aidygirl

I will not be checking this forum very often. I will post my final costing fy reference: Renovation: $9000 Carpentry: $6050 Aircon: $6800 Curtains: $1100 Storeroom Shelf: $270 Movers: $323 Will try to post some photos of our furniture and Taobao purchases. Thanks for reading my blog!

Movers: Gethsemane Care Ministry Thanks again to the recommendations in this forum, we have engaged Gethsemane Care Ministry for the house moving job. Initially Gary projected we will only require half load, price is $180. As my current room is on 3rd floor, they charge extra $60 ($20/level) for no lift access. For half load, they do not give complimentary boxes. Price/ box is $2. I have also contacted: 1) Shalom Movers @ $505. Shalom is the most professional as they have insurance form, give you the assurance that you will be compensated if there are any damages to your items. 2) Soon Seng is the most expensive @$550 nett (no GST) We only used up 13 carton boxes. Final price is $323 as we end up with 3/4 load and there is misc cost of long passageway to our condo unit from the unloading area. There were 4movers on that day and 2 of them have big biceps . They arrived on time, cling-wrapped our items and even helped us unwrapped and dispose the clingwrap in our new house. The entire move took about 1hour as my new place is about 5mins drive. We gave each of them an ang pow and 2 packet drinks each at the end of the job. Will recommend them as it is for a good cause and their charges is quite cheap and they handle our items with care.

Storeroom Shelf: Yee Sin I called Yee Sin, giving them the measurements I took (floor to floor). They were able to install the shelf the next day. I chose grey colour slotted angles with white PVC plywood (top up $20). The standard shelf height is 1.8m, 4 layers, I top up $10 for higher rack (2m). Total cost: $270 2 Uncles came to install the shelf and they were really fast. Best investment.

Hi jcy Heng can do id, you can request him to quote carpentry for price comparison. I've used Uncle Cheong previously and I'm very comfortable and confident of his workmanship. Hope this helps.

Hi Grizzlybear Mr Chew's contact is nine653 xxx

Thanks SaltedCaramel!

Vincent confirmed again today they are partners, their price range is about the same. Sometimes they throw in free pillows or give slight discount. Mr Chew's son is now helping to run the business.

Procedure for First Time Entering House http://www.fengshuimastersingapore.sg/key-collection/ Auspicious Renovation & Move In Date Selection http://www.geomancy.net/reports/free-report/freerpt-dateboth.htm

Appliances: Parasilk @ Holland Village I have compared the quotes among Best Denki, Courts, Mega Discount Store, Kong Tai and Parasilk. Parasilk is the cheapest and there is free delivery for the fridge and washer. It is cash and carry for the Amasco ceiling fan. There is also no additional charge for use of credit cards compared to other smaller electronics store.

After Photos for Garvin Marting Services Living Room: Bedroom: Nice tassel: The curtains were neatly sewn and the edge fold is thick (I think at least 5inch). Vincent came with his wife and they were very neat and careful, they covered the floor with cloth. As my bedrooms have existing curtain tracks, they informed me installation will take about 1.5hours. I went for lunch and by the time I came back, they have finished installing and have cleaned up the place. Vincent and the wife explained that the living room's curtains is drawn more smoothly as it has pelmet so they can hang the curtains lower. There are no pelmets in the bedrooms,hence, they have to hang the curtains higher to cover the tracks. The friction make the tracks less smooth. It was nice and fuss-free dealing with Vincent, no wonder he is highly raved about. A set of curtains can last a few years and people usually only buy 1 set or until their existing curtains are worn off/ they move new house. Hence, I think it is a worthy investment. Would highly recommend Vincent.

Curtains: Garvin Marting Services Thanks to the many recommendations in renotalk forum, we have engaged Vincent for the curtains. We did not even go to other vendors for quotes comparison. I called Vincent to fix an onsite appointment. He is really popular and we have to wait up to 2weeks. On that day, Vincent was punctual and he brought all the curtain materials for us to choose. He provided his expert advice eg different types of materials, blockage. Vincent is really thoughtful too. As our MBR windows is huge, he recommend a 4 piece instead of 2 piece curtains so that it is easier to wash in washing machine. Vincent mentioned that the other highly raved about Mr Chew and him are partners, hence look for either one of them is fine. Shall review his workmanship when the curtains are up.

I did not manage to take before photos of the aircon and after they re-lay the pipes coz Yong was supposed to fix back the aircon units this coming Monday after Heng touched up the paint works. However, his guys completed the installation yesterday. The workers seem young but they were fast and work independently. They lay cupboard protection on the flooring and also the sink cabinet (when installing the compressor). They clean up after the job and wrap the aircon units with plastic bag, probably they were informed there will be paint rectification work.

Aircon: G.Cool Air-Conditioning & Engineering Right from the start, our main con Heng recommended us to change the aircon as the units are already 6yrs and aircon shelf life is about there. The aircon were still in good working condition (Mitsubishi Starmex) , it has 5units and 3 compressors of which 3 units are of 22000BTU (2 in hall and MBR) as my unit face west. We did not budget in this cost and we wanted to save some money as we were quite stretched from the house purchase. Heng say we might need to cough out more money if the aircon breaks down and who is going to help patch and cover up the holes and paint job. Hence, might as well change now. Hence, we went around scouting for aircon vendors and we learnt that condos are concealed piping through false ceiling, hence the installation/ labour cost will be higher. We also have another dilemma, whether to reuse existing pipes as suggested by some contractors we spoke to if we want to save money. As we are not doing any major hacking works to floor tiles/ ceiling, there is no need to change piping and they mentioned the condo is about 6 yrs old and usually condo use very good materials. However, there is no warranty on old piping. The piping could choke in long run. We chose G.Cool as their quotes is the cheapest and they are non-GST registered. As we cannot make up our mind if we want to change aircon and piping, Yong recommend that we do aircon chemical overhaul first. Yong is also very patient with all the watapps exchanges eg aircon option combinations & price, advice on changing pipes and aircon. We consulted Heng again and he recommend might as well change everything (pipes and aircon), don’t do half half. Hence, we took Heng’s advice. Yong provided job schedule of works done eg his guys will remove existing aircon on Day 1, they will re-lay the piping the next day. They will fix back the aircon when the paint job is complete. Tip: stainless steel brackets is additional cost. Hence, try to ask the vendor to throw in but Yong say we don’t need bracket (probably ours is replacement unit). Update: (some have PMed me about my aircon cost). I've listed my aircon combination fy reference. Price may differ based on the aircon units and compressor size. My new Starmex combination is: 1) MXY-4A38VA Compressor,MSY-GE24VA x2 for Living Room and MBR 2) MXY-43A28VA Compressor,MSY-GE13VA x2 for Bedroom 2 & 3. Managed to bargain down to $6800.

The stripes are not very visible from the above pic. We wanted deep drawers for storage purposes. One thing we need to mention is that Uncle gave us rounded edges and the 2nd drawer to the left is actually flip-up for us to put players, SCV box etc. Our main con, Heng advise us not to choose white laminates coz will see waves (if this is the correct way to explain) if it is not well made especially under the lights. Heng advise us to choose thicker laminate, which Uncle help us choose when we told him we wanted white colour. The TV feature wall is adapted from these 2 pics. Similarity to what we wanted: 100%.

The existing carpentry were still in good condition. Hence, the works done are: 1) install new TV feature wall with console 2) change existing dining hall cupboard doors. We did not like the existing laminates. Previous owner has pasted the laminates across the hallway, flushed up till the MBR door (and inside- entire wall) and 2nd bedroom wall. We wanted to dismantle, plaster smooth and paint but there was a major problem. I've called several door vendors including the appointed door installer for the condo unit. The door is not of standard size and the previous owner has remove the door frame for the MBR. As the condo is about 6years old, the authorised door installer do not have any more stock and the boss will not specially produce 1 piece for us. Which means we have to change all the doors if we are to custom make if we are to go with other vendors. Hence, we decide to keep the laminates but we will change the cupboard doors. Previous owner has used coloured PVC instead of white PVC for the cabinet interior, hence we need to top up. 3) change existing MBR wardrobe door and install new drawers and shelves. The door was difficult to open as it was heavy and we noticed that the door is slightly warped. Hence, we have decided to replace with aluminium frame glass door with tracks. The existing drawers were also not useful, it is too shallow to put anything. You cannot put accessories as it did not have compartments and I think everything will fall out/ shift out of place when you pull out the drawers. 4) change existing vanity cupboards for both toilets. The existing drawers were too small to put anything and the top shelf is fixed (cannot be opened). As toilet is of high moisture, we have chosen aluminium glass instead of usually wooden laminates. 5) replace all hinges for existing cabinets at kitchen and add additional shelves. The old cabinets were still in good condition but they slam loudly when closed. Uncle brought 5 workers for installation and they took 2days to finish (10am-5pm). He was complaining that if we choose to make new cupboards, it will be faster. One of his workers spend the entire day pasting the laminates for the dining cupboard. Some Before & After photos: Vanity cupboards MBR Wardrobe door: MBR Wardrobe shelf: Uncle pasted 3 new laminates on the extreme left cupboard, hence, there are no visible screw marks left from dismantling of the previous drawers, it look as good as new. Dining Area Cabinet: TV Feature Wall: