snoozee

actually correct term for >50% is reconstruction. <50% - A&A >50% - Reconstruction Total teardown - Redevelopment/New Erection how much is your additional GFA? normally when adding so much (90%) GFA it would be better to just do a new built rather than reconstruction as the cost difference is marginal. for $1M, it is possible to do a new built.

the owner can purchase the floor plan. or any person authorized by the owner can do the purchase as well. the seller agent simply bochap. once you excised the OTP, you can try to get the owner to authorize you to purchase the plans. https://www.bca.gov.sg/PPS/Docs/Eligibility and Supporting Documents Required.pdf

I might be wrong but I think the only way to determine if there's any problems with the existing structure is to get a PE in to take a look. whether the house can take another 1/2 storey or not also need a PE to verify from the existing structural plans which need to be purchased from BCA with existing owner's authorization.

hardly anyone will use existing single storey house and rebuilt into 2/3 storey house. easier to just tear down and rebuild from scratch whether can build into 2.5 or 3.5 storey depends on where your house is located. cost wise depends on how much build up GFA you are looking at, soil conditions and whether there is a public sewer running through your house or not assuming you want a build up area of 3000sqf, at an average rate of $300psf construction cost, this will cost about $900k. if the land is on poor soil conditions, another few tens of thousands will go into piling. if you are "lucky" to have sewer running through your house and you wish to build your house over this sewer, you will need to build an RC trench to protect the sewer. if not you will have to set back your house from the sewer line. so all in, you are looking at a cost of about 1Mil thereabouts. note that this 1Mil is NOT inclusive of the consultants fees and authority fees for submissions.

you are not allowed to move in until TOP is obtained. https://www.bca.gov.sg/myHomeeServices/HomeOwners_Renovating_Reno_PPtyFAQTOPCSC.htm

you'll need to get a contractor to check if there is still asbestos used in the roof. if the roof had been worked on or replaced within the last 30 years, chances that asbestos would had been removed. but since you are doing A&A and if there are asbestos on your roof, I would suggest to get that removed rather than just leaving it there. note that specialists need to be engaged for asbestos removal.

canopy is always limited to being extended to up to 1m from the side and rear boundary. Front is 2.4m from boundary. See attached guideline. Canopy setback is based on roof eaves setback by regulations, you are not allowed to build the canopy all the way to the boundary wall.

He has problems with his “architect” who was supposedly suspended. The architect who signed on the drawings didn’t want to do the TOP inspection until he feedbacked to BOA. TOP inspection was finally done but missing a lot of paperwork. There also doesn’t seem to be any proper contract or quotation signed for the building works as he said all works and payments done on “trust” So now he say he having problems with the contractor. Based on all the info he had posted till date, I feel he had been chopped by the contractor and “architect”. 2.8M to build a 7500sqf semi-d seemed to be overpriced considering that he still had to pay for many items himself. Also based on one of his posting, the project had been on going for 3 years already which is way to long to build a house when you consider that a full HDB development can actually be completed within 3 years.

You’ll need to see which contractor is willing to take up the liability of the work done so far. Assuming you can find someone to take over, you will need to go to BCA to apply to change the contractor since the permit to commence works is issued to the existing contractor. For exact procedure to do this please check with BCA. If you are engaging a new contractor, please make sure to have everything in black and white.

it all depends on how extensive your A&A is going to be. getting an architect means your cost will go up by a few tens of thousand to pay for the architect's services and such. but it also means there's someone who will help manage and coordinate the project for you. a reputable builder can also do everything but do choose a builder carefully as some contractors will cut corners here and there to maximize their profit margin. if you have the time and some knowledge to manage the project yourself, then you can go for the builder route. else I would suggest getting an architect instead to save yourself the headaches

normally if you are not adding more than 50% of GFA, it will be considered as A&A. you will still need a QP (either architect or professional engineer) to do the submission/endorsement.

I think it’s going to cost quite a bit if you want to switch from using the supply from the pole to a new underground supply. Assuming the house doesn’t have an existing underground supply to your house, you need to get PUB to pull a new underground cable to your house. If your house does not have existing meter box outside, then you might need to build a new meter box as well to have the utilities meters relocated outside. Again, PUB would be the best to advise what you need to do

you will need to engage a Licensed Electrical Worker to do any electrical works. PUB would know whether the cables there are still in use or not and then advise on whether that pole can be relocated or not. nowadays not many of these poles in Singapore. you so "lucky" to encounter one for your house.

from what I understand HDB checks are more stringent. as a property buyer, it's your digression on what you accept/reject when you take over the unit from the developer then work with the developer on the defects. of cos there will also be very "ngeow" owners who will stick tapes on every tile in the house to demand for re-laying of all the tiles. as a private property developer, there's nothing wrong for them to want to maximize profits. everyone is in this world to make $$$ on way or another. whether it's morally right or wrong is not for me to comment.

normally contractor will apply under their company

I think should be quite common. "can save just save". I saw photos of condo renovation where the original kitchen cabinets are removed and what is on the wall is just raw concrete which isn't even finished. only parts of the wall where the kitchen cabinets don't cover are tiled up.

Is your house in a 2 storey or 3 storey landed zone? Since you mentioned it is already a 2.5 storey house, most likely it is in a 2 storey zone and you cannot make it into a 3 storey house through A&A. The only way you can get an "additional storey" within a 2 storey zone is to tear down and rebuilt based on the new envelope control and squeeze in an addition floor between.

You got an old single storey and trying to add another storey?

Won't say it's back to square one as now at least you know what else is needed for TOP. not sure what else you can do to force them to do their work. I'm assuming that you do not have receipts/invoices of the payments you've made to any party till now since you mentioned there's no proper contract/quotation for the entire project. Even if you decide to bring up a civil suit against them, with no paperwork it's hard to bring up a case. The last option (which might be viable) is to find an architect who is willing to take over this last part of the project, then get the original architect who signed on the drawings to resign/discharge himself from the project. Whether you want to lodge a formal complaint with BOA against this guy is then up to you.

the max allowed width depends on your site frontage width as well as requiring a minimum 6m planting strip between the edge of your entrance to the edge of your neighbor's entrance. so for Semi-D with frontage of more than 8m, you can have up to a 5.5m wide gate PROVIDED that in between there is a minimum 6m planting strip in between. for example, if your semi-d has a 8m frontage and your neighbor also has a 8m frontage, technically you can have a 5.5m wide entrance. however, if your neighbor already has a 5.5m wide entrance, you can only do a 4.5m wide entrance since in between your entrances, a min of 6m is needed. see illustration below. |-neighbor-|-planting strip |---you--| |<---5.5m->|<--------6m------>|<4.5m>| however, if your neighbor only has a 4m wide entrance, then you can have a 5.5m wide entrance |-neighbor-|-planting strip |---you--| |<---4m->|<--------6.5m------>|<5.5m>| there are also other issue like pairing of entrances to be taken into account so cannot anyhow widen or shift the entrance.

unfortunately if you have no proper signed contract or quotation for the works the avenues for recourse is almost zero. for proper construction projects, there will always be a quotation for the works with what is included/excluded, etc and most importantly a schedule of when the project should be completed otherwise LD would be imposed on the contractor.

His already going for TOP inspection soon

Glad you sorted this issue out. cost wise I can't really give a comment as every project comes with it's own challenges and how the owner negotiates on the professional fees and what materials and finishing is used for the house. your 2.8M sound quite expensive but again, I do not know what is involved. based on an average construction cost of 300psf, your 7500spf build up will cost about 2.25m so the balance of 0.55M for government and professional fees is way too much. unless your architect is some famous architect, then your architect and PE fees should not exceed 100K. best is you look at your cost breakdown and then decide. unfortunately since you had already signed on the quotations and such, I'm not sure what recourse you have even if you feel that you are over charged for your project. in case you're wondering where the magical $300psf is derived from, it's based on data from quarterly construction costs from this website. http://www.langdonseah.com/en/sg/publications/filter/all/sg

I'm not sure if the existing architect need to resign/discharge himself from your project. If he has to do so then you would most probably need to appoint another architect to take over since yours is a rebuilt project which needs an architect to be involved. Best is that you call up the PE first and ask him about this as well since they would be more familiar with the various regulations and requirements.

The PE would have charged a lump sum for doing up your house's structural plans and such. TOP inspection may not be part of the initial sum. As for how much he will charge and whether he want to do is best to call the firm directly to ask. Hope things work out well for you eventually.