3Dyms

Thank you all for the kind compliments. Considering I did the whole reno without an ID, and me (a Stay Home Mom) having to liaise with the main con and the sub cons, I would say the end result is good. I can finally sit back and relax with a coffee in hand.

Finally... the house tour ends with... My gals Study & Entertainment Room.

Gals Bedroom & Bath. In case you are wondering... your eyes are not playing tricks. There are indeed 3 single beds (side by side). 6-Door wardrobe. Each of my gal gets 2 doors for their clothes and stuff. This way, they won't argue about each other creating mess or taking another sister's clothes to wear. Everyone that comes by, falls in love with these flowery tiles.

Master Bedroom & Bath. Specifically requested for a 7-door corner wardrobe. We have too much things and I need shelving space for my handbags. p/s: have not had time to drop by Spotlight to get gauzy curtains for my poster bed.

Home Office cum Study Room @ Level 1

Stairs leading to our private area (aka Level 2). We decided to carpet the stairs with safety in mind as we have 3 kids under 12yrs. In case of a stumble, the carpet will provide a softer and safer landing on their bottoms. This is the only lighting fixture we decided to splurge on. Chandelier at Stairs. Rest of house is using simple T5 and downlights (all LED).

Close up view of Corner Hob & Hood. Extension of kitchen into the service yard area. Closed up the service yard with top hung windows for the top portion (refer to previous posts for pics on this). I like to have a bigger kitchen area and more cabinet space since my EM did not come with a big storeroom or bomb shelter. Right side of Service Yard. This is close off area for my little Maltese, in cases where its not convenient for her to be roaming outside. Kitchen Bathroom. Special bath area for my dog and guinea pigs. Lol. Comes with hot water shower too.

Living Area and close up of TV Console. Wished I had gotten the 2.2m Console. Feels that this is abit too small especially with the 55" TV on it. Looking into my open concept Kitchen with corner hob.

View from Main Entrance. Kindly ignore the dining table and the ugly plastic chairs. Shipment has been delayed for my new dining table & chairs (from Manhattan Collection) due to Hari Raya, and also because I made some last minute changes (changing the color of the seat covers and highlight of carving from silver to gold). View of Shoe Rack @ Dining Area. View towards Living Area.

Finally.... my renovation was completed on 26 July 2013 (albeit for some remaining rectification works), and we moved in the following day. My contractor kept his word that we would move in before the Lunar 7th month and despite the many hiccups and challenges, we all made it to the finish line with a week to spare. Overall, I am very satisfied with the reno works and till date, whenever there are some minor issues - eg: grouting came off because of the chemical wash, LED downlight not working, or drilling for additional accessories, my contractor has always been responsive and will send his men down in a few days to solve it. *2 thumbs up* Well.... these are some pics of my completed reno - lived in style. To My Little Chateau @ Bt Batok.

Welcome to the EM club. Serangoon is a lovely area. Can share how much you paid? Look fwd to your pics. Btw, I've just completed my Reno a few weeks back. Hv yet to post the completed photos in my T-blog, but I do hv progress pics. Link to my blog can be found in my signature below.

Under the renovation guidelines supplied by HDB, we cannot touch the staircase as it is considered a structural item. However, some people have been able to change the orientation for the bottom part of their staircase. Such changes will require a PE to endorse first before HDB will approve. In addition, such changes are not cheap. 4-figure sum. HTH's.

My Reno took 1.5 months for a total overhaul. Lots of hacking & tiling, relaying electrical and heaps of built-in carpentry works. But it's all worth it. I'd rather my contractor takes 2 months and do a good job, then rush to complete in 1 month and end up with sloppy work.

Zihui, For mattress, don't rush into getting it. We tried several brands over 2 weekends (Simmons, Sealy, Maxcoil, Tempur, King Koil) and it came down to a choice between Serta and Omazz. Finally, we selected Omazz - for the whole family. That's a total of 5 mattresses. No regrets! The latex is so soft & comfy. Definitely not hot to lie on as I sleep in aircon room (24 degrees). Even my 3 gals love love their new mattresses. You can consider this brand. Btw, I'm drooling over all your BKK shopping loots. How I wish can go there and shop to my hearts content too. Unfortunately, with 3 kiddos, traveling is out at the moment. I'm looking forward to more shopping updates.

Welcome to Bt Batok! I've recently completed Reno for my EM and about 90% complete with my home shifting. Enjoy your Reno journey... And good luck! *thumbs up*

Sad to say, buying homes is a case of 'caveat emptor' - buyer beware. Resale homes are sold in a 'as-is' condition. Buyers are expected to do due diligence during their viewings and to ask all pertinent questions before signing on the dotted line. In addition, the home owner and its agent(s) do not owe you a duty of care to show all the home defects. However, you may like to consult your lawyer further on this. Good luck!

Hi EmPro, Bro Eric has a business link here in Renotalk : http://www.renotalk.com/forum/topic/42520-ceiling-fans-downlightsetc-trusted-supplier-since-2011/

Hi Makan, Thank you for posting that. I feel more assured that ADT should be a good choice. So far, whenever i ask people for feedbacks, they will recommend ADT. I've yet to sign the contract with ADT (doing it this weekend). Can't wait for my alarm system to be up. Especially now I'm reading that corner units are more prone to break-ins. Yikes!!

Hi EmPro, These fans were not installed on false ceiling. It's on my actual cement ceiling. However, for my old place, Bro Eric did install a ceiling fan onto my false ceiling and it was fantastic. No wobbling, no shaking even at the highest speed. Last I heard, the buyers that took over the unit still has that same fan up. *thumbs up*

Omg!! It's so scary to read about all this. This makes it even clearer that I need to get a burglar alarm with monitoring system. I've already contacted ADT and they will be coming to do installation for my place next week. Maybe you guys can also consider. It's not expensive for peace of mind. I was quoted $58 per month fee for 3-yrs contract. All the equipment & installation is Foc. The monthly fee is for their monitoring fee. In the event the alarm is triggered, they will try contacting me and my hub first. If neither of us responds, a patrol car will be send to access the situation. If warranted, the police will be notified. After 3-yrs, if we do not continue the contract, we can stop it, and get to keep the equipment which will function as normal burglar alarm. End of day, better to be safe then live to regret.

hahhhah.... this is so hilarious! I think if I really do this, my gal will run and go hide her face liaoz.

AlezDrake75, Certainly. Feel free to take a look at my T-blog for pics. The link is in my signature. Erm... About removing the bathroom windows, won't your neighbors be able to look in? Maybe you wanna try posting some pics of your Reno here as well?

Boh pianz leh.... In 15-yrs, both hub & me will be in our 50's liaoz. Better dont climb ladders. So must get help... Thank God for sending my gals bf's. heheheheh.

Hahahaha... Hi-5. We can shake hands cos all my lightings are LED too. Like I said, my hubs hate changing light bulbs. So long as there's a way to minimize this arduous task, we r willing to try out.

Zihui, no worries lah. Wether it's EM or 5M, all is maisonette. So everyone is welcome. *thumbs up* Hahah... Agree on west side EM club. Not many of us here. Can also include Happy Ang.