The subtleties of redevelopment "Khrushchev"

For the second third of the 20th century, tens of millions of people moved from rural huts and single rooms in dormitories and communal apartments to separate housing. Then it was a great breakthrough, but the level of demands has risen sharply in recent decades. And comfortable life is far from being exhausted by central heating, hot and cold water, gas supply. Apartments "Khrushchev", built in the 1950s-1960s are not very perfect planning, for the most part, but to fix this problem with due diligence is not difficult.

Panel five-story buildings were not at all an original invention, they combined the trends developed in Germany (compact houses) and the USA (block house-building). Construction of the houses of the first series together with the finishing works took approximately 50 days,The maximum reduction in the cost and acceleration of construction was achieved due to the small thickness of the supporting walls. The constructions did not provide for the use of elevators, since it was believed that a healthy person was able to climb the fifth floor and descend from it on his own. Balconies were removed from part of the projects, from five to seven square meters were allocated to the kitchens.

Aerated concrete, expanded clay, despite its good strength, do not provide a decent level of sound insulation and weakly keep warm. Brick five-storey buildings can serve for 90-100 years, however, this is achievable only with quality, timely overhaul and maintenance.

Improved layouts are the availability of balconies, and other improvements introduced into Khrushchev’s projects from the mid-1960s onwards (until such construction was completed in 1985). In most cases, the designers have already taken care of separate sanitary facilities. High ceilings could reach three meters, although typical are still low, up to 250 cm. Passable rooms are still present necessarily, this is the “ancestral feature” of the whole housing of the described category.

Corner rooms with two windows are the coldest place in the whole house in winter.But the indisputable advantage of such a property is a decent illumination of the room.

The walls (partitions) that divide adjacent rooms are not particularly rugged. Therefore, it is impossible to use them for hanging heavy items or even loaded shelves. But the demolition during the redevelopment is greatly simplified and accelerated.

Two-room apartment in typical projects of the early period is much more common than studio. Nevertheless, the range of problems is the same: the area is small, the rooms are located haphazardly, there are passage rooms. If the apartment has two rooms, its area varies from 41 to 46 square meters, and one-room was made in size 30-31 m2. Regardless of the area, there was a pantry or a built-in wardrobe and a fridge cabinet (a hollow under the kitchen window sill).

All apartments of the Khrushchev series of 1-2-3-4 bedroom apartments, the area of ​​the rooms can vary very significantly.So, living rooms occupy from 14 square meters, bedrooms from 8 square meters. m, children's rooms from 6 square meters. The most “unlucky” kitchen, their area starts from 4.5 squares and even in the most spacious variants is 6 or 7 square meters. Two-bedroom apartment can reach 60 square meters. m or even a little larger, but still there will be adjacent rooms.

Four-room "Khrushchev" has a size of from 62 to 72 square meters. m, in this embodiment, finally, there was isolation of all the rooms from each other. Not surprisingly, designers and enthusiasts of redevelopment highly appreciate this property. Almost always there is no need for radical changes in the internal space, you can get by with minor adjustments.

More often, however, there are apartments of the Khrushchev series of 30, 43 or 45 square meters. The peculiarity characteristic for housing of any kind of space is the exit of the windows of all apartments, except for the corner ones, in one direction. This is exactly what all the houses in the 1-335 series, actively built from 1963 to 1967, look like.

An important point: when re-planning, ideally, not only aesthetic problems should be solved, but also problems with the used infrastructure.Regardless of the series, year of construction and the nuances of the distribution of premises, wiring and other communications are obsolete and do not meet the requirements of current consumers. Connecting energy-intensive household appliances becomes very dangerous.

It should be noted that the legislation regulating the redevelopment of housing and other premises was not just invented. The slightest change, even minor walls, not to mention the bearing, can lead to terrible consequences.

Not a single bearing wall can be affected by the redevelopment, even to the smallest extent. Having found an insignificant change in it, the regulatory authorities with good reason will impose a fine or apply other sanctions. It is important to take into account other subtleties, less obvious. For example:

• It is prohibited by the existing rules to expand bathrooms, kitchens and toilets at the expense of living rooms (you can take space only from the technical premises).
• Expansion of kitchens at the expense of bathrooms is unacceptable.
• If, nevertheless, before the kitchen was expanded, using the living space, it is not allowed to install plumbing fixtures and gas stoves on it.
• Kitchen equipped with gas stoves, it is forbidden to combine with living rooms (if there are no intermediate doors).

If you want not to demolish the bearing wall, but only to make an opening of a limited size in it, this is allowed by the rules. But it will be necessary to substantiate the need for such a decision, the impossibility of a different way out of the situation and the safety of the planned hole. A prerequisite for permitting such work will be an engineering examination of the wall both in your apartment and on adjacent floors. It is strictly forbidden any work that would complicate access to the general home communications and devices that control them.

None of the redevelopment, even considered safe and acceptable, does not fit in houses waiting in line for demolition. You can combine balconies with living rooms and kitchens only where projects allow you to install sliding walls. It is impossible to connect a warm floor to the common pipes of hot water and heating, since this creates an unforeseen load and can completely disturb the balance of these important systems. The prohibition also covers the overlap of ventilation or the transfer of its trajectory.

You should not be outraged about the restrictions, especially since they are all easily overcome by workarounds. One-room apartment "Khrushchev" format can be converted into a studio, this is a great youth option. The essence is the abolition of partitions that prevent the passage directly from the living room to the kitchen and into the corridor. It is important to note that the lavatory is not touched; it can only be moved on the first floor.

Another way to solve the problem of lack of space is the fusion of kitchens with corridors, in which the doors leading to the room are moved away from the entrance to the dwelling. The second option allows you to install built-in wardrobes in the hallways.It is still a good idea to think about the weatherization of a balcony or loggia, about heating there, but qualified professionals should implement such a decision, do not try to act independently!

One-room "Khrushchev" in brick houses with very small sanitary facilities and kitchens with the standard arrangement of partitions are improved by abandoning the baths. Instead of them, install shower cabins, which will help to better use the area of ​​the bathroom. One wall is a little sloping, the kitchen expands slightly, and the hallway, on the contrary, shrinks.

Another way of rescheduling is that partitions are carried. When the sidewall of the hallway is shifted to the side of the room, and its front wall is moved almost to the very door of the bathroom, you can expand the corridor, put in it a built-in closet or even a dressing room.The lack of space in the room is compensated for by withdrawing a part of the kitchen space, but still moving the wall to the door to the bathroom allows you to put a fridge. The dining room share of kitchens moves into the room, and the installation of sliding doors or an entrance block of the "accordion" type will help to make the territory more harmonious.

Attractive solution with the creation of "apartment-office", in which a large living room merges together with the kitchen and corridor. All this space becomes a place of eating and everyday rest. The small room becomes wider by 15 centimeters, because the partition has been moved, this room is set aside for the bedroom and the wardrobe. But the usual shift of partitions is not limited to, form a study, between it and the living room there is a transparent wall.

Depending on your discretion, sliding doors can integrate the cabinet visually into the common space or separate it; bath in the bathroom is replaced by a shower and washing machine. An additional elongated tabletop is added there, complete with drawers.

In order for the guests, whom you will for the first time (and even later) accept in the redesigned “Khrushchev”, immediately understand the essence of the design idea, you need to competently arrange the living room. Optimally, according to experts, light tones are suitable for the interior of this room, they will help to cope at least visually with the lack of space. But what kind of light material on the walls to choose, you decide and only you!

Widespread use:

• wallpaper for painting;
• vinyl wallpaper;
• silk screen printing;
• cullet;
• ornamented blocks and designs.

Additional uplift of the ceiling will provide light sources looking up. So that the light does not show the monotonous space alone, it makes sense to use rectangular paintings, original curtains and curtains. High vases and metal flower stands add to the interior of grace and elegance, make the room more lively.

According to experts, living rooms in the "Khrushchev" should be designed in the spirit of the classics or minimalism. All other solutions, if relevant, only in some cases and within the framework of high-end authoring design.Independently design and implement a good environment is very difficult. The minimalistic interior is attractive because only a limited amount of furniture is used, for the most part of a modular type, the decoration is formed from homogeneous materials of restrained color. Bright accessories, if they can be found, only as an expressive accent, and not a dominant one.

A classic living room is often created when a kitchen is combined with this room. It is advisable to turn window and door openings into arched ones, or at least to imitate them. The classic is perfectly combined with mirrors, reproductions of paintings by famous artists, statues. It is permissible to use one or two objects decorated with forging, but think carefully about whether they will not be excessively heavy in a given room.

Never put furniture around the perimeter, it visually absorbs the space and only reduces its expressiveness. A good idea is the provencal ceiling or the use of glossy material for it. As in any other apartment, in the “Khrushchev” the decor of the living room should be coordinated with the interior of the other rooms (or at least be separated from them by the transition strip if the difference is too great).

At the same time, stylish and practical solutions for the floor are parquet, laminate and linoleum that match the color of the furniture, so it should already be or should not be bought flooring without having decided on the color of the interior. Combinations of multi-colored coatings or rich, eye-catching patterns are undesirable: they are emotionally repulsive.

Wallpapers, on the contrary, can be combined - usually at the bottom they let in relatively lighter ones, and the area above goes one tone darker. Use three, at the most four decorative elements at the same time, otherwise you will get an excessively motley look.

Observing these principles, even in a studio apartment it will be possible to create an interior that is unique and convenient for you in all respects.

On how to reschedule "Khrushchev" in agreement, see the following video.