Our First Home @ Yew Tee

[newnyew 1]

newnyew: hehe, thanks! we bought it cos of the size and the squarish layouts, easier to put furniture. I'm hacking down a few walls to do a bigger MBR. saw ur t-blog, ur place has a very nice play on colours! i like the gold tiles in the bathroom, i saw something like that in a magazine once. and zebra prints! is that a city gas heater u're using?

no la, mine is Amasco heater. wanted City gas at first but due to wiring issues so gave up

[pinktini 0]

coffee_o: ya man, think it must have cost them quite a lot to do it up back then. but errr, not really our style leh.

CJREDDEVIL: hehe, coordination skills very impt hor. we still would like to use the ID we're currently consulting la, but if the price really cannot go down, we have no choice but to look elsewhere. my only apprehension abt contractors are.. first home, dunwan later anyhow get chop. so doing a lot a lot of research by going through the forums.

newnyew: icic, think we shld be getting city gas ba. they sent a brochure, seems cheap leh.

did up another layout. hehe. the 'wall' between the bedroom & wardrobe is actually a glass panel. the study room is also a glass panel.

i also shifted the storeroom to the kitchen.

[amrasenelya 1]

the hubby also just called him, and now we know we'll need to purchase our own lights, sanitaryware, shower set, toilet accessories, cooker hob etc. do these amount to a lot of money?? dun really know much as this is our first home.

re-wiring was also not included in the quote as he said that will depend on how many electrical points we need. would this also cost a lot??

pinktini,

lights budget abt 1k.. toilet stuff and kitchen sinks about 2k.. hob and hood about 700-900.. all these if ure not into very branded stuff and average quality..

rewiring about 1k-2k depending on how much points u do..

hope this helps abit..

[ossify 1]

the hubby also just called him, and now we know we'll need to purchase our own lights, sanitaryware, shower set, toilet accessories, cooker hob etc. do these amount to a lot of money?? dun really know much as this is our first home.

re-wiring was also not included in the quote as he said that will depend on how many electrical points we need. would this also cost a lot??

never knew owning your own place involves such a lot of work. i've been getting headaches very often nowadays. baaa.

lights may cost a lot, depending on your taste. economical would be possible to do under $100, basic would be under $1000, classy would be under $5000

sanitary: WC costs from $100++ to $2000+, sanitaryware, shower set, toilet accessories can cost from sub-$100 to $300 or so.

Cooker hob and hood can cost from $500 to $3000

rewiring usually would cost up around $3k for 5-rm, up to $6k, depend how much of a carrot you are.

mm, take a look at my t-blog to see the rough prices of various items. my lights are economical, my sanitary are basic and classy, my wc is basic, my hob is very economical and my rewiring is classy.

[lord vader 0]

amrasenelya: yupyup, have quite a lot of time. I just need the flat to be ready by October this year.

Since you are not in a rush, you may want to start after the peak season, which are typically end of year and CNY time.

You might be able to get a better deal when its not so rush for the contractors.

coldflamez: realised that. hehe, went down to the ID ytd and told him, "OK, we need to CUT CUT CUT a lot." so we did go through the plan again and revised a lot of details. we retained some of the floor tiles, removed some of the proposed built-in cabinets, changed the materials for some of the doors. chances are, the quote can go down below $40K and still have many details of what we would like. We decided to increase our budget a little, cos $30K seems to be unable to get us what we want.

It will be quite tough to get below 30k for a 5 rm with your floor area. Do note that after reno start, there is possibility of additions along the way.

Floor tiles, kitchen cabinets and toilets are the bulk of your cost. I'm not saying we should get dirt cheap, but at a price that we are comfortable with given the quality of the products/finishing. Mine is about $31k, and the only carpentry I have is kitchen cabinet and feature wall to cover the bomb shelter.

the hubby also just called him, and now we know we'll need to purchase our own lights, sanitaryware, shower set, toilet accessories, cooker hob etc. do these amount to a lot of money?? dun really know much as this is our first home.

oh yeah man.....i actually have to check my credit card limit in case it is busted. hahahahaha......

if you dont have anything, there's a fridge to add, aircon, washine machine, dryer (optional), water heater.

then there's the furniture (if you dont have any).

re-wiring was also not included in the quote as he said that will depend on how many electrical points we need. would this also cost a lot??

it varies, depending on how much rewiring needs to be done, how many switches you want to change, type of switches you want. my electrical works cost slightly less than 2k and this doesnt include the cost of lights.

never knew owning your own place involves such a lot of work. i've been getting headaches very often nowadays. baaa.

its not the 'lot of work' that i worry about. its the 'lot of money'.....hahahaha

LV

[bigeyedfish 0]

amrasenelya: yupyup, have quite a lot of time. I just need the flat to be ready by October this year.

That's a lot of time. Then you can do homework and choose contractor/ ID wisely =)

You're doing a major overhaul? Just to share with you.

My reno is about 26k for an EA. We've outsourced electrical and painting works.

Sanitary wares/ kitchen sink/ taps/ toilet accessories - $2.4k from Heritage

Hob/ hood - nearly 1k from EF

Electrical - $1025 but not rewiring of whole house cos electrician said wires are still quite new. We only changed a few light points, change all the switch plates to MK and Clipsal, telephone points for all rooms, heater switch, new SSOs, 2 new SCV points. My electrician did say that rewiring of whole hse for 5 rm is $1500.

For lightings, you can save if you're not into designer stuff.

[pinktini 0]

wow, thanks everyone for the tips and advice. they're indeed very helpful in our planning.

doing a lot of homework now. every free minute is spent in this forum and the search engine. hehe. gonna find some interior designer software to see if i can render 3D images of what I want, provided i can understand how to use them.

currently, we've decided to save the floor tiles for the living room. overlay wood strips in the MBR and study room. carpet for the entertainment room. homogeneous tiles for the kitchen & bathrooms.

re-wiring will be done for the whole flat. the clipsal switches look really nice, we've also had our eyes on legrand.

by the way, anyone heard about the OpenNet installation? i found out they're doing the installation for my block btw Sep-Nov'10. So I guess the ID or contractor will have to cater space for the cable installation.

for now, just have to wait for other quotes to come in before we can plan the next step of action.

and yes i agree, not just 'lot of work' but also 'lot of money'. maybe i'll strike toto during the angpow draw.. wahahahaha!

[coldflamez 0]

wow, thanks everyone for the tips and advice. they're indeed very helpful in our planning.

doing a lot of homework now. every free minute is spent in this forum and the search engine. hehe. gonna find some interior designer software to see if i can render 3D images of what I want, provided i can understand how to use them.

floorplanner has a 3D option that you can use. ikea website has another software that you can use. For me personally, i chose to use google sketchup which is more complicated but it allows me to really draw and customize what i want. Another good point is that you can download from furnitures or appliances from its online warehouse.

currently, we've decided to save the floor tiles for the living room. overlay wood strips in the MBR and study room. carpet for the entertainment room. homogeneous tiles for the kitchen & bathrooms.

If you are not doing tiles for living room plus overlaying for your bedrooms, then 40k plus seems very ex. And that's excluding rewiring! Unless this ID proposed some wonderful design that is very tough to execute, think you should consider other choices...

re-wiring will be done for the whole flat. the clipsal switches look really nice, we've also had our eyes on legrand.

by the way, anyone heard about the OpenNet installation? i found out they're doing the installation for my block btw Sep-Nov'10. So I guess the ID or contractor will have to cater space for the cable installation.

for now, just have to wait for other quotes to come in before we can plan the next step of action.

and yes i agree, not just 'lot of work' but also 'lot of money'. maybe i'll strike toto during the angpow draw.. wahahahaha!

[pinktini 0]

Yup, trying out with a few programs. currently using this Punch Professional Home Design software. Took a while to figure it out. Thought it might be easier to use, but seems like I'll have to try out Google Sketchup later on this week to see if its an easier alternative.

The revised quote is still above budget for us, so we're going to do more research before making any decisions. Its likely there'll be no renovation till Mar/Apr.

Here's a kitchen layout I did using the Punch program. Still can't figure out how to add a ceiling. The view is from the door of the newly placed storeroom.

Considering pale green walls, but might switch to white.

White laminated kitchen cabinets, gas-hob, the sink which has 2, but 1 tap (dunno wat the term is for that), a 2 door refrigerator, washing machine, tall cabinet with oven, white tiles (still considering what tiles to use).

[Angel81 1]

did up another layout. hehe. the 'wall' between the bedroom & wardrobe is actually a glass panel. the study room is also a glass panel.

i also shifted the storeroom to the kitchen.

Think this layout looks great.

[pinktini 0]

Angel81: Thanks!

It seems that as each day goes by, the layout keeps changing. I think its cos we are getting more and more ideas from the net, home decor magazines etc. Here's the latest we came up with today!

Those 2 red chairs in the bedroom are actually the Eyechair and Ballchair I saw in studio 1961's website. But it'll be weird if I have the room in Modern Classical decor, and suddenly have 2 very ultra modern chairs there. Haha. Maybe i'll have to compromise on the colours by getting it in black and see if they can change the colour of the fabric within. The current idea is to have the Master bedroom painted in dark/royal purple and have a black chandelier over the bed.

Edited January 18, 2010 by pinktini

[Angel81 1]

Angel81: Thanks!

It seems that as each day goes by, the layout keeps changing. I think its cos we are getting more and more ideas from the net, home decor magazines etc. Here's the latest we came up with today!

Those 2 red chairs in the bedroom are actually the Eyechair and Ballchair I saw in renotalk's website. But it'll be weird if I have the room in Modern Classical decor, and suddenly have 2 very ultra modern chairs there. Haha. Maybe i'll have to compromise on the colours by getting it in black and see if they can change the colour of the fabric within. The current idea is to have the Master bedroom painted in dark/royal purple and have a black chandelier over the bed.

Wah~ The MBR sounds sexy already.

Speaking abt the Ballchair, I'm totally in love with it. It's so cute! And if u goggle it, u'll be able to see that they have ones in black with white fabric. I like the egg chair too, which is similar, but egg shaped.

Edited January 18, 2010 by Angel81

[pinktini 0]

Wah~ The MBR sounds sexy already.

Speaking abt the Ballchair, I'm totally in love with it. It's so cute! And if u goggle it, u'll be able to see that they have ones in black with white fabric. I like the egg chair too, which is similar, but egg shaped.

hehe, bedroom must be cosy cosy ma! and i got the idea after i saw a pic in one of the decor magazines, they had an elaborate headboard for the bed in black, so pretty!!

yup, i've seen the egg chair too, i made a mistake, it's the ballchair for me and the ipod chair for the hubby, cos he likes armrests. i was actually keen on the one that hangs from the ceiling, but i think as a reading chair, dunwan to swing so much la, later giddy.

Ballchair - http://www.renotalk.com.sg/ballchairs.htm

Ipod Egg Chair - http://www.renotalk.com.sg/ipodeggchair.htm

[coldflamez 0]

i can't access the links leh..

[pinktini 0]

i can't access the links leh..

ehhh weird, it auto change to renotalk.com... it is actually from s t u d i o 1 9 6 1's website

i just tried posting up pics from their site, also cannot work.

i emailed them for the price, it's S$1,499 for the ipod egg chair with built in speakers. (and yes, they customise colours!!) the hubby is pretty excited about it, think he's imagining himself sitting inside and playing his PC games/PS3.

anybody bought from this shop before? Are they reliable?? Cos it seems they don't have a physical shopfront.

remove the '*'

ballchair - www.studio*1961.com.sg/ballchairs.htm

ipod egg chair - www.studio*1961.com.sg/ipodeggchair.htm

Edited January 21, 2010 by pinktini