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

[RyanYTH 87]

11 hours ago, angell said:

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. 

Hi thanks very much!

Actually no. By default hdb ceiling will already have a cable dangling for you hidden in the ceiling to install ceiling fan, and it should already be connected to one of the switch points in your home so there should be no need of a trunking from regulator to fan.

Not sure about the design for the latest btos but this was the case at least for mine.

Edited January 29, 2018 by ryanyth

[justmeonly 0]

Hi, may i know what is the brand of your hob and hood and how much is it. any review?

and your sink also, thank you 

[RyanYTH 87]

10 hours ago, justmeonly said:

Hi, may i know what is the brand of your hob and hood and how much is it. any review?

and your sink also, thank you 

All my appliances and fittings are listed in the attached blog post.
https://www.renotalk.com/forum/topic/78056-my-modern-zen-2-room-35sqm-type-1-hdb-bto-apartment-renovation-journey/?do=findComment&comment=962663

Didn't buy any hood because I thought it was unnecessary and I don't like the idea of cleaning it regularly.
And after cooking for some time, personally i'm glad I didn't buy the hood.

Hob:
Fujioh 2 Cooker Induction Hob FH-ID 5125
$760

After using it regularly for a couple of months, I find it pretty good, very reliable and certainly easier to
clean compared to conventional gas hobs. Literally just need to wipe it clean.
Whatever brand you are going for, do make sure its made of something
called "Schott Glass", because it is supposed to be tougher.

Once I forgot I was boiling some soup, and it spilled over, and the induction hob actually was smart enough
to recognize the spill and auto-shutoff immediately which I thought was pretty cool.

Kitchen Sink:
ALBE Single Bowl Kitchen Sink
$148 (combo price with kitchen tap)
Nothing special about this sink, it came in a combo with my Kitchen Tap.
However do ensure if you are getting stainless steel kitchen sink, minimum get 1.2mm thickness.
thinner will be cheaper, but will more prone to dents

Hope these helps

Edited January 30, 2018 by ryanyth

[justmeonly 0]

1 hour ago, ryanyth said:

All my appliances and fittings are listed in the attached blog post.
https://www.renotalk.com/forum/topic/78056-my-modern-zen-2-room-35sqm-type-1-hdb-bto-apartment-renovation-journey/?do=findComment&comment=962663

Didn't buy any hood because I thought it was unnecessary and I don't like the idea of cleaning it regularly.
And after cooking for some time, personally i'm glad I didn't buy the hood.

Hob:
Fujioh 2 Cooker Induction Hob FH-ID 5125
$760

After using it regularly for a couple of months, I find it pretty good, very reliable and certainly easier to
clean compared to conventional gas hobs. Literally just need to wipe it clean.
Whatever brand you are going for, do make sure its made of something
called "Schott Glass", because it is supposed to be tougher.

Once I forgot I was boiling some soup, and it spilled over, and the induction hob actually was smart enough
to recognize the spill and auto-shutoff immediately which I thought was pretty cool.

Kitchen Sink:
ALBE Single Bowl Kitchen Sink
$148 (combo price with kitchen tap)
Nothing special about this sink, it came in a combo with my Kitchen Tap.
However do ensure if you are getting stainless steel kitchen sink, minimum get 1.2mm thickness.
thinner will be cheaper, but will more prone to dents

Hope these helps

Thank you so much for the useful information

[RyanYTH 87]

16 minutes ago, justmeonly said:

Thank you so much for the useful information

No worries bro

[MiniBean 2]

On 1/29/2018 at 8:38 AM, ryanyth said:

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

Jan 2018 bill is cool.  Btw, how is your curtain guide going on? 

[RyanYTH 87]

6 hours ago, MiniBean said:

Jan 2018 bill is cool.  Btw, how is your curtain guide going on? 

Erm...still working on the curtain guide lol.
Might have misplaced some photos 

Edited January 31, 2018 by ryanyth

[fiqa denny Lim 2]

Lovely thread Ryan.. Very useful guidelines and information for upcoming new home owners. The pressure has jus begun for me. Haha

[RyanYTH 87]

5 hours ago, fiqa denny Lim said:

Lovely thread Ryan.. Very useful guidelines and information for upcoming new home owners. The pressure has jus begun for me. Haha

Thank you very much! 
Can be stressful yes, but can also be a very fulfilling and educational experience.
Please feel free to ask if you have any enquiries. I will try to answer them as best as I can.

If you haven't already, do introduce yourself in mmoh's forum thread exclusively
for fellow 2 roomers. Plenty of ideas, solutions available!

 

Edited February 6, 2018 by ryanyth

[fiqa denny Lim 2]

18 hours ago, ryanyth said:

Thank you very much! 
Can be stressful yes, but can also be a very fulfilling and educational experience.
Please feel free to ask if you have any enquiries. I will try to answer them as best as I can.

If you haven't already, do introduce yourself in mmoh's forum thread exclusively
for fellow 2 roomers. Plenty of ideas, solutions available!

 

Yup yup I did pm her personally recently. Yes yes will read her blog soon. I guess I will be getting my flat around the same time as yurs last year but this year 3rd quarter 2018. The colour theme almost the same as yurs but I added grey to the black and white theme. More of the monochrome look. 

[RyanYTH 87]

20 hours ago, Ickle Megan said:

ryanyth, i spent all night reading thru all your blog posts on yr renovation. I am so envious right now i wished i had bought a BTO 5 years ago when 2room flexi first came out. May I ask how much u pay for your flat and if u got any grants? I am so confused with the grants, are there 3 i.e. singles grant, AHG & SHG? or is single grants just a generic term for AHG & SHG?

I am planning to apply and was looking online for pics of a showroom flat and chanced upon your design. I think you have a very chic design. Its like the saying ma que sui xiao wu zhang ju quan

Thanks very much for supporting my blog Ickle!

Getting a flat in singapore is always a good investment IMO.
Even if you still live in your parent's place, you can still rent it out in future for passive income. (or treat it as a weekend home )
Or if say you got married in future, can still take time to sell away no need to rush.

Total cost for my flat was $111,130 (excluding grant)
Dunno about what AHG or SHG, but i remembered my grant was 15k i think.
Once you have selected your flat, HDB will do the calculation for you. This grant i think also not really a grant, because i remember if next time wanna sell off the flat, 
will need to repay it back to HDB i think. The grant is more like to offset the additional amount that 2 roomers need to pay compared to married couples.

Finance wise, If you have been working regularly and had been building up your cpf till age 35,
your CPF should be sufficient.Don't forget when building the flat, your cpf will also be growing.
For my case, when it was time to collect my keys, my CPF was more then
enough to pay off everything and i didn't need to take any loan at all.
That in itself is absolutely fantastic because i don't have such worries like housing loan.

Edited March 7, 2018 by ryanyth

[RyanYTH 87]

Hey folks, so sorry for MIA for so long. How's everyone doing?
So sorry sigh, lost a couple of pictures, but I'll eventually get to posting the final post to my IKEA curtain guide. 

Did a couple of amendments to this blog too.
I have now added direct links to the next blog entry at the end of every post.
They look like this: (Click Here for the Next Blog Entry:)

Found it abit silly and unfair to request for readers to always go back to Table of Contents just to go to the next entry.
So sorry for the inconvenience, this blog should hopefully be less confusing and flow more smoothly. 

In addition, I discovered that Blog Entry 16 which I posted about my search for Pole Wardrobe
was hidden by Renotalk Moderators. I guess it looks like an advert to them?
No matter, this entry can still be viewed at my alternate Wordpress Blog. Sorry for the inconvenience.
https://hdb2roomrenovation.wordpress.com/

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

I do still visit this blog often (because i set it so my browser will auto-ping me whenever there is a reply lol.)
Please do post any enquiries that you have, I will try my best to answer as best as I can.

Meanwhile, if you are new, if you haven't already, please do feel free to introduce yourself into the official
2-room discussion thread set up by mmoh. It is chock full of tips and tricks and is an excellent guide for
anyone who needs assistance.

 

Edited March 7, 2018 by ryanyth

[mmoh 66]

I didnt get any grant and on top of the listed purchase price, I have to pay additional $15k because govt penalise the singles...  

paiseh, my thread is the unofficial thread lah, alot of chit chat though... :x

[RuFus58 14]

i am back after a long absence and @ryanyth, you have already moved in and celebrate Xmas, New Year and CNY already..

How is the feeling of living in your own little roof?  and yes, i saw your earlier reply.. i die die want my wardrobe!! hahaha! 

My PCD is End Mar 18!!!

Yet last min got some problem with link bridge, up goes the (blue thingy) barriers again to rectify!!! 

Most of my flat neighbours start calling/email HDB, they remain coy, don't dare commit or adjust date.. 

Suay to the max. already last block out of the 14 blocks to get keys, yet so much issue! 1st block got keys in July 17, some even move in by Aug 17 and celebrate National Day  

But just a matter of time.. (i know, that's what all tell me...) and during this period, just go bio latest electrical appliences, furnitures etc. Have so much of ideas, yet no house key..  But once i get keys, i might have to come bother you abit on some advices. 

 

@mmoh, strange that you didn't get any rebate. i applied on Nov 13 & sign lease on Mar 14, got 10K grant.
ryan said he got 15K. Cannot be because you applied SOBF, get penalised? 

Btw, how is everything in your house? after a few years, what are the wear and tears to expect?

 

[mmoh 66]

5 hours ago, RuFus58 said:

 

@mmoh, strange that you didn't get any rebate. i applied on Nov 13 & sign lease on Mar 14, got 10K grant.
ryan said he got 15K. Cannot be because you applied SOBF, get penalised? 

Btw, how is everything in your house? after a few years, what are the wear and tears to expect?

not sure leh... 

1) 1 kitchen cabinet door soft closing spoiled

2) stainless steel condiment tray rusty

3) stainless steel dish rack rusty

4) P&R solid wood furniture got mold

5) Vinyl flooring gap growing bigger

...