Refurbishment renews the existing arrangement; renovation changes the arrangement itself. Removing walls, relocating wet rooms, replacing the pipework and wiring entirely, adding insulation — all of that is renovation. It is the type of work most needed in Antalya's middle-aged building stock.
In work of this kind the critical stage is not the execution but the survey. Every decision taken without knowing whether a wall is load-bearing, what the pipework is made of, what condition the insulation is in and what capacity the consumer unit has rests on guesswork. We treat the survey as a technical assessment and share the findings in writing.
The most valuable thing about a renovation is that it gives access to the hidden layers of a building. If the walls are going to be opened anyway, renewing the pipework, the wiring and the insulation at the same time is the natural thing to do. Miss that opportunity and reaching the same layers later means taking apart everything that has just been built.
Renovation and Building Refurbishment: What the Service Covers
The following items are included as standard in our Renovation service. Every item is listed separately in the quotation prepared after the site visit; nothing is left vague about what is and is not included.
- Condition survey and technical assessment of the existing building
- Structural review and layout changes
- Complete renewal of the electrical installation and consumer unit
- Renewal of water supply and waste pipework
- Thermal insulation and waterproofing in wet rooms
- Window and door replacement
- Renewal of floor, wall and ceiling finishes
- Complete rebuilding of kitchen and bathrooms
- Painting, lighting and installation work
- Cleaning, handover and transfer of guarantees
Renovation and Building Refurbishment: How We Work
- Condition survey: The structure, pipework material, damp marks, state of insulation and consumer unit are inspected on site. The findings are shared in writing and essential items are separated from optional ones.
- Scope decision: Priorities are set from the survey results. The items that are invisible but critical — insulation, pipework, earthing — are placed ahead of the visible ones.
- Design: The new layout and the plumbing and electrical arrangement are drawn. Every request requiring work on the load-bearing structure is assessed separately, and where it cannot be done an alternative layout is proposed.
- Strip-out and services: Controlled removal is carried out. Pipework and wiring are rerun, waterproofing is applied in the wet rooms, and insulation is applied to the façade or roof where it is in scope. Tests are carried out before anything is closed.
- Rebuilding: Walls, screed, finishes, joinery and wet rooms are completed. Every layer is checked before the next one closes it.
- Finishing and handover: Painting, lighting and installations are completed and the snagging list is closed. The space is handed over cleaned, with guarantee certificates and product documents.
Renovation and Building Refurbishment: Conditions Specific to Antalya
Antalya's building stock and climate put renovation priorities in a different order from other cities.
Cooling-led insulation
In Antalya insulation is done for summer cooling, not winter heating. On top floors and west-facing flats, roof and façade insulation reduces the cooling load directly. That is a matter of energy use as much as comfort, and it is one of the highest-return invisible items in a renovation.
Humidity and mould
Summer humidity combined with poor ventilation produces mould on internal surfaces. When adding insulation the vapour balance has to be got right; otherwise there is a risk of trapping moisture inside the wall. Insulation and ventilation should be planned together.
Old pipework material
Galvanised steel water pipe is common in Antalya's middle-aged building stock. These pipes corrode from the inside, lose bore and pass a taste to the water. Even if they look sound, they should be treated as having reached the end of their life.
Properties left empty for long periods
In homes unused for part of the year, moisture build-up and dried-out drain traps are common. If that is the pattern of use, ventilation, humidity control and leak detection should be planned during the renovation.
Renovation and Building Refurbishment: Common Mistakes
These are the decisions we meet most often on site and the hardest ones to put right afterwards. We go through all of them during the site visit.
- Deciding without asking whether a wall is load-bearing. "Let's take that wall out" is the most common request and it is not always possible. Interfering with a shear wall or a column affects the building's seismic performance directly and is contrary to regulation. This has to be established at the survey.
- Not renewing the pipework while the wall is open. The greatest advantage of a renovation is access to the hidden layers. Leaving the pipework while the wall is already open means taking apart everything newly built a few years later.
- Applying insulation without a vapour balance. Insulation applied in the wrong layer order can trap moisture inside the structure and make the mould problem worse rather than solving it. The insulation decision has to be taken together with ventilation.
- Not checking the earthing. In some older installations the earth conductor either does not exist or is not connected. That means the residual current device does not work as intended, and it is a matter of safety, not comfort.
- Leaving the window decision until last. Replacing windows affects both insulation performance and the internal layout. A decision taken later means revisiting completed wall and plaster work.
Renovation and Building Refurbishment: Material and Detail Notes
There is no single right answer in material decisions; every option has a strong and a weak side. Below we summarise those differences in terms of real use rather than marketing language.
Water pipe material
PPR pipes are joined by heat fusion, which gives a watertight, long-lived connection; it is the preferred solution inside walls. PEX pipe can be run with fewer joints thanks to its flexibility, which reduces the number of potential leak points. The fewer the joints, the lower the risk.
Insulation material
EPS and XPS boards are common on façades; XPS is more resistant to moisture and comes into its own at ground floor and basement level. Mineral wool offers advantages in fire performance and sound insulation. The choice should follow the application surface and the vapour balance of the structure.
Windows and doors
PVC is the common choice for its balance of cost and insulation. Aluminium gives larger glazed areas with slimmer profiles; thermally broken systems should be specified. On the glass side, solar control coated glass suits Antalya, reducing solar heat gain and with it the cooling load.
Renovation and Building Refurbishment: Engineering Note
The most important thing to say to a client in a renovation is this: not every wall can be removed. Interfering with a shear wall or a column affects the building's seismic performance directly and is contrary to regulation. At the survey we establish which walls are load-bearing and say at the outset if a request cannot be met. Even removing a non-load-bearing wall has to be assessed by looking at how the load above is carried. The second technical subject is the pipework material: in middle-aged buildings galvanised steel water pipes lose bore through internal corrosion, and if the surfaces are renewed while the pipework is left, reduced flow and water quality problems follow. The third is earthing — in part of the older stock the earth conductor is either absent or unconnected, which leaves the residual current device ineffective. We check these three items separately at every renovation survey and report the findings in writing.
Renovation and Building Refurbishment: Pre-Handover Checklist
Every item below is checked before handover and the results are shared with you. If one item is outstanding, we do not hand over.
- Structural assessment carried out and reported
- Pressure test complete on the water lines
- Earthing and residual current protection measured on the electrical installation
- Waterproofing applied and checked in the wet rooms
- Insulation layer order and vapour balance checked
- Window installation and sealing details complete
- Floor levels and door thresholds checked
- Snagging list closed, guarantee documents transferred