3 Room In Amk

[ossify 1]

Hi Neubie,

can i know roughly how long it takes to renovate a 3 roomo flat?

i am actually trying to plan the amount of time i can take to slowly find a good contractor or ID...and let them reno....but the reno got to complete by my wedding in early dec.

fast 4 weeks, slow 8 weeks

mine was done in 4 weeks, but had to be very careful with planning.

[ossify 1]

alright....first of all, to all who still hold onto the belief that IDs are more expensive than contractors....pls pls pls....throw that MISCONCEPTION away. i just bought a 3-rm flat and gave my floorplan to no fewer than 9 IDs/contractors mixed. Quotations from ALL the contractors were higher than the cheapest ID. And some of the contractors even used their "cheap" package to offset the quotation. The price difference between the IDs' and contractors' quotes range frm $1k-$2k to as much as $5k!

And might I add, the IDs layouts and concepts were so much better than the contractors'.

I would suggest you spend your budget on works that are super-difficult to do when you're staying in the flat. Things like changing floor/wall tiles (wet-works), built-in kitchen cabinets, toilets, re-construct walls etc.

1a) Repainting - can save money by doing it yourself. (can do after all reno completed and before u move in)

1b) acid wash - contractor will do after they complete reno. (not advisable to do this yourself)

1c) plastering - not necessary unless u really really cannot stand the sight of those "bricks" outline of old flats.

2a) floor tiles - do them NOW.

2b) wall tiles only for toilets - doable. kitchen wall can use paint. dirty after a few yrs, just re-paint yourself, save money.

3) kitchen cabinet - do NOW.

4) MBR wardrobe - buy those big, 2nd-hand ones frm factory outlets. u'll be surprised at their condition. i bought a 6ft, 4-dr casement wardrobe(2nd-hand) back in 2005 for $100. Still in good condition and still using it now. So u can save $$ by doing this for nw, and when u hv the $$, get those Lumiera (i think its the correct spelling) wardrobe or do a built-in via a contractor. it won't be as messy so it's doable.

5) overhaul 2 toilets - do them NOW.

6) build up store room - do u really need a store room? if yes, no choice, do NOW. if not, save $$ by not building unneccesarily.

7) rewiring - again, do u really nd to re-position your electrical switches and sockets. if yes, again no choice, do NOW. if not, can save between $2k-$4k, depending on hw extensive is your re-run.

as for furnitures, make do wif minimal furnitures for now. no bed, nvm, put mattress on floor. no sofa, its ok, get cushions n sit on floor. no tv console, put tv on floor (since sitting on floor, same level when watching tv, is ok).

cos u have limited resource, it's ok to do things temporary for furnishings. i've been there, done that, for my current place. slowly, buy 2nd-hand bargains, wait for Ikea sale or some other factory outlet sale for those storage cabinets etc. u'll be surprised, some things tt we think we must have....might not actually be that critical. we can actually live without them for quite a while.i still dun hv a bed after 7yrs. benefit of mattress on floor - when not sleeping, can just put d mattress up against the wall and walah, u have free floor space to walk around.

just my 2 cents' worth. hope it helps in your budgeting and considerations.

his advice is really good. do take heed

but considering the low budget, most contractors won't bother. would it be possible for you to take leave to coordinate?

[neubie 2]

Hi Neubie,

can i know roughly how long it takes to renovate a 3 roomo flat?

i am actually trying to plan the amount of time i can take to slowly find a good contractor or ID...and let them reno....but the reno got to complete by my wedding in early dec.

it all depends on how extensive the works are to be done. this again very much depends on what is needed to be done first. i think, working backwards, ur reno shd start latest by mid-september, as you wouldn't want to rush ur contractor too much (quality *might* be compromised)...

like ossify mentioned, it's better to give more time to reno, as the contractor u signed with may be busy with other projects....factoring this into consideration, so i think it's best to start hunting for ID/con now...

invite contractors to your place and do detailed measurements on the areas needed. this is important, as the dimensions quoted in standard floorplan given by HDB are external measurements...the more accurate the measurements, the less chance of wastage and unwanted additional costs.

Edited August 20, 2010 by neubie

[ALAN1388 0]

Your floorplan

all the best in your reno project

can read my tblog for my DIY reno of 3rm flat at 17k

Hi Ossify,

thanks for keeping my dreams alive.

Can i know if you are a ID or contractor? otherwise how do you know all these?

Please enlighten me...as said...i am totally dumb about renovation. But ....if its takes serveral sleepless nights.....to do up my dream simple house....within 15K i am so going for it.

[ALAN1388 0]

it all depends on how extensive the works are to be done. this again very much depends on what is needed to be done first. i think, working backwards, ur reno shd start latest by mid-september, as you wouldn't want to rush ur contractor too much (quality *might* be compromised)...

like ossify mentioned, it's better to give more time to reno, as the contractor u signed with may be busy with other projects....factoring this into consideration, so i think it's best to start hunting for ID/con now...

invite contractors to your place and do detailed measurements on the areas needed. this is important, as the dimensions quoted in standard floorplan given by HDB are external measurements...the more accurate the measurements, the less chance of wastage and unwanted additional costs.

Hi neubie,

thanks alot!! these info save lifes!!

[ossify 1]

Hi Ossify,

thanks for keeping my dreams alive.

Can i know if you are a ID or contractor? otherwise how do you know all these?

Please enlighten me...as said...i am totally dumb about renovation. But ....if its takes serveral sleepless nights.....to do up my dream simple house....within 15K i am so going for it.

welcome

well, i did it while i was not a contractor

but that has changed since...

[mach668 0]

Hi Gals Mama,

....i am now very very doubtful liao.....and very scared...

the thing about my wish to change the tiles and the kitchen cabinet...in spite of them being really useable....is that i know i wont be please with them...and in time to come (especailly the tiles) it will be nearly impossible to change...

we are not creative people who have lovely ideas for their home...for us...we really just like to have a simple, spacious and comfortable house....but....TOTO failed to touch me last night....and my situation is still the same

so you are right! Prioritise!

hi quite frankly, everyone of us wish to have a dream house of ours, however in reality most can't achieve that. i think you are right in the beginning by not wanting to have to much loan esp into reno. i have a friend who took up big loan to reno took 5 yrs to pay back to achieve his dream house, his verdict after that: not worth it! he sold his house after paying his reno loan. so, the situation here is, we can't be sure we are staying at our dream house forever, if we can afford, go for it, if can't then we should be practical.

if your house was reno 5 yr back, i'm sure the condition can't be that bad? i'll suggest you to give it a new coat of paint, add some lighting points to give it a cosy feel and give the toilets a thorough clean (if need to change wc, do it) and prepare to move in. keep the tile and kitchen cabinet if they are functioning well, they might be eye-sore to you now, but believe me, you'll feel more secure by feeling your 15k in your pocket! (is hard to make 15k but very easy to spend it!)

a lot of us here need to do basic wet work for our units is bcos those unit are quite old and run down, reno was down at least 15-20yrs back with min maintenance.

you are lucky that the unit was reno 5 yr back. so long as you chose your furnitures carefully, you can still have a cosy and dream house of yours. good luck.

[neubie 2]

hi quite frankly, everyone of us wish to have a dream house of ours, however in reality most can't achieve that. i think you are right in the beginning by not wanting to have to much loan esp into reno. i have a friend who took up big loan to reno took 5 yrs to pay back to achieve his dream house, his verdict after that: not worth it! he sold his house after paying his reno loan. so, the situation here is, we can't be sure we are staying at our dream house forever, if we can afford, go for it, if can't then we should be practical.

if your house was reno 5 yr back, i'm sure the condition can't be that bad? i'll suggest you to give it a new coat of paint, add some lighting points to give it a cosy feel and give the toilets a thorough clean (if need to change wc, do it) and prepare to move in. keep the tile and kitchen cabinet if they are functioning well, they might be eye-sore to you now, but believe me, you'll feel more secure by feeling your 15k in your pocket! (is hard to make 15k but very easy to spend it!)

a lot of us here need to do basic wet work for our units is bcos those unit are quite old and run down, reno was down at least 15-20yrs back with min maintenance.

you are lucky that the unit was reno 5 yr back. so long as you chose your furnitures carefully, you can still have a cosy and dream house of yours. good luck.

great advise!!! i think TS should post some pics of the existing condition of his new flat and gather some comments on what needs to be done and what can be saved up for an unforgettable honeymoon. yes, those floorings and wall tiles, give it a good acid bath/wash to clear away all those stubborn stains, and they shd smell like new.

Edited August 20, 2010 by neubie

[manutd1972 1]

HDB gives one month reno period. but can be extended if required.

think HDB normally gives up to 4mths to complete reno. unless they changed their policy, it shld still be 4mths.

my previous plc took all of 4mths, if i remember correctly. we didn't need to rush and told our contractor to take his time but to do a super good job. we don't want to have to call him back to rectify defects. and true enough, no defects at all after we moved in. he actually completed earlier but he spotted some poor workmanship in the kitchen cabinet (which I couldn't even see during my inspection with him. he pointed them out to me after asking me if the cabinets were ok.)

so he had his carpenters redo some of the kitchen cabinets and handed over the fully-done flat to us at almost the end of the 4mth period.

[ALAN1388 0]

HI Everyone....i am still alive...but sad...

just went to a few ID and all are saying that the price is in the $20K-$30K region......

my search continues....Any Main contractors to recommend?

[gimz63251073 0]

HI Everyone....i am still alive...but sad...

just went to a few ID and all are saying that the price is in the $20K-$30K region......

my search continues....Any Main contractors to recommend?

ossify is one, jaskel another one.

some other lurking here i am sure. haa..

btw, we have exactly the same floor plan!

oh ya, how come ur budget for electronics is $10k...a bit high leh...does it include furnishing as well..?

U can also list down the prices u were quoted, then let the experts here give their 2cents. If prices are already quite reasonable, then the only way to cut cost is to lower your expectations... like selecting cheaper materials or going more places or getting some 2nd hand stuff.

Just to share:

- we bought hollow bedroom doors - cheaper by $20 each, saved $40.

- for patch up works, we opted for cement screed finish instead of tile finish - saved $100. (as we doing lamintes, will be covered up anyway)

- opted to outsource carpentry - save 30% at least.

- outsource windows, grilles, etc. - no idea how much we saved, but we shopped around for many quotes. (i still have the excel file of all hdb registered window installers, whom i emailed for quotes)

- did not do things like L-Box to hide trunkings. Instead went for exposed trunking with paint. Suits our theme, and it really is not very obvious.

- buy things from sale - or should i say, never buy unless there is a sale!

Little things add up, every $10 saved on one item in the list can go great lengths.

Our budget is 30k for reno+furniture+everything. Ours is a total goner flat filled with cockroaches and curry smell back then. Lots of revamp to do but hey, till now, we have yet to burst it. Bearing in mind that we even include the cost of a spoon in calculation, yes we are that specific!

Things we sacrifice:

- rainshower - use normal shower head.

- sanitary ware - all no-brand ones. works fine actually.

- roomba - use vacuum cleaner and dry mop

- dryer - use bamboo stick

- no plastering - uneven walls. doesn't affect us much really.

- and many others....

[mach668 0]

Our budget is 30k for reno+furniture+everything.

hi, saw your blog, even your reno for reno+furniture+everything still cost 30k?

reno is expensive these days. some ppl say reno cost guide line is 10-15% of purchase price.

[baby81984 1]

me and gim had spent around 28k plus to date for the house and we have included every single thing we spent on the house, right down to the sponge we are using for cleaning plates...

it's definitely not easy and had been a learning experience for both me and gim... but the thing is do be very very meticulous and plan in advance.. we shop around and ask around for quotes and often go to the cheapest as long as it does not compromise on the quality of work done... you definitely need to be realistic thou... i did not budget 10k for my furniture simply because i know that we can't afford it... but some of the things we could not save on coz we know that we would not be happy if we did... we hacked a fair bit of the house, the walls and so on... tt took up a bit of money but we felt it was money well spent...

it would be good to do up a spreadsheet so as to see all possible hidden costs so that you could be properly prepared... for example, hacking fees does not end at the 1k or so for 2 walls... you will still have to spend money to make good the walls! ensure that all these are properly budget for and trust mi, your money could go to a long way...

me and gim also outsource whenever possible.. while we seriously do not know what to look out for or how to spot defects, we try to learn or we simply use our common sense... for example, we outsource the windows direct. we may not know what they were doing.. but at least we know enough to check that the windows were sliding properly, locks working well, sides of the windows properly cemented and no funny looking bumps... it took just 1 day of leave to get that settled...

another way to save wat to buy yourself whenever possible.. we had the luxury of gim's parent's car sometimes and boy, did we make full use of that... we bought mattress, sofa frames, table glass, table frames, blah blah from an assortment of ikea, neighborhood shops, or my office area... at our most impromtu moment, we actually lugged home a 2m cupboard frame and the boxes home by bus! tough, definitely... but look at how much it saved us! each delivery by ikea costed around 50 if i'm not wrong.. go figure!

you can look at my blog if you are interested in our savings.. from my primary calculations i saved about 10k outsourcing rather then goin thru 1 contractor.. i would be happy to share with you anything you wish to know... i'm still updating the blog as days pass (actually gim does most of the updating.. hahah!)... but it's been a really fun process! enjoy!

[ALAN1388 0]

me and gim had spent around 28k plus to date for the house and we have included every single thing we spent on the house, right down to the sponge we are using for cleaning plates...

it's definitely not easy and had been a learning experience for both me and gim... but the thing is do be very very meticulous and plan in advance.. we shop around and ask around for quotes and often go to the cheapest as long as it does not compromise on the quality of work done... you definitely need to be realistic thou... i did not budget 10k for my furniture simply because i know that we can't afford it... but some of the things we could not save on coz we know that we would not be happy if we did... we hacked a fair bit of the house, the walls and so on... tt took up a bit of money but we felt it was money well spent...

it would be good to do up a spreadsheet so as to see all possible hidden costs so that you could be properly prepared... for example, hacking fees does not end at the 1k or so for 2 walls... you will still have to spend money to make good the walls! ensure that all these are properly budget for and trust mi, your money could go to a long way...

me and gim also outsource whenever possible.. while we seriously do not know what to look out for or how to spot defects, we try to learn or we simply use our common sense... for example, we outsource the windows direct. we may not know what they were doing.. but at least we know enough to check that the windows were sliding properly, locks working well, sides of the windows properly cemented and no funny looking bumps... it took just 1 day of leave to get that settled...

another way to save wat to buy yourself whenever possible.. we had the luxury of gim's parent's car sometimes and boy, did we make full use of that... we bought mattress, sofa frames, table glass, table frames, blah blah from an assortment of ikea, neighborhood shops, or my office area... at our most impromtu moment, we actually lugged home a 2m cupboard frame and the boxes home by bus! tough, definitely... but look at how much it saved us! each delivery by ikea costed around 50 if i'm not wrong.. go figure!

you can look at my blog if you are interested in our savings.. from my primary calculations i saved about 10k outsourcing rather then goin thru 1 contractor.. i would be happy to share with you anything you wish to know... i'm still updating the blog as days pass (actually gim does most of the updating.. hahah!)... but it's been a really fun process! enjoy!

Hi baby81984,

wow...looking back, i am sure you guys really enjoyed the whole process....frankly reading you post made me feel very touched....how you guys built your home as a team together..enjoying and suffering together. Well Done guys!

thanks for inspiring us.

frankly, i am able to give up....as most are telling me that renovating (just renovating the house) will need 20 to 30K....especially after talking to IDs. i hate the idea of having to succumb to them and loan again....

actually my budget is same as yours. I will study your blog and try to learn from you guys heheh

Thanks a lot!

[gals_mama 0]

Hi baby81984,

wow...looking back, i am sure you guys really enjoyed the whole process....frankly reading you post made me feel very touched....how you guys built your home as a team together..enjoying and suffering together. Well Done guys!

thanks for inspiring us.

frankly, i am able to give up....as most are telling me that renovating (just renovating the house) will need 20 to 30K....especially after talking to IDs. i hate the idea of having to succumb to them and loan again....

actually my budget is same as yours. I will study your blog and try to learn from you guys heheh

Thanks a lot!

Yes, must really sourced ard before the purchase. Warehouse house sales are also another source of saving $. Buy things only when u are sure of the measurements and not in a hurry to get it. Like we got our washer at a warehouse sale and save quite a bit. Dun buy in impulse.

Contractors are better in terms of saving $ as compared to ID. ID definitely cost more but they have 3d designs and ideas. Whereas contractors have more experiences and perhaps good advices. Of course getting a good & reliable contractor is impt. Read some good ones like Ossify, Jaskel, Mr Yeak & Edmund. Never take more loans, do within the means & slowly beautify the place.

Edited August 28, 2010 by gals_mama