wtc 0 Report post Posted May 19, 2009 Hi, I'd been told recently that HDB does not allow wall hacking for the old flats in Tampines (blk 800s and 200s) anymore? That must go to MP to make noise in order to get it? Something about that the old flats were built with solid and thick concrete, hacking will caused problems with the upstairs & downstairs neighbours' flat. Has anyone got permit to hack in Tampines recently?? Thank! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
natgw 0 Report post Posted August 25, 2009 hi all... seriously and urgently need help and advise from u guys.. i'm currently renovating my 3rm flat located in tampines blk 200+ all along had plans to hack away the storeroom but today just received call from my ID saying that HDB rejected our request to hack the storeroom away cause the walls of the storeroom is made of concrete instead of a hollow wall. asked ID for advise and anyways to get it approved or not but he said HDB gave him a straight and firm NO. immediate called up HDB and was referred to the technical officer of our flat, he said that our blk is a prefab block and thus we are not allowed to hack away any walls in the house. asked him if we could consult our own professional structural engineer to evaluate and calculate if its ok to hack off the storeroom and then endorse HDB with the documents, he said we could appeal with that, but chances are slim. told my ID about it and he said to get a evaluation from a professional engineer would cost ard $450. if calculations is required cost would be even more. further to that, even if the engineering deem its ok to hack off, HDB still have the final say and thus its not a 100% thing. currently really lost and dunno what to do cause the storeroom needs to go! i told HDB and my ID that if i knew this was the case, i wouldnt have bought the unit already.. now all renovation works is put to a stop for the time being because of this stupid storeroom. can any kind soul here please advise me on what i can do please? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blackcar 0 Report post Posted August 25, 2009 hi all... seriously and urgently need help and advise from u guys.. i'm currently renovating my 3rm flat located in tampines blk 200+ all along had plans to hack away the storeroom but today just received call from my ID saying that HDB rejected our request to hack the storeroom away cause the walls of the storeroom is made of concrete instead of a hollow wall. asked ID for advise and anyways to get it approved or not but he said HDB gave him a straight and firm NO. immediate called up HDB and was referred to the technical officer of our flat, he said that our blk is a prefab block and thus we are not allowed to hack away any walls in the house. asked him if we could consult our own professional structural engineer to evaluate and calculate if its ok to hack off the storeroom and then endorse HDB with the documents, he said we could appeal with that, but chances are slim. told my ID about it and he said to get a evaluation from a professional engineer would cost ard $450. if calculations is required cost would be even more. further to that, even if the engineering deem its ok to hack off, HDB still have the final say and thus its not a 100% thing. currently really lost and dunno what to do cause the storeroom needs to go! i told HDB and my ID that if i knew this was the case, i wouldnt have bought the unit already.. now all renovation works is put to a stop for the time being because of this stupid storeroom. can any kind soul here please advise me on what i can do please? Oh man, tis is bad news!!! Is true that prefab u cant hack down totally but i m not sure whether can hack portion of it. I m sure HDB must have a valid reason. If you intend to look for a PE, u can try the one i engage and paid only $350 for knocking down a portion of the bedroom wall. Let me know if you r interested, best pm me ya. Just curious, what u wanna knock down the storeroom totally, is it for expanding the space for yr bedroom? or convert it to walk in wardrobe? If walk in wardrobe, i knock down partial of the wall for entrance and seal up the actual storeroom. this way, i have created the extra space. Hope this helps. good luck!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
natgw 0 Report post Posted August 25, 2009 Oh man, tis is bad news!!! Is true that prefab u cant hack down totally but i m not sure whether can hack portion of it. I m sure HDB must have a valid reason. If you intend to look for a PE, u can try the one i engage and paid only $350 for knocking down a portion of the bedroom wall. Let me know if you r interested, best pm me ya. Just curious, what u wanna knock down the storeroom totally, is it for expanding the space for yr bedroom? or convert it to walk in wardrobe? If walk in wardrobe, i knock down partial of the wall for entrance and seal up the actual storeroom. this way, i have created the extra space. Hope this helps. good luck!!! the storeroom is right smack popping out inbetween my living room and kitchen. i wanted to hack the whole storeroom away to create more space for the living room and use the space for dinning table. pm u already Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Idyll 0 Report post Posted September 2, 2009 the storeroom is right smack popping out inbetween my living room and kitchen. i wanted to hack the whole storeroom away to create more space for the living room and use the space for dinning table. pm u already Hi, I commiserate. My hubs and I went through the exact same thing when we bought our current unit albeit in Yishun. Our renovation was delayed by almost a month with us communicating directly with HDB and a PE we engaged. All said, we are still not allowed to hack one wall of the store room so at least, we got some kind of respite - there's a wall between the living room and the current dining room (where the store room used to be). Our communication with the HDB is that old HDB flats are designed by a Japese and although the particular wall we wanted come down was not load-bearing, they didn't want to set a precedent (in their own words!) I hope you will work your way through around the store room cos' I know how it feels to not being able to get anywhere. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
natgw 0 Report post Posted September 3, 2009 (edited) Hi, I commiserate. My hubs and I went through the exact same thing when we bought our current unit albeit in Yishun. Our renovation was delayed by almost a month with us communicating directly with HDB and a PE we engaged. All said, we are still not allowed to hack one wall of the store room so at least, we got some kind of respite - there's a wall between the living room and the current dining room (where the store room used to be). Our communication with the HDB is that old HDB flats are designed by a Japese and although the particular wall we wanted come down was not load-bearing, they didn't want to set a precedent (in their own words!) I hope you will work your way through around the store room cos' I know how it feels to not being able to get anywhere. i gave up already.. cos the drawings shows that the walls of my storeroom are load-bearing RC walls. even my ID's own private PE said it cannot be done. Edited September 3, 2009 by natgw Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TampResident 0 Report post Posted January 18, 2010 Hi may i know what is the outcome of ur request? I am facing this problem now too... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Warrior88 0 Report post Posted January 18, 2010 Hi may i know what is the outcome of ur request? I am facing this problem now too... Mine is those 8@@ series prefab flats. Look at the wall, if they are around 3.5", maybe ok. I wanna shift the toilet entrance 2 ft left. ( cut & fill ) But the wall is 7" thick. Structural Engineer in HDB advise not to "TOUCH this wall. Prefab wall is like that, bascially like lego set. Those joints that are adjacent should be not mandle with. No reinforecement, or PE can change that. Suggest you revised your design plan than to wait >>>> Besides, you would need the storeroom in the years to come. NOT all flat of the same series are prefab. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TampResident 0 Report post Posted January 18, 2010 Mine is those 8@@ series prefab flats. Look at the wall, if they are around 3.5", maybe ok. I wanna shift the toilet entrance 2 ft left. ( cut & fill ) But the wall is 7" thick. Structural Engineer in HDB advise not to "TOUCH this wall. Prefab wall is like that, bascially like lego set. Those joints that are adjacent should be not mandle with. No reinforecement, or PE can change that. Suggest you revised your design plan than to wait >>>> Besides, you would need the storeroom in the years to come. NOT all flat of the same series are prefab. Thanks Warrior88 for your feedback.. Mine is at 4@@ series.. not sure if they are same series as yours at 8@@..but i do notice one of the walls are around 3.5" thou.. I am hoping that there is positive feedback here as i do not wan the store room in between the dinning and the living area at all.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Warrior88 0 Report post Posted January 19, 2010 Thanks Warrior88 for your feedback.. Mine is at 4@@ series.. not sure if they are same series as yours at 8@@..but i do notice one of the walls are around 3.5" thou.. I am hoping that there is positive feedback here as i do not wan the store room in between the dinning and the living area at all.. Seriously, you might wanna consider keeping the storeroom. In the years to come, you'll need space to keep all those bulky stuff. Not all cabinet can hide those. Most probably your excess bagage will end up in the spare room. So untidy. Trust me, I have been there Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TampResident 0 Report post Posted January 25, 2010 send me your floorplan. if your place wasn't built in the recent years, i can try to read the floorplan and tell you if it's possible or not for the wall(s) to be demolished, BUT there's no 100% guarentee that my reading will be correct. cheers!! Nic Thanks Nic I have sent u the floor plan.. and thanks for your help.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TanBJ 0 Report post Posted November 10, 2011 I'm now facing the same problem. My flat is at Hougang and didnt know that it was a prefab flat that hacking the walls will be an issue.I'm disappointed as I want to hack the store room wall to make the living room bigger and also have a open concept kitchen. But my ID said HDB has rejected the application and required PE to certify....Can you also recommend your PE....please help what should I do? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Anro Raymond 0 Report post Posted March 15, 2017 On 19/05/2009 at 10:11 PM, wtc said: Hi, I'd been told recently that HDB does not allow wall hacking for the old flats in Tampines (blk 800s and 200s) anymore? That must go to MP to make noise in order to get it? Something about that the old flats were built with solid and thick concrete, hacking will caused problems with the upstairs & downstairs neighbours' flat. Has anyone got permit to hack in Tampines recently?? Thank! Hi, did u engage a PE? I'm. having the same issue here. need to tear down some walls but HDB gave me the same reason. RC walls.. sigh. Pls let me know who the PE is? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ziad 93 Report post Posted May 8, 2017 Is this rule something recent? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TedDibiase 216 Report post Posted May 26, 2017 On 19/05/2009 at 10:11 PM, wtc said: Something about that the old flats were built with solid and thick concrete Now i know why old HDB flats cost so much Share this post Link to post Share on other sites