2025 Home Renovation Summary

While doing the sports summary of the year, I mentioned that I’d probably do a separate post about the renovation aspect of 2025. And so I decided to do it, because it’s only when you clearly list all these things that it becomes clear why we were so busy, why time was so scarce, and finally why we were so exhausted… There’s no hiding it, I did it like I always do, which is to say "big."

• At the beginning of the year, expanding the photovoltaics system to 10 kW to use it later for heating purposes.
• Installing a total of 3 air conditioning units, precisely to use the generated surpluses - this is also an additional heat source besides gas, which helped significantly reduce costs.
• Mechanical ventilation with heat recovery, i.e., recuperation - a true game-changer! Six "little boxes," which are actually boreholes in the walls (200mm), containing heat exchangers and fans operating alternately. The air is filtered, you can't smell the smog, plus there's heat recovery and no issues with high humidity.
• Replacing a total of 15 windows with new triple-glazed ones with warm spacers - the old ones were also PVC, but they were really ancient and had terrible heat loss.
• Because of the above, almost everything had to be repainted again... but this time I didn't go crazy with ceramic paint - with a child, it doesn't make sense.
• And since there was going to be painting, flooring panels went in too... partly vinyl, partly laminate. And I'll tell you, although vinyl has many advantages, it feels like "21st-century linoleum." Laminate is more pleasant underfoot for me.
• Changing the entrance door from old to new, passive - this, combined with one window in the vestibule, created another problem, but it was a piece of cake.
• A complete kitchen remodel: tearing down a wall, putting in custom furniture and an island (it's a good thing the appliances stayed, otherwise I would have gone broke for sure). And the gas burners are gone, because I really didn't want them in the kitchen anymore.
• A large part of the electrical system - finally, there's a modern fuse box, a new main power line.
• Replacing the aluminum-copper radiators, which the previous owners had used for years, with large panel radiators much better suited for gas. I insisted on keeping the recesses and putting in triple-panel ones to have a large water volume, and now I see it was a fantastic decision.
• A PAX-style wardrobe, where I overdid it and ended up having to treat my spine a bit afterward.
• Adapting two somewhat bare basement rooms into office spaces.
• Refreshing the vestibule and one of the bathrooms.
• Countless small improvements, some valve replacements, simplification of the installation, etc.

Most of this was done by external companies and specialists in their fields - because since I could afford it and since my hourly rate also costs something, it was better for me to focus on what I know and let others earn money. Sure, you can get burned, but I think I’m lucky because I can’t really complain about anyone. Sure, you could probably do it yourself cheaper, but then it would probably take several years. And sure, you can learn a lot by doing it yourself, but I have a job where I have to learn very intensively all the time anyway (currently heavily in the field of AI). Besides, I have so many interests that it's really hard to balance it all.

I can't count all the people I'm incredibly grateful to for help with this or that, because there was a massive amount of work anyway. Only I know about that, actually, because if I didn't have to, I didn't want to involve anyone and pushed through myself (which, by the way, had its own very painful consequences). Thank you also for the numerous suggestions: it's always worth learning something new and changing your perspective on certain matters. In some things, I was definitely stubborn, and I'm glad I did what I initially planned after thoroughly researching the topic. I'll add here that it's worth educating yourself: living in an apartment building, I wondered why cold air blew from the bathroom vent in the winter... Now it's an obvious cliché.

There's no hiding it, this whole time was a lot of stress, a lot of mess... because it's probably one thing when you're building and living somewhere else at the same time, and another when you have a constant "construction site" at home for several months... This was an incredible test for the relationship, for the household budget, for my nerves. In the upcoming year 2026, we aren't touching anything that isn't literally falling apart! It's high time to enjoy everything that we managed to get done. I’m not posting photos of the results; anyone who wants to can visit us, you're welcome.