Apartment layout change in Batumi and legalising it

What you can change without a permit and what needs a design

Work inside an apartment is divided up by Resolution No. 255 of the Government of Georgia on construction permits. Under the 2019 version that we checked, taking down, moving and putting up partitions inside a building, and making openings in them, count as repairs and need no construction permit. Altering load-bearing walls, columns and slabs, or making openings in them, is already reconstruction, which is carried out to a design and with a permit. We check the version in force on the date of the work together with our partner lawyer.

The wall between a room and a loggia is often part of the building's external envelope. Without it, the cold loggia frames are covered in condensation in winter, so we price this alteration together with loggia insulation.

How we work out which wall is load-bearing

In a cast-in-place concrete new build in Batumi, the load is carried by columns, slabs and concrete walls: around the lifts and stairs, often between apartments and along the shared corridor. Partitions between rooms are usually aerated concrete or breeze block, but under plaster, concrete and block are easy to confuse.

We request the building's structural drawings from the developer or the management company, and on site we measure the wall thickness and drill a test hole. Concrete drills hard, gives grey dust and often hits reinforcement, while aerated concrete drills easily and sheds white crumbs. If the signs don't match the drawing, or an opening in concrete is needed, the structural engineer decides, taking the Georgian seismic building codes into account. Who is responsible for what in a design is clear from the comparison of an interior designer and an architect.

In Soviet-era buildings the internal walls carry load too, and there are usually no drawings, so our structural engineer surveys the wall. Other surprises of older buildings are collected on the page about resale apartment renovation.

Kitchen, bathroom and risers in a layout change

Walls are easier to move than wet areas. The bathroom and kitchen are held in place by the drain riser. We lay the branches from the basin and shower with a fall of 2–3 cm per metre and the toilet pipe at about 2 cm per metre, so a toilet moved four metres from the riser raises the bathroom floor by a step. That is why we keep the wet areas at the riser or close to it and move the rooms around them.

We don't plan a bedroom without a window, and we give every new room its own air exchange: with Batumi's humidity, a closed room quickly gets damp. We build the wall between bedrooms from thick blocks or on a frame with mineral wool, and the wall shared with the neighbours is covered in the section on wall and ceiling soundproofing.

What legalising a layout change means

Legalising a layout change means bringing the apartment's documents into line with what has actually been built in it. After partitions are moved, the minimum is a measured survey drawing of the new layout in the handover file, which will be useful when you sell. Whether anything needs changing in the Public Registry, we decide from the extract and the drawing the apartment is registered with.

Work on load-bearing walls needs a structural engineer's report, a design and a permit, and for an apartment in a multi-apartment building, where and in what order the documents are submitted depends on the building itself. We confirm the approval procedure with the architect and our partner lawyer before the work starts, and the rotary hammer comes onto the site only after that.

Combining two apartments or dividing one into two changes the very properties recorded in the Public Registry. Our partner lawyer handles such changes, under your power of attorney if needed.

How the work goes on site

How we take down old walls and cut openings is described on the page about demolition of partitions and old finishes. A new partition stands on the slab or on a sound screed that is bonded to the slab. Under the future wall, we cut out floating screed, or any patch that sounds hollow, back to the concrete. Blockwork is fixed to columns and concrete walls with flexible ties every two or three courses, and under the slab above we leave a 1–2 cm gap and fill it with mineral wool and an elastic sealant. Over time the slab deflects slightly, and a wall wedged tight against the ceiling cracks together with its finishes. The strip of floor where a wall has been removed is topped up with screed to the common level.

We cut an opening in a load-bearing wall only once temporary props are in place as the design specifies and the steel frame is ready, and we photograph the detail before it is closed up.

How much an apartment layout change costs in Batumi

A layout change design with approval support costs from 3,600 to 5,400 ₾: the architect's work, the drawings and the document package, excluding construction work and state fees. If a load-bearing wall is affected, a structural report is added, at 1,200–1,800 ₾. When only partitions change, a design is usually not needed: a measured survey drawing from 310 ₾ and a layout are enough.

We price the work itself by volume and without materials: block partition demolition costs from 61 ₾ per m² of wall, building a new one from 76 ₾ per m², and cutting an opening in a block wall from 390 ₾ each, with blocks and adhesive according to the materials list. Apartments that need an opening in a load-bearing wall, or where wet areas are moved, cost more; white frame, where the walls have no finishes yet, costs less. 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.