What is a rough repair (finishing) in a new building

Thinking about buying a home on the primary market, you are faced with 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 it is, what kind of work does this concept include and what you get as a result - read the article.

Different types of apartment renovation

Apartments in new buildings can be purchased with different finishes:

• For finishing or without repair.
• For finishing.
• With a pre-final white finish.
• Fully finished by the developer.

Still just beginning

It is precisely 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 finishing. To understand what the difference is, let's figure out how different types of repair differ from a developer.

For finishing

This is an option without finishing work at all. You only receive a box. The walls themselves are external and those that limit your apartment are worth and nothing else. There may also be piers separating the bathroom and kitchen. The rest of the space is without partitions. If the walls are cast concrete, bare concrete is. Bare slabs overhead, uneven concrete underfoot. Here's what you get. The only thing is that windows can be installed and even then not always. Depends on the project, so this point should be checked with the developer.

An apartment without finishing looks something like this

There are also no communications. There are points of connection to them: sewerage outlet, water supply, electrical input to the apartment, and most often without a shield. They just start the phase on the machine. There is no water supply / sewerage wiring in the apartment. You must do all this yourself. An exception is the heating system. In many new buildings, the developer makes the wiring, although there may be exceptions. That is, an apartment without finishing - without any repairs.

For finishing

They differ from the previous version in that usually there are already some partitions (the 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, a screed is poured on the floor. Electricity can be wired (check), but other engineering systems are still only indicated by entry points.

Here's what you can see

It is not worth hoping that the plastered surfaces will be flat. The quality of the work is usually below average. You will have more level the walls and the ceiling. You just need (maybe) a smaller layer of material. And so, a complete list of works awaits you, which includes the rough finishing of the apartment, and then the finishing one.

Prefinished

This is an apartment that is ready for finishing work. An electrician is 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). A bathroom, a bathroom, a toilet remains without finishing. In these premises, repairs 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.

On closer inspection, things are far from rosy.

So, even if the builders have met the standards (it is not always the case), not all finishing materials can be laid on such “flat” surfaces. In favor of this type of renovation 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, you should not use expensive finishing materials right away, and relatively flat surfaces will go under the temporary option.

Fully renovated from the developer

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

It remains only to put the furniture

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

What does the rough finish of the apartment include?

What exactly is included in the concept of "rough repair" each company and the team determines for itself. Of the options listed above, two stages are suitable for this concept: for 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? Require a list of works to be carried out.

Rough repairs in a new building - there is no exact definition of the list of works

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

Civilized renovation implies the obligatory conclusion of a contract for repair and finishing work. This will minimize your risks in the event of a contractor's fraud.

Please note: when signing the contract, all works must be indicated. And the more accurate the definition (with acceptable deviations), the less problems you will have during acceptance.

An example of an estimate for a rough kitchen finish

Main types of work

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

• Erection of partitions according to a ready-made plan.
• Filling the floor screed along the lighthouses with preliminary waterproofing of "wet" rooms. Here you have to be careful. The screed can be reinforced or not. You also need to clarify the permissible elevation differences.
• Wiring layout:
  • installation of an apartment panel;
  • laying power cables and low-current (telephone, Internet, cable TV) wires in cable ducts;
  • installation of socket boxes (without mounting sockets, switches).
    

    Here's what you can see as a result

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

This list of work on the rough finishing of the apartment is basic for most organizations that offer renovation without finishing.

Electrical Comments

A few notes on electrical wiring. Before performing the work, a plan should be drawn up, on which the number of sockets and connection points for lighting devices in each room is marked, the cross-section of wires, the ratings of the machines, the RCD (read here) for each of the branches. You need to clarify who will be doing this job.

The electrician is the most important part

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 measure the actual diameter of copper wires and calculate the cross-section from it, compare it with the design. There are often big inconsistencies (there are manufacturers' mistakes, but you need to track them). It is difficult for an electrician to remodel, 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 provides for the rough finishing of the apartment and it must be controlled very responsibly.

About plastering walls and leveling the floor

Before drawing up a contract for a rough finish of an apartment, specify 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 make you "under the egg", but it is realistic to achieve that the differences are no more than 5 mm per square meter.

What exactly and to what extent you will be plastered - that's what you need to find out

Also check if slope treatment is included in the plaster of the walls. Often this part of the work is put on the list of additional work, so you will have to pay extra for it.

Additional work

In most cases, if you deem it necessary, you can add the following types of work to the main list of works:

• all kinds of dismantling of old finishing materials (from paint and wallpaper to plaster);
• priming the walls (with antiseptics or concrete contact);
• installation of a mesh for plastering;
• arches design;
  

  Additional work - for a better result

• heat insulation and soundproofing works in 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.

Perhaps you will 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 better to entrust the repair

If the rough finishing 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 rough repairs;
• order an apartment immediately with a rough finish.

According to all data, the first option is preferable. Finding an office that does a good job of renovating new buildings is not easy, but possible. A customer who rents an apartment with a satisfactory rough repair is almost a fairy tale. Everything is understandable.

Professionals are not easy to find

Repair offices recruit specific specialists for certain types of work. They are only doing this, this is their bread, their reputation, so self-respecting organizations monitor the quality of their 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 the finishing. Finishing work is a side income, not so attractive (in monetary terms) and few people are seriously concerned about their quality. In any case, this is the situation in our country so far.

Perhaps there are developers somewhere that keep highly qualified finishing specialists. But for this, they must constantly have new objects in their work 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 touched a couple of finished apartments, the rough finishing of the apartment can be entrusted to them without question. Otherwise, look for a finishing company.

What to look for when accepting work

The rough finishing 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 works to be done. You will need to check:

• How flat the walls are.To do this, you need a good building level and a long ruler or rule (more than a meter for sure, but better than 1.5-2 meters). Check the verticality of the walls with a level, with a ruler or a rule, attaching it to the wall and drawing in different directions to estimate the scale of humps and depressions.
• The gender is also checked. Additionally, you need to control the horizontal.
  

  We'll have to crawl with different tools

• Check the corners - outside and inside. They should be 90 ° (it is desirable to have a large triangle, but you can also check with something from the available means).
• 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 alternately to the wires brought out under the outlet).
  • You screw the bulbs into the sockets, 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).
  • By plugging a table lamp into each outlet (if installed), make sure they are working properly.
  • You can artificially create a short circuit by checking the machine's performance. But this is only if you know how and what to do.
• If you were supposed to have a plumbing installation, check the performance of all taps.
  

  Gotta look in and check everything

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