Rough finishing in an apartment: the order of work and what to check

What rough finishing is and where it sits in the route

Rough finishing is the work that prepares surfaces for the final finish: levelling the walls and reveals, boxing in the services. Painting, wallpapering and tiling come later, on these surfaces. Some sources count the screed as part of rough work; in the app route for an apartment the order is:

1. Plumbing and electrical.
2. Air conditioning and ventilation - lines and ducts.
3. Rough finishing - plastering the walls and reveals.
4. Floor preparation and screed.
5. Waterproofing of wet areas.

Why the screed comes after plaster: plastering brings a lot of water and debris, and once it's done it can no longer spoil the floor layers. The full order is in Renovation stages in order.

Before you start: is everything in the walls ready?

The first item of the stage is “Check pipes and wiring are finished”. Plumbing, electrical work, air conditioning lines and ventilation ducts must be finished and accepted: after plastering there's no access to them. This is the last chance to fix things cheaply.

Check that the hidden work has been photographed: every wall in full, with a tape measure from the floor or corner in the shot. What and how to photograph: Photos of hidden work.

The order of work in this stage

1. Drywall boxing. Encloses risers and pipes according to the design. Before closing it, make sure everything needed is inside and there are access hatches to valves, filters and meters.
2. The second side of drywall partitions. Boarded after the wiring and sound insulation. Before boarding, photograph the cables and backing inside the partition.
3. A photo of the window joints before the reveals. Before the reveals are plastered, photograph the installation joint: foam without gaps and the inner vapour barrier tape. Without the tape the joint freezes and the reveal gets damp - after plastering it can't be fixed.
4. Primer. The walls are treated with a primer suited to the substrate: it improves adhesion and keeps the plaster from crumbling.
5. Guide beads and corner beads. The guide beads are set with a level: the geometry of the whole apartment depends on them. Corner beads protect outside edges.
6. Plastering the walls and reveals. Applied along the guide beads. Reveals are plastered together with the walls: done separately, they crack at the joint.
7. Concealed door frames. Fitted after plastering and before skimming: the frame is skimmed and painted together with the wall. Photograph the frames with a level.
8. Recesses for concealed skirting, if you'll have it: the gap at the bottom of the walls is made together with the plaster.
9. Geometry and moisture check and acceptance of the stage.

Which tolerances to put in the contract

Since 1 February 2026, Amendment No. 3 to the Russian code SP 71.13330.2017 “Insulating and finishing coatings” has been in force (Ministry of Construction order No. 918/pr of 26.12.2024). Under it, the quality of plastering is determined by the client's requirements (cl. 7.2.13 in the new wording): the finishing tolerance tables were removed from the code. The practical takeaway is that wall flatness requirements now have to be written into the contract or the design brief - otherwise there's nothing to argue with the contractor about.

So you don't have to invent figures, use the former values of table 7.4 of the code as a reference - no longer a norm, but a language contractors understand. Deviation from vertical:

• basic plaster - no more than 3 mm per 1 m and no more than 10 mm over the full room height;
• improved - no more than 2 mm per 1 m and no more than 10 mm over the height;
• high quality - no more than 0.5 mm per 1 m and no more than 5 mm over the height.

Reveal width against the design, by the same former reference values: 5 mm for basic plaster, 3 mm for improved, 2 mm for high quality. A wall for paint checked under side lighting needs to be flatter than one for wallpaper: agree on this in advance.

One more rule of the code still applies: before priming, the substrate moisture must not exceed the values in table 5.1, and there must be no surface moisture (SP 71.13330.2017, cl. 5.1.15).

These are Russian norms; other countries have their own, but writing your requirements into the contract is useful everywhere.

How to accept rough finishing

Take a 2 m straightedge and a level - the route calls them your main acceptance tools. Check:

• the walls are vertical - the straightedge against each wall in several places;
• flatness - the gap between the straightedge and the wall, lengthwise and across;
• 90° corners where furniture and tiles will go;
• reveals - even width, straight edges;
• cracks and delamination - tap any suspicious spots;
• moisture - the plaster must be dry before skimming and painting.

Write down every deviation with the spot and the figure, and photograph the straightedge on the wall. How stage-by-stage acceptance works: How to accept a crew's work stage by stage.

Common mistakes

• Plastering before the electrical work is accepted: a new line then has to be run through a finished wall.
• Reveals done separately from the walls - a crack at the joint.
• A concealed door frame fitted after skimming - the door sits out of line with the wall.
• Measuring the kitchen and wardrobes before plastering - an almost guaranteed redo: check measurements are taken on finished walls.
• Not writing down flatness requirements - nothing to back up a complaint.

How to track it in the Doma app

The “Rough finishing” stage on the “Stages” tab: the items are in the same order as above. The contractor marks the work and attaches photos, including to the item “Photograph the window joints before the reveals”, and sends the stage for review; the owner or designer accepts it or writes remarks. The next stage is the screed: Floor screed: when to pour it and how to check it.