My Modern Zen 2-Room 35sqm (Type 1) HDB BTO Apartment Renovation Journey

[RyanYTH 87]

18 hours ago, MiniBean said:

Wow!!! LOL, makes me hungry.... yummy lo!!!

Never share recipe...   haha, kidding.

Happy New Year !!!

 

Hahaha~ Happy New Year to you too!
 

13 hours ago, SuperZ said:

A very cozy place indeed. It looks like you have a very nice flooring, smooth and shiny. Can you share what tiles you use and how much it cost? I have planning to have the same look for living and bed room in my 47 sqm humble place.

Thanks for the compliments!
Actually, other then my Kitchen and Bathroom, the rest of the white floor tiles are actually HDB tiles lol.
I opted for Optional Component Scheme.

[RyanYTH 87]

On 12/30/2017 at 9:39 PM, CaseBlue said:

Wahhh really like the final look ... simple yet cosy ... thanks for accommodating to my photo request 

I really like the raised platform ....though I will not be doing ... gonna keep my door and wall still ... 

I just got my email from HDB, now a bit kan chiong cos I have not yet started negotiating an ID ... haha ...

Does your price of reno separately state ID fee from reno fee? Can share the price of ID like just drawing the floor plans only? 

Thanks very much and you're welcome. 

Sorry i'm not sure what you mean by "price of reno seperately state ID fee from Reno Fee"
Quoted price in quotation by my ID was 25k, during actual renovation extra things
to add makes it about 31k total. (not including furnitures / appliances)

By floor plans, do you mean 3D Drawing by the ID?
3D Drawings was $500, and its included in the quotation.
I'm not sure if you can get ID to just do 3D Drawing only without them doing renovation though.

[mmoh 66]

On 12/30/2017 at 9:39 PM, CaseBlue said:

Does your price of reno separately state ID fee from reno fee? Can share the price of ID like just drawing the floor plans only? 

are you referring a separate item charged as ID fee? If yes, then the answer is no. There is no separate charge.

[Kith 0]

On 1/4/2018 at 6:10 AM, ryanyth said:

Thanks very much and you're welcome. 

Sorry i'm not sure what you mean by "price of reno seperately state ID fee from Reno Fee"
Quoted price in quotation by my ID was 25k, during actual renovation extra things
to add makes it about 31k total. (not including furnitures / appliances)

By floor plans, do you mean 3D Drawing by the ID?
3D Drawings was $500, and its included in the quotation.
I'm not sure if you can get ID to just do 3D Drawing only without them doing renovation though.

hi i just read through all your posts but this is the part that i was really surprised.. 31k for a 2-room BTO? 

i noted that no feature wall right? and limited carpentry.. is this a normal price or really there were some additional items that drove up the price? 

love your bedroom especially!

[RyanYTH 87]

On 1/8/2018 at 2:13 PM, Kith said:

hi i just read through all your posts but this is the part that i was really surprised.. 31k for a 2-room BTO? 

i noted that no feature wall right? and limited carpentry.. is this a normal price or really there were some additional items that drove up the price? 

love your bedroom especially!

Thanks
Yes, 31k is considered alot for a 2-room BTO.
I got an excel sheet which list my budgeting, but i have no idea how to upload it.
So i'll extract the amount excluding furniture and appliances.







Actual total comes up to $24,900 + $5565 = $30,465
Additional items that drove up the price were electrical, the box up, and the couple of other stuffs as you can see.
Some of them were essential like Electrical, Plumbing and Haulage etc, some like the DB Box were a waste of money.

I would also advise anyone to prepare about $5k extra in addition to the amount that was quoted
in your renovation quotation. That said, your mileage may vary also.

 

 

 

Edited January 12, 2018 by ryanyth

[RyanYTH 87]

Blog Entry Date: 16th January 2018 Tuesday
Click Here to go back to Page 1 - Table of Contents

Post Renovation - Slidearm and HDB Bomb Shelter Walk-In Wardrobe

Yet another surprise Blog Entry lol!
Happy New Year 2018 Everyone, how has the new year been for all of you?

Very Sorry, I know some folks have been waiting for this blog entry for some time to see how I convert the
existing HDB Bomb Shelter into a Walk-In Wardrobe, because after all, I don’t have a wardrobe in my bedroom.

So without further delay, here it is.

In addition to the Walk-In Wardrobe Installation, I’ll also be including the Slide-Arm Door Holder installation process because its also done by the same company.

============================================================================================

Slide-Arm
So way back in Oct 2017, if you’ve been following this blog, I shortlisted this company “Smart-Home” and
engaged them to install this Door Holder called “Slide-Arm” and also to install a Walk-In Wardrobe for my HDB Bomb Shelter.

After Renovations was completed, I went ahead and made my appointment with Joe from Smart-Home, and his installer Matthew visited my place.

Below are the pictures of how the installation went.
Installation of Slide-Arm took only about 5-10mins and was completed really quickly.




Slide-Arm nicely aligned and installed.



Working beautifully today even after 1 month+ after installation.
An elegant and nice solution for holding the door open. 



In addition to installing Slide-Arm, Installer Matthew also took measurements of my HDB Bomb Shelter
to prep for the fabrication and installation of my Walk-In Wardrobe which took place at a later date.
(He actually came 2 times to do measuring because Smart-Home lost the initial measurements he did and he had to come again.)



============================================================================================

Walk-In Wardrobe

It took a couple of weeks for the Pole Wardrobe to be fabricated and once again, Installer is Matthew lol.
Below are the pictures of how it went.

This was the line drawing of agar agar how its supposed to look like once completed.



Installation of Pole-Wardrobe was significantly longer, and took a couple of hours.

This is the final result after installation.

I really liked how it looks, as it fits in beautifully in my HDB Bomb Shelter.
There are ample areas to hang clothes, luggages, and even 2 drawers.

Sorry I wish I own those special 360 degrees ball camera because these
photos can’t really convey how the thing looks like, I hope you get a vague idea though.





Got Matthew to help me leave a little space at the side to be able to store a small foldable trolley.


The other side of the HDB Bomb Shelter Wall holds my ladder and ironing board.


Even has space at a corner to hold a Toyogo Plastic Shoe Rack.
(Yes, I also kiasu until buy a small fire-extinguisher from Lazada for peace of mind lah)

Another thing of note, I got this hanging metal shelving from Lazada, and found that it can hang perfectly on the HDB Bomb Shelter door.
No drilling or adhesive required, just simple construction to fit the pieces and simply hang it on bomb shelter door.

While it does obstruct the Bomb Shelter door to not be able to close completely,
I gain extra storage to hang my bags and more barang barang on it.

Highly recommended and is a good buy IMO. As of this post, it costs only $14.90
https://www.lazada.sg/door-back-wall-hangers-nailless-storage-rack-adhesive-hook-63584867.html?spm=a2o42.customer.0.0.499f3f8d2cCPnM



============================================================================================

Final Verdict

Total Costs:
Slide-Arm Door Holder – $50 (including delivery and installation)
Pole Wardrobe – $650 (including delivery and installation)

Personally, I’m very happy with how Slide-Arm and Pole Wardrobe eventually turned out.
They fit in nicely with my apartment’s aesthetics, looks good and completely functional.

However, I find dealing with Smart-Home to be a very time-consuming process.
I dunno if they are short of manpower or what, but Joe, the person whom I’ve been
liasing with takes so long to reply to my Whatsapp messages.

At one time, he even told me he lost the measurements of my HDB Bomb Shelter
and had to get Matthew to come up my place a 2nd time to do re-measuring. Ughhh.

I was especially worried when I paid my deposit, and he took his sweet time
replying to make appointment for Pole-Wardrobe installation. Double Ugghh.

Matthew the installer on the other hand was very good with his work.
He is very friendly, and when he is working, you can tell he is very experienced with what he is doing.
It was a joy having him as an installer.

Honestly, I don’t know whether I should recommend Smart-Home or not.
Price wise is pretty good for me personally, and they did do a good job eventually.

I just don’t like vendors who take their own sweet time in replying to messages especially when
you’ve paid money already. (Maybe I was spoilt by my ID Jason who replied to my enquiries promptly lol)

If you engage Smart-Home, I hope you get a better response service from them,
but do take note that Joe will take a very long time to respond to your messages.

============================================================================================

And so we come to the end of this Blog Entry.
Not much more entries to add from what I see other then the conclusion of my IKEA Curtain guide lol.

Sorry it took so long, very nua to do blogging now that my renovation is already completed lol.
Other then my curtain guide, are there anything else you’d like me to do a blog entry for?

Please do let me know.
Until then, see you in my next Blog Entry!

Click Here for the Next Blog Entry: 
A Little Curtain Experiment - Part 3/3

Click Here to go back to Page 1 - Table of Contents

Edited November 20, 2018 by ryanyth

[2Roomer 7]

Final piece of the puzzle! 

I think you got your money's worth for the wardrobe, even with the long wait.  Are the supporting poles sturdy? The Korean pole systems I've seen in Singapore are made of plastic and don't seem very strong.

[bykaraanne 30]

Nice idea to make the bomb shelter into wiw! Looks good  

[RyanYTH 87]

7 hours ago, bykaraanne said:

Nice idea to make the bomb shelter into wiw! Looks good  

Thank you very much

[mmoh 66]

Mind to share the cost of your platform? Just platform itself.

WIW - can you adjust the height of your drawers cos not enough height for the clothes hanging on top.

Is that a number lock for the drawer?

how do you feel now after usage? Would you recommend to utilise the HH as WIW? does it feels stuffy? Any impact on your clothes, in terms of moisture / temperature etc.? 

Fire extinguisher - It is a good and necessary item I feel. But my vendor suggested to put the fire extinguisher in the living room but near to the kitchen entrance. Cos kitchen has the highest probability to catch fire so you want to make it available in the living room, assuming you are not in the kitchen, it is available on your way.

[RyanYTH 87]

6 hours ago, mmoh said:

Mind to share the cost of your platform? Just platform itself.
Platform as in platform bed? It was $3.8k i think.

WIW - can you adjust the height of your drawers cos not enough height for the clothes hanging on top.
Adjustment is done during installation. Now that its installed, its better not to adjust anymore cause scare compromise
make the wardrobe unstable. Anyway I requested for larger space at the bottom to put luggage and bulky items.
Clothes hanging abit not enough height is fine for me, those clothes are casual shirts anyways.

Is that a number lock for the drawer?
Ya its a digital lock. The usage was explained to me by Matthew, its very complicated, i never actually bother to use it lol.
I did request to see if it could be cheaper if I dun install this digital lock, but Smart Home say the package comes with it.
No change to price even if I don't want it. So might as well install lor.

how do you feel now after usage? Would you recommend to utilise the HH as WIW? does it feels stuffy? Any impact on your clothes, in terms of moisture / temperature etc.?
Personally, after using it for close to 2 months, I really like it. I find it well utilized instead of just being a typical storeroom throw rubbish in it.
Stuffy wise is abit, but as long as the bomb shelter door is kept open, its perfectly fine IMO. If you want, can put a air freshener gel, but not really necessary.

For people who DIE DIE want Wardrobe type, (like @RuFus58 ) I wouldn't recommend it.
For folks who are more open-minded to an alternative way, and don't mind just abit of stuffiness,
especially 35sqm owners who are in need of space, I definitely recommend it.

Friends have come to my place and is very surprised at how nice it looked. Female friends in particular tell me,
if they do WiW, they'll request for a shelving dedicated to put their shoes lol!

Fire extinguisher - It is a good and necessary item I feel. But my vendor suggested to put the fire extinguisher in the living room but near to the kitchen entrance.
Cos kitchen has the highest probability to catch fire so you want to make it available in the living room, assuming you are not in the kitchen, it is available on your way.
Actually my bomb shelter is just next to my kitchen, so having fire extinguisher there is alright I guess.
The reason why I put in bomb shelter is because it is quite heavy, and I scare if it falls on kitchen floor,
it may break / scratch my kitchen tiles. If fall and break hdb bombshelter tiles at least not so headache.

 

Edited January 17, 2018 by ryanyth

[RyanYTH 87]

On 16/01/2018 at 8:49 PM, 2Roomer said:

Final piece of the puzzle! 

I think you got your money's worth for the wardrobe, even with the long wait.  Are the supporting poles sturdy? The Korean pole systems I've seen in Singapore are made of plastic and don't seem very strong.

Hahaha ya. Thanks.

Ya the poles are made of stainless steel and feels strong and sturdy. Drawers are made of solid wood.

Originally I had wanted to get the DIY Korea pole system from Qoo10 or Lazada but yea I'm skeptical if they are stable enough for long term usage.

[daztan89 6]

On 12/28/2017 at 5:15 AM, ryanyth said:

OK my first actual bill is here.
This is measured reading, not estimated.

Electricity - $56.02 (276kWh)
Water - $15.76 (6.6 Cu M)
Refuse Removal - $7.71
GST - $5.56

Total - $85.05
This is taking in consideration I turn on air-con every night to sleep
(around 26 or 27 degrees), and cooking almost everyday.

Actually not bad wor, bro.. Considering you on air-con every night. Refuse Removal is S&CC?

[angell 0]

Hi Ryan, your home looks really nice! Just read through your blog and saw that u install regulator for your fan. Did the electrician hack and conceal the wiring for regulator? I want to install regulator instead of using remote control but was informed by the ID that there will be ugly exposed trunking from the regulator to the ceiling fan, and nowadays noone will do that to their home. 

[RyanYTH 87]

6 hours ago, daztan89 said:

Actually not bad wor, bro.. Considering you on air-con every night. Refuse Removal is S&CC?

Yea i'm comfortable with the amount personally. In return can turn on aircon every night lol.
Anyway what is S&CC? I just quoted what was written in the bill lol.
Refuse Removal is by SembWaste pte ltd.

Edit: Oh i see what you were referring to. S&CC (Service and Conservancy Charge)
Refuse Removal is completely different from S&CC.

S&CC doesn't come along with the utilities bill, in fact it doesn't come in any bill at all.
You're however supposed to still pay at the start of every month to Town Council. If you don't pay,
they'll send reminder letters. S&CC charges for me per month is about $14.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Jan 2018 bill is here.
Apparently due to the freak cold spell we had,
i didn't turn on aircon for a few nights, and its much cheaper lol

Electricity - $29.90 (101kWh)
Water - $9.06 (3.8 Cu M)
Refuse Removal - $7.71
GST - $3.27

Total - $49.94

Edited January 29, 2018 by ryanyth