can put a washing machine, but not very practical.
In short, any attempt to save money entails "mistakes." An article from the series "It is better to be healthy and rich than poor and sick."
Very practical. Or in the toilet you need to put a bidet or sink with a hygienic shower