Budget Home In Punggol Emerald: Retro Modern Fusion

[VincentWangZx 11]

Hi Guys!

I started visiting RenoTalk last year when I began scouring for news online about Punggol Emerald, my home-to-be in the very near future. It has really been educational and I've learned a lot about the ins and outs of renovating just by browsing the different threads here. I noticed there were very little threads about budget renovating and I got a little worried. But after doing my own research, I realize owning your first home can be a very affordable affair (you see I'm a poor social worker and my wife is pursuing a full-time diploma in Physiotherapy atm). The key is to prioritize the things I want to renovate which would absolutely cause a lot of trouble if I were to do the works after all the furnishing is in. So for this first post I will share what I have prioritized as Phase 1 for our renovation. Another thing is to include as much as you can afford into HDB loan; if you can afford a DBSS, most furnishings and fittings come with the price of your flat; you have lesser you need to pay by cash. In our case, the previous bidder helped us out by opting in for HDB to do the flooring. As we are not picky with the look of our floor, we saved a lot.

Just a little background; we bought this flat (Blk 266C) during a Sales of Balance Flat exercise in March 2012 right after I proposed to my wife. Fast forward to when we are about to collect our keys on the 28 January 2014, we look back and are thankful for how things have fallen in place one after another beautifully (if possible I will share it in another post). We will be meeting our contractor on the 11th Feb (CNY break; thus that's the earliest), submit approval for hacking, and begin the other renovation works from the 18th Feb onwards. Hopefully we'll be done by end of March for Phase 1! We think of our renovation in two phases; Phase 1 for the major works, Phase 2 for fittings and furnishings and other DIY projects. Here's what Phase 1 includes:

1. Hack off existing wall at bedroom 2 and install new 10mm tempered glass approx. 1500mm (L) x 900mm (H). Quoted Estimate: 1,800.

2. Laminated Flooring for all three bedrooms @ $4 psf. (this is a little pricey. There is another company who can do it @ $2.80 psf).

3. 2 sets of 10mm tempered swing shower glass door to bathroom. Quoted Estimate: 1,200 ea. The kerb costs an extra $450 / set.

4. Dismantle existing wash basin and replace new ones. Quoted Estimate: $90 ea.

5. Labor to install owner's light fitting: Quoted at $12 / no.

6. New PD door to bathroom. Depending on design, lowest quoted at $450 / no.

Phase 1's total estimated cost: + 7800

As you can see, it's really basic but necessary. Once this is in place, it's in a pretty much liveable condition, minus the furnishing. Our furnishing inclusive of installation of air-con and ceiling fans is expected to cost another 7,000 or so. My wife felt that if it was affordable to hack off the wall in the living room (bedroom 2), it would be a very unique feature that adds character to the home. If you were to leave that out, you save another $1,800 dollars.

Alright, that's it for the first post. The subsequent posts will have more pics I promise. It will talk about Phase 2, and also update about how our reno has been doing, in real-time. =) Plus, feel free to let me know if you have lobang which can do the above at a cheaper price kthxbye!

[AnW 2]

No carpentry in the kitchen at all?

[VincentWangZx 11]

Hi AnW!

Your nick reminds me of my fave childhood restaurant A&W. =( Anyway, Kitchen will be bought as a set from IKEA in Phase 2. =) I'm hoping the 25 year warranty is helpful. =)

[Songz 132]

Welcome to RT.

Hope to see more pics and update

Wish you a smooth Reno ^^

[VincentWangZx 11]

This may be familiar to some, but here's the ubiquitous floor plan as a reference. =)

[mavicaste 58]

Hi neighbour!

Have you compared the quotes between built-in kitchen carpentry and what Ikea has to offer?

[ahhboi 15]

Mine is also budgeted. At least yours is a new home, mine is a re-sale.....

Just an overhaul of one toilet already take up min $5000, you can imagine my stress...... and my budget is only $10k+!

So like you, Am going for the phase 1,2 and then 3.

[shaowei14 0]

No kitchen caperenty?

[James N Joean 8]

.

Edited January 24, 2014 by PTopaz

[Harriette 42]

Hi Vincent,

I'm getting an Ikea kitchen too. I wrote about my site meeting with the Ikea kitchen contractor in post 46, page 2 of my T-blog. I should be buying the Ikea kitchen in Feb 2014. Hope my experience will be useful for you.

I didn't get quotes from any contractor on kitchen cabinets, coz I was certain that I want an Ikea kitchen. We would like to change the kitchen, maybe once every 10 years. My kitchen in my existing 5-room flat was built by the previous owner about 12 years ago. It is very outdated now. We really wanted to re-model the kitchen, but it was too daunting. If we have an IKEA kitchen, it should be easier to update/renew it.

Welcome to RT.

Hi AnW!

Your nick reminds me of my fave childhood restaurant A&W. =( Anyway, Kitchen will be bought as a set from IKEA in Phase 2. =) I'm hoping the 25 year warranty is helpful. =)

[Sappyd 8]

Is ikea kitchen good? Tot of having ikea kitchen cos like wat Hariette said.. Can change color as and when we feel like it.. But too concern of the quality of their wood..

[VincentWangZx 11]

Hi neighbour!

Have you compared the quotes between built-in kitchen carpentry and what Ikea has to offer?

Hi mavicaste! I follow ur blog too. Your lesson on network layout has been most educational. Yes I have, and like what was mentioned in other replies, I too like the idea of changing my cabinets every once in a while. I will look out for those IKEA cabinets that have metal stilts at the bottom. Those help in spills or the unfortunate event of pipe bursting causing a flood. Will be visiting IKEA tmr. Will update more then!

[VincentWangZx 11]

So we took a trip to IKEA yesterday for some IDEA about what we would like to have in our home. =) What an educational trip it was! Apparently our kitchen is actually considered to be bigger than most HDB flats with our profile (Model A series; our kitchen is a good 4.475m x 2.4m). We were glad to hear that, because the kitchen is really central to home living for us. We learned from the rather honest sales rep that worktops with a solid top (acrylic or otherwise) would cost a lot more than wood (at least ten times more). We also learned that there will be a contractor who will come down to our kitchen to take a look at our kitchen and will do a site measurement for a fixed price of $40 so that the installation team can be better informed of things like where the piping needs to run for the sink and the cooker hob. The total time it takes from ordering the kitchen set till it's fully installed is no more than 10 days. If that is true, I think that's absolutely wonderful. Hence, we began dreaming about our simple kitchen. We aim to keep the material cost below 1,500, as the cost of installation is counted as $28 psf (that amounts to $1,400 for a 50 sq. ft. cabinet). Hopefully we can keep it to below $3,000!

Now I have a very silly question. If I want to just insert an image directly without using My Media, what should I do? I keep getting hung whenever I try to add an image. =S

[Takaishi 44]

thanks good to hear... maybe i will also go for ikea if the worksmanship is good

[VincentWangZx 11]

Hi Takaishi,

I think the workmanship will be good; they even have the option of boxing and filling (covering up extra areas that the modular cabinets don't fit into) so that it looks flushed to the walls. They even have the option of adding cover panels so that the cabinets can blend in to the color of the wall. =)

I'm dying to put up pictures but I don't know why that function keeps hanging on my com!! :s