RyanYTH

Thanks mmoh. Your words are indeed comforting. My estate's facebook people put the pictures like done swee swee at one go makes me abit jelly lah. Maybe who knows they also had issues that didn't wanna say lah lol. Anyway I'll definitely need them to rectify if i spotted anything. His descriptive "BANG" doesn't sound good lol. Yea DB Box is done by same carpenter. Sigh. i dunno lah, i actually think the DB-Box Cabinet is cursed lol. Of course i'll need him to re-correct it properly. But even if he chut pattern say cannot change i also don't want to chase anymore. Feel very drained seeing how its not rectified even after so long. (Who knew a DB-Box cabinet would be so hard to do huh?)

New Entry: Blog Entry Date: 3rd November 2017 Friday Click Here to Access. Updates: End of 7th week after Key Collection. Carpentry Works - Part 1 Carpentry Works have finally started. But its not all smooth sailing.

I really like how you did your lights. Looks very nice!

Cement screed is a layer of cement laid down on floor before tiles / parquet can be laid. For people who never opt to get hdb do the tiling, the floor will be bare concrete. And thus cement screed will need to be done if u need to lay tiles or parquet wood on them. It used to be that cement screed done by hdb for free. However as of now this service is no longer available unless you appeal for it. (At least for my estate) Some people rather not let hdb do because sometimes hdb standard of cement screeding is not very even compared to outside contractor, but of course will cost alot more. Something like upwards of $1k+ like what they described. If u opted for hdb flooring and components, than this cement screed is not applicable for u since everything is already done by hdb.

Ah....ID selection. I find this part one of the more draining parts in Renovation. Its like going for job interview, only you are the boss and you are selecting who to do your project As for renovation costs itself, i am currently still doing my renovation. (its about to end soon tho) Quotation on paper was 25k. During renovation add about 5k+ more for extra stuffs like Haulage, Electrical, etc. For me just renovation only, not counting furniture or electrical appliances comes up to about 30k+ in reality. Personally I feel my renovation is very expensive considering mine is only a 35sqm. btw nice 3D pics! Are u using Planner 5D too? Do you have the link for us to do a 3D virtual tour? Also, i noticed you don't have a dining table? Also, do take note if HDB provided you a Proposed Layout, because that is very important as it will show where you can put your sink, toiletbowl, etc etc. If you are able to plan your renovation around HDB's proposed layout (eg: ToiletBowl, Sink etc), you wouldn't have much issue needing to do repiping and such.

Hmm....just a couple of days after I posted my How-To Guide for IKEA Curtains, MAJGULL Block-Out curtains are SOLD OUT in IKEA Alexandra Really funny, because when I was there, there were plenty of stock. I wonder if my blog had something to do with it tho? IKEA must thank me for helping push their products lol!! Dear Readers, if you're looking for this MAJGULL curtain, IKEA Tampines still got stock. (For Now.) On that note, the IKEA Smartphone app is also very useful because it can show you which place got what stock and stuffs.

New Entry: Blog Entry Date: 29th October 2017 Sunday Click Here to Access. Updates: End of 6th week after Key Collection. Lightings still being worked on, Bathroom Door is Replaced. Just showing the complete list of Lightings that I use. I love the newly replaced Bathroom PD-Door!

Thanks. Actually I'm also not sure if I made any mistakes since its all not installed yet. I may have missed out something. Nevertheless I hope this ikea curtain guide can help someone lor.

If i remember correctly, after you submit your last 3 (or was it 6 months?) Paycheck photocopy to them, they will do the grant calculation for you in the backend. And there will be a letter sent to you saying how much Grant you are given. I remembered knowing how much Grant i was given before i even went for Flat Selection. When you are doing flat selection, at one point, the HDB officer will sit down talk about lots of things about how much loan you may need and grants and stuff. If you've been having a sizeable amount of CPF money squirreled away, you probably won't even need to take loan. Do remember when waiting for your flat to build in 3-4 years depending, your CPF is still growing too. (provided you are still under employment lah) Sorry abit Hazy since it was 3 years ago. Best is call your appointed HDB Officer directly to confirm.

Blog Entry Date: 26th October 2017 Thursday Click Here to go back to Page 1 - Table of Contents A little Curtain Experiment - Part 2 / 3 Alrighty, lets continue with Part 2! In this section, I'm gonna list down a complete list of components I've bought and describe each function. Items are labelled Alphabetically, and I will list each one down with another close up image of the component. (Please don't mind my messy cardboard covered floor. Paiseh lah, renovation still in progress. ) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And now some close up shots: A is showing 2 x HUGAD rods B is showing 2 x RACKA rods Needless to say these are the long poles by which the cloth curtains would be mounted on. Please ensure that the length of poles you buy is 210-385cm. Other lengths are apparently not suitable. Both types of poles are extendable, so you can extend and adjust accordingly to how long you want, but MAKE SURE THEY MUST BE 210-385cm. HUGAD rods are thicker and are meant to hang the BLACKOUT Curtain. RACKA rods are thinner are are meant to hang the Inner Lighter Mesh Curtain. For each of the Window, you will need (1 x HUGAD + 1 x RACKA) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- C is showing 6 x BETYDLIG Boxes This BETYDLIG BOX will be abit confusing, because there's another version of BETYDLIG that is NON-Box version. These are the L-Brackets you will need to mount on the wall, and they will have a holder to hold the poles. Each BETYDLIG BOX contains 1 hook which is used to hook the earlier THICK HUGAD pole. According to the IKEA sales person i encountered, while 2 BETYDLIG L-Brackets will be enough to hold up the poles, It is better to use 3 BETYDLIG L-Brackets (1 at extreme left, 1 at centre, 1 at the extreme right) so its more stable. For each Window, you will need (3 x BETYDLIG BOXES) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- D is showing 6 x BETYDLIG Non-Box Packets Please don't confuse these BETYDLIG Non-Box Packets with the earlier BETYDLIG Boxes. These BETYDLIG Non-Box Packets only contains 1 hook which is used to hook the Thinner RACKA Pole. For each Window, you will need (3 x BETYDLIG Non-BOX Packets) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- E is showing 4 x RAFFIG Packets Nothing special about this RAFFIG. Each packet contains a pair of Plastic Caps. This is used to cover the tip of either the HUGAD or RACKA poles so they won't slip out and fall out the BETYDLIG L-Brackets when mounted. There are however different types of such Plastic Caps, with some having elaborate designs. They were unavailable when I was there however, but it doesn't matter because this one works well enough for me. For each Window, you will need (2 x RAFFIG Packets) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- F is showing 2 x MAJGULL Packets MAJGULL is the BLACKOUT Curtain that I'll be using. By default, it will come with little cloth loops for you to be able to poke your THICK HUGAD pole to hang it. There is an alternative RING like accessory for sale in IKEA but I didn't buy it because I felt the default Cloth loops will be sufficient. Each packet contains 1 pair of such curtains. Standard Size 140cm x 250cm This length is suitable for hanging for my Living Room Window, but I may need to get a Seamstress to trim it shorter for my Bedroom Window because I have a Platform Bed there. IKEA has this Seamstress service available, but as my Renovation is still going on, i didn't need to engage them. I can alternatively just let it drape down see how it goes, it may even look nice lol. For each Window, you will need (1 x MAJGULL Packet) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- G is showing 2 x TERESIA Packets TERESIA is the translucent thin mesh Inner Curtain that I'll be using. By default, it will come with little cloth loops for you to be able to poke your THIN RACKA pole to hang it. There is an alternative RING like accessory for sale in IKEA but I didn't buy it because I felt the default Cloth loops will be sufficient. Each packet contains 1 pair of such curtains. Standard Size same as MAJGUL 140cm x 250cm This length is suitable for hanging for my Living Room Window, but I may need to get a Seamstress to trim it shorter for my Bedroom Window because I have a Platform Bed there. IKEA has this Seamstress service available, but as my Renovation is still going on, i didn't need to engage them. I can alternatively just let it drape down see how it goes, it may even look nice lol. For each Window, you will need (1 x TERESIA Packet) Abit of Deja Vu right? LOL!! But thats because TERESIA is basically also a curtain same as MAJGULL except its a different type thats all. And thats all for the individual Components. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To further understand how the Rod Extension function, please refer to the below picture. I hope it is abit more clear when showing which component will go where. (TERESIA and MAJGULL are not pictured of course) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Component Pricing and Grand Total Calculation: So in summary, for 1 Window, the components and prices will be: 1 x HUGAD (210-385cm) Price: 1 Rod is $9.90 1 x RACKA (210-385cm) Price: 1 Rod is $9.90 3 x BETYDLIG Boxes (L-Brackets) Price - 1 Box is $2.90 (Therefore 3 of them is $2.90 x 3 = $8.70 total) 3 x BETYDLIG Non-Box Packets (Hook Only) Price - 1 Packet is $1.90 (Therefore 3 of them is $1.90 x 3 = $5.70 total) 2 x RAFFIG Packets Price - 1 Packet is $3.90 (Therefore 2 of them is $3.90 x 2 = $7.80 total) 1 x MAJGULL Packet (140cm x 250cm) Price: 1 Packet is $49.90 1 x TERESIA Packet (140cm x 250cm) Price: 1 Packet is $15.90 In total, for 1 Window, the Curtain Cost works out to be: $9.90 + $9.90 + $8.70 + $5.70 + $7.80 + $49.90 + $15.90 = $107.80 Therefore, 2 Windows (Both Living Room and Bedroom Windows) for me works out to be $107.80 x 2 = $215.60 (not including GST) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And so with that Price Calculation done, we come to the end of Part 2 of this Curtain Experiment. Instead of paying $500+ for a pair of curtains, I pay $215.60 which is more than 50% savings. Of course, if you use a different curtain, the price might go higher or lower. But yea there we go. But do stay tuned, because this Experiment is still not over. There will be a Part 3 of this Experiment where I install everything. (Of course i'm gonna get Jason's contractors to install it. ) But that will be much later at the end of the Renovation, so do stay tuned if you're still interested in how it all turned out. And so thats it. For now. I'll see you in the next Blog Entry!! Click Here for the Next Blog Entry: End of 6th week after Key Collection. Lightings still being worked on, Bathroom Door is Replaced. If you are only interested in accessing the conclusion of this Curtain Guide, Click here to directly jump to the Final Part of this Guide: A Little Curtain Experiment Part 3/3 Click Here to go back to Page 1 - Table of Content

Oh yes, i'll share em when i get back home tonight. Actually gonna go buy my ceiling fan so maybe i'll add that too lol. As for curtains, they are supposed to be already the correct length (at least for living room) but i may need to get a seamstress to help shorten the curtains for my bedroom window because i got a platform bed. Or i can just lazy let them drape down lol See how lah. Actually i've not heard of this before, thanks for the heads up! But since i've already bought from IKEA, i'll see how IKEA curtains hold up first lor. Thanks again

Also, don't worry about don't have printers to print. HDB people are very friendly, and won't sweat the little things. Other than the basic required documents and my NRIC, I basically went to my flat selection empty handed. When I was there, the very nice lady requested for me to log in to my CPF Web portal using their computer, and they will print whatever they need from there. That said, you should also have a HDB Officer's Contact Name and Number that is assigned for you. Any questions you have at all, feel free to call him / her. Just make sure be punctual and don't be late for flat selection.

Hi, maybe I can help. What documents are you referring to, and what is this MyDoc you are referring? When I was liasing with HDB, i didn't come across this term before.

After lugging all those things back and enjoying a super workout, i'm beginning to think $500 is a good idea after all

Blog Entry Date: 25th October 2017 Wednesday Click Here to go back to Page 1 - Table of Contents A little Curtain Experiment - Part 1 / 3 So, while my lighting situation is underway, lets talk about another topic: Curtains Love em or hate em, every home just seems to need em. Below photo are my windows that I intend to do curtains for. Left window is my Bedroom, Right Window is for my Living Room. Nothing special right? Just 2 pairs of cloth to cover it up nicely. Now the problem is price. Almost all curtain vendors i've spoken to are quoting curtains for 2 room starting from $500, with some even asking as high as $780!! *faints* And the price goes up even higher for Specialized Curtains like (Night Curtains, Blackout Curtains etc etc) I don't know about how ya'll feel, but personally for me, I really feel paying over $500 upwards for mere pieces of cloth isn't really worth it. What to do? What to do? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- It so happens that there's this lady in my Estate's Facebook Group (Ms Eka), who's also a 2 roomer. Her renovation is about to end, and she was nice enough to share her living room picture below: Looks not bad right? Imagine my surprise, when she revealed that her curtains were from IKEA. She even shared what she bought and how it drastically reduced her curtain bills to an unbelievably low price of just $73.90!! That said, she had someone help her install the curtains, which was a contributing factor, but still, its a good deal!!! To achieve the look of her curtains, she posted these below items she bought: With that said, I'm sure ya'll know the word on the street is that IKEA items aren't very durable. Sure, they're cheap, but they're usually made of very cheap materials that'll either break or give way in a few months time. As i mentioned in a previous forum comment, i believe in "一分钱, 一分货" that is: "Good things don't come cheap, Cheap things are seldom good." So i was really hesitating whether if I should spend over $500 on curtains, or go for IKEA curtains. And hence we arrive at this Blog Entry. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- I am going to do an experiment. With the guides kindly provided by Ms Eka, I think i'll go to IKEA for a shopping trip and see if I can get a good deal on this. I really really don't feel like spending over $500 for curtains. If the experiment succeeds, hey i've got a good deal. If it fails, well i'll just treat it as a learning experience I guess. So, if you're interested in how to get curtains installed cheaper, this guide is for you --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pre-planning Stage: As with any undertaking, I've thought thru about a few things I want for my curtains. 1) While Ms Eka's curtains are nice, they are more for a Woody Scandinavian feel, and don't fit into my Modern Black and White theme. 2) I like my living room to be a home theatre, and as such would prefer ZERO light to seep in when i'm enjoying a movie night, so i'm going for a BLACKOUT curtain for the Living Room. 3) Since my Living Room is already using BLACKOUT curtain, it would look wierd if my Bedroom doesn't use it, so it will ALSO use BLACKOUT curtain. 4) While my curtains are BLACKOUT type, i'd still like to have a 2nd layer translucent mesh curtain to allow some light to filter thru when I do open my curtains. (Also i think having a 2nd layer mesh curtain looks Classy) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- And so i begin my Curtain Hunt at IKEA. IKEA Alexandria to be specific. WHAT A HAUL!! Here's where i realized about the mistakes I made: Mistake 1: Take this picture for instance of the Rod Assembly Ms Eka posted earlier. IKEA doesn't sell them prepackaged nicely like this. You have to buy each and every individual components. While each component aren't expensive, I feel this is something you should be aware of. I will list out the individual components later. Mistake 2: There are 4 poles to buy, and each of them are at least 2 metres long. This is when I found out, that Taxis won't be able to help haul these long poles. (They don't want your poles scratching or breaking anything) I looked for Maxi Cab (A longer type of Cab) and they quoted me $55 just to deliver everything back to my place!! Crazy. This experiment is to save money, not spend more money lol. End up what happened? I lugged EVERYTHING back home via Public Transport. Dear Readers, don't be stupid like me. If you are going to do this, MAKE SURE you have someone who can help carry or a vehicle ready to carry the items back. On the plus side, I probably burnt a few hundred calories at least, although everyone was probably looking at me like I was crazy. I was lucky I wasn't stopped by the MRT staff at the gantry tho. What a fantastic workout! .....Yea right....Abit tired now. (I'm already starting to regret this experiment already) To be continued....in Part 2.. Click Here for the Next Blog Entry: A little Curtain Experiment - Part 2 / 3 Click Here to go back to Page 1 - Table of Contents

I'm really happy with my lighting shop's service. They really brought down the stress level alot And I agree, buying things in SG definitely has its advantages. I can't imagine if all were bought in Malaysia and if spoil, have to go all the way back and sekali the shop chut pattern say goods sold not refundable. How stressful that would be. I always believe in 一分钱, 一分货 "Good things don't come cheap, Cheap things seldom are good." Oh well hopefully by end of this week can get my lightings resolved.

New Entry: Blog Entry Date: 24th October 2017 Tuesday Click Here to Access. Updates: 6th week after Key Collection (My Lightings are a Mess!!) Just when I thought Renovation is going smoothly.... EVERYTHING SUDDENLY GOES HAYWIRE WITH LIGHTINGS!!!!

Wow, its been quite some time since i've visited this thread back in 2015. And now its grown to 95 pages! nice! So many more new faces joining the family Glad to see all the 2 roomers gather together sharing ideas. Thanks mmoh for linking my t-blog on the page too!

Blog Entry Date: 21st October 2017 Saturday Click Here to go back to Page 1 - Table of Contents Shopping for Furnitures and Electrical Appliances As the day of my Renovation Completion draws near, its time to start getting my Furnitures and Appliances. Below are the list of items I bought. This list will be updated as and when I buy more stuffs, so do keep a lookout for it. When everything is done, I will also upload a Budgeting Spreadsheet listing out every single thing I bought, including Total Cost of Renovations, Extra to Pay, Furnitures, Appliances, ETC so you can have a rough idea of how much to save up. Personally I haven't been super diligent with buying items only from Taobao or Malaysia, or sourced for the absolute cheapest deals. I just found a good time when local outlets are having promotions or sales and I just bought from them. So your mileage may vary. #SupportLocalEconomy ------------------------------------------------------------------ Electrical Appliances Courts - Samsung 55" UHD 4K TV - UA55MU7000KXXS I'm gonna Wall Mount it of course. Paid $2868 for this. (Promotion comes with a extra free 40" FHD TV, but I can trade it in for $450 cash instead) Courts - Samsung HW-M360XS 2.1 Wireless Soundbar with Subwoofer This came along with the earlier Samsung TV as part of a promotion. Courts - LG GBB2731PZ 2 Door Refridgerator Paid $979 for this. Love how it looks like and I hope it can compliment nicely in my Kitchen. Courts - LG WFT1081DD Top Load Washer Paid $799 for this. Comes with 1 year of free Washing Detergent i think. Sembawang Lighting House - Crestar 46" iCol Black Ceiling Fan (No Lamp, Wall Regulator) Total Cost $248 + $50 for installation. Originally I wanted to get a Dyson Standing Fan because of how sleek it looks, and I didn't want my ceiling to have anything hanging to preserve a clean open ceiling look. However, not only are Dyson Standing Fans rediculously expensive (Over $500 in some shops), wind speed also not good unless its set to highest settings and even so, is very noisy. So for practical purposes and better air circulation, I decided to get a ceiling fan after all. Originally wanted to get KDK fan due to its brand name, but fell in love with this fan's modern sleek look. Tested the fan speed and it felt pretty breezy. Decided to go for Wall Regulator instead of Remote because I've read that Remote Control usually cause alot of issues, even with KDK fans. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Furnitures Courts - Sven 2RR Fabric Recliner Sofa. (Price - $899) I love how comfortable this sofa felt, and the colour was perfect for the theme of my apartment Courts - Colony Side Table (Price - $59) Can't afford the space to put a regular Coffee Table at the Living Room, so this will have to do. Star Living - Jack Extendable TV Console Table (Price - $699) I like how this one fits in nicely to the theme I have for my apartment. Very Expensive though. V-Hive - Dino L-Shaped Desk (Price - $299) This will be my Computer Table right next to the Living Room DB-Box. V-Hive - Zoe Office Chair (Price - $169) Office chair used with my Computer Table. V-Hive - Leo Marble Trolley (Price - $199) I really like how this looks. I'll put this in my Kitchen for use as extra Counter-Top / Storage. So thats about all the items I bought so far. As I mentioned earlier, I'll be using this page to add any more stuffs that I buy, so do stay tuned! Click Here for the Next Blog Entry: 6th week after Key Collection. My Lightings are a Mess!! Click Here to go back to Page 1 - Table of Contents

OIC thanks.

Hi, whats this cool looking panel in this picture? Something to do with City Gas?

New Entry: Blog Entry Date: 20th October 2017 Friday Click Here to Access. Updates: 5th week after Key Collection Yet another mostly Prep week. Painting for my Apartment completed. Delivery of all my Lightings, Kitchen and Bathroom Fittings.

Hi, sorry i don't have his direct contact. I can provide you with Jason's contact if you want, i'm not sure if his Carpenter can freelance. Or even better I'll give you Yvonne's contact, she is Rufus's friend. (if Rufus allow me to give her number of course lol)