Renovating an Older Flat: What to Check Before You Design

Electrical load and wiring age

Flats wired more than twenty years ago often lack the capacity for modern appliance loads and may have no earthing on older circuits. This is a safety item and it is not optional.

Plumbing material and routing

Galvanised iron pipe corrodes internally and reduces flow. If the flat still has GI supply lines, replacing them is far cheaper while walls are already open.

Waterproofing in the wet areas

Any bathroom over fifteen years old should be assumed to need the membrane redone. Retiling over failed waterproofing is the most expensive false economy in renovation.

Structural elements you cannot move

Identify beams, columns and shear walls before designing. In most apartments the internal partitions can go; the frame cannot.

Society rules and working hours

Most housing societies restrict working hours, service lift use, debris removal and wet work. These affect the programme more than the design does.

Asbestos and lead in genuinely old buildings

In buildings from before the 1990s, test before demolition rather than after. It is a small cost against a serious risk.