Hacking Out A Home-Shaped Hole @ Cassia

[Dwinsplace 48]

Oh and i saw the sledgehammer on the ground and asked if I could whack a wall down. Already holding back my more immature desire to take up his power tool and asking to use that.

The worker just smiled and said nothing. I asked again. He just smiled. But I'm pretty sure that was a polite "No". Lol.

[seowleng 8]

ooo...i have almost 90% same HDB floor plan as you.

just the :

1) store is different location

2) mirror reflection of plan. --> left is right and right is left.

Oh, i like your dungeon! really would like to see the end product. will the dungeon steel rust anyway?

[Dwinsplace 48]

ooo...i have almost 90% same HDB floor plan as you.

just the :

1) store is different location

2) mirror reflection of plan. --> left is right and right is left.

Oh, i like your dungeon! really would like to see the end product. will the dungeon steel rust anyway?

Hey seowleng, thanks for dropping by!

Its great that you have that layout. It was the reason I fell in love with the place to begin with. Quite a lot can be done with it but as with all HDBs, columns and beams are a pain in the @55.

I'll definitely post a pic of the end product of that wall. At this point the ID still has a few kinks to work out and I'm currently not sure if it's gng to be metal looking laminates for the wall plates with a real mild steel border or what. Mild steel can rust if the paint and protective layer peels off I believe. Will have to ask my ID also.

[Songz 132]

Hey seowleng, thanks for dropping by!

Its great that you have that layout. It was the reason I fell in love with the place to begin with. Quite a lot can be done with it but as with all HDBs, columns and beams are a pain in the @55.

I'll definitely post a pic of the end product of that wall. At this point the ID still has a few kinks to work out and I'm currently not sure if it's gng to be metal looking laminates for the wall plates with a real mild steel border or what. Mild steel can rust if the paint and protective layer peels off I believe. Will have to ask my ID also.

For the Mild Steel you can send it for galvanizing before painting.

This will give it a extra layer of protection.

Hope this help.

[samuelmk 0]

This is our confirmed space planning for the new house. This pic shows red walls to be hacked, and blue walls to be built. As you can see we didn't change the layout too much cos in the end, we felt that we needed walls for privacy and noise isolation.

Main changes would be:

1. to open up the kitchen (very common and popular now).

2. Open up an access from service yard where we hang clothes, to wardrobe area where we iron/keep clothes. Saves me from going one big round.

3. Relocate door of study and add a feature to the wall.

4. Hopefully extend the master bathroom to have a shower we can dance in. lol.

And this is what the new space will be like with all the built in capentry etc!!

Super excited about getting the 3D images next week so we can see the aesthetic come to life. Also want to be able to confirm stuff so that we can fix dimensions and start on our custom sofa/ TV console. And buy lights! And toilet stuff! fun fun fun!

Hi Dwin,

I am curious about the extension of the master bathroom to create the shower area. Did HDB approved it? From what i know, they are quite strict on this so called wet/dry area.

[nottidotti 1]

Hihi...will be parking here

Love your home design...especially the "fortress". Very special!

We also got 3D Conceptwerke for our Reno. Nice to find comrades at similar stages.

Just complete our hackings and also pending our layout revisions.

How I wished I am more hardworking on my updates like you both >.<

[Dwinsplace 48]

Hi Dwin,

I am curious about the extension of the master bathroom to create the shower area. Did HDB approved it? From what i know, they are quite strict on this so called wet/dry area.

Hey Samuel,

I guess you know better because you're right! HDB did not approve that. But IDs found it odd and so did my relative who is also an ID. Waterproofing can be (and is usually) redone since the toilets are all hacked anyway. If the HDB doesn't trust private company waterproofing then how can they allow the hacking of the toilets?

Our ID also said that they have done a very similar layout where this exact extension was approved. HDB just said that it was denied, but didn't give a reason.

in the end, we thought that the extension would have made the service yard too small to work in anyway so all good!

[Dwinsplace 48]

Hihi...will be parking here

Love your home design...especially the "fortress". Very special!

We also got 3D Conceptwerke for our Reno. Nice to find comrades at similar stages.

Just complete our hackings and also pending our layout revisions.

How I wished I am more hardworking on my updates like you both >.<

You're with 3D too?? Awesome. Maybe we have seen you in the office but didn't know. haha. I'll be ghosting your blog from now.

As for updates, Im lazier now. A lot of times i wish that things were faster so that I would actually have things to update on! haha! And I totally forgot to take pics of the tiles that we chose. Oh well.

[Dwinsplace 48]

Went to select sanitary items today with the ID! We spent two hours and only managed to see 2 shops haha.

So many toilet bowls to sit on!! But I'm sure you will all agree that it's impt to get a toilet bowl that you are comfortable with. *nods*

There was a shop that had an online portal who gave me a quote that was super competitive! Carysil big bowl granite sink for only $250! But when I went to the actual shop today, the retail price for the sink was $460! I didn't realise that they marked it up SO much. It's ridiculous. They had nice toilet bowls too but sadly the taps and stuff were really ugly. And service wasn't really good either. He refused to give me an itemised quote at first, but then I finally convinced him that I at least needed to know a rough costing so that I can add/delete stuff with some knowledge of how much I'm adding/ removing.

After that he refused to give me a hard copy quote. Now I understand that they need to protect their interests but how am I supposed to remember what items I looked at without a hard copy?? I have a feeling a won't be going with this shop....

Can only hope that the other shop has a good quote if not it will be back to the drawing board. Or back to taobao! Lol.

Speaking of taobao, I find it hilarious how my ID's eyes always pop out when I tell her how much lights are on taobao. She says that you can't really find any lights for less than $50 each in Singapore. So I'm feeling really good about how much I'm saving on that front.

And the wife has found a marvellous gem to save even more money! There is apparently a hari raya sale from the distributors of the relite fans. $188 for the petite relite 48" ceiling fan with delivery and installation. So thanks to all the Muslims in Singapore! And for all those looking to get those fans, ORDER NOW!

We have also just configured all our cabinets. Shoe, kitchen, wardrobe. All done. A very productive day I would say. Many thanks to our ID who slaved till 11pm the night before just to churn out technical drawings so that the mrs and I could discuss it before our meeting today. Made everything a lot more productive.

I would suggest this approach for everyone actually. Get a draft plan from the ID and then spend some time talking to your spouse about what your concerns and ideas are regarding the plan. That way you meet the ID with a united front and don't waste time fighting (read discussing) amongst yourselves in front of the ID. Heh

So excited now! Really see the house shaping up and when I visit the house I can envision what it will look like and to me, it's bloody beautiful. I hope all of you fellow renovatees are experiencing this same exhilaration.

Will post pics of the stuff soon!

[bianzi 52]

I went sitting ard on toilet bowls as well in the end I nailed down wasser bath. I find that they have quite good deals with the sink. On the other hand, heritage's baron 888 toilet bowl with gerbeit flushing system seemed good as well. I chose wasser cos they have a bigger variety of basin selection. And I ordered their in house kitchen stainless steel sink as well. Super solid feel 1.2 thickness

[tommy78 0]

Carysil big bowl granite sink for $250 is cheap??

Cheap is less than $200 for the 610Length

Got mine for $191.53 and someone got it at $195

http://www.renotalk.com/forum/topic/65539-finally-a-place-to-call-our-house/?p=861272

Mine purchased from Bath-zone

Just an advice if the shop sell something cheap it doesn't mean all his items are cheap.

Edited July 5, 2014 by tommy78

[Dwinsplace 48]

I went sitting ard on toilet bowls as well in the end I nailed down wasser bath. I find that they have quite good deals with the sink. On the other hand, heritage's baron 888 toilet bowl with gerbeit flushing system seemed good as well. I chose wasser cos they have a bigger variety of basin selection. And I ordered their in house kitchen stainless steel sink as well. Super solid feel 1.2 thickness

Carysil big bowl granite sink for $250 is cheap??

Cheap is less than $200 for the 610Length

Got mine for $191.53 and someone got it at $195

http://www.renotalk.com/forum/topic/65539-finally-a-place-to-call-our-house/?p=861272

Mine purchased from Bath-zone

Just an advice if the shop sell something cheap it doesn't mean all his items are cheap.

I went to those exact two shops today! And it was great! Much better than the ones I went to at balestier the other day. Service was better, products were better. Prices were WAY better.

Got my shower systems from wasser, and my carysil sink from heritage. $180 for the big bowl before GST! WHoo! thanks so much tommy78 for pointing out that my original idea wasn't a good price!! Saved me $70!

Toilet bowl can only confirm after ID speaks with tiler and gets a more exact measurement of the distance to the waste hole. Hope we can use the S trap system then we will have more options. But at this point, Im pretty sure that I will be returning to heritage. The service is good, informative and clear cut. No hard sell. No rubbish. Itemized quotation with no fuss about changes or removals.

[bianzi 52]

I was at heritage this afternoon to purchase my hood and hob and the grohe shower systems and taps... Haha ard 3-5pm ...

[tommy78 0]

I went to those exact two shops today! And it was great! Much better than the ones I went to at balestier the other day. Service was better, products were better. Prices were WAY better.

Got my shower systems from wasser, and my carysil sink from heritage. $180 for the big bowl before GST! WHoo! thanks so much tommy78 for pointing out that my original idea wasn't a good price!! Saved me $70!

Toilet bowl can only confirm after ID speaks with tiler and gets a more exact measurement of the distance to the waste hole. Hope we can use the S trap system then we will have more options. But at this point, Im pretty sure that I will be returning to heritage. The service is good, informative and clear cut. No hard sell. No rubbish. Itemized quotation with no fuss about changes or removals.

me also almost paid for much higher price for that big bowl, just that dun have ready stock for me to hand carry (need urgently for my ID to install it)

I even ask the boss to confirm if the price he quoted was correct anot.

[Dwinsplace 48]

Bianzi: I was at the shop at the same time. We probably saw each other!

Tommy: Haha heng ah! And thanks to you, I won't have to pay more either!