What to Pay Attention to During Renovation: 9 Tips from an Experienced Professional

Of course, during renovation anything can happen: sometimes the selected item is removed from production, and sometimes the dimensions indicated in the technical drawing do not match the dimensions of the delivered part. You need to be mentally prepared for this and not lose your calm — most of these problems are solvable.

We asked an expert what is essential to pay attention to first during the initial stages of renovation, so as not to end up with rework and thus not waste extra time and money.

Nadja Kapper — EXPERT, Interior Designer

Tracing of Sewer Pipes

If the designer did not plan this in advance, "bumps" and "bubbles" grow out of the walls in a beautiful bathroom.

Situation: The designer beautifully arranged all necessary elements on the bathroom plan, but when the plumber starts to bring this beauty to life, it turns out that the project author did not think about where the sewer pipes would go.

Usually, the diameter of the pipe from the sink or bathtub is 50 mm, and from the toilet — 110 mm. In addition, sewer pipes should not turn at a 90-degree angle to avoid clogs. Their routing in this case is done through two turning elements at 45 degrees.

If the designer did not plan this in advance, "bumps" and "bubbles" grow out of the walls in a beautiful bathroom, which should not happen.

Design: Maria Badyaeva

Also, you need to consider the thickness of hidden elements: toilet installation, built-in mixer part, so that it doesn't turn out that the partition into which they are installed is too thin.

Condensate Drainage of Air Conditioners

Probably everyone has been hit by dripping condensate from someone else's air conditioner on a hot summer day. This is wrong! The water should be drained into the sewage stack, preferably by gravity — a humming pump in the room will not please you.

Therefore, when planning the placement of an air conditioner, you need to plan not only a place for the refrigerant tube connecting the outdoor unit to the indoor one, but also for the condensate drain pipe. It should go with sufficient slope to allow water flow to the sewage stack or siphon.

Design: Alexandra Chastova

Electrical Outlets

Their relocation after finishing the finishing work is always associated with additional grooving and repainting, so it is very important to install electrical outlets correctly from the beginning.

For example, on the kitchen they should be approved by the manufacturer of kitchen furniture, and even better if this manufacturer provides its own outlet scheme.

Outlets for washing machines, dryers and dishwashers are not installed — only on the side or above. As for refrigerators, outlets can be placed in the socket.

Design: Nadja Kapper

Depth of Light Fixture Installation

Be attentive: not all ceilings are tall enough to calmly accommodate such recesses!

LED light fixtures are now popular, whose thickness is only a few centimeters, but there are also light fixtures with halogen or fluorescent lamps. Their installation depth is about 10 cm.

Accordingly, your ceiling should drop by an even greater height in this place, taking into account the thickness of the frame, gypsum board sheets, and some distance above the fixture for heat dissipation and electrical routing. Be attentive: not all ceilings are tall enough to calmly accommodate such recesses!

Design: Nadja Kapper

Cable Conduits

In modern apartments, there is a large amount of various equipment: to the TV are connected internet set-top boxes and gaming consoles, and a home cinema system.

To prevent the cable tangle from becoming a Cthulhu and hanging on walls, a smart solution is to hide HDMI or audio cables in the wall inside a cable conduit. But how to neatly finish the cable outlet from the wall so it doesn’t look like an unattractive hole?

In many electrical collections, there is an element called a "cable conduit cover" — a lid that fits standard socket and switch frames. Thanks to it, the cable exit from the wall will be neatly covered and blend into the overall electrical concept.

Design: Nadja Kapper

Mechanical Ventilation

To prevent moisture from stagnating and mold forming in humid rooms, it is necessary to install mechanical ventilation.

It is better if it does not turn on simultaneously with the lights, but has a separate switch. In this way, you can turn it on when you have already left the bathroom and not be annoyed by the fan noise.

Design: Nadja Kapper

Tiles

Different batches of ceramic tiles can slightly differ in shade and size — literally by millimeters. Therefore, it is better to order tiles with a sufficient surplus, otherwise when purchasing tiles from another batch, the difference in shades or mismatched grout lines may catch the eye.

The same applies to situations when tiles of different articles or manufacturers are laid — even if the tile size is stated as exactly the same, in reality their dimensions may not match. In this case, it is better to lay tiles with staggered grout lines so that the difference is not noticeable.

Design: IVA Bureau

Grout

When choosing a color for the floor, it is always better to choose a slightly darker grout color.

Grout for ceramic tiles and ceramic granite is selected depending on the concept — in tone or contrast to the tile. It comes in cement or epoxy.

Epoxy grout requires more advanced skills to apply, but it does not absorb water or dirt at all and is preferable in humid rooms.

I want to warn against light-colored grout on the floor: it looks beautiful but quickly becomes unevenly stained. When choosing a color for the floor, it is always better to choose a slightly darker grout color.

Design: Ekaterina Rebrova and Elena Povorova

Opening Doors and Drawers

Usually, door openings are indicated on the project plan, but it is very useful to also draw the opening of all cabinets and drawers on the plans.

This will help avoid situations where a door swinging out hits a nearby light fixture, or a drawer does not fully extend because it gets in the way of a radiator or towel warmer.

Design: Elements Studio