Sue79

Wahhh kthc!! Finally pictures of ur rounded balcony homey...hehe...Nice lah ur reno...I am so loving it...Esp. the feature wall for the bombshelter, backsplash for kitchen etc...so nice!! I'm now tempted to go to Yeak la...How eh...hehe...But again...I've still got a long way to go..but time flies..I know!!...Been doing my homework lately....talking to Ids & such..from 0% duno wat to do..become 70% know wat to do liao. But hor..I still find our kitchen super small. I'm like confirmed wanna hack the wall separating the kitchen & dining to extend the kitchen ley..seriously, the kitchen like cannot survive ah..Yours look pretty cool though u didn't extend it rite.. Post more pics ar can??..Maybe further shots so I can see the unit as a whole..thks in advance ah...

Yeah...I asked one Id liao..but they say...if overlay walls, make the bathroom look smaller...so I dunno how significant it would be leh..but I was thinking..couldn't be so much smaller rite..how thick can the tiles be mah...hmm...

Yeah...yeah...save now then later gotta pay double to repair the 'trouble'!...Thks chronograph!...

Thanks Santav & Eiffel76. Yeah....I guess so its much safer to hack & relay the tiles back. I went to ask around quite a no. of Id firms & contractors and was advised to do so...especially for the kitchens & toilets... So I guess, no choice oredi...

Hi Renotalkers, need your opinions on the following ideas which I have in mind. Does it cut cost significantly? Or issit better just to hack everything & replace with new ones? Any pros & cons of the following actions? Pls..do gimme ur advice big or small..If you have better ideas or alternatives, I'll be more than glad to heed wherever possible...All will be greatly appreciated. Thanks alot.. * Mine is a 5rm resale unit of abt 8yrs old and I am thinking of redoing the whole wall & floor tiles. As I have a budget to work with, I really need to plan my reno works esp. with the floorings and such... 1) Living - Hack & replace with homo tiles 2) Dining - To construct platform, so no hacking 3) 3 Bedrooms - Overlay with laminates 4) Kitchen a) Flooring - Hack & replace with homo tiles ( Unsure if can just overlay?) b) Wall - Hack & re-tile (Unsure if can just overlay?) 5) 2 Bathrooms a) Flooring - Hack & replace with homo tiles ( Unsure if can just overlay?) b) Wall - Hack & re-tile (Unsure if can just overlay?) Really appreciate your advice...Thanks many²...

Hi yhanie_17, so good price for an EA uh??...Whoahhhh...You doing total overhaul??...I am searching for an id/contractor who can do up my 5rm within my budget lei...Care to recommend me your id??... Thanks many² in advance yeah... Btw, saw ur T-Blog...whoahhhhh...such a big house you've got!! Can play catching liao...can't wait for your pictures..esp. the 3Ds that you'll be getting this Thur right??...

Any update on ur reno progress??...So quiet lehh...

Seller & buyer using same agent??..Oh no..not a gd idea coz there's tendency for conflict of interest to arise and complicate matters..Wish you luck yeah! Hope everything goes on smoothly for you.. Neway, I just called HDB today & realised that its taking 11wks+3days from the application submission date for one to get a 1st appt...Reason - High volume of appln. received at HDB end. OMG!!! Can't believe it...almost 3mths to get a 1st appt. & another 2mths to complete the sale process...

Yeah lor..they thought their so-called creative designs are so unique and special but I feel it fails in practicality aspect leh esp. for kitchen, study & the round balcony and MBR !! Abit tough..Huge pipes??...Oh my!! Dat will certainly takes up some precious spaces rite...whoahh..like dat how to put rice cooker, water boiler & all??..I still have a mini freezer to be brought over there...hmm..Yeah sure...hope it'll be real 'fun' but definitely brain wrecking for 'nuts abt reno' for me & hubz.. Yeap..understood we cannot hack the beams or foundations or wat wall..Heard frm my dad though. Guess he's referring to the black bold black lines on the flr plan. Yeah hor quite true. After hack sure need to build up wall again rite?? Can't be living & kitchen sitting together mah..so cartoon.. Ok, I'm zooming into Byr's thread now...ideass...ideass...Need creative juice supplement for my brain badly!!.. Thks kthc!

THANKS kthc...!!...Yah har..maybe I should start exploring Sembawang soon...Hope to discover another Jurong Point (my pride hor as a Jurong West resident)... over @ Sembawang... But I know got Sembawang Shopping Ctr oso rite... Ok lah...sumtimes when think back, have these shopping ctrs too near oso no good. It tends to lighten the wallet too often... On a serious note, oopss...I didn't know we can sumhow 'push' our appt. dates...Have alwys thought we had to stick to the dates given. Now, it takes abt 11 weeks from the date of application/submission to get the 1st appt. I checked today...if application is submitted today, the earliest avail. date for 1st appt. will be on 9 Oct...Aiyo!!..Dats 11wks & 2 days from today. You mean can request dis to be earlier meh? I doubt so right...coz EARLIEST APPT.DATE AVAILABLE mah..hmm.. Btw, since our unit layout is identical, any idea if its expensive to hack the kitchen wall adjoining the living room in an attempt to lengthen/stretch the kitchen? Coz I tink, I can't really bear to haf a kitchen dat small leh. I know by doing an open concept kitchen with the bar counter and all like you have done will make the kitchen look bigger right? But I cannot only make it 'LOOK' bigger ar..I really need a bigger kitchen as in bigger floor/space area leh. And also, I think if kitchen is stretched till the living, then may also need to hack 1 room behind the living area to make way for dining. Hmm..like dat many work rite..n oso wud mean more $$ for hacking all?.. Ok...for now shan't you further...I'll start to get ideas & do some reasearch/hmwork real soon. In the meantime, you keep ur posts coming in & I am so eager to see ur completed unit..with the rounded balcony and all yeah!! Good luck!!!!

Thanks kthc...you really make me feel at home!!.. I went for Blk 359X the pinky cluster..It's opposite yours (juz read the map, to locate yours )..Yours would be nearer to the MRT rite? Neway, thanks for the great intro of Sembawang as I am super new to dis estate..Its the West coming to the North you see.. . I do have an Aunt staying in Sembawang though, Blk 404 if I'm not wrong. But still am not so familiar with this area until recently when I went for house hunting & got myself familiarise abit abt dis estate. Yeah lor, 1st appt. still long way...till then everything is not confirmed yet rite. But if everything goes smoothly with no hiccups, I think I would be able to move in late Dec or maybe new year (after reno all; est.) I think HDB is facing with huge volume of resale application and its taking longer to get even a 1st appt. Jialat!! Anyway, now that I have found RT, I feel this is a great source for me to seek assistance or clear any doubts pertaining to housing & reno etc. besides the official HDB website & the HDB hotline which have been my 'true friend' before I met my agent.. I think I sumhow memorised the names of the customer service officers liao.. Ok back to reno matters, I was actually discussing wif hubz & was telling him, since we both are not artistic nor creative and we know nuts abt home reno, the procedures and all and worst with no contacts, we would definitely be 'smoked' by some unscrupulous IDs/contractors should luck decide not to be wif us during our search for our home reno later.. But hey! Now that I found RT, its like...Phewwwwwwwww!! At least there's some hope that we wun be burnt of our $$ ok!! After reading your entry, yeah, it do make sense that sourcing for your own items & getting the contractor to do the job is really cost-saving compared if you were to leave everything to the ID firm. But yeah har...it takes quite alot of time & energy since you are really involved in the whole reno process. So for your case kthc, you actually engaged Mr Yeak from Basic Image. He is a contractor & not an ID? Meaning you design your own house & source for your own items and let Mr Yeak & his team of workers do the job as per your instructions & design? And you were mentioning in one particular lighting shop, it was noted that the prices of lightings there are different as in more exp. if you were accompanied by an ID compared to you walking-in urself for the purchase where you get the cheaper direct price? Whoahhh..this is something real worth knowing...Thanks alot!! But one concern here, do the contractors advise us on the specifications of the required items coz one item may have many² types right? What if we happily buy liao..skali reach home, contractor say this one cannot fix and should require another type...whoahh...like dat more jialat rite running to n fro exchanging items...Pardon me..but I think I'm abit exaggerating liao in here abt the need to run about due to purchase of wrong item type.. but frankly, I do haf such thoughts ok which I think is pretty ridiculous to most of u in here... Paiseh!! Dun me hor...I told you I'm new right ...Sorry...Sorry... Ok...so long composition frm me above..I think I'll be using RT as a platform to guide me around when the time comes later. And I'll definitely be one of those who will be taking up recommendations by you guys in here. Coz I dun really haf any contacts/recommendations from any of my friends or relatives as I think they happily engage ID to settle everything for them from designing to sourcing of items & ultimately the reno works. I dun see anyone running around searching for items like taps, toilet bowl etc. on their own mah. This is the reason why I perceived that everything should be done by the ID/Reno firm we engaged and I didn't know that there is a cheaper alternative of engaging a contractor till I found RT!!!...So ignorant of me ok!! Thanx to RT and all the great pple in here... Think when the time comes, I'd have done my homework & set to go..hopefully!! Anyone who njoys being an ID for free (read: for pure enjoyment/interest) or or wants to be my mentor can also volunteer to assist me ok... For now...I shall start with a clear mind, try to grasp as much as I can and 1st & foremost...must get the hang of RT...still quite blurr abt the features in here... Oh...not forgetting, to feast my eyes on the beautiful & so heavenly home creations you guys in here... * Sorry kthc to ride on ur thread wif my long-windedness...but can't help it lah...I got so all excited when I realised we had the same house layout causing the 'newbie character' in me to crawl out...but hey...I did learn some impt. things too frm ur reply ok..THNKS!!

Hi kthc & all..I'm a newbie in RT...Was browsing thru & chance upon ur thread. I've juz signed & excercised OTP for a 5-rm unit in Sembawang too & ur floor plan seemed soooo..soooo...familiar...rounded balcony & MBR...4 rooms & a pathetic squeezy kitchen ...Neway, I've got a long way to go la...1st appt oso dunno yet So I shall be following ur thread rather closely ok.. For ideas.. And hope I can get useful recommendations on ID/reno firms; good workmanship/quality/price aspects. I was glancing thru others thread too & was wowed with how you owners are so involved in the reno of ur respective units . Noticed you guys have been running around to find not only ur furnishing, ovens & hoods but also stuffs like tiles, downlight bulbs, taps, varnishing services etc...Hmm..I'm a bit blurr with all these actually. I thought, we just need to go to an ID/reno firm which will help us wif the design of the unit and once we have finalised the layout & design everything, we juz need to make our choices for tiles, paint color, cornices etc frm there and dat's it??..ID/reno firm will handle everything rite?? And we only need to go ard searching for items like fridge, dining table, oven?? Neway, I still have a long way to go...but I do njoy reading ur postings & love looking at pictures hoping to learn sumting here & there though I know nuts abt renoworks (the term 'trunking' & all seemed so alienated to me; die la like dis how to reno house in future? ) Btw, you guys seem like a bunch of caring, helpful, resourceful & soooo..soooo...united kinda of people yeah...Good luck in ur renoworks & keep ur fantastic ideas flowing in selflessly...

Hi...I was desperately looking for a 4 or 5-rm unit ard Sembawang & Woodlands for the past 2 weeks or so. Current resale mkt is really booming now... Sellers asking super high COV when the valuation is already high..Greedy rite! Taking advantage of the current mkt situation. Based of my experience after viewing 8-10 units along the abovemention areas, I truly agree that sellers are becoming more & more greedy & ridiculous...Eg.a 4-rm unit just opp.Sembawang MRT which already had a valuation of $345K (super steep ok!), yet the seller is still looking at $15K COV. Daylight robbery!! $360K for a simple & small 4-rm unit with no reno done at all. Crazy!! Juz because the location is super near to the MRT and becoz of the high flr, it doesn't really justify the super steep price. Btw, the above is juz one of the many ridiculous encounters with ( so-upped Val. & COV) I've had during my search for a place called home. Anyway, thanx to my agent, I have managed to settle for a 5-rm unit still around Sembawang at below valuation. And its still cheaper than many other non-deserving 4-rms. OTP signed few days back. Wish me luck yeah for a smooth journey ahead... * And oh yeah!! Its still quite near to the MRT...5-7min walk I believe... "The two most powerful warriors are patience and time." So pls be patient to urself in ur search for a place called home & rest assure, u'll nvr need to succumb to greedy sellers.. Good Luck!! Juz my 2 cents worth...