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Jimmya and Vicki! Hihi! Nice to see your reno doing all fine. Agree with Vicki that Jimm's house look nice and cosy! And Vicki your carpentry looks solid too... enjoy your new homes!

Hello guys, came back from a hiatus to post more info on this: 1. You can make a cement screed appeal if you have applied before Oct 2014. That means even if say you have applied sometime in Sep/Nov 2012 and going to collect keys soon, you can appeal. 2. The cement screed appeal is only for laminate and vinyl flooring. HDB will not be considering screed appeals made for homogenous tile flooring. As for other types of flooring, I do not have info on it. 3. Send your appeal to HDBSales@mailbox.hdb.gov.sg. State your application no., when u applied etc. 4. Alternatively, during key collection, tell the officer attending to you your intention to appeal. The officer will direct you to your nearest HDB branch at your new estate to make the appeal. 5. The free cement screed service will be done up to 40mm, which is not enough to be leveled with the rest of the flooring. You can get the contractor doing the cement screed service to do a top up, at a price of $150 onwards (3 bedrooms). Alternatively, get your ID to level, which of course comes at a price too, unless you able to negotiate a free deal out... 6. Free cement screed services can take up to a month long waiting time, with much chasing to be done if you want to expedite. Nevertheless, it's a $1500 to $3000 amount of savings.

Hi patchdog, Since the deal has been sealed, there isn't much that can be said about the quotation. The package price would definitely have included the extra items (aircon, vouchers etc). The concern now is working with this particular ID. An ID should work with their customers' idea and only offer advice if the idea is not feasible or there is a better solution/alternative to it. He can propose ideas only if customers themselves have nothing in mind and leave it entirely to the ID to propose. This ID here is clearly pressing his own template and this attitude would likely persist throughout the renovation if nothing is done. Would suggest that you bring up what you feel about this ID to your husband. At the next meeting with the ID, be firm and tell him that look, his idea is NOT what you want and at the end of the day, you and your husband are the ones staying in the apartment, not the ID. If modern zen is not to your liking, how can he force this theme upon your own home? Perhaps stoke his ego abit by saying "you mean you dunno how to do modern classic design ah?" or something like that ... haha! All the best!

Much appreciated! Floor plan being 2D won't be able to show the beams... haiz! I didn't think of that also. Hopefully this won't alter the planned design by too much.

Hi Jeremy, I immediately logged in as soon as I saw this. Need to caution you and other forummers that this quotation can awfully go against the consumer. Notice the phrase "Install (item)" and Qty listed as "1 job". This means that the contractor is only obliged to "install" the particular item at that price quoted. Who supply or construct the kitchen cabinet? Would you be buying the shower head and let them install? If that's the case, does that mean you have to "buy" the kitchen table top first, and let them "install" at that price? See, that's how unclear this quotation is. Even if this particular company provided good service and workmanship in the past, it's unfortunate that the bad apples among its peers have given consumers low confidence. Anyway, it's not providing the cheapest deal. Do look for others and compare. All the best!

Ericlee09 is a home owner; you commented on his/her thread, asking for id contacts.

Bro Jimmya, don't mind sharing your floor plan here? I'm concerned about the "holes" not reflected in the floor plan. Thanks!

Hi smileyann welcome to renotalk There's a few reno fairs going on this week and next, so you might want to check them out. As for the cost, it would probably hit beyond 11k, based on your requirements (hacking, installing shower screen in toilet etc). Most of the quotations posted here so far (for 4 rm) are 25k+- on average. I did a rough estimate based on ericlee09's quotation... yours worked out to be about 15k as it stands.

Woah... how come I got clone? lolz.

30L to 50L, noting that higher the litre also means longer it takes for water to heat up. Preferably, the two bathrooms are side by side, else you may end up getting 2 storage sets as one of the toilet may not be able to get enough water pressure. If there's bathtub installed, it will be 50L and above. May also want to consider gas heater. Higher initial cost, but long term savings. Would be a good tie up with the dryer if already considering to buy one in the first place.

Yes, that price for solid surface is gd,

Don't worry, there's definitely much confusion at the beginning. Thus at renotalk, it is always encouraged to seek a few quotations before deciding on the id/contractor. For me, the chemistry with the id and his/her commitment to your project play a bigger role in my choice. For others, price point plays a major factor. All the best in your search!

Congrats and all the best! Looking forward to you sharing your reno experiences.

what Vicki meant was whether the price include solid surface/granite/quartz surface i.e. worktop. Nevertheless the price per ft run doesn't sound cheap at all. I'll pm u this kitchen top maker who should have good contacts to kitchen cabinets.

Hi Brandon, looking at the breakdown, I felt it's ok. When there's hacking involved, there's bound to be increase in price. Also, using internal color PVC would increase the price quite abit. My advice is to bargain down the hacking cost by a few hundred ($3k perhaps?) and consider whether the internal color PVC is truly needed for certain carpentry. Another consideration is the use of false ceiling in bedrooms. Some like it, other find it distracting as it decrease the overall room size.