The main features of old houses: what to pay attention for making repair?
Apartments in new buildings are far from cheap today. That is why old houses remain in demand in the real market. By the way, in some small towns it is only accessible option. Alas, the houses erected in the 20th century are now far from perfection. However, you can save the situation. Whichever time the building find of, with a proper repair you have a chance to significantly improve the condition of the housing, to give it a cozy and stylish look.
Three epochs of old houses
To better understand your house, it is worth knowing its history. All buildings, dating back to time of the 1920-90’s illegally bear the names of the leaders of the Union and are divided into three types.
It all started with Stalin-era building
These were the very first high-rise buildings of the USSR. They were built in the 1920’s and already in the post-war period. There are their main features:
- height from 3 to 5 floors;
- brick thick walls;
- high ceilings up to 3,2 m;
- absence of elevators;
- large areas.
From the buildings of the Union times, only these houses claim to be an architectural individuality and expressiveness. All the others were built so similar that it is really easy to get lost in the three Khrushchev-era house. By the way, about them …
Khrushchev-era houses
These houses appeared in the expanses of the Union already in the 50’s. They were built quickly, as a temporary solution of the housing shortage problem. Their peculiars:
- height up to 5 floors;
- thin panel walls;
- small area;
- low ceilings;
- uncomfortable planning;
- absence of elevators;
- short service life.
Improved Brezhnev-era house
After the rapid development of the Khrushchev-era, the era of apartments of the so-called “improved” layout in the houses came. The houses are modernized, some higher-altitude ones have garbage chutes and elevators. What distinguishes them?
- height from 5 to 14 floors;
- relatively large areas;
- comfortable lay-out;
- thin walls.
Have you found your house? – Excellent! Now let’s examine in detail those pitfalls that unite all the old buildings.
Frame in the wardrobe of old buildings.
Without taking them into account, you can get a lot of unpleasant surprises – from burned up wires to dips in the floor and mold on the walls. What is worth to pay attention for?
- Thin walls
This concerns the buildings of the second half of the 20th century. Here, both the load-bearing and the interior walls are very thin. This creates a special atmosphere: you are always on the same wavelength with your neighbors and can listen to news, without turning your TV on. What is the reason of such closeness of the territories? External walls miss the noise due to the economical consumption of bricks, voids in the panels and the thinned seams. The interior walls in the apartments is just simple partitions. The heavy cabinets cannot be hung there. Use only plaster and a thin layer of decorative coating for finishing.
Along with the “minus” there is also a “plus” – in such apartments it is easy to redevelop, improve the layout of rooms to your taste and making it more convenient.
- Unreliable floor
As a rule, in most houses the floors were made this way: on the concrete slabs, the boards were laid, which then were covered with wooden flooring. In those remained empty intervals, a real dump and a breeding ground for bacteria is hiding. Emptiness was spread on with remains of construction materials. There were times when people even found canned food left over from the builders’ dinners. Therefore, the floors in old houses definitely need to be changed in capital in favor of any new coating.
- The smell of mustiness and mold
Where does it all come from? Again, for the sake of economy at that time, trivial construction debris was used to fill voids and cracks. All this had been absorbed odors, moisture and dampness for years. Hence the fungus on the walls. How to solve a problem? Banish all the walls, floors and ceilings in the apartment, inspect each corner. After identifying the mold, take measures – clean the walls and treat them with disinfectant. For example, bio protective agent by TRIORA.
- Dangerous wiring
During the construction of the Khrushchev and Stalin-era building no one expected such an amount of electrical equipment in the houses. Hence – the weak power capacity of the wiring. If you do not want to use your devices in turns, you have to put the replacement of the wiring in the priority plan. In addition, if the wires in your house are aluminum, they would eventually break down. It is better to change the wiring anyway. Do not forget to take into account all possible electrical loads.
- Poor thermal insulation
It is the scourge of the thin walls of Khrushchev and Brezhnev-era buildings. In addition, over the years the seams were refined and let the cold pass. By the way, in that years the heating systems of the building were much stronger then now, and it was comfortable while the most severe frosts even in such thin-walled houses. Today, the heating needs to be carefully regulated, and the house must be warmed from outside for keeping heat.
It is not worth to insulate the walls of apartments in old house from the inside. Cold proofed from the inside walls do not heat up all the thickness, and at the outlet, there is a cold zone between the heater and the wall where the condensate accumulates and mold begins to appear. By the way, it is also not necessary to level the house walls with plasterboard. Use only “breathing” materials inside.
Cosmetic repair is impossible – only a capital one!
Tune in that the “cosmetic” repair in old houses is definitely not suitable. The only place where it is applicable is the rented apartments. If you bought an apartment and plan to settle in it for a long time, act thoroughly:
- be sure to change all communications;
- take care of waterproofing in damp areas;
- repair on clean walls without old coatings;
- insulate housing from the outside.
There are a lot of icebergs in the repair of old houses. It is not easy to overcome them, but it is possible. Make repair step by step, do not skimp on the work and quality and then your home successfully reborn into a comfortable modern house from the old building apartment.