Joanna's Playground; An Em Dream

[3Dyms 1]

Welcome.. Another EM owner. You're so lucky to be able to get an EM from SOBF. Means no need to pay COV and have more $$ for your reno.

Good luck with your reno... hope everything go smooth smooth. Looking forward to see more posts and pics.

[potatoes 0]

Your existing place looks well maintained. Good for u as flooring is a major ticket in reno. Understand that u r keeping all flooring. What about the staircase and railings....do u like the current one which has that woody pattern.

[summersann 6]

Your place looks new! Makes renovation easier, hopefully congrats on getting your place! All the best with renovation

[cleong 1]

No COV is always a good place to start, but do get the wetworks, masonry and carpentry work out of the way, you can't do these in phases later on without going through a lot of trouble. The only thing you could do is skipping furnishing the rooms that you aren't (yet) using.

[kooky 2]

Welcome to RT and becoming an EM owner :-)

We shared something similar - we balloted in SOBF and got queue number 1 which gave us the privilege to select a unit before the others and of course, not having to pay COV is a big bonus to us :-)

From the pictures you have uploaded, your EM is indeed in a very good condition and that will help you to save up a lots of $$.

Congrats to you and yours and best of luck in your contractor/ID selection!

[adidaem 6]

Congrats. Condition does look good but photos can be deceiving so hope all is fine in real life too. And no COV! Lucky lucky you.

Is that marble flooring on the first floor?

Some carpentry is ok for later but do get the major stuff out of the way. And cost-wise do watch out for electricals n carpentry items that can really add up.

[annastans 1]

I guess your EM is a new SOBF flat. When I was selecting my flat there was like 3 EM, most of them were low floor.

Ohhhhh.....you were referring to the tiles that HDB provided me not the tiles I selected. My mistake. Yeah, they are kind greenish and the texture, when you touch they are not straight, they have a curvey feeling.

I kinda liked it, bu felt the gaps / lines in between were kinda wide and they used super white grout and for both the bathrooms and kitchen. I felt these areas will get dark and dirty soon with all the bathing and cooking . So I hacked and changed everything. ;p

hmm.....thats interesting,..... I stayed in Marsiling Drive too! before I moved to my new flat!

Your EM looks nice!!

Well, have a great and smooth journey!

Yes, the gap between the tiles does look very big but because we're working on a tight budget so we decided to leave the toilets as they are, apart from changing the WC and basin. Hopefully we will not regret this decision You stayed in Marsiling Drive too?! That's so cool! Wow, we were practically neighbours then lol! I wish you the same for your reno journey and I hope you have a home you desire at the end of the day

Welcome.. Another EM owner. You're so lucky to be able to get an EM from SOBF. Means no need to pay COV and have more $$ for your reno.

Good luck with your reno... hope everything go smooth smooth. Looking forward to see more posts and pics.

Yes, truly blessed to get the EM from SBF! Haha i wish! Thank you for your wishes 3Dyms; we are very excited to start on this so will keep you posted surely on the progress, both good and bad

Your existing place looks well maintained. Good for u as flooring is a major ticket in reno. Understand that u r keeping all flooring. What about the staircase and railings....do u like the current one which has that woody pattern.

Yup, from the first viewing it looked like it. The only problem I spotted that day was this:

Spotted this dent in the marble and suspected something when the HDB contractor kept hovering over this particular tile as if to cover something. And when I finally spotted it after sneaking up behind him, he brushed it off -_- I might br wrong, but there's a very high possibility this was damaged during the restoration works but of course, they did not fix it. Tsk.

i might be old fashioned but I loved the staircase and railings out of everything I saw in the house! Before viewing the house I kept hoping it wasn't some really really old design staircase that would remind me of my primary school and when I saw this, I was totally relieved. The low expectations helped

[annastans 1]

Your place looks new! Makes renovation easier, hopefully congrats on getting your place! All the best with renovation

Thank you summersann!!

No COV is always a good place to start, but do get the wetworks, masonry and carpentry work out of the way, you can't do these in phases later on without going through a lot of trouble. The only thing you could do is skipping furnishing the rooms that you aren't (yet) using.

Thank you for that piece of advice cleong. We will do up all the items that will cause a lot of mess in this first phase. Yes! Not furnishing empty rooms greatly helps in saving cost.

[annastans 1]

Welcome to RT and becoming an EM owner :-)

We shared something similar - we balloted in SOBF and got queue number 1 which gave us the privilege to select a unit before the others and of course, not having to pay COV is a big bonus to us :-)

From the pictures you have uploaded, your EM is indeed in a very good condition and that will help you to save up a lots of $$.

Congrats to you and yours and best of luck in your contractor/ID selection!

Oooo another great story! Nice! Yes, I couldn't agree more but I suppose all home owners will pay the price for something they would really like to have. Your renovation is coming along very beautifully I must add. I like the bright feeling of your house

Thank you kooky!

Congrats. Condition does look good but photos can be deceiving so hope all is fine in real life too. And no COV! Lucky lucky you.

Is that marble flooring on the first floor?

Some carpentry is ok for later but do get the major stuff out of the way. And cost-wise do watch out for electricals n carpentry items that can really add up.

Thanks for dropping by adidaem! (It's like having a celebrity pay a visit ) Yup only when actual work begins will we know what lies beneath that peaceful facade . Like you said, it is a good thing we didn't have to pay for the COV! It definitely gives us a bit more space to tailor the reno works to our liking. The 1st floor flooring is marble so we will keep and polish it up; should be good as new!

Carpentry is proving to take the biggest pie share but the carpentry is essential so we don't mind too much. Hopefully I can maintain a strict control over the budget in the course of reno..

[adidaem 6]

Thanks for dropping by adidaem! (It's like having a celebrity pay a visit ) Yup only when actual work begins will we know what lies beneath that peaceful facade . Like you said, it is a good thing we didn't have to pay for the COV! It definitely gives us a bit more space to tailor the reno works to our liking. The 1st floor flooring is marble so we will keep and polish it up; should be good as new!

Carpentry is proving to take the biggest pie share but the carpentry is essential so we don't mind too much. Hopefully I can maintain a strict control over the budget in the course of reno..

Huh? M no celeb lar. Just another EM owner who is admittedly rather envious of your zero COV and decent marble flooring. So much cost savings... Oh well... Shall look out for salvageable marble flooring for my next place...

Anyway good time to reno. Lotsa sales starting.

Tmr is last day for Eubiq sale btw. Super worth it. Can consider getting tracks for selected spots like kitchen, tv console n study. Think mostly 40% off for tracks. Link:

http://www.asteem.com/eub_prodmain.html

[annastans 1]

Huh? M no celeb lar. Just another EM owner who is admittedly rather envious of your zero COV and decent marble flooring. So much cost savings... Oh well... Shall look out for salvageable marble flooring for my next place...

Anyway good time to reno. Lotsa sales starting.

Tmr is last day for Eubiq sale btw. Super worth it. Can consider getting tracks for selected spots like kitchen, tv console n study. Think mostly 40% off for tracks. Link:

http://www.asteem.com/eub_prodmain.html

Eeek!! I just saw this! No doubt I've clearly missed the sale ! Haizzz thanks for the heads up adidaem, though I missed it. I'll have to start keeping my eyes peeled for future warehouse sales..Pardon my ignorance, but where do you get updates of these sales from? Is it all just on their respective websites? Please let me know if there's any special site I should be taking note of as that would be a great help. Thank you!

Lol! I agree the current condition of the flat does help to save costs quite a bit. Always thankful for that

[HL85 0]

Eeek!! I just saw this! No doubt I've clearly missed the sale ! Haizzz thanks for the heads up adidaem, though I missed it. I'll have to start keeping my eyes peeled for future warehouse sales..Pardon my ignorance, but where do you get updates of these sales from? Is it all just on their respective websites? Please let me know if there's any special site I should be taking note of as that would be a great help. Thank you!

Lol! I agree the current condition of the flat does help to save costs quite a bit. Always thankful for that

Wow sale.. 24th last day! I am thinking of getting one for study and one for TV console.. I haven't selected ID.. can just buy first?

How do I know which type to buy? Just ask the sales person there?

[adidaem 6]

Eeek!! I just saw this! No doubt I've clearly missed the sale ! Haizzz thanks for the heads up adidaem, though I missed it. I'll have to start keeping my eyes peeled for future warehouse sales..Pardon my ignorance, but where do you get updates of these sales from? Is it all just on their respective websites? Please let me know if there's any special site I should be taking note of as that would be a great help. Thank you!

Lol! I agree the current condition of the flat does help to save costs quite a bit. Always thankful for that

Oh call n ask if they can extend offer... No harm trying if u r really interested. Just a call.

No sites... I read the Straits Times daily. You'll find ads on Thur, Fri or Sat depending on when the sales starts.

Some sales happen during fixed months or every few months. The yearly ones are usually quite regular in that sense, like Electrolux, Miele, etc. Those at monthly intervals can be random like Grohe, Teka, Eubiq. Furniture stores pretty frequently but mostly just before GSS promos and at year end will start. Helps if you are member n get notifications via email. Mm. No particular website. I used to post sales info on my blog when I had more time but nowadays I'm too busy to post regular updates.

For the brands u r particularly interested in, do some research n google when the previous sales took place. That'll provide indicative time. If the websites allow u to sign up for alerts n mktg, you can do so to be on mailing list. Worth the effort IMO. During sales the branded stuff that are at half price can be bought at the price of a regular no brand item, so why not right?

Wow sale.. 24th last day! I am thinking of getting one for study and one for TV console.. I haven't selected ID.. can just buy first?

How do I know which type to buy? Just ask the sales person there?

Yep they can advise. If you can embed in wall or carpentry, then try to do so. I'll suggest study, console AND kitchen. More if budget allows. Comes in black, white or silver. Novelty of lighted plugs will wear off quickly so recommend that you go for plain plugs unless u hv money to burn.

[adidaem 6]

Eeek!! I just saw this! No doubt I've clearly missed the sale ! Haizzz thanks for the heads up adidaem, though I missed it. I'll have to start keeping my eyes peeled for future warehouse sales..Pardon my ignorance, but where do you get updates of these sales from? Is it all just on their respective websites? Please let me know if there's any special site I should be taking note of as that would be a great help. Thank you!

Lol! I agree the current condition of the flat does help to save costs quite a bit. Always thankful for that

Oh ya, you can subscribe for email updates on RT for the blogs u r interested in, including your own of course. There are always some friendly owners who will share their latest acquisitions so you can also keep an eye on their blog.

[annastans 1]

Oh call n ask if they can extend offer... No harm trying if u r really interested. Just a call.

No sites... I read the Straits Times daily. You'll find ads on Thur, Fri or Sat depending on when the sales starts.

Some sales happen during fixed months or every few months. The yearly ones are usually quite regular in that sense, like Electrolux, Miele, etc. Those at monthly intervals can be random like Grohe, Teka, Eubiq. Furniture stores pretty frequently but mostly just before GSS promos and at year end will start. Helps if you are member n get notifications via email. Mm. No particular website. I used to post sales info on my blog when I had more time but nowadays I'm too busy to post regular updates.

For the brands u r particularly interested in, do some research n google when the previous sales took place. That'll provide indicative time. If the websites allow u to sign up for alerts n mktg, you can do so to be on mailing list. Worth the effort IMO. During sales the branded stuff that are at half price can be bought at the price of a regular no brand item, so why not right?

Yep they can advise. If you can embed in wall or carpentry, then try to do so. I'll suggest study, console AND kitchen. More if budget allows. Comes in black, white or silver. Novelty of lighted plugs will wear off quickly so recommend that you go for plain plugs unless u hv money to burn.

Thanks for the tips adidaem. I completely got the date wrong; kept thinking it was the 24th today I'm not much of a newspaper reader so perhaps keeping close tabs on specific products I'm interested in is a step in the right direction. Thanks for the tip once again, and I'll give them a call tomorrow.