autumnwind

Thinking of putting it in the living room...get small dining table and small sofa? Hopefully can fit cuz kitchen really no space!

I totally agree with what you said for Layout 2! That's why actually have been having a mental resistance to adopting it cuz of the lack of familiarity. Was quite surprised when so many voted for Layout 2. Though I do learn from their choice as well, that working triangle is an important aspect of kitchen design. Hmm...I did think about full height cabinet next to the fridge so that will have longer kitchen top on the right. I didn't think about the light issue though...was thinking more of whether it will be intimidating to walk into the kitchen and there's a full height "wall" consisting of the cabinet and the fridge on the right. Like will there be oppressing aura coming from the right. Haha. Maybe I think too much. But thanks for the comments! I am learning lots from the different viewpoints!! Now, I need to think what to do with the dark kitchen top on the right...didn't expect to be so troubled by the kitchen layout...

Good luck! Should be fine bah since you two took the time to really try out the bed Shall visit cheap mattress centre for mine too!

Yup! Can only say she has been a great supporter of SMEs in the JW markets. The electrician was from JW market as well, mum suggested to use them to rewire my new house too. Just that not sure if should get own electrician or let ID/contractor use their electrician. Think coordination wise, may be easier if they use their people...? Though one ID I met told me to get my own electrician cuz frankly speaking, we would be paying double commission to use their electrician...

So what kind of mattress did you buy in the end? I also have back problems and have to sleep on very firm mattress. I've always though spring ones will give more support than foam/latex...though haven't researched much into this yet. Focusing on finding an ID/contractor now!

My mummy doesn't like to buy from Courts! She actually feels like it's more expensive (er...I dunno if it's more of a feeling thing or she really did make comparisons). Anyway, we have been living in the west for 20-30 years, my mum always go to 400+/500+ markets in Jurong West for her electrical appliances. Recently, we changed one double socket and one 3-gang switch, supply & install was $45. Consider reasonable?

This is the original kitchen floor plan: Current the kitchen looks like this: In that case, I think I will still put the sink next to the windows so that the pipe length won't be too long. Taking into working triangle into consideration, here is layout 4! Thanks for all the comments and suggestions!

Oh yah! Forgot all about working triangle!! Haha. Dunno what I was thinking... When the ID was designing, she suggested to put the hob closer to the window for better ventilation so that the "cooking air" will not be trapped in the middle... Though I totally agree with wet trash bags! Can't imagine the bag dripping with water while I walk to the rubbish chute Talking about water...with the sink in the middle of the kitchen top...I think I will flood left right everywhere whenever I wash the dishes and esp pots & pans! That means I'll need to think about where to put my kitchen appliances like microwave, rice cooker, blender... Hmm...

3 of the 4 windows: I think for our case the sellers probably only changed the windows when it really cannot make it, so there are four designs from four different times. Yah, our place quite original too! Good and bad, I guess. At least less things to hack... hee... Maybe your Mr Seller used to hide gold bars in the storeroom! Lol. Our unit will be undergoing HIP (home improvement program), will include main gate and main door! For the time being, will just change the padlock on the gate.

Thanks! Your blog was one of those we studied. The windows seem to be working, just that we have four window types/designs in each of the rooms (kitchen, living room & 2 bedrooms). If can fit into the budget this time round, will change them. If not, like what you say, will change them at a later phase. As for the room doors, the paint coating seems to be quite thick with multiple layers. If not enough money to change, hopefully they can tahan a few more coats of paints.

ID/Contractor hunting: As we have low budget and roughly knows what we want, we thought we would just engage a contractor (and not waste the ID's designing talent). However, after reading recent t-blogs, only one contractor really comes out shining and he is none other than Alan! Although we did feel a little uneasy with only one option, we went ahead and called Alan up for an appointment. He seems to be really busy as he changed our appointment date and time quite a few times. He remembered the appointment wrongly and ended up meeting us one day before the agreed appointment. Luckily we were free during this long weekend and managed to meet him. As our reno is quite simple, with main focus in the kitchen, the meeting was quite fast. Now we are waiting for his quotation reply. We also went down to IMM and randomly walked into some of the ID firms to get experience talking to IDs, and also to have more choices. We ended up talking to 4 IDs and true enough, it was quite an experience. We thought we knew what we wanted for our kitchen - the traditional kitchen layout we both have at home, but ended up confused with additional 2 layouts suggested. Layout 1 is what we are used to, layout 2 is totally unexpected and less familiar, layout 3 seems to be quite common these days but haven't understood the beauty of this layout... Anyone would like to enlighten us..? Layout 1 (traditional): Layout 2 (straight lines only!): Layout 3 (L shape)

Hi all, We have been reading renotalk t-blogs like students mugging for exams since our exercise of OTP. As we have benefited a lot from the experiences shared, we thought we could also document our renovation journey here, hopefully can also exchange ideas with fellow renovators. We would like to do the following for the whole house: 1) rewiring 2) painting 3) removal of partition (installed by prev owners) in master bedroom 4) change of windows and grilles (if budget allows) 5) change of room doors (if budget allows) 6) re-lay trunking for the 2-year old air con (if budget allows) And the following for the kitchen: 1) Hack kitchen floor and wall tiles 2) Hack stove and sink concrete support 3) Tiling of floor and wall 4) Install kitchen cabinet, hob & hood, sink 5) Change of kitchen sliding door We don't have a lot of budget for renovation. We are simple, plain and boring people so will keep everything simple and plain, hopefully that will translate to cost-savings too. Hee. One of our concerns is that IDs/contractors will not be interested in taking up our project due to the low budget, so will also update our experience for this aspect, hopefully will help those with the same concern.

HDB doesn't allow extension cuz they have a lot of trouble handling cases. Heard of previous owner committing suicide during the extension period and buyer cannot terminate transaction cuz already went for completion appointment... Though by making extension illegal, I also don't know where HDB expect contra ppl to live...

Viewed 14. Made offers for 4 units, got the last one! =) I think finding a house you are comfortable with is quite important (including the $ factor!). If the seller is not willing to compromise and you can't pay the COV, just walk away. It is probably not meant to be. As for checking if the house is a target of ah long, I downloaded the police app and checked under the "police appeals" (it will only be there if the police has the photo of the person). We also checked the staircase landing on the level where the unit is, and level 1, and the block in general. Checked for covered up paintings, it may be to cover up O$P$, it may also be covering up vandalism. Regardless, it gives you an idea what the environment is like. Walk round the neighbourhood, I have seen police signages with "unlicensed money lending has been reported in this area". Our agent helped us talk to the neighbours. During flat viewing, we would ask where the seller is moving to...some sellers are quite friendly, they will chat about the new place they are moving to, after all, some of them will be excited about the move. We are a bit on the cautious side cuz have relative as a victim of inheriting an ah long targeted house...

After spending 5 weeks viewing houses, I have come to realise that it is indeed possible to buy HDB resale DIY but it depends on two things: 1) knowledge on HDB buying procedure - like most people have mentioned, this is the "easy" part if you diligently read HDB website / attend their resale seminar and here comes the difficult part 2) luck (which also depends on how much cash you have for COV, how urgently you need a flat) If you have these two factors, I sincerely congratulate you to be able to buy a resale flat DIY. Personally, we have number 1 but not number 2. And so we switched to engaging agents. After experiencing how it is like in both worlds, I can tell you the pros and cons of engaging an agent. Pros: 1) They have more listings within agency and between agencies. Many of these listings are not available publicly to DIY buyers. 2) A good agent is able to help you negotiate a lower COV 3) A good agent can arrange viewings back to back so that you can view more units than arranging them yourself. Cons: 1) Most agents do not act in your best interest. They just sweet talk you, saying they will help you save money but in the end just tell you to increase offer and burst your budget. 2) As the buyer's agents we have encountered, were those we called up to arrange flat viewing, they usually just concentrate on that unit and not really be bothered to arrange more for you (cannot blame them since we didn't sign exclusivity with them) All in all, among the 11 agents we met: 2 (seller agents) was sincere and willing to transact with DIY buyers 1 (buyer agent) was really good and helpful, truly act in our best interest Rest of the seller's agents couldn't be bothered to even negotiate with us. Rest of the buyer's agents just want to close deal on the unit we viewed and/or no help in negotiating COV and/or didn't bother to bring us to view other units. (This applies to the Tampines area)