Second Home ~ Tampines 5I

[eekenji 3]

Bingo! you know exactly which unit I bought, haha.. same as u, I view almost all listings available there, but my criteria is very simple, i want low COV, actually I no need to view the house can offer straight away, I think my COV (below $15k, I offered $10k without viewing) is so far the lowest in the market coz mine is low floor and lousy condition, since I intend to renovate myself, I dont mind run down unit.

I hv shortlisted the 'Oraxxx Cxbx" to renovate my place, their quatation is ard $50k now, still trying to cut down the cost as I prefer to spend more in quality furniture and display item rather than the carpentry works where you can't move it away when u sell your flat.

I'm very impressed with your drawing and design, I don't hv much idea in mind, what I want is modern contemporary... will share more 3d drawings here once it's ready, any good contractor to recommend?

10k COV is really a good deal ~

Looking forward to see your layout plan, curious to see how you want to do with your new house ... Will you also hack a many walls?

I know there are 2 contractors who were very popular in renotalk - Alan and Mr. K, let me know if you want their contacts.

Besides of asking them for quotations, I also checked with other contractors who were recommended by my friend... but still haven't finalized the contractor / ID.

How many IDs have you talked to ?

[eekenji 3]

Hehe barcadibreezer another 7XX soon-to-be owner!

I'm still in the process of putting down the breakdown of things I need done to get a quotation from contractor and/or ID.

Would you folks be kind enough to share what exactly the 40-50K quotations entail?

My budget is thereabout too.

Sure ... here're what I want to do :

Carpentry works

Entrance : Design & fabricate full height shoe cabinet in laminates and wood mouldings

Entrance : Design & fabricate low height settee with storage in laminates.

Balcony + Living: Design & fabricate full height Tv cabinet in laminates and wood mouldings

Playroom : Supply & install 2 fixed & 1 panel of sliding doors with glass for Playroom

Playroom : Design & fabricate book shelf inside recess area.

Playroom : Design & fabricate recess cabinet with storage in laminates and wood mouldings (protruded 200mm).

Bedroom 2 : Design & fabricate recess cabinet with storage in laminates and wood mouldings (protruded 200mm).

Bedroom 3 : Design & fabricate recess cabinet with storage in laminates and wood mouldings (protruded 200mm).

Master Bedroom : Supply & install 2 fixed & 2 panels of sliding door to enter to walk in wardrobe.

Master Bedroom : Design & fabricate est. 4ft low height settee with storage/cushion in laminates and wood mouldings

Master Bedroom : Design & fabricate est. 4ft low height recess cabinet with storage in laminates and wood mouldings

Kitchen : Design & fabricate bottom kitchen cabinet in laminates with BLUM system.

Kitchen : Supply & install kitchen work top.

Kitchen : Design & fabricate bar counter in laminates.

Study (existing service balcony) : Supply & install one sliding door for Study

Study (existing service balcony) : Design & fabricate full length study table top in laminates.

Study (existing service balcony) : Design & fabricate full height cabinet to box-up current pipes.

Others

Living Room : Install L-box with cove @ Living

Living Room : Install 1 unit of platforms at the edge of living hall to balcony.

Living Room : Install sliding glass door @ Balcony platform.

Living Room, Pathway, MBR : Re-sand and re-varnish existing parquet to a lighter shade

Master Bed Room : Install L-box with cove @ Master Bedroom

Master Bed Room : Build full height hollow block wall. 6ft

Common Room : Install L-box @ Common room 2 & 3

Bathroom : Demolish existing Bath door and door frame @ both baths.

Bathroom : Demolish existing wall & floor tiles, basin, toilet bowl and accessories @ both baths.

Bathroom : Lay floor tiles @ both baths @ $3.00psf including gst

Bathroom : Lay wall tiles @ both baths @ $2.60psf including gst

Bathroom : Apply waterproofing @ both baths & kitchen

Bathroom : Seal existing toilet entrance using 63mm hollow block at common bathroom. 3ft

Bathroom : Create a new entrance for common bathroom. 3ft

Bathroom : Build 2 units of slabs @ both baths

Bathroom : Install bathrooms accessories for both baths

Bathroom : Install 2 hot water points at shower area for both baths.

Bathroom : Install 1 Storage heater for both baths.

Bathroom : Install 2units of tempered froster glass door for both baths.

Kitchen : Demolish existing cabinets, concrete support and accessories @ Kitchen

Kitchen : Demolish existing wall & floor tiles @ Kitchen

Kitchen : Cement screed walls @ Kitchen (where carpentry will cover the walls)

Kitchen : Construct cement motar base for kitchen cabinet & fridge.

Kitchen : Lay wall tiles @ Kitchen (Expose part) @ $2.60psf including gst

Kitchen : Lay floor tiles @ Kitchen @ $3.00psf including gst

Kitchen : Install sink & kitchen mixer

Kitchen : Install washing machine inlet & outlet pipe at kichen area

Kitchen : Install sink tap c/w inlet & outlet pipe at kitchen area

Kitchen : Install hob/hood

Study : Supply & lay flooring with laminate @ Study.

Study : Demolish existing wall & floor tiles @ Study

Study : Cement screed Study wall & floor

Curtain : Supply & install 4 units curtain pelmet @ Living/Dining/Master Bedroom

Painting : Original Painting of whole unit ceiling and walls with Nippon/Dulux paint 5colours + white

Painting : Original Painting of 4 doors & door frames

Piping : Supply & install cold stainless steel piping for Kitchen and 2 Baths

Hacking : Demolish existing 8 units of walls (3*storeroom, 2*kitchen, 2*MBR, 1*bathroom).

Hacking : Demolish existing whole house cornices

Hacking : Demolish existing whole house cabinets and wardrobes

Edited August 23, 2012 by eekenji

[bb_1314 0]

Wow a lot of walls to go down. I notice you changed your original design of settee in bedroom 2 & 3 to storage cabinet? Any special reason?

[barcadibreezer 0]

10k COV is really a good deal ~

Looking forward to see your layout plan, curious to see how you want to do with your new house ... Will you also hack a many walls?

I know there are 2 contractors who were very popular in renotalk - Alan and Mr. K, let me know if you want their contacts.

Besides of asking them for quotations, I also checked with other contractors who were recommended by my friend... but still haven't finalized the contractor / ID.

How many IDs have you talked to ?

Hi eekenji,

I only talk to 2 ID, basically their design is abt the same, just base on what I told them, I feel that I don't really need an ID.

Can u share the contractors contact with me please? I'woule like to engage the main contractor directly.

Thanks in advance!

[eekenji 3]

Wow a lot of walls to go down. I notice you changed your original design of settee in bedroom 2 & 3 to storage cabinet? Any special reason?

Yeah, will hack a lot of walls.

Changed to storage cabinet instead of settee, mainly due to cost cutting and we also plan to do different design for the bedrooms when the kid grow up.

Hi eekenji,

I only talk to 2 ID, basically their design is abt the same, just base on what I told them, I feel that I don't really need an ID.

Can u share the contractors contact with me please? I'woule like to engage the main contractor directly.

Thanks in advance!

Hi barcadibreezer, I have the same feeling ... ID will just design based on what you told them, but I believed they will add in some design factors into the plan and also giving the 3D which is more easier to imagine : )

I still haven't shortlisted ID / contractor ... still waiting for their quotations. It has took me for more than 2 months of discussing till receiving quotations ...

Btw, have pm you the contractor contacts ~ good luck

[eekenji 3]

Yesterday just done the first appointment, now is waiting for key collection on 29 Oct to start reno ... Push to this date due to Hari Haji and want to respect our seller who are Muslim ... Still have 1.5 months time before reno start.

Last weekend went to IMM and bought the sofa set, storage bedframe and mattress; also bought our dining table from Franc Franc Vivo.

The sofa set can be customized up to 3 meter and can be choose from their catalogue, have shortlisted these few designs :

And this is the dining table from Franc Franc :

[eekenji 3]

Used the floorplanner to draw the floorplan and 3D design, also indicated the place to put the furnitures we bought :

Took about 2 hours to draw this, not too bad huh :

Edited September 2, 2012 by eekenji

[barcadibreezer 0]

Wow, very impressive drawing, I'll explore the idea of keeping the existing balcony to make it as a planter, I'll hack away my current marble and use timber strip or ceramic tiles with wood grains to lay the floor. My FSM said must put a water feature at the corner so I think it's better to make it as outdoor rather than putting the water feature in the hall, what do u think? My only concern is my hall is very small, if i put back the balcony, my sofa have to place at the middle of the hall way..

by the way, from your drawing, I noticed your balcony is only 400mm, it's rather narrow right? I think 500mm or 600mm will be better for a human to stand there. And, have you spoken to contractor about adding the sliding door at balcony? Your reno is quite major, a lot of hacking, how can you still keep it at $50k, I wish I can do as much as yours with the same budget as well, but seems like most ID telling me my budget too low...

May I know where u get the sofa from? is it from the same shop as u bought the dining? Is it a fabric sofa? can make to order to special size?

[eekenji 3]

Wow, very impressive drawing, I'll explore the idea of keeping the existing balcony to make it as a planter, I'll hack away my current marble and use timber strip or ceramic tiles with wood grains to lay the floor. My FSM said must put a water feature at the corner so I think it's better to make it as outdoor rather than putting the water feature in the hall, what do u think? My only concern is my hall is very small, if i put back the balcony, my sofa have to place at the middle of the hall way..

by the way, from your drawing, I noticed your balcony is only 400mm, it's rather narrow right? I think 500mm or 600mm will be better for a human to stand there. And, have you spoken to contractor about adding the sliding door at balcony? Your reno is quite major, a lot of hacking, how can you still keep it at $50k, I wish I can do as much as yours with the same budget as well, but seems like most ID telling me my budget too low...

May I know where u get the sofa from? is it from the same shop as u bought the dining? Is it a fabric sofa? can make to order to special size?

Thanks barcadibreezer ... hehe.

I like tiles with wood grains too, but will keep as existing parquet flooring due to budget constraint. Since your FSM asked that, you can really think of keep the existing balcony as planter .. For us, we only keep about 400mm for balcony due to space constraint too .. you can notice that half of our sofa is already shift to hallway area. Since the sliding door will be opened when we stand at the balcony, i.e. the space allowance will be much more than 400mm (400mm is only when the sliding door is closed), so I think shall be ok. We can also sit on the platform and enjoy the outdoor scenary at balcony while open the sliding door. Of course, we also hope to get a bigger balcony but there is constraint in existing layout : (

Yeah, we have informed all our ID/ contractors with the new modified layout (with sliding door and balcony) and also received their quotations ... but we haven't finalized on the shortlisting of ID/ contractor. $50K is really tough for us as well, initially thought just need $40K ... Hope we really able to keep below $50K, or will not be exceed by too much.

The sofa is from the brand called istill ... you can click the link I attached from my previous post to check their collections. Currently the sofas are selling inside the IMM shop called picket and rail. Yes it is fabric sofa, and can be customized to different sizes ... I didn't see much reviews from this brand, I hope everything will be fine.

[barcadibreezer 0]

Thanks for sharing, I spent whole afternoon to sketch my floorplan, and finally it's up!

I have 2 layout plan in mind, hope you guys can give some comments. My FSM advice that my aquarium must place at the top left corner of my dining, so this can't be changed. And there must be a water feature at the top right corner or living, I used a round table to mark in the layout plan as can't find any image to represent it... I'm so happy that I can squeeze it the little balcony in the hall, but I've yet to check with my ID how much will it cost to add the sliding door...

My main issue with my layout is:

1. There is a beam (from balcony) that is 170cm from the window, so my sofa can't place below the beam, have to place it after the 170cm mark and hence the tv feature will be at the middle of the passageway.

2. Since the tv is in the middle of the hall, I need to demolish the wall of the kitchen to make it look more spacious, I don't mind this as I open concept kitchen with island top. The problem is, I'll keep the existing marble in the hall but relay the kitchen tiles, there are some part in the kitchen that I might need to cover with marble and discoloration will be an issue.

Design 1 is my own as it give a bigger space in between the hall and kitchen:

Design 2 is my ID's suggestion, the pro is the countertop will help to cover the imperfection on the floor, con is it make the walk way very narrow.

I still haven't decide which theme to use for my furnishing, initially my ID proposed modern contemporary with many built in cabinet and feature walls in the hall and dining, I kind of don't like it cause built it is fixed and inflexible. I personally like balinese, modern tropical feel, I like to decorate my house with some water features and plants.

[eekenji 3]

Thanks for sharing, I spent whole afternoon to sketch my floorplan, and finally it's up!

I have 2 layout plan in mind, hope you guys can give some comments. My FSM advice that my aquarium must place at the top left corner of my dining, so this can't be changed. And there must be a water feature at the top right corner or living, I used a round table to mark in the layout plan as can't find any image to represent it... I'm so happy that I can squeeze it the little balcony in the hall, but I've yet to check with my ID how much will it cost to add the sliding door...

My main issue with my layout is:

1. There is a beam (from balcony) that is 170cm from the window, so my sofa can't place below the beam, have to place it after the 170cm mark and hence the tv feature will be at the middle of the passageway.

2. Since the tv is in the middle of the hall, I need to demolish the wall of the kitchen to make it look more spacious, I don't mind this as I open concept kitchen with island top. The problem is, I'll keep the existing marble in the hall but relay the kitchen tiles, there are some part in the kitchen that I might need to cover with marble and discoloration will be an issue.

Design 1 is my own as it give a bigger space in between the hall and kitchen:

Design 2 is my ID's suggestion, the pro is the countertop will help to cover the imperfection on the floor, con is it make the walk way very narrow.

I still haven't decide which theme to use for my furnishing, initially my ID proposed modern contemporary with many built in cabinet and feature walls in the hall and dining, I kind of don't like it cause built it is fixed and inflexible. I personally like balinese, modern tropical feel, I like to decorate my house with some water features and plants.

Hi barcadibreezer, nice sketch you have ! Did you feel great and proud after you done your layout design? I feel it is fun especially playing with the 3D feature : )

For the sliding door, the quote I got is from range of 1.7k to 2k ... I saw there is also PD door for balcony but not sure how much is it.

Paiseh, I cannot give much comments on aquarium and water feature .. not familiar with this area.

Same as your layout, we also have a beam at that area .. I checked with my colleague who is good in fengsui, he said as long as I didn't stay long under the beam, shall be ok. Will try to avoid to sit under the beam when watching tv, hehe .. Else keep shifting we will have no space. For your layout design, have you imagine if you sit on the sofa and you will see the whole hallway to your room? Our initial design also something similar to yours .. but my husband questioned me this, and I think quite strange too .. so swap the position of sofa and tv. Just some thoughts ..

I personally prefer design 1 .. not sure how about the rest ? : )

You found your ID already? How much will be your reno for balinese theme?

[ladygeorgette 0]

Last weekend went to IMM and bought the sofa set, storage bedframe and mattress; also bought our dining table from Franc Franc Vivo.

The sofa set can be customized up to 3 meter and can be choose from their catalogue, have shortlisted these few designs :

And this is the dining table from Franc Franc :

I love both your sofa and dining table - I'm going for woody white theme as much as I can too! But I'm keeping my existing dining set to cut costs. Does the sofa come in leather and how much for a 3m? Love the sliding coffee table that comes with it, you know how much is that? I couldn't find the right leather sofa when I went IMM few weeks ago.

[matrix0405 0]

Thanks for sharing, I spent whole afternoon to sketch my floorplan, and finally it's up!

I have 2 layout plan in mind, hope you guys can give some comments. My FSM advice that my aquarium must place at the top left corner of my dining, so this can't be changed. And there must be a water feature at the top right corner or living, I used a round table to mark in the layout plan as can't find any image to represent it... I'm so happy that I can squeeze it the little balcony in the hall, but I've yet to check with my ID how much will it cost to add the sliding door...

My main issue with my layout is:

1. There is a beam (from balcony) that is 170cm from the window, so my sofa can't place below the beam, have to place it after the 170cm mark and hence the tv feature will be at the middle of the passageway.

2. Since the tv is in the middle of the hall, I need to demolish the wall of the kitchen to make it look more spacious, I don't mind this as I open concept kitchen with island top. The problem is, I'll keep the existing marble in the hall but relay the kitchen tiles, there are some part in the kitchen that I might need to cover with marble and discoloration will be an issue.

.

1. You house has got very good lights coming from many sides. The TV wall at the passageway will cut off some lights going to the passage way. You may use a short TV wall to still allow light from the living room to go thru.

2. You may consider to run mosic tiles instead of marbles at the opening of the kitchen. This will demark the kitchen area and avoid the concern mentioned. And if kitchen tiles are in good condition, you can even keep them.

Leave the balcony grill (instead of blocking out with wood panels) as this will allow natural light into your house.

[eekenji 3]

I love both your sofa and dining table - I'm going for woody white theme as much as I can too! But I'm keeping my existing dining set to cut costs. Does the sofa come in leather and how much for a 3m? Love the sliding coffee table that comes with it, you know how much is that? I couldn't find the right leather sofa when I went IMM few weeks ago.

Thx ladygeorgette ~ how's your pregnancy and reno progress?

I like the dining table too ~ and it was not that exp, less than 600 after discount.

I know this brand istill also carry leather sofa. You may check their catalogue to see what designs you like, have the leather one too.

I actually got mine from the furniture shop called "Xclusive" which just opposite to IMM Building. And the manager brought us over to the shop called "Picket & Rail" to try the sofa, his brands are selling in both of the shops. At the end, we paid our sofa at Picket & Rail @ IMM and paid our bedframe + mattress at Xclusive. Besides of brand Istill, I know he also carried the brand called Kuka which is for leather sofa only. Frankly speaking, I haven't got our sofa .. so I cannot comment if the thing is good or not .. hope it is good la.

Edited October 7, 2012 by eekenji

[barcadibreezer 0]

Hi barcadibreezer, nice sketch you have ! Did you feel great and proud after you done your layout design? I feel it is fun especially playing with the 3D feature : )

For the sliding door, the quote I got is from range of 1.7k to 2k ... I saw there is also PD door for balcony but not sure how much is it.

Paiseh, I cannot give much comments on aquarium and water feature .. not familiar with this area.

Same as your layout, we also have a beam at that area .. I checked with my colleague who is good in fengsui, he said as long as I didn't stay long under the beam, shall be ok. Will try to avoid to sit under the beam when watching tv, hehe .. Else keep shifting we will have no space. For your layout design, have you imagine if you sit on the sofa and you will see the whole hallway to your room? Our initial design also something similar to yours .. but my husband questioned me this, and I think quite strange too .. so swap the position of sofa and tv. Just some thoughts ..

I personally prefer design 1 .. not sure how about the rest ? : )

You found your ID already? How much will be your reno for balinese theme?

Hi eekenji,

Thanks for the compliment, I not only feel proud and fun but don't feel it's worth to pay so much to the ID to draw the layout plan for me... Now, even my 7 yo girl is designing her own dream house now using floor planner.

Ya, I prefer design 1 too, look more spacious, as for the advice to swap the tv and sofa, I did consider it before but the problem will be, ppl can see us lying on the sofa from my main door, my house is just next to the lift, sitting in front of the main door is definitely worse than looking at the passageway right? Haiz... Headache, maybe have to follow your advice, not to sit too long under the beam. Anyway, I'm doing false ceiling to box up the beam, after boxing up, it will not look like sitting under the beam, only psychologically you'll feel so.