~the Idaidil's Sanctuary~

[idaidil 0]

~OUR HOUSE HUNTING MOMENT~

Part 1

It all started from a small conversation with the family about relocating and before we knew it, everyone agreed and the embarkation to our house hunting began.

We began our online search on propertyguru, iproperty, newspaper ads etc; and started sourcing out for properties on sale. We decided to opt for a resale flat due to fact that first we wanted to live in a mature estate where facilities are readily available; second, we wanted a bigger sized living area and third, should we select to purchase another flat direct from HDB, we will have to pay the levy imposed by HDB for second timer new flat owners and of course, undoubtedly we wanted to avoid that.

HDB Type

Our former Jurong West HDB unit was a 5I with a 110sqm area. Since my parents had decided to sell their house too and join in to stay under one roof with us, we decided to select a much bigger unit so our search came down to either a 5A, Executive Apartment, Executive Maisonette, Jumbo or Multi-Generation units. Most importantly for the comfort of everyone, the house must be a four bedrooms unit, low level, corner unit, former Malay owner, has a bus going to Geylang Serai (conditions strictly by my Mom :/) and with good facilities.

Location

This was one of the most fickle situations that we had to go through. Of course, we had various area choices to choose from – west, north, central or the east. We are most definitely not interested in shifting to another Jurong neighbourhood as we thought that our Street 61 area is considered to be the best location among most Jurong areas since our house was just a stone’s throw away from Pioneer MRT station, opposite a 24-hour coffee shop, nearby the Jurong West Stadium, Pioneer Mall with Giant Hypermarket, Jurong Point with a 24-hour NTUC Fairprice Extra, Sheng Siong Market, River Valley High School and the list goes on. Thus, other Jurong area is definitely out of the list.

The search of our new place must be along the stretch of the MRT line (no NEL, CCL or LRT) and one that has a lot of halal eateries exceptionally essential during the Ramadan period.

134 Pasir Ris Street 11 – Executive Apartment Centre Unit with no Corridor Windows Low Level Indian Owner

Our initial interest was Pasir Ris. Simply because we felt that Pasir Ris has got a really nice and cosy ambience. And so our very first house visit was an Executive Apartment at Pasir Ris Street 11. We were awed (especially my Mom) at the house design and how large the house was with four super spacious bedrooms. The master bedroom was even interconnected with one of the bedroom next to it separated by a sliding door. It will be great for parents with young children. Among all units that we had viewed, this was the biggest with a space area of 157sqm! HOWEVER, the location of the house was pretty bad since the bus stop was blocks away! (**** FAR!) Despite the affordable price and huge space area, facilities DO matter. (FYI, some of the blocks in the same neighborhood has got penthouse units on their top uppermost floor! WOW!)

308 Tampines Street 32 – Executive Apartment Corridor Unit Mid Level Indian Owner

This unit had four bedrooms where the study bedroom windows were facing the corridor. It was already empty as the owners had already shifted out. We were not really keen as the house did not leave much impression on us.

330 Tampines Street 32 – Executive Apartment Corner Unit Low Level Malay Owner

We were looking through for Executive Apartment units on propertyguru and stumbled upon this unit on sale. So we arranged for viewing with the agent of this unit and again Mom was deeply in love with the place simply because her ‘supposed-to-be-her’ bedroom was spacious and was facing the main road opposite the Tampines Mart. The bus stop was just in front of the block and shops were just located opposite the place. Unfortunately the owner of the unit had not done their valuation and still not done so even after two weeks later; as a result we decided to drop it. I was not that really keen in the unit too since the house looked rather dark due to the small windows and the study bedroom was rather small; and since the entrance was through the balcony; upon entering the house to the right was the study bedroom where it had a set of windows. Windows within the house? Funny, isn’t it? Mom was uber disappointed that we did not buy this unit but hey, this is a huge expenditure that we are going to invest on where it will cost us more than half a million, the house should be something that I really (x infinite) like, right?

717 Bedok Reservoir Road – 5A Corner Unit Mid Level Malay Owner

We were surfing through the units on sale available in the east when we came upon the map of Bedok Reservoir Road. We were pretty keen with the units available here as we thought It would be an awesome idea to have a house facing opposite the reservoir. Imagine the tranquility. There were two units available on sale – a 5A unit and a three bedrooms Executive Maisonette unit. We arranged to view the 5A first since the other unit was only available the following week. However, the moment we stepped our feet at the area, we were shocked to see the state of the HDB units there! It was definitely an old neighborhood and worse part was the buildings looked pretty rundown with cracks on the wall and staircase. They were undergoing some upgrading works so imagine the noise pollution adding onto the dust pollution! Since we travelled so far, we just went up to view the unit. Due to the lift upgrading, we had to travel a long way just to get to the unit and worse part was the unit was on its own level alone, which means upon going out from the lift, you still have to travel the staircase up one floor to that unit! The state of the house was not in a great condition too. So we dropped it too and even cancelled the viewing for their Executive Maisonette.

210 Pasir Ris Street 21 – Executive Apartment Corridor Unit High Level Chinese Owner

We came across this unit on the propertyguru (again) and Hubby was fascinated by the house renovation pictures shown. So we set an appointment for house viewing and clearly the unit was newly renovated. For bali-resort themed lovers, you will definitely go crazy over this unit since the whole house was literally made of wood. The master bathroom was even door less, which was hidden inside the walk-in-wardrobe. The kitchen was a modern design with a cooking station island in the centre. Despite it looking nice and stuff, again I was not that keen since; first of all, I am not a mega fan of wood-ish items, ESPECIALLY in the living area. The owners had used laminated flooring for the entire house, which was the huge factor why I was rather non-fanatical. The entire kitchen cabinet too, despite being all modern and such, was in WHITE color. White is nice on photographs but in reality they are definitely not easy to maintain, especially coming from a heavy cooking family. So, in short, should we intend to buy this unit, I WILL (seriously) renovate the entire house! The plus point about this unit was that it was located near the bus stop where there were a lot of buses and there was even a direct bus to Geylang Serai for my Mom. HOWEVER, the asking COV price was at $50,000! For a just-because-you-have-a-balinese-resort-themed-house-with-a-whole-house-of-cheapo-laminated-flooring-and-it-is-not-even-a-frigging-granite-marble-or-at-least-parquet-flooring, you are demanding high for your flat?! Definitely a negative-sale seller! Of course, my parents were not keen in this unit too especially my Mom since it was located on the higher floor.

645 Pasir Ris Drive 10 – Executive Apartment Corner Unit High Level Indian Owner

Another unit with entrance through the balcony and study room windows inside the house. Down factor was the owner had set a corner area for the worship of their deities, which made me feel less comfortable.

154 Pasir Ris Street 13 – Executive Apartment Corner Unit High Level Chinese Owner

I was not keen in this unit the moment we set our foot in it as I found the living room to be rather small and again another unit entrance via balcony with a study bedroom windows located within the house itself. Cute part about the master bedroom was that it was linked to the other bedroom where it belonged to the owner’s baby.

650 Pasir Ris Drive 10 – Executive Apartment Centre Unit with no Corridor Windows High Level Indian Owner

This unit belonged to an Indian owner who had rented out the place to some China Chinese tenants. We were HUGELY flabbergasted at the condition that the house had turned into that my Mom did not even want to enter! There was an awful cooking stench lingering in the place and the tenants WORE their footwear INSIDE the house! There was even mold, algae and moss growing healthily on the balcony walls! The house layout was nice seriously but…. No other comments to portray my utmost disbelief on how the people inside can live in such a horrendous place called home! *pukes*

115 Bedok Reservoir Road – Executive Maisonette Corridor Unit Mid Level Chinese Owner

We made an appointment with the agent of this house as we were curious on the outlook of the Executive Maisonettes available here. As usual, Bedok Reservoir flats looked pretty rundown. It was a three bedrooms unit with an extra tiny utility room on the first floor. I was not keen with the floorplan of this unit as it looked pretty small. The renovation was in its original 80s condition but our kids were definitely happy running up and down the staircase!

238 Pasir Ris Street 21 – Executive Apartment Corner Unit High Level Malay Owner

This unit has got similar design as the previous unit at 154 Pasir Ris Street 13 except that this unit has got TWO balconies! I was quite keen with the brightness of the house; however the location of the house was not strategic. The buses available nearby were rather limited.

228 Pasir Ris Street 21 – Executive Apartment Centre Unit with no Corridor Window Top Level Chinese Owner

As told by the agent of this house, one thing about most Pasir Ris flats are that they may have lifts on every level but none at the top uppermost level. This unit was located on the top floor and of course view was great. But I was not keen with the layout of the house.

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248 Pasir Ris Drive 10 – Executive Apartment Corridor Unit High Level Indian Owner

We did not even enter the house since the super unfriendly owner had dogs in the house.

There were also a few units, which we almost arranged for viewing but upon passing by the place, we found that the locations of the area were pretty bad:

1) 428 Tampines Street 41 – Executive Maisonette

2) 863 Tampines Street 83 – Executive Maisonette

3) 665 Jalan Damai – Executive Maisonette

We were almost on the verge of giving up on the idea of buying a resale as either the location was bad or the owners demanded a ridiculous COV price due to their negative sales; that we went through HDB website to search for sales of balance flats availability. We were THAT desperate that we decided to even choose some units available in Sengkang as shown on the HDB website. Hubby went down to HDB Hub and the officer told him that the date of application for the sales of balance flats was already closed but they actually offered us to purchase the DBSS unit available at The Peak located at Toa Payoh as it was under the walk in selection scheme.

We were ALMOST tempted to choose this DBSS unit since we would be saving a lot on the renovation cost as this unit would be built with most of the things (but again if the flooring, cabinets, bathrooms etc. is not to my likings, how?). But after some thoughts about it, we rejected the idea since purchasing a DBSS, where the size was of similar size to our former 5I and had only three bedrooms at a price of half a million was totally not to what we looked for in a house.

Yet another stressful moment for us trying to hunt down for that dream house. From the beginning, I had eyes on Executive Maisonette units but my Mom preferred Executive Apartments or Jumbo units because she hated the stairs climbing and she preferred a huge-arse house. Unfortunately, Jumbo flats are only available in the North and we had set our minds to wanting to live in the east. I simply love Executive Maisonettes because unlike most units, I find them rather unique with two levels a’la penthouse (LOL) and HDB is no longer building them. We finally decided to go for what I really, really want and we started sourcing out for Executive Maisonette units.

We finally found one four bedrooms Executive Maisonette unit at Tampines Street 81 and I kept on checking on the street directory website to ensure of the location. We made an appointment for house viewing with the agent of that unit and instantly with full chemistry, we fell in love with that unit! Low floor – Checked! Malay owner – Checked! Good facilities – Checked! What we love about the place is despite being on the lower floor and a corridor with windows unit, our house is totally unblocked and bright. The location is great too as just opposite our flat separated by a tiny street road, there are A LOT of shops, market, POSB bank, pharmacies, supermarkets, salons, 7-Eleven, coffee shops with halal eateries etc. For any emergencies to purchase any grocery or even baking items, you do not have to travel all the way to the interchange just to buy them. And the location is just a FEW bus stops away from Tampines Interchange!

So on the faithful Thursday night of 21 October 2010, we signed the Option to Purchase, exercised on Sunday, 24 October 2010, went for HDB First Appointment on 25 November 2010 and finally that house is finally ours on a blessful Friday, 14 January 2011!

BELOW ARE THE PRE-RENOVATION PICTURES OF THE HOUSE:

The Original Floor Plan

From the Valuation Report - Living/Dining

From the Valuation Report - Kitchen

From the Valuation Report - Master Bedroom

From the Valuation Report - Common Bedroom

To be Continued...

Edited April 1, 2011 by idaidil

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Photos taken when we exercised...

To be Continued...

Edited April 1, 2011 by idaidil

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To be Continued...

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To be Continued...

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To be Continued...

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End of Part 1

[csingeu 0]

Congrats on getting your EM!

seems like suddenly there's a lot of new EM owners in renotalk.

Gen-2 layout looks gd... and it looks more like a proper 4-bedroom unit...

[idaidil 0]

~THE PURSUIT OF THE MOST DESERVING FAIRY GODFATHER~

Part 2

Whilst the tension of house hunting is over, another headache came up – the search for a reliable contractor or interior designer!

The unit we purchased was in an average condition and we thought since we will be staying here perhaps our entire lives, the best would be to do a major overhaul of the place. Unlike other units, to renovate an Executive Maisonette unit is definitely not an easy project, especially when you require hacking down the entire place to its ‘custom-factory-settings’. LOL!

Right from the beginning, we do not intend to look for an interior designer because I will be designing our own house layout thus the reason why we just need a good and reliable contractor. Furthermore, some interior designers have got this ego whereby they EXPECT you to follow in accordance to their design ideas so as to label their ‘signature’ onto their projects. And trust me, not all interior designers have good tastes, especially coming from a mega fussy client like me!

Weiken.com Interior Design Pte Ltd @ IMM Building

We were walking around IMM and among all the contractors available there, we decided to give Weiken a shot. We were attended by this particular snobbish metro sexual looking interior designer who went through of what we wanted and told us that he will contact us as soon as he has gotten the quotation ready. One thing about handing over your house project to your contractor or interior designer, you must ensure that you are comfortable and has got chemistry with him as you will be working hand in hand and side by side throughout the journey of your house renovation; somebody that you can trust. I felt zero chemistry with this snob. He only got back to us with his quotation roughly about three weeks later, where he told us to meet him at his shop to show us the quotation without even bothering to call us to set for an appointment. Simply said, FORGET IT!

D’Trenzo Interior Pte Ltd @ Balestier Road

This interior designer was introduced to us and super highly recommended by our housing agents. So after hearing the great feedbacks from them, we decided to make an appointment with him. Our agents even spoke to him to give us a good $50,000 package. However, again there was no chemistry with him and what annoyed me was, just because our agents told him to try to stick to the budget of $50,000 to everything we wanted, he made it seemed like he was doing us a forced favor. He even tried to negotiate with us to just overlay all the floor tiles without hacking them, not to do any re-wiring of whole house but instead he will do some test against the current wiring etc. I mean, HELLO, the house that we purchased is really OLD and since we will be staying there for many, many years, it is NECESSARY that I want the place to be overhauled completely. He even tried to make us place a deposit that very day! Simply said, FORGET IT!

L & O Renovation Design @ Tanjong Katong Complex

My mom suggested that we try the contractors available in Geylang and so after looking around, we chose to try this place seeing that the uncle inside looked like a contractor himself. Among all, he was the only one who was able to give us an estimated quotation right on the spot and for everything we wanted more or less, the price quoted was only about $30,000++! And he too, recommended us to just overlay all the floor tiles claiming that he uses a special adhesive so his tiles will not ‘pop’ in future.

The second time we went to this place was after my friend recommended the interior designer who happened to be her brother in law. So we made an appointment and we were pretty comfortable with him and his design ideas and such. He gave us the quotation (which of course was way higher than just $30,000 as quoted by that uncle) within three days. In fact by the entire journey of contractor searching, we even place L&O as one of the top two choices for us to choose from.

White Silver General Construction @ Tanjong Katong Complex

After leaving L&O the first time, we tried to survey at this place where we were attended by this guy who looked rather blur and confused. We told him of what we wanted and he was supposed to e-mail us the quotation and till now, there is no news from him; despite one e-mail reminder sent.

Ideal Design Interior Pte Ltd @ Lavendar Street

We submitted the “Request for Renovator’s Quote” on renotalk and the first to call was by Ideal Design. We set for an appointment and met the young interior designer who looked pretty ‘Ah Beng’-ish. Since he was new, he could not answer to all the queries we asked as to whether this and that could be done and such. All he answered was “Let me check with my contractor”. We prefer someone with experience and knowledgeable.

Chew Interior Design Pte Ltd @ Toh Guan Road

Our previous Jurong West flat was renovated by them and seriously, their workmanship was good. We contacted our former contractor and arranged for a meet up. He gave us an estimated on the spot quotation, which seemed to be on a higher side of the budget; despite throwing us freebies.

Prestige Image Design @ City Plaza

We tried our luck at City Plaza and among all the renovation companies, only this place was opened. The place was small, requested for a quotation and till now we did not hear anything from them.

Impression Design Firm Pte Ltd @ Tanjong Katong Complex

We returned back to Tanjong Katong as most of the shops were closed during our first visit. We dropped by this place and were served by a soft-spoken lady who was the interior designer. She returned back to us with the quotation via e-mail few weeks later.

Poh Thong Renovation & Conractor @ Tanjong Katong Complex

We walked into the shop and were served by a guy interior designer whom we believed was a Malaysian. We told him of what he wanted and he e-mailed his quotation few weeks later. Among all, he regularly stayed in touch with us.

Greenland Design @ Tanjong Katong Complex

We were served by this uncle who wrote down the list of what we wanted and at the same time looked pretty lost and confused. He was keener in showing the designs he had done from the previous houses on his website. However, they did not get back to us with the quotation.

Decormark Design Pte Ltd @ Jurong East

We were on the way home when we passed by the shops along Jurong East and decided to make a stop. We dropped by the place and were served by this ‘softie’ uncle who had the ‘can’t-be-bothered’ look. We received the quotation via e-mail after several weeks later.

IR Design @ Balestier Road

This interior designer was highly recommended by renotalk forumners. We decided to check it out and yes, there was chemistry with the interior designer as we found him to be pretty sincere. However, the setback was his company is pretty new and he is not listed as a registered contractor. Despite seeing his works and good quotation deal, we were pretty skeptical about handing over the house project to him. You will never know how your luck turns out, right?

Sun Hup Interior Contracts @ Admiralty Street

Yes, we travelled almost everywhere in search of a good contractor and this company was another one that was so highly recommended online. The place turned out to be the factory where they did the cabinets too. We were served by a lady contractor who was warm and friendly. She got back with her quotation via e-mail and found that her price was not that cheap too.

Baroque D’Zign @ Joo Chiat Road

We made arrangements to meet up with the interior design from Baroque D’Zign. He was another young ‘Ah Beng’-ish chap. Again, his quotation was not fanciful enough.

Seah Soon Lee @ Tanjong Katong Complex

Before our second trip to L&O, we decided to drop by this place. We were served by the son of the owner who e-mailed us the quotation few days later and the price was not attention grabbing enough.

At the same time, we went surveying around directly, we even e-mailed to a few interior design companies like Acton Design, 3Q Interior Design and Concepts Pte Ltd, Ciseern Interior Design, Black & White House, Designer House, HC Interior, 3D Innovation Design, Ideal House, Plush Living Interior Design and ID Note. Even so, their quotations were not up to our likings.

We were at world’s end thinking and scraping our minds as to which contractor should we hire to doll up our new house. Asking around did not help much and so renotalk became my bible of knowledge. I went through forums after forums reading on other people’s housing renovation until I stumbled upon a company that was very much highly complimented with great wonders.

First thing I did was to send an e-mail to this contractor to request for quotation. However there was no reply and being an impatient me, I decided to call in to make an appointment just to request for the quotation directly. His shop was small and upon our arrival, he already had our request for quotation e-mail printed and he was ready to see us. After discussion and as promised he e-mailed us the quotation the next day. It took us some time to ponder as we were down with two renovation companies to choose from – this man’s company or L&O.

After going through both quotations and experiences, we finally decided to choose this man’s company as he had done a lot of Executive Maisonette projects so he is extremely familiar with such units. With that, unlike with other renovation companies, we did not have to explain and describe much about what we wanted. As I read in forums that you will have to book him in advance because once he is fully booked, he will reject you and will not take your project. With that, instantly I texted him and thank Almighty God, he agreed to slot us in!

Once we have confirmed with him, he applied for HDB permit even way before we receive our keys as the previous owners of the house had already signed the HDB Indemnity Form. What we like about him was he did not even ask us for initial payment but of course, we placed a deposit so as to confirm our deal.

Finally, the reveal of the company whom we have offered to hand over our house project with trust and faith is Basic Image & Design Pte Ltd!

BELOW ARE THE PICTURES OF THE HOUSE DURING THE HACKING PERIOD:

To be Continued...

Edited April 1, 2011 by idaidil

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To be Continued...

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Tiles Selections...

To be Continued...

Edited April 1, 2011 by idaidil

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Laminates Selection

To be Continued...

Edited April 1, 2011 by idaidil

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To be Continued...

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End of Part 2

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~OUR RENO JOURNAL - JOURNEY FROM THE WEST TO THE EAST~

Part 3

We collected the keys from the owner’s daughter on 11 January 2011, few days before our second appointment with HDB that was on 14 January 2011. We met up with our contractor, Mr. Yeak the next day so that he was able to mark which items and fixtures, which were supposed to be hacked down. We also paid him a small initial deposit to confirm our deal. Since it was a major overhaul, it seemed that almost everything was supposed to be hacked! The hacking works started the day after, on 13th, 14th and 17th January 2011.

On Saturday, 15th January 2011, we met up with our contractor to choose all the tiles for the house at Hafary Pte Ltd @ Balestier Road. We were going crazy, excited and got fickle-minded at the same time choosing the variety of textures and colors of the tiles at Hafary! Thank God, Hubby was there to aid me with our choices. Cute part was, Hafary allowed us to bring back a small sample of all the tiles we had chosen so that we are able to match them when we choose the wall paint colors soon.

On Wednesday, 19 January 2011, we met up with Mr. Yeak again in our house and this time we paid a bigger initial deposit even though he did not ask for it. The hacking jobs were done by some Indian workers and of course, it was a major mess! Even our kids were shocked at the state of the house when we brought them along on the weekend.

We surveyed for all our lightings on Saturday, 22 January 2011 and were glad we found everything at the same store!

After the hacking job, they started the cementing job to smoothen the floor and wall surface and they lay low for a bit until they started doing all the three bathrooms floor and wall tiles. The tiling works done by Mr. Yeak’s workers were surprisingly AWESOME! Little works like this had got us so much in excitement! Mr. Yeak even left two laminate catalogues at our house so that we could bring them back and choose which laminate color to choose for our kitchen cabinet, wall feature cum television console, shoe cabinet, common bathroom vanity cabinet and our storeroom door.

We made it a point to visit the house on a weekly basis, majorly on every Saturdays. When we visited the house on 29 January 2011, all the window panes except for the balcony had been changed!

Unfortunately, since our renovation works fell in between the period of Chinese New Year, all the works had to be halted, where our contractor was kind enough to delay for only about a week. They continued their little jobs until we returned to the house on 16 February 2011; we were surprised that all the floor tiles on the first floor level were already done! They had leveled up the balcony floor on par with the living room area (as per our request) and also erected a half wall for the washing machine and dryer located at the balcony! *Heart palpitating madly!*

For three consecutive evenings, 16th to 18th February 2011, we went out surveying and buying all the sanitary ware and kitchen ware items that got us super exhausted!

Mr. Yeak arranged to meet us up on Saturday, 19 February 2011 to discuss on the electrical, television and telephone points. We also arranged for our water dispenser supplier to come over to discuss on the water piping with our contractor. At the same time, his worker was doing the plastering for the entire lower floor level. On that day too, we had arranged for all the sanitary wares to be delivered as our contractor would be installing them soon! We also paid our contractor yet another payment to show our sincerity.

We met up with Mr. Yeak the next day, 20 February 2011 at his shop to………. Select the choices for the balance items! I had been waiting for this moment and this was what I called play ‘The Sims’ game in reality! *GLEEEE*

From selecting the laminates found in the catalogue he gave us, to choosing all the doors design, to choosing the main gate design and all window grilles, to choosing the wall paint color, to choosing the bedroom cornice design, to designing our kitchen cabinet, wall feature cum television console, shoe cabinet and common bathroom vanity cabinet. Me, being an individual who is extremely meticulous and a perfectionist about details, I am tremendously happy to say that this contractor of ours is definitely one! I told him our ideas and even sketched out the stuffs I want and it is either he agreed or if he could not perform the job due to impracticality, he will give us a better suggestion. J

On Saturday, 26th February 2011, we brought my parents to the house and noticed that they had done 95% of the wall plastering as well as completed the L-boxes, false ceiling, cornices for the necessary areas and best of all, my walk-in-wardrobe partition located in our master bedroom was already up! They had installed all the three bathrooms’ toilet bowls, water heaters and rain showers too. They had also fixed the kitchen’s bathroom’s bowl sink together with the waterfall tap and they looked absolutely awesome! Apart from that, the balcony’s twelve panel windows were up too! Initially, I had planned for a see-through glass window to be installed above the sliding windows at the balcony for a bright loft-like effect, however, as per HDB rulings; they only allowed laminated frosted glass casement windows to be installed for safety purposes. I was concern with the brightness of the area due the fact that they had installed a frosted laminated glass as a substitute; and boy, I was very much glad that our house looked gorgeous even before the renovation was complete! Even my fussy mom was delighted to see the major change; and best of all she loved the outlook!

After dropping my parents at Geylang, we went out to survey for our bed and finally managed to find our most wanted king sized platform and another queen sized bed for my sister; and placed our order.

Hubby took leave the following Monday, 28th February 2011, as one of us was needed to be around to assist the air-condition technician on the placement for the air-con to be installed in all the three bedrooms located at the upper floor; and also to accept the delivery for all the lightings that we had ordered. We had also passed another cheque payment to our contractor. All the three air con installation were done on the very same day and some little plastering touch ups before they commenced to the painting and electrical jobs the next day.

We visited the house on 2nd March 2011 after work and saw that some of the painting works had started. They had already started priming the entire lower level floor and already started the colored paint works on the upper level bedroom walls with the initial of one coat painting. What we had noticed that our contractor had multi-national workers for all the different jobs – Malaysian Indians for hacking job, China Chinese for tilings, Malaysian Chinese for wall plastering and this time Thai workers for the painting jobs.

We were too excited to check out the house that Hubby fetched me from work and we headed down to our house on 4th March 2011. All of the paintings were 90% done and there were some glitches in some part of the areas that were painted in the wrong color. We informed our contractor and the painters too. When we visited the house again the next day, they have actually cleaned up the place and dispose all the cardboards that were covering the floor tiles.

We visited our house again on Wednesday, 9th March 2011 evening to check on the house. From the car park, we could see that our main gate and window grilles were already installed! Weee!!! In full excitement we went up to our house and of course the main wrought iron gate, the aluminium white powder coated window grilles, the bathroom bi-fold a’la PD doors for kitchen and common bathrooms, the down lights for the lower floor and the laminated flooring for the upper floor were done! We could see the parquet planks were also delivered, which could only mean they are going to doll up the staircase soon!

On Saturday, 12th March 2011, we were supposed to meet Mr. Yeak at our house to confirm on the whole house fixtures and to make our second last payment to him. However, we were not able to do so as the whole living room was filled with all the cabinets that are supposed to be fixed up. We noticed that Mr. Yeak looked a little stressed looking at the ‘mess’ and he apologized to us for not being able to go through the fixture installation on that day. This clearly shows what a neat freak our contractor is! I LIKE! We also noticed that they had already fixed up the parquet planks for the individual steps of the staircase and due to that installation of cutting, sawing and buffering, the whole place was filled with saw dust! Nonetheless, we were definitely delighted to see the progress of the house.

We went to the house the next day too with my parents and sister. This time, they had already partially installed some parts of the kitchen cabinet! This is the moment that I have been waiting for as it comprises of my top two favourite colour of the century! *MAD LOVE* Mom was definitely pleased with the total outlook of the whole place. Initially she hated the original layout of how the previous owner had done but after the whole transformation, she is in love with the place – definitely more than her current house or that Executive Apartment unit opposite Tampines Mart! We, too, simply cannot wait to finally settle down in our new humble abode!

We visited the house briefly on 19th March 2011 and again on 26th March 2011. All the fixtures were up, paintings and touch ups were done! They had even varnished the parquet planks on the individual staircase to a walnut colour, specially requested by us! Left some little bits of the balance blank mirrors to be installed onto the television console cum wall feature and onto the shoe cabinet; black glass backing onto the kitchen cabinet wall and final washing and cleaning, before our contractor finally handed over the keys to us!

BELOW ARE THE PICTURES OF OUR HOUSE AFTER RENOVATION!!! ENJOY!!!

Lift Lobby A! Thank God for the new upgraded lifts despite the flat being old

Lift Lobby B

View from our Balcony! That's how CLOSE the shops are to our house!

Where you can find salons, wet markets, supermarkets, coffee shops, Watson, Unity, Guardian, clinics, furniture shops, 7-Eleven, POSB bank branch and the list goes on and on...

Bronze/White/Gold Wrought Iron Grilles

To be Continued...

Edited April 1, 2011 by idaidil