cacky

Okay, I know this has been posted somewhere before but can I just clarify again. Do we need approved grills by HDB for the windows and service yard?

^ Hmmmmmm, yeah, can consider that I guess. Gotta keep an open mind!

hihihi: Yeah, I did consider moving the basin to that corner. Question is, will there be a lot of piping works involved? As in the pipes will have to be leading from it's original spot to the other corner. Can turn out to be quite messy leh.

hihihi: Thanks for the link and the quotes. Saw the pictures. Not bad, I must say. DSA: My hubby also suggested to go for sliding doors. But any nice sliding doors that doesn't look like those 1990s type that are tinted brown or blue? You know what I mean, right? Those plastic type.

Anyone plans to change their master bathroom main door? I am considering to change to those frosted glass door that can open towards the bathroom or towards the room. Coz I thought if open towards the room, then at least won't block the already small bathroom. Anyone has any opinions about that?

hihihi: You seen any samples of glass sliding doors? Those plastic type very old pattern.

big orange: Both bathrooms are 750mm in width, unfortunately. It's really very tight. The place which I am in right now is like 850mm and I find it quite tight already. And there's no way you can extend that space there coz of the stupid basin that's blocking!!! And the worse thing is, where got space to move the basin elsewhere???!!! darcbleu: Aiyoh, those bi-fold doors are the last thing I ever want lor. So 'orbit' and the sliding doors also, so old pattern, like 1990s like that. They really ah ... leaving us with no choice leh.

darcbleu: I think the pics that Bubbly posted are similar to the 4-room ones one. So you can be 'rest assured' that's the bathroom we're gonna have to 'live with'. *sigh* And what are those silly red and blue markings??? My hubby said they're patterns on the wall. Why put patterns like that??? I'd rather not have patterns and just plain wall lah. So silly. Like you, I will change the basin also ... not nice leh. My hubby thinks it's useable. *sigh* So ugly! As it is, I have to put up with the ugly tile colors, now still have to put up with the lousy basin. Eh, toilet bowl only one standard flush lah. What you expect? Half and full? Those are premium bowls leh. As for the Master Bathroom toilet door, think no choice but might have to change it to open on the other side instead. Coz you are right, once it opens, it'll block the shower area. DSA: You very naughty leh ... not that I vain lah ... just wanna have a cabinet to store things like tissue and toilet paper supplies mah. Having more storage furniture in the house is always good. Huh??? More and more bad news? First ... those ugly tiles in the toilet, then the basin so near the shower area and now, cannot put shower screen? Wah biang ... they really pushing us to the corner leh! Did they design these flats with the 1990s in mind??? eipsy: We definitely have to do our shower screen. This one not condo. To Anyone: Anyone knows what type of flooring issit in this picture huh?

Bubbly: Whoa ... you're my hero leh! Uploaded the pics so fast. And thanks to those who have guided him how to upload his pics. Okay, heng ah, kitchen tiles are white in color, not too bad then, at least it's neutral. My hubby saw the bathroom pics and is convinced we do not need to re-do the bathroom. Ah well ... maybe 5 years later, when the bathroom is full of algae, he won't say the same thing huh ... But huh ... the basin is really near to the shower area. Really cannot do vanity cabinet I think.

Oh no!!!!!!!!!!!!! What color are the tiles then? Shucks ... that means my kitchen has to go with the tiles colors????

It's funny when you think about it. Coz' HDB doesn't allow us to change windows coz it might affect the outlook/appearance of the buildings. Yet they 'leave it open' for us in the service yard. If I'm not wrong, there are only certain type of grills we can use that's approved by HDB only. But not sure about the windows of the service yard, though.

Any idea if the kitchen walls or floors are tiled already?

Bubbly: Oooooooooh, thanks ... much appreciated for the photos!! Hope it isn't too much trouble. Given my experience, your parents are right in saying that the service yard area should consider tiling. No joke ... coz paint, unless it's really really good paint and that your windows are done so well that the rain won't leak in, will still be subjected to the wear and tear of the rain. If tiles, it might be better. Based on my experience in my parents' home. We used to have a balcony that is tiled. Then after renovation, we had the tiles removed and painted over, turned out that it was worse than before. The condition of the paint is bad due to the rain leaking through my windows. To Anyone: Can I find out if anyone plans to do a vanity cabinet for their bathroom sink huh ... and if so, has anyone gotten any forms of quotes from the contractors yet? Just wanted a rough estimate. Need to do some budgeting leh.

sheppy: Wah ... even 20k also considered too little ... Gotta be prepared to burn hole in pocket leh. And that's not including furnishing, I presume??? yokoyoko: Oh .. that's the same issue that DSA brought up too. eipsy: Hhahaha, yah lor, I agree with you, actually, no need ceiling fan, sometimes those standing fans work quite well. I agree it's not a pretty sight but well ... it's still usable. Or better still, get air-con. One thing I don't like about those big ceiling fan is that it blows up the dust and spreads it all over the house lah. Not that air-con doesn't, but I think the fan is more guilty of it. Stack pillows, wait lose balance and fall, even worse. Hhahahhaa.

darcbleu: I think in overseas, it's quite common to have service yard without windows, it's after all the 'yard' area. Thing is, given Singapore's climate and the rain situation, it's not possible to keep the service yard dry after the rain. So windows are important. *sigh* So extra costs there to factor for renovation. I agree with you totally about not extending the short wall. It'll only block the corridor leading to the rooms! Gotta think of how to place the furniture around in the house, I guess. eipsy: I agree with you that even living room should have the amber lighting (romantic setting as you term it). But I think shouldn't just restrict yourself to one type of lighting. You can have a combination of both amber and flourescent type of lighting. Sometimes, you need flourescent lighting for reading. I don't know if anyone else has experienced this but amber lighting tends to make my eyes feel more dry, I don't know why. You can make use of L-Box or U-Box ceilings to place your flourescent lighting and still have your pretty looking lamps for your amber lighting, best of both worlds. Then at least you can opt as and when your mood feels like it. Oh ... and remember ah ... where you place your lighting is rather important huh. I mean, in future, if you need to change light bulbs, you'll need it to be at a convenient location whereby you can climb a ladder and just change. I've seen a friend's place, the light is just above the bed. Errrrrr, then how? You can't place a ladder on top of the bed mah. And it's right in the middle of the bed leh. Even if got ladder at the side of the bed also cannot reach. So these things are important things you might wanna take note of when deciding on your lighting point. yokoyoko: How did they mess up the TV point? I thought it's fixed there already? To anyone: Can I make a request for any of you who have gotten the keys to your unit, if you have taken a picture of your bathroom in its original state, can post it up here? Hubby wants to have an idea how it looks like lah ... TIA!

eipsy: Welcome to the group! You have made really good points there by your friend and it's useful information for me and my hubby as we want to plan the home reno to be 'children-ready'. No use looking all that good if it's not practical. And I agree with you on the gaps in between the tiles. It is true that when dirty, the white gaps turn into grey or black and can get pretty unsightly. Then again, the HDB tiles should be of good quality. So it's quite a headache there you have. But do bear in mind that hacking of tiles does cost a lot of money. So whether you wanna do that or not is up to you. Did your friend mention what type of tiles would be good for bedrooms then??? Hmmmmmm, renovation should not exceed S$15k ... issit possible in this time and day? Even for basic reno??? DSA: Thanks for the link to the floor plan! Ha! Wonder how they will respond to your 'stinging' email.

darcbleu: I have the same thoughts as you for the bathroom area. But I was told that relaying tiles may not be good in the long run. Nonetheless, do some reading up on it to see if it's worth the while. I also intend to do a vanity cabinet under the sink and perhaps try to change the sink. But as someone pointed out here ... the MBR bathroom is really small. I really don't know how much of the basin we can change. But looking at the current state one is really really sad. DSA: Thanks for the fengshui tips. My hubby's into that for the new place, this should be a good read for him. By the way, from this: This means we'll be having some shops, eating house and a supermarket at the multi-storey carpark nearby, and that's good to know!!! You very good leh, dig up such info to share share with us! So, the phone socket is in the middle of the long wall? **** silly leh. But can we shift the location huh? I thought we could. Then if the TV socket is placed on the short wall, then can still move location? I mean, what about those of us who want to place our TV on the long wall? And thanks for sharing the info on the windows of the service yard. It didn't occur to me that we should install windows. All the while, I was just thinking of grills only actually. But given the torrential rains in Singapore, having a service yard covered with windows might be better hor. The Rinnai deal seems good leh, but too bad we not in Singapore. When are you all planning to go get it?

big orange: Teach you ... see nice ideas from ID mags, tear them and make a scrap book. At least you can always refer back. Sometimes, not necessary the big things, small stuff like home decor items can do also.

hihihi: Thanks for the detailed explanation! I blur earlier, when you mentioned bowl, I wasn't thinking of toilet bowl but the basin bowl. That's why I asked what's the difference. But if bowl means toilet bowl, then definitely makes sense cannot hack. I hope the toilet bowl provided is good quality though (as in flush). I don't mind a white toilet bowl, just hope it works well lor. Since it's provided by HDB, then if spoil, we look for HDB can? tfujiwara8: Yeah, I agree. Sometimes furnishing and lighting and colors of your wall play a part in making your room look good. big orange: I'd suggest you browse through ID mags, maybe you've already done that, to get some ideas and then show to your contractor. Sometimes, the nice designs don't have to be that expensive. Each home is subjective. Most importantly, consider what you and your other half envision your home to be. Maybe pick out a few characteristics you want your place to be and then move on from there. Remember ... work on the basics first. The rest can slowly add on. You have your lifetime to beautify the place.

LimeGreen: I totally agree with what you say!!! Makes a lot of sense. Coz getting a place is not like a wedding event, where it'll last a day and that's it. It's a place you have to consider staying for a while, even if you decide to move, it'll be 5 years later, so that'll still take you a while. And during these 5 years, kids may come along. Then what? So it's important to be practical. Especially in the allocating of the rooms and the choice of furniture. Eh, so you serious about not getting TV at all in your house??? Sure or not??? mocchi: Yeah, just like what hihihi shared. **** xien ... coz when I saw the sample toilet the last time, it looked really demoralizing. hihihi: Pardon me for being a noob at this. When you mean basin can change but bowl cannot change, what do you mean huh? What is the difference leh? So let's say if I decide to change into a squarish bowl and maybe want to build a cabinet around it, issit possible? I heard that overlaying in the long run has problems. It's always better to hack and the relay the tiles. *sigh* Looks like we gotta be stuck with this ugly toilets for a while.

big orange: We initially also said we wanted to keep things simple. But after browsing through some home portfolios from the blogs recently, my heart itchy itchy leh. Some feature walls & shoe cabinets quite nice. We most probably won't go for the WIW, in the first place, don't have that much clothes to do a WIW, and it takes up unnecessary space. As it is, the house not so big already. You however, might wanna consider the divider at the door thingy, from a fengshui perspective, that is. Heard from a friend that if your door opens and you see the window, it's best to keep a divider from the door to the window. Something like the money comes in from the door and you do not want it to leak out to the window. Hhahaa, I don't know how true it is, but just something I heard. My suggestion to you is this: If you are under budget constraints, settle the basic first. Get good flooring, kitchen cabinets, and painting. These things can last you for a while. Next time, as you all are more comfortable financially, then you can still improve on stuff by building divider, tv console, WIW and what's not, those can do bit by bit. As for electronic components, again, if under budget constraint, settle for an average one first, no need to get the best for everything and then end up in loan. What's the point of having the best for everything and then slog so hard everyday, not being able to enjoy the things you purchased, right? seraphinee: Aiyoh, your hubby sounds like my hubby! He's got the PS3 lah, Wii lah, PS2 lah and whatever not. Looks like we gotta custom-made a console to fit all those 'toys'. But the TV still can mount right? I presume if your hubby is a gamer like mine, he'll want a big HDTV? My hubby once said before, try not to have those kinda consoles that frames up your TV, best is just have the console like one rectangular block and you can place your stuff and mount the TV on the wall. Reason being, the frame constricts the space around your TV psychologically, then no matter how big your TV, no use. If you have lots of DVDs, I strongly suggest you do up a bookcase and comes with drawers. You may not think of it now but seriously, having furniture with a lot of drawer compartments is very useful. Such as dining table, coffee table etc. Sometimes, you just have some things lying around and you don't know where to place them, you can always place them in the drawer first. To Everyone: Can I ask if anyone's planning to redo the toilets huh? I understand the tiles are all there already and so is the toilet bowl and wash basin. I saw it at a showflat the last time round. I recalled the tiles were like pale yellow? Does anyone recall if it comes with patterns on the wall? Re-doing toilets cost a lot of money also and I was told that we are not allowed to change the toilets in the first 5 years? Is it true? How about kitchen huh? Did the kitchen come with wall tiles? Sometimes, I really prefer they come as an empty shell then at least can leave it to our creativity.

LimeGreen: Thanks for digging that up for me. Appreciate that!

hihihi: You from the balloting group? Or the SERS group? So fast got keys to be able to start renovating???

Okie doke DSA! Thanks for the info. We'll most likely check with HDB once we collect the keys. Now haven't even received letter to sign lease agreement. Just being kiasu lah.

Thanks DSA. Just to clarify on one more point. 4 months meaning any time within this 4 months you gotta start renovating, but does it mean you need to complete renovation within these 4 months???