Repair is generally not an easy undertaking. In the case of small-sized housing, everything is complicated by the small size, and in old houses there is also the problem of worn-out utility networks. Replacing them is also a concern for the owners, since it can take a long time for the management company to replace them. So the renovation of a bathroom in a Khrushchev-era building usually begins with the replacement of old risers.
A distinctive feature of Khrushchev apartments is the small size of all rooms. The bathroom and toilet are so small that even minimum set- bath + sink - only become compact. Finding a place to install household appliances is a difficult task. The most popular solution is, which almost always affects the bath and toilet. Two microscopic rooms are made into one - a combined bathroom. Due to the fact that the partition is removed, the area increases by almost a square meter, which is very significant in these conditions. In some options, it is possible to increase the space due to the corridor or a nearby storage room. This renovation of a bathroom in a Khrushchev-era building is technically more difficult and it is more difficult to obtain permission for such a remodel, but anything is possible.
The procedure for renovating a bathroom in Khrushchev
If you decide to do major renovation bathroom in Khrushchev, the order of work will be almost identical, with or without redevelopment. When remodeling, the destruction of the partition, the removal of the door, and the blocking of an unnecessary doorway are added. Further everything is like a carbon copy.
- Remove all finishing materials. If the walls and ceiling are crooked (differences of more than 3 cm) or there are voids under the plaster (the sound is dull when tapped, movement is felt when pressed), the plaster is also beaten.
- Decide what kind of plumbing and Appliances where it will stand, draw a plan according to scale. Draw electricity, water, and sewage connections on the plan.
- Show me to the bathroom.
- Replace water supply and sewer risers (coordination with managing organization). Most often old metal pipes exchanged for plastic ones. When replacing a water supply, use or.
- If the water supply and sewerage are hidden, they should be made to have a small depth under them, since there will still be plaster on top. If not, the installation of water supply and sewer pipes is done after finishing the walls.
- Fill the leveling floor screed. You can “roll up” it (water in high-rise buildings is allowed only if there is individual heating, and only if the ceilings can withstand the load).
- Wall and ceiling decoration. Here the sequence of work is different - it depends on the chosen method of finishing and plumbing. If, installation occurs at this stage. At the same time they do. When installing standard plumbing fixtures, they are installed upon completion finishing works, so first they tidy up half the walls and the ceiling.
- Plumbing and household appliances are installed.
Options finishing materials is getting bigger. For example, you can lay or on the floor in the bathroom. In this case, a layer of self-leveling mixtures is needed on top of the screed to obtain a strong and even base, and the coating itself is laid last after all work is completed, but before installing the plumbing. In general, the procedure for renovating a Khrushchev-era bathroom can vary significantly.
Increasing functionality
Renovating a bathroom in a Khrushchev-era building is difficult not so much from the technical side, but from the point of view of creating a beautiful, functional and comfortable room. The small size of the room is the main difficulty. We have to look for non-standard solutions when selecting equipment, plumbing fixtures and furniture.
Bath or shower
When renovating a bathroom in a Khrushchev-era building, they often abandon the bathtub in favor of a shower stall. This allows you to find space in a small room to install a washing machine. Most good decision- corner shower. In this case, a fairly decent piece of space is freed up, in which you can put a washbasin or washing machine.
One option is to install a shower stall with a deep tray or simply install glass doors on the bathroom
If you still want to lie in the bathtub from time to time, you can compromise with a deep tray. But it is worth remembering that high sides are not very convenient for daily use if there are small children or elderly people. Why are they worse than a regular bathroom? The fact is that you won’t be able to fully lean on them - they are plastic, and they won’t withstand heavy loads.
To make a bathroom in a Khrushchev building more comfortable - the sink can be installed above washing machine
Until you get used to it, it is not very convenient to use the sink - it is installed a little higher than usual, but it is much more convenient than if you install a small one to save space. This, by the way, is also a way out, but not the best.
Design and design tricks
To make the renovation of a bathroom in Khrushchev not only functional, but also beautiful, we select the right finishing materials, their color and texture.
Using every centimeter is the task
Finishing materials and their color
Bathtubs in Khrushchev-era bathrooms are not only small, but their ceilings are low. Therefore, if hanging systems are installed, then only on minimum distance, and this can be achieved by setting Wall lights or built-in ceiling ones, but with LEDs, which are about 3-5 cm thick. This loss will be almost imperceptible, and the work will be significantly less than with subsequent puttying.
It is not necessary to lay tiles on the walls. In this case, smaller mosaics look even better, since large tiles “reduce” the room. More options for wall decoration in a small bathroom - painting and finishing decorative plaster. Bathroom paints create an equally reliable coating, but this option costs less money, especially if you putty the walls before painting yourself. It is also moisture resistant, and this type of finish looks modern.
In any case, the ceiling and walls in a small bathroom should be made in light colors, preferably with a slight gloss or pearlescent, silky sheen. This finishing option makes the room visually more spacious. Most often these are shades of beige. A very unobtrusive and democratic color that can be enlivened by some details of brighter colors.
Another technique is that the walls are monochromatic and only approximately in the middle there is a wide strip of a brighter or contrasting color. This technique “pushes” the walls, the room seems larger than it actually is.
Selection of plumbing
If, when renovating a bathroom in a Khrushchev-era building, you decide to replace the bathtub with a shower cabin, refuse to install a ready-made cabin. Even the smallest one takes up a lot of space, and plastic walls take up a lot of space. You literally physically feel the lack of space. Make a tray from tiles and install glass partitions - more practical solution. The doors can be made sliding - there are a sufficient number of systems that are easy to install with your own hands, and for craftsmen this is not a problem at all.
The colors are light, vertical stripes break the monotony, but the highlight of the interior is the bathroom and sink non-standard shape. They complement each other perfectly and both are convenient to use.
When choosing a sink, try to find the option that best fits into your interior. They are different forms, sizes, colors. There are wide and narrow, deep and shallow, corner ones - in the form of a sector, such that are partially located above the bathtub. In general, there are many options. Yes, they are more expensive than a standard solution, but if possible, choose beautiful and comfortable plumbing fixtures.
DIY bathroom renovation in Khrushchev: photo report
Apartments in Khrushchev-era buildings are usually inherited or bought by young families. Their condition is usually deplorable; if repairs were made, they were done about 20 years ago. So in this apartment the bathroom doesn’t look very good.
Raw material
This bathroom renovation in Khrushchev is traditional - tiles on the floor and walls, the ceiling is made of PVC panels. It all starts with the removal of all finishing materials.
The next stage is leveling the walls with plaster (without beacons, since the walls are relatively smooth). The floor is covered with a screed made of...
Ideal surface not needed - tiles will be laid
After the screed has set, laying the tiles on the floor begins. We lay it out diagonally. To make it easier, first draw a plan on the floor (in pencil).
After installation floor tiles We started supplying water and sewerage, installed a bathtub and connected it.
After that, they began laying tiles on the walls. This is not always the case. The second finishing option is to first tile the wall, then install a bathtub, and seal the gap between the wall and the side. The second option is preferable, since at any time you can replace the bathtub or install a shower stall. In the first case, everything will have to be redone.
After the walls were finished, we assembled the frame for suspended ceiling from plastic panels. Economy option, but later you can change it to any more expensive one.
After that, only the little things remained - hanging the mirror, installing and connecting the sink with a built-in cabinet.
And the finishing touches are a rod near the bathtub, a shelf and hooks.
The bathroom in apartments built in Khrushchev’s times is not large in size or has a high level of comfort. But if desired, these shortcomings can be eliminated with your own hands. This article is all about successful bathroom renovations in Khrushchev, photos and designer tips.
The bathroom in Khrushchev-era buildings in most cases looks like a combined bathroom of small size and rectangular shape. It is also possible to have a partition between the bathtub and toilet. Standard bathrooms are inconvenient, but with a skillful approach, this disadvantage can be eliminated, giving the space coziness, comfort and an attractive appearance. Below are photos with successful layout options for a small bathroom in Khrushchev high-rise buildings.
If you abandon bathtubs in favor of shower complexes, after renovation, a small bathroom will have space for a washing machine. It is also worth putting a window between the bathroom and the kitchen.
Possible options for expanding the space:
- remodeling the space by dismantling the partition between the bathroom and toilet will allow you to expand the space to 7 sq m (2.2 m by 3.2 m = 7 sq m);
- renovation of a bathroom in Khrushchev by dismantling the wall and connecting it to the corridor space, which makes it possible not to dismantle the partition between the toilet. But if you take this step, you will get a fairly spacious bathroom of decent size. With such a redevelopment, it will be necessary to organize the entrance to the kitchen through the room, and seal the entrance to the corridor;
- connecting the bathroom with the kitchen space by dismantling the wall where there is a window is also possible, but this interior is relevant if you first dismantle the walls between the kitchen and the room, seal or move some openings. Then you will get a studio apartment with expanded bathroom space. Most importantly, do not plan to dismantle the load-bearing wall. Doing this is strictly prohibited.
Before you start renovation work with your own hands, you need to prepare a bathroom plan in a Khrushchev-era building, which will indicate all the sizes of furniture and appliances, as well as the future layout of their location. Such a plan, on which all the ideas are written, will become the basis for calculating the exact amount of current materials and creating a preliminary estimate.
Color selection
As a rule, finishing materials for the bathroom are purchased in blue-green tones, as well as all shades of brown. These are standard shades, calm and harmonious. They allow you to tune in to rest and relaxation, restore body muscle tone, and lift your mood during bath procedures. Such a bathroom interior is always beneficial, because it is a classic of the genre.
But today manufacturers create many interesting non-standard color options that are actively used by modern decor:
- bright red and orange tones. Many young people today prefer a bright and dynamic interior. They are not afraid of the risk of quickly getting tired of such flashy colors. This is correct, because life should be filled with bright emotions, fresh notes, and dynamic colors. Bathroom renovation in Khrushchev, as in the photo, definitely cannot be called boring, outdated or standard;
- delicate pink, cold purple and juicy crimson colors are becoming more and more common today in a bathroom of 5, 6 sq. m. These are options for romantic people who want to achieve unity with their own self. This interior is shown in the photo below;
- The laconic black and white combination of tiles in the bathroom is very fashionable today. This is a calm and at the same time catchy interior, which can be the basis for interesting solutions in the bathroom. This bathroom renovation in Khrushchev is shown in the photo. Designers with great experience We recommend finishing this option to those individuals who often like to change the appearance of their home. It is not at all necessary to change the design of the wall often, just change the accessories, the room will sparkle with new colors, and the finish will remain the same.
Finishing materials
Today, manufacturers of finishing materials delight customers with a huge selection of products. What ideas can you use to make the decor of a 7 sq. m bathroom as attractive as possible? Let's consider possible technologies.
Floor
To begin with, we note that you need to move on to finishing the bathroom floor in Khrushchev-era buildings only after installing all communication systems. You will also need to level the base and seal all holes and cracks. Next, you can proceed to laying the finishing material. When choosing a material for the floor, you need to pay attention to its anti-slip properties and resistance to moisture.
Here are a few options that are relevant for this case:
- natural stone is very beautiful, resistant to the aggressive environment of bathrooms and durable, but its price is prohibitive for many owners of bathtubs in Khrushchev-era apartments;
- agglomerate is a new finishing material with properties similar to tiles. Its peculiarity is the ability to take curved shapes under the influence of a special heating tool. But today agglomerate is rarely used for finishing walls and bathtub floors in Khrushchev-era buildings of 6 sq m due to its high cost;
- ceramic tile is the most successful option for bathroom floors in Khrushchev houses. This is a durable and practical material, the decor of which today is very diverse.
Walls
After all communications in the bathroom have been replaced, you can move on to decorating the walls. Proper finishing using the following materials allows you to bring comfort and coziness:
- bathroom design in Khrushchev using paints and varnishes is extremely rare to find today. Such technologies have fallen into oblivion due to impracticality;
- the ceiling and walls can be decorated with PVC panels, as in the photo. PVC boards are very popular today, as they have a number of advantages: they are practical, resistant to wear, and are somewhat cheaper than ceramic tiles. Plus the finish looks pvc panels, as in the photo, very advantageous;
- ceramic tile. Today you can purchase wall tiles in standard and unique sizes. If you don’t want to overpay for originality, you can prefer the 30*30, 30*40, 30*60 models familiar to domestic buyers. However, when choosing this finishing material for bathroom walls of 5, 6 or 7 square meters, you should choose smaller tiles. Note that larger tiles are thicker and are attached with a larger amount of glue. In a tiny room this is unacceptable, since a thick layer of decoration on the walls will somewhat reduce the free space of the room.
Ceiling
If the bathroom in Khrushchev is combined, then its ceiling can be decorated using different technologies. The main rule is that the finishing material must be resistant to the negative effects of moisture and steam.
Ceiling designs may vary:
- A suspended ceiling can be produced in a short time and allows you to organize spot light. And if you use a highly reflective glossy film, you will create the effect of visually expanding the space. The photo below shows the interior of a bathtub with this design. But for such construction it will be necessary to build a frame that will “eat up” some space;
- suspended structures made of moisture-resistant plasterboard and aluminum frame allow you to quickly level the surface of the base and veil its flaws. You can embed a spot light in them in the form of an original design, paint different tiers in several colors;
- PVC panels are good because they do not require the construction of a supporting frame. This means that a ceiling with plastic panels will not take up valuable centimeters of space in a small bathroom;
- if you don’t want to lose extra centimeters, the ceiling can be decorated using a material such as tiles. The renovation of a bathroom in a Khrushchev-era house using this material can be seen in the photo.
Bathtub or corner shower stall
Many people do not understand why install a standard bathtub in a modest-sized room, because you can give preference to a compact shower stall. We describe the advantages and disadvantages of a corner shower stall in the table:
Furniture
In a Khrushchev-era building, the bathroom interior is of a modest size, and many pieces of furniture cannot be placed here. Furniture for a space of 5-7 sq. m should be small-sized, functional, beautiful, because a washing machine should also fit here. The following pieces of furniture are relevant in the bathroom:
- a cabinet installed under the washbasin with shelves for bath accessories. With its help you can veil pipes and a water filter. Also, such a piece of furniture can accommodate a built-in washing machine. And if you choose a hanging model, the space will not be visually overloaded;
- mirror with side shelves for a glass with toothbrushes and lighting;
- corner shelf for placing jars of creams and shampoo bottles.
Try to use every meter free space. For example, cover the space under the bowl with a special screen, then you will get additional storage space household chemicals. If there is a window on one of the walls, seal it, this will allow you to use the wall surface more efficiently.
Visual increase in space
To achieve a visual increase in bathroom space, you can use the following tricks:
- use a lot white in the decoration of walls, ceilings, furniture, plumbing;
- hang a large illuminated mirror. It reflects light well, creating the effect of expanding space;
- prefer glossy surfaces and furniture facades;
- If there is a window in the room, it should be sealed. The window between the bathroom and the kitchen can become an obstacle to the easy installation of wall slabs, cabinets and shelves;
- Avoid large scale tiles. As practice shows, large tiles visually conceal small space, and small tiles, on the contrary, create the effect of visually distancing the wall. Only if the owner of the apartment can boast of a huge remodeled bathroom, then larger ceramics can be used;
- a multi-level plasterboard ceiling will create a removal effect, which is important in a small bathroom.
"Khrushchevka" is a small-sized apartment. There were times when the type of housing in question was classified as elite, which made it possible to move from a noisy hostel to individual “apartments.” Today, “Khrushchev” has become one of the types of inheritance from the older generation.
On the secondary housing market, the apartments in question are in an acceptable price segment for a young family of two or three people. Miniature housing can be made warm and cozy, you just need to put in a little effort. You can make standard cosmetic repairs, or you can, with a little more effort and spending a little more time, make a good renovation of a bathroom in a Khrushchev-era building with your own hands.
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You've certainly seen the perfect lawn in a movie, on an alley, or perhaps on your neighbor's lawn. Those who have ever tried to grow a green area on their site will no doubt say that it is a huge amount of work. The lawn requires careful planting, care, fertilization, and watering. However, only inexperienced gardeners think this way; professionals have long known about the innovative product - liquid lawn AquaGrazz.
“Khrushchevkas” were built in the 50-70s of the 20th century in order to quickly erect buildings for the residence of Soviet people. That’s why they didn’t put much effort into developing the layout. It was standard in every home. The apartment included as much space as was minimally necessary for a person.
It is logical to assume that the bathroom space has been reduced to a minimum. However, there is no reason to be upset. Any disadvantage can be turned into an advantage. At the same time, create a beautiful, functional hygiene room. It is only important to carry out a thoughtful renovation of the bathroom in Khrushchev.
The problems of “Khrushchev” include:
- Minimum room size. The apartment has a separate bathroom, where only necessary things are supposed to be placed. In those days, even a washing machine was a luxury that not every home had. Nowadays there is an automatic machine in every home, and the question arises - where to place the washing machine? In a small bathroom you can even build a shelf, a cabinet for storing cleaning products, household products difficult;
- Unsuitability for the use of communications carried out during the construction of the building. “Khrushchev buildings” are old buildings, so in most of them the communications have long been out of order and need urgent replacement. Therefore, experts advise starting repairs with the types of work in question. Otherwise, your efforts may not be justified;
- Poor surface quality. As noted above, the Khrushchev buildings were built quite quickly, and accordingly, few people cared about the quality of the work performed. From this it follows that a lot of effort will have to be spent in order to make the walls smooth and the corners sharp.
However, despite all the problems listed above, you should not categorically deny yourself the purchase of inexpensive housing of your own. The listed shortcomings can be corrected yourself. The main thing is to have a great desire for this.
How to create a project
To have a holistic idea of what a bathroom in a Khrushchev-era building will look like after renovation, you should pay attention to creating a design project. The stage under consideration will help you decide whether you will need redevelopment or not.
Today they highlight possible options to create a redevelopment. Each of them enjoys a certain demand among Khrushchev owners. These include:
- If the area of the room is small, the partition between the bathroom and toilet is removed to increase free space;
- If possible, you can increase the area of the bathroom during renovation in the Khrushchev-era building at the expense of the corridor.
But if the owners of the apartment do not want to remodel, it is worth paying attention to other ways to expand the space - through visual effects.
Some tricks
There is a misconception that it is difficult to create a functional, comfortable and beautiful space in a small bathroom. In fact, if you listen to the advice of experts, you can place everything you need in a small bathroom without unnecessarily cluttering the area.
- Washing machine. Its placement depends on communications - water supply and connection to the sewerage system. It is popular to place the machine in the kitchen. But in Khrushchev-era apartments, kitchens also have a small area, so it’s worth considering other options - placing a compact washing machine under the washbasin or purchasing a flop model washing machine, which can be placed in a niche above the toilet. In this case, the toilet tank and the machine drain will be combined;
- The wall-hung type of toilet looks original and takes up minimal space. With this fastening, it will be placed much more tightly to the wall, which will make it possible to free up some space. It is important to know that this design can withstand a weight of no more than 200 kilograms. The tank with this type of toilet is built into the wall and takes up minimal space in the room;
- If the room contains not a shower stall, but a full-fledged bathtub, then the space in its lower part can be used to store household products and solutions;
- If necessary, you can do without using a washbasin. Its functions can be performed by a shower, a bathtub;
- It is preferable to get rid of a standard-sized bathtub. You can replace it with a shower stall located in the corner. If necessary, it is possible to install models with deep trays;
- Using a large mirror will help achieve visual expansion rooms;
- You can add reflective surfaces to the mirror. These can be elements of a suspended ceiling. Moreover, it is able to hide under itself the communications that are located along the ceiling;
- The heating radiator can be easily replaced with a device for drying towels and underwear. The design is easy to use and looks attractive;
- Light, white shades in the bathroom interior will help to visually increase the space of the room.
The less furniture you have in your bathroom, the more space you will save. However, it is important to remember that each element in the room must perform certain functions.
Which finishing material to choose
The choice of material with which the bathroom will be decorated should be approached with all responsibility. The main thing is to know exactly what financial means you have it.
- One of the budget options is painting the walls with a solution that reflects moisture. To save money, you can purchase white paint for the walls and use color to create the desired shade. Before painting, the surfaces must be leveled;
- Plastic panels are used to reduce the time for repair work. The advantage of this type of finishing materials is that you don’t have to worry about leveling the walls; all unevenness will be hidden by the plastic. The advantages of the material include ease of installation and a wide selection of palettes. Disadvantage: short period of operation, fragility. If you choose panels made of white plastic, but over time they will acquire a yellowish tint;
- Ceramic tiles are often used to decorate a small bathroom. It is easy to clean and comes in a variety of colors and patterns. Tile Most often used for both floors and walls in the bathroom. Long service life, ease of maintenance - makes the tile popular;
- The ceiling can be finished with plastic panels, painted water-based paint. Another option is to install a suspended ceiling. In this case, the lamps are built into it. Earlier we said that to visually expand the space in a small bathroom of a “Khrushchev apartment”, you can use mirrored plastic panels.
Renovation work in the bathroom
Preparatory stage
Bathroom renovations should begin with preparing the room. To do this, first, all coverings are completely removed, old furniture. Only after this can you give free rein to your imagination and start planning the room and its design.
Before removing the plumbing, be sure to turn off the cold and hot water supply. Next, you should replace all outdated pipes.
As soon as all the coverings of the old finish are removed, the screed is knocked down to the base (concrete), we can consider that the process preparatory work completed.
Replacing communications
In the "Khrushchev" buildings they installed cast iron pipes. Today it is worth giving preference to elements made of plastic. This is due to the fact that the mass of plastic is several times less than the mass of cast iron. At the same time, the performance properties are in the same category. Pipes can be located either in the wall or along it.
When replacing, it is important to maintain the level of slope when installing sewer pipes. On average, the slope can be within 10-20 millimeters. To obtain the required height, you can increase the thickness of the screed. In order to use an individual water supply, you should not forget to install a pass-through valve at the junction of the pipe and the riser. This is done to be able to independently regulate the supply of water at different temperatures.
Do not ignore electrical wiring. Wires must be located in the inside of the walls, hidden under the finishing or placed in boxes. The type of work in question must be completed before you begin the finishing part. Sockets should be placed in places where the interior design requires it.
It is advisable to give preference to outlets that have several levels of protection. This is due to the specific orientation of the room. The switch should be located outside the bathroom. The room must contain electrical devices that have a residual current circuit breaker (RCD) function. All these requirements are dictated by the rules for operating electrical appliances.
Leveling the floor and walls
After the floor has been screeded with concrete, you should make sure that there is no debris or dust on the surface. This is done so that the waterproofing coating lays evenly, without interference. It is important to know that the waterproofing is applied slightly over the walls (10-15 centimeters). A layer of screed is poured on top.
It is quite rare to find “Khrushchev” apartments where the floor and walls are even. Therefore, you should be prepared for the fact that during the work you will have to use a large amount of plaster. In order for the work to be justified, you should purchase good quality material; the savings will be unnecessary. It is best to use plaster that has cement as its base. After the plaster has been completely applied to the walls and dried well, you can begin applying putty. This will make the walls almost perfectly smooth.
You can avoid performing the work in question if you choose the method of covering the walls with plasterboard. However, the material has one significant drawback– reduction of space. Therefore, the option under consideration is unlikely to be suitable for a bathroom in a Khrushchev-era building.
How to choose the right doors
After completing all the finishing work and installing the furniture, the stage of installing the “correct” door begins. The door must be of special quality and reliability. In order not to make a mistake with your choice, you should pay close attention to the following points:
- The bathroom space is the “wet” room in the apartment. Therefore, it is worth installing a door that can withstand changes associated with temperature changes. This will allow it to be in operation for a long time;
- The model should not allow sounds and noises to pass through;
- Due to the fact that people often enter and leave the room, it is worth paying attention to the choice of a high-quality handle and lock;
- A door with holes in the body will prevent moisture from accumulating. In rare cases, a small gap may be left between the door and the floor.
For the bathroom, doors are used that are made of wood (less commonly, chipboard). It may contain elements of plastic or tempered glass. In fact, the material may be different. The main thing is to pay attention to performance characteristics. In this case, the manufacturer plays an important role. If you choose a high-quality door from a reliable manufacturer, you can be sure that the structure will last for decades.
How to choose plumbing
It was previously noted that it is preferable to replace a standard bathtub with a shower stall. The ideal option would be a structure assembled independently. This is justified by the fact that the finished device may take up extra space.
You should choose a sink that suits the interior of the room. Don't forget about saving space. Preferences for choosing a toilet were noted earlier.
Conclusion
The bathroom in the Khrushchev building is not very large. But it can also be arranged so that everything you need can fit here. A rational approach to the choice of furniture and plumbing will help create a functional hygiene room.
In winter, unexpectedly, a major overhaul came to our forty-year-old Khrushchev building. But still, as they say, no matter what is done, everything is for the better. Looking at how the plumbers replaced the old cast-iron risers of the Khrushchev-era building with polypropylene and PVC, I finally gathered my thoughts and realized that if I don’t start a major renovation in the bathroom and toilet now, I will never start it in this house.
Initial data and idea
The bathroom in my Khrushchev apartment is separate. The clear dimensions of the bathroom are 1520*1360 mm, but with certain manipulations they can be increased by 5-6 cm in each dimension, which I will discuss below.
The main idea of the new bathroom was to turn the bathtub 90 degrees and orient it along the far wall (opposite the front door). In my wife’s and my opinion, this position is more rational, although we understood that we would lose ten centimeters in length.
Preparatory work
I took about two weeks to prepare for the immediate start of work in the bathroom to decide on the design of the future bathroom: draw up the wiring of water supply and sewerage, ventilation, tile laying scheme, etc.
So, what is a bathroom like in a typical Khrushchev panel building? In fact, it’s just a cabin that was cast somewhere at DSK and, already assembled, installed in its place in the Khrushchev-era building during construction. The cabin walls have a scanty thickness of 3-5 cm and are made of reinforced gypsum concrete. The material is very weak and easily crumbles with a hammer drill or even a hammer. In the figure below, the walls of the “cabin” are shaded and, as we see, they are adjacent to two load-bearing walls of the Khrushchev building, in one of which (between the kitchen and the bathroom) there are ventilation shafts.
In renovation practice, the most common option is to demolish the Khrushchev-era partition between the toilet and the bathroom, which supposedly makes the bathroom more spacious and creates a lot of additional space. However, in my opinion, this is the most common misconception: no matter how much I tried to hypothetically design such a “spacious” combined bathroom in my Khrushchev-era apartment building, nothing worked out for me.
As I already said, the dimensions of the bathroom in my Khrushchev-era apartment are 1360*1520 mm. We had a 150 cm bathtub on the long side, which we decided to replace with a 140 cm one and put it on the short side. For this, from the existing dimensions, I was missing 4 cm, which I decided to obtain by demolishing the wall of the bathroom adjacent to the load-bearing wall of the Khrushchev building with ventilation shafts. This "plasterboard" was broken with a regular mason's hammer in just three to four hours. The hardest thing was to take out almost two full bathtubs of construction waste. Reinforcement mesh carefully cut with a grinder.
Unfortunately, I cannot demonstrate the old, pre-renovation look of the Khrushchev-era bathroom, but believe me, everything was very sad there.
I warn you that by demolishing the Khrushchev wall, you deprive the ceiling of one point of support. It is composed of the same gypsum concrete and is part of a solid “cabin”. It can also be dismantled, but I decided to simply strengthen the bathroom ceiling by supporting it with 40*50 mm timber and 10*100mm dowels - this is quite enough.
Two of the four walls in the Khrushchev-era bathroom turned out to be crooked, with a blockage of up to 3 cm, so I had to start leveling them.
After I renovated the kitchen and hallway in my Khrushchev-era apartment, I already had some plasterer skills, but in the bathroom I decided to use a different method of leveling the walls, which I really liked in the end. Holes are drilled in several rows in the wall, self-tapping screws are screwed into them, the heads of which are aligned and thus the reference points of a new, flat and strictly vertical plane are obtained (in the first photo below you can see the screws sticking out of the wall on the right). We prime the walls and wait 1.5-2 hours. Next, we take slabs of moisture-resistant plasterboard 1500*600 mm, which are ideally adjusted to the dimensions of our wall in Khrushchev (1520 mm) and “glued” to the wall using a special adhesive solution for plasterboard. Unlike plaster, adhesive composition hardens faster (up to 20 minutes), so the slabs do not slide. The composition is applied in “buns” every 15-20 cm, on which the gypsum board slab is placed and tapped with a mallet or pressed with a rule so that the plane of the slab coincides with the plane of the previously exposed screw heads.
The joints between the slabs are sealed either with the same compound or simply with plaster. The time it takes to level the wall takes only 20 minutes, that is, exactly as long as the adhesive mixture diluted in the bucket hardens.
Just try to move 120 kilograms from its place, and then carry it out so as not to bomb half of the apartment in the Khrushchev building (already renovated, by the way). I looked at videos on YouTube like these cast iron baths they cut with grinders, drill with drills, even smash with weights of one pound! (cast iron is a brittle material and can be chipped/broken). However, my wife’s uncle stopped me in time and said that all these baths are easy to take out if you do everything correctly and technically.
While the guy was at the entrance to the house, I managed to loosen the bathtub, put it on its back and remove the legs. The thresholds were covered with thick rugs, and soft tourist rugs were laid along the path of our movement from the apartment. In this vertical position, we carefully carried the bathtub onto the landing of the Khrushchev building and then further up the stairs we took it out into the street without any problems. On this day, our apartment lost its last original element - an old Soviet cast-iron bathtub.
So, now I have nowhere to wash in the Khrushchev, so I need to act quickly and efficiently to new bath stood still after at least three or four days. The first thing to do is water supply and sewerage.
Water supply and sewerage
I had replaced the old cast-iron sewer system in the Khrushchev-era building a year earlier; now I just had to change the routing of the PVC pipes in the Khrushchev-era building and do one very labor-intensive piece of work - chiseling a wall for the sewerage system and water supply at the future location of the sink (in the picture, it’s on the right).
Grilling load-bearing walls Khrushchev buildings are a bad thing, and it’s doubly bad if you ditch it horizontally rather than vertically. But on construction forums and a number of websites, information was found that if the depth of gating does not exceed a third of the thickness of the Khrushchev wall, then this type of work is still possible, or, as builders put it more simply, you can gable up to the first reinforcement, no further.
Armed with a powerful hammer drill and a grinder with a diamond blade for concrete, I began this dirty work. For self-defense, it is imperative to have a respirator, safety glasses and gloves.
In total, it took me about 4 hours to do the gating. The depth and width of the groove is such that it can be installed in it sewer pipe diameter 32 mm. Be sure to provide a slight slope of the pipe (5 degrees) on the horizontal section to ensure water flow. We remove the sewer pipe from the groove using angular elbows (at 45 degrees) and install an adapter from a diameter of 32 mm to 50 mm (the main diameter of the sewer). This part of the sewer will already be hidden by the bathroom (blue mark on the wall), so there is no need to engage in further gating.
We assemble the sewerage following the same rule - the slope towards the riser should be about 5 degrees, so that the water does not stagnate in the pipes, but drains normally.
A little trick: to make PVC pipes easily joined, lubricate them with liquid soap.
This is the wiring left behind by the plumbers who replaced the riser in the house.
I don’t know if it could have been done somehow more practical and simpler? I think it was possible. Two ball polypropylene tap(32 mm) and a jumper between them is not a basic option. I asked the plumbers to make such a design so that I could install the heated towel rail myself, without involving anyone. Without a jumper, during the installation of the towel, I would have to leave my entire Khrushchev-era apartment without hot water.
I drew a diagram of the future distribution of water supply and sewerage for the Khrushchev-era bathroom on a piece of paper. It is necessary, including in order to correctly calculate the number of fittings and pipes needed to purchase.
With this scheme, I went to the construction market, consulted with the seller again and bought everything I needed. From him, the seller, I borrowed a special soldering iron for polypropylene pipes for a week. I had no experience working with such a tool, but I have seen how plumbers do it, and YouTube is always at hand. For training, before the main work, I took a couple of extra couplings to play around with - the soldering process is quick and not at all complicated.
What you need to know when installing a water supply system from polypropylene pipes:
Pipes come in different diameters, but 16 mm (1/2 inch) pipes are most often used for water supply, and 32 mm (1 inch) for heated towel rail connections.
Pipes are available separately for hot and cold water supply. Pipes for hot water have internal reinforcement, which is visible in the cut (red).
Sellers may say that the water in our pipes is not that hot, so you don’t have to worry about it and install identical pipes for cold water supply, but in this case, due to the temperature, they can and will definitely cause deformation (stretch), which can be quite unpleasant. For example, in my case, the plumbers who changed the risers during the overhaul of the Khrushchev-era building made do with one type of pipe (for cold water) and when hot water began to circulate in the system, these pipes simply spread out and my jumper became crooked (look at the photo of the toilet above).
You can solder pipes in one person, but it’s more convenient to do it with two people: one holds the soldering iron, and the second puts fittings on it, heats it up and joins it. My wife helped me solder the pipes - it was the best March 8th for her)).
It is better to assemble small elements and components separately and then dock them to the main water supply. The picture above shows the components that will “go” to the kitchen: outlets for the kitchen faucet and outlet for the washing machine.
The pipes are cut with special scissors, but if they are not there, then this can be easily done with a grinder or a hacksaw, in which case you will just need to process the edges of the pipes with sandpaper or the same grinder so that there are no nicks and the cut is smooth.
The soldering iron must be warmed up to operating temperature. We tightly fit the fittings that need to be connected onto it on both sides, count to 8 and then quickly remove the fittings and join them evenly. The most important thing in this matter, after the docking has taken place, is to under no circumstances adjust or move the fittings, even if they are not docked quite exactly as you would like. Such a loose connection can then leak.
It is also necessary to control that the pipe enters the fitting to a sufficient depth (determined by the inner boundary of the fitting socket).
The ideal joint is one where the rim/ring of molten polypropylene evenly goes around the pipe. Under no circumstances should you cut it!
Well, that’s basically all the main recommendations. I don’t know whether it’s correct or not, but I soldered my water supply in the Khrushchev from the kitchen to the riser in the toilet, and not vice versa. It took me the whole day to dismantle the old and install new water supply and sewerage systems in the Khrushchev-era building. Screwed into the leads on the mixers plastic stoppers(red in the photo), water is only available in the kitchen for now. We turn on the water, open the tap in the kitchen and check the system for leaks. I was lucky - not a single leak was found.
One more point regarding the connection of pipes to the mixers. For a washbasin faucet, the distance between the pipes is not particularly important, because the connections will be made with flexible hoses, but a bathroom faucet has a fixed distance between the pipes - 150 mm. Therefore, the distance between the centers of the fittings that are connected to the mixer must be exactly 150 mm. If you didn’t guess right by a couple of millimeters, then it’s okay - you can then adjust it using “ducks” (special sleeves onto which the mixer pipes are screwed).
The next stage of work is laying tiles on the floor. I decided to tile the entire floor of the Khrushchev-era building, including under the future bathroom: the overpayment is insignificant, but the effect is much more pleasant.
I did not do any preliminary leveling of the surface, any self-leveling floors, etc. The subfloor of the Khrushchev house was treated with Ceresit ST16 coloring primer in the evening, and the next day in the morning the wife’s uncle arrived - he is our tiler. He laid the floor under the level, and the unevenness was corrected by the thickness of the adhesive solution.
Keramin tiles. Manhattan collection (gray). We laid the same tiles two years earlier in the hallway and kitchen of our Khrushchev apartment building. We decided that in our small Khrushchev house everything should be done in the same style - no Gzhel and gypsy stuff, which irritated my uncle, the tiling worker, for quite a long time.
In place under the bathtub lay the tiles left over from that renovation; as you can see, they have a different tone from the new purchased tiles.
After the glue dried the next day, I hollowed out a niche in the plaster wall that will be located above the bathtub and is intended for shampoos and other small bottles. Alabaster grabbed the water pipes in the groove and then plastered everything. I didn’t do this before laying the tiles because I had to adjust to the tiler’s schedule.
Installation of a bathtub and production of a screen for a bathtub
While I was waiting for the couriers with the new bathroom, I started leveling the second crooked wall of the Khrushchev building (the wall with the door). The same slabs of moisture-resistant plasterboard were used, the joints between which were covered with plaster. The corners that are visible in the frame were intended for attaching shelves to them across the entire width of the wall (for basins, etc.). During the work, the decorator suggested a slightly different method of manufacturing and attaching such a shelf (I will describe it later).
I also installed an outlet with several degrees of protection (a special outlet for bathrooms) and soldered the pipes for the heated towel rail. Later, all that remains is to screw the corner brass “American” pieces into them and hang a “towel” on them.
Finally, the new bathtub arrived. We make sure to inspect the product together with the couriers on the street, after which they bring it into the apartment and place it on its back in the bathroom.
Here we need to start talking about the eternal: what kind of bathtub should it be - acrylic, steel or cast iron? You can argue and give arguments endlessly, but I won’t do this, because this is the topic of a separate article. Personally, I liked the German steel bathtub Kaldewei Saniform Plus 140*70. Is steel noisy? Doesn't hold temperature well? Calm down dears, all this is not about her. There are steel bathtubs on sale with a wall thickness of 2 and even 1.3 mm, and this one has a record 3.5 mm. I read a bunch of negative and sometimes terrifying reviews about modern cast iron baths, about the unsatisfactory quality of casting, about how the enamel begins to turn yellow after literally a month or two of use... Kaldewei Saniform Plus turned out to be the only bathroom about which there was not a single negative review, but on the contrary, the owners were happy with everything. So I bought it and did not regret it.
I installed the 40-kilogram bathtub in one person, without assistants, which would have been impossible to do with a cast iron product. I installed a siphon/semi-automatic device on it, installed the legs,
and then carefully placed it on the floor. Two levels were placed on the sides of the bath (long and short), along which, using adjustable legs I installed the product strictly horizontally. No lifting towards the drain!!! Absolutely all baths have a bottom slope, which ensures normal water flow. To eliminate the slightest wobble, the bathtub must be wedged: wooden wedges are driven between the wall and the side.
A noise test showed that the noise of falling water in this bathtub differs little from what it was in the old cast iron one. If you continue to look at this matter skeptically, then buy a couple of sheets of automotive sound insulation and glue them to the bottom and sides of the bathtub.
Now that the bathtub is wedged and does not wobble, you can start making the screen. To begin with, general provisions:
If you want to make a really good renovation, then refuse any purchased screens for the bathtub.
The screen under the bathtub should be tiled - this is both beautiful and hygienic.
Forget about the last century and under no circumstances make these poor niches for feet. Previously, when they washed in basins or in the bathroom, housewives may have needed them, but today we live in the age of washing machines, so what the hell with these useless niches.
The screen should provide emergency access to the pipes, so a small part (in the siphon area) should either be left open or covered with a piece of tile, which can be easily removed if necessary. It is not at all necessary to install inspection hatches made of steel or plastic.
And also, make the screen strictly vertical, do not experiment with any inclined surfaces. They can seriously spoil the geometry of the room.
Well, now let's start making a screen for the bathtub with our own hands. For the screen frame we will need 27*27 mm steel profiles for plasterboard. Using videos on YouTube, I made preliminary markings under the bathtub (at the bottom left of the frame you can see pencil marks and a long line along the entire length of the bathtub). IN general case The markup is done like this:
From the side of the bathtub on the wall along the level we draw a vertical line to the floor - this is the first notch on the floor.
From the first notch we retreat inward a distance equal to the width of the folded edge of the bathtub side and place a second notch.
From the second notch we retreat a distance equal to the thickness of the tile and adhesive layer (third notch) and, finally, we retreat another 12 mm (thickness of the drywall sheet) and get the fourth notch.
The fourth notch will be the edge of our steel frame for the bathtub. Using a level and a ruler, we retreat the resulting distance on the other side of the bath. Draw a straight line between the serifs. We will attach the profile using it.
The steel profile is trimmed with a grinder; to give rigidity to the structure, two profiles are folded and twisted with self-tapping screws. To save myself from the unnecessary drilling of holes in the floor of the Khrushchev building, I glued the lower profile with silicone sealant. The most important thing in this matter is to first reliably degrease the surfaces to be glued with white spirit or acetone. Next, apply silicone sealant and firmly press the profile to the floor. After about an hour and a half, it will be practically impossible to dislodge it. The top profile is glued to the side of the bath in the same way. You can insert bars into the gaps between the bathtub and the profile, again to add rigidity.
The vertical ribs near the wall already need to be mounted on dowels (here you can’t do without drilling), and the middle vertical ones - on self-tapping screws.
Before sealing the space with a sheet of drywall, we run a grounding wire to the bathtub (attached to the black eyelet on the left in the top photo).
Finally, a sheet of drywall with a cutout for access to the siphon under the bathtub takes its place. Cutout dimensions 260x400 mm. The drywall is attached to the profile with self-tapping screws. So, the manufacture of the screen for the bathtub in my Khrushchev apartment is completed.
Room cladding
Again, in the evening I primed all the walls and the screen under the bathroom with Ceresit ST19 primer-paint. When working with it, I strongly recommend that you carefully cover the bathtub with an old blanket or sheet and immediately wipe off the primer if it gets on the enamel or tiles - it will be too difficult to remove it later, after it has dried.
At the stage of preparatory work, I compiled a layout of tiles from the collections Keramin “Manhattan” and the Italian Alta Ceramica (collection “La Petra di Volta”. The apron in the kitchen was laid with Italian tiles and we are delighted with it.
The tiling of the bathroom took two and a half working days. The most hard work was in a diagonal laying of Italian tiles, but our tiler successfully completed the task.
Ultimately, the niche was made not dark, as in the layout diagram, but light. The frame already shows a new Wassercraft faucet with a short spout, located not at the end of the bathtub, as usual, but on the side, so that it is convenient to regulate the flow of water without getting up from the bathtub.
And here is the shelf above front door, already lined. Made from two sheets of thin plasterboard (6mm) screwed to the wooden frame(boards 100x18 mm). Basins and containers with clean towels are now stored on this shelf.
The wiring for the fan and hanging cabinet was pre-installed.
Well, that’s how it happened somehow. Upon completion of the work, even the skeptical uncle of the wife melted - he really liked the result of our idea and his work. On the right under the bathroom there is space for access to communications.
Installation of hanging cabinets and more
After all the seams were taped, it was time to install the rest of the Khrushchev bathroom furniture. I liked the mirrored cabinet Russian manufacturer"Aquatone". All small rubbish (deodorants, shaving products, wife's cosmetics) could easily fit into it and there was even some space left. Visually, the cabinet practically does not eat up space in the Khrushchev-era bathroom; because of the mirror, you can’t even immediately understand that this is a cabinet at all.
I bought the fan from the Spanish manufacturer Cataco - always with a cord. That is, the power supply for the fan is combined with the light switch in the Khrushchev-era bathroom, but it is always possible to turn off the device with this same cord.
The inspection hole was closed not with a wretched hatch, but with a piece of tile to which the counter strips of furniture magnets were glued. The seam between the tiles was sealed with fugue-colored sealant. The result is a seemingly monolithic screen under the bathtub, but if something happens, the sealant will simply be cut off and the tiles will be removed with a suction cup - access to communications is open.
The heated towel rail was one of the last to be hung. In order not to damage the brass “American” ones when tightening the thread, I recommend holding some kind of thick rag between the wrench and the nut. Well, yes, the threads are packed either with tow and unipak, or with thick Teflon thread. For greater reliability, I recommend buying a few more gaskets for inch pipe(I forgot what material they are made of, but they do not press through like rubber ones).
I ran water on the towel - everything was sealed. Again, lucky.
For a long time we couldn’t decide on a hanging cabinet and washbasin for the bathroom, but at the very last moment we found a wonderful product from AM&PM Like 80 cm. After installing the bathtub and covering it with a screen, there was only 79 cm of space left to install the hanging cabinet and at first I was worried that -for this unfortunate centime, you will have to take the cabinet already. But as it turned out, 80 cm is the width of the washbasin, and it protrudes beyond the dimensions of the cabinet by 1 cm in each direction, so the width of the cabinet is 78 cm, which naturally suits us. You can say it's perfect))
The choice in favor of a hanging cabinet was because visually it is not as bulky as a floor-mounted one. Plus, again, there is always access to the siphon under the bathtub (remember about the inspection hole). The photo also shows a socket with a protective shield.
The Wassercraft faucet is from the same series as the one on the bathroom - cute, angular, just the way we like it)) The sink has a bottom valve with a click-clack system (press - you can draw water into the sink, press again - flush the water).
This is the room we ended up with at the end of the main work.
Bathroom in a Khrushchev building. How to make a designer masterpiece on 4 m²
A legacy of the Soviet past, small apartments require considerable ingenuity from their owners when arranging the interior. Special attention the design of a bathroom in a Khrushchev-era building deserves, since the limited area and connection to existing communications leave almost no room for original solutions.
However, even a very small bathroom can be turned into a unique oasis of relaxation and comfort. We will talk about how to do this in our article.
Bathroom in a Khrushchev building. Peculiarities
In houses that were built in the 1950s - 1980s of the last century, they most often had a separate bathroom with a total area of about 4 m². A bathroom, which you can only squeeze into with great difficulty, and a tiny toilet - in temporary housing, which in essence are the legendary “Khrushchev” buildings, which have long served their allotted time, and this was a luxury. Is it possible to somehow improve the situation today?
As a rule, renovation of a bathroom in a Khrushchev-era building begins with the removal of the partition separating the bathroom. This allows you to increase usable area and bring the premises closer to modern standards.
It is undesirable to combine a toilet with a bathroom only if a family with small children lives in the apartment. In all other cases, you should not consider separate options, since they will not provide the required level of comfort.
Another important question– communications. In Khrushchev-era apartment buildings it is not always possible to move them, and laying additional pipes will entail extra costs. Therefore, when arranging plumbing equipment, it is better to focus on existing communication connections and become attached to them.
Bathroom design in Khrushchev. Finishing
For small rooms, it is recommended to choose a modern or minimalist style, since simple and laconic forms combined with soft neutral colors will visually increase the space. But the classics, with an abundance of small decorative details, carved furniture from natural wood and a complex color palette are best left for bathrooms with a large area.
Walls
So that you don’t have to do it too often in the Khrushchev, you should avoid any materials that are “afraid” high humidity. Ventilation in houses of this type is weak and there is no hope of normalizing the microclimate of the room with its help.
For example, waterproof plaster or wallpaper are not the best options for wall decoration. They are unlikely to withstand constant condensation and temperature changes, although if you install a closed shower instead of a bath, the humidity will noticeably decrease.
Still, it is better to use ceramic tiles or plastic panels. Not only are they not afraid of moisture, but they also allow you to hide uneven walls, which are familiar firsthand to those who live in Khrushchev-era apartment buildings. Making a perfectly smooth surface for plaster will be much more difficult.
Plastic panels “hide” defects in enclosing structures most effectively. They also make special boxes for engineering communications so that the pipes do not spoil appearance premises.
However, ceramic tiles look much more attractive and will last longer. Plastic panels are vulnerable to mechanical stress - even an accidental blow can leave a deep dent on them.
Some tips for choosing tiles for bathrooms in Khrushchev-era buildings:
The tile can be small (mosaic), small square or elongated, like a “hog”. Large tiles visually reduce the size of the room; it is better to avoid them.
A light, neutral tone of the walls will make the bathroom airy and create a comfortable atmosphere. Both bright, contrasting colors and “sterile” white should be avoided. It is better to stick to creamy, light gray, soft blue or beige shades.
It is undesirable to make borders that break the wall vertically, since the room will appear lower.
Small bathrooms in older buildings will seem more spacious if the walls are tiled with a smooth, shiny surface that reflects light well. Matte varieties acceptable if the furniture has glossy facades or mirror inserts are used in wall decoration.
Floor
If you look at a photo of a bathroom in a Khrushchev-era building, most likely we will see a floor made of ceramic or porcelain tiles, since in this case this is the most acceptable solution.
Recently, self-leveling coatings made from polymer mixtures have been increasingly used.
Its main advantages:
completely waterproof
durability, wear resistance
hygiene, environmental friendliness
the ability to create paintings with 3D effect
It is self-leveling floors that have the ability to transform at our request into sea waves, waterfall or flowering meadow.
The main disadvantage of such structures is high price.
Tip: When using porcelain tiles or tiles, you need to choose non-slip varieties and lay the tiles diagonally. This technique creates additional perspective. A floor two shades darker than the walls visually increases the height of the room.
Ceiling
When considering the design of a bathroom in a Khrushchev-era building, many choose suspended ceiling. It will reliably protect against flooding from above, and if you choose a mirrored variety, it will create the impression of a high room filled with light and air.
A ceiling made of plastic lining or coated with waterproof acrylic paint is also suitable.
Twilight should not reign, “eating up” the already cramped space, but it is too bright light also undesirable. It's better to keep it in moderation.
It is best to install spotlights and additional sconces near the mirror above the washbasin.
Choosing furniture for a small bathroom. Design, photo
Limited space forces designers to look for non-trivial solutions to meet the requirements of ergonomics and functionality. Even the smallest bathroom needs a certain set of furniture and fixtures. This:
directly bathtub or shower
wash basin
toilet (if the bathroom is combined)
cabinet or pencil case for storing bath textiles, detergents, etc.
How can you fit all this into 4 m²?
What can and cannot be installed in a small bathroom
We have already said that bathrooms in houses built during Khrushchev’s era are best decorated in modern style.
Classic furniture made of natural wood is unsuitable for small, poorly ventilated rooms with high humidity. Models in the modern and minimalist style made of MDF, high-quality plastic or glass are another matter.
Advice: material such as chipboard should not be considered when renovating a bathroom in a Khrushchev-era building. After a maximum of 2 years, the purchased furniture set will have to be replaced with a new one, and the apparent cheapness of the purchase will ultimately cost a lot.
Furniture should be compact and, if possible, multifunctional. For example, a cabinet above the washbasin with mirrored doors: you can store the necessary care products and look at yourself while cosmetic procedures. It is rational to use the space under the bathroom as additional section for storage.
It is better to choose a corner pencil case. Or better yet, replace it with open glass shelves, placing them above the bathtub.
Hanging furniture is much more practical and will last longer.
Cabinets of a laconic form, without complex decor, with light glossy facades will visually enlarge the room. You need furniture with chrome fittings; other materials will quickly lose their appearance in a humid environment.
"Correct" plumbing
What should be the design of a bathtub in a Khrushchev-era building? Corner asymmetrical models made of acrylic are optimal - they are comfortable to swim in and take up little space.
A washbasin is often installed above the narrow edge of such a bathtub - this results in significant space savings.
However, it is much more practical to purchase a corner shower stall open type, it is the most compact. The doors of the device should be sliding, not hinged.
Another option that is gaining popularity: a shower stall as part of the room. In this case, when renovating a bathroom in a Khrushchev-era building, the builders immediately install a special tray with a drain in the corner, using the walls as limiters. And in front they either install a plastic door or hang a curtain on a semicircular cornice. A self-made shower allows you not to get attached to standard sizes cabins and develop an individual room layout.
The toilet, just like furniture, is better to choose a wall-hung one. There are convenient small corner models with vertical system plum. They will be the ideal solution.
Bathroom design option in Khrushchev with a washing machine
IN small apartments The lack of space is felt not only in the bathroom, but also in the kitchen or hallway. Therefore, a washing machine is a necessary attribute of modern life; they try to install it where its presence is most logical. That is, in the bathroom.
Location options:
Under the sink. In this case, a narrow front-loading machine is required.
In the corner next to the shower stall, if the entrance to the room is not located on the end wall.
In a special niche formed by connecting part of the corridor to the bathroom.
Installing a washing machine under the sink is considered the most rational. The room also benefits from an aesthetic point of view. If desired, the machine can be hidden behind a decorative door so as not to disturb the overall style of the bathroom.
With proper planning and selection of necessary furnishings, a bathroom in houses built under Khrushchev can become very cozy and stylish. And most importantly, no less comfortable than spacious rooms.
As proof, we offer a selection of the most striking and impressive photos of a bathroom in a Khrushchev building.
Plumbing modern form and an original combination of two types of tiles: mosaic and “hog”. It would seem nothing complicated, but this bathroom cannot be called boring or uncomfortable.
Bathroom for connoisseurs Japanese style. The exclusive design, the photo of which is given above, is based on a contrasting combination of retro-style furnishings and an ultra-modern shower stall. The washbasin clearly resembles a traditional Japanese bathing barrel - an ofuro.
Unusual renovation of a bathroom in a Khrushchev building, photo of a wall with a washbasin. Tiles with a natural stone texture create a feeling of being in natural environment, as well as a cabinet made of MDF, finished with veneer. Calm colors and simple shapes promote relaxation. It’s nice to relax in such a bathroom after a busy day.
Photo of a bathroom in a Khrushchev building in a modern style. A contrasting shower wall helps organize the space without appearing too bright, thanks to the overall neutral palette.
A corner shower cabin saved space in a small bathroom, allowing you to place a washbasin with a countertop and convenient shelves for bath accessories.
Unusual bathroom design in Khrushchev, photo. Retro style never goes out of fashion and this interior is another proof of that. The diagonal pattern of tiles on the floor visually expands the space, making the room seem larger than it actually is.
Stylish bathroom in Khrushchev, design, photo. The “marine” theme is relevant for rooms of any size - it creates a romantic mood and promotes relaxation. In this case, the furniture was very well chosen - a corner pencil case, a hanging cabinet under the sink, mirror cabinet. It seems that you are in the cabin of a magical ship that is taking you towards adventure...
If a standard bath is replaced with a shower, useful space is freed up. Here we have a very successful bathroom design in a Khrushchev building with a washing machine - the household appliance is located in the corner and does not interfere with free movement.
Another interesting option for a bathroom in a Khrushchev building, photo. Corner plumbing– the shower and toilet are so compact that even a modest-sized room begins to seem spacious. And due to the dark end wall additional depth of space is created.
This solution is generally not typical for a bathroom, however, it is worth taking a closer look at it. Isn't it true, the design, the photo of which is presented above, slightly resembles a living room, with a traditional “wall”? But nothing prevents us from uniting modular system and plumbing. How many additional storage spaces will appear in this case? Compact, functional, stylish.
Shall we take it into service?