snoozee

Private houses no need to use premixed cement. what is the tile pricing range that is quoted? If quoted max $3psf tiles, then the labour and materials for tiling will be at $12psf. price will differ from laying marble/granite and porcelain/ceramic tiles. looking at my own house quotation, your $15psf inclusive of supply of tiles does not seem excessive.

why be so focused on resale value? if you think converting the balcony will value add to you and your family's living condition, then just go ahead to do it. it's more important for you to enjoy staying in the house rather than thinking of what the future buyer of you house will like or dislike. if you are so focused on resale value, then just do the bare minimum to the house and wait for the property to appreciate and sell it. this way you will get the most returns rather than doing renovation to suit a future buyer.

Nparks. Can try asking but fengshui doesn’t seem to be a very good reason for them to give approval.normally if affects your house access then approval would be given. But in this case is not outside your house at all so chances for approval is quite small I think

there's always a risk of leaks from openings. silicone may deteriorate over time and hence resulting in leaks. if you want to install a skylight, you need to think whether you need it to be openable or not. if not needed to be open, then a fixed glass panel will do and you can do whatever size you like and a normal window installer can do the job. But if you want to be openable, then you need to source for a proper supplier as skylight windows which are imported overseas comes in standard sizes. so your opening size will be based on what is available in the market. there's only a handful of openable skylight suppliers in Singapore so you can google for them. for either solution, as you need to open the roof, you need to coordinate with the roofing contractor to create the opening as well as the proper structure such that the window or glass panel can be mounted.

Well, it really depends on how you plan your usage. Backyard normally is used as a laundry and washing area. So if you have big kitchen utensils which can’t fit into the sink fo washing, you can bring it directly out through the kitchen to wash instead of having to go through your dinning area. Also, if you have guest in the house and are seated at the dinning area, it’s not going to be very nice to bring laundry in/out through the dining area while your guests are around. Go through the scenarios when you need to access the backyard and determine if you are ok to access it via the dining room or it it better through the kitchen

Depending on where the eaves are located, they can serve another purpose. My house is designed with eaves above all the windows and this serve to prevent rain from splashing into the room to a certain extent. i also have eaves on the main roof as well to direct rain water away from the side wall. do note that staining usually occurs and starts from the top. If you think you can live with the staining, then can just remove them. maybe you can just take photos of your house first and photoshop away the existing eaves and see if you like the new look.

the IMDA requirements for new developments is to have RG6 cable and TV points installed in every room and in the highest room, an additional point near the window for antenna connection to the RG6 network. if you choose not to spend money on RG6 cables, the only option to receive free to air TV is to have antenna for each TV. if your TV are smart TVs with the ability to install apps, use MeWatch like what pete had suggested. my suggestion is to install additional network points in every room and hook up your TV to the network points so you can stream online media.

metal roof sheets itself may be lighter. but the metal roof comprises of multiple layers like aluminum foil, wiremesh, rockwool, bitumen sheets, zinc sheets so these add on to the weight. all these substrates are sandwiched between the purlins and the metal roof and the substrates are normally fixed by having the zinc sheet screwed using self tapping screws into the purlins. also, depending on the metal roof system used, there may also be mounting clips which are screwed onto the purlins as well to lock the metal sheets in place.

The A&A can be just on the external walls. But you are also limited to how much you can do without hacking into the structural elements. Eg: if you want to change from half height windows to full height ones should be ok. But if you want to add RC ledges or fins, then you can’t do it as this are usually tied back to the columns and beams during the construction process. of cos you can also add screens and such to the external walls or have brick veneers or tiles added to the external walls to enhance the look. Even using paint to “break up” a plain mono coloured wall can be an option as well.

Trees planted in the ground need to submit to NParks for approval to remove. Potted plants just get your contractor to dispose of them if you don’t want them

Find an architect to do an A&A

Did you ask them about the water pressure on the top floor? if your renovation works do not require any submissions to PUB, then getting rid of the tank and pump is up to you. If PUB is involved, they might flag this up on why there is no tank for your house.

they did piling because they need to due to soil conditions. my house did footings and i've seen others who did raft foundations. so ultimately what kind of foundation is done is based on the existing soil conditions and what the PE decides on based on the soil investigation report. so it does not mean that any houses which are done using footings or raft foundations are less stable than houses which uses piled foundation

if you got enough space then you need to get a QP to do up all the drawings and submissions for you. also need to buy the road line plan from SLA. best is also do a land survey of the property so that all the dimensions can be correctly measures. the QP will use this certified survey drawings to base the new architectural/structural drawings on.

you need to check if you have enough kerb width left on both sides first after widening to 4.5m. if you don't have that, you can only adjust up to the max you can after factoring in the 6m kerb width on both sides so that roadside parking still can be achieved. your corner terrace might be a bit tricky as your attached neighbour side may not give you the 6m width required. so you have to see your detached side has enough space or not. after you determine that there is enough space, you need to get a QP to submit the drawings to NParks to see what they say about the trees. I won't know what kind of directions NParks will issue since they would most likely assess each application based on the circumstances. removal and disposal was done by my main contactor who built my house. part of the construction cost.

sometimes things inside your boundary also doesn't belong to you. I have an incoming power cable running through my land to supply power for my neighbour as last time it was joined to my house before splitting to the neighbour's house. lucky i managed to talk to my neighbour to have the new distribution box relocated on their side after relocation else i will have another unsightly box within my property as I am obliged by law to maintain this access for my neighbour.

it's not my tree. it's planted within the pedestrian kerb itself as i do not have a planting/green verge outside. i had to remove it so that it allows for me to open up the new access to my house as previously there isn't any space for vehicle access. But i did not have to plant back any new tree though since there's no space to replace it. removal and disposal is done by my contractor. BUT this was done after we had gotten the approval from NParks. Can't just remove any trees without approval (even if within own house) if the girth of the tree is above 1m and your property is in a trees conservation zone or originally a empty plot of land. will get fined for any removal without consulting NParks first. submission fee is for them to assess the development plans and give approval. exact amount is $1605 ($1500 plus 7% GST)

if your current place is on single phase 63A, you need to decide if this is sufficient for your needs. eg: you like to turn on many appliances all at once like all aircon units within the house turned on while cooking a meal on electric cooker and also baking at the same time with dual ovens. this is not forgetting you may have lights on and TV on as well as other appliances like refrigerator being in use as well. so it really depends on your lifestyle and pattern of usage. many houses are were constructed years ago still have their occupants getting by on single phase 63A. if you think you will be using quite a bit of electricity concurrently, it's better to do the upgrade now while doing renovation rather than later after you move in.

box culvert not done means need approvals from BCA, LTA, PUB, NParks. i also had to do up the box culvert for my house along with all the necessary works like new drainage, railings, kerb, etc. cost me more than 10k just for this part in construction cost. for the box culvert, what you need to do is just what is required for your entrance. don't have to do up the entire width of the house. no point you spending money to do up public infrastructure. yes, approvals can take 3 to 6 months because of all the waiting time in between and there's so many agencies to clear. and you need to clear the agencies like LTA, PUB first before the final plans can be submitted to URA and BCA for approval and then issue of permit to start works.

Yes, NParks would be involved on the planting verge. Pedestrian kerb is under LTA. if NParks is involved, a fee also need to be paid to them. I paid around 1.6k just for them to approve the plans for a tree removal. If the house's external drain already had been covered up by PUB previously, then no need to redo the box culvert. so PUB may or may not be involved. Approvals is not the issue as long as all drawings are in order. It's the taking over that is troublesome these days and the agencies will take their time to response. eg: BCA will take the full 7 working days to respond. PUB official time frame is 3 weeks but sometime lucky can get response in 2 weeks plus. LTA takes 4 weeks to respond. so a lot of time is wasted just waiting for approval/rejection before something can be done to rectify the works if needed

I had to pay 5k plus for upgrade to 3 phase 63a electricity supply. This includes the cost for SP to get their subcon to pull in new cable and commissioning as well. for water, I paid 1k plus to commission my new water meter in the meter compartment you will definitely need to engage a LEW and licensed plumber to do the applications and works for you. Could be another few k for their services. All in all, I think around 10k or more for this part and not including the structural works. since you are adjusting the house access opening, need to submit to LTA as well. Need to engage a PE to do the drawings and submissions. LTA no fees but PE you need to pay for the service

if the sloping roof is until the 1m setback line from their boundary, there's nothing you can do about it as this is legal. you can't control how water flows and which direction the wind blows the water

go to the government directory and search for the email address of the heads/directors and send them the emails. once those at the top are involved, things will move. best is also CC minister of MND as well. tell them that if nothing is done, they are acknowledging that what was done is legal and you cannot be faulted if you decide to do the same illegal extension

Well, my house is 2 storey with mezzanine and attic which makes it 4 storeys and is similar to a 3 storey house with attic. I do not need to have external stairs nor sprinkler systems for my house. But still had to go through SCDF for fire clearance.

only your house is subjected to checks unless you decide to feedback to the authorities on your neighbours' houses.