zapped

My hubby likes the resort theme, I don't! So we decided to have "modern resort" theme instead (but I guess the modern is winning as the wife always has the final word ) Here are the 3D designs: TV feature wall in living room (stone slates behind TV and laminates & tinted glass for the console) Dining area

it's move-in condition. I initially wanted just minor improvements, but ended up adding more things to renovate. Will change the floor laminates as some parts already have bubbles. regarding the balcony, yep will put shoe cabinets after i figure out what to do with the tiles/or wood decking and paint color. Will also replace the window grilles to glass (direct supplier, not our ID)

Glad to know I guess 12K COV is still considered low in this area. It's not point block, just corridor end.

Kitchen (decided to wait for another year to re-do the kitchen because it's still in acceptable condition) Common toilet Master's bedroom will build a TV feature wall and tic-tac door to hide bathroom door -- END OF BEFORE-RENO PICS POST -- (Whew!)

Future maid's room View from living area/cozy corner Bedroom 2 (future kiddie room, guest room for now) Bedroom 3 (my mom's room)

Before reno pics Entrance balcony (dunno what to do with it, please help!) Living room TV console (will be removed) Tiny dining area

This is basically the layout that we wanted. We need a maid's room and also a tiny cozy corner for reading magazines and books. You may have noticed that we changed the entrance/door of the common toilet. In the original condition, the shower comes first before the WC so people would be stepping into the "wet area" first before they can do their business in the loo, which is the dry floor area. Here's our ID's layout proposal

@panjang Yep, we value privacy. With that said, however, the balcony is giving me a headache since I can't decide what to do with it. Thinking of putting wood panels/chengai decking OR stone slates with pebbles because my husband wants a modern resort feel, but I am worried that it will be hard to maintain. So we decided not to touch it YET. Maybe after seeing the changes in the living room, I can finally decide what to do with the entrance/balcony. @yhanie_17 ... Thanks. I'll post pictures as the reno progresses. @ivy .. yeah interesting, ODD shape. HAHA. Didn't really think about the odd shape when we paid the OTP. Was rushing to get a unit and I was sold by the location and privacy. hehe. @Pinklady 123sqm ... valuation is 368K, COV is 12K so total is 380K. Should have bargained - but we did not! Dumb eh?

Thanks, coffee_o

Hi everyone, I've been lurking in this forum for a while, guess it's time to start my blog as our renovation has started today. Here's our story: My hubby and I started looking for flats in April. Since we are not citizens, our only option was to buy from the resale market. We wanted a flat in the East part because we've been staying in this area for three years now; we haven’t moved since we first came to Singapore. So we viewed flats in Simei, Tampines and Pasir Ris, and ended up getting a 5-room Improved flat in Avenue 9, Tampines. We liked the unit because it is at the corridor end and we only have one neighbor, a young family from our home country. Another factor is that the flat is near my office (10min drive). To cut the long story short, we paid and the flat was officially handed over to us last 20 Aug. Here’s the floor plan:

hi beany, how much did u pay for the kitchen glass panels? did you buy it or is it custom made?

Really? Then you got a very sweet deal. Good for you! Unfortunately for us, Benjamin (ID) gave us a high quote. He's very nice, though. I can't complain about the service, but quote is high (4-5K difference from the other 2 shortlisted firms) so we dropped this ID. He said he is willing to renegotiate the price, but we already signed up with another firm.

wow, 8-10 people... you really need a big flat. Now I understand why.. Your reno quote is quite low for EA and for the things you want to do. The quote I got from ** (different ID) was quite high, 27K just to build an extra room, WIW for the masters, common toilet, and TV feature walls for living and masters. That's why I looked for other IDs. For the same price, I get to do more for my flat like new laminated flooring.

Good for you if you didn't have any problem with the floor. For us, there is no way to find out if the previous owner did take care of the floor. We just believed what the owner told us... that only 3 people (couple and their daughter) stayed in that 5room flat so should be less foot traffic, right?. Previous owner also told us to call Bilrich and ask if they can do repair. Some guy (hubby talked to the person so I don't know his name) said that they cannot do repair as the damage was previous owner's fault. We don't know if anyone from Bilrich went to the flat and inspected, though. Possible that it was owner's fault. But just to be sure, we've decided to try a different brand of laminate floor. Hopefully this one lasts longer than 5 years.

Signed up with Unimax Creative last Sunday at the Expo. Also waiting for our 3D designs this week. I don't think Unimax has a renovation loan promo, though, but it's fine as long as the worksmanship is good. Good luck to us!

hi yhannie! this is Pi___ from the other forum. So you chose ** over Gilbert, eh? Very nice and big layout! Can't wait to see your 3D designs

The previous owner of our resale flat used Bilrich laminate flooring. The floor is in bad shape now but the previous owner only stayed there for 5 years. Website says 15years warranty so we called Bilrich, they didnt want to replace nor repair. Said it's owner's fault, didn't take care of the floor. So thinking of getting another supplier to replace the floors.

do they accept credit card zero installment for 6-12 mos like other big shops?

Quote given to you looks reasonable... I'm really surprised! Which branch and what's your ID's name?

exactly! the people in that company are not interested to share ideas or help you, they just want your money. During the first five minutes talking to Johnny of Hamid and Sons Tampines, he asked for our budget and how we plan to pay for it (loan or cash). When we said that maybe loan, he asked for our salaries. This talk happened during the first five minutes that we spent in their office! He wasn't even interested to see our layout. Later on he showed us a simple design for the common toilet which, according to him, costs 7,800. Lost interest after that. And his quote for the partition doors that we wanted was around 9,000! Other IDs said 3,500 is more than enough.

went to hamid and sons in tampines, the price is way too high! like 10K higher than other IDs for the same work.

who's your ID?

uh-oh... our newly bought resale flat is in tampines ave 9. I hope this isn't true... we haven't even moved in yet

hi donny, your id's quote looks very reasonable... can you PM me his name and contact details? TIA!

it says "Barquore".... spelled wrongly or different firm?