Renovating and insulating an old house
An old house outside the city is often sold cheaply, but the main costs start after the purchase. Here is the order in which to repair and insulate a house so you are not heating the street in winter.
Contents
Inspect first, then budget
Before choosing tiles, assess the house’s skeleton. The order of works is almost always the same: roof and foundation, then walls and windows, then utilities, and only at the end the finishes. Start with a beautiful interior and a leaking roof or damp plinth will ruin it in one winter.
- Roof: leaks, rotten rafters, condition of the covering and gutters
- Foundation and plinth: cracks, damp, mould at the bottom of the walls
- Walls: through cracks, especially above windows and doors
- Windows and doors: gaps, warping, draughts
- Wiring: old aluminium cables, twisted joints, no earthing
- Water and sewage: where the water comes from and where waste goes
- Heating: stove, boiler, pipes and radiators
Armenia is seismically active, so serious cracks in load-bearing walls are a reason to call a structural engineer, not just to plaster over them.
What you can do without a permit
Routine repairs, interior finishing and landscaping are low-risk works and do not require a construction permit, as the state portal hartak.am explains. An extension, an added floor, changes to load-bearing walls or a major reconstruction count as construction and need documents from the community or municipality.
Check the procedure and timeline with your community before work starts. An unauthorised extension will cause problems with Cadastre registration and when you sell the house.
Insulation: where the heat goes
According to the International Energy Agency (2020 report), most residential buildings in Armenia date from the Soviet era and lack proper insulation, while heating is the largest energy use in housing. Private houses of that period are no exception: heat escapes through the roof, walls, windows and floor. A sensible order is:
- Roof or attic floor: warm air rises, so insulating here is usually one of the first measures to pay off
- Windows and doors: replace them or at least seal them
- Walls: external insulation is usually preferable to internal — the wall stays warm and rooms keep their floor space
- Floor above the basement or on the ground
- Heating system — after insulation, so you can choose a smaller boiler
Heating and utilities
If the house has a gas supply, the usual choice is a gas boiler with radiators. Leave installation and connection of gas equipment to specialists and coordinate it with the gas supply company. Without gas, people consider electric heating, heat pumps or solid-fuel stoves. Connecting water, gas and electricity is covered in step 4 of this guide.
It is best to replace old wiring completely: a boiler, air conditioner, water heater and oven together create a load it was never designed for.
Loans for energy-efficient renovation
From 2022 Armenia ran a state support programme for energy-efficient renovation of apartments and private houses (Government Decision No. 775-L of 26 May 2022). The state subsidised interest on loans for insulation, replacement of windows and doors, energy-saving heating and alternative energy sources. For private houses the loan was up to AMD 10 million, and at least 30% of it had to go to energy-efficiency works.
According to hartak.am, the programme ran until 1 July 2025. As of September 2026 we found no confirmation that it was extended beyond that date, so ask your bank. The National Mortgage Company also runs a green housing loan programme: for renovation loans, at least 90% of the funds must go to improving energy efficiency. Check the exact terms with partner banks.
Key points
- Roof, foundation and walls first; finishes come last
- Interior repairs and finishing need no permit; extensions and added floors do
- Start insulating with the roof and windows, and choose the boiler afterwards
- Gas equipment only through specialists and the gas supply company
- Ask your bank early about subsidised and green renovation loans
