Melissa Ng

DAY 10-12 of Reno - Bedroom toilet wall 90% done, Kitchen base done, kitchen wall tiles 90% done, aircon truncking done Kitchen ( left wall): Kitchen (right wall): Bedroom Toilet Wall ( brown & light beige mix): Bedroom toilet wall design: Bedroom Toilet floor:

DAY 6 of Reno - start to wire up & tile up kitchen 1st Kitchen tiles up 1st wire up

DAY 2-4 of Reno - Plastered whole unit The boys did a really good job I saw them working very hard, treated them lunch on Sat Sand sand everywhere: All Tiles arriving on Day 3: Before plastering: After plastering: Process of plastering (darker one is plastered):

heh heh thanks lifestyle ..i think urs shld be bigger than mine..mine is just 92sqm..future when family become bigger and all, wah..can't imagine..if got money my hubby's dream is to get jumbo unit, then he can convert 1 room to become 'animal farm' cos he'a an animal lover- then he can rare fish, bird, cat, dog, iguana etc ( in the end the cat will eat the fish / bird, the dog will eat the cat, the iguana will bite the dog.. )

wah Diva, ur art gallery very nice !! Thanks for the informative blog too

Hi CutePinkElephant, Have u called Patrick to make appt to see ur house first? As advised by yokine9a u can call Patrick (96792934) or his wife Mrs Quek (67885841). You can make appt 1st, then email your floor plan to queksurf@pacific.net.sg for him to give u rough estimate of the quotation first. Once meet up, u can revise the quotation based on actual site observation by Patrick. I mean that's what i did & he was pretty fast in response. Don't mind, when my husband & i first saw him, we feel he dun look like contractor Hahah.. He's quite small frame, dressed very simple & neat (with long sleave), not the boisterous or salesman type, a little shy, but he get straight to the point always, so far will only give me opinion when I ask him, but I can always ask him anything, n he's pretty knowledgeable ( like when i ask him what's his suggestion for toilet, or what kind of tiles shld choose for kitchen etc, he'll explain a lot). He's very humble n nice guy. Sometime when he pick up phone he will sound 'kan cheong' , probably cos he's busy meeting customer or on the way to somewhere .. but he entertain us even on weekends, public holidays or emergency fickle-minded decisions at night (pai seh ). Just my personal opinion & observation of him

Thank you all so much for your kind support You're all welcomed to spam my blog I'll post as many pics as i can to share my experience Meanwhile it's been a mix of emotion during this period - excitement, stress, fun, frustration, anxiety..But renovation is not something we do every day or month (unless we're contractor/ id), so i'm just taking it all in, embracing the moments & hope to look back as good memories / experience It's been quite a ride so far

DAY 1 of Reno - Demolition day When we went there at the end of day, feels good actually I mean the place felt more spacious & the old stuffs are gone to pave way for a rebirth / renewal Hall wall tiles & floor tiles hacked: Kitchen: Common toilet: Master bedroom toilet:

Here are the before reno pics of my home - sorry if i'm a bad photographer Main Entrance: Space in front of main entrance: Hall: Another angle of the hall doorway to kitchen: kitchen: another angle of the kitchen: common toilet:

Here's a short intro of our new home. It's a 24 yrs old, 4NG flat, Corner lot, so there's privacy and it's more windy. The reason why we choose it was due to the location - it's 5 min walk to Yishun MRT, Bus interchange, Shopping complex, (future) national library, schools , lots n lots of food n amenities all ard us. When we are richer & wanna upgrade, it's still sellable due to the conveniences ard it If not, it'll still be great to grow old here..hahah Regardless, since we're gonna stay here for at least 5 yrs (cos we took the grant), so good reno is still necessary Hope this will be a good steppin stone for more great things to come My house floor plan:

A very warm Hello to you! Finally, my first time blogging Haha...a little 'sua gu' perhaps I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the community here at Renotalk for such a great forum & contributions, i've learnt so much from here, be it good or bad, we're here to share..Great job everyone Actually today is already the 12th day of my reno. I'm trying to record as much as i can so that my great-great grandchildren will be able to see how their great great grandparents found & renovated their very 1st own home ( that if this forum is still standing by then ) However things are happening so fast that i'm havin a hard time keeping up..so i better zoom in to my No-Frills reno process before i forget more stuffs * No Frills = nothing fancy smancy, just the most practical yet value for money reno

Yar..i really agree Patrick is nice guy.. and he is definitely not the MONEY-HUNGRY type...Although he has started my reno, everytime i bring up to him abt payment, he keep saying 'no rush no rush'..maybe cos he understand my situation & we trust each other? Till now i still haven't give him even the deposit...pai seh Even so his workers have been hardworking & fast. I hope ppl dun take advantage of him cos he's nice. Anyway i'll insist on paying him some amount next time we meet

This topic is very informative, thanks!

Hi Astin, Have PM you. Meanwhile it's been abt a week since my reno started last tues - they are FAST!! by today already wired up and start tile up for kitchen. Last week hack whole kitchen, 2 toilets, living room, then plaster whole unit. Their plastering very smooth n good. Last sat i went up n saw their ppl very worked very hard, so treated them lunch Patrick told me my kitchen would be done by ah keong hope he'll do nicely for me b4 leave ho bee..BUt who knows maybe Patrick will still sub to him in future, just that ah Keong may earn more lah when he's the boss

Hi pebsb, Dunno if this can help you, I'll be getting 2 bi-fold doors with mirrors directly from supplier. If you want i can PM you the supplier's no. then you can ask him if he can do your door & how much. My bi-fold door each one cost $230 - it's aluminium frame Best Regards

Number One has sent me the lightings today..The husband & wife owner personally delivered to me ..very good customer service & friendly ..they oso very thorough in opening & checking for me.. Everything in good condition. Some more they give me FREE store room round lamp They even told me if after installation the new bulbs got problem i can always call back to change... Just wanna say i'm really happy with their service n price (oh yeah, last week i went back to get a table lamp - it's a touch lamp actually, which switch on just by tapping on the metal holder, got a $24 discount, very happy )

Actually if you read thru the threads here, not many would say Ho Bee's quote is the cheapest. However the thing is that there's no hidden cost. And i oso heard their after sales service is superb. For my 1st quotation I expected to be higher, then when meet up with him, slowly minus out whatever not necessary ( he was the one suggested i no need do windows 'cos still look new). I personally choose patrick 'cos i feel he's honest, responsible, not petty, easy to talk to. Even when my fickle-minded husband keep changing his mind (even to last min), he's still like 'ok, can can, no problem' They say when you ask for 1st quotation, include everything, then when meet up with ID/ contractor, minus out whatever you dun need. This way u should get lower revised quotation & it's unreasonable for them to charge u more expensive ( unless it's HIDDEN COST) it's not for me to say ho bee's the best or u 'die die' must choose ho bee. No contractor / id is perfect, even for ho bee ba... Maybe u'll meet someone whom u'll feel is even better or more trustable to put your future home in his hand Anyways, Good Luck & all the best

Thanks Kunning! Hope everything will be as smooth as possible. I'll try to set up a blog for my reno when i hv time...meanwhile all the best & keep us updated on your reno too

Hi kunning, Yeah, Patrick owns Ho Bee, so he applied the permit. The thing is cos i asked Patrick to wait for me as i waited for my reno loan application to be approved. Once it got approved the bank required that i bring down the reno permit for them to see b4 we can sign the letter of acceptance. Therefore i told patrick abt this & he immediately settle it by next day. My reno will start next week Hope this clears ur doubt

Hi Plasterger, Maybe when u called him that time he was meeting with customers, cos when he came to my house, his phone kept ringing, and sometimes he had no choice not to pick up cos we were busy discussing. I called Patrick in the morning (ard 9.30am, mid-week), which is when he is less busy ba. For me he was quite fast in response - after sending him my floor plan, got my 1st quotation the next day. I oso booked appt for him to come my house in abt 2.5 weeks in advanced. After that when i asked for further revised quotations his response was also quite fast, not more than 1 week. Then when i asked him to help apply for renovation permit, by next day i got it. Other than that, i oso use sms, so that my msg will reach faster, & in case he's too busy to pick up phone, he can call u back when he's available.

Hi Hanni, Thanks very much Will definitely shortlist this as my kitchen cabinet colour

Hi Hanni, I love your kitchen cabinet colour May I know what is the colour called? Thanks!

Thanks again Bui Bui & Mace

Thanks Buibui! I was a bit worried 'cos in 1st place i wanted him to hack and change my floor tiles. But then we're not confident that we could get enough reno loan. We thought of outsourcing our floor to be laminated cos they offer 0%-interest installment ...but dunno how Patrick would feel, since he's been quite nice to us..sigh..dilemma

Hi, Can i just check, if after signing with Patrick, then I need to reduce some items due to loan or budget contraint (reno haven't started yet), do you think Patrick would mind?