pinkpetter

You are right. Not all concrete walls and beams are not hackable.. it depends on the layout of your entire block, which floor you're on, etc. ... if you're on the 2nd floor and you want to hack the concrete walls (the basic structure), it'll be much much harder to get your permit approve as compared to the fella on the top floor... since no one depends on the top floor guy. As such... HDB layout plans always have the walls forming the outside of the house in bold... but it's still possible that it can be hacked... familyof4 got hers done. And when I was viewing flats I saw a few also. however... it's still a maybe.

You're so right about a spacious and airy kitchen... she wanted to hack all the walls except the bedroom and toilet ones... haiz... sigh If her ultimate wish comes true... and HDB upgrades us and gives us a service balcony or some room at the back (which I will turn into a washing area for her) then I would consider hacking that corridor wall.

haha and Adrian makes the air easier to breathe! And I think he's right Aubrey... go easy on the fast food... get rest when you can...

yay.. i'm happy for you la worldangel... I was going to say... that Uncle Soon is uber busy...all the way until the end of the year... so cannot just base on our reviews and you decide to get him. Must source for a few quotes (like supersimon's) and then decide. OH supersimon! Yours is Henry ah? Henry is pretty good from what I see so far too

I feel guilty taking up space in Aubrey's blog. Aubrey, please forgive me. I just want to say... it's our own choice. And it'll be your choice too whether or not you want to take up Uncle, knowing the circumstances. That's what this forum is for... for us to inform each other. I think except for Native and lushbelle (who weren't very active here) that time, I was mostly left to my own to experience Uncle's way of doing things. (he was also busy then.) Now that everyone knows that the situation is like this, and still sign up.. then that's a choice made. Nothing to regret about. Then have to make the best of things instead of wallowing in "why didn't I choose the other guy..." Then I hope in your case, you will seriously consider and re-consider engaging Uncle... if you are not prepared to do some project management. Like I always tell others, most importantly, we must feel comfortable with the person doing our house... haha and for your info.. that month of december... is the one time of my life I spent the MOST time with my parents... I couldn't wait for it to end.......................................................... *pull hair out*

... ya.. it'll look awful.. and I cannot imagine keeping the kitchen 100% neat and clean all the time.. can die. It's all HDB's fault. My mom always wanted to buy the recess area but we were not allowed to buy when we were buying the unit. And after the purchase of the unit was complete we were so busy with reno, no one had the time to deal with the stupid recess. So it was after we moved in then we tot about the recess and started this ultra long process of getting it... Thank you... I hope so. I'll try to explain to them next week when I have more time. Meanwhile I let them sit on it and think about it themselves. Maybe they will realise the same. Oddly, my mom usually has a pretty good sense about such things... didn't realise she was so determined about the wall going away.

wah yowetan.. that's a very long post. I'm not sure about how Aubrey feels exactly... Just wondering if you read the other blogs... people who had IDs... they were stressed during reno too and they had mistakes to be rectified too... It's not just us. Although some more and some less really. ANYONE WHO DID NOT HAVE A SINGLE MISTAKE IN YOUR RENO PLEASE FEEL FREE TO BOMBARD ME! For myself, it was a personal choice. That statement about the 10k and 20k... what if I told you that my reno would have cost 45k in another person's hands? And in Uncle hands it's only 25k? I couldn't fork out that extra 20k even if I wanted to. and 45k wasn't the most expensive quotation. Service-wise, you really have to divide it out.... Uncle really tries his best to provide good quality and service. It's his bunch of workers who vary from time to time. Like Ah Wei the carpenter is a good carpenter... while some others are crap (and got fired). Maybe for Aubrey and the rest you all really felt very very stressed with Uncle's way of doing this. I was ok. I enjoyed the process of designing and managing the workers... making last minute changes whenever i wanted cos Uncle wasn't there and I was managing them in a way. The people who gave me stress weren't Uncle and his men. I totally agree with the last paragraph though. I hope people who want to sign up really read through carefully and get more quotations before you decide. It's not a sit back and relax kind of journey.

mmm don't think it's yellowing though .. it's a different tone of white... the one of the right looks greyish. what a fix. Aubrey If I were you, I'm not sure I would want him to go out and buy... cos if he does... don't know when he will come back. I rem something like that happening at my house... the fella went and never came back that day. Worker's mentality. hopefully Jason will have better news for you.

ahh ok la. then I think queen size bed will be better... with the soft base not those wood kind..

wah... including wall then it's different... hehe mm retiling of toilet walls and floors + waterproofing - $3k to $4.5k (Some IDs charge $5k+) tiles should be able to pick those $3/psf at least. labour to replace toilet bowl and sinks $400 (not including the thing itself) partial wall - $300 - $500... (depending on actual height and width) To make it nice since it's at the foyer... ask the person to make some shelf-like groves to place some ornaments (but collect dust la ) lol Kitchen cabinets... top and bottom are counted separately... so if your top is 15ft and bottom is 15ft, altogether 30ft, you'll have to pay $3k just for the cabinets. You'll probably need to factor in Plumbing ($700-$800?) and some electricals. Lights will cost you 1k-2k (if you're not going for very posh crystal ones...) sanitary fittings and kitchen fittings... will be the same... 15k if it's just the reno alone, should be enough.. but if you want to include furniture it'll be tough.

Ah? All three bedrooms no toilet mah.

haha so should we say welcome to you? mmm WELCOME! The bottom room is very big compared to the master and the other room! Why not swop rooms? mm the person sitting at the sofa will have her back facing the door... I personally find that a little scary but it's definitely a more clean cut way of putting the TV console.

The toilets... you're only doing the floor not the wall? There's a small complication there. Waterproofing for the toilet floor should be done across the floor and up to 1.5cm at the base of the wall. Which means a good (responsible) contractor will have to hack the bottom most wall tile in order to lay the waterproofing properly. This means you have to decide if you wish to use the floor tile to compensate for that wall tile (and it'll look like a skirting) or if you can find back the wall tile which was used to patch back. The current owners might have kept some tiles. mm what about toilet bowls and sinks? will you be changing those? Shower screens? Partial wall is made of hollow block (more solid) or partition? How long is your kitchen cabinet going to be? heh. and what kind of surface top? hacking and hauling - $2000? (a guess) Relaying of tiles + tiles - $600 - $800 Kitchen Cabinets - $90 - $120 per foot Solid surface worktop - $70 - $100 per foot Painting - $1200

YAY the plumber came and let me sign the documents! Now I can really look forward to all the documents being submitted and the purchase processed... That aside... Something very unhappy happened last night. My dad suggested to hack the wall between the kitchen and the access balcony. Actually Uncle Soon suggested it but I never liked the the idea... I flatly refused my dad... and I did it kinda meanly. I think I was too stressed last night having studied for 10 hours straight and was too tired for such talks. But can you imagine hacking that wall? it'll mean that the moment you step into the house you can see straight into the kitchen, the common toilet and all the laundry hanging there... Moreover the main door will be next to the rubbish chute!! sigh and the two old people were a bit upset. but aesthetically it's really... *sigh*

Hope everything will be ok for you!!! I read your problems about the recessed TV area... and did some measurements. It's such a good idea that I really think you should do it. It'll really make your living have such clean lines... 41cm recess into your room and the area will be behind the wardrobe and bookshelves right? If you make your wardrobe at the minimum of 62 cm, that will be roughly 1m into your room... you flush your bookshelf with your wardrobe for a neater look... The only thing is that when you put your clothes the sides might brush the doors when you close... but it's sufficient for hangers. Good luck. Don't be too stressed ok!

Because you're new I suggest you read through a few blogs before you decide if you wish to get his number. You can PM any of us to get some opinion first.

hehe yes we are... Not for the time being because we might need to do a little more additions to the house. Might have some at my bf's house if he comes back for good though Welcome

Wah certainly eventful... well I'm glad you decided to DIY the protection... cos if you ask the workers to cover... they will TEAR one small piece for themselves to stand on and move it as they work. That's what they did in my house. *faints* Looks like today will be exciting!!!!

HUH... wash bedsheets and curtains!! I really have to applaud your bravery... I feel like fainting just thinking about it... and I think I'm the paranoid sort... no matter how much we clean I'll still think it's dirty and I'll get itchy. Painting isn't as dirty but you really have to put up with the smell. and you need to shift your furniture around a little... mm I suggest getting the plastic (rather than the cardboard) so that you can cover your beds and not have to go through the hassle of washing the sheets again... cardboard also quite dirty right? The same shop that preciousjam is saying... should also have the plastic... they usually will sell both types...

WAH Janice! You all are brave! isn't it dirty and grimey??

huh. then I think you better not take the risk. $40 is a worthwhile investment in protecting your floors... Uncle gave me cos my mom and dad (the thicker skinned people of my household) asked him for it cos they wanted to lay on the floor while we were moving... You can try asking him... but he'll probably have to be the one to bring it to your place... does your place have any furniture at the moment?

.. ah? I got two rolls from Uncle that time. But if you wish to purchase your own... just go to any paint shop ... should cost about 40++ dollars each. I don't know Bukit Panjang well so can't direct you to a specific shop. This is indeed a good place to make friends.

wah... haha but he's never had breakfast with me leh... he had with Frank, the forummer who introed me, and another forummer. mm think he's much too busy these days to have breakfast. rrjan.. feel free to ask anything here ok? hope everything goes smoothly for you now.

hahahha that time I wanted to write toilet I dunno how to write in chinese too. In the end I used my HP to find. lol our chinese might just improve after this

haha alamak I answered this in my blog. So silly. They used one single piece of masking tape and tape a paper of any size on the top of the point... Anyhow taped. So at the end of it all, Uncle asked the workers to clean my points. mm I think the points we buy will not be cheaper than the ones Uncle get... but of course we get to choose nice nice ones la. hehehehhe