blossom0501

Hi Yuntlh, Do u have the address for AOS shop? I am desperately looking for WC (a particular design). Went to the commonly known shops (Sims, Hoe Kee, Genova, Nan Wah etc) but it is either the measurement is not right or the price is steep. with hubby for insisting on that design. Mild steel on the railing - did a quick check with my ID - he said not a common choice nowadays, and unable to do a proper quote. PM if u wanna check with my ID directly.

i am worse then ... went to SBH twice and still cud not decide. We even went to Lian Seng Hin at Balestier to select tiles. Hubby only wants to use homogenous tiles throughout. All this dilemma for just kitchen, 2 bathrooms and the balcony. Tip: General note - Lian Seng Hin's (LSH) prices are lower than Soon Bee Huat (SBH). We saw similar tiles from SBH being displayed at LSH, and it was about 20-40 cents cheaper. For those who are doing DIY reno or contractors are giving low budget for tiling works, it may be worthwhile to pop by LSH. But note that their selection is not as extensive as SBH

Thanks for the tip. Will pop by to new place to drop off the notes later. 3.5 days of hacking starting from tomorrow -> think it will drive everyone nuts. This reno is causing more stress than anticipated. Tiling works supposed to start next week and we still have not finalised the selection of tiles

Finally! We inked the contract with the ID after 3-4 weeks of ding-dong and at least 6 revisions of quotes. Total cost of reno is 35K includes - hacking and works for 2 bathrooms, kitchen and balcony, - hacking of existing built-in cabinets and installation of new full ht wardrobes for 3 bedrooms, - custom-made shoe cabinet, - painting of whole unit, - change of balcony sliding doors, windows for MBR, kitchen, dining hall and utility room, - electrical re-wiring for first level, changing of switches for entire unit, polishing of floors (upper n lower) etc. Tomorrow will be the 1st day of reno. Hope to have everything done by mid-dec and we can move in before Christmas. Mace - any warehouse sales lobang for sanitary wares and bathroom accessories to recommend? PS. Do we need to inform the neighbours personally that we are starting reno and there will be lots of noise pollution esp during the hacking process?

hi, saw yr blog by chance. very nice reno - money well spent. love yr balcony doors .. going to show pics to my ID to see if he can offer a 'complimentary' upgrade from the white powder coat quoted

Hi Tristesse, I am resisting the roof works as I have so many plans for the balcony - Alfresco dining, my kids' play area for play dough and messy stuff, small planting area (for my kids to plant bean sprouts n money plant ), back-up laundry drying area etc. This reno is going to burn a big hole in our wallet. Really going to end up eating plain porridge with soy sauce at the rate hubby is adding the reno works. PS. Can PM yr roofing works contact to me?

dropping the quote fm the previous ID and opting for another one. Hubby likes the new ID and the guy has been pretty accommodating to date - esp with the number of changes / additions / FOCs. Gone thro 4 quotes already and still changing, and last nite, hubby still wanna change - now thinking of erecting the roof top in the balcony so that we can have a larger living space to put the sofa and his precious massage chair i was really i had to give up my granite kitchen counter-top n my sliding glass doors for the bathrooms so that he can have his white powder coated balcony doors. ding dong for 2 weeks and we still have not started reno Current ID is quoting us $280 for kitchen, 2 bathrooms and balcony 3-step water proofing, but he marked up on the hacking costs - $2.8k to hack the kitchen, 2 bathrooms, balcony, 4 sets of built-in cabinets. Still waiting for his "final" quote.

Hi, Is PD door a shop? Do u have the contact? Just curious, how much did you pay for the custom made balcony door without tracks? Thanks.

hi, have no choice but to give up on Ho Bee as Patrick said my reno works will take at least 8 weeks to complete as we want to hack kitchen, 2 toilets and the balcony. We need to move in by 1st week of Dec as we need to vacate current place. Can only pray that the contractor (or ID) we intend to engage will do a good job. Hope I will have the time to create the reno blog. !!

hi Miu Miu, u confirmed with hobee already? wondering if we can tag along to see as well - save patrick 1 trip trying to get an appointment with patrick is like making appt to see top notch gynae General Question: Is it all right to bargain? I know one can do bargaining with IDs. Will contractor be angry if we try to bargain? Thanks.

Finally! The quote is in Met up with Patrick 2 Sundays back ... Mrs. Quek said the delay is due to Ah Keong being out of action and Patrick has to handle all customer calls and site visits etc etc .. We are waiting for another 2 more quotes before deciding on the final 2. I have a total 5 quotes (incl HoBee) to compare as of now. Hope the remaining 2 quotes will come in asap.

Hi, Met up with Johnny from Livin' Concepts to give a quote. Anyone has engaged his services before? Price? Quote? After-sales service etc. Appreciate any comments as cant seem to find any info abt the company. Thanks in advance.

What do yr reno works involve? Time line proposed? Mrs. Quek (Patrick's wife?) called - she will email the quote to me by this afternoon. pray for a good quote

Hi all, Still waiting for Patrick to send the quote to me .. 9 days liao.. is it normal? I have called to chase him a few times until I feel pai seh as well. Do u guys who engaged Ho Bee waited a long time for the quote? Hubby is losing confidence in him - his view is if he takes more than 1 week to prepare a quote, will he delay the works? Anyone encountered any delay in reno completion?

Hi, Just to share that I purchased a Serta Skyline mattress - there is a layer of memory foam on the upper layer - hubby n me fell in love with the comfort of the mattress. We feel we had gotten a good deal - $3200 - king size mattress with the bed frame and a matching bench, 2 pillows, 1 mattress protector and of coz the sheeps. Mattress is very important - dun scrimp on this part. We went to a lot of shops to test various brands of mattresses - make sure u are not being conned as we saw quite a few shops doing hard-selling. Have fun.

Hi, Anyone engaged Homely Image recently? Any recent renovation completion to share yr comments on their service and workmanship?

Fire insurance for the walls - this is something new. Thanks for the tip. We are not going to HDB personally to complete the transaction as the lawyers will be doing it on our behalf (took a bank loan). Agent will collecting the keys and passing to me tomorrow evening. I am trying to pack as many contractors' viewing as possible for tomorrow evening. Just read somewhere on the forum that some people approached 20+ contractors/IDs for quotes. We are already exhausted after going thro 5 and now, re-starting the process again. The road is long ......

Hi Lakmy, Will u mind to share yr ID contractor's contact info with me. Pls PM me if convenient. Thanks.

Hi Karen, Pls PM yr contractor's contact to me. Will u be able to share what u hv done and the workmanship etc if convenient? Thanks.

Just to add - I am collecting my keys on Oct 23. My initial plan was to get the contractor to apply for reno permit on the same day - but I am still shopping for contractors At the rate things are going, plus i need to 'slog' in my new job, can only pray to find a reasonable quote soon, and hopefully can move in by mid Dec. Question: Do we apply for PUB immediately? Can apply thro internet? Thanks

Hi guys, "Disappeared" for a while - have been busy toggling between work and shopping for contractors .. (still shopping till not !! ) Realised that it is not good to start on a new job and go thro the process of searching for contractors / furnishings etc. Just want some feedback on this quote I have .. tis is a so-called more "reasonable" quote i have received so far: 1. Labor to hack floor n wall tiles - kitchen 1100 2. Labor to hack floor n wall tiles - 2 toilets 900 3. Labor to hack sink n stove n existing kitchen cabinets - 300 4. Labor to hack existing built in TV cabinet in living - 200 5. Labor & material to lay tiles at kitchen - 850 6. Labor & material to lay tiles at 2 bathroom - 700 7. Labor & material to lay full ht wall tiles at kitchen - 2200 8. Labor & material to lay full ht wall tiles at 2 bathrooms - 2400 9. Labor & material to change stainless steel piping for 2 bathrooms - 580 10. Labor & material to install L:48ft kitchen cabinet using solid laminated plywood with ABS trimming - 4320 11. Labor & material to install L:23ft granite top (china) - 1840 12. Labor & material to construct kitchen base - 180 13. Labor & material to construct fridge base - 160 Appreciate any feedback. Am still waiting for the quote from Ho Bee - it's already more than 1 week .. Cheers.

My floor layout plan anyone has the same toilet layout ?

hi guys, finally found the time to log on. just had my 1st appt last week and will be collecting the keys end of Oct. Very fortunate of us that the sellers are willing to do an early completion, else we wud hv to wait till mid nov for completion. in the midst of looking for contractors as have no faith (and $$ ) in IDs. Went down to Expo 2 weeks back, and was pretty put off by the IDs - lack of professionalism and half the time, do not seem to understand our needs and requirements. And i have not heard from anyone of them yet ! if anyone has good & reliable contractor to share, pls pm me. Greatly appreciate whatever referrals / tips. We are targetting to move before Christmas (school hols) hope it will be possible. PS. will have to find some time to post the floor layout. !!

the 601k unit is a HUDC. most of the HUDC units are done up pretty nicely at HG Ave 2, esp. the ground floor units - carpark lots just in front of the balcony area, BBQ stand, flower pots, it's as good as having a PES, but no need to pay Also saw a high floor HUDC unit for sale on the papers - valuation at 500k, no asking yet as unit is tentatively put on hold. Think the 601k buyer is probably shooting for another en-bloc sale e.g. Minton Rise.

Hi MaCe, Me lost in reading all the threads and blogs. Can u PM me yr contractor and the works u have done for yr EM? Have to start working out my sums for reno and would like to start to consult contractors for quotes Me too went to Singapore Expo to look at the packages ... really cut throat . System 4 aircon - Did anyone install Daikin or Mitsubitshi inverter n non inverter System 4 so far? Cheers.