Renovating a panel-block apartment: where to start
Soviet-era panel blocks are a familiar part of Yerevan and other Armenian cities. Renovating them follows its own rules: load-bearing walls are off-limits, sound travels easily and heat escapes through the joints.
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What makes a panel building different
A panel building is assembled from prefabricated concrete slabs. Many of the interior walls are load-bearing: they carry the floor slabs. So an open-plan remodel of the kind possible in a frame-built new development is almost impossible here.
Under Armenia’s Law on Management of Multi-Apartment Buildings, load-bearing structures, floor slabs, the roof and the basement are the common property of the building. An owner may run utilities through common property without the neighbours’ consent only if this does not weaken the building’s load-bearing capacity, disrupt its engineering systems or infringe other owners’ rights.
The age of these buildings matters too. According to the International Energy Agency (2020), about 75% of Armenia’s multi-apartment buildings were built between 1951 and 1990, and most of them are poorly insulated.
Step one: inspection
- Which walls are load-bearing: check the technical passport or floor plan and ask an engineer
- Condition of the water and sewage risers and where they are shut off
- Wiring: aluminium or copper, is there earthing, is the capacity sufficient
- Joints between panels: no dark stains or cold spots in the corners
- Windows, the balcony and its railing
- Ceilings and floors: uneven levels, cracks
What is allowed and what is not
| Work | Allowed? | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Painting, wallpaper, tiles, floors | Yes | Interior finishing needs no permit |
| Replacing windows | Yes, with a caveat | In Yerevan, replacing external windows requires a sketch approved by the municipality — check for your building |
| Removing a non-load-bearing partition | With care | First confirm from documents and with an engineer that the wall is not load-bearing |
| Opening in a load-bearing wall | No, not without a design and permits | This interferes with the structure and the building’s common property |
| Moving a bathroom or kitchen above neighbours’ living rooms | Not recommended | Risk of leaks and disputes, problems with risers |
Order of works
- Plan and budget: what to demolish, where sockets, lights and plumbing go
- Demolition and rubbish removal
- Wiring and plumbing: new pipes and cables while the walls are open
- Levelling walls, floor screed
- Windows, if you are replacing them
- Finishing: tiles, floors, paint
- Doors, furniture, light fittings
Sound and heat
Concrete panels conduct both sound and cold well. Deal with this during the rough stage, not after the finishing is done.
- Floor sound insulation: an underlay beneath laminate or a floating screed
- Soundproof lining on the wall shared with neighbours
- Insulating window reveals when replacing windows
- Sealing panel joints from outside — this is common property, so agree it with the building’s management body
Stairwell, rubbish and season
- Don’t leave construction rubbish in the stairwell or by the household bins: book removal in advance and ask the building’s management body where bags can be left
- Protect the lift and stairwell walls with cardboard or film when bringing in materials: repairing common property later costs more
- Windows and plastering are easier in the warm season: mixes dry better and the apartment does not get cold
- If you live in the apartment during the works, start with one or two rooms and keep one clean zone for sleeping
Key points
- Load-bearing walls are the building’s common property and must not be weakened
- Start with an inspection and a plan, not with choosing tiles
- Replace utilities before the finishing stage
- Think about sound and heat insulation during the rough stage
- Noisy work during the day, with neighbours warned
