Black, white and green frame: what is included and what is left to do

Three states in one table

"Black" and "white" frame are the language of new builds in Georgia: it is how developers sell apartments and how contracts describe them. The words are short, but each one stands for a specific list of works — and that list decides what the renovation costs.

Older buildings do not use these words: people live there, and everything old has to come out first. That is why the SIVRCE calculator has five states — old stock, cosmetic refresh, black frame, white frame and fully finished.

Choosing the state is the calculator's first step: it decides which works enter the estimate by default. A mistake here costs half the estimate — which is why each state has a short explanation under its name.

Six rough works: who does them

The difference between a white and a black frame is six rough works. In a white frame the developer does them; in a black frame, you and your contractor do.

The label is about the sale; the list of works is about the money. An apartment is sometimes sold as a "white frame" and handed over partly black — the screed or the plaster is missing. That is why the renovation estimate page lists these six works as separate checkboxes: tick what the developer actually did, and the estimate prices only the rest.

Demolition is not counted for a black frame — there is nothing to remove. Partitions are counted until you tick that the developer has already built them.

What it costs to finish the apartment

Prices for a 65 m² apartment in all three grades. They include labour, a materials allowance and additional costs (contingency, delivery of materials, waste removal — 10% in total).

In the Standard grade the gap is 311 ₾/m² — the price of those six rough works. Per-work prices are on the market prices page.

What to check when the developer hands over the keys

Before you call a contractor, walk the apartment and compare it with the contract:

• Screed: is it poured in every room, and how level is it? Flooring cannot go onto fresh screed — a 50 mm layer takes about 42 days to dry.
• Plaster: flatness over a 2 m straightedge — about 2 mm tolerance.
• Electrics: is there a panel, and do cables reach every socket and light point?
• Water and drains: are the points brought out in the bathroom and kitchen?
• Waterproofing: in the bathroom, the floor plus 20 cm up the walls, up to 2 m at the shower.
• Partitions: are all the walls shown on the plan actually built?

Whatever is missing has to go back into the estimate. Otherwise it surfaces in the first week — as "extra work".

Partitions in a black frame: aerated block or drywall

A partition is built from one material. On the SIVRCE price list (Standard), a square metre of aerated-block wall is 60 ₾ of labour and 37 ₾ of material; drywall is 75 ₾ and 37 ₾.

By default the calculator prices aerated block: it is the usual choice in a Tbilisi apartment, while drywall goes into light dry partitions. New partitions come to about 0.8 m² per square metre of floor. If the developer has already built them, tick that and the line leaves the estimate.

If a contractor's estimate has both aerated block and drywall over the full area, it is one wall counted twice.

Green frame: what to check at handover

In a green frame or an apartment finished by the developer you check the finishing work — the same points a SIVRCE inspector checks when accepting stages:

• No hollow spots under tiles (tap test)
• Even joints, neat cuts
• Paint looks even in side light
• Laminate doesn't creak, 8–10 mm gap at the walls
• All sockets and lights work, no leaks

Record anything wrong before you sign the developer's handover act. If you want to change something — the kitchen, the paint, a partition — pick "Fully finished" in the calculator and tick only those works.

How long it takes

Renovating 65 m² from a white frame takes 69–91 days; from a black frame, 94–122 days (Standard grade, SIVRCE norms). Most of the gap is the screed drying: a 50 mm layer takes 42 days, and the finish flooring waits for it. How the timeline is calculated: the timeline guide.

The same words for houses and offices

A house is rarely called a "frame": in the calculator the same two states read "No interior finishes" and "With rough finishes" for a house, and "Shell and core" and "With rough finishes" for an office. The axis is the same — how much is already done — and so are the works left out.

For the order of works — why wiring goes before plaster and screed before flooring — see the guide to renovation stages.

Frequently asked questions