Apartment renovation in Batumi: new builds in frame condition and resale apartments

The condition the apartment starts from

We price apartment renovation in Batumi from the state the apartment was in when the owner got it. That decides which stage the work starts from, what the site foreman checks first at the site measurement, and how much of the estimate goes on things nobody will see once the renovation is finished.

In a new build, the condition of the building comes on top of the condition of the apartment. For the first few years the floor slabs deflect a little and the concrete is still giving off moisture, so renovating an apartment in a new building follows the same stages, but joints and drying times are planned differently.

The order of work in an apartment, and the reasons for it

The sequence follows one rule: whatever will later be covered up is done first. That is why the order hardly changes from one job to the next.

1. Strip-out and partitions. Until the walls are in their final places, sockets and outlets can't be marked out.
2. Cable runs for the electrics, water and drain pipes, and pipe runs for the air conditioners. Once the walls are plastered, cables and pipes can't be rerouted without opening them up.
3. Plaster and screed. Flooring goes down only on a dry base, so the earlier the screed is poured, the less waiting there is at the end.
4. Waterproofing and tiling in the bathroom, then the splashback and the floor in the kitchen. Tiling comes before painting: it is the longest part of the finishing, and cutting and grouting dirty the surfaces around it.
5. Skim coat, sanding, painting. Sanding dust settles on everything, so laminate and doors don't go in before this step.
6. Flooring, doors, skirting boards.
7. Sanitary ware, sockets and light fittings, the kitchen and wardrobes, cleaning.

The kitchen and fitted wardrobes are measured once the tiles are on and the walls are level. Measure earlier, and the worktop may turn out a couple of centimetres too long for its recess. By the same logic, the air conditioner goes up after painting, while the pipe run to it is hidden in the wall back at step two.

What to decide before work starts, and what can wait

Most of the owner's decisions are needed long before any finishes appear. If they haven't been made by the rough stage, the crew either waits or runs the pipes and cables by guesswork, and that gets redone later. Before we start, we need to know:

• the layout, and where the kitchen, the washing machine and the water heater go;
• the list of appliances: the hob and the oven need their own circuits from the consumer unit, and the dishwasher and the washing machine their own water and drain outlets;
• where the indoor and outdoor air-conditioning units will be;
• a wall-hung or floor-standing toilet, a shower with a floor drain or a shower tray: the installation frame and the floor drain go in before the tiles;
• the lighting plan: downlights, accent lighting, sockets by the bed and the desk.

Tiles and sanitary ware are chosen in time for tiling, the wall colour in time for painting, doors and light fittings for the final stage. Free-standing furniture, ceiling lights for connection points that are already in place, curtains and decor can wait: they can be changed in a day without touching the walls. If the budget is tight, cut the estimate here, and get the pipe and cable runs and the waterproofing done straight away.

How much apartment renovation in Batumi costs

Apartment renovation in Batumi starts from 210 ₾ per m²: that is a cosmetic renovation, where the pipes and wiring are sound and only the surfaces change. The price covers labour and basic materials, that is primer, filler and paint, while tiles, flooring, doors and sanitary ware are priced separately. This kind of renovation usually suits a resale apartment with sound services or an apartment between tenants.

Starting from frame condition means more work and a different price. An apartment from white frame costs from 570 to 720 ₾ per m² for labour and rough-work materials: mixes, cable, pipes, waterproofing, plasterboard. From black frame it starts at 750 ₾, because partitions, plaster and screed are added. Green frame costs from 510 ₾ when the developer's finishing can be kept. A full renovation of a resale apartment with new services costs from 570 to 780 ₾ per m², and a turnkey renovation with mid-range finishing materials starts from 900 ₾.

The price goes up with a second bathroom, moving wet areas, a large number of electrical points, two-level ceilings and built-in furniture. It comes down with a simple layout, developer's outlets that happen to match your kitchen, and a level screed that doesn't need re-pouring. The final cost is set after the site measurement, once the estimate is agreed: each job is a separate line in it, and the price of each stage goes into the contract.

Studio, 1+1 or 2+1: what the layout changes

The number of rooms in a listing, 1+1 or 2+1 (one or two bedrooms plus a kitchen-living room), means less for the estimate than the number of wet areas. A square metre of bathroom or kitchen takes more work than a square metre of bedroom: waterproofing, water and drain outlets, tiles, separate circuits for appliances. The smaller the apartment, the bigger the share of its floor area these zones take up, and the higher the price per m².

That is exactly what happens in a studio: the bathroom and the kitchen corner take up a noticeable part of the floor area, so the price per metre depends on the amount of work in them, and the range for labour with rough-work materials here is from 540 to 745 ₾ per m². Finishing materials, furniture and a made-to-measure kitchen are priced separately. In a 1+1, owners often open the kitchen up to the living room or, the other way round, close it off, and this has to be decided before the rough work, while a wall can still go up with its sockets and outlets in place.

A 2+1 usually has two bathrooms, longer runs from the consumer unit and more air conditioners, which means more points and circuits. In any apartment we price a balcony or loggia separately: the waterproofing, the fall and the outdoor tiles there are different from those in a room.

Renovating an apartment when you don't live in Batumi

Many owners of apartments in Batumi live abroad and get through the whole renovation without travelling: they agree decisions with the project manager by message and accept each stage on a video call before paying for the next one.

Choosing finishes from a distance is easier than it sounds. The foreman photographs tile and parquet samples by the window in daylight, with a tape measure and the neighbouring sample next to them, so you can see the scale and the shade. How to hand over the keys, when you need a power of attorney and how to sign the contract remotely are covered on the page about renovating an apartment without you being there.