Renovating Extisting Flat (lived-in)

[alyplwwf 0]

Hi everybody ! I am new at this forum and couldn't find what I'm looking for.

May I ask if anyone has done any major renovation to their existing flat ? I thot of renovating my current flat which was done up almost 18 years ago. Is it too inconvenient / hassle to renovate an existing flat with furnitures around ? Can we still stay in the flat during the renovation period ?

Would be glad if someone can share their experience here with me. thanks.

[yokine9a 1]

What do you plan to do to your current flat?

[clockwork 0]

Hi hi ...

I have renovated my existing 3 rm flat a year ago and did live in it while it was renovating.

I've stayed for 5 years and decided to renovate coz we finally made up our minds to stay for good.

My renovations works :

Redo my entire kitchen cabinet

Redo my 2 bathrooms

False celing in living room

Feature wall in living room

My flooring is Laminate and it was done 3 yrs ago.They did 1 room at a time and they wld move the furniture for me. And it was done in 1 day.

It may not seem like much , but there's alot of work involved !

Plus I have a 4 year old son. The whole reno took about 2 weeks to finish.

What they did was hack the kitchen and the kitchen toilet 1st. As we were living there , we still need to use the master bedroom toilet. The living room was done last , so all our furniture and misc stuff was moved to the common room.

My fridge was in the common room.

Thank goodness there was not alot of hacking done as my kitchen florring was overlayed. They only hacked the 2 toilets.

As the common rm was not renovated , we slept in there and also hang our laundry there.

It felt like we were living in a bangla's quarters.

When the master bedroom was done , we moved some furniture , like the bed and stuff to the master bedroom. The sofa and other stuff had to be moved from the living rm to the MBR.

Then they proceed to do my false celing and feature wall.

Basically , there's alot of shifting of furniture to be done. The most important if to have good communation with the ID and contractor so you'll know what they are doing next to prepare yourself.

Overall, the entire reno was an exciting , dusty , noisy experience !!

You can view my blog and see more pics there...

http://www.renotalk.com/forum/index.php?au...blogid=211&

[applefreak 1]

no way to stay there for major renovation

not safe and no toilet to use

edit - oops, looks like it's possibel after all

Edited September 2, 2008 by applefreak

[clockwork 0]

no way to stay there for major renovation

not safe and no toilet to use

edit - oops, looks like it's possibel after all

It's possible if you don't mind the hassle. Plus I get to keep an eye on the contractors,

make sure they come on time and not skive off work.

But we did stay at the chalet during the weekends..

[hihihi 0]

expensive stuff need to keep properly. so many strangers in the house.

[pinkpetter 0]

Wah I have this intention too.. hahahahaha Thanks Clockwork now I feel happier knowing it's possible

[alyplwwf 0]

Thanks Yokine9a, Clockwork, applefreak, hihihi and pinkpetter for your reply.

I am also staying in a 3 rm flat (model NG) with my hubby and a 6 years old girl. We had bought the flat (resale) 15 years ago but did not do any renovation as the previous owner had already done up the house about 3 years back (although not really to our taste (flooring) but was very well maintained) so we just painted the entire house and moved in within 2 weeks of getting the keys.

Now 15 years down the road, the house still looks ok but the kitchen cabinet started to crack (the doors), rooms' doors are also giving way and the flooring and walls also turned yellow.

In fact we intend to upgrade to a 4/5 room flat and had applied for new flats since beginning of 2007 but we have wasted many $10 (balloting) and still unsuccessful till now. To make things worse, my flat will be going thru MUP in 2 months time.

As my girl has sensitive nose and skin, we decided to move out before the upgrading work starts. Again we even tried to apply for 3 rm new / resale from HDB but still no luck. Looked ard for resale flat in the open market but majority of the flats we seen the condition is worse than my flat but still ask for 30-60K COV (3 rm only, some even smaller than mine). Resale market is too hot and ridiculous and this means that we have to do major renovation n that will be say another 20-40K and we can't move in immediately.

As time is running out, there is no point for us to move (HDB upgrading will kick in before we could even collect keys for the new house). So we have decided to stay here for good since we love the estate so much and so intend to revamp our house.

I know it will be very dusty and messy but am glad knowing that this is possible and even the contractors can help to shift the furnitures, that will be great.... hehehehe

[yokine9a 1]

My 3-room flat is 3I, only one toilet/bathroom. If I want to revamp the toilet, no way I can do it while living in the house. Whilst yours is a 3NG with MBR's toilet, possible to do reno work in one toilet at a time.

But your girl has sensitive nose & skin, it might not be a good idea for her to stay in the house while it is undergoing reno work.

[clockwork 0]

Your reasons for the reno is just like mine. Wanted to upgrade , but the of prices for 4/5 rm are crazy.

New flats like Punggol and Sengkang are just too inconvienient for us.

And since it's just the 3 of us , I don't see the need for another room, as we plan to have only 1 kid.

Thnak goodness my flat is 3A , which is kinda big , that's why we did the reno and stay for good

Is your daughter in K1 or daycare ?

My son goes to a full day day care as we're both working, the contractors normally stop their work at 5pm.

Perhaps you cld bring your kid home after 5 pm , or have the neighbours care for her till you get back from work ?

Normally the 1st week is challenging , that when they start the hacking , and if you wish to have your toilet done , the wetworks takes ard 2-3 days to complete.

After the 1st week, it's not too bad , all the debris are gone and the reno will start to take shape.

Just make sure to keep all valuables like jewellery , passport and all important documents in a safe place , like maybe your parents house.

[alyplwwf 0]

My 3-room flat is 3I, only one toilet/bathroom. If I want to revamp the toilet, no way I can do it while living in the house. Whilst yours is a 3NG with MBR's toilet, possible to do reno work in one toilet at a time.

But your girl has sensitive nose & skin, it might not be a good idea for her to stay in the house while it is undergoing reno work.

Hi yokine9a,

My girl will definitely can't stay in so I will temporary put her at my mum's place and probably I will also stay there coz my girl cling to me very much but my poor hubby may want to stay in the dusty house

I am not doing reno for the toilets as this will be done by HDB during MUP (in 2 months time), that's y I intend to time my house reno to coincide with HDB upgrade. HDB will be upgrading both toilets walls, tiles and change of pipes, washing basin, window & grills and main gate. However, HDB is going to hack both toilets on the same day (1st day) but they are going to supply us a mobile toilet for the rest of the 12 days period. Still dunno whether the mobile toilet can be used for shower or not

[alyplwwf 0]

Your reasons for the reno is just like mine. Wanted to upgrade , but the of prices for 4/5 rm are crazy.

New flats like Punggol and Sengkang are just too inconvienient for us.

And since it's just the 3 of us , I don't see the need for another room, as we plan to have only 1 kid.

Thnak goodness my flat is 3A , which is kinda big , that's why we did the reno and stay for good

Is your daughter in K1 or daycare ?

My son goes to a full day day care as we're both working, the contractors normally stop their work at 5pm.

Perhaps you cld bring your kid home after 5 pm , or have the neighbours care for her till you get back from work ?

Normally the 1st week is challenging , that when they start the hacking , and if you wish to have your toilet done , the wetworks takes ard 2-3 days to complete.

After the 1st week, it's not too bad , all the debris are gone and the reno will start to take shape.

Just make sure to keep all valuables like jewellery , passport and all important documents in a safe place , like maybe your parents house.

Hi hi,

Great minds think alike hahaha... Ya all the new estates are just too inconvenient for pple who have been staying in the city for the last 20-30 years. Like you, I also don intend to have another child (cost of living too high especially for single income family), hehe .... so a 3rm is just nice for 3 pple. The bigger the house the more housework to be done - cleaning is no joke man.

I agree 3A is very big especially Tampines area coz my fren staying there 4 rm flat looks like the size of 5 rm. My MIL staying 3A in BT Panjang and is really huge.

My girl is in K2 this year - 4 hrs am session. I am a SAHM occasionally doing part time job so I will have to put her at my mum's place after school and probably I may also stay there but I dunno abt my hubby

My toilets will be done by HDB during MUP in 2 mths time. If not due to HDB MUP, I think I wouldn't want to reno the house (too messy). So I will have to arrange with the ID to start reno just after HDB completes toilet and window changes.

If you don mind me asking, who was your ID and how much was the reno for your whole flat. They quote you on package price or individual charges ? How was the workmanship and follow up service ?

[pinkpetter 0]

Hi yokine9a,

My girl will definitely can't stay in so I will temporary put her at my mum's place and probably I will also stay there coz my girl cling to me very much but my poor hubby may want to stay in the dusty house

I am not doing reno for the toilets as this will be done by HDB during MUP (in 2 months time), that's y I intend to time my house reno to coincide with HDB upgrade. HDB will be upgrading both toilets walls, tiles and change of pipes, washing basin, window & grills and main gate. However, HDB is going to hack both toilets on the same day (1st day) but they are going to supply us a mobile toilet for the rest of the 12 days period. Still dunno whether the mobile toilet can be used for shower or not

huh sounds bad. and you all really have to make do. but then such renovation usually dun take too long so it should be ok.

Likewise cos I'm doing basic reno for my 5 room now. in time to come when we have more cash then we'll do more (like the toilets) heh

[alyplwwf 0]

I intend to do the following reno :-

Kitchen flooring and wall tiles

Kitchen cabinets (top & bottom) with base for fridge, stove and washing machine

Changing of pipes for kitchen

Flooring for living room, MBR and common room and store room

Built-in wardrobe for MBR

Built-in cabinets for store room

False celing in living room or entire house

Rewiring for whole house (house already more than 30 yrs)

You mention the whole reno took abt 2 weeks, that's fast ! I just spoke to one ID fm LWT Design and he told me something like 6-7 weeks ???

Your flooring is what tiles ? I was also told that granite will be cheaper than marble, is that true ? I wanted to do granite or glossy homogeneous and will wait for some quotes to compare the difference. Your kitchen flooring was overlayed ? can this be done also do the rest of the rooms and hall to minimise hacking ?

As for False ceiling, I dunno whether to do for the living room or entire house. Btw, what is the feature wall meant for ? sorry ah if I sound stupid

Is it necessary to do cornices and L box ? Rewiring will be done by same ID / contractor or have to engage professionals separately ? Aircon to be installed after entire reno or before ?

Very sorry if I ask or disturb too much coz I really dunno anything about reno work

[pinkpetter 0]

I intend to do the following reno :-

Kitchen flooring and wall tiles

Kitchen cabinets (top & bottom) with base for fridge, stove and washing machine

Changing of pipes for kitchen

Flooring for living room, MBR and common room and store room

Built-in wardrobe for MBR

Built-in cabinets for store room

False celing in living room or entire house

Rewiring for whole house (house already more than 30 yrs)

You mention the whole reno took abt 2 weeks, that's fast ! I just spoke to one ID fm LWT Design and he told me something like 6-7 weeks ???

Your flooring is what tiles ? I was also told that granite will be cheaper than marble, is that true ? I wanted to do granite or glossy homogeneous and will wait for some quotes to compare the difference. Your kitchen flooring was overlayed ? can this be done also do the rest of the rooms and hall to minimise hacking ?

As for False ceiling, I dunno whether to do for the living room or entire house. Btw, what is the feature wall meant for ? sorry ah if I sound stupid

Is it necessary to do cornices and L box ? Rewiring will be done by same ID / contractor or have to engage professionals separately ? Aircon to be installed after entire reno or before ?

Very sorry if I ask or disturb too much coz I really dunno anything about reno work

Hmm you do hacking and re-tiling will take a little more time wor. Yours is almost an overhaul.... If you know what you want and have draft designs and stuff it will quicken the process ba cos sometimes ID take time to come up with the designs and then you have to choose materials also take time. If you alr know what you want then it definitely shortens that time ba. *must do homework* heh Usually they tell you about 4 weeks-8 weeks cos they have other projects going on at the same time so they have limited workers so they shift the workers ard as and when needed. There are pros and cons to this ba. If your ID confidently tells you in 3 weeks and seems very *eng* then it probably means he doesn't have much business, so do you dare to take it up with him? However if he has many projects at hand and looks like he will drag yours... it's also a BIG problem right? have to talk to them and be comfortable with them ba.

Feature wall is to make the place look nicer lor. Special.

There isn't a need to do false ceiling if you don't want to. but some have high ceilings and they want their homes to be brighter so they have a false ceiling to bring down the lights. Also good for hiding wires.

Whether you engage different people or same people is up to you. But if you negotiate an entire package with one contractor you can get discounts sometimes cos they give you the discount on top of the lump sum.

But getting different people to do allows you to source for the cheapest materials and labour costs... More work but might be cheaper in the end.

MmmmM that's all I know wor. think the other forummers will share more.

Good luck le. I also doing my homework