springsummer 0 Report post Posted November 19, 2009 (edited) deleted deleted Edited December 27, 2009 by springsummer Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
joseeng 0 Report post Posted November 19, 2009 (edited) 19 Dec 2009 It took us about 1 mth to get a suitable unit @ TPY because we specifically look for unit @ certain blocks near to either TPY MRT or Braddel MRT. It's definitely more difficult than we initially thought. After 3 weeks of searching & seeing about 15units, we saw an ad for one unit @ our "first-priority" block. We quickly went down on that weekend, saw it, loved it and decided to book it on the spot. So, next step is to look for an ID firm cos there're a lot of things to renovate. It's in original condition but we luuuurrrveeee the location, the view ..... We started searching for an ID firm since mid Sep 2009, and after 3 months of searching, seeing 14 ID firms & reviewing about 10 quotations, we finally decided to engage Living Art @ TPY, because (1) we think the ID is a nice person to work with; (2) his quotation is reasonable; (3) his office is located near our new home @ TPY; (4) he has experience renovating old flats @ TPY like ours. I've also seen a good review by someone in this forum about an ID from Living Art. Although we don't engage the same ID, we're also comfortable with our ID. I think we're rather picky but since this is our 2nd home & we had some experience dealing with ID firms for our 1st home, we know more and naturally tend to be more careful in selecting a good & reasonable ID with of course reasonable prices to fit into our tight budget. My advice to those looking for ID: spend some time to read up the Reno do's & dont's @ the HDB website. Some IDs said that they had to do this & that although when we checked @ HDB, those things are not supposed to be done anyway.... List of ID firms that we've visited -- all are good in their own ways, but we just have to follow our gut-feelings sometimes.... (1) Chew Interior @ Changi Rd (2) Chew Interior @ Toh Guan Rd (we visited both to see how much buffer diff ID quoted in their quotations....the numbers can be quite surprising, ya...) (3) Darwin Interior @ Bendemeer (4) Spacious @ IMM (5) The Line Living @ IMM (6) Xclusive Living (recommended by friends) (7) Kitchen Zone @ IMM (8) * @ MacPherson (9) Home Interior @ TPY Central (10) StateArt @ TPY Central (11) U-Home @ Paya Lebar (12) Future Home @ IMM (13) Home Success (14) Living Art @ TPY Central Will post more when our reno starts on 1st week of December... congrats on getting your new house at your preferred location. but i think you are too excited to put the date as Dec instead of Nov...hehe looking forward to see the transformation of your dream house. Edited November 19, 2009 by joseeng Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CJREDDEVIL 0 Report post Posted November 19, 2009 (edited) 19 Dec 2009 It took us about 1 mth to get a suitable unit @ TPY because we specifically look for unit @ certain blocks near to either TPY MRT or Braddel MRT. It's definitely more difficult than we initially thought. After 3 weeks of searching & seeing about 15units, we saw an ad for one unit @ our "first-priority" block. We quickly went down on that weekend, saw it, loved it and decided to book it on the spot. So, next step is to look for an ID firm cos there're a lot of things to renovate. It's in original condition but we luuuurrrveeee the location, the view ..... We started searching for an ID firm since mid Sep 2009, and after 3 months of searching, seeing 14 ID firms & reviewing about 10 quotations, we finally decided to engage Living Art @ TPY, because (1) we think the ID is a nice person to work with; (2) his quotation is reasonable; (3) his office is located near our new home @ TPY; (4) he has experience renovating old flats @ TPY like ours. I've also seen a good review by someone in this forum about an ID from Living Art. Although we don't engage the same ID, we're also comfortable with our ID. I think we're rather picky but since this is our 2nd home & we had some experience dealing with ID firms for our 1st home, we know more and naturally tend to be more careful in selecting a good & reasonable ID with of course reasonable prices to fit into our tight budget. My advice to those looking for ID: spend some time to read up the Reno do's & dont's @ the HDB website. Some IDs said that they had to do this & that although when we checked @ HDB, those things are not supposed to be done anyway.... List of ID firms that we've visited -- all are good in their own ways, but we just have to follow our gut-feelings sometimes.... (1) Chew Interior @ Changi Rd (2) Chew Interior @ Toh Guan Rd (we visited both to see how much buffer diff ID quoted in their quotations....the numbers can be quite surprising, ya...) (3) Darwin Interior @ Bendemeer (4) Spacious @ IMM (5) The Line Living @ IMM (6) Xclusive Living (recommended by friends) (7) Kitchen Zone @ IMM (8) * @ MacPherson (9) Home Interior @ TPY Central (10) StateArt @ TPY Central (11) U-Home @ Paya Lebar (12) Future Home @ IMM (13) Home Success (14) Living Art @ TPY Central Will post more when our reno starts on 1st week of December... Hi Spring, welcome to t-blog. Your 1st post already shows that you are all well prepared for your new house transformation! Congrates and keep posting.........uhmm.... ....joseeng is correct, you are definately over-excited...keep it up! Cheers! Edited November 19, 2009 by CJREDDEVIL Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Angel81 1 Report post Posted November 19, 2009 Congrates on finding a new home at ur preferred location! Looking forward to the transformation. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ossify 1 Report post Posted November 19, 2009 welcome to RT! floorplan? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Supersimon27 2 Report post Posted November 19, 2009 welcome to RT-blog Wow ... U visit so many ID b4 short list . More then me wor. Post more pic ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ve_ve 0 Report post Posted November 19, 2009 Grats on your new house! which blk is it in tpy? Near mrt or beside mrt got one block is it that one? : Any floor plan to share? The id you visit is all over sg hehe .. must be tiring during the process. Good luck with your reno. Hope everything go smooth. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
springsummer 0 Report post Posted November 20, 2009 (edited) deleted deleted Edited December 27, 2009 by springsummer Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
momo13 0 Report post Posted November 20, 2009 The block opp HDB Hub shaped like "half-circle" U should know lar... there's only one half-circle @ TPY central. Erm...we only completed our 1st appt in Oct so i think i'll post more pics after my 2nd appt/completion on 7 Dec. is it blk 15X? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wennykoh 2 Report post Posted November 20, 2009 Hi Spring... Congrats & Welcome... Wow... reviewed 14 ID firms and 10 quotations... very well prepared How I wish I did that too... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ve_ve 0 Report post Posted November 20, 2009 is it blk 15X? i bet it is haha.. :D older buildings in tpy area r bigger , the new ones getting smaller and the ceiling is lower. HDB is stacking up higher and higher. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
springsummer 0 Report post Posted November 20, 2009 (edited) deleted deleted Edited December 27, 2009 by springsummer Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Planfor2 0 Report post Posted November 20, 2009 ya...blk 15x. easy to guess b/c of the shape. the flat that we bought has low ceiling - 2.5m... at least that's what we feel....feels a bit different cos my current flat @ sengkang has about 2.8m ceiling height (i'm on the top floor & it's a new flat). do you stay @ TPY too? which block? wennykoh: i think the main driver to source for so many quotations is the $$$. We don't want to spend more than S$15k. Most IDs quoted around S$18-20+K. In fact, there're only 3 out of 14 IDs that gave us quotation below S$15k. One, MIA after 1st meeting; called/sms/emailed didn't reply. Another one, his workmanship is not so good after visiting his project site. So, we choose the third one.... Our reno includes: - Hack & lay new floor tiles @ Living Room (current one is marble flooring) - Hack & lay new floor tiles @ Kitchen (current one is very oldies...from the 1970s, never change since 1st owner) - Hack & Lay new wall tiles @ kitchen - Varnish parquet flooring @ BR (2x) - New kitchen cabinets (20ft) +solid surface (10ft) - New main door - New windows - New rubbish chute cover - New partition wall - Plaster / Paint whole house - Piping - Some electrical points Hi Summer, Is yours a 3 room? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ve_ve 0 Report post Posted November 20, 2009 ya...blk 15x. easy to guess b/c of the shape. the flat that we bought has low ceiling - 2.5m... at least that's what we feel....feels a bit different cos my current flat @ sengkang has about 2.8m ceiling height (i'm on the top floor & it's a new flat). do you stay @ TPY too? which block? Yea I do. Mine is gonna be 8x block,, close by mrt too .. Eh i am not sure how high is my ceiling :o Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
springsummer 0 Report post Posted November 20, 2009 (edited) deleted Edited December 27, 2009 by springsummer Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
