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

[SuperZ 7]

Hey Ryan,

I noticed from your old picture of living room that you did not have curtains or blinds. Are your unit far enough that the opposite blocks could see into your living room. (Actually, I prefer without curtains or blinds, as it stays bright all day. At night, I would just turn the lights dim.)

[RyanYTH 87]

7 hours ago, SuperZ said:

Hey Ryan,

I noticed from your old picture of living room that you did not have curtains or blinds. Are your unit far enough that the opposite blocks could see into your living room. (Actually, I prefer without curtains or blinds, as it stays bright all day. At night, I would just turn the lights dim.)

Hmm.. Good question. I would say the distance is .... 100m? 200m?
The distance between my block and my opposite block isn't so close they can see direct into my living room,
but can still roughly see small silhouette.

This image is a good indicator of agar agar how far it is.


Even if you don't want to put curtains in Living Room, you will still need curtains in your bedroom, for privacy of course.
And it would look kindda weird if you do curtains for bedroom but not do curtains for living room because they're just
right next to each other but hey its your place, you have the final say. 

For me, my living room curtains are more for my movie nights because I love to watch movies
devoid of any external lights in a dark room with aircon turned on for a cinema experience

The curtains you might want to choose can be those semi translucent type instead of the blackout curtains I use.
It'll be cheaper too compared to blackout curtains.

Edited March 19, 2018 by ryanyth

[MiniBean 2]

On 3/7/2018 at 11:04 PM, ryanyth said:

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.

Hi Ryan

You mentioned that you paid up for your house, so do you still have to purchase the fire insurance from HDB when you collected the keys?

Thanks!

 

[RyanYTH 87]

31 minutes ago, MiniBean said:

Hi Ryan

You mentioned that you paid up for your house, so do you still have to purchase the fire insurance from HDB when you collected the keys?

Thanks!

 

Hi MiniBean,

Yes, because i've fully paid up for my house already, fire insurance is not mandatory for me. But I still buy anyway lah.
HDB Fire insurance is mandatory for people who still need to pay housing loan to hdb i think.
That said, there are 2 types of fire insurance, one is the very cheap one , the other one is the more expensive one.
I bought the more expensive one because why not lol.

Hope this helps.

Edited March 20, 2018 by ryanyth

[SuperZ 7]

Hey Ryan,

When you build and install platform bed, do you need HDB approval? I read somewhere that one needs to install window grill and has it locked if one has platform next to the window. Maybe HDB is worried that one may fall through the window?

[RyanYTH 87]

2 hours ago, SuperZ said:

Hey Ryan,

When you build and install platform bed, do you need HDB approval? I read somewhere that one needs to install window grill and has it locked if one has platform next to the window. Maybe HDB is worried that one may fall through the window?

Hi, nope no HDB approval was needed for my case.
That said, if you are planning to do platform bed, do discuss with your ID on the most
appropriate height for you so that you will not roll off and fall off the window when you sleep.
Don't forget to include the height of an average queen mattress in addition to the height of the platform.

I had extensive discussions with my ID on this, and we measured and re-measured to ensure
I will confirm never fall off even if i roll around when sleeping.  The end result was perfect.

Edited March 20, 2018 by ryanyth

[SuperZ 7]

Hey Ryan,

On carefully examination, I noticed that the bottom 3 window panels are fixed (i.e. cannot be open). As such, there is no fear of rolling off the bed through the window. My unit has both 3/4 length windows similar to your living room. I suppose if the bottom window panels are fixed, I think it is safe (unless you crash through the window in the midst of nightmare). Don't you think?

[RyanYTH 87]

8 hours ago, SuperZ said:

Hey Ryan,

On carefully examination, I noticed that the bottom 3 window panels are fixed (i.e. cannot be open). As such, there is no fear of rolling off the bed through the window. My unit has both 3/4 length windows similar to your living room. I suppose if the bottom window panels are fixed, I think it is safe (unless you crash through the window in the midst of nightmare). Don't you think?

I guess it is still better to be cautious and ensure platform height + mattress height do not cause you to roll off through the window.
Not sure if nowdays units also use 3/4 length windows for bedroom, but that was not the case for my bedroom as depicted in this picture.

The below image was a picture I took for someone who also PMed me regarding the Platform Bed dimensions:




Height of my floor to base of my platform is ~46cm.
This enables me to sit down nicely at the edge of platform.

Height of platform bed to my bedroom window is ~62cm.
With a Queen Size Mattress, the height between mattress and window is ~32cm
Even if I were to roll around in my sleep I will never fall off the window.
Your measurements may vary of course depending.

Edited March 21, 2018 by ryanyth

[SuperZ 7]

@ryanyth, thanks for the info. I must say your place looks very nice. It's always feel good to come home to a nice place. Yes, my unit has W1 windows for both. 

[RyanYTH 87]

29 minutes ago, SuperZ said:

@ryanyth, thanks for the info. I must say your place looks very nice. It's always feel good to come home to a nice place. Yes, my unit has W1 windows for both. 

Thanks.
Very nice both your windows 3/4 length, especially for 2 room because i think such feature only for premium bto i think.
Curtains wise you should invest abit more to accentuate this feature.

Edited March 22, 2018 by ryanyth

[RyanYTH 87]

Another weekend, another cooking adventure!
This time is Singapore Styled Char Kway Teow lol
Apparently, induction cooker CAN do some light frying.

[swatcL 2]

ryanyth

i have been reading this forum and your blog has gave me ideas and things to take note off. Thank you so much.

I will be getting my keys @end June 2018, and is the 47 sqm type.  I am not getting ID due to budget constraint and is getting a frd (contractor) to assist me in reno. I like the idea of a platform bed, but I am not sure what is the cost. Your platform bed look really nice.

[RyanYTH 87]

11 hours ago, swatcL said:

ryanyth

i have been reading this forum and your blog has gave me ideas and things to take note off. Thank you so much.

I will be getting my keys @end June 2018, and is the 47 sqm type.  I am not getting ID due to budget constraint and is getting a frd (contractor) to assist me in reno. I like the idea of a platform bed, but I am not sure what is the cost. Your platform bed look really nice.

Thank you for your support swatcL! I'm glad it helped. 
Its good you know someone who can assist with your reno, always good to have special friend price

For Platform Bed, cost wise it depends on how much your friend will charge you.
Mine was about $3.8k which is considered quite expensive i think.

Also before you get a platform bed, you might want to check if HDB is approval is required now.
I didn't need any HDB approval for mine, but some forummers have PM me telling me their ID say
Platform Bed needs approval now, so i'm not sure whats the latest HDB rule already. Just FYI.

Please feel free to ask any questions that you have.
I will try my best to answer them as best as I can.

Edited March 25, 2018 by ryanyth

[SuperZ 7]

@ryanyth, I read about that too, meaning platform beds need approval. That was the reason I asked you about height of your platform bed. If I remembered correctly, one needs to install window grill or lock your window - something to that nature. HDB fears that one may rollover through the window during sleep. Need to confirm with HDB.

[xelle22 0]

@ryanyth i chanced upon your reno blog and it was very candid and informative! thanks for sharing. i just gotten the ballot for mine and it will be ready in 2023! hahah, long way to go but will try rem the info you shared.