Cosmetic apartment repairs Qualitatively and fast: useful novice tips

Cosmetic Repair of apartments can be made without the help of specialists, saving money and showing a creative approach. If you decide to make it with your own hands, our advice will be useful!

A couple of dozen years ago, under cosmetic repair, the usual sticking of wallpaper, renewal of flooring, painting, or ceiling. Today, this concept is associated with a wider range of works: it is a replacement of window and door profiles, partial replacement of plumbing, laying of tiles, installation of stretch ceilings, disassembly of sockets, switches and other things, that is, the cosmetic repairs of the apartment implies everything that is not housing. 

If you plan to make cosmetic repairs in the apartment yourself without much time and money, but do not have construction skills, check out our recommendations.

Preparatory work

Before starting, prepare a room in which you will first make repairs: take out all things and furniture to another room, large or fixed items (for example, wardrobe) carefully wrap the polyethylene film.

If you do not plan to change the floor covering, unlock the sheets of dry corrugated cardboard on it, and on top of the cam paper, cross the film coating. To protect the plinths, simply creek them with scotch.

Do not forget to de-energize the electrical networks, with switches and sockets, remove the lining and gently glue the holes with a special painting ribbon. 

There are several principles «Right» Repair:

• work should always be performed from top to bottom (from the ceiling to the floor);
• The sequence of work is made according to the principle «from dirty to clean» (that is, at first the most time-consuming and dirty works are performed);
• Cosmetic repair of a two-bedroom apartment begins with a long-room room, that is, it should be moved towards the entrance door, the finish stage is a balcony or loggia;
• Cosmetic Repair of a one-room apartment can be started directly from the room or kitchen itself.

If you change windows, doors, plumbing – it will be the following (after the preparatory) stage of work. If you limit only the walls and ceilings, then read what you need to do next.

Dismantling of old coatings

To start from the walls and the ceiling, you should remove old coatings. Water-dispersive and ordinary enamel paint are removed using a steel spatula (after which the surface is worth walking a piece of sandpaper, in order to improve the adhesion of the new coating with the surface).

Lime blotch is usually simply swollen by water with a roller, after which the remnants of the spatula are removed.

Conventional paper wallpapers are also removed by disconnecting, more modern (for example, washable wallpaper) can be simply removed, the thin layer under them can be removed optionally.

Old lacquer coating with platbands, windows and doors remove only in the case of its cracking. For this, the paint is treated with a jet of hot air from a construction dryer or apply a special composition (washing), after which the surface is cleaned with a spatula.

Preparation of surfaces

Now, after cleansing surfaces from old coatings, proceed to the elimination of existing defects – elevation, cracks, chips and t. D. Cracks need to be increased for better processing by putty, and all the details are removed, and then apply a primer.

After complete drying, in a few days, all irregularities are processed by alabaster or plaster on a plaster basis using a special tool – steel rectangular ironing.

After the final drying, the entire surface is processed by primer composition, and to eliminate possible irregularities – putty. It should be applied with a thin layer, not more than 2-3 mm, but if there is a need (for example, deep irregularities) – in several layers.

After the preparatory work is completed, the shplanke dried finally, you can start finishing.

Finishing the ceiling

Regardless of whether you make a cosmetic repair of 1 room apartment or a multi-room, you need to start with the ceilings.

There are several ways to finish the ceiling:

• The simplest and cheaper – whitewashes (but this option is completely outdated and practically not used in modern apartments);
• pasting wallpaper;
• painting with interior colors;
• decorative decorative plaster;
• Polystyrene paste (used, as a rule, for kitchen and hallway);
• Stretch ceilings are relevant if the ceilings initially have irregularities, eliminate which there is no possibility or desire (in this case, without the help of experts can not do in any way).

For staining the ceilings you need a small roller with a pile of 1-1.5 cm long, a construction bath, in which you will press the surplus of paint and, of course, a comfortable stepder.

If you decide to paint the ceiling with dispersion paint, apply it in two layers. The first layer is driving (approximately 20-30%) to eliminate possible defects, apply the second layer already undressed paint.

Wall processing

There is a huge amount of wall finishing. Let us dwell on those of them that you can produce yourself without having professional skills.

Wallpaper. As a rule, with pasting wallpaper, even a beginner is able to cope – for this, it is simply necessary to perform all the recommendations specified in the instructions on the package.

But there are small tricks:

• In order for the divorced adhesive to be taken with lumps, it should be poured into the water with a thin tricky, energetically stirring with a stick;
• If you glue the wallpaper, you should start from the windows so that when entering the room, the knocks were not visible;
• drive out air bubbles from under the glider of the wallpaper you need from the center to the edges, sometimes it is better to even spare edges and smooth them with the movement from the center again.

Remains of wallpapers under the ceiling, above the plinths and in the openings should be removed by a sharp construction knife for a metal line to avoid breaks.

Dye. You can use any of the interior paints presented on the market for walls, as a rule, they are applied very easily and look beautiful. A rather interesting effect of the inhomogeneous surface can be achieved using structural paint.

Painting of the walls – the case is simple and even fascinating. There are spaciousness for fantasy: you can create any shades, paint different walls in different colors, apply any ornaments and drawings. And most importantly – if you do not like the result, the walls are easy and quick to repaint.

Decorative plaster. Textual (or decorative) plaster is applied to the prepared and aligned surface. Without waiting for drying, the texture is formed on the wall (here you can show due fantasy and portray what you want).

There are textured plaster with already added painting pigments, marble crumbs and other fillers.

Of course, all of the above are only the highlights with which you will encounter, having decided to make a cosmetic repair with your own hands, because in this difficult business is much more nuances. But still, we have no doubt that you will succeed. Good luck!