ah_beng

Hi, just to share my experience. Talking to different IDs is good to get ideas for space planning and also ideas on what kind of material to use etc. Through talking to different ID, you will realize what you need and what you don't and find out exactly what you want. But don't bother to compare prices from different ID companies. You will realize that for items that are quoted much cheaper, other ID companies quote them more expensive and yes, they come up to be the same price = expensive. Don't forget their commission is based on the amount of project they close. If you really want to save money, be the ID of your house renovation yourself and directly engage contractors to reduce the money paid to the middle man.

I did some research on Remote controlled Lights, Curtains and AV equipment when i bought my apartment. I was very inspired to do home automation. In Singapore, this is not very popular and if you engage a professional company to do it for you, it can cost more than $10K depending on the number of switches and the complexity. Else where in USA, Australia and New Zealand, home automation is very popular and they would build in motion detectors, temperature sensors and light sensors to control curtains, air con, lighting as well as AV equipment and all these are integrated to their home surveillance and security systems. Remote control switches are preferably programmable RF switches as they do not require line of sight. But these switches are expensive (per gang, some brands can cost up to $150). The less expensive ones are remote controlled by infrared IR but need line of sight for the control to work. (PS:-You might want to consider Philips as they also have remote controlled switches.) For me, i gave up the idea of remote light switches and use 2 way switches instead - improvements in conveniences but lower cost. For AV, Fans and Air Conditioning, I have a redeye system from US which uses iphone as the remote control interface. A professional programmable remote control can cost up to US$1500. For the redeye system, it is much cheaper. Basically it is an IR blaster which you can program a sequence of IR remote control commands for any devices at home which can be controlled using IR. Hope this helps and have fun...

The wooden top hung folding doors at the balcony look like they are in excellent conditions. You can easily polish them and re-lacquer them. Try to salvage if you can because new wooden doors now are of inferior quality compared to products made in the past. I regret changing the old bedroom doors of my EM. They are solid doors. Spend a lot of money to change to doors which are of inferior quality.

Blum runners are not that expensive... Simple runners for wadrobe or cabinets is about $30 a pair. The runners for kitchen for ORGA-LINE will cost more, stainless steel up to $80 a pair. These cost more because they include the side panels for the drawers. One way to reduce cost is to buy the runners with the carpenter, pay for it and ask the carpenter to install for you. The distributors sell them cheaper than blum at Ubi... you will be surprised. Because of the drawer design and size of the runners, it is better to get them when you are doing the carpentry, not after.

I design my place from scratch i am coordinate the work myself. The reasons for doing the work myself are as follows:- 1. With the same budget, i get better quality products - main con have to survive so i don't blame them for marking up and you pay them to coordinate for you. 2. I have plenty of time and not rushing to move in. 3. Some renovation stuff i can do myself and family can help - like plastering, painting, grouting etc. 4. I like challenges and would like to learn everything about housing renovations. 5. Travel a lot so i get to source materials from different parts of the world. 6. My cousin is a carpenter, my friend is an electrician easier to work with people i know. If you are technically inclined, can draw and design and have the passion i encourage you to design and coordinate the renovation work yourself. If you are not and rushing to move in, it is better to leave this to the professionals. You need to form a good team of contractors for your project to be successful. 1. The tiler and plumber - must work together. 2. The electrician, false ceiling guy and aircon guy must work together. 3. Depending on whether if you have electrical points or switches on your carpentary stuff, the electrician and carpenter may have to work together. For example lighting in the wardrobe. If you need advice, i can share my experience with you.