The Experience: Our First Home

[spikedoll 2]

Hi summersan

I saw that you hacked your bedroom wall for window. Did HDB require PE endorsement ?

[summersann 6]

Hi summersan

I saw that you hacked your bedroom wall for window. Did HDB require PE endorsement ?

This is the wall that gave us a huge headache!

HDB put that wall on pending and approved everything else, so the ID had to leave that wall untouched for a few days after hacking started. After a week of taking-their-time, HDB replied our ID and told them that PE endorsement was needed. We called HDB ourselves and spoke to the officer, and he said he'd let us know again. The officer got back to us the next day, "must have PE endorsement". When we asked the officer why (inserting windows into a wall is just like how HDB installs windows in every flat. don't tell me HDB has PE endorsement for every window they install into a wall ), he just kept saying "because my supervisor says need". So we asked to speak to the supervisor The supervisor seemed to know what he was doing better, and he spoke to the technical department for us (apparently it's the technical department that decides when PE endorsement is needed). Finally, after another week, the officer called our IDs and approved the window for that wall

[spikedoll 2]

This is the wall that gave us a huge headache!

HDB put that wall on pending and approved everything else, so the ID had to leave that wall untouched for a few days after hacking started. After a week of taking-their-time, HDB replied our ID and told them that PE endorsement was needed. We called HDB ourselves and spoke to the officer, and he said he'd let us know again. The officer got back to us the next day, "must have PE endorsement". When we asked the officer why (inserting windows into a wall is just like how HDB installs windows in every flat. don't tell me HDB has PE endorsement for every window they install into a wall ), he just kept saying "because my supervisor says need". So we asked to speak to the supervisor The supervisor seemed to know what he was doing better, and he spoke to the technical department for us (apparently it's the technical department that decides when PE endorsement is needed). Finally, after another week, the officer called our IDs and approved the window for that wall

Thank you once again haha!

HDB only allow our hacking start on 22/2 so I guess there's still some time for us to "chase" hdb. Hopefully they can approve ...

[summersann 6]

Thank you once again haha!

HDB only allow our hacking start on 22/2 so I guess there's still some time for us to "chase" hdb. Hopefully they can approve ...

Good luck! Just be firm, it'll surely work. Doesn't make sense to pay hundreds of dollars to do something that's perfectly sound. Stress to them that the wall isn't even marked out as structural in the floorplan. We kept doing that, and the officer was like, "erm I'll check." Can sense they're just following (rigid) protocol -_-

Anyway, regarding the gate we're installing at the bottom of the stairs (to prevent our dog from running and falling when we're not home), our carpenter finally found something! Think we gave our IDs and carpenter headache for that gate. The carpenter found it in JB, so they're trying to modify it for the staircase now. *fingers crossed* I'll take pictures of it once it's up!

[retchlow 7]

Service yard

Hi where did you get this light from & how much? thanks in advance!

[HappyAng 0]

Hi summersann, very spacious and nice kitchen.

By the way, can share where is the sliding track for the shelving under the staircase? Is the sliding shelve soft closing? Is the shelve heavy to open?

[split84 0]

I love ur stair storage

[summersann 6]

Hi where did you get this light from & how much? thanks in advance!

Got it from egg3's outlet at Ann Siang. They carry different things at different outlets, so just call Ann Siang and ask about their "green changing room light". Can't remember if I got it for 69 or 89 though!

[retchlow 7]

Got it from egg3's outlet at Ann Siang. They carry different things at different outlets, so just call Ann Siang and ask about their "green changing room light". Can't remember if I got it for 69 or 89 though!

thank you!

[summersann 6]

Hi summersann, very spacious and nice kitchen.

By the way, can share where is the sliding track for the shelving under the staircase? Is the sliding shelve soft closing? Is the shelve heavy to open?

Eh... that's a good question! I have no clue I think it may be below the shelves? I only know it's Blum, does that help? It's soft closing and the shelves are heavy (if you compare to normal drawers) but not too heavy (I can easily open the shelves on my own and I'm rather small in size). I'm going down again on Friday to rectify some stuff so I'll remind myself to find out!

I love ur stair storage

Thank you! We hope it helps us with storing away things that would otherwise mess up the house and ruin the look. There's another compartment behind these 3 main shelves, but that compartment is just the usual store-room type (one big empty space), with 2 swing doors that open out (supposedly at a wider-than-normal angle). I realize now that I didn't check that compartment at all. Another thing to note for Friday! (so many things to take note of, how do people remember! )

thank you!

You're welcome I hope they still have it in stock! I found the receipt and it's $69. Got it during their sales period, so there was a 10% discount. Not sure if they still have that going on, you can check!

[summersann 6]

Oh dear, so many decisions to make, and racing against time because CNY is drawing close. Quite confused because I hate having to make decisions without seeing the actual outcome first. But obviously, you can't really wait to see the outcome before deciding if you want it

Comments and opinions are WARMLY welcomed!

1. Our windows currently look like this because the black strips are stickers, stuck on to prevent paint from getting onto the frame. However, the window handles are black because apparently window handles can't be powder coated. The window maker only has 4 standard colors to choose from for the handles (black, white, bronze and I-forgot-the-last-choice). Our window frames are powder coated to a color that we customized to watch our off-white walls, so the standard white window handle doesn't match our off-white window frames. The window maker chose the black handles for us, thinking it would be the best option out of the 4 standard colors. However, it's odd. ID suggested we could spray paint the handles to better match our frames, but spray painting means the paint will come off eventually.

Should we...

a. spray paint the handles

b. leave the handles in black

c. leave the handles in black and not remove the thin black strips lining each window pane so that there's some black to match the handles (although I can't decide if this would look weird)

2. We originally had to paint our wood skirting on the first floor white because the parquet on the 2nd floor was dark wood with a slightly red tinge. The IDs thought they couldn't reverse the staining done by previous owner, so they could only varnish and make the parquet brighter. But that would mean the staircase parquet strips would have to be stained to match the parquet on the 2nd floor. Naturally, this would also affect the wood tone on the first floor, so in order to not have a mess of wood tones, the IDs suggested we paint the wood skirting on the first floor white (instead of stain the skirting on the 1st floor just to match the parquet strips on the stairs & 2nd floor parquet, because then the 1st floor skirting would clash with our wood laminates in the kitchen). Are you confused yet? But, the good news is, after they varnished the 2nd floor parquet yesterday, they managed to remove much of the redness from the wood because apparently the staining by the previous owner didn't eat too well into the parquet So now our 2nd floor parquet is closer to a walnut tone, which means our staircase strips don't have to be stained too much just to match the 2nd floor parquet. Which means the skirting on the first floor can actually be varnished to be a little darker, but still retain its wood tone instead of having to be painted white! But the IDs did such a good job persuading me that the first floor skirting had to be painted white (because I was such a sucker for natural wood tone) so as not to clash with everything else, that I now can't imagine it in natural wood finish!

Should we...

a. leave the first floor skirting the way it is in natural wood tone

b. paint the first floor skirting white (I'm actually leaning towards this because I don't want the skirting to draw attention away from our furniture)

2.5. Mom's bedroom.Our bedroom.

The issue above about the first floor skirting also made me think about the skirting on the 2nd floor. Should we paint it white too to make the place more interesting? Because dark wood skirting seems a little "obiang".

3. Using the same pictures of the bedrooms above, the last issue that needs deciding on: Curtains.

The curtain maker suggested curtains that reach the floor. We quite agree with him because we looked at a few pictures and also studied a few places where we spotted curtains that only just cover the window frame, and felt that short curtains often come off as a little cheap, especially when mismatched with the rest of the room's look. So long curtains it is! But, the problem now is, where should the curtain start? Ceiling or under the beam?

If you take a look at the picture of our bedroom and our mom's bedroom, our wardrobes are quite tall and almost reach the ceiling. If our curtains start from below the beam, it would look SUPER odd right? The wardrobes would be taller than the curtains Also, looking specifically at our bedroom, there's hardly any space between our wardrobe and the windows (as it is, when we open the door of the last panel, it hits the beam. but that's a small hiccup that our IDs say they can solve when we meet on site on Friday).

Should we...

a. start our curtains (for both bedrooms) from the beam anyway because it'll look alright (though I highly doubt it would )

b. start our curtains (for our bedroom) from the ceiling, just have usual curtains that are drawn from both sides and squeeze a panel of curtains between the wardrobe and window

c. start our curtains from the ceiling, but for that part of the room, let the curtains draw from only one side of the wall

[summersann 6]

Wow, I have to give credit to my IDs for this. We only started thinking about the curtains late last night, and that was when concerns started popping up in our heads. Messaged our ID and he got back to us this morning, asking us in detail what our concerns were. The boy spoke to the ID over the phone and the ID agreed with us about it being weird if the curtains are shorter than the wardrobes. He said he'd call us back after he calls his wife and the curtain maker to discuss.

Just as I posted the previous long post asking for help, the boy called to tell me that our ID called him and they have noted our concerns and the curtain maker has revised his suggestions. Our curtain problem is solved!

So now I only have to have a headache over the window and skirting

Edited January 29, 2013 by summersann

[razzberrie 3]

I like the black strips, but I think you should just leave the thinnest ones directly next to the glass panels. As for the skirting, I tend to think white would look better as I've seen a few homes with wood floors and white skirting and they go well with the Scandinavian theme.

[benauhc 3]

I think white skirting for the whole house will look nice for your different wood flooring.

For the windows, I would remove all the black stickers. I think the off-white frames go better with your interior. If you don't plan to paint the black handles, just leave them as they are.

[beejeebee 0]

Wow I just finished reading the whole thread and I have to say that you are constructing a beautiful home for yourself, summersann

Totally gonna camp here to see the results!