sunzhi

hi kajua, not sure whether we chose the same tiles for the common toilet, is the tile 1'x2'? we picked the green and white combination as well for our kitchen, it looks pretty striking.

hi jasch, is that a feature wall above the tv console or just laminate? we were once proposed the same material (that black laminate) for our master bedroom headboard feature (white color) but we didn't really like it. good luck in ur reno

hi kingzkong, wah that view from your unit is super fantastic love it.. we had considered samsung bordeaux series as well, iirc the best price ws frm best denki (parkway) at $2599 with the 26" lcd free. the sales guy was willing to take back the 26" lcd at $600 so it's $1999 w/o freebie. we ended up with sony bravia instead. i believe both are good brand/quality.

hi yoyohome, love that color, it's exactly the same with our old house kitchen. had wanted to use back red and black but was advised not to by our geomancer. anyway all the best in your reno.. cheers

hi bommarillu, this is a great forum with lots of info, it has helped me a lot in my reno agree with candyprincess, it's hard to give feedback on mattress. i guess you really have to try it yourself and whether you feel comfortable with it or not. thn again, we could only try for that few short minutes so it may not necessarily be the right choice ... we have tried dunlopillo and many other brands, i prefer harder mattress but my wife the opposite anyway good luck to your reno cheers

oh that, ok, our ID had proposed to leave that part without wall tiles but we think it's more difficult to maintain. we opted for wall tiles instead, it's white, green is on the opposite wall. we added stainless steel above the stove though. so when is your turn coming? soon i hope and all the best cheers...

The floor and wall tiles in the kitchen is almost completed. Pretty nicely done, thanks to the tiler, a very nice and patient guy. Maybe my daily afternoon breaks' coffee and cakes played a part too.. The color we picked (green and white) also matches very well. The only thing was they couldn’t find any green pvc for the edges so we had to use white instead. Not that bad. The master toilet’s wall tiles isn’t as great though. When put up, it's very different from what we saw in the showroom. The floor tiles on the other hand is great. the duo tone combination is very striking. too bad couldn't take no snap as it's covered.. The coming week is gonna be a very busy week. Hopefully everything goes as scheduled. MBR toilet wall: AC trunk:

Hi jacky777, thanks.. the original color proposed by our ID was rather dull, it was all white or white & grey. we didn't like it and prefer more soothing color hence we picked green. it's also a little to do with feng shui as both green and white are preferred colors. yup, we are using green & white (not pure white, a little creamy) glossy laminates with beige solid top (can't remember whthr it's Cresto or Corian). the lower cabinet is suspended with 3 x 4' lightings. don't really get your last point, which area do you refer to? S.S. = solid surface?

SOFA: In the same complex along Boon Lay Way there is this shop carrying furniture which is rather different from what we have seen so far. Especially the sofa sets, the designs are very unique. Quality pretty good too but the price isn’t really cheap. I fell in love with this L-shape black and white full-leather sofa, unfortunately my wife didn’t like it. Her choice was this duo-tone leather sofa, it’s nice but it was not the kinda design I would love to have. What to do, have to compromise somewhere.. In the end I gave up and took her choice instead. We bought a 3+2 set and changed the color (lighter tone, from cream to mocca). This is what we bought: .

Hi, thks.. Do appreciate the effort put in by my ID. As he is super busy with many projects in hands, the 3D plans and all are done by his assistant..

Hi, not really that spacious now after the new wall (took up a bit of the space for the new study area). It's approx. 7.5' x 24'. Yup, we are going for solid top.

HOB & HOOD: We were looking for the combination of Tecno T333TG (hob) and Uno UP9188 (hood) which many of our friends are using. We like the design of this hob especially the spaciousness in between burners. Also the life time warranty on the glass (though “terms & conditions apply”). Unfortunately the Uno hood is out of stock and the coming shipment will be sometime in mid January but there is no certainty that it will be available by then. Most major stores quoted around $1200, lowest by Hoe Kee at $50 less. By chance we made our way to an industrial complex along Boon Lay Way. Surprisingly, many units are taken up by furniture shops as well as lightings, kitchens/toilets and other related stuff. There is this outlet displaying lots of tubs/Jacuzzis, toilet’s accessories, hobs and hoods. We enquired about the abovementioned combination and were served by this lady (probably from China) who knew almost nothing. Sigh, we were on way out when we met this gentleman who was vaguely familiar. It happened to be a neighbor of my old office. Anyway, we were pleasantly surprised when he quoted us $900 for the above combination. That’s a good $250 less than the best price we have gotten thus far. The problem was he could not confirm the date when the stock is available. We didn’t want to jeopardize our reno schedule so we ended up choosing a Cuizino hood, Cui 9 CRG3E with exhaust capacity of 1000m3/hour. We have not used this brand before but have read many positive feedbacks online. This model is supposed to be more powerful compares to Uno UP9188 which exhaust capacity is 800m3/hour. And it’s only $60 more so I guess it’s a pretty good deal. Btw we took the model with safety valves at an additional $30 (Techno T333TGSV ). We also bought an Ariston 25ltr storage heater from him. Here’s our hob and hood:

The installation for the aircon piping has been completed yesterday. Surprisingly, the trunkings are really huge. They said it’s due to the ½” insulations. Honestly, the work is not really great. The bracket was installed a little too high, with the outdoor unit in it’s almost level with the window. Have told them to reinstall the bracket which they will carry out when installing the indoor units. Renovating a home really takes lots of time and efforts. It’s very tiring but at the same time, fun and fulfilling. We have yet to provide the specs/dimensions on many items (hob, hood etc) which will be included in the carpentry design. The measurement for carpentry works was supposed to take place yesterday. Unfortunately, the kitchen wall and floor tiles have yet to be completed hence it may not be accurate. There could be some delay for the kitchen cabinet. According to the carpenter, it will take at least 2-3 weeks. Hopefully they could complete the whole thing in time.

thanks... it's around $48k at the moment, there are still a few items that we have not decided to proceed with or not.

After many rounds of proposals, these are more or less the final design for our unit (maybe change of color here and there): Layout plan: Kitchen: Living: Dining: MBR: BDRM1: BDRM2:

Air condition: It’s inverter vs non-inverter. We have been weighing whether it’s worth to invest in an inverter system which cost a couple hundred dollars more. We are not heavy user, probably 6-8 hours daily for the 2 bedroom units and 5-6 hours during week-ends for the living room unit. On paper, the saving for the inverter system for 5 years usage may not be sufficient to cover the price difference. Nevertheless, we decided to install an inverter system. Apart from quieter, it’s also due to the variable current setting and the free combination (9k, 12k, 18k or 22k). Lots of useful information in the following website: http://singapore-aircon.blogspot.com/ When it comes to brand, a big thanks to Jack Neo’s “wipe wipe here, suck suck there”. We have only one system in mind, Mitsubishi Starmex Easy Clean. There’s big price difference among the major stores, even different outlets and different sales person’s of the same store. I went to Gain City main branch along AMK Ave 3 and was quoted ard $3700 for a system 4 Starmex EasyClean (3x9k, 1x18k). A further $250 for upgrading to R22 (copper) and ½” insulation, $80 for 2 trips and $150 for the bracket. In all, it amounts close to $4200 and the guy said that’s the ‘best price’ and not negotiable. We were introduced to a salesperson in their IMM outlet and bought the same system at $3805 (R22 copper, ½” insulation, bracket, 2 trips and combination of 3x9k and 1x22k). We also took up the extended 1+4 years warranty for $439. This is our system: A down and dirty trick as taught by a fellow member of this forum, go prepared with quotations (written on the name cards or brochures or anything that bears the company’s competitors logo/name). And the figure is to be deflated (by ard 5-15% of the actual quotation, depending on item) and tell them this is what’s offered to you by their competitors. You will be surprised by how much they could lower the so called “best price”. This may not work all the time as different company has different base price. And yes, I have tried it and it worked. The installation (trunking/piping) is being done today. It's pretty straight forward as there isn't much option. According to the technician, it will take two days to complete the work. Hoping for the best...

before off to dinner, last post for 2007.. !! ~~~~Happy New Year Everyone~~~~ !! .

After the deposit. We were only shown the 2D layout plan during the 2nd meeting but he did show us some of his previous and existing projects (3D printouts) and we were asked which style/theme we prefer.

We took possession of our unit in mid Dec and the renovation began on the 18th. I had wanted to sign a Radac contract or a more detailed agreement but didn’t have the time. Probably because we were very comfortable with each other and based on mutual trust, the renovation began without any proper contract signed (which is really not advisable ), nor any further payment made (apart from the $1000 appointment fee). The subsequent payment was only made few days back (hacking and demolishing work completed, new wall erected and wall tiles partially up). BC promised us that it would take no longer thn 5 weeks and he would rush it for us (hopefully not at the expense of the quality). So far so good. I counted, there were as many as 10 working there last Friday (wet work, ceiling and plumbing). This is so exciting..... To date, the ceiling and electrical work (thanks to a fellow member for recommending the contractor) are almost done. Common toilet's wall tiles half-done, new kitchen & fridge wall up. Went down today and took some snaps: Living: Dining: Kitchen:

Decision… We received G-Plan’s quotation couple of days later. There's nothing for us to compare as our last renovation was done many years back so we were not really sure whether it was ok. The sum was acceptable and within our budget. There was no draft or anything just a simple 2-D layout plan given to us during our meeting with KL. The same too with BC of CityDesign, just a layout plan. BC’s quotation was higher than that of G-Plan. We were pleasantly surprised when ST of Spacious Planners prepared a very detailed and comprehensive plan which included the lighting and ceiling design. The only problem was, the proposal was totally different from what we had wanted. We had specifically told ST that we need a simple, practical home with lots of moving space and it was nothing but. Lots of hackings and repositioning of walls; toilet was extended (with bath tub or Jacuzzi), bedrooms’ space was significantly reduced and lots of other stuff that were only good to look at. ST even recommended a set of sofa which was under promotion and would really look good with his design. He said worth it, ONLY $10k plus . OMG, we were stunned. We asked him whether his design was done based on what we need, what we have told him the week before and also our budget. He checked his list and said he could modify it. Honestly, the proposal was really nice but it’s just not what we were looking for. We told him nicely not to waste his effort, we would call him again if we need his service. So it was narrowed down to GPlan and CityDesign. We also went to Tg Katong Complex but approached only 1 ID. More like a contractor, it’s a husband & wife team. They happened to be renovating a member of this forum too. Their price was the lowest. After careful consideration, we decided to engage BC of CityDesign. Though his was the priciest, we felt very comfortable with him. There’s kinda feeling that we could, err, click? We believe apart from getting a reputable company to do the job, the ID in-charged is equally important if not more. After all he is the one we would have to deal with until the completion of work. There were some negative comments on CityDesign in this forum and we were a little worry. We just had to take the chance and hope for the best. After paying a $1000 deductible deposit and signing the letter of appointment, BC forwarded us this proposal which we didn’t really like: Living: Dining: Kitchen: MBR: Boy’s Rm: Baby’s Rm: hi thanks... we are tearing it down. though the condition is still ok, the aircon trunking is run within and as we are replacing the system it has to go. further, we are boxing up the awkward space below the beam and putting up a feature headboard which would cut into part of the wardrobe.

thanks... Yup, it sure was fun but also very strenuous. the 2nd meeting was still ok coz we made it clear we would not make any decision until we had gone through all proposals. I think they knew it too as there are so many IDs to choose from

.....rewind…. The search for ID: This is definitely a tough and hectic job. We didn’t have much time to scout around. Armed with the many good posts we read here, we went to IMM on one Sunday. We had planned to approach as many IDs as possible but it was really time-consuming. In the end we only had time for 3. CityDesign: This is the 1st company we approached. We were served by a soft-spoken young man from M’sia, BC. He was very friendly and attentive. After listening to what we wanted (basically a simple and practical home for 3 with 1 more member on the way), he sketched out some designs and we arranged to meet again in 1 week for the quotation and more detailed draft. BC doesn’t speak good English but we liked him and felt very comfortable. The experience was great. G-Plan: This company, especially one of it’s ID is highly recommended in this webbie. We asked for him but unfortunately, he wasn’t around. According to KL, he has many projects in hand. In the end we dealt with KL instead. He was ok and friendly. His quotation would be mailed to us within 3 days. Spacious Planners: We were ushered and briefed through the long company history and past-projects. Pretty impressive I must say. We were also asked to fill a form with our particulars and reno needs. The young ID took down what we wanted and promised to deliver a detailed plan in a week. Very professional but, we felt it was a little too….

The original look: Living room: Dining: Kitchen: Master Bdrm: Bdrm 1: Bdrm2: The flat was last renovated about 5 years ago and condition is still ok. But we have different needs and ideas. We decided to retain the floor tiles and everything else will go. The store-room will be hacked to make way for a small study area. So basically renovating the whole unit.

Hi all, Not really sure whether I am capable to write a blog. Apart from time constraint, I really suckz in writing. But I have had lots of information and assistance from members of this webbie that has helped us a great deal in renovating our flat so it’s only appropriate that I do the same here. I will just put up what we have experienced through out our renovation. Bear with me, c&c are welcome We bought a corner 4-rm resale flat in Serangoon North in August. Completion is scheduled in early Jan ‘08 but we have taken possession of the flat in mid Dec. We are rushing to move in before CNY and the renovation has begun since 18 Dec.

Hi wensi, care to share the sales person's name and which branch? Kindly pm me. Many thanks..