hermione 1 Report post Posted December 14, 2010 (edited) hi hi, been lurking here for a long time. decided to start the blog after fellow river vista neighbour gave me a little push! anyways i won't discuss $$ here in-depth, but can PM me, i will try to provide as much info as possible. here's the floorplan in my final scheme after hacking: Hacking: (1) service balcony wall to enlarge kitchen (2) kitchen entrance wall to enlarge entrance (3) wall between master and bedroom 3 I'm engaging an ID firm to do my contracting work, which is really good cos they are also able to advise me on design and layout. But I will still have to liaise some of my reno myself and do all the design and choosing of lights and so on myself. I also don't get 3D drawings as I'm not engaging them for design, but they did draw my kitchen as they are doing my carpentry. I am cutting costs to keep budget less than 25k for reno (exclude furnishing). As such I have very little carpentry (only kitchen). I am tiling the entire house except the kitchen, and overlaying tiles in both toilets. The killer is the tiling... they took up the bulk of the reno cost. Cannot imagine older flats that got to hack before tiling, will cost even more! My home will have more focus on designing with the right pieces of furniture, layout and accessories, so let's hope I achieve what I want - only time will tell! Edited December 20, 2010 by hermione Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
reglxt 0 Report post Posted December 14, 2010 congrats dear and good luck to your reno by the way u are from which block? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hermione 1 Report post Posted December 14, 2010 Thanks! I'm from 38A. hehe... low floor, cos by the time I was able to choose, I was only left with low floors for those facing the river. Doesn't bother me, I like not having to wait too long for the lift, haha... gotta look on the bright side... anyways here are some photos: - living room - kitchen - service balcony - master bedroom toilet - guest toilet 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
reglxt 0 Report post Posted December 14, 2010 (edited) Thanks! I'm from 38A. hehe... low floor, cos by the time I was able to choose, I was only left with low floors for those facing the river. Doesn't bother me, I like not having to wait too long for the lift, haha... gotta look on the bright side... anyways here are some photos: - living room - kitchen - service balcony - master bedroom toilet - guest toilet nice! can climb stairs everyday exercise abit kaypoh abit will u be putting privacy film? Edited December 14, 2010 by reglxt Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hermione 1 Report post Posted December 15, 2010 Haha, I don't mind climbing stairs down, but not UP! Hmm, we might put film for the service area windows that I'm putting up as that is the only windows I'm facing neighbours at blk 39A. But for the rest no plans yet. Initially I was afraid of heat, etc, but now that I've been there a few times, even when it's hot outside I don't feel it cos it's quite windy. Maybe cos it's dec, but I hope that continues! I'm facing the factories on all my other windows, nothing to look at and nothing to look at me too, so I think privacy-wise still ok! Prob just put curtains. Haha. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hermione 1 Report post Posted December 15, 2010 I bought my coffee table while furniture shopping! and my fridge! coffee table is about $200+ and fridge got discount from the price you see in the pic... haha must bargain with Har vey Nor man... I also bought my oven, hob and hood from there... TV too... so delivery will be easy! Year end really a lot of sales... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hermione 1 Report post Posted December 15, 2010 Gosh electrical is so expensive... just spoke to my electrical guy... he's charging me almost about $1000 to do all the work in my house. I wonder if it's too much. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
reglxt 0 Report post Posted December 15, 2010 Gosh electrical is so expensive... just spoke to my electrical guy... he's charging me almost about $1000 to do all the work in my house. I wonder if it's too much. each lighting point is around 30 ish per point maybe you can cut down on the lighthing points? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
reglxt 0 Report post Posted December 15, 2010 Haha, I don't mind climbing stairs down, but not UP! Hmm, we might put film for the service area windows that I'm putting up as that is the only windows I'm facing neighbours at blk 39A. But for the rest no plans yet. Initially I was afraid of heat, etc, but now that I've been there a few times, even when it's hot outside I don't feel it cos it's quite windy. Maybe cos it's dec, but I hope that continues! I'm facing the factories on all my other windows, nothing to look at and nothing to look at me too, so I think privacy-wise still ok! Prob just put curtains. Haha. lucky you.. my unit is only windy at certain period of the year. i received house keys around oct.. and renovation been going on since oct unit is facing NNW .. its rather humid around sun set so we will need to put up window films for hall and bedrooms Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hermione 1 Report post Posted December 15, 2010 i don't have that much new lighting points, i think the main bulk of the money goes to pulling new tv point cos I'm changing the direction of the tv, and adding new electrical points in the kitchen for all my built-in appliances like oven, dishwasher, hob, etc etc... And those need to be concealed in some way... I just left it up to the electrician to figure out a way. But I guess if I want to cut costs I can just let him lay trunking everywhere... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
reglxt 0 Report post Posted December 15, 2010 i don't have that much new lighting points, i think the main bulk of the money goes to pulling new tv point cos I'm changing the direction of the tv, and adding new electrical points in the kitchen for all my built-in appliances like oven, dishwasher, hob, etc etc... And those need to be concealed in some way... I just left it up to the electrician to figure out a way. But I guess if I want to cut costs I can just let him lay trunking everywhere... i see i see reno really costs alot of money your fridge looks really nice... i have yet to shop for tv, washing machines , fridge and etc.. only purchased heater storage tank, induction hob & hood... on budget now cos spent too much on reno & furnitures.. LOL *faint* guess will slowly buy later on.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hermione 1 Report post Posted December 15, 2010 ya man, i totally agree. reno costs are crazy! completely don't understand the logic behind some of the costs. But what to do, it's a contractor's world out there now. I bought all my necessary kitchen appliances first, cos die die kitchen must be up mah, they need to know the measurements before doing up your cabinets? I'm putting all my appliances under the counter, so must buy first so that they can calculate the measurements properly. I like my fridge too, took me a long time to find it. It's out of my budget, luckily my FIL is sponsoring the fridge! HAHA. You should get people to sponsor stuff during housewarming... So far I got a few big items that I found sponsorship for, lol... Or maybe lucky for me they volunteered to sponsor me lah Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blowtoenhance 0 Report post Posted December 15, 2010 HAve a smooth sailing for you reno! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
happygolucky 0 Report post Posted December 15, 2010 ooohhh love the river view! I'm from 38C, welcome to the neighbourhood! =) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
reglxt 0 Report post Posted December 15, 2010 ooohhh love the river view! I'm from 38C, welcome to the neighbourhood! =) hihi your block is next to 38D right? i am from 38D Share this post Link to post Share on other sites