Personal Experience: 6 Silly Mistakes Made by Builders in a Double-Room Apartment Renovation

Architect Olga Dmitrieva shared the mistakes made by builders during her apartment renovation. It's hard to believe, but it happens: scroll down to the end of the post to find out what the foreman actually was.

Olga Dmitrieva is an expert. She has been working as an architect for over eight years. Currently, she is on maternity leave and is renovating her own apartment.

Our renovation started in February, and it was 'completed' by the end of April. We were recommended a foreman by close friends, so we fully trusted him.

During the initial meeting, the foreman immediately asked if I had floor plans and assured us that everything would go smoothly. Then he photographed the apartment, made notes in a notebook, and together we calculated the renovation timeline according to the plans.

Then the crew arrived and started working. Initially, we had no complaints, and everything was going well. But then something went wrong.

Error 1: Incorrect measurement of the niche in the bathroom

The niche for the washing machine should have been 64 cm, but in the end it was only 60.3 cm. To achieve these dimensions, the builders skewed the tiles. The foreman admitted his mistake and slightly enlarged the niche. However, it still wasn't enough — only 61.5 cm.

In an ideal scenario, we would have had to dismantle the entire wall to get the desired result. We compromised and looked for washing machine models that would fit in the narrow niche. We found a model with a dryer on top, but the water supply taps were in the way.

The foreman promised to move the taps, and he said he would remove the water cutoff valve for the washing machine from the installation. According to him, if we open access to the pipes, we can easily shut off the water supply.

My husband visited the store several times to look at the washing machine. Together with a consultant, he measured everything with a tape measure and carefully sketched and photographed it to ensure the foreman wouldn't make size errors. But when the apartment was handed over, the tap remained in its original place, so we couldn't shut off the water.

Error 2: Poorly applied and painted wallpaper

According to the builders, the wallpaper in the bedroom was faulty, so the seams between panels were very noticeable.

We bought wallpaper for the children's room that was supposed to be painted, but it turned out to be 'too thick'. We returned to the store and bought the thinnest wallpaper. But now we faced issues with the paint, which was 'too light', so stains remained on the wallpaper.

The same problem occurred with the wallpaper in the hallway and kitchen: it was 'too thin and stretched in different directions', so now there are visible seams between the panels. It's a pity we didn't stop using their services at this point.

Error 3: Floor not leveled

When we decided to install the doors, the installers simply left with the words: 'What are we installing? The floor is not prepared.' It turned out that there were dips in the floor under the door frames. There were gaps of 0.4 cm on one side and 1.5 cm on the other side. I called the foreman, who said he didn’t see a problem, but I insisted he come over.

Error 4: Balcony and ceiling not painted

The balcony was only painted once, and the ceiling was covered with wallpaper — 'because it’s faster.' We had to deal with their complaints and make them redo everything.

Error 5: Wires not tidied up

On the day of apartment handover, the doorbell wire was hanging over the wallpaper. A TV cable was added that wasn’t routed to the TV outlets in the rooms.

Error 6: Bathroom repair was done poorly

The towel rack in the bathroom was not mounted or connected. The tap for the washing machine stayed in its original place. Grout was missing around the entire perimeter of the bathroom.

What happened after the renovation?

We waited for the crew to fix everything, as we had a very bad ending and never fully resolved the financial issue. At the end of June, we wrote to the foreman and asked him to come.

According to him, the renovation was done perfectly, and we were just being picky. 'You can live with this,' he said. The worst part is that our foreman was not actually a foreman but a plumber! Fortunately, only my husband was present at the meeting, who doesn’t like conflicts. But even he couldn't take such audacity and threw this man out of the door.

Now we're looking for a new crew to fix all these mistakes.

Furniture arrangement plan

What do people regret after renovation?

Sometimes builders do their job flawlessly, but apartment owners create problems for themselves. We share the sad experience of our heroes.