Top 10 mistakes of modern renovation
Apartment renovation – as a natural disaster, a hobby or a way of life? In any case, the experience of others’ mistakes will not hurt. Or maybe it will make the path to the dream house much shorter..
1. Lack of plan – drawings
No plan and blueprints? Then get ready to break through the piles of unnecessary furniture, admire the vines of the hanging wires, store «tees» for sockets and scamper around the room with a chandelier in hand. A professional design project or a hand-written plan-drawing of the location of partitions, electrics, light and furniture will help to calculate the dimensions in advance, lay out routes, hide the wires and make an estimate for the construction site. The more accurate the plan, the less money will be spent on unnecessary materials and unnecessary little things..
Lack of plan – drawings.
Separately, it is worth considering overhead lighting, especially if you use hinged plasterboard structures. First of all, you need to draw a frame with a profile pitch of 50 cm, with a separate frame, and a separate drywall layout. To save materials, you need to estimate at what arrangement of sheets there will be less residues. But if you plan to hang a heavy lamp, then the suspensions should be installed more often, and the chandelier should be attached to the ceiling. At this stage, it is very important to attach a diagram of the luminaires, and make sure that they do not fall on the frame. After all, there is no suspended ceiling without lamps.
2. We cut without waiting …
Now it is difficult to imagine repairs without drywall, at least one sheet, but you will definitely need it. Few people bring a whole sheet into a high-rise building, for example, a gypsum board with a height of 2.3 m fits into the freight elevator of new buildings. But more often the sheets are simply cut in half, and even with an ordinary knife, like bread. Sloppy seams affect both the increase in the putty, and the future flatness of the surfaces and the possible appearance of cracks. Correctly cut the sheets with a special drywall knife – it is sold in all hardware stores – and under the maximum height of the freight elevator – at least 190 cm.
We cut without waiting …
But it’s better not to cut the leaf at all: walking up and down the stairs is great for the heart and develops muscles..
3. Few sockets
This mistake is one of the most common. To understand how many sockets you need, count the items of equipment that will be in the room. Even if you only planned a TV in the bedroom, think about where you will turn on the vacuum cleaner or charger for the phone? Therefore, boldly multiply the minimum amount by two. Before deciding the issue with the switch, estimate the number of lamps and their power. If wall sconces are supposed to be in the room, this must also be taken into account. Also, do not forget that the electrical plan is tied to the furniture arrangement plan. If it is not there, it is possible that your switch will be behind the cabinet wall..
4. We bend drywall like Ivan Poddubny cast-iron poker
Drywall is a plastic and flexible material, but you should not soak it for a day, patiently spraying it from a spray bottle, or squeezing a wet rag onto it in the hope that the sheet will bend itself under the influence of gravity. If drywall with a thickness of 6.5 mm is used to build a structure, then with a slight curvature it does not need to be wetted at all, it was created specifically for different curved surfaces and is easy to bend. If you decide to use a standard sheet with a thickness of 12.5 mm for a partition or ceiling, then from the side that is bent inward, you need to roll it with a needle roller, and then moisten it with water, but so that water does not get on the back side, otherwise the cardboard will break, and the drywall will fall apart.
We bend drywall like Ivan Poddubny cast-iron poker.
Knauf experts recommend that a wet sheet should be put on a prepared form (made of a profile or plywood) and left to dry. The blank from the sheet will dry for a day or two, depending on the humidity of the room. The room temperature must be at least 15 degrees.
5. We hang objects on the walls indiscriminately
A common story – they hung cabinets or shelves, beautifully installed decor or books, satisfied people went into another room and you hear a crash in your back. Goodbye expensive glasses, vases and frames. Wall fasteners created specifically for different needs.
We hang objects on the walls indiscriminately.
If you are hanging something heavy on the walls, then you should choose the appropriate fasteners, especially in the case of walls and partitions made of plasterboard. Light frames, mirrors, candlesticks up to 3 kg are hung on a screw. Up to 10 kg of load per fixture withstands «screw» dowel. «Butterfly» and “umbrella” are great for hollow structures, two of these dowels can withstand a weight of up to 40 kg, and if there are 2 layers of drywall, then up to 70 kg. And if you need to hang even more massive objects, then you should contact «heavy artillery» – new dowel «Hartmut» will withstand 35 kg for one fastening with a single-layer plating from gypsum plasterboard and 55 kg with two-layer plating.
6. Sparks fly
For uniform cutting of a metal profile for curved structures, in no case should you use an angle grinder (grinder).
Sparks fly.
At high speed, the metal overheats, moreover, galvanized steel burns out at the cut, as a result of which, in the future, this place will be subject to corrosion. Cutting the metal profile should only be done with special metal shears (manual or electric). A smooth profile is cut neatly, strictly observing the integrity of the opposite shelf, on which the side drywall sheet will be attached.
7. Fastening the GCR sheet with the wrong side
Which side to fix the drywall – front or back? Sometimes would-be craftsmen mount the gypsum board with the back side out. In this case, the thinned edge is inside, the joint is sealed incorrectly, and cracks are formed. We add that there are many mistakes in fixing drywall. The step between the screws for walls should be 25 cm, and for ceilings – 15 cm with some displacement of the screws along the seam – one screw is higher than the other by a centimeter.
Fastening the GCR sheet with the wrong side.
If you fix the screws at the same level, the cardboard will crack, and the gypsum will crumble and a crack will form in the future..
8. Cracks in the ceiling made of gypsum plasterboard
And now, attention! Renovation or simply modern design of apartments allowed every householder to feel like a real designer, and, therefore, to realize all fantasies and create a wonderful multi-level ceiling. And here we are waiting for the most popular mistake when installing a gypsum plasterboard suspended ceiling – drywall is screwed to the guide profile along the perimeter. This is one of the main reasons for ceiling cracks. So that when contemplating the ceiling after renovation you do not experience «attack of the martians», just remember – drywall is not screwed to the guide profile located along the walls!
GKL ceiling cracks.
Yes, and if the cladding is incorrectly repaired at the junction with the walls, cracks will go along the wall. To avoid such problems, it is necessary to use a separating tape at the junction of the gypsum plasterboard ceiling and the adjoining wall.
9. Cracks in the floor screed
Oh, how familiar it is – the floor was poured with self-leveling mixtures, and the floor is so even, wonderful. You leave the apartment, and in the morning there are cracks all over the floor. Material – nothing to do with it, cost before «scratch a turnip». Almost everyone who makes repairs does not even try to evaluate the base before pouring the floor, and it can be soft (despite the fact that concrete) and loose, and free-flowing, and with cracks and ruts from previous use … You can determine the strength of the base using a simple self-tapping screw, crossing out strips with them – if the base crumbles, then it is bad. In such cases, pouring of bulk mixtures should be made only on polyethylene film or backing paper. In this case, the height of the floor pouring must be at least 30mm.
Floor screed cracks.
You can also pour a cap of plain water onto the base and see how fast it has been absorbed. If in less than 3 minutes, then at the same rate the base will take moisture from the poured screed. And the neighbors below will see stains on the ceiling. This problem is solved by priming the base..
10. The miser pays twice
Or even three times! «The basis of the interior», namely, floors, doors, windows, electrics and plumbing must be sound and reliable. Especially if you are going to stay in this apartment for at least a few years. Home is a place that should energize and give tranquility, and not annoy with everyday inconveniences. Don’t skimp on seemingly trifles. Then it will still be more expensive. For example, modern lever mixers are not only much more convenient to use than their rotary counterparts, but are also able to significantly save water. Interior paints from fresh collections have less consumption and last longer.
Authors: Ekaterina Maksimova / Olga Prokhorova
