DoubleJ

wah, sianz. got the same thing on sunday @ kongtai. but lugi $300 voucher. if not can buy extra quilt and bedsheet liao. must collect agent freebie before 16th meh?

haha. mine cheap cheap only cos i baby EA ba. most packages i saw, very basic stuffs already 18-19k for EA package. all with normal $2-2.5 tiles,minimum carpentry,not inclusive of electrical/plumbing/painting. my reno very simple only cos pocket not deep enough. did full tiling for all flooring and toilet walls, laminated 3 rooms, false ceiling living/study room. carpentry are 1x9ft full ht shoe cabinet,1x8ft full ht tv wall/console, 1x 8ft WIW with laminate, 30ft kitchen cabinet, 6ft vanity cabinet. add in electrical and plumbing and full painting. think my final bill should be around 26 or 27k ba. most of the cost are from the better tiles cos felt more worth it as those are to last & didnt like the "orbit" hdb tiles. carpentry kept to minimum. if you ok with the HDB tiles. think no more then 25k enough already. EA units around 30k+/- should be ok for something nice ba. EMs are the expensives one to reno. keke.

wah, SUPER deal sia. You're so lucky,was there on day one but didnt managed to get 2 agent Cat-D gift offered..so went to other place buy as was offered lower then $2499 with the same sitex freebies i got quoted on day one. my set cost about 1.5k after offset the gifts. Btw, does the set you getting have iDTV? was told by someone from GC, there is one without iDTV being the A650A1R,lower in value so sitex can give more freebie if using that model, or maybe the guy was misleading me as never went back to sitex to verify liao... also noticed your HTS differ from the ones sumsung giving with wireless module? Haiz,all of the good deals are from the stage promotions limit to 5 sets or less. impossible to camp there 12hrs everyday sia. must be really really lucky to be there at the right time and chiong like siao or get insider news ba cos i noticed whenever those stages is about to annouce good deals, lotsa salemans using hp in the background liao. so in actual think about 1 or 2 set can make it to a lucky unknowing guy ba.

we postponed all deliveries till mid dec, due to carpentry not completed yet. think our carpenter weekend go Genting hoot till 'buay lin chu' liao. ID can't get through his hp too.haha.can't wait to recieve all the furnitures and stuffs in & see our place take it's shape.

Hmm..hang string or desing farbic/panel curtains to hide the corner? but might cover abit of the window grills. your sofa delivered liao ah. can nuaaaa in it liao! haha...so didnt you tried to stunt their tray bo? keke.

Dunno your unit size so aga aga say what i can see ah.hope it helps in your decisions. Masonry Works: can't say much as dunno floor size and tiles range u are able to select. but can save $ by not tiling the HHS. hardly walk in there anyway. Plumbing: market rate ba i think. Electrical Works: Good price! labour doesnt come any cheaper liao ba. Painting Works: need confirm them if pipes/door frames etc inclusive or not. can use all-in-one paints bo? job description too vague.not in your favor. Flooring Works: normal ba,usually per rm about $600. Carpentry Works slightly ex abit. i think.usually about $90/ft i think. Misc Works : Roller binds too ex le.outsource your curtains and binds better i think. 2.5k outside can get some really good stuff le. if use ikea binds for all 3 rooms,will cost around 1k cheaper ba.

Great terms!!! Ceiling wise, i think no choice la,realised sure slanted esp higher floors more obvious.false ceiling or a broader Lbox can hide the slanted feel but once you do normal Lbox(18"?) only then obvious liao ba, for my case when i saw the end product then they tell me the slanted issue is not their fault,but before the Lbox hardly notice such a big slant, as the difference is too much to accept. my ID agreed with my point and say the slant suay suay at a obvious angle of view,he said if they did mine in a 5" and 4", it wouldnt be so obvious once the lower side is over the other corner. the ceiling guy agreed to try fix to their best after exchanges of tai-chi strokes.so far, mine not so obvious now. keke.

the false ceiling guy sure take the laser out again la. that time i measure the height of the ceiling to my Lbox edge. one corner is 4". other corner is 5" so i tell him. if he so sure HDB can build a flat with ceiling slanting at 1" diff then i'll call HDB here another day see what they say lo. but usually i speak to them in a very silly way la. i dunno leh, it give me the kicks when i see their faces so shock someone so childish can shoot them back with a silly smiling face. they'll realise this fool wanna eat tiger liao & back off..keke. andway they rectified my Lbox. now is 4" and 4.5" from ceiling at both corners,not so obvious liao but i still can see la so think ID pacify me with the cheap and good painting i guess.Give & take lo. If they sincerely wanna continue you say gotta make sure everything black and white now if case they play you out again. how long is their warranty for you? usually 2-5yrs ba. get them to extend it in black & white if you can. just say if you were to let them continue everything, you'll need some assurance on your side that they are gonna take it seriously.you're not out to push prices or get freebies, just need a good job done and will pay them readily. And with extra warranty issued it'll make sure they'll take all things seriously liao cos then they'll make sure it's build to last. if they say cannot then no point liao cos they themselve dont even have confidence their job for you will last ma. But do take note that it's industrial practice not to take over reno jobs halfway if you decided to drop them. As if any problem pop up later on & owners starts looking for someone to bear responsibilty. the 2nd guy will find themselves involved in a conflict with the owner and first guy and things does get ugly from there.so most ID choose not to take over jobs. kinda like a taboo for them. so must find a good carpenter and get the wood works done. can get friends to help you out with the painting if they are free lo or your neck sure break if painting alone. usually 3 days to paint a flat alone+1 week of yokoyoko application after that.hehe

goood, must stand up when you get pushed too far. this sat when meeting, you should walk in with muddy soccer boots & sit on their sofa with sweaty body then slowly write your cheque. lolx btw,my painting cost only 1K with sealant+plastering up all the "beam lines" and can use any paint from ICI/nippon.of course i choose all the best la, i even used the new ICI Light&Space for all my ceilings,Lbox lo.haha. Main gate,balcony,toilet pipings,all door frames,even the HHS frame oso they painted too out of my expectation cos it's gonna be cover up anyway ma! And still my quite shocked ID can tell me he still got earn abit after learning my extravagant choice of paints. Your ID's 1.4K & he still can tell you let him earn abit? really must

wah, the carpet you brought is which type de, good price leh. i also wan! how is the quality for their carpet when u saw it? if not bad then think i go hoot too liao. can collect and deliver yours too if u want. haha. btw,how much did it cost to "blur" your window?thinking of doing it for extra privacy too.

wah, the quote looks kinda expensive to me, also not very detailed. mostly you are looking at around 50-60K for the stuff you wanna get done based on your quote. you might wanna give other firms a try first,state a low budget first and work within your basic 'needs' before your 'wants' like island kitchen so they dont mark up till the sky and work on it,no budget = continue to chop you up till you say stop,it'll be too late for you by then.haha. take about 1 month to get at least 5-6 quotations as your unit usually cost more to renovate,not forgetting it'll also cost more to furnish,the 3 toilets alone will set you back close to 3k for something normal only. so really gotta think twice and not land yourself in a crisis later. Actually quite lousy when you spend such a big amount and only get a free aircon.but free gifts are a gimmick mostly costing from your own pocket anyway like kate mentioned. ask for more discount without any freebies better. A good & willing ID is needed to save cost la, for example,my id asked the tiling & ceiling works guy to plaster my walls abit when they are done, then later ask the painter guys to plaster abit too and finally i saved on those plastering which i needed cos it's almost done.haha, and my painting only cost around 1k with full house sealant,ICI+Nippon top range paints and patching of all those 'beam lines' on the walls.And i told them to come 3 trips,as i wanna see how the colors will be like first before commiting to the other rooms. My ID even let me use the new ICI Light&Space for all my ceilings.usually others give you those 25L maltex only. they told me they doing my painting as a favor only, and i dont even spend close to what you are currently looking at to deserve such favor. maybe you can approach them to get a quotation lo,not bad at all.

Not true, some nice shops like lite-vault and edison lighting which i've been to encouraged me to take all the pics i want,go back think about it or compare price/designs with other places before commiting with them. thats before i even asked them if i could, but i felt we as shoppers should have the courtesy to ask first,some shops not so friendly to cameras or request for prices over phones de. usually cos they know their prices are rip-offs and cant survive any comparisions so might as well scold you now when they have the chance cos you wouldnt be coming back after you reach the next shop and know the better deal.

wahaha, never had they imagine a day they'll need to 'rent' their own house,but still cheaper then hotel sia,should charge more ma. earn back the cov.haha. if they stay another mth you can buy Brunswick tables without feeling any pinch liao. haha.

My Lbox also had this problem, raised the issue to my ID & the ceiling guy even took out his laser thingy to show its leveled. but still agreed to fixed the what looks to be "uneven" part. thou after fixing still not very even.dunno how to say,that part still felt funny somehow,like can see more of the inside compared to the other corner. Anyway, Choose to keep quiet & avoid any grudges between anyone first till everything is done,then its time for me to pick the bones liao.hehe.they wanna play,i play lo. what ticked me off is that...most of the general workers, dont QC their own job at all. They just leave it when done then hope the owners are too blind to spot their booboos. we complain then the contractor come down hoping owner are too ignorant to challenge them. mind showing the end result of their rectification? wanna see how well they are able to fix it. my problem area looked very similar like yours.

actually if the wall is not tiled, u can knock knock on it. hackable walls and beams sound quite different de, but think u better call up the authorities and ask ba,cos the floorplan all bold lines de,so strange. this kinda thing better know it from someone 'official'. get a black and white before u commit to the flat and even start hacking. if not later alot problem de. :x

Actually we also realised there's some real examples around us after she mentioned it so we kinda accept it without much resistence, and not hack the MBR. But of course not all that hack their mbr will get into that kinda situation for sure, think alot depends on the house,the people and many other factors. she said our unit's layout and surroundings not ideal already so she say better dont play play lo. Shhhh..Wait they'll know that's the main underlying reason. Went over to my place after they did the first cleaning with my ID. first time can walk barefooted in my house.haha. but still quite dusty. Anyway was in a rush for time this afternoon so only managed to take some pics. Reno Update: Completed Tiling,electrical,ceiling works Quite happy with the tiler's workmanship so far! The electrical and ceiling-work guy was very professional too! The plumber wasnt that good thou. they didnt install a tempered glass panel which was suppposed to be mounted between the bracket & tap and the panel is lost,think thrown away with the debris already,i specifically shown them the piece as i was afraid they missed it and still they can forget to install it! Also the basin bracket was not secured enough, it'll wobble abit & the hand-shower,rainshower,sink wastage pipes not aligned correctly,pipe and the "wastage" each going towards diff direction. Haiz...Dunno wanna laugh or cry. They also funny,why dont they bother to check their work and stop after everything is nice nice. One look at it,can see its not even close to being aligned and the showers are all slanted slightly. waste their own time by balantly leaving behind such crap, i'll sure tell them to come back rectify again ma..dont like their attidude at all.waste everyone's time and possible tiles.The nice tilers will prolly need to come back again due to their incompetence. But good thing is we have a quite "old-bird" ID, younger ones prolly afraid to offend anyone.Saw him pick up the phone and gave the plumber some #*$&@** ...think the plumber owe him some money ba.he totally owned him. haha.

Thanks thanks, we actually have alot in common leh, our sofa,wall color,lighting all very similar sia.Even our surname same too! Hehe. got feeling when completed,our place might be quite similar too! Actually i told my ID not to produce any 3D, as their cost will end up with me somehow. till now had been relaying my ideas to him using simple sketches and pics. works out pretty well and fast as both of us are able to visualize the stuff readily. Haha, roger that!! Hail to the legend! Hehe,i liked the feature tile the moment i saw it, infact i changed my whole bathroom tiles which i selected long ago.if you noticed i didnt include my bathroom floor/wall tile in the pics as my ID "haulage" it away le.now nothing to take pic off le. haha. Tiling is completed already, taking some pics after they washed up tomorrow awaiting the painter. will update again tomorrow. hopefully can take some good pics using my trusty hp.

The decision to hack both the MBR and study met with strong disapproval from our "FS advisor" aka my 3rd-Aunt. She was pretty reluctant to disclose the reason at first till i bugged her to explain. The reason is if we hacked the MBR, there is a higher chance of the ppl sleeping inside being involved with a third-party. How true was it we dont know, But since we did saw some real examples of ppl we know having affairs and had a enlarged MBR, we reluctantly heed her advise as we know thou she is not a real master in business, she followed a few well known Thai monks and FS masters and are like their apprentice in a way.She was always our family's supernatural guru. But of course it's a belief,not a fact.so please take it with a pinch of salt. Anyway i firmly reason with her to hack the study room at least in order to "bring in" more light from the adjacent window. And the result will be very good, with the living room brighten up, there arent anymore dark corners and the air circulation within the house will be further improved aka "The Qi". She agreed with my point and so it was FS:1 vs Design:1 for the day. only downside is...it'll make the beam turned into an eyesore right in the middle of the "expanded" living room. Anyway,we had confirmed our deal with StateArt Interior @ TPY,was introduced to them by a friend whom got his house done up by them. i saw the result and was relatively impressed with the workmanship/material. Gave them a shot thou they are a relatively new name. but it seems most of their staffs are "old-hands" from other established names so at least it adds a level of security for me. I would say i am a very difficult customer after being educated by renotalk.haha. But still they shown interest in my project thou i keep pushing their prices down unlike some others i 've spoken to,didnt bother to do follow up anymore once they know i did my homework and know my stuffs. We closed the deal @ about 25k finally and hope for the best. The One & Only Hack: Fetching Light For tiles, we took nearly 2 week visiting at least 4 tile shops. Finally confirm most of my tiles from LSH and 1 feature wall tile from Hafary. Ending the tile selection with like 2 big bag of sample tiles with my ID.He say he need charge me haulage to clear those from his office liao. haha. The hafary titles was supposed to be very "Bling", but it wasn't so "bling" when they delivered the actual tiles, quite disappointed. we tiling one full wall with it in hope to add some 'bling' to the dark bathroom. well,can only hope it'll turn out at least ok now.

*waves back* our number not too small la, should be confident enough for new estate with lotsa unit per lvl/blk,but we eyeing those repo and leftovers sole unit in matured estate de,so kinda no guarantee also. infact we lost one of our choice to ppl infront too. hehe. ya lo, we even saw a unit with black galaxy granite flooring through its half closed windows! but was taken up before our turn,would had been a very good steal! haha. but then the hdb aunty made a very good point too so we gotten a new unit in the end. like buying new car, can get the "new" smell ma.haha. keke, thanks. You still considering your rainshower ah? get the crizto one la. value for money. The disappointment was replaced by a stronger drive already.hehe,now picking up the challenge together with my ID to get what we want with our limited space. Still planning to squeeze the WIW in somehow. as for the pooltable, saw those that convert to dinning table. didnt like the look and build of the table.so gonna try something else.but leaving this till the last part when most of the furniture are in place to better visualize the available space.

Finally decided to start my own T-blog here after i had benefited from all the informative threads and helpful members. For me,i had never had the practice to 'journal' down anything but this whole process had been such an overwhelming experience till i decided to write something on it, do bear with my extensive use of broken english,singlish and possible 'cold-humour'. We had participated in the april ballot and was lucky enough to get a good number.But on our appointment day, we still can't decide our choice unit,due to the fact our appt is the later half of the day and if we 'choice' our units,we might meet with possible disappointment if the few others before us took it. it'll hurt deeper when u are so near the finishing line ma. So we didnt had a first choice when it was finally our turn still.haha. And there we were, sitting @ the HDB aunty's desk with a blank look on our face when she asked what is our choice. Actually we were leaning towards getting the repo 5rm units with about 123/128sqm due to the cheaper $$/sqm & lower tariffs/conservency but somehow the HDB auntie managed to "psycho" us against getting a repo flat. Thinking back what she said is pretty true,we're hardly able to get a good shot at new flats the next time unless we are so sure we can get good numbers again & can afford the levy,its now or never to be able to really get a brand new flat. And so we settled for our selection, a 125sqm EA new unit in JW. And thus the journey towards having a place of our own finally begins... Our Floor Plan Collected our keys in july,was pretty suprised that it was the same HDB aunty that was passing us our keys,we started to think she was a fairy in disguise sent to guide us in purchasing our first home. Our planned "door-opening" was about 1 week later. we are so eager to know how our unit will turn out as we made our purchase based on the floorplan only,hardly able to visualize the actual space. My wife was hoping the MBR would be big enough to accomodate a WIW without hacking the other bedroom. I was hoping there would be enough space for a pool-table! Finally the uber long week has passed,we completed part-one of the ceremony and i stepped into our place for the first time. i went around throwing salt+rice+5color beans.after it's done, we finally had chance to take some pics and take a closer look at our new place.Took the chance to hold my wife's hand in the living room and tell her my promises with very man tone like the movies,before leading her to the kitchen to show her her new work place! And the house was filled with a burst laughter and a slight tint of happinese for the first time...my own 'ceremony'. First Contact: The Bare Truth Living room looks ok,but the walkway is very dark due to the shape of the flat that hardly any light is able to reach there. Was very disappointed with the MBR, the size is like my current room,a normal 4-rm bedroom!! Even if we hacked the other room,it'll prolly be like my parents MBR! Haiz.felt so shortchanged with the "EA" tag over the unit. Kitchen & toilet is narrow and small,with the usual 'orbit' tiles. actually i had expected more from a EA unit after seeing a couple of em. the only consolation is that it's very windy!the airflow of the unit is very good. other then that,me and my wife left the place with a sunken heart. Prolly gotta kiss goodbye to the WIW & pool table already.

wah..where is the shop u brought this? very nice leh. roughly how much? i'm looking for those long long type of lights.dunno how to call those.. noticed got a few more in the backgound looks quite interesting de. wanna go check em out leh.

The white was really nice in full hor, but went for black instead as easier to mantain and the diff between the 2 type of material not obvious. we took lowback as our sofa placed in the middle of our living room. if agaisnt wall we sure take highback de,so comfy!! maybe u can try ask for the tray when they call u to confirm delivery,just ask to doublecheck all items mentioned,say you thought is one set de how come not included they still put,90% can de ba. i even asked for the throw cushions too as they displayed it on the sofa.lol. but didnt wanna push the guy too much so i backed off. u should get the tray if u guys nua alot.custom fit for their sofa de, dont even need to move at all put drinks beside u le. can stop ppl with watches scratching the leather too. u using what color in your MBR?mysterious? very nice leh.

ooh, half leather too right? i brought the other lowback model, the white color one displayed at the door there near yours.hehe. total 3m too. totally went there 3 times before confirm till i also paisey. i think yours cost more cos they add in the 'customise' fee,initally we wanted to make slightly bigger & was told additional $150 for each "square" area i think...by right yours should be cheaper iirc. did they give you free leathercare+the wooden tray they put at the side too?

wah,first time see HDB work so fast. 1 week settle! BTW, your univonna sofa is it the ALEX series? i brought half-leather 2.5EL+1L @ $2050. just wondering if i managed to get a good deal or not.haha.

a contractor once told me that he can use CHAMPS-Titanium instant heater to run my rainshower. power can fight with storage,but am sure such a "premium" item cost more then a $200+ storage for sure.. how true is it i dunno, maybe you can ask around. but due to the lack of infomation for me to get confident enough with it,i settled for storage still. hehe. dont wanna disappoint my wife if the gamble failed as she always wanted a rainshower. almost all of the shops i spoken to suggested only storage. but you can try it out since you already had no plan for mixed pipes, nothing to lose ma. thats the only model someone ever told me can support rainshower.