How to make repairs with your own hands, counselors of the leading “School of Repair”

Eleonora Lyubimova, host of the “School of Repair” program on TNT, shared useful tips.

November 12 2016

Eleanor Lyubimova

Winter is not a hindrance to repairs. If your apartment is well heated, then construction work can be started at any time of the year. The main thing is not to get into the off-season, that is, during the period when the batteries are about to be turned off, and it is not yet hot outside. Or if it gets cold and the heating is not turned on. Why is this so important? Paint, putty and other materials like dry, warm rooms, without temperature extremes. Otherwise, everything will dry for a very long time. By the way, there are resourceful craftsmen who are trying to speed up the process with the help of heat guns or even dry the wallpaper with a hairdryer! Keep in mind that all this know-how has a bad effect on the strength of materials. Hurry up – pay twice.

First the chairs, then the walls. Often people think over everything except where the furniture will be. And then – oops! – they chose a chic bed, and the plinth was made such that it does not stand up to the wall, they attached a wall cabinet – and there is nowhere to install a lamp. Before joining the program, I faced a similar problem, when the range was selected, the materials were bought, and the furniture and its ergonomics were forgotten, and a headache began. Therefore, even at the stage of rough work, you need to spend time visiting the store and at least roughly outline on the floor how many centimeters will go to the wall, the bed, where all the lights will be, the flesh to the lamp. To move around the apartment comfortably, and not to stuff bumps on the corners, lay a distance of at least 70 centimeters between the furniture, and between the table and the sofa – 30.

Places for gadgets. Another important thing that is sometimes forgotten is the sockets. Before you start decorating the walls, you need to decide where and how many outlets you need, otherwise you will later charge your phone while sitting in the lotus position by the door. It is better not to save on quantity, because in recent years we have got a lot of “gluttonous” devices. In fact, it is with the dilution of the wiring that repairs need to begin. And also immediately install air conditioners and new windows, these details often surface when the finish is already finished, and it has to be spoiled.

We do it from top to bottom. First of all, the floor should be dealt with only when it comes to global work – pouring concrete, which dries for almost a month. If you only have to change the parquet to the laminate, then proceed according to the plan: the ceiling, then the walls and at the end the floor. Why? Yes, if only because it will be very offensive when the paint drips on top of the new wallpaper. Speaking of paint, this ceiling finish is optimal (and very economical) if you are looking at a perfect even finish. Unlucky, the plate swings are visible to the naked eye? In this case, it is wiser to choose a stretch ceiling, it will hide errors, hide communications and wiring. And for the price it will cost as much as you spend on leveling for painting. Another type of finish that does not hit the pocket is plastic panels that are well known to everyone, but in damp rooms it is necessary to properly treat the walls with antifungal compounds even at the first stage of the repair, since a kind of wet greenhouse forms between the panel and the wall. It is better for residents of the first and last floors and damp apartments not to skimp and choose a stretch ceiling, he is not afraid of water.

We do not save on preparation. How many heroes we had in the program who told the same story: “We just pasted the wallpaper, a couple of weeks passed, and they left!” “Have the walls been primed?” – we ask, and the answer is always negative. In the Soviet Union, there was no access to a good primer, so an additional coat of paint or diluted glue was applied instead. Now building materials are available, but for some reason they are neglected by many. The primer is the base, with its help you can save time, because the putty and paint will lie down and stick better, and the wallpaper will stick so much that you will have time to get bored.

We buy for future use. We are all familiar with the situation when everything was calculated to the smallest detail, and then suddenly there was not enough paint. This is because not everyone takes into account the peculiarities of the apartment. Before buying materials, measure the area, then take a closer look at the shortcomings. If there are cracks, holes and bumps in the walls, you will definitely need to use more putty than with standard walls. Buy putty and paint with a 10-15 percent margin. If we are talking about wallpaper, keep in mind: with a small pattern, fewer rolls will be required than if you chose a large one, which needs to be cut, adjusted. Better lay the footage 15 percent more. With laminate flooring, the story is as follows: when laying in a simple way in a regular room, we take plus 10 percent in case you accidentally spoil it. When the area is non-standard (many corners, protrusions, niches) or diagonal styling, an additional 15-20 percent will come in handy.

We spy and learn. The most common problem is lack of space. If a designer is too expensive for you, explore options on how to visually increase the area on sites dedicated to renovation. You will discover a lot. For example, one participant in our show found on the Internet an alternative to a bulky TV wall, vases, photographs and other trifles. He simply built a narrow rack of the desired shape out of drywall and painted it to match the walls. It took less space, but his idea looks like expensive designer furniture. There was another case: we came to an apartment where mom, dad and two children live in a room of 17 square meters. Then I thought: “How can I put four beds here? Everyone will collide with their heads. ” But the designers of our program found a way out: for the parents they made a round bed to order (there are no corners, and there is immediately more space), for the kids a two-story transformer, which is removed into the closet. And voila! – everyone is happy, the children have space for play and study.

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