LLChing

May_Dream1 seems to have alot of good lobang leh After reading your blog on movers, think I'll also use Mark.

Ohhh .. love that kitchen So much space allocated for dining. Frequent group gathering at your place huh?

Ok ..ok.. confession time I like housekeeping . Generally, most fixtures you see are already 14 yrs old. The teak wood sofa set is 22 yrs old while the 26 yr old marble floor was from the original owner. Having 2 young kids and only 3 weeks to spare, a most basic renovation was done 14 yrs ago. The house is functional but lacks excitement. I have been repainting walls and pipes every 2 yrs, shifting furniture around every 2 months, accessorize and whatnots to create a sense of "newness" and I must say, I have ran out of ideas and energy . No more strength to push and pull liao. Though neighbour below hasn't complain about leakage, I think it is time to change the 2 toilets to be more "lady friendly". We have problem of not having enough as well as wrong positioning of power points too. My children had also asked for an entertainment room while my hubby wants a home office. Aiyo! So many demands ... might as well do everything once and for all

MBR Toilet My current living room Kitchen Balcony My hubby gave me a hands-on lesson of how to upload photos taken with my camera. This is in anticipation of my future postings when actual renovation starts. @May - I think this time, it will work. He is rather easy to talk to.

Great difference leh! Mama shouldn't have any more dissatisfaction liao Was there another unit in your blk doing renovation at the same time as yours? My friend walked past your blk, heard the hacking sound, looked up and exclaimed " Huh!? My former house changed hand again hah? So fast!" She practically knows every family in your area as she is involved in the RC and Senior citizen projects. She moved to blk 327 years ago.

Have been happily and fruitfully viewing other people's blog and totally neglected my own After rejecting one certified ID, forgoing another popular but no-show ID, I hope the 3rd ID, Andrew from Designer Guy can induce some chemistry with the rest of my family tomorrow night. Through our teleconversation, he sounded like an honest and responsible person. Action wise, he's fast and decisive.

Contacted Andrew, thanks to May. Despite his tight schedule, he managed to squeeze some time to view my place tmr night if I don't mind the late hour

Hey, thanks May. Andrew is coming to my place tmr night to look see . Very fast service

Wah .. you mean your renovation requires only 1 mth to complete? Is Andrew from Designer Guy? Can PM me his direct contact and who I should says recommended? I am very interested !! Saw May_Dream1 house featured in Designers of Choice. Very nice

Hi Battle, how did your false ceiling collapse? Spalling at the supports? Yeah, you are right. Construction materials have to be disposed of differently. More toxic huh? From what I've encountered previously, if we want to get rid of bulky household items (max 3), TC will get their workers to do it for free. BUT if we are getting rid of bulky items due to moving house or renovation, TC will not entertain us. Any idea whether this rule still prevails? 14 yrs ago, when we moved to our present place, we have to made private arrangement $$ with our TC cleaner to get rid of excess stuff.

Hey thanks. Talked to hubby on your offer to view workmanship. We'll gave ID till end of month to view our place and present proposal/quotation (this will be our 2nd appt). Our 1st appt was Feb 23 at his shop after waiting for almost 3 wks. Told us he is getting married end March and would like to finalise things before his wedding . He has till Mar 24 to meet up with us. If things din work out, I'll PM you for address to view your place in Apr, can? Mar 26 I'm going for eye surgery lah! Needs a wk or 2 to recuperate.

Now that you have moved in, take your time in selecting your choice dining table (if you truly need one). Plenty of furniture sales around to get the best deal. Have you visit the hawker center yet? The economical rice stall is pretty cheap @$2.00 for 2 veg and 1 meat. Zhu Lin coffee shop's economical rice is $2.40 for 2 veg and 1 meat but bigger portion. Are you the 3rd owner of your present flat? I think my friend is the 1st owner of your flat if she is not mistaken.

Many thanks for the window contact. If my shortlisted ID din get back to me by end March, I think I'll forgo him and give Roy Tan a call. Need to see his workmanship 1st though.

How's your renovation coming along? Can pm me contact for your window guy? Looks good Any more pictures?

Have been busy visiting libraries in CCK, B Batok, Clementi, Jurong E, Jurong W, Woodland and Natl Library for Feng Shui bks. As I have also been trying my hands on the layout planning, I tried to incorporate the most basic Feng Shui principles into it too... not easy leh! Will show B Lo my "idea/layout" when he comes by this week and see what magic he can perform

Past week see me going through bkshelves, wardrobe etc to see what clutters to discard and nagging the other 3 members to do the same. This is to minimise having to provide excessive storage spaces during renovation.

Hi, Battle. Sure will share one I've learnt alot from this renotalk chat. When my time comes, sure will contribute back to forum . Yoi SzeHui. I have 4 recommended ID/contractor on hand. So far, I've approached 2 IDs who have yet to get back to me on layout/quotes. I have not contacted the other 2 who are contractors. One of them is doing work for an "intensively advertised" ID company. Got phobia dealing with contractors direct liao. Think we will see the 2 IDs presentation 1st.

Anybody got any reviews (good or bad)on Atlantis Lifestyle solely for their interior designs? Found negative reviews on their marine aspect (landscape fish tank) for 2010. Wondered if workmanship any good for interior designs. Maybe can try Simon Interiors. Is the ID Donny See?

You are right about the uneven walls and ceiling. It seems that flats built around 1986 are all like that . We did not do plastering for the house also when we had our 1st reno. That time, not much $$ and had to shift-in in 3 weeks. We just came out with a simple layout, hired different contractors for electrical, carpentry, windows and wet works. Coordinating all of them to work amiably was challenging . That's why, this time round, we are going to sit back and let the ID do the work We'll just pop in everyday to check on the progress. If you paint your walls white or light colors, it will not be too bad. No problem Once my reno is done, I'll call you over

2nd ID came yesterday for photo-taking of the beams, columns, defects etc, anything he felt relevant in helping him design our dream home. Awaiting their draft and quotes before final decision.

Mine's 314. Yours 319? Looks like your house is getting shaped up nicely. Congrats Doing reno is a big thing - making numerous decisions , having to keep our cool and endure sleepless nights when things go unfavorable, having to dig deeper into our pockets when the unexpected creeps up and worrying whether the contractor will do a disappearing act half way. Give yourself a pat on the back SzeHui, you've done a good job !!

What a coincidence! We will be staying temporarily at Clementi, near the MRT station, when my house is undergoing reno in June. With all those nice things you've bought, I'm sure your house will turn up very nicely and unique.

Ya lor 14 yrs ago, my simple renovation of whole house rewiring(PUB certified), new windows and grilles,all bedroom doors,total revamp of kitchen and toilets, kitchen cabinet, all 3 bedroom wardrobes plus all lights,ceiling fan and 2 water heaters. Total cost: $20K.I couldn't imagine what the cost will be like now Today, we seek out a 2nd ID. Highly recommended by my niece whose house (still as good as new) was done by him some years ago:thumbs up: He is a certified ID with 30+ yrs experience and not a contractor turned ID. Very professional and a funny guy:D Very impressed with his portfolio Kena warned by my niece that he is on the expensive end He requested to pop in at my place tmr so that he can see the actual layout, our lifestyle and what kind of barang we hv before he does his drawing. Knowing that we had marble floorings, he recommends that we keep them cos it's expensive. If the windows are ok, we shld keep those too. From his initial sketch, he goes right to my heart with his open concept approach I think my wish to hv an open concept kitchen can be realised if I choose him

The meeting with the ID was pretty fruitful. Ideas were exchanged,dismissed, doubted, clarified, accepted and on hold for verification. Friendly and knowledgeable chap. We had a FOC lesson on good and bad quality materials. Show samples to prove his point some more. May disappoint you. Due to hubby's love of ceiling to floor storage space in his office, afraid ID's hands are pretty tied. There goes my open concept kitchen Doesn't matter lah Hubby had an open concept office though :good:which means we get to retain the openness from balcony to office (previous dining area) Since we are not in a hurry, we requested ID to visit on site as there are some grey areas which the floor plan does not reveal but we discovered during our 1st renovation. So paiseh to disturb him now when he is so busy preparing for his wedding end of March.

Meeting with ID was pretty fruitful. Ideas were exchanged, dismissed, doubted, clarified, accepted, on hold for verification. We had a FOC lesson on gd and bad quality materials. Show samples some more. Open concept kitchen down the drain as hubby wants ceiling to floor storage space. He had an open concept office though which means we get to retain the openness from balcony to office (Prev dining area) Ideas are still forthcoming as we hv not finalise anything yet. Request ID to view on site as flr plan has hidden grey areas.