hdb4ever

Hi they are on level 1 A'Posh Bizhub, 1 Yishun Industrial Street. Tried to PM you more details but looks like I am not able to for some reason.

The kitchen is service yard area looks big! Would you be able to post your floor plan?

The bed frame is from Ideal Home Furnishing and I bought it waay back in June for $1200 Will post more photos when it has been delivered (which should be soon!)

Truly amazing that all that work could be done in so short a time! Are the above the pre-renovation photos? Looking forward to the post-renovation photos!

For washer I would suggest 8kg capacity so that it can also wash your queen sized bedsheets (less of an issue if your mattress size is smaller). 2 in 1 is space saving and should be fine just note that the dryer capacity is lower than the washer eg 8kg/5kg, so you want to remove some items before starting the dryer function if you usually wash at full load. I would usually wash the following groups of items separately: clothes, bed sheets/pillow cases, towels/hand towels, mats/rugs. I find that dryers other than being energy guzzlers also fray clothes somewhat reducing the life span of clothes. A 2 in 1 is handy for times when you absolutely can’t wait for the clothes to dry or there is not much sun due to rainy season. You can also run towels through a short airing cycle on the dryer so that they are more fluffy after being air dried. Another idea is to use dehumidifiers to speed up indoor drying, and there are models now with “Laundryfresh” labels. Will use one and see how well it works when my new place is ready. It also consumes less electricity compared to a dryer = lower bills!

Weeks 8 & 9 progress update Progress a little slower than expected, largely because carpentry specs were finalised and are now being made in the factory. Here's an update on everything else that happened in the meantime! You probably noticed that this apartment is full of "niches" under the windows. Ordinarily, I would build storage shelves or compartments like what I have at my current place. Unfortunately, the under window niches in this apartment are for the most part very very shallow making them largely useless for storage. So what to do with such less-than-useful eyesores? Box them up of course! But two pieces of board?? I wasn't really sure about this at first. I am a lot more convinced that this will work after some plastering work was done though. I would expect the entire wall to look seamlessly flat with some matching paint work. Boxing up also finally covered up the exposed water piping (I don't use gas) coming from outside the apartment. One "special feature" I'd specifically requested for was for a small part of this corner of the living room to be boxed up. This is so that I have a TV wall that is perpendicular to the windows in the living room, and parallel to the kitchen's (upcoming) island.I find this arrangement makes it a lot more comfortable to watch the TV while in the kitchen or when seated at the dinner table (which will be perpendicular to the living room windows) This is the newly created niche above which I would mount my TV and sounder. It has the routed fibre point, and electrical points for the TV, soundbar, router, media player and so on. Hopefully this is deep and wide enough! The glass guy also came to install the only large pieces of glass in this entire flat! And so completes the look of my "opened up" study room. The glass is affixed securely on the base that is this half wall. No chance of accidentally getting dislodged! I asked for the glass door to swing only inwards to avoid accidents. But this is also why the light switch for the study room has to be located outside the room. Recognise this box? Probably not, seeing that most Renotalkers go with more well known brands like Starmex and such. This brand is Trentios and I just might be the first Renotalker to use their inverter air conditioners I read about them not too long ago and figured..why not? So far their sales staff and installers have been very responsive, polite and professional. Will post an update after several months of use. One odd thing that happened with my order: I bought 3 x 9k units (one for each room) but I was upgraded to 3 x 12k units.Did they run out of stock of 9k units? Anyway, seeing that this upgrade was FOC I accepted it without hesitation. The small box in the picture above is a promotional and free Trentios branded portable infrared cooker..which I suppose is a "hot plate" type of induction cooker? This is what the aircon unit actually looks like.The installer guys left the plastic wrapping on seeing that the entire apartment is still in a mess and full of dust! A view of the compressor unit from the window of my service yard. When I did my window grilles the previous week, I also replaced the service yard windows with 3-pane on 3-track sliding windows. The installer guys thanked me saying that putting a compressor though the previous casement windows would be that much more complex and challenging. Unlike newer BTOs that have aircon ledges large enough for 2 men to stand on safely, mine has only a teeny aircon ledge. I don't even want to imagine how the guys lowered and installed this compressor. The bathroom guys also came to install the sink cabinets and bathroom accessories. Because of the water pipes running across the bathroom walls, the guys had to saw off parts of the back of the cabinets - very time consuming work! Drilling each hole carefully (because no tile was cracked!) also took time. The look of my bathroom coming together quite nicely. The mirror cabinet and sink cabinet and mixer I got at really good prices from Biene at Woodlands. The classy towel ring is from EZBuy. This trio of wall mounted corner caddies are purportedly made of "space aluminium" As is this towel rack. I love how it can be flipped upwards (and stay there!) when not in use. Both items are also cheap and good buys via EZBuy. The bathroom guys also helped me to fix up 3 wooden floating shelves I got off EZBuy - which somehow fit perfectly into this corner niche in the study room! Encountered one boo boo though. Somehow the pipe at the bottom of this service yard sink is too much in front of the sink cabinet!! I understand that some retiling will need to happen to address it.... Since renovation will be wrapping up in the next two weeks (only carpentry and lights installation left!), I also took the opportunity to do a little bit of DIY. Three of the window handles are broken, so I ordered replacements from Lazada (at $3 each) and replaced them using a screwdriver and spanner. Achievement unlocked!

Week 7 progress update It's been a "very happening" week with different groups of workers coming in - sometimes even at the same time! First, those big Baron boxes. Got myself the very sleek looking Baron W888 WCs for the bathrooms. I like how the back of the WC can be almost flush against the wall because there is a recessed area at the lower part for pipes to go through. The storage water heater is a Joven 35l, which ought to be enough. I'm able to place this in the service yard (rather than a bathroom) because it's practically adjacent to both bathrooms! Which hopefully also means that hot water won't take more than a few milliseconds to reach me in the mornings. The sliding windows in this flat are in good condition, so I kept almost all. But the grilles look like they will take some effort to clean, so they had to go. The service yard windows are also somehow of a different colour than all the other windows so they needed to be replaced too. I engaged Home Aluminium Metal Works to install my new window grilles and service yard windows. First came the window grille frames for my living room windows - the longest windows in this apartment. The workers carrying these had to take the stairs all the way up, which must have been exhausting because I am on the highest floor! Thankfully the rest could fit into the lift. As this was the first time I could see windows being dismantled, I looked on closely (but from a safe distance) and came away impressed by how systematically and efficiently everything was done. While service yard windows/grilles were being removed and installed, the window grilles in the rest of the apartment were also being installed concurrently. Before and After window grille installation. Just a few spaced out horizontal bars so that they (1) don't obscure the view, and (2) can be cleaned very quickly. The spacing between the bars might be too wide though to keep children or cats safe. Since I have no children or cats, why bother installing window grilles? Simple: so that I don't accidentally fall out of the window while cleaning or after tripping. I didn't need grilles to cover the top mini windows because I don't expect to be able to fall out of it. Works were done very efficiently and the Home Aluminium Metal Works guys even cleaned up after their installations (important if your place already has furniture and is being used). All in all, the installations took only about 90 minutes - and might have taken even less time if works had been uninterrupted. So why was it interrupted? Because I also scheduled the installation of my Varlux automatic laundry system in the same morning. Here's another very efficient and clean installation. He uses some sort of cone attachment with the drill to minimise the amount of dust falling to the floor - much appreciated, even if my entire place is already exceedingly dusty and messy This is what it looks like once fully mounted. Would have liked to go with a larger model, but the part of my service yard with the windows is small. Thanks to my high ceiling, I don't expect hung laundry to obscure the windows. Total installation time (including some waiting time for window installers to finish up, and demonstrating to clueless me how to use it) was less than 30 minutes. Notice how white paint on the wall seems different from the white on the walls in the room? It's not a trick of the lighting - they are really different shades of white. Whispering White in all areas outside rooms because it contributes to the bright and airy feel that I am going for. Lilac White for all rooms for its soothing feel. I was really tempted to box up this (one of two) annoyingly large pipes in my service yard. But with a fresh coat of paint, it really doesn't look too bad. In fact that small gap between the pipes and the wall will be good for hanging the broom and other cleaning tools. I'm also no longer so bothered by the aircon trunking running across this room. Amazing what painting can accomplish! Although it probably helps that the trunking is above my eye level This board covering the old (and no longer used) aircon ledge in the bedroom still sticks out despite being painted over. Needs to be completely covered! Hmm I wonder what's going to happen next week??

Hmm that might be the reason why? It could be because this is just below the service yard's window though - something that wasn't clear from my previous photo.

Week 6 progress update Came by this week and what did I see? Cracked toilet tiles! But they're there for good reason because 1) Electrical wiring is done! and 2) Aircon trunking is done! Notice the excessively bulky trunking on the right wall? It's unavoidable because that's where the aircon cables lead out into the aircon ledge. I'm glad my aircon ledge is not in my master bedroom like in some resale flats. Since I want to minimise the need for any aircon troubles in the future, I opted for Class 0 Armaflex 1/2 inch insulation, G22 Copper Pipe and 16mm Drainage Pipe. Not really sure what that all means but hope it makes a difference somehow considering it costs a little more The water drainage from the aircon system is routed to my common bathroom at the show area. Glad my bathroom's wall tiles are mostly white - the trunking would stick out a lot more otherwise! I would have preferred the cables in my master bedroom to be run much closer to the ceiling, but seems like doing so would affect the efficiency of the aircon? Oh well.. Otherwise the aircon installers did a neat job with drilled holes properly patched up. This gap is an invitation for creepy crawlies to nest though. Have been informed that this will get boxed up. Now back to electrical wiring. Just because wiring is done doesn't mean that switches are installed yet though. Here the electrician has somehow routed the wires through the wall so that switches for the study room can be placed outside, by the entrance. More wires "bursting" out of the wall. These will be for the service yard's lights and two items in the service yard: the automatic laundry system and electrical storage water heater. While for the most part the wires have been concealed very nicely by trunking, a few are left "loose" like vines in a concrete jungle. In this case, carpentry in the kitchen area needs to be finalised first. The electrician has done a really nice job of laying the wires in an unobtrusive a manner as possible by keeping to the corners etc. In this case though it was placed so close to the window that there won't be room for installation of window grilles I don't blame him since he probably assumed I'm skipping window grilles. Anyway, it will be shifted a few centimetres to the right.

Finally wandered into this thread! Your DIY projects are truly inspiring! How is your washer pedestal with accompanying broom closet setup holding up after a year of use?

Wow it's been so many months now. Your key collection - and start of renovation - is imminent!

Hi Jason Wong I will be doing wooden carpentry for my kitchen cabinets, wardrobe, storage cabinets and settes. Still work in progress so no updates for this t-blog yet!

Your walk-in-wardrobe looks very tidy!! But how do you cope with being unable to use the store room for storage?

Hi BlackSwan is your renovation done? Do let us know how you find the igloohome. I am presently using the August smart lock at my place and I really love the convenience of the door auto-unlocking when I reach home. In the rare occasion that I forgot to bring my phone and my keys, I can unlock using my Apple Watch too!

Hi I have bought Fanz ceiling fans from Malaysia and they have warranty and installation services in Singapore too! https://www.facebook.com/FanzCeilingFan/

Week 5 progress update So what do you do after plastering a flat to be all shiny and smooth? Punch holes through the walls again of course! But this is inevitable to install wiring and pipes at all the desired places. Pipes in the bathroom of the Master Bedroom which will hopefully blend in with the tiles once painted white. Why 2 sets of pipes? Because one for cold water and one for hot water coming in from the water heater... ...which will be placed here in the service yard, at that corner next to the window of the common bathroom. Good thing these huge pipes can obscure the maze-like pipes - at least it's good for something aesthetically!! Remember I was griping about the existence of 2 pairs of huge pipes in 2 corners of the service yard? Suddenly I'm glad that this one's not flush against the wall either, because it obscures and enables nicer electrical cabling into the kitchen. The kitchen sink will be at this spot, because I don't like the idea of either the sink, hob or fridge being by the kitchen windows. Hot water will also be available at the kitchen sink because erm hot water might help in washing some stuff I think?? Recessed walls are put to good use, obscuring trunking. While all this was going on, several deliveries were also made: First up was self-delivery of items I have been buying since June My family members are rejoicing that the balcony of my current place is now (largely) clear again. Basically: fans (with lights) for all bedrooms and the living room, bought in Tampoi, JB before the Sales and Service Tax came into effect! ceiling and hanging lights, and bathroom accessories, from various shops via EZBuy bathroom lights from Sense N Bedeck, and Ikea Fittings for the kitchen cabinets from Excel Hardware. Kudos for being able to arrange for delivery within such short notice! The carpenters will be incorporating these into their kitchen cabinet designs. Mirror cabinets and basin cabinets for the bathrooms from Biene And a whole bunch of stuff from *** including my Baron WCs, kitchen and service yard sinks and mixer/tap and showerheads. Will go through all items one at a time as they're fixed up. Whew! All ready for another exciting week ahead!

Thanks snoozee and KFC1189! I took a closer look at the board and noticed some light seeping through the gap Definitely getting re-sealed! As for the niches, am now planning to place an air purifier at the bottom one and install some floating shelves at the top one!

Not sure whether you are still frequenting this forum, but how did you inventually cover the bottom panel?

Week 4 progress update "Not much" happened this week other than...plastering of the entire flat! So what exactly is plastering? Basically, a thin layer of cement-like substance is spread out along the wall and ceiling to smoothen out all surfaces. This is the wall plaster that was used. My flat underwent very extensive hacking due to the need to remove fixtures and cornice just about everywhere, so it developed a severe case of pockmarks So how dramatically can plastering change the face of one's resale flat? For that, compare the "in progress" and "after" photos here... No more jagged edges! No more holes! Another advantage of plastering is that everything becomes whitish again - almost like the feel of a fresh BTO flat I suppose. Notice the green paint on the walls can no longer be seen? Thanks to plastering, the painters won't have to paint too many coats as base before getting to my choice of colours! View of the service yard. Removal of the cabinets that used to be here left holes all over the place, that had to be filled with patches of cement! Thanks to plastering, the yard walls no longer look like a disaster. Painting should conceal whatever traces of cement that can still be seen. I was really worried about this ledge in the master bedroom because it looked really bad after the hacking. Post plastering, everything looks shiny and new! But I do wonder what I ought to do about: 1. That (presently orange) piece of board that conceals access to what used to be the aircon bracket?? I will be locating my aircon compressor at the service yard instead. 2. That window size ledge next to the window?? Place some plants or a clock??

Hi KFC1189 - No other big pipes in the entire house! Weird huh? i am not completely sure but it might be because this flat is one of those short lived Design & Build flats, which would explain its very unconventional layout

Week 3 progress update Reality bites Some friends are also doing renovation for their new BTOs at the same time, so I get to compare notes quite a bit. And I've come to one realisation: you simply need to do a lot more renovation (and spend a lot more $$$) with a resale flat - for similar results! In my case, I needed to hack all tiles in every square inch of this flat, replace all existing electrical wiring, replace all piping and remove all fixtures. Talking about hacking, I did not anticipate the sheer amount of fixtures (wardrobe, cabinets, cornice!) that needed to be removed - and the numerous holes that are left all over my walls at just about every location! For example, take a look at my service yard.. ...see the number of holes that need to be patched up just here alone? Another offender is cornice: after removing cornice from just about every area and room in this flat, I am left with many many more holes and uneven walls. I knew that all these pimple-like imperfections, even after some cementing and deft paintwork, can never be overlooked by my eyes. So in the end I had to top up more $$$ to plaster the entire house (whatever is not tiled). So if you are doing viewing for resale flats, you might want to consider the additional cost of renovation if the flat has a really large number of fixtures! Terrific tiling Really loving the marble style tiles that I chose for the bathrooms. I am glad that I'd gone with larger 60cm x 60cm tiles for the bathroom walls because the marble effect is almost seamless! Tiling in all the rooms have also been completed, and here you can see the skirting too. Notice the rough looking part of the wall above the skirting??? No matter, everything will be plastered away! As this flat is on the top floor, both bathrooms were spared from having any large pipes. Alas this is untrue of the service yard - it has 2 pairs of large pipes in either corner! I wondered what the hardworking tilers could possibly do to make these corners look pleasant? Turns out that I need not have worried.. Yes, they did some sort of overlaying for the areas around these pipes - so they are now much less troubling looking! Cement base for the kitchen cabinets (including sink) also done. Apparently not everybody thinks cement bases are necessary these days, but I prefer to be on the safe side. View of the opened kitchen (and service yard) from the living room. Did you know that if you want to make a "half glass wall", you need to first demolish the entire wall? A new nugget of knowledge for noobie me. The newly constructed "half wall" is ready for plastering, painting and, eventually, a translucent top glassy half! And so after two whole weeks the tiling works in this 104 sqm flat are complete!!! Up next should be plastering of the entire flat!

Whisperer I hope you're not still feeling too down about the issues. Are your renovations completed now?

Week 2 progress update I plan to be able to roll an Ikea Raskog out of the service yard into the kitchen when the need arises, so the kerb between the kitchen and yard had to go! As expected, tiling started this week and proceeded at a very good pace. Very happy with the wood-grain tile that I picked at Hafary for the living area and rooms. Am also pleased with how the tile layer is doing these tiles. . Floor tiles also completed in the service yard + the kitchen! This is how well the tiler has done the "transition" of tiles at at the kitchen/living+dining area border. The renovation permit for demolishing the store room has finally been approved by HDB! So it got removed, along with the bedroom and kitchen wall - all within a single day! Farewell store room! The entryway doesn't feel so cramped anymore! Seeing more natural light in the living room now with the bedroom (soon to be a study room) wall gone! Removing the kitchen wall resulted in a more spacious-looking kitchen! Tiling for bathroom walls and floor also all done! Did a "step down" for the shower area. Amazing how much can be done in a week! I suspect all tiling might be completed in the coming week!

Congrats on getting the place! Are you still due for moving out by the end of month i.e. in 17 days' time? Does that mean you don't plan on hacking the tiles? Yes 10 quotes sounds like overdoing it I decided on considering only just 4 (after a lot of online research though).

Week 1 progress update Hack hack hack! By the end of the first day, the floor was full of debris from the tiles and all built in cabinets. The floor looked too much like an obstacle course so I dared not step in any further! But amazingly, this is what it looked like by the end of the second day. All gone! Amazingly fast huh? Not much else happened this week other than water proofing and cementing of the bathrooms The floor and wall look smooth and ready to receive some tiling loving Speaking of tiles, they have also been loaded into the different areas of the apartment. Two of the tiles that will be placed all over the apartment. The bottom one is a woodgrain type which will be placed over the living and dining areas, and all rooms! Actually much nicer than it looks in this photo! One another note, thanks to removal of all the cabinets in the service yard, this was revealed... Yes 2 huge pipes in that corner. And the windows to the common bathroom aren't as high as I expected either! Which means 1. No way to fit a dryer and washing machine side by side 2. No way to stack a dryer on top of a washing machine either (without cutting off ventilation to the common bathroom). Solution? Use a combo washing machine-dryer instead. Such machines have a drying capacity lower than its washer capacity (e.g. 8kg washer/5kg dryer) though. So I now also have to look into getting an electric hanging laundry machine to meet my drying needs