manutd1972

think for these 2 items, it'll be easier for ur budgeting, financial control and accounting if u include them in ur reno works for the 16k. Things tt are done by ID/contractor shld be lumped into 1 budget, wif separate budgets for those items tt u intend to out-source. when i was doing my budgeting, i also separated a lot of things, den along the way, combined some, and den as i started out-sourcing, separated them again, and as my reno is currently underway, the numbers showed tt i've saved quite a bit and managed to get quite a bit done wif my limited budget too.

this quote looks like a contractor's quote, rather than an ID's. also, the electrical part....definitely way too ex, in my opinion. works out to $50 for a single 13A, $60 for a double 13A, A/C and Heater $100 each? And the lighting points and labour for lights installation is inconsistent. under the "General Works", labour for lights installation is $8 per light, and each lighting point costs $45. But in the "Living" portion, 12 lights and lighting points add up to 516. Assuming same labour charge of $8/lights for installation, den each lighting point here works out to be $35 per point. That's a difference of $10 per lighting point! Moreover, at $35 per lighting point, it's oredi expensive. $30/point is more like the average though there are cheaper ones if u search hard enough. Chemical wash also charging u? den is he gg to use protection paper for ur flooring during the carpentry phase? cos no mention of it. is he gg to charge u for the protection paper? Living L-box for 480? how big is the L-box? and every little thing to do wif labour he also charging u. labour to install this and that. tt's where the extra came frm. u didnt say hw big is the floor area for the laminates. this one u might find a cheaper quote if u out-source. i knw i did. Having said that, ur budget of 20k for a whole house overhaul is a bit on the low side. Even though u didn hack most of ur flooring, it still wun add up much to it. hacking work is cheap compared to the rest of reno works.

sometimes frm our perspective, we may think it's the last day to do so....but sometimes the ID/contractor has built in extra time for his works, so ur last day may not be his last last day. usually if the tiles supplier has stock for the tiles u select, it is possible for them to deliver the whole lot required on the next day. so yes, it is prudent to be concerned and voice ur concerns, but dun overly worry until ur ID/contractor has demonstrated beyond doubt that he is really unable to handle it. fyi, my hacking started on 18th, i selected all but one of my materials on 20th. my tiling started on 29th.

u can try Wihardja. but as everton said, wat's affordable to u? wat is affordable to one may not be affordable to another.

just be honest and tell him tt u're not happy wif his service and wat he has done thus far. tell him u expected better service and closer project management. if he still doesn't improve, shoot him an email or sms stating all the past "events", "actions" by him tt u guys are displeased about. this is just to record your dissatisfaction with him in black-and-white to avoid future disputes. he cannot claim tt u did not express ur dissatisfaction to him.

why only 1 store? my ID brought me to 2 places...though i oredi found my tile at the 1st shop.

if u wan really really pure white look for ur floor, den as far as homo tiles are concerned, u can consider choosing wat the tile suppliers call "Crystal White". but its not cheap. it's $10+ per sq ft, not ur usual $3-$5 per sq ft for homo tiles. i also wanted very white floor tiles. eventually chose 1 at Hafary costing $4.20 per sq ft, but it still wasn't that white. when placed next to the "Crystal White", the non-whiteness was so obvious. and unfortunately the "Crystal White" tile just happens to be there on display at the area where i was choosing my tiles. but just as i was about to leave the area, i saw 1 homo tile...same price $4.20, but very very white wif light gray irregular-shaped "clouds" pattern, like those marble look. I immediately stopped in my tracks, stood there and stared at that tile. Called my ID to come back and look at it. He okayed the look, said it wldn't spoil my overall theme, and would in fact somewhat achieve the white marble look tt i once considered but gave up due to budget constraints. so i changed my floor tiles to this marble look-alike. small sample below for your reference.

i'm staying in a corridor unit. currently, my tv is placed right in front of the window. i believe exactly like wat ur ID proposed. dun hv any problems wif rain, even though my block has un-blocked view frm that corridor window. but do face the problem of glare frm sunlight. but this is regardless whether u're watching tv or not. so long as it's daytime, u open tt corridor window, and u're sitting facing tt window directly, ur eyes will get the glare and feel strained aft a while. solve the problem by not opening the windows all the way. my windows are still the old, louvre type so i can control hw much i open them. nite time, no such problem at all. can watch tv in comfort. no glare frm corridor fluorescent lighting. good thing of this position is all heat generated by ur tv is easily ventilated thru the window. overall, i'm neither for nor against such a placement. i wld place my tv depending more on layout's restrictions than anything else. other factors can overcome. rain, glare etc....dun open the windows lor.

Congrats! great news for u. and it came so soon. u didn even hv to wait for 1 week. perhaps someone somewhere is looking out for u, election upcoming or not. as for the elections, cfm coming la. all the signs are thr oredi. i wun be surprised if it's ard CNY nx year.

regardless of inclusion of lights or not, it's still ex. 1 lighting point - avg $28 per point install light - $10 per pc downlight - avg $25 per pc T5 - avg $20 per 4ft piece. total - (9 x $28) + (9 x $10) + (3 x $25) + (6 x $20) = $537. How to get 700? mind u, i got those above items for my own place at below those prices i listed.

ahh...got it. tks. i've seen those before. some can be so ugly...haha. yea, too bad i didn't come across this forum right at the start of my whole reno research process. If not, i wld have ask Jaskel for a quote....hehe....

hehe...exactly the same as me. my ID was trying to keep my kitchen walls and ceiling clean and was scratching his head trying to figure out how to conceal my storage heater in either of the toilets. he think think think...until i told him to just install it outside lor. fix it above the washer, and since the washer is between the fridge and toilet entrance, anybody coming in frm my main door wun be able to see the heater until they walk into the kitchen. by den, they'll be distracted by the rest of the house, it wun be so obvious. no problem mah. so long as the pipes are neatly laid, it wun be ugly.

ya. tt's why i'm using a normal-sized basin in my master toilet and those small, rectangular ones in the common toilet due to interference wif the toilet door. i wun be using the common toilet for dun care....

ehh...u can try the "calling HDB daily" method, but i dun think it'll help. cos for appeal cases, HDB has a committee tt sits once every month to look at all the appeal cases, regardless of the nature of the appeal. so if ur appeal was received just aft the last meeting, then u'll end up waiting for almost a whole month before the result is out. Not to mention the time taken for their letter to reach u, informing u of their decision wif regards to ur appeal. actually, wat u guys shld hv done was to apply to "surrender" the flat to HDB together with the return of the CPF grant, instead of selling it in the open market, making a profit, paying the resale levy, and now stuck wif the restrictions of the grant in regards to your next flat purchase. if u had surrendered instead of selling it, hdb wld buy it back frm u at the price u paid for it. so u only "lost" the money u spent on ur renovations and the monthly CPF deductions. take it as paying rental to HDB lor. i went thru the same thing years ago. had to dispose of matrimonial flat before satisfying MOP. we didnt appeal to sell. we just asked HDB wat was the best way forward, and was told to apply to surrender flat back to HDB instead of selling on the open market. the only restriction placed on us was that either of us could not apply to purchase a new flat direct frm HDB for a period of 10 years. we can only buy resale. i felt it wasn't a big deal. compared to ur situation, at least i can choose frm the whole island, instead of stuck at one estate. ok, anyway, wat's done is done. i suppose u can only nego wif ur seller to extend, and in the meantime, try ur luck rushing the HDB, and pray for the best.

have u used such small basins before? can be very difficult washing ur hands in such a small basin. end up, splashing water all over the place. in order to prevent splashes, u hv to be very gentle and deliberate in ur hand movements when washing. also cant rinse/rub ur hands together like usual. have to do it slowly, again to minimise splashes. i cant stand it this way. eventually, i'll hate doing any washing in such a basin, and end up doing my washing elsewhere.

1. can be shifted, but only very slightly. some, can be rotated 90deg also, depending on the piping. my ID is also shifting my WC in the master toilet so as to give me a bit more room for the shower area. but mine, can only shift abt 10-15mm. not much, still at least better than nothing. 2. cos ur screen is not a full screen, water will still get to the non-shower area, as wat curryqueen says. i also intended to keep my master toilet a dry toilet, but after looking at the available options, it's now very un-feasible to do so. no matter hw we position everything in the toilet, my ID and I felt none of the available layouts can accommodate a full shower screen w/o making the toilet feel cramp and squeezy. so we dumped tt idea. i make do wif a wet toilet. more space to move abt. 1 gd thing tt came out of this is that i save on the cost of a shower screen. my reno budget low enuf oredi, so this is a welcomed savings. at worst, in future, if i really cant stand a wet WC everytime aft i shower, i can do a shower curtain. the other trick tt we're using to "free" some space is to employ an out-swinging toilet door. 3. my "zen" is now dunno gg to become wat. no pics yet as still under construction, but wif the above compromises, it will no longer be the "ideal" toilet tt i wanted. wif the size of my master toilet being so small, the only way to achieve my dream toilet is to hack the wall between the 2 toilets and combine both into 1 big toilet. since i'm staying on my own, thr really is no nd for 2 toilets. the only users of my common toilet wld be guests and my dog. i dun mind my dog sharing a toilet wif me, but i thot abt in the future when and if i wanna sell this plc. 3-rm flat wif only 1 bedroom and 1 toilet. won't appeal to a lot of buyers. only singles will be willing to pay gd money for it. narrows my possible market, so decided against a mega toilet. and wif regards to PD door, even before i read the comments on it here, i was oredi quite apprehensive abt using it. my ID also quoted me PD door for the common toilet, but i eventually chose 2-track bifold door. the bottom track may not make it tt aesthetically appealing but at least i dun nd to "teach" my guests hw to use the toilet door, and it'll also be more lasting and be able to withstand a bit more "abuse"....haha.

haha....Jaskel, u just floored me wif this one. i hv absolutely no idea wat all these 6", 8", 12" means. i assume they refer to the height of the false ceiling? but hdb can only do 6" down frm the original ceiling rite? also dunno wat is pelmet. in the end, due to the overall cost, i can't afford to do false ceiling for whole hall. my ID is proposing only a portion of the ceiling, covering the entrance foyer area, frm the corridor wall to where the side beam ends. so the false ceiling is flushed wif the beam and forms a good line, as well as hide almost all the electrical and speaker cable trunking. about 150mm down frm the ceiling. he's charging me $330 for the 2 portions but i dunno wat is the area. sorry got no pics at the moment. i knw its a bit difficult to visualise w/o seeing my layout. keke....still thinking whether to do a T-blog on my reno. very time-consuming lah....hahaha...

tt's very good service.

can go to the respective agents to see the full range and check original pricing and den compare wif resellers like Heritage, Universal Union, El Bano, Viva Nueva, Poh Seng etc.

tks Jaskel. appreciate the help. can always count on you.

like i said, he is responsible. so can depend on him to do things right. but i nvr try this firm's sub-cons, so i can't comment on workmanship. i didnt engage them for my current place cos i didn't like the proposed layout and the quote was also too high. but as a project manager, he is good, dependable and honest.

yes, u can use the laminates on the entrance steps. but u need to know this before using it. that portion of the laminate will wear a lot faster and fade and look pale compared to the rest of the floor in the hall. my layout is a little similar to urs, as in, small toilet. but in my case, the master toilet is smaller than the common. in the end, i decided against a shower screen. it would be way too cramped. oh and do not place a WC in a confined corner. u will really not like doing ur business thr. and it's not sth tt u can change easily when u realise it's too cramped to spend time doing business there. just my opinion. my toilet is my "zen" place and i like it as comfortable and luxurious as possible, but alas, my master toilet is too small to do anything nice.

this one lighting man will do.

could be a problem with the cartridge. since its only 2 mths old, thr shld be a warranty covering it. shld hv at least 3 mths warranty, if not 1 yr rite? if u really want to replace it, den i wld suggest paying more to get a really solid branded mixer. the kitchen mixer is one mixer that we use numerous times a day. better to invest in a really good quality one, like a HansGrohe or Grohe mixer. Without the pullout, the entry-level kitchen mixers frm either of these brands cost only around $200+. It's probably only about $100 more than the typical kitchen mixer. Worthwhile investment for my own home, if u ask me. Moreover, they all come with 1yr warranty, if i'm not wrong.

Got a question to ask the experienced folks here. I received a quote of $1,390 for a false ceiling based on 345 sqft. As I've never done false ceiling for such a big area before, can I ask if this is a reasonable price? Works out to about $4.029 per sqft. TIA.