Final installation: sockets, fixtures, doors

When final installation starts

In the app's route, “Final installation” comes after “Flooring” and before “Furniture and appliances”. By then the walls are painted or papered, the floors are laid, and the stretch ceiling, if there is one, is fitted. Anything installed earlier risks getting dirty or getting in the way of finishing: a radiator hung before painting is taken down and hung again.

The stage's items are currently a draft: a builder is reviewing them, and the wording may change.

The order of work

Doors and skirting

1. Interior doors - door sets, casings, hardware. Doors go in after the floors and wall finishing.
2. Skirting - after the doors: the skirting butts against the architrave. The joints and corners are finished.
3. Front door - the old one is removed on the day the new one is installed, so the apartment is never left without a door. Check the level, the seal and the locks, and get all sets of keys and the lock code card.

Radiators

Radiators are hung after the walls are finished, connected to the pipes, and the valves and the bridging pipe (bypass) are checked.

Electrics

1. Sockets and switches - inserts and frames, checked with a level. Frames in a row must line up exactly.
2. Light fittings - chandeliers, spotlights, tracks. Check every lighting scenario and the two-way and master switches.

On height: in apartments, switches are recommended on the door-handle side at a height of up to 1 m (SP 256.1325800.2016, clause 15.34) - a recommendation, not a ban. The standard doesn't set a socket height for apartments: the 1.8 m requirement applies to schools and kindergartens (clause 15.36). Heights are chosen for convenience and furniture back at the marking stage, before plastering - they're not changed at final installation. How the wiring was accepted while the walls were open is in Apartment wiring: what to check before plastering.

Master Kistya's tips on light fittings:

• for a home, choose fittings with a colour rendering index (CRI) of at least 90 - a low CRI distorts the colours of the interior;
• flicker can be checked with a smartphone camera: if you see pronounced moving stripes on the screen, the light may be pulsing.

Air conditioning and ventilation

• Air conditioner units go up after the walls are painted; then the system is vacuumed and commissioned. Check cooling and heating. The lines to the units were run before plastering - more in Air conditioning in a renovation: when to run the lines.
• Bathroom fans are wired up. They can be linked to the light switch or a humidity sensor.
• Fresh-air ventilators and inlet valves go into the holes made before plastering.
• Grilles and diffusers are mounted and the airflow is checked.
• Ventilation check - airflow and noise. Noise is the most common reason people switch ventilation off.

Plumbing

1. Toilet, basins, mixers, towel rail. After installation every joint is checked for leaks.
2. Glass shower screen. The junctions are sealed. It's tested with the shower: water must not get past the tray or drain.
3. Water heater with a safety group. The heater is mounted on a load-bearing wall or backing, with the safety group draining to the sewer. A water heater without a relief valve risks the tank bursting.
4. Filter and waste disposer. Leave access for changing the cartridges.
5. Leak protection. Sensors, controller, valves. It's tested by actually wetting a sensor.
6. Underfloor heating thermostats. The first start-up is gradual, raising the temperature step by step.

Filters, valves and other parts that need servicing should stay accessible through an access hatch - that's Master Kistya's advice.

The final check: everything at once

The second-to-last item of the stage is “Check all systems”: water, electrics, ventilation and heating at every point. The route's hint: turn everything on at once - that exposes load calculation errors. If a breaker trips, sort it out now, while the electrician is still on site.

Then comes “Accept the stage”: all finishing items are installed and working. What's left is furniture and the final clean.

How to accept it in the app

1. The contractor checks off the items, attaches photos and taps “Send for review”.
2. You or the designer check on site using the list below.
3. All good - “Accept work”. Something's wrong - “I have remarks”: write what to fix and attach a photo.

Upload the manuals for appliances, fixtures and lights to the “Documents” tab, the “Spec sheets” folder: you'll need them for warranty claims. Which other papers to keep is in Which documents to keep after a renovation.

Final installation checklist

• Doors close without rubbing, casings sit flush, the skirting butts against the casing.
• The front door is level; you have the keys and the code card.
• Socket and switch frames line up; every socket works.
• The lights work in every scenario; two-way switches work.
• Every plumbing joint is dry and the drains run freely.
• The shower doesn't let water past the tray or drain.
• The water heater has a safety group draining to the sewer.
• The leak sensor shuts off the water when wetted.
• Radiators heat up; valves and bypass are in place.
• Air conditioners cool and heat; ventilation draws and is quiet.
• With everything on at once, nothing trips.
• Manuals and warranties are in “Documents”.

Next comes the final acceptance: Final acceptance of a renovation: checklist before moving in.