A House Is Not A Home

[spiffysue 0]

Confirming design, layout and hacking

As we were pretty sure of what we wanted, we shared this with T. He discussed with us on the feasibility as well as adding advice here & there, whenever required.

These are some of the requested aspects we wanted included in our place:

- cement screed floors

- vinyl for the rooms

- matt black window frames

- exposed brick

- subway tiles

- open kitchen concept + island

- convert Master Bedroom into a WIW

Hacking began as soon as we collected keys.

We hacked:

- the storeroom

- the wall between kitchen and living

- half the wall between kitchen and balcony --> so that more light can enter the kitchen

- a door between Master bedroom and bedroom 3

Initially, we wanted to hack the entire wall between Master bedroom and bedroom 3. We wanted to replace it with a sliding glass door, so that the entire WIW would be seen when in the bedroom. Something like this:

Sadly... we couldn't do that, because we would be facing the TOILET. hahaha, imagine lying in bed and staring at a toilet bowl.

Edited October 10, 2012 by spiffysue

[spiffysue 0]

I bought opposite the library. Also 400+

Mine is also under the 5room category (5A) but it's 2 units of 3 rooms hacked into one (by government) so I get 4 bdrms as well

WOW that is really cool.. great area too, very central

[spiffysue 0]

Windows

When hacking began, I sourced for my own window guy instead of IDs contact.

I found the infamous Alex and contacted him. He came down for a site visit to access my windows and give me a quotation.

Unfortunately, my bedroom windows (the lovely cottage ones - pictured below) cannot be changed because they are 3/4 length He told me if we want them changed, we would have to get a PE to endorse. And this costs $3500!!!!

We were too excited and didn't check the windows properly. They are in really bad condition. Some of them don't have handles. The metal is very dirty and the owner pasted solar film which melted over time. So gross.

Alex advised us to not spend money changing. He said he would replace all the handles for FREE for me. And he can arrange a window chemical wash to clean them up. I was very impressed with his attitude. We agreed to do our windows with him. We changed all other windows in the house, and chose a matte black frame.

He invited me down to his factory to take a look at the metal. We then told him that we don't like thin frames, and asked if he had a thicker one. He did... and when we couldn't imagine how it looked (because the factory doesnt have full window frame samples - only small pieces of metal), he actually invited us to his own flat to take a look!! Because he himself chose the thicker frames and its just so kind of him to welcome us into his own home.

His level of patience and customer service standards are really superb. Workmanship is good too. I'd recommend him to anyone doing windows!

Here's some pics:

[summersann 6]

Hi spiffysue! How's the renovation coming along? Hope it's going better!

[spiffysue 0]

Hi spiffysue! How's the renovation coming along? Hope it's going better!

hey there, we're almost done.. we're left with fixing of the toilet towel racks etc, final coat of paint.. and touch-ups for all the rectification needed.

we also need to do a layer of sealant for our floor cos we did cement screed. hoping we'll be able to have our place in move-in condition by this weekend!

[adidaem 6]

hey there, we're almost done.. we're left with fixing of the toilet towel racks etc, final coat of paint.. and touch-ups for all the rectification needed.

we also need to do a layer of sealant for our floor cos we did cement screed. hoping we'll be able to have our place in move-in condition by this weekend!

Looking forward to move-in pics. Any 3Ds or drawings to whet our appetite in the mean time?

[spiffysue 0]

Looking forward to move-in pics. Any 3Ds or drawings to whet our appetite in the mean time?

will post some of the midway-point photos

[spiffysue 0]

Kitchen + Toilets

Here's some pics of the kitchen + toilets in midst-construction.. this was taken ard august i think:

Kitchen island being constructed..

Common Toilet..

Master Toilet..

Don't have any pics yet. We're attempting quite a brave thing.. we're painting the non-shower area instead of tiling. We used a form of weathershield paint and got it in a custom dark blue. Shower area + floors are tiled white. Reason we decided to paint is there's a huge *** sewage pipe in the master. And i realized that no matter how you try to paint it to be similar to the tile color, it never gets camouflaged. So might as well just paint all.

Pic that gave me inspiration:

[spiffysue 0]

Rooms

Some sneak peaks right after painting (1st 2 coats) and lights were installed. We were testing the track lights, so excuse the alternate lights on the track, lol.

Master bedroom:

WIW before cabinets were installed:

Guest room:

Guest room right after vinyl flooring was laid:

Edited October 15, 2012 by spiffysue

[summersann 6]

Rooms

Some sneak peaks right after painting (1st 2 coats) and lights were installed. We were testing the track lights, so excuse the alternate lights on the track, lol.

Master bedroom:

Love your fan! Mind sharing where you got it from?

[adidaem 6]

Wow huge kitchen! Envious. Love the older HDBs for their squarish layouts.

Is that a relite fan?

[spiffysue 0]

Love your fan! Mind sharing where you got it from?

Yup, just like adidaem mentioned, it's a Relite fan. Can be found in most fan shops

[revox88 0]

Halo! How's the progress of your kitchen island

Your squarish kitchen sure looks big.

I am staying around that area too as I recognise the blocks of flats taken from your unit

[ultimax 2]

Hello Spiffy,

Following the progress of your renos now. Love how everything's turning out.

Slow and steady wins the race

I think there's nothing wrong with using paint in the bathroom. In fact, it's a much cheaper option than tiling. And you can use the money saved to buy quality accessories. The plain, untiled walls will really make them stand out because of the contrast (plain vs something interesting).

We didn't do much to our bathrooms and left them mainly in stock condition. So, boring HDB floor and wall tiles. When the renos ended, they honestly looked really boring and unimpressive, even incomplete. But it looked a lot different after we added in the accessories! It's amazing what a big difference accessories can make. For example, we added a quality shower curtain (polyester fabric, not PVC) with a lovely design and wow right away, the bathroom looked that much better.

I also think in terms of aesthetic value-add, accessories often give you more bang for buck, especially with ridiculous per foot run charges for built-in carpentry or masonary work.

Are you going to leave the hollow block kitchen counter exposed?

And did you say you're going with a cement screed floor in the common areas?

[redmoonlight 0]

hi spiffy,

saw you use vynil for the guest room, are you going to use vynil for the rest of bedrooms too?

i am considering to use vynil too, but still undecided. done some research it can outgas toxic chemical.

laminate is a no no due to wrap issue and non-water resistant. initially wanted homogenous, but HTB want cozy feels.

still cannot make up my mind