Ohwowitsmac

Thanks for the compliments! 1) correct, the MBR is connected to another bedroom. However, I'm not sleeping in the MBR which comes with an en suite. Instead I am sleeping in the other bedroom, the MBR has been converted to my changing room. 2) Yes the door shifted. Technically it's sealed up. And the door moved internally to connect the 2 rooms. 3) No, did not hack the kitchen wall to move into the bedroom. But did hack the wall to open it up.

Hi you can reach Edmund at 90186223

Thank you!

it's by J&E's subcon

Yup! I was definitely quite lucky! The sellers are a very nice and young couple and we got along pretty well during the entire process. You are absolutely right! Now that the Reno period is over, I find myself thinking about it. I've come to realize that I really enjoy the whole conceptualizing and matching furniture part of the process. It's especially satisfying to see the outcome of your own imagination.

Thank you so much!!! Where are you staying now? For me, I've lived in Hougang almost my entire life so it was a no brainer decision for me. And also, if I move further away, I risk being disowned by my parents! Hahaha

Thanks!

a little different from most of the t-blogs here since i'm only typing this up when my renovation is already done. so here's a recap on various chapters of the entire renovation process that's still relatively fresh in my mind. chapter one- choosing and identifying the right house. i knew for a long time that i have to get my own place, after spending all of my life living with my parents. condo i toyed with the idea of purchasing a condo 2 bedrooms unit and had visited several show flats but couldn't bring myself to go ahead with the purchase due to reasons like the following: very small space, e.g. less than 900 sqft for some of the 2 bedrooms unit expensive start up costs- some of the units i saw was going for $900k-$1.4million- once i make the downpayment, it'd leave me with little flexibility for renovation and furniture monthly conservancy fees- again, this will be a significant amount of money to fork out every month to finance the maintenance of the facilities which i will hardly use (e.g. gym, swimming pools etc), so just wanted to be realistic. BTO flat i'm a singleton so i'm only eligible for the 1 bedroom unit option which i'm not interested in because: long TOP lead time too small a living space HDB resale after coming to terms with the above factors, i concluded that i can only do the resale route, and therefore, downloaded propertyguru app onto my phone and started bookmarking shortlisted HDB flats like crazy. i didn't engage a property agent as i felt, as long as i understood the broad strokes of how the transactions work, i could manage it reasonably on my own. i started viewing HDB units before my 35th birthday to grasp a good understanding on what i like and do not like, what's realistic and unrealistic in terms of pricing expectations. all in all, i've viewed a total of 15 or so 4room and 5room flats in Hougang and Serangoon area. with each visit, i made a very detailed note on various things and used a scoring system to shortlist/eliminate: storey- high units views condition of renovation e.g. flooring, window frames, pipes, walls light- is there sufficient natural light? breeze- is it breezy? or i'll be scorched to death even in indoors? corner unit? are there a lot of hacking to be done? e.g. a lot of built in carpentry? humidity in bathrooms? look at the ceiling for hints of that neighbours? how many units? are they noisy? layout of the rooms surrounding amenities proximity to my parents' place it was somewhat tiring as on some weekends, i'd see up to 4 units consecutively but the more units i saw, the clearer i was in being discerning. and finally on 27th august 2016, i made the offer for my 5 room flat, 20 mins after viewing the place, 12 days after my 35th birthday.

hello! sorry for the late reply! i completely missed your comment. I paid around $42k for the entire renovation- this include hacking of 2 bathrooms, full length carpentry (19 ft) in changing room, 6.5 ft island and 13.5ft kitchen cabinets, various electrical stuff, painting etc. i went direct for parquet/gate/doors. all in would be in the range of $48k or so. i kept the floor tiles as it is in great condition, and yes my master bedroom and changing room are connected, accessible via a twin folding door. hope this helps! i don't have an updated floor plan which reflects the changes in the room doors position.

thank you so much!!!

Thank you for loving my home!!! I guess I was very focused on end results, not so much about the start to end journey. Cos, when things happened, it happened fast. I didn't do a lot of hacking. My walls, floor remained the same, I only redid the 2 bathrooms, wardrobe, kitchen and tore down a bunch of built in stuff which i didn't need/like/want

ah i see what you mean now! for me, i asked for a day from the seller (even before i collected keys) and got everyone i was interested to work with (no quotation prior) to go on site, brief and then ask for quotes. but yes, agree that your case, since keys collection is later, then a bit hard. but, if you feel that no loss working with J&E, then just move forward with your shortlisted ones! might be a good experience, no less!

Actually I think you would come to appreciate contractors or ID who actually INSIST to do a site visit for measurements for quotations. i had a mixture and I can really say that with the actual measurements I realized certain things can or cannot he achieved. Some IDs or contractors like to say can can can but without even visiting and when you get the quote before and after measurement you end up getting a rude shock (by you I mean me as I started narrowing the choices) or being disappointed cos suddenly those things that can can can become cannot cannot cannot. Or can can can but add money money money. Dont take it as a waste of time. In fact what I did was arrange for 1 day and slot everyone who I shortlisted to come and measure at different time slots. Then, it only take a few hours on 1 day. Win win.

Ah, I think they are really a very busy duo. At any given time it seems they are handling minimum 8-10 houses. Perhaps cos your key collection is indeed a bit further away. If you can wait, why not contact them again when it's 2 weeks before keys collection? Maybe the situation will change? They are very nice people to work with for sure. Honestly, as long as you already done some homework with other IDs/contractors in terms of look and feel and kind of stuff you wanna do, 2 weeks is fine. They can churn out quotation in 2 days. As for the furniture, yeah danish/European designs are really expensive so I bought them at year end sale when I exceeded a certain amount, I could enjoy more discount so just whack. also, I think of it as classic pieces which I can bring with me when I move next time so it pays out I suppose!

Hi! I asked the contractor to seal up the pipes for the changing room (originally MBR) bathroom. They used a board to do so but I believe the material is waterproof. I think it's a common practice. You can ask your ID/contractor to do so!