"Nothing lasts forever under the moon," as the classic used to say. And indeed, no matter how reliable and durable a thing is, sooner or later it will require repair, updating, or, as it is now, fashionable to say, an upgrade. This applies equally to human housing, namely to a private home.
It doesn’t matter what materials and using which technologies this building was erected, but sooner or later, repair or restoration to it definitely needed. So, we will consider this question, as far as possible in a small article, in more detail.
Most common damage
As you know, the restoration of an old house, in addition to an external renovation of the building, also implies the restoration of internal defects that have arisen. What damage is most common in old houses?
So, first of all, you should pay attention to the walls. On the outside, cracks often form, into which water flows and destroys the building. In the basement, due to improper waterproofing, they can become damp and moldy, the internal walls may not be fireproof enough and have poor sound insulation.
Also, in most cases, windows and doors are subject to replacement. It is necessary to carefully check the condition of the roof, since the load-bearing beams can rot or warp, and it is better to replace the old roofing material with more modern analogues.
Usually the floor is subject to repair. Wooden boards or parquet creak, large gaps and cracks appear between the floorboards. A separate item is plumbing, heating and wiring. In 99% of the old plumbing and heating need to be changed. Regarding wiring, we can say the following: in old houses, it was usually designed for lighting, a TV, and, perhaps, everything. Therefore, she will in no way be able to cope with a large number of modern household appliances.
So, a detailed inspection has been carried out, deficiencies have been found, we are moving on to the next stage of the restoration of the house. We make a repair plan.
We plan the stages of repair
You can draw up a plan, visualize it, and also calculate the preliminary cost of the work using special computer programs, of which there are many now. Thanks to the plan and estimates drawn up with their help, you can step by step calculate the sequence of actions, immediately see the result of the restoration, that is, in the 3D editor consider what the house will look like after repair, and finally, it’s also extremely important to know what it will cost the price of home restoration.
Well, then, if the plan is drawn up, we proceed to implement it.
Restoring the foundation
Let's start with the basics of the foundations - the foundation of the building. Cracks can go along it or, God forbid, in some places a subsidence is formed. Its repair is a very responsible and difficult task, therefore, without special knowledge and skills to repair the foundation yourself is not recommended. If sediment occurs, special beams are placed under its base, the foundation is reinforced with a metal mesh on all sides, and if necessary, it is expanded. But we repeat again, it is better to entrust the restoration of the foundation of the house to specialists.
Windows or natural light
Further windows. Indeed, in any home there must be natural light, and the more it is, the better. There are special standards according to which the area of the windows should be at least 10% of the entire area of the walls. Previously, the windows were not made large enough, so it would be more appropriate to increase their area if possible, as well as use modern double-glazed windows, which will help reduce heat loss. Well, we will return to the issues of thermal insulation in the process of restoration of the house, but for now we will move on to replacing the wiring.
Electrical wiring
As mentioned above, the main problem with old wiring is not the old sockets with switches and wires sticking out of the walls, but the insufficient power that it can withstand. Here, in addition to replacement, another problem may arise. You may need to contact your energy provider and ask for an increase in the quota for your home.
If this is not necessary, then in the process of restoration of a private house it is enough to simply replace the outdated wiring with a new, copper one with grounding, having previously developed and drawn up its diagram. It is also advisable to approximately calculate the number of devices and their power that you plan to connect to a specific outlet. Spare sockets for additional appliances must also be considered.
Heating and insulation
One of the elements of home comfort is warmth. Who wouldn’t want to sit in the evening, stretching out tired legs to a pleasantly crackling fireplace ... Of course, if space and means allow, you can restore the house in such a way as to realize this opportunity, but we will focus on a more common and acceptable option for most. These are solid fuel or gas boiler. By the way, the latter are gaining more and more popularity, since their efficiency reaches 90%.
These boilers produce a minimum of ash, they do not have soot and fuel is significantly saved. Of course, you can use a pyrolysis boiler, this is if there is a centralized gas supply, as well as an alternative option - an electric boiler, but in this case you can forget about the savings.
Of course, installing central heating is only half the battle. Still need high-quality insulation of the room. To do this, you can use special mineral wool or polystyrene plates. You need to insulate both the walls and the floor and ceiling.
Now the restoration of the house inside is approaching the final stage, it remains to finish the floor, walls and ceiling, and we will go outside and continue the restoration work there.
Roof restoration
The purpose of the roof is not only protection against rainfall, it also significantly affects the appearance of the building. Previously, houses were usually tiled or slate. Therefore, most likely, a complete replacement of the old roofing material with a new, more modern one, together with a partial replacement of the load-bearing beams and beams, will be required. You also need to insulate and make roof waterproofing.
Restoration of the facade of the house
Well, finally, the outer walls of the house. They must be cleaned of old layers of paint or plaster, coated with a primer mixture that protects against fungus and mold, then insulated using heat-resistant materials with water-repellent properties, a vapor-insulating membrane is laid, and finally plastering and painting the walls with facade paint or lining them with siding or lining.
This, perhaps, dwell. Of course, this is a general and brief overview of the main stages of the repair and restoration of the building, since for the presentation of more detailed instructions it would be necessary to write a whole book, and possibly not one. However, the main points of restoration work are outlined here.