A New Beginning...

[A New Beginning...]

Finally done with the hdb home improvement program to upgrade my toilets & change water pipes.

After waiting 2 weeks, gotten the permit to proceed with my hacking & renovation works.

Din expect that what seem like a small scale project is now looking like a renovation of the whole house!

Will upload the first draft of the proposed 3D drawing from my ID.

Made some changes here & there. Yet to see the final draft.

But hacking is gonna start on Monday!

[Our Punggol Scandi Home]

looking good!

mine is just something simple as i'm not too adventurous.

Prior to my first draft, i had no theme in mind, only want something simple and modern. Showed some samples to my ID and asked him to propose.

my first draft came out quite pleasing to me except for certain issues. hopefully the next drawing will be better after giving my ID my inputs.

All the best to ur reno, hope it will turn out to be what u want and like!

[Help Needed. Hdb 4R Quote *greatly Appreciated*]

Have chosen this ID. So far no regrets seeing his design, although need to push abit on my own inputs.

Kitchen cabinets come with internal color pvc.

[A New Beginning...]

Glad that some unhappy things are over and a new beginning with a new Reno to the house will start afresh

Good luck to your Reno

Thanks! Indeed, hope a new environment will help us have a new start.

[2 Sisters Reno's Despair]

Rice,

any updates? hope things are proceeding smoothly for u now.

[Help Needed. Hdb 4R Quote *greatly Appreciated*]

U have how many lighting pts ? how come 5 k ? u redoing ur house wiring ? abit high end for that.

Also, u might want to request for internal color pvc for all ur carpentry. I suppose that they will be giving u white internals for carpentry.

May want to ask them to give foc stuffs ?

5k is a budget i set aside for myself to purchase lightings and other fixtures like ceiling fans, power track.

have just managed to get some FOC stuff from him..

thanks! will ask him about the internal color pvc.

[Just A New Home]

Like ur dining lights! Saw similar ones at a lighting store but it's over my budget.

looking forward to ur update once u received it

[Our.grey.grey.loft]

Like ur brickwall!

[When The Old Turns New @ Sgoon North]

looking forward to see "old turns new"! Mine is also an old flat..

[A New Beginning...]

IDs that I contacted either just randomly or through friend's recomendation.

Lourve Design (Sheena)

Met her at her office at Sembawang shopping center, sent her my floorplan. She replied with afew questions and didn't get back to me with a quotation. Subsequently I gave her a call and she said she have left the company.

No follow up from anyone else in the company.

Interi Koncept (Valerie)

Heard raving reviews from an ex colleague that had used her, his relative also used her about 2 years ago and says that her price was reasonably good.

If i'm not wrong, she's the boss.

She came down to my house to do a site survey and we had some discussion. Received a quotation from her within the week, however it was on the high side for me base on the things that i was looking to do which wasn't much.

She also couldn't be bothered to follow up or be open to negotiation. Overall feeling i get was that maybe I wasn't her target group as she had the "take it or leave it" attitude.

I wouldn't deny her portfolio seems really nice, but then again. I have a budget to stick to and she wasn't friendly enough for me to consider her.

Contractor: Annie

Heard my friend raving about how she managed to work within my friend's budget and yet still deliver good results. However, she sent a guy down and from my conversation with him. He is almost as clueless as me when i raise my concerns on flooring, hacking of wardrobe etc...

How can i trust him when he can't even answer simple questions? Next was he had trouble sending me the quotation as he kept typing the wrong email address. After giving him an alternate email. He forwarded the mail without the attachment.

How careless and blur? I cannot convince myself to entrust him with my house renovation if he cannot be careful with the little things.

Contractor: Max

I had 3 ex colleagues using him. With 2 out of 3 giving him the thumbs up for his meticulousness as well as value for money. However, 1 of them did told me that workmanship was "so-so" only.

Shortly after i got a quote from him, which was really reasonable. 1 of my ex colleagues dining room tempered glass door suddenly dropped and shatter. Even though he was fast to respond to my ex colleague's calls and helped them with the situation. I was apprehensive about his work now..

Now for the IDs that contacted me through renotalk's request for quotation services.

96 Degree (An****y and Be**y)

Came, took a look, asked some questions and never send me any quotation. Not a single update from them thereafter. Maybe they think it's not worth their time and effort as mine is not a full scale big budget project.

D'trenzo

Received their quote via email, quotation was ambiguous but price was slightly lower than the rest.

Gallant Concept (Andy)

2 guys came down and 1 of them had a different idea from all other IDs that i had met in regards to utilising the space in the hall (foyer). Credits to him for thinking out of the box even though at the end I wasn't comfortable enough to accept his idea.

They came down a 2nd time to present me with their quotation despite me telling them that sending me thru email will be fine and if i had any queries i will get back to them.

They came and went through the quotation item by item and we had some further discussion. Within the next 2 days they got back to me with a revised quote. I will say they are quite efficient and diligent in wanting to deal with me.

However, i just felt that chemistry was lacking between us. Just no "feel" to choose them. Their quote is reasonable too and the ideas that they have were not the usual ideas i was presented with.

Will recommend to others to have a discussion with them to get some ideas if they are looking for something different.

Space Living

Quite turned off by him trying very hard to put his competitors down by repeatedly telling me that the other IDs are all sales man, not designers nor contractors. As such i am only paying a fat pay cheque to them for nothing.

He also repeatedly told me that he can match his quotation to the one I'm keen on if i use his services.

Really a turn off as he didn't came up with any proposal. Just wants to "undercut" his competitors.

After meeting up with all the IDs that contact me or i contacted them. My mother was attracted to only 1. Personally i was won over by this ID's patience in listening to us and not just doing a rush job trying to "see see look look" and then rush off. For every concern that me or my mother brought up he patiently listened and tried to advise. Even though he didn't have the best idea for us, this point alone scored him some brownie points.

We also felt some chemistry with him.. However, his ID firm have one bad reviews online and no other good reviews or further information with regards to that bad review. Hence, we didn't dare to sign with him despite him meeting us 3-4 times to discuss ideas and quotes.

It is only after meeting up with him numerous times, checking their facebook page and portfolio regularly did we dare to put the downpayment.

I will reveal & review him when I post the 3D drawings. Keeping my fingers cross that following our heart sometimes is not a bad choice after all.

[A New Beginning...]

Here is my floor plan, spacious living and kitchen but small rooms.

[A New Beginning...]

Decided to have a change of new environment. We can't afford to change to a new flat and we really love our location very much. (3minutes walk to the MRT station and 7minutes to the shopping mall.) The next best solution is to renovate the place.

And just in time, HDB is here to do Home Improvement Program for my house 2 toilets!

When i decided to reno, i started sourcing for IDs and contractors. I had recommendations from friends as well as from RENOTalk's quotation service and forums.

Also i was attracted to a particular ID firm's online portfolio. So i started meeting up with numerous IDs to brief them on my needs. Which was really simple. As due to budget constraint and the well kept condition of my current house now, i do not need any extravagant or fanciful reno.

My requirements was simple.

Living room

- Need ideas to utilize the spacious foyer area

- TV feature wall and console

Kitchen

- Hack & Redo L-shape top & bottom kitchen cabinets with counter top. (HDB will hack the current top cabinet to replace water piping and do some waterproofing, no reinstatement on their part)

Rooms

- Hack existing floor tiles as most of it is already cracked & hollow. Can't do overlay.

- Replace with homogenous tiles

- Hack and rebuild build in wardrobe for all 3 rooms ( existing one in good condition but as we hack the floor away, the wardrobe will be affected)

- TV feature wall in 1 room

I met about 8 IDs from renotalk, 4 from friend's recommendation and 1 which i was attracted to.

Only 4 of the IDs from renotalk came back to me with a quotation and 1 of them subsequently followed up with a second meet up.

My friend's recommendation quote was on the high side and the other one was really very blur.

The one that I was attracted to, the guy came and he was patient and we had some chemistry.

Will update more later...

[Ideas Needed Living Room Wall Facing Main Door]

Wow! looks very high maintenance in terms of time and effort but really very cool

if i do it, i'm sure it will cool my living hall alot as my hall tends to absorb the sun and feel like a heated oven when i come home at night

[Help Needed. Hdb 4R Quote *greatly Appreciated*]

Hi mr white knight,

I just got my three room resale flat renovated and it was quite tedious to find a good quotation when I only have a budget to spend for this resale flat. You have to beware of the tiles quotation. If you want a good tiles, you probably need to spend $3-$3.50, unless you are going for those government tiles. Besides that, they will not actually bring you to the tiles shop to look at the different varieties that they have. My contractor was referred by my friend and he gave me a reasonable quotation, the best thing of all, i dont have to worry that the company will actually raise the quotation price in the mid of the whole renovation (this is only apply when you are not choosy with stuff and tell them in advance the things that you will need them to do for you). Besides the tiles, you can actually inspect the wood quality of your custom make furniture before you sign the contract with them. They have a in house carpentry workhouse for you to look at.

You can contact him 83334130(gavin) or email him the list of stuff to sales@techone.com.sg and remember to say that it is referred by devin in order to get a special rate of quotation.

Good luck with your renovation.

Thanks!

[Ideas Needed Living Room Wall Facing Main Door]

Dear all,

Have met up with alot of IDs and yet to come to a good conclusion on how to fully utilise the space in the first part of the living room and the wall facing the main door.

What should be done to the wall facing the main door?

Was actually thinking of hanging a collage of photo frames feat. family photos, however FSM advised against it.

Will like it to be a focal point when we open the door.

Currently the deco is a low tv console to display some ornaments. On the left hand side is a display cabinet.

However, we do not have enough ornaments or display items to display. the above layout currently used doesn't seem applicable to us.

Any ideas please?

Greatly appreciated.

[Plumbers And Cornice Repair Contractor]

Hi All.. anyone have contacts for cornice?

[2 Sisters Reno's Despair]

Don't despair!

Hearing your story makes me alil worried too.

Young and totally no experience or much knowledge about renovation. have started my homework since last year however still seem to be insufficient. hopefully everything turns out ok.

Just keeping my fingers cross too!

[Help Needed. Hdb 4R Quote *greatly Appreciated*]

Hi guys, your help will be greatly appreciated.

I'm in my early 20s & this is the first time i am doing up the place nicely after living here for 10yrs as it is my mum's wish to have a nice and cosy home.

As my mum has sacrificed alot for me & my sibling for the past 20plus years, I just want to do something for her to let her enjoy her days since she worked hard for the family. Due to circumstances, we only have 1.5 source of income and savings for family of 3adults, really hope to be able to stretch our dollar and spending.

Currently is simple n well maintained but floors cracked & hollow, 3BR doors warp (as we din changed when moved in 10years ago) + kitchen cabinets warping.

Toilet will be done by HDB HIP

Below is a quote from an ID im very keen on after getting 6-8 quotes from friend's recommendation n renotalk enquiry.

Is this quote reasonable?

Anywhere can i cut down on?

Budget: $25k incl miscellaneous like Laying of protection sheet, general cleaning, power-points.

Lights and fixtures + additional $5k

Overall

Hacking of all Cornice, Lbox, Kitchen cabinets, 3br floors & cabinets

Supply & overlay homogenus floor tiles w skirting to 3br

Painting Nippon Emulsion (1 +2, white & 2 other colours in every room)

Supply & install 3 veneer doors to bedrooms

Install 18nos of light fittings to whole house

Sub Total: $8,531

Living

3ft full height shoe cabinet:

6.5ft suspended TV console w drawers/glass doors in laminate finish

6.5ft full height TV feature wall w laminate finish

3.5ft full height display cabinet in laminate finish

Install Lbox c/w light pelmet

Install 11nos of lighting point for Lbox

Sub Total: $5,513

Kitchen

24ft top & bottom kitchen cabinet w ABS trimming in laminate finish

*all kitchen cabinet c/w excel soft closing hinges for doors

Supply and install 14ft top solid surface

2ft full height display cabinet in laminate finish

Labour to install kitchen sink & tap

Sub Total: $4,680

BR1

6ft full height sliding wardrobe in laminate finish

3.5ft full height tv feature wall in laminate finish

BR2

6ft full height sliding wardrobe in laminate finish

BR3

6ft full height sliding wardrobe in laminate finish

Sub Total: $5,260

Total: $23,984

[Anyone Installed Frosted Tempered Glass As Toilet Door?]

My current mbr toilet is frosted glass swing door, been using it for 10years NO regrets.

when it is dry, totally can't see through.

When wet only the colors can be seen, blurry if talking about shape of body n movements.