mamit

Hi Darknite, yeah we got the 3D rendering. waiting for version 2 before showing. also done with HDB rectification. I thought I will never be done with that.

I think your kitchen cabinets will be built on a concrete base. So it looks 'floating'

Ok. So I promised a post on Jay and BPS. My comments for below is based on just pre-reno experience since the actual reno has not started. So I went to visit Jay after I have visited the 4 IDs. and frankly, I wasn't 100% satisfied with the 4 of them and was quite drained by the process (I am still impressed by some fellow renotalkers who can visit 20 IDs). All of the IDs had some red flags. At a stage, I even came to justify if I can accept those red flags, and looking back, I am glad I didn't. I think one's intuition is quite important and if a certain ID raised a red flag during the process, it might be necessary to address them. When I met BPS, I was very impressed by his knowledge. I deliberately went in with questions that other ID cannot give me firm answers on, and he was able to answer all of them. this was already a big plus point. I then went on to show him some pictures that inspired me, and he was able to draw it out on paper very accurately and neatly after looking at the picture for 1 second. Another plus point came when we were discussing carpentry, and Jay was able to explain to me the pros and cons of the contractor he is working with. Based on these 3 points, I made my decision to choose them. I received the layout and base plans and carpentry drawings. Very impressed by the level of detail that goes into this work especially with electrical planning and where we should put the lights. Below is my 2D layout, and a glimpse of the detailed electrical works.Hope to share the 3D soon.

Hi Vxnne, I completely understand your excitement. I have gone on renotalk since 2012 after I successfully balloted my flat. Have been popping in to read reviews and comments. Just to learn from the community. I have also flip flop on so many themes, starting out as a scandi lover to now minimalism. I realize minimalism is still the most Nai4 kan4 but also the hardest to achieve. Its just so tempting to decorate and personalize the house. And believe it or not, minimalism to me is actually quite expensive to achieve. kind of paradoxical.

Hi fifteen may, consider white cabinets and brown kompacplus table top. Goes very well with the grey tiles you have in the 3D drawing!. You might want just 1 pendant light for your dining table. 3 is abit too much unless ur table is big. just my 2 cents to help you

Yes option B. I heard that sometimes there is condensation even when there is no issue. U just don't want anything growing behind or in your expensive cabinets.

Before I confirm, I would definitely request to go view an ongoing project to Ensure the workmanship is there. since I decided to go with BPS, I did not go down to see as Jay was very honest about his contractor. Also confirming with BPS does not mean you need to take the contractor he uses. I can choose on my own.

Months!! I think once u get notification to reassess your HLE, keys will come in around 1 month

So we have seen a total of 5 IDs. 4 of which I chose based on photo scanning and set up an appointment. I don't really like to critique other ID firms because what does not suit me, might suit someone else. However, I should comment that in general, I find this line of business rather poorly regulated and that few ID are true designers who take pride in what they do. Due to this bias I have, I was quite fast in making my decision in eliminating ID firms. 1. How to tell if the ID you are talking to is a sales rep/actual designer... Ask them to draw out what they propose on the spot. Most true designers would not have a problem drawing a decent looking kitchen or built-in cabinet in 3D on the spot. If what they drew out looks amateurish or something you can draw, most likely that person is just a sales rep or extremely inexperienced. 2. How to tell if the ID has adequate experience/just a kah-kia to someone more experienced. Most ID work for big firms who have very nice websites and portfolio. It might be useful to ask them to tell you which of the projects in the website did they do. To save effort and time, when approaching the ID firm, you might want to directly find the ID who was in charge of the projects you like. Sometimes, the person you meet might be an understudy or a pao-tui. Nothing wrong with giving someone young a chance, but if that is not what you are looking for, sometimes it is best to ask directly if they are the pao-tui. Some signs of evidence are comments like "let me get back to you" or "let me check before I confirm". 3. Most importantly, the ID to me should be contactable/respond when messaged. As a pretty busy individual myself, I make an effort to respond to emails at work. Even when I am unable to comment on something, I will always acknowledge receipt of a mail. As a result, I do not understand why some ID simply do not respond. one day is fine, 3 days maybe and anything more I think is ridiculous. This is something that I cannot tolerate. IT will be adequate for them to just say "give me some time to respond, but I have received your message." instead of just not replying. 4. ID firms that have many condo projects. This might be important for us BTO folks. A lot of condos come with concealed piping/false ceiling and even air con. So if you are drawn to the portfolio of certain ID, just make sure they have the expertise in handling HDB BTO. Some ID I talk to, did not even know what is allowed by HDB and what is not. If you are on top of such things, then I guess it is fine. IF not, you might be due for some unpleasant surprise when reno starts. 5. ID firms who keep trying to Xian me with their discounts. I don't ever believe any discount in the service line is a real discount. If they give you a waive of design fee, they must be earning from you somewhere else, or during the reno process, adding things to the quote. There is always fine line written somewhere. I hope the above advice helps. Again this is based on my own requirement. If I am going to spend 40-50 k on reno, I want a **** good reno process. I will write more on why I chose BPS in a later post.

Hi, what do you mean archi stage?

Hi and to all who asked regarding my ID, we chose butter paper studio. I will edit this post after I get some material from them. I will also write up on the reason for my choice.

Thanks guys. Yeah standard white brown and grey theme. The problem is keeping it minimalist and not over decorating! anyway I bought my grohe sanitary fittings today from insani24.de. Bought the eurostyle cosmopolitan series for Kitchen and bathroom. another bomb to my pocket. I will advise people to explore the bank transfer option. The pay pal option charges additional 5% And their exchange rate sucks. I Guess I was too impulsive!

PM sent

Hello all, open sesame today! also very poor today. some photos of my house and view and my mood board!!

dropped by to say hello!

Hi fifteenmay. we ended up not picking him. We found a 5th one. haha. I will give a more updated post once I get my final layout and plans!

I will put them once I get them!

Yes there is a anniversary sale now. Until end of the year.

Hello Zincman81, Thanks for your reply. I will recommend starting to buy when you are almost getting keys. As long as they can hold your products at their shop. I have visited many mega stores and seriously their 50% discount is still not as good as the price from private businesses. I bought my stuff from Kah Hock Repairer and Trading. I believing some renotalkers look for Jerome. The only thing is they probably don't want credit card. So if you want points, then you can look for megastore. I like Harvey Norman and the sales rep Dy** is very good at cutting prices. Hope this helps. Furniture just go shopping and find what you like. Mine are not the cheapest but v. attractive cause of 20% discount. I haven't even gotten my 3D yet!!! but need to be patient for good things

Hi Renotalkers, Did a lot of shopping due to the discounts and sales going on. I am probably one of the few who bought stuff even before key collection, but the sale is too good to miss. For electronics, we picked: 1. Fujioh FSJ 900 because of the good review on Renotalk and even the electronics shop recommended this for oily cooking. 2. Rinnai RB2CG inner burner hob - made in japan. Really powerful that can give wok hei according to most people 3. Mitsubishi MR F47EG Fridge - always heard should go Japanese and Mitsubishi also well reviewed by my MIL who is a housewife for 30 years. 4. Bosch builtin oven and microwave - HBN331E1K and HMT84G654B - bit the nail to buy this.... 5. Panasonic top load washer NAF90X1 6. Dryer haven't decide. heat pump condenser so good but so expensive. I also got a very good deal. better than most big chain electronics. Furniture also buy. hahah got 20% off. Don't wish to divulge where I bought the furniture but here are the photos. the dining chair is charcoal grey....hmm goes so well with the teak table!

Hello reno talk world. After flip-flopping several times on whether we want an open concept, we decided to go with NO, because we didn't want the house to stink, especially when we invite guests and the air con is on. I would like to comment on HDB's choice of design and until now it doesn't make sense why they decide to create a door opening of 1000 mm, and either side of the wall being 600 mm or 800 mm. What this means is if I create a sliding panel of 1000 mm, it will not be able to rest on either side without jutting out. OF course, we can consider 2 panel door but they are not as nice, and a PD door looks even worse. This means there are 3 options. 1) extend the 800 mm wall by 100 mm, so that a 900 mm door can rest open without jutting out, and can fully close the opening. However, the 800 mm side is next to the main door and it means a slightly more forceful opening of the door can potentially shatter the door. We cannot put the sliding door inside because of the DB box. 2) extend the 600 mm wall by 20 mm, so that a 800 mm door will rest nicely and close the opening. BUT the opening is now smaller at 800 mm 3) after much deliberation, we decided to hack the 600 mm side of the wall and create a 2 panel bi-fold sliding door. This means we lose 800 mm of kitchen space for resting of the door, but we should be able to live with this compromise. Ideally, we can hack the wall between service yard and kitchen to make the kitchen look bigger. Since the gas inlet and sewage is on the south side of the kitchen, we decided to save $ and put them together. It is quite important to leave a decent space between the sink and the stove to allow for food prep and placement during cooking. Thus the fridge, oven and microwave has to be on the other side. We were happy with the above configuration for a few weeks until we realized we cannot fully hack the wall between yard and kitchen cos of the small patch of black in our original floor plan. After much deliberation, we decided to completely change the configuration of our kitchen. I believe the new plan is better because it is now open concept, and a sliding door can help close it to prevent the smell when necessary. what do you guys think? sorry for my drawing. the box with an X is for a fridge given 80 cm X 80 cm. sink 70 cm, stove 73 cm.oven/micro 60 cm

Hello all experts: please give some advice on the aircon trunking strategy. I want minimal trunking. Blue color is the partition that comes with the HDB. purple is the trunking for 2 units (green). Red color is the trunking for the other 2 units. The part I am unsure of is the gold. My built in cabinet is there but i am worry of leakage and wood rot if it happens.]] please see the 2nd image. first one is wrong.