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Thanks! I hope the transformation will turn out great too... *cross my fingers* do you have your own t-blog? any pics to share?

LOL... i just checked out your wordpress and know that it's from Hoe Kee... but no price there... thinking of whether to get the blanco sink... or some stainless steel kind, like yours... hmmm...

woah! things are moving fast... btw, which sink you gotten? from where? what price?

I go check with my wife first. I reckon we might be busy over the next few weekends, to source for tiles, WC & sanitary stuffs & lightings, etc. but if we can make it, we'll definitely go. I think it's fun and exciting to meet new friends and fellow homemakers.

I will also go for non-water saving type; coz i think the water pressure at my place, not very gd... i thought got those tap with aerator which can help with water saving, but adding air pressure to the water flow... that kind, that has like a lot of bubbles when it flows out... it's gd to have an ID to help you choose. I think what i've mentioned before, abt hiring contractor is that sometimes, they cannot advise much on the colour scheme, and tile selection and lighting plan, which are areas I would really appreciate a professional advice... maybe my contractor can advise la... but I tend to take it with a pinch of salt...

LOL!!! Same here! I was considering using wood-grain ceramic tiles for my outdoor balcony; coz it's cheaper than getting chengal wood decking. it's abt $8.50 ($4.50 for material; $4 for workmanship) psf for wood-grain ceramic tiles and abt $15 - $22 psf for chengal wood decking. but the staff at Hup Kiong told us not to use those; esp if we are going to do for outdoor balcony, coz the colour will fade over time... I'm seriously considering to do my chengal wood decking for the balcony (think ard $2K) to complement the wooden multiple-fold doors... hmmm....

mind sharing how much you've paid for such a gd unit?

I would like to join in too, if time permits. expecting the next weekends to be very busy...

LOL... hand-written "3d" perspectives... Yes... FS stuff should do b4 starting renovation; and in fact, if you're a believer, think even before buying the place, you should seek FS advice. Can try asking some friendly forummers here, who have special interest in FS, to share some advice with you lor... that's what i did... she's from super-enthu to super-sian le... unlike a lot of forummers who have started their sourcing long ago and have confirmed their IDs and went for a few design reviews and tile selection, they already started hacking right after 2nd appt... we started our "research" 2-3 months before our 2nd appt; and now, 1+ month after our 2nd appt, we only just confirmed our contractor... agreed with what some forummers have said; getting contractor might not be cheaper than getting IDs... and given a chance again, I think i might just take any of the forummers' recommendations, instead of going thru all the headache of sourcing myself... no matter how gd the reviews are, I guess it's up to individual homeowners to inspect, do QC, and demand quality workmanship and rectifications from the contractors/IDs... just like what most forummers are doing... That's what my wife thinks too... Eh... 4th April 2011 (Mon)... doesn't sound like a very gd date hor? hehehe... but ok la... i think mine will take quite long, instead of house-warming... maybe end-May or mid-June.... I'm expecting 8-10 weeks of work for my renovation... unless you are talking abt seeing work-in-progress la... which is like prob "warzone"...

seems reasonable... the quote i've gotten from Alex is veneer room door with Formica laminate + lever lockset => $280 veneer solid main door with lever lockset => $680 likely to get him... Yes... will inform my contractor to take it out this sat, when I meet him for the aircon trunking... I'll go check out the door supplier, if I pop by IMM again... My contractor told me SBH is more expensive, as they mostly import their tiles (I think he said, they don't have their own factories locally, unlike White Horse...)... maybe i remembered wrongly... I think Hafary has quite a gd selection, but like st96 said, the warehouse at Tradehub 21 is a small one, not their main showroom. You mean, when we go sign with HDB, we also signed up for fire insurance liao ah? or fire insurance is compulsory. I only know fire rated main door is required if your unit (or main door) is near lift lobby or staircase landing... or within 3m of these areas... something like tat... My area; i think already considered lift-upgraded liao... the lifts are changed to the new 2-doors kind. and my lifts already stopping at each level; i'm not too sure if they are going to have more new lift shafts elsewhere... EM got door-to-door kind one meh? I thought either corridor, or corner, or walk-up kind only... yeah, if the existing main door is fire-rated, can re-stain/re-varnish and change lock set to save money.

Yes. Their quote includes cost for sand. Anyway, I was havin second thoughts abt signing up with them, but already committed, plus I've spent quite some time refining my requirements with them, and tired of sourcing for new IDs/contractors. Given a chance again, I might just take on some of the recommended IDs/contractors from renotalk. But now signed liao, just have to follow thru, but will need to do our due diligence that the work performed and services delivered match our expectations. :|

Very nice. I intend to do my kitchen, something similar like yours.

LOL... yes... that's my facebook profile pic... we may have known each other or seen each other somewhere...

Yes! LOL... i'm thinking of inviting my friends over for BBQ next time at the balcony... though my balcony is "smaller" la... it's longer, but narrower. think your square balcony near the kitchen, will be easier and better to do BBQ and alfresco dining... i'm hoping some of my friends will buy me a portable electric bbq grill set... although no "charcoal smell" for the meat, it should be less smoky la... i hope...

very smart space-saving ideas. how "stable" are the extendable counter when you are using them? ok to withstand load?

Hey! The more i see, the more i envy you having an Gen-2 corner EM! all the privacy and space! Just my little suggestion; might seem stupid, but for your consideration 1. Can build back a small storeroom at the blue box; use PD door or tic-tac door; can be shorten accordingly... 2. Can build a small room at level 1 (should be ard 2.3m x 3.0m); should be habitable, coz there should be windows there? 3. Can have room divider at existing dining area, so that can install another system-2 aircon at level 1 for the "new" living room & the level 1 room. 4. Convert existing living room to open-concept kitchen and dining area 5. Convert back the "extended" kitchen back to balcony, for alfresco dining! 6. Change the staircase landing to U-shape, so that it won't crash into the new room... not too sure, if it's really feasible la...

can I come visit too? I also dun know how to choose. Let me know your selections. So I can just "copy". No need to think too hard.

I think sometimes, it's due to the weight of the glass swing door. In fact, i've seen at some places, whereby the glass swing door has 3 hinges. The higher side has double hinges, and the lower part has 1 hinge. The toilet at the MacDonald's at Tradehub 21... has such arrangements too. hmmm... not too sure if having double hinges at the higher side will help.

Hey joyousonline! I'm expecting it to be at least 8 weeks, and no more than 10 weeks. I'm not too sure, but so far, most of the IDs/contractors said that major works like mine, would take ard 8 weeks... anything less than 8 weeks is quite tight... not too sure where are the bottlenecks, but i think some areas (maybe waterproofing, tiling, plastering, painting) may need time to "settle" after the works are done, before moving on to the next phase... and also, according to my contractor, he will provide me with the draft perspective for my kitchen cabinets and MBR wardrobes... but actual measurements will need to be retake, after the tiling and stuff are done, as there are some box-up to be done, some hacking of kitchen entrance, etc... for FS, actually... depends on whether you believe in FS or not... my wife doesn't really believe; I would like to know more, but take it with a pinch of salt... so I did seek some FS advice from one of the forummers (mae29), and if possible, and not too major/drastic changes, I tried to accomodate lor... BUT, what i've failed to do, is to consult on a suitable date to start renovation. My mum was like asking me, since I'm already seeking FS advice, why not get an auspicious date to start renovation? but i think it will be hard to convince my wife to "delay" the renovation... oh well...

that would be terrible... but i guess, you are more likely to be right abt them at the in-law's place...

yes. i agree too. unlike me, i got the look of "perpetual tiredness" (sometimes, i wonder if i'm stoning, or really deep in thoughts... LOL)... i hope after my studies are finished (end-Apr) and the renovation is completed (hopefully end-May)... I'll be able to get my rest... (before I go pursue some other interests again... ) my eyebags are getting worse... a kind character is well-loved by most... i guess. Oh yes... many a times, I wonder what are the other factors, in such situations... to be really cynical, i would say it's abt money... but most of the time, i guess it might just be abt personality, chara cter and a great sense of humour (or at least this is my more positive take on this...)... Important to stay happy and healthy, and be contented with what you have... like having great friends, supportive family members, etc...

we were also pondering over what colour for the glass for the white powder coated aluminium windows... was considering: 1. green tinted 2. light gray tinted 3. "privacy" tinted.. don't really know what this is... but according to Alex, it's supposed to reduce visibility to the rooms... it has a slight reflective (mirror-like) effect when viewing at 1m away from outside (the effect is better, if the corridor is brighter than your rooms, esp at night; when you switch on "mood lighting"), but the downside is that it also makes the room a little darker... decided to go with the safe choice of green-tinted glass... but for the wooden multiple-fold doors for the balcony; will be getting clear glass; my wife prefers it that way... Alex is still trying to "highlight" the issue of rain and water seeping underneath the multiple-fold wooden doors, and the potential maintenance and problems... but my wife is fixated on having the wooden doors... she simply loves the look of it... and she has seen my 2nd level neighbour done it, without a roof over their balcony too... BUT i wonder if theirs is just "wood" coloured aluminium frames... or maybe it's real wood... but maybe they also having water seepage problems during rainy (stormy) days...

Hey joyousonline! Welcome to renotalk! and you finally have your own t-blog! I suppose you got a corner Gen-2 EM. very huge floor area! your level 1 looks so spacious (coz the previous owners hacked everything)... LOL... but it's also gd lor... you can have free play on the space planning... (provided budget permits)... and can save a lot (for your marble flooring for level 1)... the level 2 toilet is really huge too (with space for the bath-tub, looks more like hot tub kind)... LOL... i wonder how your sellers live with 1 toilet only... hmmm... happy renovating!

Eh... my first time, really looking at lights... looking more for wall-mounted lights for my staircase & also some surface-mounted downlights for my breakfast counter... anyway the store i thought was not too bad, was Chelsea lightings. i think you would have seen a lot more, if you have went to balestier area? no?

I was at Tradehub 21 today too!!! But we (me and my wife) went to SBH first, then Hafary and Hiong Kup (or Kup Hiong??)... decided to give White Horse a miss, as we have been there twice b4... and my contractor will be bringing me there again next weekend... my contractor said, white horse tiles are cheaper... but i think maybe he gets more commission (discounts) from them... somehow i find their selection very limited... SBH has a large selection, but their prices also like "better"...