Repair of the bathroom in the "Khrushchev": design features, repair problems

door selection It's no secret that a large percentage of the population of our country continues to live in Khrushchev's houses. For many Soviet families, Khrushchev was the first and long-awaited home. As a rule, apartments in Khrushchevs were distributed from organizations, in order of turn. Since then, much has changed. These apartments usually get to us from grandparents or purchased in a mortgage as the most affordable housing. How to properly repair a bathroom in Khrushchev?

The layout of a standard apartment in Khrushchev is certain for everyone. Typically, this is one or two rooms( usually adjacent), a six-meter kitchen and a three-meter combined bathroom.

New owners often get an apartment in a very poor condition. But if you spend a certain amount of time, money and effort, then the usual Khrushchev can be turned into a quite presentable home.

If you responsibly approach the task, then your new, stylish and comfortable interior will be envied even by the owners of apartments in new buildings.

Renovation of an apartment in Khrushchev we suggest starting with a bathroom. About the design in Khrushchev's bathroom we spoke in another article.

Khrushchev were initially positioned as a budget variant of housing, so they are completely free from any excesses - both aesthetically and practically.

The layout provides for a minimum of useful space - just as much as necessary to meet primary needs. The bathroom is no exception. In the standard adjacent bathroom there is hardly a place for basic sanitary equipment - bathtubs, sinks and toilet bowls. But we still need to place there a washing machine, a shelf, a mirror, towels, cosmetics and household chemicals. Therefore, the issues of beauty and convenience often go to the background, giving way to issues of saving space.

So, the first problem of repairing a bathroom in a Khrushchevka is a very small area.

The second problem is related to the fact that the Khrushchevs are if not old, then very old houses. The very first Khrushchev belong to 1959, and the last ones - by 1985, were built. That is, today, the most "young" Khrushchevs are about 30 years old. Many houses have not undergone major repairs for decades, therefore the condition of all engineering systems - sewerage, water supply, ventilation leaves much to be desired. Since modern plumbing fixtures often require connection to new, reliable water and sewer pipes, it is better to replace all wiring as far as possible. What can not be replaced is to be repaired.

In addition, the poor state of communications, the inability to replace or transfer them restricts the freedom of replanning the bathroom in the Khrushchev.

The third problem concerns not only the Khrushchevs, but also to any "hastily built" housing. This - uneven walls, which require additional work, so that they could be tiled.

Plan the location of plumbing and furniture in the bathroom best after you dismantle all the old equipment and trim. Having a clean sheet before your eyes, it will be easier for you to fantasize. Begin the preparatory work should be with the dismantling of sanitary equipment. Before doing this, be sure to turn off the hot and cold water supply.

After the old plumbing has been removed, proceed to dismantle the wiring of the water pipes, if necessary. Then you should get rid of the old finishing coatings. The paint from the walls and floor is removed with a hard metal brush, and the tile is knocked down with a perforator or a hammer and chisel. If you want to level the floors, then the screed is crushed with a perforator to the concrete. The remaining garbage and dust must be carefully swept out.

Replace water and sewer pipes before floor and walls are leveled. To begin with, you need to have an exact plan for placing the plumbing equipment, in accordance with which the pipes will be routed in the bathroom.

If possible, replace old cast iron pipes with plastic pipes. They are no less reliable than cast iron ones, but they weigh a lot less, therefore installation can be carried out alone. In addition, plastic pipes and tees help to release a few centimeters of useful space.

Pipes are laid in the strobes in the wall or fixed to it with metal clamps. If desired, you can hide them in a niche from gypsum board, but it "eats" a lot of space. Since in Khrushchev free space on the weight of gold, it is better to spend time on stroblenie and plastering walls.

Do not forget about slope when laying sewer pipes. It should be 10-20 mm per running meter. If necessary, increase the thickness of the concrete screed on the floor, but be sure to observe the height of the slope of the sewer pipes. Where the pipe routing is connected to the riser, consider the possibility of installing a tap to ensure that you can turn off the hot and cold water supply yourself.

The electricity distribution is done before the finishing works, as for the laying of wires, too, you will need to bang the walls.

Provide in the bathroom the required number of outlets, preferably double.with the appropriate protection class. The switch must be located outside the bathroom.

If there are many electrical appliances in the bathroom, install a residual current device on the wiring.

If our task is to spend as much money as possible on renovating the bathroom, the best option is painting the walls with water-resistant paint.

In addition to the cheapness, this option has another advantage: by buying white paint and colors you can achieve exactly the color that you need, while other options do not always give this option.

But here there is one significant nuance: for the painted walls to look really beautiful, you need perfectly flat walls, and to achieve such walls in Khrushchev is very difficult.

Another budget solution is the decoration of walls with plastic panels. They have a wide variety of colors and factor, are easy to assemble and just as easily removed, do not require flawlessly even walls and just look after them. More ideas can be found in the article about the budget repair of the bathroom.

Their only drawback - this finish is not "for ages", sooner or later it will have to be replaced with more durable material.

The most common decoration of walls with tile and granite tiles. These materials have earned their popularity due to their long service life, resistance to temperature changes and waterproofing properties. Today in the store you can find a variety of shapes in the form of a tile - square, rectangular, hexagonal. On the diversity of colors and patterns, there is no sense in telling a long time - there are a lot of variations. If you are not satisfied with the ready-made solutions, you can create your own patterns by combining a tile of different colors and textures.

Tile is the best coating not only for walls, but also for the bathroom floor, the as only it is able to provide the proper level of waterproofing. There are other options for flooring in the bathroom. The cheapest one is linoleum, the most expensive is a waterproof laminate. But in their characteristics, both versions lose to the tiled floor.

The ceiling can be simply painted with white paint or pasted with plastic panels.

However, we advise you to spend some money and install a stretch ceiling.

Firstly, it looks great, secondly, it will protect you from leaks from above. And if you choose glossy material, then the visual ceiling will seem even higher than it really is.

Preparation of floors and walls for the laying of finishing materials begins with the dismantling of old coatings, which we have already described above. After the old covering from the walls is removed, if necessary, they need to be leveled. Use for this purpose special plaster on a cement base. When the plaster dries, treat the walls with putty. Align the walls and can be using sheets of plasterboard, but this method will significantly reduce the already small area of ​​the bathroom.

The floor is prepared as follows: after dismantling the old concrete screed, remove the debris and dust, lay the waterproofing, do not forget about the 15-cm overlap on the walls, and fill in the new screed.

Procedure:

• Using a plumb and construction level, mark horizontal and vertical lines on the wall.
• Prepare the glue for the tiles and apply it with a spatula to the area of ​​the wall where the work will be done.
• Then, with a special scapula with denticles, walk along the treated section of the wall. On the glue grooves are formed.
• Attach the tile to the wall and lightly press down. The distance between the tiles is adjusted with the help of plastic crosses.
• When the work is finished and the tile adhesive dries, treat the joints with a grout for the tile.

Owners of apartments in Khrushchev have to take a very thoughtful attitude towards the choice of sanitary ware for the bathroom.

First of all, you need to make a choice between a bathroom and a shower cabin, as in a small room there is a place for only one of these devices. A shower cubicle allows you to save space, which is useful to us in order to install, for example, a washing machine. In addition, it is much easier for older people and people with disabilities without assistance to use the shower than the bathroom.

Meanwhile, the bathtub is convenient for bathing small children or washing large things that require delicate hand-washing. In addition, many people like to at least sometimes soak in warm water and fragrant foam.

For the bathroom in the Khrushchev square corner bathtub, washbasin and toilet bowl fits. The washbasin can be installed above the washing machine, for this you will need to purchase a special model of the water lily shell, or mount it in the countertop of the curbstone. There are also sinks that can be hung directly above the bathroom, but this design is not entirely convenient.

When choosing a toilet, you need to pay attention to the drain system. It can be horizontal, vertical or oblique. Vertical drainage system allows you to put the toilet bowl against the wall, so you better stop your choice on it.

When choosing a door to the bathroom, the following important points should be considered:

• The door must be resistant to changes in temperature and moisture, do not deform with time.
• It must have heat-insulating and noise-insulating properties.
• On the door should be installed quality handles and locks, as in the bathroom they wear out the fastest.
• The door must have a vent. If it is not present, during installation establish a backlash between a door and a floor.

Doors in the bathroom are usually made of tempered glass, plastic, wood or chipboard. If you choose the products of reliable and well-proven manufacturers, from whatever material the door is made, it will definitely serve you for a long time.

The door to the bathroom can only be installed after all the finishing work has been completed. If you still bought the usual swing door, then during the installation, make sure that it opens outward, and not inside the bathroom.