krdesign

Need to clarify about the kitchen cabinet pricing. When you say $95 per foot run, does this mean top and bottom cabinets or only top/bottom?

Ya, I read somewhere that blockboard is the preferred choice for local carpenters these days. Anyone knows whether it is as strong and durable as plywood??

Ya, I am wondering also where to get such contact for HDB permit submission. Cos I am intending to do up my house myself (i.e. not go through ID or contractor), and save on costs as my budget is quite low. I know quite a good hacker. He is a China guy whom I got to know during my brother's recent condo reno, he and his team worked really fast and quite good quality work as well. Best of all, his price is quite low. Unfortunately, he has no licence. So if I wanna engage him, gotta think of a way around this HDB licence thing.

Thanks so much for your info. Do you know any hacker / tiler that have HDB licence? I don't need to buy tiles through them, cos I already bought my tiles liao. Which means I only need their workmanship, that's all.

Although handing the entire project to an ID is convenient (no hassle), but it would mean you are effectively paying many more thousands over what you could have ended up paying for. Cos IDs and contractors mark up the price quite a lot. My close friend owns an ID firm, and he sometimes tells me that they will quote according to what they think the customer can afford. So if u walk into an ID wearing LV, Rolex and other brand name stuff, be prepared to kena chop. My ID friend said he has ever charged customers $100k for reno work that eventually cost less than $50k. That's a whopping 100% markup in profit!! So although I am gonna start renovations on my own house soon, no way am I going to go to any ID / contractor. I'd rather try to co-ordinate everything on my own and save the money!

Hi wpntech, Can you give the contact of your painter? Cos I am starting reno work on my house soon. How much did you pay for your painting job, and does the price include the paints as well? Thanks!

Hi, I just bought a 3-room resale. I am intending to hack away the existing floor and wall tiles for the kitchen and 2 bathrooms, and replace them with new tiles. Do I need to apply for a HDB reno permit to carry out the above works? Cos I talked to my contractor, and he said that as long as there is no hacking of walls or structures, no need to apply for HDB permit. Is this true? (I suspect my contractor saying this cos he is not a registered HDB contractor.) In any case, if I need a permit, can I just engage my own hacker and tiler? Will they be able to get the necessary permits done for me? Also, how much does submission for HDB permit cost? Thanks in advance.