My New Abode In Bt Batok

[Amy Choon 1]

Hey all,

updating on my ID/Contractor search. Frankly la, I also didn't do much in sourcing out contractors. Haha. Because hubby said he got some contacts so I only do half the work here.

So far I have only gotten one quote. Still waiting for the rest to come in:

1) Summit Design - Recommend by RTalkers. Spoke to Ben, who referred me to Stephanie. Just emailed my floorplan and requirement to her.

2) Plush Living - Didn't call. Used the online form to send my inquiry. Sent on 26th Mar only. No calls yet.

3) ID Note - Our dear Mr Henry. Famous contractor. But he said he not free to do for me when I called last Fri. Told me to check again today, then he told me he already signed up 3 others during the weekend, with 2 jobs clashing with my targetted reno period. Wanted me to call again end March. I asked him to quote me first. Cos i worried if i call end March and he okay to do, I don't have any quote to refer to, and gotta spend time waiting for it again wor. But his response good when I sms him, and he's very nice guy to talk to.

4) Basic Image - Mr Yeak. Talked to him last Friday, already said it's a condo. But after I sms him to tell him I emailed my floor plan, he said he don't do condo cos of manpower shortage. Oh what to do.

5) U&B Reno - Jason Goh. Haven't called him. But downloaded quotation template from his blog and just sent in my email. Hope to hear from him too.

6) Step One - The first company to quote me. This is a contractor with contacts given to me by my builder friend. He quoted me 80k for major overhaul, then when I emailed him that I will be supplying him the tiles and sinks/bathtubs, his quote only reduce by 4k. I've seen places with major overhaul and some even bigger size than mine, but not even 76k. And this co. not even ID. Kong bu man!!

7) Labelle Living - I emailed him at the same time I emailed Step One, and it's one week already, haven't heard from Labelle. Also recommended by my builder friend.

That's all for my ID/contractor homework search.

[Supersimon27 2]

Hey all,

updating on my ID/Contractor search. Frankly la, I also didn't do much in sourcing out contractors. Haha. Because hubby said he got some contacts so I only do half the work here.

3) ID Note - Our dear Mr Henry. Famous contractor. But he said he not free to do for me when I called last Fri. Told me to check again today, then he told me he already signed up 3 others during the weekend, with 2 jobs clashing with my targetted reno period. Wanted me to call again end March. I asked him to quote me first. Cos i worried if i call end March and he okay to do, I don't have any quote to refer to, and gotta spend time waiting for it again wor. But his response good when I sms him, and he's very nice guy to talk to.

Ha ... the 3 that sign over the weekend should be the new Henner . My signature list also becoming longer and longer

he sometime play safe one .... if he no confident to finish on time , I think he rather dun take ... maybe u try again on end march lor . Some henner also reject by him b4 then try again few week later. If he can take , he will take

[Amy Choon 1]

Ha ... the 3 that sign over the weekend should be the new Henner . My signature list also becoming longer and longer

he sometime play safe one .... if he no confident to finish on time , I think he rather dun take ... maybe u try again on end march lor . Some henner also reject by him b4 then try again few week later. If he can take , he will take

I know lor.. I tease him leh, say he so busy and popular until no time to help me. wahaha. i just emailed him my floor plan and requirement la, then i will call him end mar if i haven't finalised on contractor. and hope he got time lo.

[Amy Choon 1]

Uploading pix of the rest of the house.

View of hall from entrance walk way. Dining on the right side, one bedroom on the left.

The only bedroom separated from the other 2. This one is across the hall. This will be my daughter's room, comes with attached toilet. The little girl standing there is my daughter, I use speech bubble to cover her face. Haha.

The attached toilet to the soon-to-be daughter's room.

Edited March 2, 2010 by merydith

[Amy Choon 1]

Down the walkway to the rooms. The study which the previous owner convert from the utility room. Sealed the door on the yard side and open a doorway on the walkway.

Another room. It's currently connected to the master bedroom with a 3 or 4 panel sliding door. Gonna seal the wall and leave this room for my in-laws when they stay over.

Master bedroom. Built in wardrobe on the right side (not in photo). Gonna hack and install new wardrobes. Having had a walk-in wardrobe in my old house, it might be difficult to squeeze all the stuff into a 4 door wardrobe now. But then it doesn't take up that much space and definitely won't get so much dust.

The sliding door connecting the other room to the master.

The master toilet.

I will upload photos of the walkway (corridor), as well as the 3rd toilet. Photos not with me now.

Edited March 2, 2010 by merydith

[Umaisarah 2]

Hi Merydith.

Wah, your bedrooms look so big! I so jealous. Bedrooms at my place soooo tiny.

can only fit bed and study table. Not much room to move around

Fine for a 5-year old but once they grow up, aiyoh, will feel so cramped.

Look fwd to more updates from you

[Amy Choon 1]

hi umaisarah,

ya... the bedrooms are bigger, the master bedroom is even bigger than the one in my 5rm HDB, this is one of the reasons why we chose an older condo. now all the newer condos have very small rooms..

wow.. your curtains already cost $2k deposit? it must be really ex! care to share the total? hehe.

[Umaisarah 2]

hi umaisarah,

ya... the bedrooms are bigger, the master bedroom is even bigger than the one in my 5rm HDB, this is one of the reasons why we chose an older condo. now all the newer condos have very small rooms..

wow.. your curtains already cost $2k deposit? it must be really ex! care to share the total? hehe.

Ya lor....if u see the pics of my house, all have almost floor to ceiling windows and cover the entire length of the wall.

Even bathroom must cover up! Altogether, J & S quoted me their best price of $5,800, with average fabric price of $35-$40.

This quote is for:

- day roller blind + nite curtain for living (planter window)

- nite curtain for dining (balcony door)

- curtains for 3 bedrooms

- day roller blind + nite curtain for MBR

- roller blind for 2 bathrooms

Wanted to hv roman blinds for bedrooms but so costly and a few pple told me mtce-wise more difficult. So shelved tt idea.

My current 5RM HDB also hv lots of windows but I only did curtains for living room. Bedrooms and study used vertical blinds. But I thot not so nice to have that at new place , it looks v cheapo and like in the office

[Amy Choon 1]

5.8k for curtains!!!!! wow.... i can buy a swarovski LG fridge with extras for wine chiller, man......

where is J&S btw? Is it a high end curtain place? i only budget 2k for my curtains. hahaha... don't know if i'm too conservative...

[Umaisarah 2]

5.8k for curtains!!!!! wow.... i can buy a swarovski LG fridge with extras for wine chiller, man......

where is J&S btw? Is it a high end curtain place? i only budget 2k for my curtains. hahaha... don't know if i'm too conservative...

I aredi expect it so had budget abt $5K for it. Went to 4 diff places, got 4 diff quotes ranging from $4K-$11K!

Really depends on fabric and material u choose. Mbe I choose only the nice and ex ones, LOL.

ya lah, i v terrible, want nice-nice, but want to pay cheap-cheap

Oso the quote include include installation of railings and tracks.

J & S has several outlets, in Plaza Singapura, Park Mall, Tj Katong Complex, also IMM I think.

Not sure if they are high-end, mbe medium-end?? The min price for their fabric is $29 per m.

I thot, this one do one time, pay a bit more, oklah. Next time, buy cheaper material from M'sia then ask maid to sew

[summerflowers 0]

laminates aren't suppose to have much contact with water right? even mopping with too wet mops will spoil the laminates, so i think putting them in the bathroom is big no-no... how about those normal wood meant for balcony/outdoor?

Vinyl laminates are different from wood laminates. Vinyl are made from synthetic materials. That's why they are soft and flexible to the touch. They will not absorb moisture. They are not slippery so it's good flooring with children and elderly in the house.

Wood used for outdoors are Chengai or Balau wood. Pardon me for the spelling, don't know whether correct. Think some people put in the bathroom for a more resort look and feel.

[Amy Choon 1]

Hi Umaisarah,

whoa.... I looked back at my budget list again and realised I got 2.5K for my curtains. But I guess I only going to do day/night for my master, day for my hall and Ikea panel curtains for my kid and PILs room. As I'm on 28 floor, it's totally unblocked, so the curtains are more for asthetics rather than functions... And I love the panel curtains from Ikea, so I thought I can use that for my kid to go with her pink bedroom. Besides, I hate washing curtains. So I guess panel curtains can change every year without feeling too much pinch on my wallet..

hi summerflowers,

thanks for the information on the different materials for laminates! Eventually, we decided to keep all our floorings since we have limited budget for reno. Save some ba.

[Amy Choon 1]

Another 1 month and we will be getting the keys to our new place but we have yet to confirm with ID! We visited some during the weekend and met up with various types of ID and most of them only take down our requirements. A couple gave us ideas. And one even tell me to shift my kitchen door despite me mentioning that I don't have intention of doing that, twice!

One thing we have purchased for our new home though, is our Serta mattress! A king size Sierra Hills. We stepped into Serta just to look around, and got attracted by the 50% discount which I later realised to be some promo gimmick. Nonetheless, I told hubby that since we like the bed and it's within our budget, then it's okay lor.

Now I just cross fingers that everything else will be within our budget too......

[Umaisarah 2]

Another 1 month and we will be getting the keys to our new place but we have yet to confirm with ID! We visited some during the weekend and met up with various types of ID and most of them only take down our requirements. A couple gave us ideas. And one even tell me to shift my kitchen door despite me mentioning that I don't have intention of doing that, twice!

One thing we have purchased for our new home though, is our Serta mattress! A king size Sierra Hills. We stepped into Serta just to look around, and got attracted by the 50% discount which I later realised to be some promo gimmick. Nonetheless, I told hubby that since we like the bed and it's within our budget, then it's okay lor.

Now I just cross fingers that everything else will be within our budget too......

Hi Merydith

Wen r u collecting yr keys? I think we r in same boat but I recently selected my ID. Whew! It's a big relief to get tt done. My advice is to go w e one u feel most comfortable with. Hv u got 2nd appt w any of them yet? By then u shd hv an idea or feeling aredi if u can work w them. But dun worri still got time lah.

U oso bought e Sierra Hills! Whr u buy? IMM? Can share w me how much u pay for it? You can see mine frm my sig. Hope tt Kelvin didn't chop me. Do u know we actually spend almost 2 Hrs at e shop until my kids complain they were hungry for dinner. We tried all e mattresses and end up w e Sierra Hills cuz it's softer. Yah tt 50% is jus a gimmick. I mention it in my blog too so others, pls bargain hard if you're thinking of buying a Serta!

[Amy Choon 1]

Umaisarah,

yup, bought from IMM and from Kelvin too. I read your blog, you didn't get the bedframe right? I did. But the price I paid for the mattress same as you. And my freebies are, 1 mattress protector, 2 comfort pillows, 3 sets bedsheet and 1 Serta sheep. I got the bedframe too, because I quite like that the bedframes are simple. that's why i bought.

yeah others, not possible to down the price any lower though. but can ask for more freebies. i saw someone bought 2 years ago, from Kelvin, and he throw in 2 latex pillows!! i wonder if i can ask for that too.. keke.