Makster 12 Report post Posted May 13, 2019 I decided to write about my "resale flat" reno (I lump under this category as flat is 16YO!) which cost us less than $10k for - 2 new bathrooms - 1 slightly remodelled kitchen, - 3 new cabinets - whole housepainting excl ceiling which was painted 4 years ago - plus miscellaneous like hacking and dismantling Hopefully, this will help homeowners on a budget save money, and I'm also hoping to do a good one for my contractors and to give credit to these good contractors, many of whom are not tech-savvy and do not know how to promote their biz! Good things must share right? ? first, to clarify, the reno is akin to that of a resale flat cos my 5-room is 15 1/2 years old. We stayed for 6 years, rented out for 9 years, then decided to move back. We have always DIY-ed our reno and this time is no exception. No doubt interior designers may give a more polished look but they charge a 33% premium, and I'd rather stretch my dollar to do more stuff! Of course, these disgusting toilets had to go first! The tenants have trashed them up so badly, they are worse than public toilets! Sorry if I spoilt your appetite for a meal! I nearly threw up when I came to inspect the premises!?  1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Makster 12 Report post Posted May 13, 2019 (edited) What impressed me though, was the quality of the existing carpentry! you can be sure, after looking at the photos of the bathrooms, that the tenants didn't take particular care of the flat! Yet the carpentry was solidly built and stood the test of time! I didn't have to change the wardrobes in the three bedrooms, any of the existing cabinets, the study table or the kitchen! Just some slight remodeling of the kitchen, and some dismantling of built-in furnitures we no longer needed in the bedrooms and to accommodate 3 kids! It felt wasteful really to rip out such solidly-built stuff! I am SOOO thankful I found a good and reliable carpenter 16 years ago; he used top quality materials and his workmanship was great! To me, value is NOT about getting the cheapest price. It is getting good and lasting quality at a reasonable price. That is what I got with Yeo, my carpenter of 16 years, whom I have engaged on and off over the years, and of course I used him again when I decided to renovate and move in! Who else could I trust? And who knew the place better than him? After all he built my entire flat in the beginning! And by a pure stroke of luck, he turned out to be my neighbour so he knew the layout very VERY well and checked on his workers' workmanship every night! As a further testament, I recognise one of the workers from 16 years ago!!! So this time round, to show my appreciation and also cos he's the "old-school, not techie type", I decided to share him with all of you! Scroll behind for his contact! These are old pictures of my initial reno 16 years ago. We did our place in resort style. Some call it modern Asian style! Edited May 13, 2019 by Makster Typo 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hdb4ever 3 Report post Posted May 13, 2019 Yikes hard to unsee the WC Looking forward to updates for this low-cost reno! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Makster 12 Report post Posted May 13, 2019 1 hour ago, hdb4ever said: Yikes hard to unsee the WC Looking forward to updates for this low-cost reno! Haha I know, but then you can better appreciate the improved version later on which may not seem like much until you realise how bad it was before! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Makster 12 Report post Posted May 13, 2019 (edited) Years later, we took out the pond (what were we thinking??) to build a full-height shoe cabinet, & detached the built-in study table into a mobile desk which we placed @ the living room. The study room was transformed into a bedroom, and the build-in master bed with side table, headboard, and display shelves were ripped out, as well as the shelvings in all the bedrooms. We built three new cabinets in the new Scandinavian style -not sure if we successfully married the old and the new style, but we sure didn't want the hassle and added cost of tearing out everything from before, especially when they were in good condition! To change the laminate color was not a simple matter of putting new laminate over the doors like I previously thought. It actually involves ripping out the doors, and installing brand-new doors! Well, I still like the dark wood colors! And of course I didn't want to spend the extra moolah! Here are pictures of my recent reno. It is still a work-in-progress, though it's mainly just some minor nitty-gritty to be touched up, plus more shelving for my shoe cabinet cos we can never have too much space! i have not decided what to do with the bomb shelter hole, now that I took out the bamboo chick blinds. The pics are taken by me who's no photography buff so no fancy touches or ambient lighting like the old pics! Of course style is also very personal. We did a simple reno this time round, but I'm sure you can ask Yeo for snazzier designs! I'm still contemplating building another full-height cabinet where the bomb shelter hole is to put the whole wall to good use but that entails taking out the bench. It's a tough call, ripping out stuff you built, like, and which are perfectly usable, but I could do with an additional cabinet to hide bedsheets or toys as our storage beds are full! 3 kids sure have a lot of toys and clutter! ? Edited May 13, 2019 by Makster Typo Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Makster 12 Report post Posted May 14, 2019 (edited) The new above, and a mixture of the old and the new below... Alright, so if anyone's interested, please call Yeo directly to enquire. Just tell him his customer Mak from Anchorvale recommended! He knows us very well by now hehe... I won't be sharing cost as he gave us a special old customer price and besides, the scope of work is different. Plus this time round, I did a lot of minor stuff only. Just tell Yeo what you need, I love bouncing crazy ideas off him! In my next post, I will talk about bathroom reno on the cheap and sharing my plumber contact! Stay tuned & give a shout-out here if you find my post useful! Edited May 16, 2019 by Makster Supersede 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Makster 12 Report post Posted May 15, 2019 And as promised, here are pictures of the completed revamped bathrooms! Ta-da! 180 degree change from before right? 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hdb4ever 3 Report post Posted May 20, 2019 Your place is looking much much better! Congrats! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bluesky3000 1 Report post Posted May 22, 2019 The upgrade seems so really great! Will definitely take a look at this contractor Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Makster 12 Report post Posted June 1, 2019 On 5/20/2019 at 7:04 PM, hdb4ever said: Your place is looking much much better! Congrats! Thanks! The price is even more amazing... Will blog about it soon! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Makster 12 Report post Posted June 1, 2019 On 5/23/2019 at 12:29 AM, Bluesky3000 said: The upgrade seems so really great! Will definitely take a look at this contractor Thank you! Just small upgrades but it makes moving in less daunting! For sure I couldn't live with bathrooms like the previous ones! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Makster 12 Report post Posted June 1, 2019 Bathroom Reno Hack and retile was my 1st option to redo the bathrooms but it'll cost 5 digits for 2 bathrooms.... Overlay was another and it was half the price. I've no experience with tiling but I've heard many people say there's a possibility tiles will pop up over time and overlaid tiles are not as durable... Then, I came across an article on EPOXY PAINTING Intrigued, I decided to find out more. You can Google "epoxy painting" or "polyurethane painting". It was almost perfect! I had no cracks on my tiles, they were just discoloured, stained, porous, and I hated the original light blue anyway! So painting seemed a good and very affordable way to change the colour and waterproof the tiles at the same time! Here's what I found out: epoxy painting is waterproof, mould-proof, doesn't discolour etc! In my painter's text to me: "polyuretane epoxy paint is weatherproof and waterprooof.very durable.use for painting ships and metal bridges..can wash with detergent,clorox everyday..can last long for toilets except cannot push or pull heavy furniture on the paint coz it can scratch.." So for $370/bathroom, walls and floor, what more could one ask for? My total cost for 2 bathrooms came up to $3000 including all WC, basins, cabinets, shower sets, lights etc. Basically changed everything except the heater as it was still good and this brand with stainless steel tank is now defunct (it's so good, nobody changed their waters heaters!) Oh btw, I had a great plumber. Really nice young chap and affordable & reasonable rates too. Fixed up everything in my bathroom incl WC, wash basin, cabinet, mirror, except the lights, shower which we DIY-ed using existing holes, and towel racks which my carpenter fixed. If anyone needs, here's his contact. Alvin: 9247 7110 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hdb4ever 3 Report post Posted June 2, 2019 Makster do you mean that with just epoxy painting for all your floor and wall tiles, they can look so gleamingly new? That's really amazing for just $370 per bathroom! What about the grout lines between the tiles - are they painted too? Is Alvin also the one who did the epoxy painting? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Makster 12 Report post Posted June 2, 2019 (edited) 12 hours ago, hdb4ever said: Makster do you mean that with just epoxy painting for all your floor and wall tiles, they can look so gleamingly new? That's really amazing for just $370 per bathroom! What about the grout lines between the tiles - are they painted too? Is Alvin also the one who did the epoxy painting? Hi! Yes! That's all we did for the floor and walls! Cheap & easy! No grout lines too.. all painted over. So no mould no black lines! I will post pics of the painting process soon. My painter is jaybon pro painter, mobile 8227 2177. You can find him on Facebook, he has a large repertoire! Everything incl cabinets can be painted according to him! My kitchen walls & floor were painted too! Alvin is a plumber. He dismantled the old WCs & basins and installed the new ones, as well as installed the sinks and faucets. Edited June 2, 2019 by Makster 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Makster 12 Report post Posted June 3, 2019 (edited) Ok so here are some pics as promised! Here's the bathroom with its original blue tiles! Everything whitewashed with 1st layer of primer. Remember to clean your bathroom thoroughly before painting - I used Mr Muscle to maje sure all mould is removed prior as painter won't have time to clean for you! My "new" shower frame is trendy black! Got my floors a coat of black to glam it up! And finally... New doors New WC New wash basin c/w stainless steel cabinet, mirror, shelf & side cabinet New shower set New stainless steel shelves New stainless steel towel racks New 3-way ceiling light New toilet roll holder New bidet So basically the only stuff we kept were our stainless steel water heater and our glass shower frame! Edited June 3, 2019 by Makster Typo Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
