The Process Of Transforming An Old 5Rm Hdb @ Bukit Purmei To Our Dream Home!

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Excited to transform this old unit into our dream pad. The theme would be industrial chic coupled with ps cafe feel. And a hinge of nostalgia from the colonial days.

I love an open and spacious home. So we would hack down quite a few walls. Hacking and transforming the middle bedroom into a walk-in.

Hacking our store room to a dry MBR toilet where the sink and make up area would be. Hacking the wall in between the wet MBR toilet and old store room as well.

We would also be hacking parts of the kitchen. and separating the kitchen into a yard n cooking area. the black metal grille with glass separating the two areas is to keep cooking fumes from tainting the clothes.

We would be using vinyl to layover the existing reddish marble floor. Hacked the old kitchen,bathroom & balcony floor and wall tiles.

Update as of 27th OCT:

We engaged an ID to redo our house for us. Why we decided to go along with them is because they are a married couple running everything themselves. Meaning no dealing with sales person but the bosses directly.

After interacting with them for 2 months plus, here are somethings we really like about them.

They have a very good relationship with the contractor - they have been working together for a long time and things that needed to be amended or redo, the contractors are willing and helpful and has initiative.

They make me feel very comfortable as they are trustworthy and I have a peace of mind. I know they will not try to hoodlewink me. This I appreciate a lot.

They always tell me the truth, like what I have to anticipate if I go down a certain path. They will try to dissuade me from something too fanciful that is not cost worthy. They lay out the options for everything - like if i go for this is cheaper. and the quality is ok so just go for this. go if i go for that its more expensive but the mark up is worth it... because.... so on and so forth. and ultimately after laying out the cards on the table, whichever i choose they wont feel unhappy. I really like knowing what I am paying for.

I wanted bricks for the balcony area, but the price for craftstone added up to around 3k because the surface area needed to be tiled is really quite big. I could not afford it so they gave me various options. At first we agreed on normal bricks, but when we saw how bulky it was, they found brick tiles for me. Now I settled for normal brick tiles at close to half the cost. Of course its not at nice as craftstone but I could live with it because its still very nice.

At first, I was very against plastering. I think it is a waste of money. They convinced me to go for it. I was a bit half hearted and went ahead. I must say, the plastering is one of my fav things for the house. It totally transformed the unit and gave it an instant age rewind. (my unit is from the 80s)

At first, I wanted colonial wooden lourves windows panels. They tried very hard to dissuade me but I wanted it very badly so they went ahead to search for one... The reason for not encouraging me to go for it is because of the high cost. It took them two weeks to locate a supplier and I was happy. 2 months down the road, I finally came to senses and told them that I shall go for blinds instead. They were so happy for me. I felt very guilty cuz they spent a lot of time looking for the supplier for nothing. But they did not think of it that way. They told me its always good to increase their knowledge and they are happy that I get to save 7k from this decision because its really unnecessary.

They are very responsible. Always trying to think of the best the client could have, places they bring me to buy things like toilet accessories and lights, they will haggle for me. Even the blinds that I am making, they managed to help me reduce $ by haggling with the supplier

The lights are definitely more expensive than from taobao but the tracklights and stuffs are guarenteed to be the lowest in SG. They come in a range of pricing depending on whether its from Germany or TW.

I could tel that they are really great people because they are on good terms with all the people working with them. There is a lot of respect between everyone and I really like the their workmanship. The quality is impeccable especially for carpentry work.

Ultimately, choosing an ID depends on what kind of experience one is after or willing to go through.

For me, I needed the peace of mind and assurance that these people are good and honest and responsible. And what I get at the end of the day will not be a disappointment. I dislike being lied to about datelines and being led to accept decisions that has consequences I am unaware of.

I like how they will ask if I want the decision to be based on asthetics or practicallity.

I will continue to update this section. As of now, I must say I am really pleased with them.

3D Drawings

Edited November 3, 2014 by RLB

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vintage reproduction doors for walk in:

Edited October 2, 2014 by RLB

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Kitchen hacked!

Edited October 2, 2014 by RLB

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MBR toilet tiles

Edited October 2, 2014 by RLB

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balcony - work in progress.

after grouting:

Edited October 2, 2014 by RLB

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bought these for the house

Edited October 2, 2014 by RLB

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and these

Edited October 2, 2014 by RLB

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custom making these

Edited October 2, 2014 by RLB

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i dislike the wireglass windows for the bathrooms immensely.

was told its a hdb regulation.. so no choice...

Edited October 28, 2014 by RLB

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common bathroom

before grout:

after grout:

anyone knows where can I get

a good black color fan.

WC basins n bowls n taps.

Thank you!

Edited October 2, 2014 by RLB

[Jiahui 0]

Congrats on starting your renovation. I got the same washer and tv as what you did. I got mine from Harvey Norman last evening.

My renovation is coming to an end soon and i will be moving in 2 weeks' time. I have visited numerous sanitary wares vendors these few months, countless hours touching various types of taps, WCs, kitchen sinks - to cut the story short, i find Heritage at Geylang having the most competitive pricing. The best part is that they give you a very reasonable price right at the start and unlike some shops, quote you high and then reduce further when you ask for discounts. Go have a look in their showroom and all the best in your shopping and reno.

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Hello Jiahui

Thank you for your helpful response. I guess I should pay a visit at Heritage before I go to my ID's contact then!

Its so cute that we got the same washer and TV! What are the odds right haha..

I am happy for you that you will be moving into your new home soon.. I think I still have a long way to go. Because HDB took a long time to permit the hacking, so we are really behind schedule and my ID has confirmed the completion date to be just before the day for the delivery of all my purchases. In fact, because of the delay, I could no longer purchase the lights from Taobao, so I hope to make some savings from Heritage

Edited October 2, 2014 by RLB

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going there to save some money and spend some money.

Edited October 2, 2014 by RLB

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Tiles for storeroom coverted dry MBR toilet:

using this gate (or something similar)

asked my ID to custom a shoe rack for me.

requirement for end product:

function like the ikea white shoe cabinet, aesthetics wise to follow the wood colored one:

received an update from ID.. last wall to be hacked completed (storeroom/MBR/drytoilet)

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Edited October 2, 2014 by RLB

[Jiahui 0]

Thats so true, what are the odds

Reno is looking good! Keep the updates coming along