Bulgarian experience of panel buildings retrofitting

The Ministry of regional development and municipal improvement (MRDMI) of Bulgaria strongly supports the program for rehabilitation of residential panel houses. Sanitation is carried out free of any charges. One of the renovation projects is a residential house in the city of Ruse. Retrofitting of this building is performed at the expenses of the public program and for this project a reliable membrane Plastfoil® was applied. The program of full renovation of panel housing is quite relevant for the former socialist countries. Old utilities, thermal resistance of structures which do not answer to the modern specifications, and the most important thing - constantly leaking roofs, requiring annual costs for repairs. The program of complete modernization of panel houses was successfully carried out on the territory of the former GDR in the 1990s, then this German experience was repeated in Poland, Czech Republic and the Baltic States, now it is implemented in Bulgaria. The waterproofing material Plastfoil® Eco 1.5 mm was applied for this project. The roof area is over 1000 m2. Reconstruction of the roof on a reinforced concrete base and old bitumen coating was performed within the shortest time without use of an open flame and consequently without resettlement of the house tenants. A successful renovation experience in Ruse will be used in the rehabilitation of other panel houses throughout Bulgaria.