Procedure and cost for renovating a wall?

[danielwerner86]

Hello!

I'm new to the forum and have no idea if this is in the right category. The moderator is welcome to move the thread if it's in the wrong place. Anyway: I could use some help from those of you who are knowledgeable and/or experienced with renovations and building.

I've just moved into a condominium (built in 2002) where the previous owner has converted a bedroom wall with a regular door to one with sliding doors. I like the solution, but it's not well done: The doors are crooked and don't close tightly, the doors can be wobbled a bit sideways which causes a damn noise at night when the cat can't leave them alone, the doors themselves make quite a noise when you open/close them, one door tends to get stuck on the way back, one wall isn't fastened to the floor and can be jiggled, the bedroom light switch is on the outside of the new wall, and a few other things.

So I simply feel I need to get a contractor to redo everything from scratch and fix a quieter and nicer solution. The thing is, I've never renovated before, so I have ZERO idea of how to proceed.

• What kind of tradesmen do I need? A carpenter and an electrician or something more? No need for a painter.
• What's the best place to request a quote from reliable tradesmen?
• How much is this going to cost, approximately? I can probably do a bit myself like fixing new skirting boards and such. Or is it wiser to let the tradesmen handle all that since they're already working?

Anything else I need to consider?

Thanks!

 

[danielwerner86]

By the way, I live in Stockholm. Just realized it might be good to mention.

 

[TheGame]

It is a carpenter. I don't know what it costs but it sounds like the wall isn't even attached. Tear down, redo, and do it right. You can probably do it yourself if you google a bit. Google something like building an inner wall. The electricity isn't difficult either; you can see it when you open it, but you can ask for an electrician later on.

 

[Per i Hamrånge]

Hello!

I'm new to the forum and have no idea if this is in the right category. The moderator is welcome to move the thread if it's in the wrong place. Anyway: I would need some help from those of you who are knowledgeable and/or experienced in renovations and construction.

I just moved into a condominium (built in 2002) where the previous owner changed a bedroom wall with a regular door to one with sliding doors. I like the solution, but it's not done very well: The doors are crooked and don't close tightly, the doors can be wobbled a bit to the side which causes a racket at night when the cat can't leave them alone, the doors themselves make quite a bit of noise when you open/close them, one door tends to get stuck on the way back, one wall isn't attached to the floor and can be wobbled, the bedroom's light switch is on the outside of the new wall, and some other issues.

So I simply feel I want to bring in craftsmen to redo everything from scratch, to achieve a quieter and more attractive solution. The thing is, I've never renovated before, so I have ZERO idea of how to proceed.

• What kind of craftsmen do I need? Carpenters and electricians or something else? No need for painters.
• What's the best place to request a quote from reputable craftsmen?
• Approximately, what will this cost? I can probably handle some tasks myself like fixing new baseboards and so on. Or is it wiser to let the craftsmen handle that when they're on site?

Anything else I should consider?

Thanks!

Hi. I've just had carpenters apply this solution in two different locations. That is, installing a sliding door. In one case it cost 15,000 and in the other case 20,000. It should cost about the same amount to redo/restore in your case. I can say that in one instance the result was good, and in the other case it was about the same as yours. One reason is that the doors differ in quality. One changes depending on the season and occasionally becomes difficult to move.

I've learned from this that the wall becomes too weak with just metal studs and plasterboard. It would require double plasterboard or OSB/plasterboard to be stable. But then the project grows, so if you don't specify, single plasterboard is what you get. It's not wrong, but not particularly good.

 

[danielwerner86]

Thanks for the response!

Currently awaiting a quote on this. Initially got one for 15,000, but that was just to demolish one half of the wall and make it slightly thicker. The contractor said the main issue is that the wall is too narrow for this. However, I want to take the opportunity to replace the sliding doors at the same time because with new studs, the entire wall needs to be demolished.

What could this cost? 30,000 including new doors (they cost 9,000)? 40,000?

They also said they will reinforce with plyfa; does that sound good? The most important thing for me is that it becomes stable and relatively quiet. Better insulation is of course also a plus.

 

[Per i Hamrånge]

Thanks for the answer!

Currently waiting for a quote on this. Initially, I received one for 15,000 but that was only to tear down one half of the wall and make it slightly thicker. The contractor said the main problem is that the wall is too narrow for this. However, I want to take the opportunity to change the sliding doors at the same time, so since there are new studs, the entire wall needs to be demolished.

What might this cost? 30,000 including new doors (they cost 9,000)? 40,000?

They also said they will reinforce with plyfa; does that sound good? The most important thing for me is that it becomes stable and relatively quiet. Better insulation is, of course, a plus too.

The best option is with double boards (plasterboard + plywood/OSB). But the wall will then be thicker than it is now. That means you have to rebuild the entire wall. Very expensive doors you are aiming for. I wouldn't buy an interior door for 9,000 (4,000 each?). You can find good doors for 2,000.

It "should" cost 20,000, but the market is what it is. This is a small job of about 3 days, which many aren't really keen on, so they'll probably go for anything between 20-30,000. Plus doors then.

Unfortunately, there's no rot deduction for a BRF apartment.

 

[Bassrunner]

It's best with double layers (drywall + plywood/OSB). But the wall will then be thicker than it is now. So, you have to rebuild the entire wall. Very expensive doors you're aiming for. I wouldn't buy an interior door for 9,000 (4,000 each?). You can find good doors for 2,000.

It "should" cost 20,000, but the market is what it is. This is a small job of about 3 days, which many aren't really keen on, so they're likely to quote anywhere between 20-30,000. Plus doors then.

Unfortunately, there's no tax reduction for renovations on a BRF apartment.

Are you sure there's no tax deduction? According to the tax authority's website, it looks like it gives a deduction. See for example https://www.skatteverket.se/privat/...illrotavdrag.106.5c1163881590be297b5899d.html

 

[Per i Hamrånge]

Are you sure it doesn't qualify for ROT deduction? According to the tax authority's website, it looks like it gives a deduction. See e.g. [link]

Sure and sure. None of the two jobs for which I hired craftsmen in my BRF could qualify for ROT deduction. They were very clear on that. I didn't try to convince them otherwise. But, of course, they could be wrong. I don’t know.

 

[Lulaua]

No issues with ROT on a BRF apartment.

 

[16386]

It works perfectly well - if you own the cooperative apartment and the work is eligible for ROT deduction. However, the housing cooperative cannot get the ROT deduction for work it orders.

 

[Per i Hamrånge]

It's perfectly fine - if you own the apartment and the work is eligible for ROT deductions. However, the housing association cannot receive ROT deductions for work it orders.

Interesting nonetheless that two well-established carpentry firms can be so wrong. They believed there must be a property designation to issue a ROT deduction.

 

[Anna_H]

Had the same problem and the wall is definitely not weak in my case.
Placed a furniture pad on the inside of the wall at a strategic spot.

 

[JLyck]

Interesting that two well-established carpenter firms can be so wrong. They believed that there must be a property designation to issue a ROT deduction.

Pretty sure you have a property designation. And ROT is no problem for a br.

 

[Per i Hamrånge]

Pretty sure you have a property designation. And rot is no problem for a br.

No. My BRF has no property designation. Of course, the association does. But I don't own it. ROT is linked to the owner AND the property designation.

You're probably right. Just wanted to share my experiences that 2 independent companies claimed that ROT on an apartment is not possible.

 

[JLyck]

The property you live in has a designation, ask the board about this. It usually also appears in the annual report if I remember correctly. You can then use that designation when applying for ROT. After all, you are part of the association.

These two independent firms are wrong.

https://www.skatteverket.se/privat/...tetbostadsratt.4.3810a01c150939e893f6b18.html

However, according to the tax agency, the association's organization number and apartment number are sufficient.

Maybe they don't want to involve the tax agency? Or that you've done work that's not approved for ROT.