5 Classic Mistakes When Doing Apartment Renovation

People start apartment renovation under key without calculating how much it will cost them. This oversight leads to problems throughout the entire renovation. The classic climax of this situation is the "endless renovation." It's good if you enter this long phase and manage to settle with workers. Otherwise, there is a risk that a construction worker with a drill will move in next to your door, using it for purposes not intended.

What to Do? Before starting renovation work, create a detailed estimate. Calculate how much materials and labor will cost you. It's much more pleasant if money remains and the renovation is completed on time.

2. You Hire Unscrupulous Workers

This mistake happens at the contractor selection stage. This deceptive stage, at first glance, seems the easiest. All builders seem like professionals in their field, telling stories about how they built "spaceships." The client loses vigilance and misses everything that should be looked at to identify unscrupulous finishers.

What to Do? We recommend asking the contractor for contact details of former employers or clients. Preferably, if there are several of them. They will tell you whether it's worth dealing with them and how their renovation was completed. Ideally, it’s better to arrange a visit to see the completed work.

3. You Rush to Sign the Contract

When it's time to sign the subcontractor’s contract, builders usually try to lobby their own contract, which often does not take the client's interests into account. In the end, it results in the contractor easily releasing himself from responsibility for quality and post-guarantee.

What to Do? Carefully read the signed contract, especially the clauses written in small font. Even better, have a familiar lawyer go over it with you before signing to explain what it says.

4. You Do Not Control the Work of Builders

During the execution of apartment renovation under key, there are control points. Builders do such work that is impossible to inspect upon acceptance, and it is called hidden works. Ignoring these and leaving them uncontrolled can result in a renovation that has to be redone within a month if you have an unscrupulous contractor. For example, if the contractor does not apply the required layer of primer or worse, doesn’t apply it at all, you might wake up one night under a layer of falling plaster from the walls.

What to Do? Try to control all work yourself whenever possible. Set aside several important stages to visit the apartment and see how the renovation is progressing. If you have no time for that, you can use special services that can professionally and effectively monitor the subcontractor.

5. You Start Conflicts with Builders

Open conflicts are hidden threats. Often, during renovation, disputes arise over various situations, whether financial or quality-related issues. These arguments often get stuck in a deadlock. The client stands firm and refuses to compromise, thinking they've held their line, while the contractor stops bringing up the issue, pretending to have calmed down. In reality, at that moment he likely quietly screwed a screw into the heating pipe and poured everything in with floor screed, and when the heating season starts, you will shockingly learn that your neighbor below has a renovation twice as expensive as yours.

What to Do? In such a situation, the correct solution is not to escalate the conflict. If something about the workers’ job doesn’t please you, try to resolve it peacefully. This way, you protect yourself from damaging already done work and spending extra money.