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Hi all, guess it's time I started my own blog here to contribute back to this wonderful community that has taught me so much for the past 3 years. Initially I'd intended to start this blog only when I'd either found an ID/ contractor, or when I'd collected my keys, or when my renovation was complete. But since I've met up with 3 IDs, I decided to capture some of my experiences here while they are still fresh. House-hunting I'd have to say that it was less tedious than I thought. I'd viewed approximately 6 houses (1 for fun just to see what the hype was in relation to the price) and chose the last one on the spot. My other half had a heart attack because I signed the OTP within half an hour of viewing the place. Firstly it wasn't a 4 room like I'd originally planned, and secondly, the first floor scared her s**tless as it is a really old estate with a more religious/superstitious demographic, and almost each block had a massive altar in a dark corner of the void deck. One of the first houses we viewed was a huge 4 room corner unit in the same Bt Merah/ Telok Blangah area, and the owners were the kind that owned those red chairs. I don't mind but wouldn't like it if any 'friends' were left behind when they moved out. Anyway, who cares really, Singapore is small and it's not unusual that anyone sees things. I will definitely do the basic stuff like salting the entire house as if I was preserving it for the apolocalypse or teochew porridge ( I had ever burnt sage in one of my rental homes for 3 days...but that's a story for another day). The 3 room I'd chosen fulfilled 98% of my criteria (minus 1% for the void-deck altar, minus 1% for being 75sqm), being high floor, corner, bright but not sunny, spacious kitchen, QUIET, no blockage, and if I stretch my vision and imagination I could see a corner of Mt Faber, and near to the food, doctors, supermarket, bus stops and the CBD. I signed the OTP the day after I turned 35, so maybe I am a little OCD? It was a good date to remember anyway. Here's the floorplan for your viewing pleasure:

Table of Contents M O O D B O A R D 3 D P L A N C O N T R A C T O R S E L E C T I O N T A O B A O B U Y S B A R E U N I T A P P L I A N C E S H A C K I N G M A S O N R Y A I R C O N T R U N K I N G P A I N T I N G P A R Q U E T R E F I N I S H C A R P E N T R Y C A R P E N T R Y ( F I N A L ) L I G H T I N G G L A S S B A C K S P L A S H P L U M B I N G T A O B A O B U Y S 2 C O M P L E T E D L O O K ( L I V I N G, D R E S S I N G, Y A R D ) R E V I E W O F C O N T R A C T O R ( R E N O G U Y Z ) L A T E S T U P D A T E 1 L A T E S T U P D A T E 2 hi guys, so this is the start of my reno journey! pretty excited to have my own thread as i've always been awed by many beautiful homes here. for starters, floor plan! the wait for our 3 room BTO has been very long (5 years). i'm not exactly happy with the size as i've seen a couple of 3 room btos here and they all have way bigger living room and kitchen than i have. i probably have bigger toilets and maybe slightly bigger master bedroom but whats the point? i bake so i need an island this time round. will be very challenging but mostly likely it will be where the dining area is, and there will be no space for a proper dining table.

Been thinking long and hard if I should start a t-blog, because I’m not sure if I can commit to writing one between life, work, and the hectic reno process. But in the end I thought I should try to document the process of shaping my house into a home. Background This is a 3 room unit at Punggol, along the waterway. Key collection started on 14 March 2017 for the first 2 blocks, my block is next and I think we'll most likely get our keys in April. Different from most other t-blogs by couples, the house will be for myself, my mom and my younger brother. Since I’ll be paying for the place (+ reno and furniture/appliances) alone, I chose not to burden myself with a higher loan for my first home by getting a 4R. Hence my budget for reno isn't big at all; my challenge is to make it a nice place with everyone having their own space in a small house. Floor Plan I’m quite happy with the layout of the unit, even though it’s small. Kitchen is tiny but squarish, bedrooms are decent size and bomb shelter is not in front of the kitchen. Overall, I have no real issues with the positioning and shape of the rooms. It also has an open concept kitchen. Next few posts will cover my mood board, the space planning for the house and ID selection process. Can’t wait for my key collection! I was never too excited until the recent 2 months

Applied this 3 room BTO on 30th May 2012, collected keys on 5th Oct 2016 (Wednesday). Layout Inspiration I love looking at Ikea's catalogs since I was a kid, and later I discovered Pinterest. It was the best thing ever! It fed my hungry soul for the design world and the words that healed me in this cruel world. View It was a little hazy that day. Taken from the highest level. Finding the one I find it exhausting telling people in details what I want, so, I am only going to tell my plans to the special one. I will reveal the special one when my project is completed.

I suppose I should just cut the story short as my BB girl is grasping at legs and exclaming "Papa, papa, I, I... I want to work!" (To her, hacking away at the keyboard in front of PC is working) As title suggests I'm trying to make my cosy 3rm be different from standard cookie cutter design. With any project, setting the budget is most important. My current cash flow allows for 50k expense. Its broken down 4 categories. 1. Electronics 10k 2. Furnishing 10k 3. iD/Reno 25k 4. Unknowns 10k Will continue update later.

Hello everyone ~ After years of waiting, finally I got my keys to our new home. We have chosen a 3 room BTO, it's small I know... but with 2 years of info gathering in this forums and other platforms, we believe we can make it into a comfy abode! Contents (To be updated soon) Shopping list a) TV b) Oven c) Cooker and Hoods d) Fridge e) Air-Con f) Bathroom accessories g) Laundry system h) Wifi remote controller i) Ergonomic furniture j) Other interesting stuff Completed Looks a) Living room b) Kitchen c) Bedroom 1 d) Master Bedroom e) Common bathroom f) Master bathroom As part of my job needs, I travelled quite abit and get in contact to many interesting home living concept that really helps make full use of space. I believe it is possible to enjoy comfortable living even with small area. Let's begin with the floor plan.

Hello everyone! May I ask if anyone could let me know whether this quote is reasonable? (: It is from a contractor and not an ID for a 38 year old 3 room resale HDB flat. Total is around $35k. I have read the forum to see some could go as low as $18k, however this is quite an old apartment which has not undergone renovations since 30 years ago! Not too sure how much difference would that make. Thank you so much! Flooring Cost Tiles (living room + 2 bedrooms) and skirting 5000 Kitchen Cement screed and plaster 2200 Tiles (flooring) 1800 Sink parapet wall and plaster 800 Sink cabinet 300 Doors Bedroom: timber door frame and veener doors 1150 Seal up top door frame with hollow block and plaster 300 Plumbing Stainless steel piping (kitchen and living hall) 380 Sink and basin tap connection 80 Run new sink, basins, washing machine inlet, outlet piping 250 Carpentry Kitchen cabinet, sink door, stainless steel dish rack and box up piping 3700 Solid worktop 1350 Installation to wall and side skirt 400 Wardrobe 3120 Tv console 800 Window 1920 Hacking 3800 Ceiling L box ceiling? 750 L box gas pipe 300 Others Painting 1600 HDB 300 House protection and cleaning 350 Wall plaster 1600 Rubbish chute 280 Metal gate 680 Cloth hanger 65 Electrical rewiring 2500

Dear all, we have a HDB unit for sale.Details as follows: 3NG - 2 bedroom - HDB Flat for Sale | Ang Mo Kio Ave 4 | Near to upcoming Mayflower MRT station Almost North-South facingHigh floor.Unblock view @ kitchenWindy & Breezy Big lift landing. Suitable for Singles, Young Couples, Small Family or Retiree. Viewings anytime. If you are interested, do feel free to give us a call at 86264931. Thank you!

An avid reader of reno t blog where i have learnt a lot and now it's time to start my own blog so that more and more people can benefit from the renovation process especially for resale flat since it is much more to do than a BTO. Although it is not my first home, it is the first time I have more time to do research into renovation after making a purchase of a very old 3 room HDB located smack in the city @ Chinatown. I am surprise at myself since I have never like areas too congested but after spending last 2 years living in the city, I realise that it is well worth it. Surrounded by 2 MRT stations and the 3rd one in progress, the new train station will be right at my door step (almost). famous food stalls every where, wet market, train stations, easy commuting are what I am looking for. As I knew what I want, it was easy and the decision was made after looking at 3 units in the vicinity. Ultimately, it boils down to the pricing, facing ( I like morning sun facing), Privacy ( prefer corner unit) and how I feel when I step into the flat. Reading the reno t- blogs here has been really an eye-opener at some of those beautiful BTO and kinda sad I will not have a chance to getting a new HDB There are some cool homes with lots of character and kudos to those who have contributed source of information. Here is the layout of my new home and I will be getting the keys in 10 days time as I have agreed to let current owner stayed on for a little longer. As you can see, a simple old layout where there is a separate toilet and shower area. But what is great is the rooms are really big http://renotalk.com/forum/uploads/gallery_71855_3_65525.png

Hey everyone, Just wanna share with everyone our experience relating to our first home (awesomely superb feeling!) and the renovation works in progress... A little backstory here: Basically my older sis and I are Malaysians working and living in Singapore, and being foreigners here, we never had the luxury nor privilege to have a permanent residence to call our 'home'. For myself, I have been here for almost 10 years and have moved a total of 14 times! Have had a share of nightmarish experience (loan sharks, crazy land-lady, backstabbing housemates) while renting, and despite the sky-high property prices, we have had enough and my sis made a good choice to get a pink IC so that she can buy herself a flat under the singles scheme. So, the place actually belongs to my sis, while I fancy myself a squatter, although my sis views me as her personal ATM (*cough blood*) and sai kang warrior to obsess over the itty-bitty details related to the renovation because I am that particular about aesthetics and comfort - but mainly aesthetics, job hazard, I suppose The story starts about 1 year after my sis got her citizenship, when we found a small, old 3-room with an excellent location (MRT nearby!). COV was painful, but the time saved from the travelling will compensate, at least that's what I keep saying for reassurance. Here's the floorplan:

I am finally going to get my keys from HDB tomorrow! Any ideas where should I start after key collection? This is my floor plan...

I had sign up with A&D for my 5rm resale flat renovation and my ID is Elijah Yeo Renovation completed for almost 1 month and I'm very satisfied with the work done, some minor rectification that need to be done are done. Elijah was punctual for all our meetings. He kept his promises and knowing that we had to get the renovation done quickly, he went all out to help us achieve this. We were away for a week and he made sure that work was done properly while we were away. He's very easy to work with and helpful - he volunteered to wait for the delivery of our equipment eventhough it's not his job. When we texted him at 10 plus at night on a weekend, he even called us back to give us feedback. Afterall, the job was done so smoothly and without any fuss.

3 room resale, 63sqm..in need of dire transformation. Grey in mind and gray and greige....50 shades of grey if i can hv my way

Hi guys, i'm new to this forum, new to renovation. I initially wanted to buy a "ready-to-move-in" type for my 1st home, as really knows nothing about renovation. The only memory of renovation is when i was in school, helping my father repaint our old house many many years ago. But it is really difficult to find a house have everything you like, hence after several viewing - end up I bought a 30yrs old house with a good price, and have to do renovation inside out. I have to worry about how to do RENOVATION now!

On the 14 Feb 2014 will be heading to HDB for my 1st appointment to purchase a HDB resale 3 rooms unit at Bedok North. The floor plan is as following: The whole unit need to be renovated and had been meeting up with IDs & contractors (yet to finish) and the estimated minimum amount is $28K. Each meet up require at least 2hours and repeating the same thing, but the good things about it is having different solution to the same issue. Please stay in tune for the next update.

Hi everyone, I have been following Renotalk for some time and now being eligible to purchase a flat of my own, the time has come for me to make some contributions. After viewing more than 10 units, I finally found the place I would call home at Yishun. Although the COV was quite high for a 3 roomer, the location is excellent and the layout, clean and simple. My floor plan: Being a simple guy, here begins my simple Renovation Journey. More to come...

Hi my 3 room premium bto ( I have opt out the doors ) will be ready for key collection early next year.i have a tight budget and I just want to keep my house simple , any good contractor to recommend & any idea the cost will roughly be like ? Below are the stuff which I thought of doing : 1) kitchen - masonry (montar base), plumbing , carpentry work , installing of sink etc 2) service yard - montar base for washing machine , plumbing work , windows at service yard etc 3) doors - 2 bed room doors & 2 pvc toilet doors ( either cellular foam bi folding / folding doors ) 4) toilets - installing heater 5) electrical works 6) installing the lights 7) painting Seek all your advice & many thanks .

Hi all! Hubby and I are longtime lurkers of renotalk and finally decided to start our very own renoblog! After a long long wait of over 3 years (from BTO release in March 2010..), we have finally collected our keys on Childrens' Day this year! (Auspicious date! Sign of things to come..? ) Ours is a very very small 3 room in Sembawang, just 67sqm 'big'. Here is our floorplan: