yoongf

Construction companies with inhouse D&B capabilities are usually the bigger ones who do not take on small jobs. Regulations have evolved so much till a small oversight can really kill a small company. D&B is the most efficient way to get a house built. The conventional way is no longer relevant and should be avoided at all cost. Actually this is the best time to start construction. Regulations seem to be getting tougher each day.

vivianp try www.dama.com.sg for custom cutting services.

www.duraslide.com.sg

Not plexiglass. In sg hot climate, anything that is not glass will turn yellow. Can install fixed louvered windows up there or install a roof ventilator.

I have to agree that a small airwell is not worth the compromise. It becomes a major maintenance issue. Airwell requires drainage, more exposed surfaces, require a lot more windows/doors. Having an airwell really depends on your design. If the rooms and toilet does not require an airwell, then omit it. If the middle is a stairwell, perhaps a simple skylight is sufficient to allow light into the lvl 2 corridor/ stairwell.

The general definition of GFA is "covered area" with a lot of exceptions and detailed clarifications. Roof top terr is not covered from day 1 and thus not included as GFA.

Designers dun like skirting, because the top of the skirting is very untidy, unless send for additional costly chamfering. Some big projects did not do skirting because the item was left out of the BQ, and not specified and not quoted. Personally I think skirting is a must, as whenever a painted wall touches the floor, moisture tends to creep up causing discolouration, or when u mop the floor, the dirty mop stains the painted wall. don't be ngiao about the skirting height. 4 inch or higher looks more proportional. HDB reno likes 100mm, which looks so tiny.

Marble is worth going for living/dining. For bedrooms, somehow I don't find that marble adds to the homely feel. Bedrooms are suppose to be warm feel, not a cold feel. Warm feel means timber flooring. Personally, for bedrooms, I would go for a glossy homogeneous tile border of 300mm. Centre is the timber floor, and timber skirting. This is the best design that gives the warm feel but yet the corners/edges are not dark feeling.

It will really be useful to visit Tampoi Lighting In JB to compare the prices. I find the listed prices there are truly about what-u-see-is what-u-get. No hard selling.

3m opening to public road is very tight. Assume put autogate, the nett clear opening will be about 2.4m. this is like a narrow carpark lot width. Construction cost 1.2Mil impossible, Closer to 2mil if factor in all the consultant costs in. Subdivision means additional sewer connection, as well as subdivision costs. There is also stamp duty payable on the land. Total Devt cost will then be ard 9mil, suggesting a breakeven of 4.5Mil each, before factoring in any profit or increase in valuation. There are very few transections in that price range now. Let alone for a house with a 3m wide frontage? I always believe it is all in the pricing.

300 X 600 tiles do cost more on a psf compared to 300 X 300. Actually, just a bit more. The issue with bathroom floor tiles is the gradient. 300 x 300 tiles are easier to slope towards the floortrap. Squarish bathrooms do look nicer with square tiles.

The price looks very competitive. However, there are other substantial costs not mentioned. Not sure if u are aware of them or separately addressed. Cost of tiles? Cost of Aircons? Shifting of meter compartment requires a LEW/ Licensed Plumber, these are considered as "consultancy". Price factored in? Door finishes.. Nyatoh? Most new developments use laminate finishes, which costs a lot more than nyatoh doors. Do you really need a booster pump system? Staircase railings.. might want to consider stainless steel with tempered glass inserts. Consider making your driveway gate as wide as possible to allow 2 cars individual entry/exit. Shifting your meter compartment to the far end. Upgrading your power supply? Additional attic may require more aircons and exceed yr current allocation.

For each of the downlights I use.. it's either PLC 11W X 2 OR 1X E27 24W. 5 inch downlight casing at spacing of 1.2- 1.5m apart. Do not use 827 WW for downlights! the colour very difficult to read with. Use either 865 daylight or 840 cool white! 827 is more for accent (mood) lighting.

Alamak.. contractor did not screed the level for a gentle fall towards the floortrap! U have a ponding situation now. This is not acceptable.

Neighbour felt loud. HDB officer felt loud. How many opinions do u need to convince yrself that something is indeed wrong? Is it so hard for u to be neighbourly and just do something about it?

U have to understand where is the cool air, and where is the hot air within the shop. U want to draw in cool air from outside, and extract out the hot air. Avoid circulating hot air! Generally, u want to take cool air from nearer the floor, and then exhaust out the hot air nearer the ceiling. If u have a backlane which is cooler than the shopfront, u might want to suck in air from the back and exhaust out the front. Whatever u do, do not install ceiling fans that will simply blast hotter air downwards! Might also want to consider an evaporative air cooler that uses water as the cooling mechanism since yr heat source is dry heat. sometimes a small aircon that does localised cooling will make a big difference.

For a fairer assessment, u need to take the pix showing the bare mattress and not with quilt and mattress protector on.

Tear down and rebuild is "reconstruction" and does not require HS. New erection is about redevelopment.

U mean landed property surface drain that channels water from downpipes to the roadside drain?

Try Sim Siang Choon HQ at Changi South. Largest visible selection in Sg as far as I know.

http://elevator.sweehin.com.sg/products_homelift.html

As of now, there is no bottom limit unless so lucky to have a MRT track underneath your property. but I tink the govt is reviewing the laws regarding the ownership rights of underground. It costs a bomb to dig deep, and likely the neighbour house is going to sink. The problem with basements is the sanitary and ventilation issues. Toilets in basement is usually below the neighbourhood sewer line level. Meaning u need a sump tank to collect the waste, then pump it out occasionally to the sewer line. Also, smelly fumes.. usually is denser than air.. and settles to the basement. Basement will always have the musty air feeling. Then also.. basement no HP signal.. good to hide the slaves.. But it got put in proper M&E.. and willing to use them regularly.. then is ok lor.

Plot Ratio is irrelevant to Landed development. Landed development only need to comply with building setbacks. There is no GFA cap. U can build a huge basement.. B1 to B4.. and get tons of GFA. DC is only payable if subdivision is involved.

Get your own Licenced Electrical Worker (LEW) to apply to the MCST LEW, who is in charge of the entire development. The MCST LEW will approve/disapprove based on whether there is excess capacity within the development. Once approved, your LEW needs to fund the cost of wiring from the building switch board to your unit. This is commonly done for shop units within the development.. for example.. the F&B outlet needs 3phase for their high powered ovens. If the development has maxed out the power available. then it's a $mil exercise to install a new substation.

Yes. u are right.. bungalow is 40% site coverage. The details are here. http://www.ura.gov.sg/circulars/text/dcdrhb_d0e4.htm