My Renovation Budget

[zzx23 0]

Hi Reno-talkers,

Im new here and I have just got my 4rm flat and now the next step is to reno. My flat does not have flooring for the living and 3 bedrooms.

But I'm on a very tight budget, so its pretty challenging. And my the challenge my wife and I are to face are the below list of reno but within $20,000! I have put down the estimate cost based on research, so if anyone can help or got neat ideas, please help us..

Living, Dining & Walkway

homogeneous flooring - $1200

Build in TV console - $500

L-Box for living & dining - $800

lighting - ??

wallpaper for living, dining & walkway - $1500

total - $4800 + ??

Bedroom 1

build in wardrobe - $1500

bay window cushion - $500

laminate flooring - $500

build in side table x 1 - $250

L-box - $500

lighting - ??

wallpaper whole room - $1000

total - $4250 + ??

bedroom 2

laminate flooring - $500

Master room

build in wardrobe - $1800

carpet flooring - $600

build in side table x 2 - $500

L-Box - $500

lighting - ??

wallpaper whole room $1000

total - $4400 + ??

kitchen

20 ft kitchen cabinet - $2000

kitchen top - $1200

L-box - $500

built in oven, stove & cooker hob - $1200

lighting - ??

total - $4900

2 x toilets

cabinet - $800

mirrors - $300

basin - $300

glass swing door - $1200

false ceiling - $400

lighting - ??

total - $3000 + ??

grand total - $21850 + $2600 (aircon) + lighting (don't know estimated costs) = $24450 + lighting

way exceeded already..dont know how and where to cut costs..

[chergaby 0]

1) Go for contractor instead of IDs

2) Weight your "needs" and "wants".

Is wall paper necessary? Painting whole house (ceiling + walls) cost not more than $1500-$1600

Can you forego L box in the bedrooms & false ceiling in bathroom?

3) Do in phases.

4) Downsize your kitchen, possible?

5) Noticed you have missed out water heater & toilet accessories.

I fully understand your situation as we are in the same shoes.

We started with a budget of 25-30k... quotations came back with all above 40k. We had to go through many rounds of reducing our scope of work n downgrading the specs of the stuff. We are even considering going to the direct sources for laminated flooring, doors & shower screen, electrician...but will have to monitor & coordinate closely.

[Rudra 0]

Hi bro,

I am in the same boat as you. Still reading and calling up contractors to keep the cost lower. After seeing your price listing, I don't think you can get homogeneous flooring within $1200 for living room. You might have missed the workmanship. If you already got an official quote pls do share with me the contact. As for your L box I believe it can cost lower. But I have to check with with the guys I am about to meet coming week. As I got some quote for the L box just for the living room, $600 so far.

[frostyapple 0]

My advise is to remove all built-in carpentry except for the kitchen. Also wallpaper and L box are also not necessary. I never have those. Carpet flooring is not advisable especially if you are going to have kids. Forget about laminate flooring, they are not durable. Get homogeneous tiles for whole house instead, it is worth it.

For furniture, go to Courts, Ikea or other furniture that allows interest free instalment so you can pay over 1 to 2 years.

For lighting, HDB should have provided you with light bulb sockets. Just buy white light bulbs and fit in. That is what I have done for both my old and new flats. Otherwise lighting could easily cost you over $1000.

For toilets, I have 2 x tempered glass shower screen doors for $900. There is no need to spend $300 on mirrors, you can get cheaper mirrors. $800 on cabinets is also not necessary.

How about curtains ? If you go to a shop specializing in making curtains, it could cost you over $1000. The cheapest way is to buy curtain rods from Ikea or Spotlight, ask your contractor to mount for you. The cheapest curtains I can find are from Ikea, $29 per pack.

My advise is to first make sure you do a good flooring that is long lasting. Other things can be slowly added when you save up more money.

[albertchng 0]

Hi Reno-talkers,

Im new here and I have just got my 4rm flat and now the next step is to reno. My flat does not have flooring for the living and 3 bedrooms.

But I'm on a very tight budget, so its pretty challenging. And my the challenge my wife and I are to face are the below list of reno but within $20,000! I have put down the estimate cost based on research, so if anyone can help or got neat ideas, please help us..

Living, Dining & Walkway

homogeneous flooring - $1200

Build in TV console - $500 Buy cheaper alternative from IKEA

L-Box for living & dining - $800

lighting - ??

wallpaper for living, dining & walkway - $1500 Paint with Nippon Odour-less Easy wash

total - $4800 + ??

Bedroom 1

build in wardrobe - $1500

bay window cushion - $500 Next time got money then do or buy cheaper alternative from IKEA

laminate flooring - $500

build in side table x 1 - $250 Buy cheaper alternative from IKEA

L-box - $500

lighting - ??

wallpaper whole room - $1000 Paint with Nippon Odour-less Easy wash

total - $4250 + ??

bedroom 2

laminate flooring - $500

Master room

build in wardrobe - $1800

carpet flooring - $600 Buy cheaper alternative from IKEA

build in side table x 2 - $500 Buy cheaper alternative from IKEA

L-Box - $500

lighting - ??

wallpaper whole room $1000

total - $4400 + ??

kitchen

20 ft kitchen cabinet - $3000 **Based on $150 pfr**

20 ft kitchen solid top - $1600 **Based on $80 pfr**

L-box - $500

kitchen sink + tap - $400

built in oven, stove & cooker hob - $1200 **If hardly bake, no need oven or next time got money buy stand alone type**

lighting - ??

total - $4900

2 x toilets

cabinet - $800

mirrors - $300

basin + tap + cabinet X 2 sets - $1000

glass swing door - $1200 Use cheaper bi-fold door **dont get the lousy PD door**

false ceiling - $400

lighting - ??

total - $3000 + ??

grand total - $21850 + $2600 (aircon) + lighting (don't know estimated costs) = $24450 + lighting

way exceeded already..dont know how and where to cut costs..

There you go, cut all the unnecessary for you.

Edited March 12, 2012 by albertchng

[tapilia 0]

right from the first sentence, $1200 for homogenous flooring, is that to pay for the tiles or to pay for the labour? How u get this infor of $1200? i believe it must be another newbie who quoted u wrongly.

[beluga 1]

Most noticeable saving is your allocation of 3500 for wallpaper. You can save at least 2000 with top premium paint.

Not sure how much is homogenus tiles but from experience of toilet tiles, cheapest tiles are sold at 2.40 psf. Assuming 400 sqf to cover the living/dining, just the cost of the tiles only is already 960. 1200 is impossible.

Also, since there is no flooring provided, I suppose cement screed is needed before laminate or carpetting can be done. This also require money...

Edited March 13, 2012 by beluga

[zzx23 0]

thank you for all your valuable inputs.

yes, wallpaper does seem like something we should seriously reconsider and replace with paint.

- in general is it cheaper to get all the things done separately eg wardrobe by one company, then flooring by another company and kitchen cabinet by another etc? i dont mind slight hassle if i can save a substantial amount of $

- yes I may have not put enough for flooring labour. usually how much does it cost for homogeneous flooring labour?

albertchng, you have put in red your comments for the kitchen cabinet, I need to clarify, when you put 20ft cabinet, i thought its 10ft on top and 10ft below? thus shouldnt the table top be 10ft? can clarify because if its 20ft for solid top then I will need to stretch my cabinet budget already.

Edited March 13, 2012 by zzx23

[vex 0]

agree with immunity, cannot get for the price for the listed items. i suggest do away the kitchen cabinet for time being and use ready build cabinet. use the money saved to do a good flooring and nice paint, this will give the whole house a wonderful look. other things can slowly add on in the future.

Edited March 13, 2012 by vex

[May_dream1 14]

albertchng, you have put in red your comments for the kitchen cabinet, I need to clarify, when you put 20ft cabinet, i thought its 10ft on top and 10ft below? thus shouldnt the table top be 10ft? can clarify because if its 20ft for solid top then I will need to stretch my cabinet budget already.

As what everyone says, no need wallpaper. just paint and that would save you quite a bit.

Secondly, for kitchen cabinet, its 10ft on top and 10ft below so total 20ft with abt $120 per feet=$2400. For solid top, about $80per feet so 10x80 = $800. Total for kitchen only $3200. Kitchen do not need L-box since there are no space after you put in the top cabinet.....

for new flats, $20k is normal.... so i don't think there will be any problem to get a contractor to do all. If you go outsource by yourself, it might not save you much but rather a lot headache. its better to do the needed first, like flooring.

[yapht 0]

hi,

Im sure it can be done for it to be below 20k. Im doing my reno now for a new 4room flat & my reno is 22k (and that is including GST). W/O gst is maybe around 21k.

More over, i did parquet flooring for 3 bedroom, granite top 17ft and quite a few additional cabinets (2 wardrobes, 1 shoe cabinet, 1 wall feature & 1 TV console).

What i think is important is that you can pioritise and do the essential items first. E.g flooring, kitchen cabinet, lightings, painting & toilet accessories. With these items up, a family can basically stay in the home already provided furnitures are already bought. If you just do these items, i won't be suprise that it will be less than 15k.

So maybe you can ask yourself a few questions. Is there need for build in wardrobe? Do you cook often? if you do not, then do you need oven and hood?

Is it a must to have wallpapers that could peel off after some years? Is false ceiling/L-box a must? Do you really need to shower inside a glass door?

Just me 2 cents thoughts and a few questions to reflect upon.

[denng 0]

hi,

Im sure it can be done for it to be below 20k. Im doing my reno now for a new 4room flat & my reno is 22k (and that is including GST). W/O gst is maybe around 21k.

More over, i did parquet flooring for 3 bedroom, granite top 17ft and quite a few additional cabinets (2 wardrobes, 1 shoe cabinet, 1 wall feature & 1 TV console).

What i think is important is that you can pioritise and do the essential items first. E.g flooring, kitchen cabinet, lightings, painting & toilet accessories. With these items up, a family can basically stay in the home already provided furnitures are already bought. If you just do these items, i won't be suprise that it will be less than 15k.

So maybe you can ask yourself a few questions. Is there need for build in wardrobe? Do you cook often? if you do not, then do you need oven and hood?

Is it a must to have wallpapers that could peel off after some years? Is false ceiling/L-box a must? Do you really need to shower inside a glass door?

Just me 2 cents thoughts and a few questions to reflect upon.

Hi yapht,

How's your reno goin? Im getting my key next week and have a budget of 15k for reno. Thking of doing 3 wardrobes, 1 shoe cabinet, 1 vanity top and kitchen. Do you think it's possible and possible to share your quotation? Thanks.

[zzx23 0]

I am now sourcing for a contractor to fulfill by target budget.

I see alot of people raving about kow yee and its price and quality. But I do not want to constrain myself with only one choice.

does anyone know who will be the other close competitors for Kow yee that can offer the same range of prices & workmanship? if there are any that is even better than them are most welcome as well!

Edited March 25, 2012 by zzx23

[yapht 0]

Hi yapht,

How's your reno goin? Im getting my key next week and have a budget of 15k for reno. Thking of doing 3 wardrobes, 1 shoe cabinet, 1 vanity top and kitchen. Do you think it's possible and possible to share your quotation? Thanks.

Hihi,

Its going fine and shd b done by this thursday. Furnitures coming in on fri onwards.

I think it could be still possible...for wardrobe 1 ft is ard $200. So you need to go for those normal open/closed type instead of sliding to save cost. Kitchen is about $100 per ft so in order to save on budget, maybe you can just do low kitchen cabinet. No need to do top cabinet. As for kitchen top, go for those normal acrylic kind. The vanity top maybe jus 500 - 600 bucks...so no issue..

Jus take note that sometimes when they do quotation, the installation and wiring is not taken into account yet, ask them for it coz this amt can be quite substatial as well...

Best of luck