kelin

Hi Tiler Seng, We will start renovating our resale 4S HDB in mid-November, our very first home! Hubby and I have been doing research in RT forum to understand better the reno process, as well as for reno ideas and reliable contractor/ID. Reading through your thread from the very first post really impresses us with your professionalism and sincerity, as well as your own life story! So we decide to contact you here Our problem can be summarized in a few words: tight budget, tight timeline and little experience! With a baby coming soon (due December) and a reno project on the way, you probably can imagine the kind of stress we are facing. We can't splurge too much on the house reno, but at the same time we want the best possible environment for our little baby girl and family... Sorry for being long-winded but I guess it is always better to understand your client's profile, thus easier to reach a common understanding and work with each other in future That's being said, we have a few things in mind for our house renovation and hope you can give us your best quotation, as well as suggestion of what we can do/should do (I guess the latter will have to depend on site viewing as well?)Please pardon me if some of my questions are real noob 1. There is no separation between the kitchen tiles and the living room tiles, and the same kind of tiles are used for both. The tiles are quite slippery. Any advice whether we can do hacking / tiling or overlay for the kitchen floor without affecting the living room? 2. In kitchen: - Hacking of 2 x sink concrete support - Since we are demolishing the 2 sink concrete support, i imagine the wall tiles will be affected. Anyway to minimize the cost? May I know the quote for hacking + tiling of kitchen wall tiles? as well as possible alternative. - Demolish old kitchen cabinet - Construct new L-shape kitchen cabinet (top and bottom) - Install kitchen sink, faucet, hob and hood (will this be done by you or i have to shop for my own and arrange for installation?) - Construct base for fridge and washing machine (please advise if it is necessary. What are the pros and cons?) 3. In MBR bathroom - Overlay or hacking + retiling for floor tile - Demolish old WC - Install new WC - Demolish old basin - Install new basin (at a different position) - Install L-shaped shower screen, - Install instant water heater, shower head , faucet (will this be done by you or i have to shop for my own and arrange for installation?) - Repiping - I am not sure the current toilet door is usable. If im not wrong, it is a black bi-fold aluminium. How much to change a new one? And how much to paint it white? 4. In common bathroom - Overlay or hacking + retiling for floor tile - Demolish old WC - Install new WC - Install sink (now no sink, since it is placed at the kitchen) - Install instant water heater, shower head (will this be done by you or i have to shop for my own and arrange for installation?) - Repiping - Change to bi-fold door 5. MBR - Demolish old built-in wardrobe - construct new built-in wardrobe - As one of the wall has this concave portion, we need to "flush up" and make it even, if you get what i mean 6. Other miscellaneous - Rewiring + plugs + power point - Change store-room door - Plaster + paint whole house (please let me know how many colours can I use) - Paint + varnish 4 doors - Is L-box / false ceiling for living room necessary? Will you be able to give me suggestion / advice on house lighting? Woots that's sure a very long post. thank you for reading it through! Looking forward to your reply. You can pm me or email me at lelinh.hd@gmail.com. If need to, please pm me your email so i can send you our floor plan. Thank you and all the best!

Appreciate your many solutions ! We are not reno from scratch, intend to save the floor since our budget is rather tight. so i think cannot do the embedding of cable. if i use the pole system shelving, that still leaves the cable/wire visible on the floor, and potentially a messy tangle! is there anyway to mask/hide this and doesn't look so ugly? while possibly save cost?..haha i know it is a tall order. but it is our very first home, so really really want the possible best! when i posed the problem to one of the prospective IDs, he was so stunned and said, there will be a lot of trunking on the floor, and whether i can accept or not. i was like, "yeah, it is a problem so im asking for your solution, why else i need u?"

thank you for your speedy reply! i thought of the feature wall before, but rule it out because we are working on a rather tight budget =(

Is there any way to place the TV NOT against any wall? Im having a headache as to how to solve our tv problem. According to our FSM, the sofa must be against the wall, which leaves the TV hanging in the middle of the room like that. Cable, wire, tv point will be then a headache, not to mention visually aesthetic. Any idea how to solve this?

Hi All, I am a newbie here and really glad i found this forum for all the excellent tips and suggestions . I'm very new to renovation and need a lot of guidance from you all I recently rented a new 3 room Standard model HDB flat, the very very old type. The owner is HDB and they won't do any excessive grading for us. The floor is undone, no kitchen cabinet, the common bathroom is even the squat toilet kind and with metal door where there is a gap between the door and the ceiling...(the reason I rented such place is because of the location, and the price is really a steal..although now im not sure if it still after all the renovation it needs...) Now I have a few burning questions that need your expertise to help with. 1. I want to do some really simple and cheap flooring, like vinyl flooring for the living hall and the two bedrooms. Where can i find cheap supplier? is it advisable to buy the materials and lay the floor myself, or should i engage a handyman? 2. I need to do some simple painting, just white-wash (no ceiling, just walls) to freshen up the place. Again, is it advisable to do the painting myself or should I engage the same handyman who does the flooring to do the painting for me? or should i engage a separate one for the painting? 3. I want to do something to the door of common bathroom, feel very uncomfortable with the gap between the floor and the ceiling since it is located IN the kitchen...How much will it cost me to change a new door? From what I have dug up in old threads I believe i need to buy door, frame plus installation fee. Is there any other alternative? like perhaps use a wooden plank to cover the gap? By the way I am not working now so there is free time for any DIY. The goal here is to make the place habitable BUT on a budget since it is just rental, a transition place for 1 year while we are waiting to buy our own flat. We need to save anywhere we can What do you think? Do you have any recommendation or referral for cheap and reliable workmanship/supplier/contractor? Thanks a ton!!