Protecting the stairwell and lift floor during a renovation

What actually needs protecting in the stairwell and lift

The floor takes the most punishment, whether it is stone, tile, linoleum or the painted concrete common in Soviet-era panel blocks. Corners are where skirting boards, door frames and radiators get knocked, and in older buildings those corners are often original and can't be matched if chipped.

The lift is its own risk. Its floor is usually a thin tile or laminate over a small cabin, and it takes the full weight of everything you push into it, wheel by wheel, corner by corner. Lift walls scratch easily, and a jammed door from an oversized load can put the whole lift out of service for days.

Handrails and light switches get touched by wet gloves and dusty hands more than anyone expects. It's a small thing, but a stairwell that looks grubby after your renovation is exactly what triggers a complaint even when nothing is actually broken.

How to cover the stairwell before you start moving materials

Lay hardboard or thick corrugated cardboard sheets along the route you'll actually use, taped down so they don't slide underfoot, rather than trying to cover the entire stairwell. Cover landings and turns first, since that's where loads get shifted, rested and re-gripped.

Protect the outside corners of walls and door frames with cardboard or foam corner guards, held with masking tape rather than anything stronger that might pull paint off when removed. A folded moving blanket taped over a corner works just as well if you have one to spare.

Cheap masking tape or the wrong adhesive can leave marks on painted walls, particularly in older buildings where the paint is soft. Test any tape on a small hidden patch first, and take everything down again as soon as the heavy carrying is finished rather than leaving it for the whole renovation.

Using the lift during a renovation

Line the lift floor with hardboard or thick cardboard and tape it to the floor, not the walls, since lift wall panels are often just clipped in place and tape can pull them loose. Protect at least the lower half of the walls too if you're moving anything wide or awkward.

Check the lift's weight limit before loading it with bags of cement or tiles; it is usually printed inside the cabin. Overloading trips the safety system and can leave the lift stuck between floors, which is a much bigger problem than a scratch.

If the building has an apartment association board or manager, tell them which days you'll be using the lift heavily. Many buildings have an unwritten rule of covering it during renovations, and turning up with cardboard already sorted is usually enough to keep things friendly.

What to do before the first load goes through

Walk the route from the front door to your flat and photograph the stairwell floor, walls, corners and the lift interior as they stand before you bring anything in. Timestamped photos on your phone are enough; you don't need anything formal.

If the association has written house rules, check whether they specify a covering requirement or a lift booking system. Some Tallinn buildings, particularly newer developments, have a caretaker or management company you're expected to notify in advance.

Agree with your contractor, or plan yourself, on a fixed route and time window for moving rubble and materials rather than spreading it over random hours. Fewer, larger trips through a well-covered stairwell cause less wear than constant light traffic.

• Photograph the stairwell and lift floor, walls and corners before you start
• Lay hardboard or cardboard along the actual route, taped to the floor
• Fit corner guards on exposed wall corners and door frames
• Check and respect the lift's weight limit
• Tell the association or caretaker which days involve heavy lift use
• Take protective covering down once the heavy carrying is done

If damage happens despite the precautions

Photograph the damage immediately, from a distance and close up, and note the date and time. Compare it with your before photos if you have them; this is usually enough to settle who is responsible without a dispute.

Tell the apartment association or building manager promptly rather than hoping it goes unnoticed. A scraped wall or cracked tile reported straight away is a small, ordinary cost; the same damage discovered weeks later during someone else's complaint becomes a much less comfortable conversation.

If the damage is more than cosmetic, such as a lift door that no longer closes properly, get it looked at before using the lift again. For odd repair jobs like touching up a scraped wall or refitting a corner strip, hourly work from 39 € an hour covers it without needing a full quote.

When the renovation is bigger than a few van loads

A full flat renovation with skips, repeated deliveries and weeks of contractor traffic wears a stairwell differently to a single moving day. It's worth agreeing a longer-term protection plan with the association rather than re-laying cardboard every time someone remembers.

For a renovation of that size, we quote flat renovation work from 180 € per job once we've seen the scope, and that figure includes planning the logistics of getting materials and rubble in and out without the stairwell needing repair afterwards.

If the building itself needs attention afterwards, from touching up scuffed paint in the common areas to checking the lift is running properly, our building maintenance work from 49 € an hour is the more sensible route than treating it as part of the flat renovation invoice.