5-room Resale Tampines Central Layout

[born_again 0]

Tks, once again to all u warm hearted ppl here. I got it for $395K (at valuation) but hubby not very happy coz he feels not very cheap for 20 yr flat but I like the location & convenience it offers. Lots of shops downstairs & 3 malls just across the road, what more can a woman ask for rite?? Ha, ha... but seriously its more for tpt convenience for me & kids coz we always take bus (Bus interchange is also across the road - so many buses can take lor !) & MRT. Only problem is that the lifts are still not confirmed, awaiting for polling I think. I would like to have a serving counter wif a glass door for the kitchen (seen it somewhere in one of those mags.) So any suggestions ??

wow, bought at value and at such a good location. Really a good buy. Mine also 20 yr old flat and paid 17k cov.

lifts not confirmed so urs a floor down from 5th floor (lift)? At least the polling completed and awaiting. Our area no news yet. Praying hard that they would give us lift upgrading soon.

a serving counter would be nice and glass door would definitely make yr house look trendy.

hmmm...what's your budget like?

reno for 2 toilets would cost about 6k, re-wiring for 5 room would be close to 2k and its advisable since u're the 2nd owner and the unit already 20yrs old. The rockstone wall would need to be strapped off and plastered so that would be another 3k estimated. What's the condition of the kitchen cabinets?

for wardrobes, we forgo carpentry as its way too costly and we bought from hdb furniture shop. U can visit my t-blog. I also didnt overhaul my place.

Edited May 22, 2009 by born_again

[baconprorridge 0]

congrats on the purchase. the place is so bright.

Thank you very much. Yes, it is bright & airy. Seriously, its quite hard to find direct source & wish that ppl are more open to recommend as I need all the help I can get, especially at this point of time. Its also very hard to find any websites that offer local direct services. Its not that I cheapskate but really can't afford any extras else who would want to do so much legwork & co-ordination if one can engage an ID to manage all the problems rite?? Ah... Its a tough world rite now, so...back to my layout problem 1st. Any advice/suggestions/recommendations anyone ??

[baconprorridge 0]

hey, i love the bright and airy feel of the house! I'm waiting to see the transformation...

Hope I won't disappoint coz I have a very very limited budget.

[baconprorridge 0]

congrats!!

from the feel that i've got from the forumers here, i also think that Yeak is good..depends on what you are looking for and whether you wanna have more invovlement or not..hahahh

Well, will try but afraid he or other IDs may not be interested due to my meagre budget leh !! Seen most of the costs posted here of you ppl mostly above 20K & above. Currently can't afford that.. sigh...

[born_again 0]

Hope I won't disappoint coz I have a very very limited budget.

just do what's necessary and if the rest can wait then do it next time.

[Angel81 1]

Do what u cannot stand looking at everyday first. The rest, wait till got more $$ then consider bah. Most of the time, a nice new coat of paint will do wonders.

[born_again 0]

Do what u cannot stand looking at everyday first. The rest, wait till got more $$ then consider bah. Most of the time, a nice new coat of paint will do wonders.

yup, after all the recession is not over and the 2nd wave just like H1N1 is expected to be worse. Dont like me, learn the hard way. That's y, this time round, we stick to our budget and just do the necessary and we're so glad we didnt take any reno loan.

[baconprorridge 0]

wow, bought at value and at such a good location. Really a good buy. Mine also 20 yr old flat and paid 17k cov.

lifts not confirmed so urs a floor down from 5th floor (lift)? At least the polling completed and awaiting. Our area no news yet. Praying hard that they would give us lift upgrading soon.

a serving counter would be nice and glass door would definitely make yr house look trendy.

hmmm...what's your budget like?

reno for 2 toilets would cost about 6k, re-wiring for 5 room would be close to 2k and its advisable since u're the 2nd owner and the unit already 20yrs old. The rockstone wall would need to be strapped off and plastered so that would be another 3k estimated. What's the condition of the kitchen cabinets?

for wardrobes, we forgo carpentry as its way too costly and we bought from hdb furniture shop. U can visit my t-blog. I also didnt overhaul my place.

Woa - Just the 2 toilets $6K already !! Not to mention re-wiring $2K & Plastering $3K = Total $11K, OMG - sure die I called some ppl on classified adverts. Claim they do tiling direct & quoted $350 for toilet flr & $950 for wall per toilet (Supply & install, probably overlay for flr I think). If need to dismantle & re-install WC to add $60 more. Don't know whether trust worthy or not, so just take note 1st. Also called ppl for laminated flr & got quoted $2.50 per sq ft (supply & install include skirting, again overlay only). All want to go on-site to view 1st. Maybe got other hidden costs not mentioned yet that's why! Anyway, 1st & foremost need to confirm the final layout of the store & kitchen then can proceed to get more accurate qots lor. Still trying to get some qot for the re-construction of store & study using partition plus plastering & painting.

Oh btw, want to share with anyone out there who needs or will be needing masking tape (ppl who will be shifting hse) that Carrefour is selling 3 decent rolls of plastic masking tape for $0.50 only really !! (Its in the warehouse sale dept in Suntec) I bot 2 rolls & will be going back to buy some more. I need help in re-designing the layout for both toilets to optimise space . Any ideas anyone ?? Understand for HDB, cannot shift the toilet bowl becos of the waste pipe is it ??

[baconprorridge 0]

Do what u cannot stand looking at everyday first. The rest, wait till got more $$ then consider bah. Most of the time, a nice new coat of paint will do wonders.

True, so the toilet & Kitchen must do something about it lor !! Just want to seek some opinions on the false ceiling lightbox, wish to dismantle it & leave it plain - think it will look simple & ok ??

[born_again 0]

Woa - Just the 2 toilets $6K already !! Not to mention re-wiring $2K & Plastering $3K = Total $11K, OMG - sure die I called some ppl on classified adverts. Claim they do tiling direct & quoted $350 for toilet flr & $950 for wall per toilet (Supply & install, probably overlay for flr I think). If need to dismantle & re-install WC to add $60 more. Don't know whether trust worthy or not, so just take note 1st. Also called ppl for laminated flr & got quoted $2.50 per sq ft (supply & install include skirting, again overlay only). All want to go on-site to view 1st. Maybe got other hidden costs not mentioned yet that's why! Anyway, 1st & foremost need to confirm the final layout of the store & kitchen then can proceed to get more accurate qots lor. Still trying to get some qot for the re-construction of store & study using partition plus plastering & painting.

I need help in re-designing the layout for both toilets to optimise space . Any ideas anyone ?? Understand for HDB, cannot shift the toilet bowl becos of the waste pipe is it ??

ya, toilets and kitchen reno most costly as it involves wall tiles, floor tiles as well as water proofing. As its a 20 yr old flat, i'm not sure if its good to overlay as some contractors wont advise on overlaying to avoid problems in near future.

I've heard of cheap reno works by those companies that advertised 3 liners in classified acts every day and nasty stories about these companies so i rather steer clear of them. Not sure if others have tried them. These companies have plenty of hidden cost and heard of some who vanished after taking a deposit from owners. I would suggest u try to get a few quotes from IDs, contractors to better gauge the pricing. If majority of the quotes are 2k + - to do up a toilet, would u be daring enough to reward the reno project to one that promised to reno it for less than 1k.

yes, we cant change the WC position due to the hdb piping. I always wanted to do up shower screens for both toilets but due to our super tight budget, I forgo shower screens and channeled the $ to do up only the necessary. Reno is really not cheap and all these $200, $250, $300 etc really add up to huge amount.

i realised there's no grilles for the whole unit. Do u intend to put up grilles?

hey, the toilet floor and wall tiles doesn't look that bad. At least its in very good condition. When we bought our EM 3.5 yrs ago, we did an overhaul as the toilet wall and floor tiles were barely there.

Edited May 24, 2009 by born_again

[familyof4 0]

Hope I won't disappoint coz I have a very very limited budget.

I agree with the others. Do whatever that is necessar, others can wait and do progressively

[Angel81 1]

True, so the toilet & Kitchen must do something about it lor !! Just want to seek some opinions on the false ceiling lightbox, wish to dismantle it & leave it plain - think it will look simple & ok ??

Plain and simple is good. Heard from my contractor that designed false ceiling and cornices are outdated liao. Hehe, so plain & simple should be "in" bah I guess. Heheh, it'll also make cleaning easier.

I've heard of cheap reno works by those companies that advertised 3 liners in classified acts every day and nasty stories about these companies so i rather steer clear of them. Not sure if others have tried them. These companies have plenty of hidden cost and heard of some who vanished after taking a deposit from owners. I would suggest u try to get a few quotes from IDs, contractors to better gauge the pricing. If majority of the quotes are 2k + - to do up a toilet, would u be daring enough to reward the reno project to one that promised to reno it for less than 1k.

Agreed. Sometimes when things are so cheap, it's abit dubious. And there may be hidden costs.

[baconprorridge 0]

ya, toilets and kitchen reno most costly as it involves wall tiles, floor tiles as well as water proofing. As its a 20 yr old flat, i'm not sure if its good to overlay as some contractors wont advise on overlaying to avoid problems in near future.

I've heard of cheap reno works by those companies that advertised 3 liners in classified acts every day and nasty stories about these companies so i rather steer clear of them. Not sure if others have tried them. These companies have plenty of hidden cost and heard of some who vanished after taking a deposit from owners. I would suggest u try to get a few quotes from IDs, contractors to better gauge the pricing. If majority of the quotes are 2k + - to do up a toilet, would u be daring enough to reward the reno project to one that promised to reno it for less than 1k.

yes, we cant change the WC position due to the hdb piping. I always wanted to do up shower screens for both toilets but due to our super tight budget, I forgo shower screens and channeled the $ to do up only the necessary. Reno is really not cheap and all these $200, $250, $300 etc really add up to huge amount.

i realised there's no grilles for the whole unit. Do u intend to put up grilles?

hey, the toilet floor and wall tiles doesn't look that bad. At least its in very good condition. When we bought our EM 3.5 yrs ago, we did an overhaul as the toilet wall and floor tiles were barely there.

No I don't intend to put grilles as my 3 children are already in Polys & Uni so thank goodness, can save up on this. Just went to the exhibition in Expo yesterday & got some brochures, package listing, ask for qots, advice, etc. Was told by 1 contractor that I need to also plaster the ceiling if i remove the false ceiling. If its true, it is another additional cost again !!

I am checking on renov. loans now to see how best to manage. RHB is offering 3% fix rate loan at this exhibition. The catch is that they will only issue to 1 coy. so seems like have to go to 1 firm to do all things then can. Don't understand why if RHB is keen to give renov loan why tie such conditions ?? It is not to their customer's advantage, especially if we want to go to various direct source to have some more savings. Like u say $200 here $200 there, it sure add up to a lot $$ what ! Anyone out there that have come across any renov loans that is better pls ??

[Angel81 1]

Have u tried Maybank? Their interest rate also pretty competitive, and they can separate the cheques into separate payments. Not too sure if they can put different names on the cheques though.

[mrspiglet 2]

Agree with Angel, i checked out Maybank and RHB, both offered same rate (a few mths back) but Maybank stood out, cant rembr was it becos the admin charges were lower. Can just call up and check? Dun bother to go down to counter cos i went down and the sales wasnt even sure of what she was telling me.

Ur kids so big liao!!! :bow: No grills can save money too.

Anyway toilets tiling ard $4k (excluding hacking), plastering abt $1k+. Doing kitchen also? Those carpentry can buy offshelves for the time being to cut cost too.

WC cannot shift position, but basin ok. Maybe play ard with the basin position to optimise the space?