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Selection of the unit was kinda fast. It only took me 1 day of viewing to decide on the flat. (I think the property agent must be thinking this client is easy earned commission). Actually the property agent was recommended by one of my colleague. I contact the agent and he arrange for flat viewing. On that particular day, he arrange for 7 unit around the area I told him I would preferred. The first 6 was really not to my liking. The last unit, it was the only one that is situated at high floor and its a corner unit. Although the unit was not in a tip top condition, it did not really bother me much cause I have already intended to do a entire overhaul of the flat before moving in. The moment I step into the house, there is just this feeling that this is the one. To cut the story short, I put up an offer to the seller on the same night and he agreed. 5 Months later I am the owner of this house. During the 5 months (1st appointment and completion date), I have been to 7 Interior Design company and to be frank, I did not know that renovation can be so costly. To hack walls, rebuild walls, change the entire unit flooring (Living, bedrooms, kitchen, toilet), rerun entire water piping, rewiring the entire house electrical wiring.

Hi everyone!! I've been lurking around this forum ever since my family and I started looking for a new place at the start of 2014. After numerous house viewings and disappointments when our offers were rejected, we finally found an apartment in a neighborhood we love, Marine Parade! This blog will hopefully chronicle the experiences we have throughout the renovation process, as well as offer any tips and lobangs that will help make the journey easier and more affordable. Firstly, the floor plan! Typical 4-room layout no?? The flat is in original condition, i.e. ugly green terazzo flooring in the living room and even worse beat-up parquet flooring in the bedrooms. At least there's a utility room for our storage needs. Another problem about this flat is the ultra tiny toilets, whose walls in between can't be hacked as there's multiple pipes along one side in the shower room. Seeing that there are many areas to renovate, we decided to overhaul everything, walls, floors, doors, windows, nothing old will still be left after we're done lol.. Our theme will be rojak . This is because my mom and dad, bro and I have differing styles and tastes, so we decided that we will handle our rooms individually, while the living room and kitchen will be done up in a 'light' industrial style. The living room will have a white brick tv feature wall and black electric trunking, while our kitchen will house a small L-shaped kitchen and our dining area. Here is an amateur preview done using Autodesk Homestyler This program is a lifesaver as it helped me visualize and play with the layout of the flat. It also helped the IDs/contractors we met see what we actually wanted, which was a practical and simple house, with a hint of design. As we knew what we wanted, we focused on finding contractors to do up the place. The search (we didn't engage a contractor in the end) will be elaborated in a later post, and I hope we made the right choice! So that's it for the first post! Our 1st appt was in the morning today, and we hope to start renovations in two weeks. Wish us luck!!

Hi all! After roaming renotalk t-blog for so long, it's time for some contribution. Like everyone else, after years of waiting, i finally got my keys. Below will be my floor plan: Next... Selection of ID time!

Hello there, Like many other new house owners, I've been a silent reader of this T-blog ever since hub & I ballot a BTO flat 3 years ago... And recently we have received our keys from HDB! So there's the typical floor plan for a standard BTO 4rm flat @ Sengkang Westway. As expected, the house is really small... The Living Room Area Walkway Kitchen

Hi guys! Decided to note down my reno journey here. My flat is a 4 room new flat at Punggol Spectra (we balloted for Sale of Balanced Flats) neighbors have already moved in since 2013. Gotten our keys on 21 Jul reno is in progress...... Our reno ID is: JASON FROM COSY LIVING (9366 1558) I will ignore all qns abt my ID contact from this post onwards. Actually a couple of forumers here also have their house done by Jason. Thanks to guojiawen's T-blog that I came to know about Jason. Jason's quote is very competitive (and reasonable) hence it's also part of our reason to choose this ID. We did go thru a couple of IDs and we went with our gut to choose this ID because we felt comfortable with Jason. So far... Jason is very detailed in his way of doing things he cares to explain theories and what not. Very responsive in Whatsapp and calls. Our theme is like a bit of cosy country (wife loves wood) + industrial (husband likes it the black pipes- if you know what I mean). Our budget is around 30k plus minus will only reveal quote after everything is finished (but it's around 30k-ish) We did not do anything to our common bedrooms except for the floors + installation of ceiling light + fan. Our house did not come with floors done by HDB we have decided to go with vinyl for the whole house and tiles for foyer area and balcony. Our floor plan: A highlight of our house will be that we have a tiny balcony (AKA smoking area) at our MBR. Very ideal for smokers. Ha-ha-ha. Our 3D designs: As you can see from this pic, for our MBR the whole wall will be our wardrobe area + TV console. If you can gauge from our floor plan you will know that for the left side of our kitchen where the sink + hob + fridge is at it's a very squeezy area. and between sink and hob is only a ipad air space and for our fridge it's only a small 600mm fridge. Will talk about my applicances + furniture purchases later on. For the right side, it' will be the preparation area. Very open and empty! The pictures are just a draft as we have not choose our laminates yet but the feel is there. As for the TV area, the feature wall is a full brick wall too same as my bomb shelter wall that you see. So it's 2 brick walls for me. Progess: Today the walls will be hacked to achieve my open kitchen concept. Tiles for foyer area and balcony area is already up.

Hello everyone~ After 3 long years, been through times living with both of ours parents, renting apartment overseas, Hubby and I finally bought our first home in Singapore! We've decided to go for resale instead of BTO because we do not wanna wait any longer, and we're very particular about location. Prefer walking distance to the MRT, have good variety of eateries, supermarkets etc.. And we're really happy and lucky that we manage to get one within our budget.. Here I will share my reno journey with you.. ID HUNTING Like many homeowners, we went through the tiring ID hunting process as well.. Especially when the cost of renovation works for resale flat seems to be higher than BTO, we want to ensure we don't bomb too much money into it. After all what we really want is just a cozy home, not a showroom. We asked around for friends and relative recommendation, before arranging for them to meet up and discuss the details, then follow by waiting for quotations and layout drawings (some didn't provide eventhough we specifically asked for it). ------------------------------------------- Initially we loved the 1st ID we met, Mr C. He is highly recommended by one of our good friend.. A honest looking man, not those sales man type. We saw his work in real life at our friend's place and its really good.. He gives us a lot of ideas during the meet up, hand draw really well, provided us with some knowledge.. but once his quotation is out, we were really disappointed because he is too expensive (GST company). So no choice but had to drop him. -------------------------------------------- Mr I. Very slow respond. Met up with him and he keep picking up calls in between our discussion. Quotation take forever to send us, no drawing. Price wise.. consider reasonable. But very turn off with the slow and bo chup attitude, so immediately out from my list. ------------------------------------------- Mr Z. He have some difficulty in trying to understand the concept I want for our house during the discussion. No ideas were generated at all during the meet up, he is basically just listening to what we want. His company is relatively new.. But he seems really passionate about his job, fast respond through whatsapp, and he also promise us he will give us a very good price. I asked him to give a rough figure on our renovation works, he said 30k. Turn out his quotation is alot more than the 30k he mentioned, but still is the lowest among the rest. So we continue with the details, but we later on found out that he missed out quite a number of details and then ended up adding a lot of money. He wasn't very apologetic about it too, we were quite sian with the keep-increasing-final-price. But he keep insisting that his price is very reasonable, and keep guilt trip us telling us he had to "bare" some of our cost as his contractor is charging him but he did not charge to us. -.-" Then there were also some miscommunication later on when we try to suggest some ideas to help save cost, he not only did not help, he also just turn my idea down and tell me that he had NEVER seen others do it like that before. I was quite affected, cos I thought the reasons we hire a ID is so that they can "customize" base on individual client's need? Many times I feel he just brush my questions off without actually answering the question. I can feel his eagerness to get our "sales" at that point.. but no.. I know I needed someone who can "solve my problems" and not one who just avoid them. So even though we went through so much time to "correct" his quotation, clarify details and take measurement already, we decided to hold him and continue searching..and eventually we did not sign him in the end. ---------------------------------------------------- We emailed a few other IDs after that to get quotation (without meeting up yet), and nothing really stands out.. so we went back to Dennis, who we feel is consider one of the best so far for us in terms of communication.. which we feel is the most important criteria in selecting a ID..especially for your 1st renovation. --------------------------------------------------- Dennis was introduced by my Husband's colleague. We approached him 1 day before CNY by email (at that time we were leaning towards Mr Z and did not really give him a fair chance). He asked us to send him our requirements details through email and say that he will send us his quotation asap. We were expecting to wait until after CNY for his quotation, and also expected to have a lot of missing details in his quotation since he is the only one who did not meet up with us for discussion..even those that meet up with us also miss out certain things on their quotation.. But not only he send us a very comprehensive quotation on the following day, he also send us a layout drawing to ensure his understanding of the requirements tally with ours. We were impressed by his prompt action and response, and his good understanding of what we want. But we were too blind folded by Mr Z at that time that we rejected his offer at first.. He gracefully wish us good luck on our renovation. After we decided that Mr Z may not be the best ID for us, we went back to Dennis and ask him out for discussion. Told him we want to give him a fair chance before making the final decision.. We invited him up to the house to take detailed measurements, and requested him to give us a more accurate quotation after that. He provided us with a number of cost-saving ideas (on his own without me asking) on site, telling us what can/cannot be done. He is also frank in telling me what are the additional cost going to be incurred which he cannot quote me yet as it depends on how much work needed to be done (electric works, boxing up of pipes, installation of gas pipe, connection of gas stove which will be reflected in PUB bill). And he again send his revised quotation to us in the next 2 days or so, and then patiently amended the quotation again and again as per our request because we are very "kiasi" want every details to be written black and white lol.. We went down to his show room to view samples, and eventually after tons of questions, we decided to sign the contract with him.. Both hubby and me feel very comfortable with him, as he always answer our (sometimes stupid) questions professionally. He also help to give suggestion when I cannot decide and then tell me why he suggest this and that (which often are quite convincing and reasonable). There are also times when we have different opinions, but he is also respectful enough to accept my point of view and doesn't make me feel bad about it. Fingers cross everything will work out well in the end...

Hello! I've been loitering in the forum for about 2 years now and its time for me to share my renovation process and document my first home renovation journey. Firstly, this is a Premium BTO named Compassvale Ancilla launch in March 2011. Fast forward exactly 3 years later and we've collected the keys to our first home on 5th March 2014. It was a long but fruitful wait. The main contractor's workmanship is commendable. We had only several minor defects and it was all rectified to our satisfaction. As usual, I shall start off with the original floor plan and some photos of the flat. Pls ignore the masking tapes and some uneven colors on the walls, some of the photos were snapped during defect rectification, lol. The living room view from the entrance The living room view from the window

Floorplan: 4 room Type 3(H)

HI everyone, Initially I don't intend to post another topic on asking about reasonable quote since there's plenty threads. But after browsing, I couldn't find any that's similar to what we wanted to do. So here I am posting, yet another similar thread, seeking advice if the price is reasonable. Below is 1 of the 7 id/contractor that we've met and considering to engage them. Some items are not included yet, still waiting for them to revise the quote (eg. granite top) Hope to get some opinion from you guys, especially for those who have done platform with storage in the MBR 1 General 1.1 Washing for whole unit (General + Chemical + remove debris + clean window) = $700 1.2 Supply and lay paper protection include clear rubbish for whole house = $150 1.3 Application of HDB permit = $0 2 Masonary 2.1 Fabricate cabinet base with tile skirting = 3.6m $300 2.2 Fabricate fridge base with tile finish = $150 3 Tiling 3.1 Supply & lay 600x600mm homogeneous floor tiles for living, dining & 3 bedrooms incl skirting = 61.1sqm $6,150 $3.40psf 4 Plumbing 4.1 Install water pipe for cold and hot water supply from citigas heater to common bathroom, copper = $320 4.2 Install toilet accessories for 2 bathroom = $100 4.3 Supply & install material to run sink inlet/out pipe = $100 5 Painting 5.1 Supply & paint whole unit including door frames Nippon = $1,600 7 Windows 7.1 Supply & install window at service yard = 3.84sqm $600 8 Doors 8.1 Supply & install 3nos of Veneer door c/w lockset and handles for all bedroom PE Veneer hollow core = $960 8.2 Supply & install door for both toilets PD Door = $640 9 Living Room 9.1 Design & fabricate shoe cabinet in laminate finish (full height), Glass finish = 900mmL $850 $94/100mmL 9.2 Design & fabricate settee in laminate finish = 500mmL $350 $70/100mmL 9.3 Supply & install mirror at foyer = 2.80sqm $350 $125/sqm (Most probably will buy own, might be cheaper) 9.4 Design & fabricate L-shape dining bench Storage + cushion & backing = 3150mmL $2,850 $91/100mmL 9.6 Design & fabricate suspended collapsible table with folding legs in laminate finish = 1200mmL $800 $67/100mmL 9.7 Design & fabricate TV feature wall in laminate finish (full height) = 2100mmL $1,500 $71/100mmL 9.8 Design & fabricate suspended console = 2100mmL $1,500 $71/100mmL 10 Kitchen 10.1 Design & fabricate cabinet in laminate finish = 7400mmL $2,950 $40/100mmL 10.3 Supply & install dish rack Stainless steel = FOC 10.4 Design & fabricate laundry cabinet = 500mmL $350 $70/100mmL 11 Master Bedroom 11.1 Design & fabricate wardrobe in laminate finish (full ht) = 4000mmL $3,450 $86/100mmL 11.2 Design & fabricate TV console in laminate finish Suspended console = 1800mmL $950 $53/100mmL 11.3 Design & fabricate platform with storage in laminate finish = 6.48sqm $2,350 $363/sqm 11.4 Design & fabricate headboard in cushion finish 1500mmL Full ht = $1,500 $100/100mmL 11.5 Design & fabricate 2nos. side drawer in laminate finish Suspended table = $500 12 Bedroom 2 12.1 Design & fabricate wardrobe in laminate finish (full ht) = 600mmL $550 $92/100mmL 12.2 Design & fabricate single size bed frame in laminate finish Pull out drawer = $800 12.3 Design & fabricate study cabinet in laminate finish = 900mmL $400 $44/100mmL 12.4 Design & fabricate study table in laminate finish, suspended = 4950mmL $2,900 $59/100mmL 13 Bedroom 3 13.1 Design & fabricate wardrobe in laminate finish (full ht) = 1500mmL $1,300 $87/100mmL