The Pinnacle @ Duxton - S2

[CJREDDEVIL 0]

Yea my new place's at Mohd Sultan.. definitely a more ex but better buy than Beacon!! I didnt know there were plans to build anything on the back of it.. thought it was a government land which is used for soccer and meant to stay green? Thank goodness my deal fell thru!!!

5 room flat 105 sqm is not too big considering most HDBs will have that as 4 room flat size but i guess if its still a small family/just 2 of u that size is aplenty! But movin from a 1600 sqft to a much smaller place must mean throwing out lotsa stuffs!!!

I always thought there's a HDB rule that u cant ballot for a new HDB project if u have ever owned a private? or is the rule not in force anymore/at all? Will be fantastic if so, HDBs are by far the best prop investments if its bought in a good location direct from the govtment.....sure win investment!! Too bad i'm single and my folks have their own so no chance in getting even a resale one unless i turn 35 tomorrow.

hi andante,

yes, if you owned a private appartment before(using CPF), you still can ballot a new HDB flat ONLY if you have disposed the private apt for at least 30 months and of cuz you can only get bank loan, not HDB loan. But if your private apt is bought WITHOUT using CPF(meaning cash), you still entitled to buy a new HDB......in summary, CPF can only be used for 1 house....Hope this info helps.

[SGK 0]

hi andante,

yes, if you owned a private appartment before(using CPF), you still can ballot a new HDB flat ONLY if you have disposed the private apt for at least 30 months and of cuz you can only get bank loan, not HDB loan. But if your private apt is bought WITHOUT using CPF(meaning cash), you still entitled to buy a new HDB......in summary, CPF can only be used for 1 house....Hope this info helps.

Hi CJREDDEVIL,

since you are knowledgeable in this, can I check with you on this:

Even if I have sold my condo for more than 30 months, I can only apply for a new HDB flat if me and my wife's combined salary is less than $8k, right? Any difference for those DBSS flats?

[Angel81 1]

Congrates congrates! Upload more pics to show us k?

[CJREDDEVIL 0]

Hi CJREDDEVIL,

since you are knowledgeable in this, can I check with you on this:

Even if I have sold my condo for more than 30 months, I can only apply for a new HDB flat if me and my wife's combined salary is less than $8k, right? Any difference for those DBSS flats?

not knowlegeable lah....just happen to be in the same shoe(experience the same situation during application).....the max $8k cap applies to DBSS flats too.....same HDB regulation lor.....so...why....you intend to buy DBSS ????......HAHAHAAAA

[andante 0]

not knowlegeable lah....just happen to be in the same shoe(experience the same situation during application).....the max $8k cap applies to DBSS flats too.....same HDB regulation lor.....so...why....you intend to buy DBSS ????......HAHAHAAAA

What is DBSS flats? And i thought even if joint income is >8k u can still ballot new flats just no grants for 1st time owners?

[CJREDDEVIL 0]

What is DBSS flats? And i thought even if joint income is >8k u can still ballot new flats just no grants for 1st time owners?

hi,

maybe this link to HDB web will answers all your doubts.....cheers!

http://www.hdb.gov.sg/fi10/fi10201p.nsf/WP...ubMenu=Policies

[fftw 1]

Ok, here is my floorplan. If you notice, two kitchen walls are coloured in red. I am hacking these two walls down to have an semi open concept Kitchen

Edited January 18, 2010 by fftw

[fftw 1]

All the areas that are in purple will be filled with carpentry.

[fftw 1]

The main focus of my home is to create as much storage as possible but not making the house look or feel any smaller. Since we have a limited budget, I don't expect all my desires to be fulfilled. So off we went looking for a contractor instead of an ID.

We contacted several of our friends whose homes we like and also had only good experiences about their renovation. We even contacted our Feng Shui master on her contractor. One name keeps popping up. So in the end, in order to be fair, we shortlisted 3 candidates, all contractors. Btw, my husband is Caucasian, so it’s EXTREMELY important that our contractor speaks English as well.

Candidate 1 - Old school, middle age. Nice guy. We told him what we wanted to do. He didn't really offer any other suggestions or comments. We also told him our budget, he says he its a bit tough but will try. English skills so-so.

Candidate 2 - Nice dude too, early thirties. Friendly and easy going. Speaks good English!!! We told him what we wanted and he started giving his suggestions and also offer comments for areas in which he thinks our ideas are not feasible. Hubby likes him a lot We told him our budget. He says "can"!

Candidate 3 - Ok dude. Middle age. Extremely hard to pin down. Can't speak English, hubby has a problem with this contractor because of the language barrier. So he is a little Sian already.

When all the quotes came thru, candidate 3 was the lowest. Not sure if it’s the language barrier because a few things was missing. Next is candidate 2 - 2nd lowest followed by candidate 1.

So the choice is Candidate 2. He also happens to be the contractor who did several of our friend’s homes and have great reviews about. And the best thing about him. He ALWAYS picks up his phone. Even if he doesn't, he will ALWAYS call you back His name is *Drum Roll, Please* Dennis from Zara Interiors!

[fftw 1]

Congrates congrates! Upload more pics to show us k?

Thanks! Will definately upload photos. Initially, I didn't wish to write a t-blog because its so troublesome. But after going through some truly wonderful experiences with my contractor and reading the some of the not so nice experiences on the forume, I feel that I have to do my contractor justice and also to let everyone know that its possible to find a awesome contractor who is pro active with an eye for details yet not expensive

[fftw 1]

Hacking & Capentry

While on the topic of budget, initially we wanted to hack the entire kitchen but Dennis, our contractor cum ID advise us against it as it will be a few hundreds since he needs to pay the PE i.e. engineer $500 just to "knock here and knock there". But we so wanted to have an open concept Kitchen that we are willing to forgo some other items to get it.

Surprisingly, Dennis manage to get the approval permit to within a day. The good news is that there is no requirement to hire the engineer, so our budget was "increased" by $500. I am so glad our contractor cum ID is so honest to inform us of this . Usually in most cases, especially on a wall with wiring, cable, etc, there is a need to get an engineer ok, 1st, so if Dennis didn't inform us, we will not know and will have just pay the money blindly since its in the contract. But Dennis was nice enough to inform us and said that the extra money can be use to buy the living room tiles.

After we got our keys, we did our defects list got it rectify and made an appointment to meet with our contractor cum ID - Dennis. We went through all the cabinets we wanted. Dennis was extremely helpful in his suggestions on how to design things so its stylist and not run of the mill, from the location of the aircon, switches, right down to the lights. There are a few disputes with hubby and myself, thank goodness for Dennis, otherwise, its going to be a stormy day for my hubby. But more of that later.

Let's start with the Foyer area - the area nearest to the main door will be floor to ceiling shoe cabinet followed by another cabinet just under the window.

Next up - the Living/Dining. I will have floor to ceiling cabinets + feature wall from one side of the wall to the other. There will be 4 doors. 2 fixed on each end and 2 sliding that will hide the television when not in use. When in use, it will be push to the 2 extreme ends.

Kitchen - There is floor to ceiling cabinets on the wall against the Bath/WC2 where I have my fridge + steam oven + toaster + flask + etc. The steam oven, toaster, etc will be hidden behind cabinet doors powered by Blum Aventos. The sink will be in front of the window with a dishwasher located just at the bottom. The wall next to the sink before the dining table will be where my hood + hod is located. Followed by the length of a dining table.

Main bedroom - Wardrobe on the entire wall. We told Dennis to design the dimensions of the wardrobe to fit Ikea interior fittings. There was heaps of calculations and measurements to make sure it fits perfectly with our design. Then came the first disagreement. I wanted a headboard cum cabinet for our main bedroom like those that I have seen in a mag. Will try to upload the pix here. But hubby disagrees and told me its either the headboard in the bedroom of the cabinets below the window nest to the shoe cabinet in the living room as he wants to cut cost. I refuse to budge, hubby feels I am not practical. Dennis gave other solutions which are cheaper but all turn down by my hubby. I got upset and my face became black. Dennis then said he will try his best to think of a way to bring down the price either speak to his carpenter or think of other cost effective design. His words are "Aiyoh, not good to get upset with each other over such a small thing. Don't worry, I will think of a way." And true to his words, he did and both hubby and I are extremely happy

Bedroom 2 Our daughter's room - Wardrobe was place just in front of the door as there are no other configurations that will suit a single bed and not make the room feel claustrophobic. Dennis was extremely paitent with us and went through with us all configurations and designs. Think we spend at least 45 mins to an hour just discussing the various configurations.

Bedroom 3 Spare bedroom for child 2 but in the meantime, hubby's office and spare bedroom - Initially we wanted to have a wardrobe in the room but after much discussion, Dennis said that since we are not using this room, just save the $$ and not have a wardrobe. In the future, when we decide to have a wardrobe, he will build one for us at the same psf price. So its settled

[fftw 1]

Hacking + Tiling + Base for Kitchen Cabinets

Hacking was done within a day!

Next came tiling. However, after the hacking, Dennis notice that the living room tiles linking the living room to the kitchen was only half a piece since the kitchen use a different tile. So he called my hubby and ask if he could remove the half pieces of living room tiles and replace them with an entire piece so that aesthetics of the entire floor is maintain. Of course we agreed as we didn't wish for odd tiles sticking out. Hubby was very surprise that he was so detailed and meticulous. *Big Thumbs Up*

[Reira 0]

Wow Pinnacle! Love the layout.

Edited January 18, 2010 by Reira

[ngunadi 2]

I love your layout very much.

[thephantom 0]

hi fftw,

you might have problems with your clear width in the kitchen leading to the yard with the current sink and full height cabinets. should maintain at least 750mm clear width if possible!