Penthouse renovation in Batumi: terrace, floor-to-ceiling windows and high ceilings

Where a penthouse renovation starts

Penthouse renovation in Batumi starts with an inspection of the terrace, the junctions of the panoramic glazing and the ceilings under the building's roof, and we draw up the design project only after that. On the top floor water and wind come from above and from the side, and a mistake at these junctions later has to be fixed through the finished surfaces.

At the same time we look at the documents. The Public Registry extract and the plan show whether the terrace is included in the apartment's floor area. The roof above the apartment is the building's common property, and its repair is decided with the management company. If water is coming in from above, the roof is repaired before we close up the ceilings.

The terrace: fall, waterproofing and finish

A terrace above living rooms works like a roof: whatever gets through its layers ends up with the neighbours below or in your living room. We check the fall towards the outlets, the drains, the junctions with the parapet and the threshold of the door out of the room. If the finish is being replaced, we first open up a test area: under the screed there may be insulation and the developer's membrane. We take the waterproofing up the parapet and walls, under the threshold and onto the outlet flanges, and flood it for 24 hours before the finish goes on, as described on the page about balcony and shower waterproofing.

Under tiles we use a flexible cementitious coating, and the adhesive, drip profile and outdoor lighting are done the same way as in a balcony renovation. The difference is the area: a large surface moves more in the sun, so we divide it with movement joints, usually every 3–4 m. One outlet is not enough for a terrace like this, so we add a second one or an overflow in the parapet in case the outlet gets blocked with leaves. WPC composite decking on joists lifts out in sections, and the outlets can be seen underneath.

Planters with trees, a hot tub and an outdoor kitchen with a stone worktop all load the slab. Our structural engineer checks their weight before you order them.

Panoramic glazing and the terrace door

Floor-to-ceiling windows in a penthouse are usually part of the building's facade. In many residential complexes the profile and frame colour are fixed by the rules, so more often we repair the glazing with parts from the same system: we replace the seals and hardware and redo the sealing at the junctions. If a frame does get replaced, the procedure is described on the page about window replacement.

The weakest point is usually the threshold of the sliding door to the terrace. Wind-driven rain pushes water against it, and if the external sill and the waterproofing under the threshold aren't brought together into one detail, water runs under the living room floor. We test this detail with water before the finished floor goes down.

Motorised curtain tracks for long, heavy curtains need fixings built into the ceiling and a cable, so we decide where they go before the rough work. In winter condensation can form on a cold frame, so along the glazing we leave room for a trench convector or direct the airflow from an air conditioner at the glass.

High ceilings and walls in side light

Ceilings in penthouses are often higher than on standard floors, and the living room may be double-height. Walls like these are skimmed and painted from a scaffold tower, which we put up before the finished floor goes down. Light from floor-to-ceiling windows travels along the wall and shows every ripple, so we accept the skim coat with a lamp held along the wall, as in premium finishing.

At height everything is harder to maintain. We bring the power supplies for the light fittings out to hatches that can be reached from a stepladder, hang the chandelier over the double-height space on a lift, and place the air conditioner where its filter can be taken out without a tower. If the penthouse is on two levels, we split the services by floor, as in a duplex apartment renovation.

Premium finishes and getting materials up to the floor

The price of a penthouse assumes premium materials: large-format porcelain or stone, concealed doors, concealed toilet frames, built-in lighting. A 120×280 cm slab doesn't fit in a passenger lift, and often not in the service lift either. So before ordering we measure the lift car and the stairwell and choose a format that can be brought up to the floor. How we select materials of this class and keep the materials list is covered on the page about premium renovation.

A design project for a penthouse is usually ordered with a materials list and designer supervision: without detail drawings, the finishes drift away from the concept at the junctions.

How much penthouse renovation costs in Batumi

A turnkey penthouse renovation with premium materials costs from 1,920 to 2,640 ₾ per m² of internal floor area. The price includes labour and materials; the terrace, furniture and appliances are priced separately.

For the terrace, the separate lines are: waterproofing with the fall and junctions from 155 to 215 ₾ per m², and WPC composite decking at 260–310 ₾ per m² for the material plus 81–110 ₾ for laying it on joists. Thermally broken aluminium glazing, if it is replaced or added, costs 895–1,080 ₾ per m². Within the price per metre, the most noticeable item is laying large-format porcelain tiles, at 140–180 ₾ per m². A design project with procurement and supervision is priced separately, at 215–265 ₾ per m².

Inside the apartment, the price goes up with tall walls and double-height spaces, where we work from a scaffold tower, and with large slabs for which there is no suitable lift. The final cost is set after the site measurement and once the estimate is agreed, and the price of each stage is written into the contract.

Order of work on the top floor

First we make the apartment watertight: the terrace, the threshold, the glazing junctions, the flood test. While the wet stages go on outside, we lay the service runs inside. The terrace finish goes down as one of the last stages, so that nobody wheels barrows of mortar across it, and until then the waterproofing is covered with a protective layer.