Homebuyers often have to solve the eternal dilemma – choose a home with partial finishing and then do it themselves or hire craftsmen, or maybe move into a home equipped by a developer. In Lithuania, unlike in neighboring countries, partial finishing is more popular, but the number of apartments sold this year shows that the attitude is changing. It is noticeable that before purchasing a home, people more rationally assess how much personal time they will have to devote to finishing work, and only then make a decisive decision.
What works and equipment make up the entire finish, what is the difference between partial, full and individual finish, what mistakes are most often made by new buyers when buying a home? Darius Ibėnas, an architect at the real estate development company “Eika”, talks about all this.
What are the types of finishes?
Traditionally, three types of finishing are distinguished: partial, full (installed according to the interior design prepared by the developer) and individual full finishing (installed by the developer according to the client’s interior design). Taking into account the needs of customers, developers often offer several different levels of full finishing, which depend on the price, quality, color, maintenance features of finishing materials, and plumbing installation. The customer is given the opportunity to choose different options for full finishing according to their needs and the amount of money available.
According to D. Ibėnas, what constitutes partial finishing is not legally regulated, therefore each real estate developer has created their own standard that they offer to the client.
“In a fully finished dwelling, all walls and ceilings should be plastered, sanded and painted, flooring installed, wall tiles glued in bathrooms and plumbing equipment installed. Also, the finished dwelling must have doors, window sills, heating devices installed in all rooms, electrical and low-current sockets and switches installed. The buyer does not need to do anything, just choose the level of finish he wants,” says the architect.
According to him, most often, lighting fixtures are installed only in corridors, bathrooms and kitchen areas. However, if a higher level of overall decoration is chosen, the dwelling can even be equipped with kitchen furniture and kitchen appliances.
Currently, Eika is building a house in the Pilaitė district of the capital, where all 64 apartments are sold only with full decoration. Each buyer can choose from 3 different levels of full decoration, where each of them offers several options for floors, walls, tiles – theoretically, as many as 240 different interior solutions are possible. The price of decoration, depending on the choice of its elements, ranges from 199 to 359 euros per square meter.
What is the difference between partial and full finishing?
If you purchase a fully finished home, you can move in quickly and without any worries, while you may have to wait a little longer to move in if you buy a partially finished home. According to the architect, partitions are usually built in a partially finished home, but they are not plastered or painted, a concrete floor leveling layer is poured on top of which you can lay the floor, install sewer and water pipe inlets, and minimal electrical installation is done.
“When purchasing a partially finished home, the new homeowner has to do most of the installation work on their own, hire workers, perhaps enlist the help of a designer, and often buy building materials themselves. In other words, actively participate in the finishing work,” says D. Ibėnas.
He notes that, if the client wishes, the developer can also install individual finishing. Then, together with the architect or interior designer, the client chooses finishing materials, colors, furniture, plumbing, household appliances,
lighting fixtures and functional arrangement of furniture and other equipment. Due to this creative process, installing individual finishes and moving into a new home takes a little longer than buying a home with standard full finishes.
For those considering whether to choose a fully or partially finished home, the architect suggests calculating the costs, which also include the time you will have to spend on performing or supervising all the finishing work, meeting with an interior designer or doing the finishing yourself, and purchasing materials.
“Most often, people who are looking to save money buy a partially finished home. However, when you consider the criteria of price, quality, and time, this is not the case. Perhaps their biggest mistake is choosing materials and work based solely on price. Cheap materials are often short-lived and of poor quality, so repairs are expected in the near future,” predicts D. Ibėnas.