Toa Payoh Blk 79 Kakis

[droplets 0]

Just got a small piece of good news from my ID....He has asked the PE to reduce his fees for me since we are not going ahead with the hacking. This means that he does not have to spend time on a site visit and also, he does not have to bear the added responsibility after the hacking.

The PE initially said that it is not possible as fees are fixed, but he has made an exception this time based on his long-term dealings with my ID...

The discount is not very substantial (just $100) but still this is better than nothing!

Kudos to my ID!

Hi gadgetman, isn't the PE charge supposed to be included in the quotation if hacking of wall is required? I've spoken to 2IDs and was told that hacking of wall is easily approved by HDB but no a word on PE leh..

[TPY 0]

heyhey!! sigh me sama sama when it comes to my pil... went out to purchase soft furnishings today then kenna "bao qing tian" by fil cos they want to go yam char....they keep saying just shift everything in liao but that's not what we think...i finally have a day to go shopping then they also not happy! grrrrrrrrrr!!

whatever and anything, we must honor our parents but at the same time, take authority of this situation...it's our dear hse!

Haiz, strawberry_pear realy pity on you. Why as the master and mistress owner of the house cannot have a say in what you want for your home? it seems sometimes, PIL of your are just plain "yi lao mai lao". Go for the shopping also for the sake of building up our house also cannot meh?

Hi gadgetman, isn't the PE charge supposed to be included in the quotation if hacking of wall is required? I've spoken to 2IDs and was told that hacking of wall is easily approved by HDB but no a word on PE leh..

You are quite true in this. It is subjected to the approval of HDB, PE just do the accessment. As long as structural no hazzla, HDB will approved.

Hi all

Went down to IMM Gain city to get quote for aircon. Let's share where can get best price. Me was attended by Kelvin. All prices quoted in CASH payment.

Mitshibushi MXY4A28 (3 x 10BTU, 1 x 18BTU) system 4 inverter, R410 gas, Armaflex class 1, 1/2" insulation, grade 23, drainpipe 16mm, compressor warranty 5 yrs, parts warranty 1 yr, 2 trips - $3,608 w/gst

Add $359 for extra 4 yrs warranty.

Mitshibushi MUX3B20 (3 x 10BTU) system 3 non inverter, 3/8" insulation, rest of specs same as above - $1,920 w/gst

Mitshibutshi MUA18BD single splite (1 x 18BTU) non inverter, 1/2" insulation, rest of specs same as above - $1200 w/gst

Total for 2nd combination (consist of 2 compressors) - $3,120.

Remember to tell contractor to extend the 15amp plug from mbr to aircon ledge. This applys only to those with 4rm flat.

Ms White, Dino, can share the pricing you get from AllBest ?

My 79A still have a long way to go, how envy....

[gadgetgal 0]

Zanie98

Tell them furniture can slowly buy but fixture must do 1st time. If do later, very dusty and noisy. Also not gd to have strangers / contractors running around with all your expensive stuffs. Scaly furnitures spoilt by them. Also wait things stolen or they dirty your rooms / toilet.

Renovation permit only allow 4 mths. After that, have to reapply, add up to cost. Piping might need to redo, wiring recable, have to repaint if dirty wall etc.

I think after you say all these, they will have no choice liao.

Erm,.. btw, I checked with my ID/Contractor, they say for new flat, no need to go with the renovation permit (4 mth) restriction, cause usually that one is for resale flat where they need to hack the floor tiles.

Anyway, that aside... kudos to Alister.. for that ideas which I can use to

[sdale 0]

Hi 'lifeisocrappy', why such a nickname ?

Welcome to TPY blk 79 community. You can go to 79C 40th floor, there is a flat already done up by contractor for viewing. But an owner at lower flat make a face when I mention abt that contractor, so be forewarned.

Agreed. The contractor on the 40th floor is .......

When I saw the tiles that they are promoting, 'super shiny' surface, $3.80 per piece, i thought he was crap. Firstly it is a printed design tile and it is not at all shiny. Those tiles are the normal 2.80 type. Even $3.80 price, contractor can get it at 2 dollar plus so they can earn quite a fair bit on tiles.

BEWARE........... go there and see see can. but don't.........

[TPY 0]

Agreed. The contractor on the 40th floor is .......

When I saw the tiles that they are promoting, 'super shiny' surface, $3.80 per piece, i thought he was crap. Firstly it is a printed design tile and it is not at all shiny. Those tiles are the normal 2.80 type. Even $3.80 price, contractor can get it at 2 dollar plus so they can earn quite a fair bit on tiles.

BEWARE........... go there and see see can. but don't.........

Can share the Firm here by using * ? I don't want to have the firm too.

[ms_white 0]

Hi Ms White & Alister..

have you check with Twincity? how is their quote to you? is it more ex? cos i tot their pricing and service was quite good hence introduced to all that time..

I was also told by Twin that 'made in Japan' & the 30000BTU thingy is soon facing out.

also my frd got bad experience with Allbest.. not sure why but something to do with piping one. think like they will pipe in the shortest way (but also the ugliest way) so cannot fit in their design or something.. but they are certified la, so maybe more safe also..

hi jo..not yet..so far only ventured the west..soon to be the east..hehe.

been doing a lot of walking..dun think i've ever walked so much for my clothes..

[sdale 0]

Can share the Firm here by using * ? I don't want to have the firm too.

I throw away their name card straight away, anyway you can go to 40th floor blk C and take a look yourself.

[gadgetgal 0]

Anyone going for Air-con bulk purchase?.

Alister, ms white, do include me if your are going for bulk purchase. My plan of getting one is within 3-4 weeks time (after my cement screeding is done).

Preferred vendor is All-best though,... but if anyone has lower price better quality,.. it is fine for me too!.

[TPY 0]

Agreed. The contractor on the 40th floor is ....... !!

When I saw the tiles that they are promoting, 'super shiny' surface, $3.80 per piece, i thought he was crap. Firstly it is a printed design tile and it is not at all shiny. Those tiles are the normal 2.80 type. Even $3.80 price, contractor can get it at 2 dollar plus so they can earn quite a fair bit on tiles.

BEWARE........... go there and see see can. but don't......... !!

Thanks Sdale.I shasl make a trip there one day.

[almonddust 0]

Here are some things that I WOULD HAVE done, if I have another go at a renovation project. You may like to consider them as well....(at your own risk!)

Invest in some recent renovation magazines to take note of the ideas you like to incorportate

Talk to some IDs and renovators to get an idea of how much basic renovation of a reasonable quality will cost. These will include, Flooring, Ceiling, Electrical, Plumbing, Kitchen Cabinets and Toilets. As these areas are all standard items, price comparison will be easy across different IDs

On top of these items, add those items in your wish-list to see how much more they will add to your budget. These are the items that will detemine the final cost of your renovation, so even if the ID can give a very good quote for basic reno, it adds up to nothing if they start to chop you here!! Be ready to drop and modify ideas that may not fit into your budget.

Rule-of-Thumb - Buying ready-made furnitures will be cheaper than to custom built. Therefore, unless you have good reason to have built-in (space constraints, design considerations etc), try not to have too much built-in. Check out Furniture Mall, Ikea, V-Hive, Barang Barang and even places like I waana go Home to see the range of ready-made furnitues that can potentially fit your place. Remember to invest in a good measuring tape so that you can be sure that what you have in mind will fit into the room!

Remember - Built-in items are not necesary nicer or more practical! Do not fall into the trap of feeling obligated to have customised items to give your house an unique look. These will definitely add in to your cost, but may not necessary make your house look better!

Allow some buffer in your budget for some luxury items. There will be beautiful lights and toilet accessories that will be very tempting later on - make sure you have enough budget to cover these as well

Make sure you list down all the extra costs so that you can know exactly how much the total cost will be. these include: Haulage, PE fees, provisions for electircal appliances and furntures etc. Your budget will easily spiral out of control if you do not make early provisions for these necessary items.

Last but not least, go with an ID that you are comfortable with. I went with mine because he sounded knowledgeable and confident and he has an easy-going style. It is important to work with someone whom you can trust and whom you believe can understand your vision and needs clearly.

One final word: Expect plenty of hickups and problem-solving even with all the above in place! There is no such thing as a perfect renovation project. There will be plenty of occasions for you to change your designs and ideas mid-way. But stay true to your vision of your future home and try to work towards that as much as you can. I have already had my share of problems and some of the U-turns are quite costly. It will be very easy to say "you should have thought of that earlier" now, but this is real-life and trust-me, problems do happen even with the best 3-D drawings and planning! But that's also the fun and challenging part of the renovation project! Enjoy!

Thanks Gadgetman for the valuable insights! !! What you said is very true.

Although we have confirmed with our ID on our ideas and budget, in the end we have added more things than what we had initially wanted. For example: Initially we wanted to overlay our toilets, then after seeing ID's quotation, we abundant it and tried to convince ourselves that we could live with the original toilet tiles. But after seeing your toilets which you are overlaying, we changed our minds again and felt it is better to overlay. We went to select our toilet tiles and let our ID gave us a quote. Her quote based on what we had chosen (Wall tiles $3, floor tiles $4.20) turns out to be $3,200!!! That's freaking expensive for us to overlay the toilets!

Subsequently we went to re-choose our tiles again (this time, wall tiles $3, floor tiles $2.60) and the final quote is $2,400. I'm not sure whether this cost is consider reasonable or not but somehow our bargaining power is not there liao since we decided we will go ahead with the overlaying.

This is not the only thing we changed from our initial quotation. We also like to have a storage cushion-bench by the window, a little settee beside the shoe rack, installation of window grills, and tall unit in the kitchen. In the end, we took them all out. But it does make a difference to get the ID to do a quote for us so that we can decide whether to go ahead or not.

Hint: We upgraded our homogeneous tiles to $3.40/pc (ID quote was based on $3). Instead of topping up the difference, we downgraded the bombshelter tiles to $2 ceramic tiles. In the end, our ID absorb the extra cost for us coz the upgraded tiles per sq feet is more than the savings from the downgrade.

[alister 0]

Thanks Gadgetman for the valuable insights! !! What you said is very true.

Although we have confirmed with our ID on our ideas and budget, in the end we have added more things than what we had initially wanted. For example: Initially we wanted to overlay our toilets, then after seeing ID's quotation, we abundant it and tried to convince ourselves that we could live with the original toilet tiles. But after seeing your toilets which you are overlaying, we changed our minds again and felt it is better to overlay. We went to select our toilet tiles and let our ID gave us a quote. Her quote based on what we had chosen (Wall tiles $3, floor tiles $4.20) turns out to be $3,200!!! That's freaking expensive for us to overlay the toilets!

Subsequently we went to re-choose our tiles again (this time, wall tiles $3, floor tiles $2.60) and the final quote is $2,400. I'm not sure whether this cost is consider reasonable or not but somehow our bargaining power is not there liao since we decided we will go ahead with the overlaying.

This is not the only thing we changed from our initial quotation. We also like to have a storage cushion-bench by the window, a little settee beside the shoe rack, installation of window grills, and tall unit in the kitchen. In the end, we took them all out. But it does make a difference to get the ID to do a quote for us so that we can decide whether to go ahead or not.

Hint: We upgraded our homogeneous tiles to $3.40/pc (ID quote was based on $3). Instead of topping up the difference, we downgraded the bombshelter tiles to $2 ceramic tiles. In the end, our ID absorb the extra cost for us coz the upgraded tiles per sq feet is more than the savings from the downgrade.

Hey, the pricing of doing both my toilet is $2900 but haulage is only $380. Any difference in haulage is absorb by my ID. I think it is already price into the toilet costing.

Our homo tiles was also quoted $3/pc but we pester him to give us up to $3.50/pc at no extra charge. For settee, you can buy at furniture shops. I saw one selling for $99 at harbourfront (w/o delivery). Window grills, toilets, doors are all optional items. This way not oblige to use them if not happy with design.

I did a measurement of my floor size and confirm it is smaller than the floor plan given by HDB. And best, I checked that if the actual kitchen cabinet, room cabinet, homo tiles etc floor size smaller than quoted, he will adjust the amt accordingly.

Edited October 29, 2007 by alister

[gadgetman 0]

Hi gadgetman, isn't the PE charge supposed to be included in the quotation if hacking of wall is required? I've spoken to 2IDs and was told that hacking of wall is easily approved by HDB but no a word on PE leh..

You must be careful to make sure that the IDs will definitely cover your full cost of the hacking (including the PE fees) when they quote you. My ID was surprised that HDB had asked for a PE top be involved, his other projects elsewhere does not involve such an item so far.

I understand PE may not be required for older and lower flats, but Blk79 is a new and high-rise building. Think "Kiasu" mentality, if something were to happen with the hacking, would HBD assume all responsibility? Short answer is probably not, so an indepenet assessment by a professional is added insurance!

!! Finally, the first signs of carpentry works are finding their way to my place!! !!

The kitchen cabinets are being assembled today and the living room platform should start tomorrow!

[REDCRYSTAL 0]

Just got a small piece of good news from my ID....He has asked the PE to reduce his fees for me since we are not going ahead with the hacking. This means that he does not have to spend time on a site visit and also, he does not have to bear the added responsibility after the hacking.

The PE initially said that it is not possible as fees are fixed, but he has made an exception this time based on his long-term dealings with my ID...

The discount is not very substantial (just $100) but still this is better than nothing!

Kudos to my ID!

if you are not hacking the wall, why do you still need to pay the PE??

can to share.

[REDCRYSTAL 0]

hi all

sorry but to side track a bit.... do ur hv any recommendations for any feng shui master or which FSM are ur engaging !! coz me aso finding 1 to see the fengshui of my hse

can recommend my fsm to you but abit on the high side ard $600-700.

he only speak mandarin and hokkien, his english cannot swim.

if still interested, pm me.

to share with you some basic procedure (for all fsm):

1) give yr flr plan, hse facing and bazi of whoever staying in the hse to fsm.

2) fsm will give u the layout of bed, stove, sink, tv, etc on the flr plan.

3) flr plan will also include certain items (fs item-crystal, hulo, etc) to place as per yr bazi.

(remember to ask why, if don't place what will happen. if item very ex, ask for alternative.)

4) will also give u colors combination accordingly to yr bazi (mine colour only 4-5, so ask what colour i cannot have. this way got more choice mah).

pm me if u need any more info, will share with u if know.

[Mapleleaf 0]

Was away for only 2 weeks and so many posts to catch up.

My loan application came 2 weeks ago (just after I left for my trip). Deadline is this Thursday. Think I will drop by HDB to hand in my application. No time to post liao. What about the rest of Blk E kakis?

Good to know that reno is well underway for some of you. I have confirmed my ID but I still need to trim down on my luxury items. !!