Rough finishing of the apartment: what includes, how to start repairs

Thinking about buying a home in the primary market, you come across the fact that they are selling apartments with repairs of varying degrees of readiness. The most common is the rough finish of the apartment. What is it, what kind of work does this concept include and what will you get as a result – read in the article. 

Different types of apartment renovation

Apartments in new buildings can be bought with varying degrees of finish:

• Under finishing or without repair.
• For finishing.
• With prefinishing white finish.
• Fully finished by the builder.

It is these definitions that are in ads offering living space in new buildings or in construction contracts. At the same time, the price per square meter differs significantly depending on the level of finish. To understand the difference, let’s understand how different types of repairs differ from the developer.

For finishing

This is a completely unfinished option. You only receive a box. The walls themselves are external and those that limit your apartment stand and nothing more. There may also be piers that enclose the bathroom and kitchen. The rest of the space without partitions. If the walls are cast concrete, there is bare concrete. Bare floor slabs overhead, uneven concrete slab underfoot. Here is what you will get. The only thing is that windows can be installed, and even then not always. Depends on the project, so this point should be clarified with the developer.

There is also no communication. There are connection points to them: sewerage outlet, water supply, electrical input to the apartment, and most often without a shield. Just start the phase on the machine. There is no plumbing/sewerage in the apartment. You must do all this yourself. The exception is the heating system. In many new buildings, the builder does the wiring, although there may be exceptions. That is, the apartment without finishing – without any repair.

For finishing

They differ from the previous version in that there are usually already some partitions (a typical layout or the position of the partitions was agreed with you at the stage of signing the contract), the walls and ceiling are plastered, and a screed is poured on the floor. Electricity can be routed (specify), but other engineering systems are still only marked as entry points.

It is not worth hoping that the plastered surfaces will be even. The quality of work is usually below average. You will still have to align the walls and ceiling. You just need (possibly) a smaller layer of material. And so, you will find a complete list of works, which includes the rough finish of the apartment, and then the finishing.

With pre-finishing

This is an apartment that is ready for finishing work. The electrics are divorced, the walls are leveled, an even screed is poured on the floor, the ceiling is plastered. You just have to lay the finishing materials and the substrate under them (where necessary). Without finishing there is a bathroom, bathroom, toilet. In these rooms, the repair will still be yours.

It should be understood that “aligned walls” must comply with SNiP (building codes and regulations), and it allows deviations of the following order:

• on walls up to 15 mm per square meter,
• up to 10 mm on the floor and ceiling.

So, even if the builders have met the standards (it happens far from always), not all finishing materials can be laid on such “smooth” surfaces. In favor of this type of repair of a new building, one thing can be said: the house will actively sit down for another 3-5 years, so the appearance of cracks is a completely natural decision. For this reason, it is not worth using expensive finishing materials right away, and relatively flat surfaces will go under the temporary option.

Fully refurbished by builder

A full range of works was carried out, up to the installation of finishing materials, interior and exterior doors, and the installation of plumbing. All you need is to furnish the apartment with furniture and you can live.

This option seems tempting – no need to suffer in search of builders-finishers. And it is. But the quality of repairs from the developer rarely satisfies anyone. Often the entire finish is removed and redone. Moreover, it is often necessary to putty the walls (100% for painting), pour a leveling screed.

What does the rough finish of the apartment include

What exactly is included in the concept of “rough repair” each firm and team determines for itself. Of the options listed above, two stages fit this concept: under finishing and with pre-finishing. As you can see, the degree of readiness of the premises is completely different. And how to figure it out? Request a list of works to be carried out.

Some exhibit a list of possible works with a price per square meter. In this case, everything is simple: you yourself determine what work and to what extent they will do it for you – this is the best option. If there is no list of works, ask him to voice it or ask for a list of works that are planned to be done.

Civilized repair implies the mandatory conclusion of a contract for repair and finishing work. This will minimize your risks in case of dishonest actions of the contractor.

Please note: when signing the contract, all work must be specified. And the more precise the definition (with tolerances), the less problems you will have during acceptance.

Main types of work

As already mentioned, the rough finish of an apartment is understood by each construction company in its own way, but usually they offer the following list of works:

• The erection of partitions according to the finished plan.
• Filling the floor screed along the lighthouses with preliminary waterproofing of “wet” rooms. Here you have to be careful. The screed may or may not be reinforced. It is also necessary to clarify the allowable height differences.
• Electrical wiring:
  • installation of an apartment panel;
  • laying power cables and low-current (telephone, Internet, cable TV) wires in cable channels;
  • installation of socket boxes (without mounting sockets, switches).
    

• Plastering walls on lighthouses.
• Ceiling plastering (not everyone has this item on the basic list, as stretch or suspended ceilings are often made).
• Distribution of pipes for cold and hot water supply, sewerage.

This list of works on the rough finishing of an apartment is the basic one for most organizations that offer repairs without finishing.

Comments on electrical

A few notes about electrical wiring. Before performing work, a plan should be drawn up, which indicates the number of sockets and connection points for lighting fixtures in each room, the cross-section of wires, the ratings of machines, RCDs (read here) for each of the branches are calculated. You need to clarify who will do this work.

If the contractor will develop the wiring diagram, you should first familiarize yourself with the project. Moreover, it would be useful to show a specialist or try to delve into all the subtleties yourself. If everything is fine with the project, you will have to control everything up to the cable brand and its specific parameters. Namely, it will be necessary to measure the actual diameter of the copper wires and calculate the cross section from it, compare it with the design one. Often there are large discrepancies (jambs of manufacturers, but you need to track them). It is difficult to redo the electrician, because the wires are hidden under the plaster and it is very problematic to change them even if they are laid in corrugated pipes. That is why, this is one of the most important stages that the rough finish of the apartment provides for and it must be controlled very responsibly.

About wall plastering and floor leveling

Before drawing up a contract for a rough finish of an apartment, check how smooth the walls and floor will be. It is desirable to achieve specific figures that should be fixed in the contract. Of course, no one will do it “under the egg”, but it is realistic to achieve that the differences are no more than 5 mm per square meter.

Also check whether the processing of slopes is included in the wall plastering. Often this part of the work is put on the list of additional works, so you will have to pay extra for it.

Additional work

In most cases, if you see fit, the following types of work can be added to the main list of works:

• all types of dismantling of old finishing materials (from paint and wallpaper to plaster);
• priming walls (antiseptics or concrete contact);
• installation of mesh for plaster;
• arch design;
  

• heat-insulating and sound-proofing works in the rooms and on the balcony;
• replacement or transfer of heating radiators;
• welding works on risers of cold and hot water supply;
• installation of ventilation systems.

You may be offered other types of work. It all depends on the specific company. Maybe they have special specialists who will offer their types of work.

Who is better to entrust the repair

If the rough finish of the apartment will not be done by you personally, you have to choose from two options:

• pay for an apartment without repair, and hire a team or a repair office for a rough repair;
• order an apartment immediately with a rough finish.

By all accounts, the first option is preferable. Finding an office that does good repairs in new buildings is not easy, but possible. A customer who rents apartments with a satisfactory rough renovation is almost a fairy tale. Everything is explainable.

Repair offices recruit specific specialists for certain types of work. They are engaged only in this, this is their bread, their reputation, therefore, self-respecting organizations monitor the quality of work. For the developer, the main thing is the construction process itself and the emphasis is on the construction of the box and not on finishing. Finishing work is a side income, far from being so attractive (in terms of money) and few people are seriously concerned about their quality. In any case, this is the situation in our country.

Perhaps somewhere there are developers who keep highly qualified finishers. But for this, they must constantly have new facilities in operation, so that these specialists are constantly busy, otherwise it is unprofitable. If you were lucky enough to find such a customer, you saw (not only in the photo) and felt a couple of finished apartments, the rough finish of the apartment can be entrusted to them without question. Otherwise, look for a company that deals with decoration.

What to look for when accepting work

The rough finish of the apartment in the new building is over, you need to accept the work. But you need to know what to look for, how and what to check. To help you, the contract that you signed with the developer or repair company. There should be a list of work to be done. You will need to check:

• How flat are the walls? To do this, you will need a good building level and a long ruler or rule (more than a meter for sure, but better 1,5-2 meters). You check the verticality of the walls with a level, with a ruler or a rule, by attaching it to the wall and drawing it in different directions, you evaluate the scale of humps and depressions.
• The gender is also checked. Additionally, you need to control the horizontal.
  

• Check the corners – external and internal. They should be 90 ° (it is desirable to have a large triangle, but you can also check with something at hand).
• Electrical check. You will need an indicator screwdriver. If there is voltage (phase) in it, the indicator lights up. If there is no voltage, the indicator is off. Here’s what you need to check:
  • Check that the circuit breakers open the phase, and not zero. If you turn off the circuit breaker, there should be no phase in the sockets of this group (touch the indicator probe in turn to the wires brought out under the socket).
  • Screw the light bulbs into cartridges, check the operation of the switches. Here, too, the phase should open (if you turn the switch keys to the “off” position, there should be no voltage on the wires that go to the light bulb).
  • Plug a table lamp into each outlet (if installed) to make sure they are working.
  • You can artificially create a short circuit by checking the operability of the machine. But this is only if you know how and what to do.
• If you had to do the plumbing, check the performance of all taps.
  

If there are comments, you need to make a list of them, get it signed by a representative of the company. In theory, your comments should be eliminated.