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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.

Just saw on papers today they are having a "Boss not around, interior design package anyhow sell" deal. Lolz...

Hi soulocean, factoring inflation and the increase in flooring prices (that article was in 2013), it's probably $50k plus minus. A good way to spread that budget is 2:1 i.e. your reno cost is about twice the furnishing cost. So when you decide to spend more on ID, spend appropriately lesser for furnishing. As for reno loans, depends on how you go about, for joint application (max loan amt $30k), it's technically 6 x combined, but dependent on credit rating. For couples, there's the option that both apply for reno loan individually, effectively able to borrow $60k in total. However this is strongly not advisable, as I would always recommend one of the half to be as debt free as possible. Is it a common practice? Can't really comment as there's no official statistics on this (although overall borrowing and credit debts have increased across the board). Personally, I would not recommend going for the max $30k loan as the pain of paying the installments, on top of the other monthly payments, would bite. See it more like a last resort - something to top up, than the first tool to go for.

Hi Vicki and bros, no doubt, the feature wall in the bathroom is nice and unique. Just want to point out for every design feature one does, there are pros and cons to it. For the feature wall fixed with showers, I foresee that in the event of a pipe leakage, that whole feature wall may have to be dismantled. The problem would worsen if the wall contains non-waterproof materials. Check with ID what are their solutions for that, and decide ultimately if the design is worth doing. This is also a common design issue when one decides to conceal every pipe. Alternatively, choose another side of the wall (with no pipes) for beautification, hence no worries of any hidden leakage issues.

Hi Syafia, been reading your blog and glad to see your reno journey has come to fruition! Appreciate that you could PM me your reno costs, as well as some details you can share (what was the most expensive item, anything to take note etc) too? Thanks!

There are some things worth saving for, such as design ideas or things that just serve aesthetic purposes - to each his or her own creative ideas. But some where it concerns safety and handling issues, I rather leave it to the professionals. Sorry for the harshness but I felt the ID would be quite irresponsible if he did not caution you on the dangers and precautions to take for buying any form of chemical to do washing for the whole house. Which are the parts that can be washed using acid? What are the protective wear to be used for each and every chemical? Is it worth spoiling floors that cost in the hundreds and thousands, to save that hundred odd bucks? Yes, one could buy the super strong stain removal from NTUC, but that's after the general acid wash and only on specific small areas... in fact this should have been rectified with the id/contractor before full handing over. Suggest to bargain the price for acid wash instead, if cost saving is a priority.

Hi Arcturuzz, Overall the quotation is on the higher side, not due to its absolute price cos everyone has different requirements, but how the individual works add up. The main expenses come from your flooring which is considered quite high for 4rm, even after factoring in the pre-pack screed requirement. Part of that flooring expenses would be lost if say id lays all the tiles and thereafter construct the living rm platform. Discuss with your id how they plan to go about with the platform installation yah? Others are slight mark ups, but still acceptable to me. But suggest the quotation to be clearer in some of the offerings. For eg, wardrobe - casement or sliding? with aluminum? Shower screen too... are there moving parts? what is the shape? Doors fold out or sliding? Due to the limited toilet space, shape of shower screen and how the door swings are important to know. All the best in your reno journey!

Hello again tkc01, yup, the tall unit has been factored in. I used a slightly higher quote of $900 and after deduction it's $3555 for a 15 ft in total kitchen cabinet c/w handles. For your kitchen door, you may wish to consider the two sliding door style (like those u see at shopping centres) for $1450. If not, the current price is still ok, but should be able to bargain lower. The washroom vanity cabinet c/w quartz is standard price, factoring quartz at $120 pfr, unless quartz material is of higher grade. Head boards ... personally they are generally overpriced, as they don't serve any actual purpose but to beautify the room. Went through online and seems like the cheapest alternative is DIY, or use some kind of painting or decors as a substitute. A general rule in ID quotations would be the lesser the number of customers who asked for a certain work to be done, the higher the chance the ID would raise that particular quote. Hence if you see many of the previous quotations shared here, most did not include head boards. Kompacplustop runs at about 110 +- pfr. Used as a kitchen island, it depends on your design. Hope our suggestions and feedback have been helpful so far!

Hi tkc01, most of the quotes are way above market rate. Take for example the kitchen cabinet. With that price (and abit more top up), one could go full on Blum system complete with fanciful hydraulics (not just hinges, but the ones with auto open and close systems). The designer handles are not that necessary unless you intend to go the traditional kitchen look (most modern kitchen designs go with no handles or knobs). Consider getting quotes from other ids and you would see the difference. All the best!

Hi jennyt, is yours a contractor? Overall seems to be giving at contractor prices... anyway my comments as below: Flooring works - your flooring add up to $7291. Check whether this price include pre-pack screeding as nowadays flooring quotations tend to go beyond that price. All Blum hinges or soft hinges closing? - Not sure if this is typo or double quoting. Check with person what they actually mean. Are the workers certified to install Blum? Granted Blum systems are better, provided they are properly installed. Just be cautious that you are getting what you paid for. The rest of the pricing are pretty good close to contractor kind of pricing. Quartz price at 111 psf is quite a good deal, but still it would be good to check out the origin and supplier of the Quartz to know what you are buying. Try to ask more out of the warranty. There doesn't seem to be much waterproofing services as this would usually mean retiling of bathroom floors. And if things really break within one year, it doesn't say much about the workmanship either.

You got me interested in this...I went to check it up and actually found a few old Renotalk threads talking about this! I pm you the contractor specialising in such works. Let me know whether you find this good. PS - your inbox full liao!