Preparatory work in the early stage of decoration

《1.》Principles of decoration: practical, beautiful, environmentally friendly and economical.

Preparation for "Two":

1 Understand the structure of your house, measure the actual area, draw detailed structural drawings, and understand the specific layout (including reasonable changes to the original structure) As well as the total cost of decoration (including the price of materials and labor costs), you can have a general idea of ??how to decorate your own house.

2 Fund preparation: Generally speaking, the total cost of decoration should be 10 to 20 of the house price.

3. Material budget and cost allocation: At present, people are pursuing comfort. The reasonable distribution ratio of material costs is: 45% for bathrooms and cupboards, 35% for living rooms, and 20% for bedrooms

4. Construction period preparation: Taking two bedrooms and one living room as an example, under normal circumstances, the construction period is about 30 days. If other factors are included, such as changes in design plans, it can be up to 40 days.

5. Preparation of professional knowledge. Dive, dive, dive again. Study, study, study again.

6. Market research:

l. Basic price survey. a) For design and construction prices, check online and go to the decoration market. b. Only by having a preliminary understanding of material prices and the building materials market can we be aware of it and be able to cope with it freely during decoration operations.

2 Have a comprehensive understanding of the status of the home decoration market. Regardless of the company or construction team you choose, you need to know something about their integrity and construction quality. You can check online, watch on site, and listen to feedback from owners who have completed the project. Avoid being deceived.

Three steps to home improvement and five steps:

1. Develop a plan and choose a grade.

2 Planning and design, reasonable layout. Provide a list of items to be placed;

3 Understand the market and grasp the price

4. Sign a contract and bind each other: avoid complaints;

5 Compare the contract, Acceptance project: discover problems and solve them in time

Four. How to prevent over-decoration

According to surveys by relevant departments, currently, among more than 60% of home decorations, there is the problem of "over-decoration" to varying degrees. The so-called "over-renovation" means that the proportion of funds invested is too large, a large amount of indoor space is occupied, the original structure of the house is seriously damaged, and a large number of toxic and harmful materials are used. From the analysis, the reasons for "excessive" home decoration include the following aspects:

Listening too much to the opinions of decoration companies

Decoration companies, starting from the purpose of making profits, of course hope to have more decorations. Construction requires more investment, so when it comes to home decoration plans, it is inevitable to tend towards "full bloom" or even "superfluous". In this regard, owners should be fully psychologically equipped, grasp the principle of "cutting out the complex and simplifying", and should not blindly "additional budget investment" with the decoration company.

Inverting the positions of "protection" and "caring"

In hotels and restaurants, due to the large number of people coming in and out, the first thing to consider when decorating is to protect the environment, such as wallpapering , repair the dado, lay hard granite on the floor, install the wall lamp higher, etc. In the home, the owner will naturally take great care of the indoor environment

There is no need to cover the walls with wallpaper, repair the wall skirts, or use heavy granite to cover the floor.

Ignore the problem of having a large amount of furniture "settled" after decoration

As far as current homes are concerned, the living area of ??most people's homes is not large, and furniture generally accounts for 10% of the total area. Around 50. Taking the bedroom as an example, in addition to a double bed and a large wardrobe, some families also have furniture such as TV cabinets, dressing tables, desks, and sofas. In this way, everything from the wall to the floor is covered up by the furniture. Therefore, for smaller bedrooms, there is really no need to "go to war" in decoration.

Blindly comparing and imitating

After seeing some decoration examples or decoration atlases, some people imitate them rigidly, regardless of whether their own room meets the conditions. Nowadays, most houses are only 2.6-2.8 meters high inside, so it is not very suitable for "ceiling" decoration.

Even if your suspended ceiling is very beautiful, it can easily give people a sense of depression. It is better to stick some wood or plaster decorations instead.

The decoration materials of the large room are always high-end.

The large room itself gives people a sense of spaciousness, comfort and value. The important thing is that the decoration should be practical and pleasant in shape and color, but the materials may not necessarily be all high-end. , just use high-end materials on one or two sides (such as the floor, main wall), and keep the rest simple. The decoration cost of 100 yuan per square meter can be saved, which is a big number. Use the money you save to buy some high-end furniture and appliances that are more practical and beautiful.

5. Which areas cannot be removed or modified or require caution?

(1) Load-bearing walls: Load-bearing walls cannot be demolished or modified during renovation. What kind of wall is a load-bearing wall? Generally in buildings with a "brick-concrete" structure, prefabricated panel walls cannot be dismantled or doors or windows can be opened; brick walls with a thickness of more than 24 centimeters cannot be dismantled or modified, as these are load-bearing walls. If you open doors or windows on a load-bearing wall, it will damage the load-bearing capacity of the wall and is not allowed.

(2) Steel bars in the wall: If the structure of a house is compared to the human body, the steel bars in the wall are the human bones. If the steel bars are damaged when burying pipelines, it will affect the bearing capacity of the walls and floors. If there is an earthquake, such walls and floors can easily collapse and break. For water and electricity renovation, walls should not be grooved horizontally.

(3) Beams and columns in the room: The beams and columns are used to support the upper floor. After being removed, the upper floor will fall away, so it cannot be moved.

(4) Low wall beside the balcony: Generally, there is a door and a window on the wall between the room and the balcony. These doors and windows can be removed and modified, but the wall below the windows cannot be moved. This section of wall is called the "counterweight wall", which acts like a scale to lift the balcony. Removing this wall will reduce the bearing capacity of the balcony, causing it to fall.

(5) Door: The door frame of the door is embedded in concrete. If it is dismantled or modified, it will damage the building structure and reduce the safety factor. Moreover, if the building structure of the door is damaged, it will be even more difficult to install a new door.

(6) Waterproof layer in the bathroom and kitchen: There is a waterproof layer under the ground in these places. If it is damaged, the downstairs will become a "water curtain hole". Therefore, when replacing ground materials, be careful not to damage the waterproof layer. If it is rebuilt after damage, be sure to do a "24-hour water seepage test", that is, fill the kitchen or bathroom with water. If there is no leakage after 24 hours, it will be considered qualified.

6 Is it safe to use overweight materials?

In home decoration, raising floors, laying marble in large areas, using bricks to build interior walls, and making ceilings with complex structures sometimes require the use of a large amount of overweight materials, which may cause the load-bearing capacity of the house to exceed the design standards. Causing the building to tilt and sink. Therefore, lightweight materials should be chosen as much as possible in home decoration. When raising the floor, you can choose lighter perlite blocks to avoid using solid structural reinforced concrete; when laying granite and marble, the laying area should be controlled as much as possible; it is best to use light steel keels for the walls that separate rooms; for suspended ceilings When doing so, the structure should be simplified and lightweight materials should be used.

7. Is it feasible to change the use of the house?

Converting the kitchen into a bedroom is extremely dangerous because once the gas leaks, the consequences will be disastrous. It is also not advisable to change the external balcony into a kitchen or bedroom, because the load-bearing capacity of the external balcony floor is generally not large. Changing it to a kitchen or bedroom will increase the stress on the balcony floor, which may cause the floor to break and fall off. It is not allowed to convert a balcony without drainage into a kitchen.

8. Why should we choose a good time to decorate our family room?

The construction of home decoration projects is related to human factors, material properties, climate conditions, etc.

The construction period of the decoration project should avoid major holidays. If there are major holidays during decoration, it is easy to delay the construction period.

The weather is too hot or too cold, which is not good for the operator. If the temperature is higher than 35°C, you will sweat profusely during construction; if the temperature is lower than 5°C, your hands and feet will become inoperable during labor. For this reason, the decoration construction period should be selected between the temperature of 5°C and 35°C.

Some decoration materials will be affected by air temperature and humidity.

For example, interior wall paint will become sticky and thick when the temperature is lower than 5°C, and cannot be brushed or applied evenly; if a wooden floor is laid when the humidity is high, when the humidity is low, the water in the board will evaporate and the board will become damaged. Cracking and warping may occur. For this reason, you must read the relevant instructions clearly before constructing various decoration materials, and avoid construction in low-temperature and high-humidity climate conditions.

Rainy and snowy weather brings inconvenience to the transportation of decoration materials. The roads are muddy and difficult for vehicles to pass; some materials are piled in the open and need to be covered, which costs a lot of protective materials; some decorated parts (such as the ground, etc.) need to be protected and covered with cardboard or straw curtains to prevent people from trampling on them, which also costs a lot of protection. Material. For this reason, it is necessary to collect weather forecast information before decoration, and finally choose days with little rain and no snow to avoid decoration in the cold winter and rainy seasons.

The start and completion dates of the decoration should be chosen on the owner's holidays. This is because there are the most matters starting and completing the renovation, and the owners must participate. If the holiday is chosen, the owners will have time to take care of this matter.

The best time to decorate a family room is in the autumn of each year. Of course, in addition to the Spring Festival, it can also be carried out in other periods, depending on the local climate conditions.

When is it not appropriate to decorate?

Newly completed buildings should not be renovated immediately

Generally, the traditional walls of buildings are between 24 and 50 centimeters. The humidity of the wall is relatively high, so it should be done after the wall is basically dry. The decoration is more suitable, which will not easily cause the wood to deform or become moldy, and is beneficial to human health.

It is not suitable to carry out decoration in seasons with high air humidity

There is a lot of wood work for home decoration. The wood and wood products have a considerable reaction to the humidity of the air. You should try to avoid such things. season. If you are renovating in such a season, you must take appropriate measures to prevent the wood and wood products from getting damp and increasing the moisture content, prevent the metal products used from rusting, extend the painting stage, and pay attention to the drying of the paint film.

What’s so good about decorating during the peak season?

After September every year, the home decoration industry enters its second peak business season of the year. Due to the crisp autumn weather in September and October, coupled with the sharp increase in new building occupancy, the transaction volume of the entire home decoration industry during this period was several times higher than in the previous three months. Faced with these prosperous decoration companies, some consumers can't help but have doubts in their minds: At this time, general decoration companies are receiving more orders. Will there be a situation where "the carrots are too fast and the mud is not washed"? In fact, there are some benefits to decorating during the peak season:

It is rare to find out-of-date work at this stage

In autumn and winter, as the traditional Chinese festival - the Spring Festival - is approaching in a few months, Most of the construction workers, the main force in the home improvement industry, will go home to celebrate the Spring Festival, so they work faster at this time. They hope to pay their wages early and go home to celebrate the New Year. Therefore, compared with other seasons, workers have to work hard and delay the construction period. The phenomenon is relatively rare. But in this case, we must beware of some workers who "don't wash the mud when the carrots are too fast". For example, in order to rush for a new project, there will be situations such as sloppy finishing of the previous project. Therefore, consumers are reminded to strictly check the acceptance.

Some decorative materials have begun to be discounted

In recent years, the speed of upgrading of decorative materials has become faster and faster, and most manufacturers like to set the launch time in the spring. This will inevitably put some pressure on the sales of old products. For these manufacturers, it is a wise decision to take advantage of the peak decoration season to sell products at a discount, and consumers also have the opportunity to "hunt" for high-quality and low-priced products, thereby saving a sum of material costs.

How to check the quality of wires

1. Want to see. Check whether there is a quality system certification; whether the certificate of conformity is standardized; whether there is the factory name, factory address, inspection seal, production date; whether there are trademarks, specifications, voltage, etc. printed on the wires. Also look at the cross-section of the copper core of the wire. High-quality copper is bright and soft in color. The yellowish-reddish copper core indicates that the copper material used is of better quality, while the yellowish-white color is a reflection of low-quality copper. Otherwise, it is a defective product.

2. Want to try. You can take a piece of wire and bend it repeatedly by hand. Any wire that feels soft to the touch, has good fatigue resistance, has high plastic or rubber feel and has no cracks on the wire insulator is a high-quality product.

3.

Cut off a section of the insulation layer to see if the core is located in the center of the insulation layer. What's not centered is the eccentric phenomenon caused by low craftsmanship. If the power is small during use, it will be fine. Once the power consumption is large, the thinner side is likely to be broken down by current.

4. Be sure to check whether the length and core thickness have been tampered with. Relevant standards stipulate that the error in wire length cannot exceed 5, and the cross-sectional wire diameter cannot exceed 0.02. However, there are a large number of wires on the market that are short in length and deceptive in cross-section (such as marking the cross-section as 6 square millimeters). (line, actually only 4.5 square millimeters thick)

How to manage finances during decoration

One. Do it after you have calculated it, and do it after you have finished it: first create a budget, how much money you have, and how much things you will do. Decoration is a bottomless pit, no matter how much money you have, you can fill it in. The prices of different brands and materials of decorative materials vary greatly. It is necessary to seize the expenditure on large projects, such as flooring, ceramic tiles, wall paint, kitchen and bathroom, furniture, etc. and make estimates based on your own financial situation. Do the math before doing it instead of calculating after doing it. If you make changes while you are doing it, with countless things in mind, you will often greatly overspend and it will be impossible to save.

Two. It’s about choosing the right decoration company. Never look for "street guerrillas", but don't look for big decoration companies either. Large companies have high operating costs and advertising costs, which will eventually be passed on to customers. It is best not to choose a home improvement company that has just opened. New companies are prone to problems in quality management, and the final loss may require customers to pay tuition. You can find some companies with good reputations online, and decoration companies with good reputations that colleagues and friends have worked in before. It is best not to directly find a construction team or acquaintances and relatives to decorate by yourself. It may save money on the surface, but in fact, it may cause greater economic losses due to your wrong choice. Because they are acquaintances and relatives, the mute eats Coptis chinensis and can't express the pain. In addition to choosing a company, it is more important to choose an excellent construction team to prevent rework.

Three. The priorities should be clear, and money should be spent wisely.

In home life, the living room is the main activity space. It can best reflect the cultural level and taste of the owner. Therefore, a lot of effort and money should be spent on decorating the living room to create a beautiful, elegant, and individual space. A fully functional space. Next is the study room. The study room usually has a large area of ??bookshelves. Carpentry is the most expensive among the decoration techniques, so the cost of the study room will not be low. The functions of the kitchen and bathroom are also prominent. Due to the rise of modern people's taste, the cost of these parts is not small. The decoration of the bedroom might as well be simple, because it is a purely private space that can be completely decorated according to personal preferences, focusing on creating a warm and relaxing atmosphere.

Most are cheap and a few are expensive, such as hardware accessories, lamps, accessories, etc. Careful selection of these materials can often add the finishing touch to interior decoration.

The construction technology should also adopt the "finishing point" method.

For key decoration areas, high-end materials and fine workmanship can be used, so that they appear to have a higher style; other parts of the decoration can be decorated in a simple and bright way, with ordinary materials and simple workmanship. change.

Four. Shop around to choose materials.

After the overall layout of the house is finalized, you must prepare a ruler, pen, and notepad, and go to the decoration materials market to conduct "research." You should read more about the decoration diary and use the many useful information above to make good notes. The quality of decorative materials is divided into upper, medium and lower grades, but materials of the same grade will have different prices due to different sources, so it is always applicable to shop around with three companies. Visit the big building materials city and buy small markets. The large building materials city has convenient transportation, complete varieties, and a good shopping environment. It's easy to choose what you like the most. But don't make a move easily, the prices there are generally on the high side. Remember the brands you like, and go to some small building materials markets more often. You can often find the things you like there and get good bargains. I believe it will definitely save you a lot of money. Of course, you should also be careful about buying fake and shoddy products just for the sake of cheapness

When purchasing materials, try to invite designers or decoration workers to go with you, so that they know where to buy high-quality and low-priced materials. , the ability to identify fakes is better than yours, and you can get twice the result with half the effort.

In addition, it is also feasible to rely on the decoration company to select materials. Decoration companies have fixed outlets for material selection. Due to large-scale selection of materials, the quality is stable and the price is relatively low.

Five. Purchase together and get discounts. For similar products, don’t buy a little from the east and a little from the west. Merchants generally give more discounts to large customers. For small quantities of scattered supplies, there is no need to look far away. Many factors such as time and effort, transportation costs, transportation costs and the convenience of replenishment and returns must be considered.

Six. Overcome the mentality of blind comparison and don’t pursue famous brands for everything. Pursue the latest products and pursue foreign goods. For example, the difference between a foreign toilet bought for more than 5,000 yuan and a domestic toilet bought for more than 1,000 yuan is not very big. Some people plan to use vitrified tiles in the kitchen and bathroom, but it is unnecessary. They cost a lot and the effect is not necessarily good. The floor tiles are made of 300x300 anti-slip tiles, which generally have few problems and are cheap. Of course, the living room is an exception. You should choose vitrified tiles with strong anti-fouling capabilities and good quality. Don't be greedy for cheap, otherwise it will leave endless troubles. The difference between latex paints of the same brand is not as big as advertised, such as three-in-one, five-in-one, second generation, and third generation. The main problem with latex paint is too much water. There is no need to chase the latest product.

Seven. Choose a time for renovation to avoid the peak renovation season.

Selection of cabinet materials

The price structure of cabinets is more complicated. The materials, countertops, and hardware of the cabinets are different, and the price gap is also large. Therefore, it is very important to understand some necessary cabinet knowledge. It is necessary.

《一》Characteristics of several types of boards

1. Particleboard is made by pressing waste wood such as sawdust and branches. Its advantage is that it is low in cost but not very strong. A large amount of adhesive needs to be added when pressing. It contains formaldehyde, a substance harmful to the human body, so it is more difficult to use as a cabinet. few.

2. Density board is also called fiberboard.

Fibreboard is made by soaking wood, trees and other objects in water and then crushing and pressing them. It is made of wood fiber or other plant fibers as raw materials, and is coated with urea-formaldehyde resin or other suitable materials. Artificial boards made of adhesives. According to their different densities, they are divided into high-density boards, medium-density boards, and low-density boards. Density board is soft and impact-resistant, has high strength, has a uniform density after being pressed, and is easy to reprocess. It is a good material for making furniture abroad, but its disadvantage is that it has poor waterproofness. However, due to the national regulations on high-density board The standard is several times lower than the international standard. Therefore, the quality of density board in my country needs to be improved.

3. Moisture-proof board uses the processing technology of particleboard, but changes the adhesive to a green waterproof and environmentally friendly adhesive, which overcomes the shortcomings of particleboard and has better waterproof properties. It is also a material commonly used in cabinets. .

4. Fireproof board: Fireproof board is a decorative board made of siliceous material or calcium material as the main raw material, mixed with a certain proportion of fiber materials, lightweight aggregates, adhesives and chemical additives, and made by autoclaving technology. It is a new material that is increasingly being used, not just for fire protection. The construction of fireproof boards requires relatively high glue, and the price of better quality fireproof boards is more expensive than decorative panels. The thickness of fireproof board is generally 0.8mm, 1mm and 1.2mm.

5. Melamine board

Melamine board, the full name is melamine impregnated film paper faced artificial board. It is made by soaking paper with different colors or textures in melamine resin adhesive, then drying it to a certain degree of solidification, paving it on the surface of particleboard, medium density fiberboard or hardboard, and hot pressing it.

《二》Cabinet, cabinet door, countertop, material selection:

1. The material of the overall cabinet is mostly made of density board. Most of the cabinets used by good brands are environmentally friendly. Melamine board has good fireproof and moisture-proof properties. The production process of stainless steel cabinets is complicated, the cost is high and the processing is difficult, so they are used less and less in the market.

2. Cabinet doors currently mainly use four series: solid wood, fireproof board, blister, and baking paint.

1 Solid wood type: Generally, the surface of solid wood is made with concave and convex shapes and painted. The price of solid wood cabinets is more expensive, and the style is mostly classical.

2 Fireproof board type: It is the mainstream material for integral cabinets. The base material is particle board or density board, and the surface is decorated with fireproof board. Fireproof boards are currently the most used.

3 Blister type: The base material is density board, and the surface is formed by vacuum blister or a one-time seamless PVC film pressing molding process.

4 Baking paint type: The base material is density board, and the surface is baked at high temperature. The cabinets made by the baking process are very beautiful and gorgeous, but the level of craftsmanship is high, otherwise they will easily change color, and they must be carefully taken care of during use to avoid bumps and scratches.

3. Fireproof board countertops are economical and affordable. Artificial stone countertops have the best performance

Materials suitable for kitchen countertops include fireproof boards, artificial stone, natural marble, granite, stainless steel, etc. Among them, artificial stone countertops have the best performance-price ratio.

1 Artificial stone countertops: imported and domestically produced, made from stone powder added to artificial fibers under high temperature and high pressure. Its main features are that it is colorful, has no pores on the surface, is extremely resistant to dirt, acid, corrosion and wear, and is easy to clean. It combines the elegance of natural marble with the hardness of granite, has the delicacy and warmth of wood, has the luster of ceramics, is extremely malleable, has tight or even seamless joints, and has rounded and smooth lines that can make any shape. Among the imported artificial stone countertops, DuPont Corian and Cerite are the top products in the countertops, but the price is one to two thousand yuan more expensive per square meter than the domestic ones. The domestic artificial stone countertops, Monterey and Nairn stone are of good quality. Domestic artificial stone countertops cost about 1,000 yuan per square meter.

2 Fireproof board countertop: The base material is density board and the facing is fireproof board. Thickness: 4mm. Bright and diverse colors, fireproof, moisture-proof, oil-resistant, acid-alkali-resistant, high-temperature-resistant, and easy to clean. The quality of the internal material affects the service life of the fireproof board countertop.

3 Stainless steel countertop: sturdy and durable, and easier to clean. However, the single color of stainless steel countertops makes people feel unfriendly, not warm, and lacks the warmth of family. Currently, it is no longer favored under the current home trend that emphasizes individuality and advocates returning to nature.

4 Natural marble: It has natural texture and is more beautiful. However, natural marble has pores and is easy to store grease. Moreover, natural marble is very brittle and cannot be used to make countertops exceeding 1 meter. Countertops made of natural marble will There are seams, and these seams can also easily accumulate dirt and affect hygiene. At present, fireproof board countertops are widely welcomed by people for their moderate prices, and artificial stone countertops are increasingly favored by people for their excellent quality. Natural marble is rarely used as countertops.

5 Granite, compared with man-made. Not as beautiful. Natural stone is short, usually about 2.5 meters, and requires transparent glass glue to make countertops. The corners of natural stone are not as easy to process as artificial stone. price. Granite is less expensive than artificial stone. Commonly used brands include "Fengzhen Black", "China Black", etc.

Three. Selection of hardware

Hardware must be able to adapt to many factors such as the humid environment of the kitchen and the excessive oil smoke. Its quality is also crucial to the normal use and lifespan of the cabinet.

The hinge is the one that needs to withstand the most test. It not only has to accurately connect the cabinet and the door panel, but also has to bear the weight of the door panel alone, and it must maintain the consistency of the door arrangement. Otherwise, after a period of time, it may tilt forward and back, and slip out of the way. Among the world's high-quality brands, Heidis, Ferrari, Salice, Blum, Grass, etc. belong to the first camp. As the world's top brand, "Hettich" has excellent performance. It has thick steel, high base, long arm, can be positioned at will without displacement, and has an opening life of up to 100,000 times.

In the design of the entire drawer, the most important accessory is the slide rail. Due to the special environment of the kitchen, even if a low-quality slide rail feels good in the short term, it will be difficult to push and pull after a while. Well-known brand cabinet manufacturers generally use better quality slide rails, such as "H?fele", "Hettich", "Spanish support rails", etc.

Pull basket

Pull basket can provide a larger storage space, and the space can be divided reasonably with partition baskets so that various items and utensils can be placed in their respective places. According to different uses, baskets can be divided into stove baskets, three-sided baskets, drawer baskets, ultra-narrow baskets, high-depth baskets, corner baskets, etc.

At present, the ones that are widely used include Haidis, Case BMW, Shanghai Junkang, etc. Its product design is reasonable and its functions have high quality assurance.

Reprinted for your reference.