Soichiro

Eventually depends on usage pattern I guess! Will meet electrician tmr to discuss on this, maybe he will have some practical suggestion too

I'm planning the switches to my downlights in living room area... 10 downlights as shown below, with TV on left, couch on right, and balcony on top. - x - x - x - x --------- x x --------- x - x - x - x - Will want to group the lights as I won't have every light on all the time. Thinking of this grouping.. but 4 switches maybe too much? - 4 - 3 - 4 - 1 --------- 2 1 --------- 2 - 4 - 3 - 4 - Anyone with experience with this, care to share the practical reasons for your arrangement?

Been to their showroom, found the showpiece quality to be seriously lacking already, prices so so. Didn't dare buy from them and didn't like someone tailgating us all the way even though we told them we'd like some private space and would look for them if we needed help.

Yeah kitchen stuff was separate. The balcony doors were of good condition, the locks and rollers can be changed also if the glass is looking good. U can check with your contractor for advice. Windows were all changed, really koyak ones. hehe. Grills will be up later. Don't just look at the total sum when you receive the quote hor. Some like to exclude electrical wiring (say approx 3k) or anything that might add on later. Some even exclude cost of tiles (but few, coz they can usually earn from buying the tiles for u). Compressor at level 2 of your corridor. Most of my neighbours did it, and I did not like having the compressor at the balcony so chose to have it outside corridor. No pictures tho Try to survey neighbours from other levels, see if any of them did it. It will put your aircon installer at ease also if others already did it.

Yo~ We have some ideas with the bold colours, but will see how it turns out eventually when we put everything in. We chose not to plaster, didn't feel the need to and don't mind the rough walls. In fact, wifey likes them! The reno cost was $39k excluding carpentry. Replaced literally everything I could see except balcony doors. From your plans, I think you are looking at more things than me so 60k is a good estimate. But now its just theory. Get some contractors or IDs down to your place, discuss, and get quotes from them. Ask them to state the measured area for each item too. Some dodo things I faced... not specific to EM la.. 1) Quotes One ID really rounded up some items. I found the windows to be exorbitantly priced. In the end, I asked for the PSF and measured the areas myself and it turned out to be 40% cheaper. Another contractor quoted classic doors to be very high also... on questioning, he said its a mistake and it was for solid nyatoh doors. So!! Make sure you have at least 2 quotations to compare. A bit of difference, ok la. But if the difference is too much, there is usually a reason. You should find out if that's the case. If you have to pay more, at least know what you're paying for. 2) Wash Area toilet Had a lot of ding dong, as contractor said cannot do, I insist can do, asked HDB officer and he said need drawings. Checked with contractor and he gave a high quote, saying that the drawings cost alot too. I went to check with HDB branch office again, then they said permissible item, need to apply only. So in the end I worked out the toilet layout and arranged to box up the ugly pipes. You can see the pics for ref. The WC is a P-Trap, not the usual S-Trap for the WCs upstairs. Note that you have to pay $3 more per month for having that new toilet. Must declare! 3) Downlights You might want to group the lights to different switches. Remember to let your electrician know beforehand. 4) Sanitary installations Use masking tape to mark the exact positions of where you want each item installed. Unless you are going to be there when they install la. 5) Air con trunking I had several changes to the trunking plan, because old mansionette la... beams all over the place and the pipes can't poke thru. Remember that the further your compressor is from fancoil, that fancoil will typically have lower power than the stated BTU. You can put compressor above balcony, or along corridor. I chose corridor coz I don't want a compressor above my head when I'm at my balcony. Ok thats all for now, if I remember anything else I'll just disturb u here

Bro, u can estimate 10 weeks for the works to be safe unless you are going to hound your contractor to squeeze all the schedules back to back, which I don't think is recommended. But if everything is squeezed together 5 weeks is possible also. Your unit has very nice open views, should be very windy? I updated my reno pics, u can check the link I sent you last time!

Congrats on getting your keys!! Can take pics of the place liao. hehe. Sorry about the accidents man, I just got into one myself on Saturday and just brought it to the workshop just now. Luckily they can rush to fix it up and replace the bumper by end of today. Try calling around, some can do repairs quite quickly but many workshops are busy due to the many accidents from the rain. Many already closed shop for new year tho. >.<

Yes for mansionettes, plastering would typically be around 3k from ID or contractor. If u get quoted much less... scared scared ah. In the end I didn't go for plaster. Decided that I won't notice the difference eventually!

The price is so so, some things expensive, some cheaper, but that happens for almost all quotes. Things that you might wanna clarify... based on the stuff I had been through. heh. 1) Wash area toilet, do u want basin/tap? 2) Any shower screen required for your 2 bathrooms? Tempered glass usually. 3) May need additional plumber charges to do the WC piping in wash area if not already done 4) Ask for price cap of the tiles they are quoting u. Homogeneous? Ceramic? Size of tile? etc. 5) Presume that haulage and stuff are included in hacking?? 6) Only quoted 1 bifold door. For toilet? bathroom? all 3 toilets? 7) Do you intend to do any boxing up of pipes or recess walls? 8) Any false ceilings or L-box? 9) Presume you are not changing bedroom doors 10) Balcony glass doors? 11) Any door for kitchen? Esp if u cook. 12) Whole house window, casement? sliding? powder coated? NA? colour tinted? All have different cost. Does it include the louvre windows at all your toilets? Or your entrance foyer (not sure if u have, but most EMs will have) 13) Electrical works? For EM can be 2k-3k, depending on your requirements. 14) Do you need to plaster smooth your walls? Some old EMs can have really rough and uneven walls. 15) I remembered that u wanted to change your toilet entrance, that would need a quote to hack, make good, and fabricate new wall. 16) Changing your rubbish chute? 17) Assume they do floor skirting for your tiles.. better to confirm. Some quote as separate item. 18) Confirm with them that prices include GST! Don't worry too much about the initial low quote. Mine was $29k initially. After I asked some questions, it became $42k. lol. The final quote may not even be final until midway through your reno as you may change your mind about some things or discover that some things can't be done that way.

Each item can vary ALOT depending on quality and cost. Ask what model of sink and toilet bowl he is providing, as well as the model of the instant heater and shower set. Toilet bowl alone can cost from $100+++ to over $500 so it is hard to say that the quote is really expensive.

Haven't confirm yet. Initially quoted for 12 feet but it leaves 2+ feet of empty space, thinking of just filling up all the way. Full height sliding door wardrobe.

Mine is 139sqm, yours 151sqm. 12sqm not too small a difference wor, I only paid $1k less than u Think u can afford to wait to change address, reno will take around 2 months if u overhaul everything, unless all the subcons schedule swee swee fit nicely. By then election liao lo?

btw, 5M = 5 room mansionette. Smaller than EM and government see me as a 5-room owner when giving out weird stuff before election

I engaged a contractor coz I just wanted something simple but didn't have time to manage everything myself. Didn't go talking to alot alot of IDs/contractors, just get recommendations from others, and talk to 2 of them. Ultimately, reliability is most impt. Both I talked to had some mistakes in their quotes after I questioned some items in detail, but overall still ok with my contractor la. Give and take, I can accept minor goof ups so long as it can be rectified. I did my kitchen with another company, so total damage not confirmed yet. Likely to be around $47k with just 1 gigantic custom wardrobe for carpentry. Pictures have la.. PM u some later. WTB doesn't like putting the pics in public. U did a lot of research hor.. haha. Don't tire yourself out man. I had the same thoughts, maximum wind and view. But consider this... it is going to be quite big and needs to fold into your balcony area, so you can't put anything where it is supposed to fold into too. The U-track helps stability somewhat, but definitely not as firm as a normal sliding door. My unit had existing sliding doors, so I kept them and saved $4k from it. Now that u mention it.. I remember u!! haha. Bring your potential ID/contractor to the site to talk and finalize your items. They may spot things that u may have missed out, or may have some good suggestions too. I did not have a good look at my unit too, from OTP to 2nd appointment was a good 7 months due to delays here and there. By then I already forgot what it was like inside! Bring measuring tape whenever u go to your house. U'll find that u will always need it.

Congrats on your EM! I am renovating my 5M (mansionette, almost exactly the same layout as yours, but slightly smaller) right now, at almost the same price same age as yours too. lol. But mine is near Paya Lebar MRT. Noted that you wanted to do collapsible doors for your balcony. Thats what I wanted initially, but it was too windy and given the size of the doors, found that it is dangerous to have collapsible ones, fingers can get caught if the doors get slammed by the wind. Also, you need heavy duty doors (I got quotes of $4K-$5K for 4.4m width) so that it won't make noises with strong winds. Assuming your unit is windy at level 10 la. Was there a toilet in your wash area before? Given that you are only the 2nd owner, quite a low chance to have a toilet there. To construct a WC, you need to go inside and ensure there is enough leg space for the WC and sink. Usually, that area has thick waste pipes also and not in floor plan. You need to take that in consideration when planning the space. I had a big headache for mine, and changed the door location at the last minute to make things work. Haven't gone thru your thread fully yet, but I think we'll have a lot in common. Will look out here again.

Things you should know about LED when compared to PLC... 1) Usually not as bright, good for areas that do not need to be very bright 2) Usually one "bulb" contains many LEDs. If any LEDs spoil, you can either leave it or change the whole bulb. You cannot change the LED alone (i.e. wastage) 3) LEDs are usually much more expensive 4) Some LEDs do not need driver/ballast, so you don't need to wait for the flickering to stop when you switch the lights on. But some lights from Philips have that too. Just sharing from what I've found out when comparing PLC and LED downlights. If you are referring to other type of LED, it could be different.

Just something I noted... wooden bifold at kitchen entrance, any particular reason? Most do sliding if possible. If your bifold is heavyset or big (at $800 i presume it is either big or heavy type), might be difficult to handle as a bifold, and even risk getting kids fingers caught.

Yeah! I'm definitely going to box up already, the tiles already allocated the space for the boxup. Some people even suggested doing the boxup to have ability to open at the side. @.@

Am planning to box up the toilet pipes (practically all of them) and tiling over the boxup. Some said if anything happen to the pipes.. have to break the tiles and boxup. My prev house over 10 years, never had to touch the pipes before. But can get smelly sometimes. Any advice or experience for this?

U should save some money. Contractors will mark up prices, thats because they help you to procure the materials, give you advice on what you should get, and help coordinate the installation. They need to eat, and thats the service they provide you with. Contractors also tend to get better prices than you, so that the difference in what you pay compared to what he charges you is reduced. They may have existing relationships with the suppliers, which helps bend rules sometimes under special circumstances. Personally feel that it should be left to the contractor unless you are experienced. If anything screws up, you may end up paying a lot more to get things fixed.

Ask your ID to find out from her plumbers who should be more experienced in this. She should try to help you contact people who are experienced enough. Even if you can find, you still need to install. Worst thing that can happen is... the installation cannot make it and you already boxed up the pipes! That said, u can also try calling the local DIY shops and see if they have such products. Lastly... since it is gonna be boxed up, maybe won't be so noisy le?

Don't think u can do anything about the ceramic tiles. Change/overlay with homogeneous tiles could be an option. Since it is a new flat, check with HDB or a contractor on the options.

A tad expensive if you work with him directly. The most important parts would be the items that you would have MANY of. Esp the 13A single or double sockets. You can easily have 20 of those around the house, depending on size. If you're really unsure, just get quotes from 3 different electricians and compare. Quotes are quite standard, easy to compare.

Ask your sliding door supplier for a solution. He should have supplies of the sliding door seal brush. Most are black, but will be really ugly and visible. Can try see if they have white though it can get dirty easily. Otherwise, u can try to paste some artistic decal over the brush strip to cover it. Look in between your sliding windows to see if u've a brush strip? Just suggestions, not very familiar with this.

For your balcony? Usually avoid top-hung at balcony. Very expensive to do a heavy duty one, and will have the "leaks" as you mentioned. U might be able to purchase the brushers (dunno what u call them but can find in traditional sliding doors/windows) to put in between the glass, but will be very visible and ugly.