aubrey

TO DO LIST Hack entire house for new floor tiles Change gate to wrought iron gate Change 2 windows to adjustable naco/lourve - i forgot which is which Change 2 bedroom doors to new classic doors (keeping the frames to save $) kitchen cabinet & full length wall tile redo toilet and windows change casement window of room 1 painting * plastering of wall - tentative New list at the bottom! thats about all that i need to do. so is it gonna be ex? ya im not counting on the enbloc. just hope im not that sway to kena!

yokine9a, i think its gonna be hard to transport my stuff there. plus my house is riddled with clutter from my mom's hoarding habits.. but i appreciate the offer tho!!

nope its kinda opposite the new nafa. near sculpture square, wilby residences, oxford hotel etc. my block is the furthest from the hustle and bustle of bugis. thank goodness! my friend's place, just 7 mins away from me, she lives right in the middle of the indian temple and the kuan yin temple. before the new hotel ibis was up, the 7th month ge tai was there so you can imagine the noise u can imagine. my parents bought the flat 45k in the 80s. i think we should not stay in as well.. gotta look for our place!!

the rumors started when i was 10.. now im 23 and its more than ever. any way to check for sure? dont think HDB will divulge that kinda info to me.

well u can see from my replies re. the altar.. i suppose that when we mop the floor, it will fall under medium wet to very wet but without skirting, i just "mop" the floor, whats the implications of that? so far the contractors are quoting me out of my budget but its expected i guess. so now its the give and take game but honestly i dont even know how to begin to bargain with them.. and ya, i hope i find the owner of the flat next to mine!

aiyoyo after so much objection from 80% of contractors, my mom finally budge and think we may have to find an alternative place to stay. she is using her neighbourhood networking to source for room near our house. u know whats the most pek chek thing??? there is an entire unit that is EMPTY for 2 mths or so just RIGHT NEXT TO OURS! thing is, we do not know the owner so cannot contact him/her to see if we can rent it for a while. if we can, that will be PERFECT!!!! but for now, pek chek!!!! :D

well i had to realise the hard way after going thru quote after quote that yes! the toilet reno cost is actually quite pricey due to tiling work etc! what a headache. the initial reason why i did not want base is cos i dont want to be restricted as well. but there's reasons offered by IDs & Contractors as to why we may need them (e.g: cases of choked pipe which causes flooding in kitchen etc) but so far so good we have not had cases of choked pipe YET hence i thought we can do without but now.. considering.

ya i find that my rooms are bigger than the other hdb apartments i've been to unless its an older estate. well we're not going to do any storeroom as we really do not have any space left reason being we are intending to do an L shaped kitchen counter and with the altars around, our dining table is gonna be in the kitchen so it will be cramped like crazy. well my mom just bought the altars (1 for buddha, 1 for ancestor) not too long ago hence we will have to keep them since it costs a fair bit. abt the qns of where to place the god, my mom will check with the kuan yin temple at queen st to see if we can have ours "bunk in" at the temple for the time being.

hmm must slowly reply since the forum was down since i post up my tblog. ok we are still debating regarding the base as i just thought it will be good in the event that we get choked pipes that would prolly flood the kitchen so i think we should do it.. yup the skirting issue was mentioned by the ID to us so we are also thinking about it. i just thought i'll be "different" without the skirting..

good to know u are happy with them! just rmb to ask all u want before signing. what do you mean squeeze in cooker n hod n air-con? like throw in FOC?

thanks so much! urgh must check my schedule to fit in all the viewings and stuff.. but its a pretty fun process. how much is your reno? major? does he do the design before u finalise?

Hi All! Here's my long long awaited tblog! First things first, floor plan below: The layout I have come up with on my own Background info As you can see, not much room to play with in terms of layout. still fretting over where to place the tv and set up living room area. note that my mom is a buddhist, she has an altar that takes up the entire wall space that is next to the doorway leading to kitchen and another ancestral altar at the left side of the wall (squarish form) against the wall of the kitchen doorway. these elements are giving me a headache over where to place them. And so... my tblog title is apt. mom aka retro v.s me aka modern minimalist/simplistic/zen fan. let the showdown begin!! We're intending to still stay in the house while doing reno, no choice as no other place to stay. Even so, furniture will have to be stored elsewhere and all in all will mean $$ which would add on to total expenditure for reno. Mom is the hoarder, I am the "thrower". due to that, we have quite a bit of friction when it comes to clearing clutter and getting ready for reno. I suppose we are the ID/Contractors' worst nightmare. Our Work Scope Hack all floors + wall in Kitchen/Bath/WC Supply & lay full homogenous floor tiles for house + wall tiles in Kitchen/Bath/WC Supply & install 2 sets of Naco Windows for Bath/WC Supply & install 2 sets of PD doors for Bath/WC Supply & install 1 tempered glass door at kitchen entrance - if budget allows Supply & install 1 collapsible dining table in kitchen Supply & install top & bottom kitchen cabinet with cabinet/fridge/WM tiled base Supply & install granite worktop Supply & install 2 set wardrobe in both bedrooms Supply & install 2 set louvered windows in living room and bedroom & 1 casement window in "MBR" Reno Progression Updated @ 14 April List of those who are out: Rizzente Reno - over budgetBan Hong Aluminium & Construction - did not get back to meHawaii Furniture & Renovation - did not make an impression on meMr Yeak - Miscomm problemRed Dot Interior - Did not call them Innowood Concept - too ex, way too ex. after seeing the quote i told him i can't afford him List of hopefuls: DeFong Interior - been to see some projects done, workmanship looks promising. awaiting fine-tuning of the quote and floor plan layout n simple sketches. SoHo Arc Interior - true to their claim, they are strong in design. currently going over their quote. impressed with their work structure. (yes i like structured workflow!)Ah Soon - The most competitive quote is here!! 'nuff said. Ideal Design - the ID was a joy to work with. simply told him my budget and even tho he has exceeded it, he did not add on to the amount grossly. its a fair amount and the ID is really great to work with. thumbs up! Will add on as and when I think of more and please feel free to comment so that I can have various ideas of what to do. still a greenhorn with this. Thanks to all in advance!

Hi FLY, have told all the contractors my budget is 14k thereabouts but so far all quoted 20k but its understood cos i asked them to throw in some options for considerable. do you mind sharing your ID here or must PM only??

shogen, my advice is to dump him too. why do you chase him? just makes me feel like he is not sincere in doing business with you AT ALL. that is the frustration i face from some contractors but hey, im the one with the cash and choice. so i dumped those that did not deliver. dont let yourself accept something that you dont deserve. its just wrong. and i can just picture how things will be when he takes on your business. promise u 1 month HO but drag for maybe 2 months? tskk. ya rendell i like those tiles and stuff! will be starting a t-blog soon.

hee hee yup! when is your bday? thank you!!

hey there shogen, i may be a newbie at this but i will only sign on the dotted line once they are able to give me a final quote where both myself and the contractor is happy, i have viewed some of the flats where he has done before and also to give me at least 1 3d drawing of the proposed look. i wont want to accept anything lesser than that from an ID cos that is his job. i will not xpect so much out of a contractor given that he does not have formal education/training in ID. i believe that if they want me to sign before 3d drawings etc etc, i wont buy that. how can i sign if you cant even give me a simple 3d drawing? doesnt even have to be 3d just a drawing will do. imagine how things will be like if you indeed did sign? i would expect him to not deliver other things as well. reno is not some $50 purchase and to some, it is their living savings. i believe we reserve our right to at least be fussy over these things. shld your ID or contractor disagree, i think you shld drop them.

seems like green paired with white tiles is a popular design here! I feel inspired!!! hohoho! all in all its looking good!! and 20th is 1 day before my bday! ;p

oo no la my parents had the happy-go-lucky chance to buy the flat and now voila, flat is 23y.o my block is the best as its the quietest yet still near everything. the rest too noisy for my liking. been here all my life, cant imagine myself staying in places lie punggol, seng kang etc. i need the hustle and bustle! oh i hope i can keep reno cost down to a minimal.. i love your place! very tastefully done up with the cool green/white tiles and stuff! roamca's place is shaping up too! /envious

back to the drawing board!!!

wow gorgeous place!! i'll not reno if its me.. heh.. stay first and when i wear out the original then reno. ;p but thats just me!

hey angel81, may i know who is your ID/contractor? good?

hahaha no la, retro/vintage as in the fixtures in the house is from HDB, things like metal sink, rubber vinyl tiles in living room, kitchen is plain cement only.. things like that. heh. i will start my tblog, hopefully when i settle down with a contractor/ID.

hee a bit shy to put up my tblog, house very messy. i guess u can call it major i think.. just want to do flooring, install kitchen cabinets + wall tiles + redo the toilet and fresh coat of paint. my place is still original state 100%pure and natural fm HDB back in the 80's. so my current house theme will fall under "retro/vintage". its the traffic coloured hdb blocks, green, white and yellow. cant miss it as its the ugliest lot of HDB flats as compared to rochor, cheng yan court and bras basah. yup sells the famous chicken rice and indian rojak! my parents paid about 44k back in the 80s and valuation for the flats around my place is 280k ~ 300k. whats COV?

yup mine is 3 room but old flat, no mbr toilet. but location is very good. i feel its gonna be tough cos when u have lots of garbage to throw, you cant possibly squeeze it thru the 1/2 open chute. perhaps you shld try to exercise your power as his wife now.. unless he does more housework than you! mine i intend to place washing machine next to it, so side by side. wont want my chute to scratch the washing machine tho..

hey roamca, your reno is progressing very very well! am happy for you that things are starting to shape up but agree with the rest abt the rubbish chute n washing machine. that was also my idea for the washing machine, to have to near the chute.