Transforming a 3-Room Flat to a 3-Bedroom Apartment

[KFC1189 11]

Hello Everyone,

I am a very busy and also lazy person. I have learnt a lot from the many postings here. I enjoy reading in this forum but am very lazy to reply or to post comments. However, I did create an account in Renotalk in 2011 but have since forgotten about my user ID and password. So I created a new one for this forum.

Finally I have decided to document the transformation process of my 3-room HDB flat in a 2-storey HDB shophouse into a 3 bedroom apartment. Although this is a 3-room flat in a double storey shophouse but it is no difference from other 3-room HDB flats in Singapore everywhere. On the other hand, this project of mine is not a typical renovation project that you encounter very frequently in this forum. It involves alteration and addition elements to the renovation project itself. I hope readers can learn from my experience and use it to build a case to their advantage for their own renovation project.

The title of my topic is quite confusing and perhaps misleading. But this is exactly what I am going to do with my 3-room HDB flat. That is, trying to transform it from an ordinary 3-room flat to an apartment with 3 fullsize bedrooms.

Every Singaporean (I hope) knows that a typical 3-room HDB flat actually consists of 2 bedrooms only. A standard 3-room HDB flat is typically 65~70 sqm in size. Some corner 3-room flats are much larger at 80 or even 88 sqm. But still they all have two functional bedrooms only. I know some owners put in a third bedroom in those big 3-room flats but the additional bedroom is not quite livable due to a lack of window for light and ventilation. This is mainly due to the design constraint of a 3-room flat which always has an entrance in the front.

3-room flats are ideal for singles or couples without children. Very often they have to upgrade to a larger HDB flat after getting married or having children. When you have more members in your family, you will need more bedroom to accommodate them in a more comfortable environment. But how to add a new livable bedroom in your existing 3-room flat without compromising comfort and privacy for every member of your family. Here, the scenario is we want to continue to stay in our 3-room flat but with a added bedroom. How do we do it? Is it feasible or cost effective? The answers to these questions are "yes". We can do it! But obviously your 3-room flat must fulfill certain conditions which I shall explain later.

First, the floorplan as usual. Pardon me for the lack of clarify in my floorplan as it is an old handwritten floorplan.

Edited September 23, 2017 by KFC1189
typo

[KFC1189 11]

As this living quarter is a 3-room flat in a double storey HDB shophouse, there is an internal staircase inside the flat. Other than the staircase, everything else is the same as a typical 3-room flat. It has a floor area of 77 sqm. It has a big master bedroom with a good size bathroom and a big living room. But the kitchen and dining area is limited by the staircase.

This project involves the alteration of the flat by removing the internal staircase and creating a new entrance to the 3-room flat as highlighted in RED in the picture below.

I shall post some pictures of my new layout plan shortly.

Edited September 23, 2017 by KFC1189

[KFC1189 11]

As mentioned, this project is not a typical renovation with an ID or a contractor alone to work on the inside of your flat, it involves the creation of a new entrance to the flat as shown in the picture below. Notice that the back of the existing storeroom in the 3-room flat will be hacked to the outside in order to create a new entrance. With the new entrance to the flat, the internal staircase can be demolished as well.

 

Edited June 13, 2018 by KFC1189

[KFC1189 11]

As you can see from my new layout plan above and below (turned right 90^o), the original master bedroom and bedroom 2 remain as it is. In the new layout plan, I shall add a new bedroom 3 which is used to be a part of the living room. The smaller living room, dining room and kitchen will all be integrated into an open concept layout. The new entrance, which will be created from the old storeroom, will bring in some light and wind from the outside (which is a lift landing area).

The new bedroom 3 is as big as the original bedroom 2. More importantly, it has big windows to make it very livable for the occupant. In order to provide storage area, a portion of the new bedroom 3 is carved out to make way for a large floor-to-ceiling built-in storage cabinet.

 

 

Edited June 13, 2018 by KFC1189

[KFC1189 11]

I used Floorplanner to draw my floor plan. It can also generate 3D plans as shown below. Obviously, the windows in my 3-room flat are not so high.

Edited September 22, 2017 by KFC1189

[KFC1189 11]

Proposed new entrance door opening. The proposed location of door opening has been verified by a registered PE and approved by HDB.

Edited September 23, 2017 by KFC1189

[KFC1189 11]

Now a new entrance to my 3-room flat has been created! Yay!

[KFC1189 11]

With the new entrance, I lost my storeroom but gained a new bedroom. In order to provide an alternative storage space, a new W2300xD600xH2000mm storage cabinet was created at the wall of the new bedroom. Please refer to the 3D drawings above. 

Edited September 30, 2017 by KFC1189

[El LoCo 3]

Wow....u really gain alot for this flat with the additional room. By the way any rule for hdb in regard to enlarging the window? I am looking at a EA which has a small top window at the part of the living area then big window at the other side. Dunno whether can enlarge it or not?

Edited July 16, 2016 by El LoCo

[KFC1189 11]

HDB guidelines will not allow exterior facade to be changed. But you need to consult a PE first. 

[El LoCo 3]

Thanks!

[trcd 13]

This is quite cool! Thanks for sharing your exciting project!

Have a smooth reno and continue to post updates. 

[KFC1189 11]

It has been a long time since my last update. After the new entrance door at 2nd level was created, the internal staircase was demolished. After that, the staircase hole would be slabbed over and be leveled with kitchen floor. Eventually this newly created space will be part of living room. The living room, dining room and kitchen (LDK) will be combined to form an open concept layout.

Edited October 8, 2017 by KFC1189

[KFC1189 11]

Metal plates and reinforcement bars were installed for the floor slab work. Then cement was used to fill the void area.

Edited September 22, 2017 by KFC1189

[fi5hbone 8]

Cool, looking forward to your updates.