RyanYTH
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Posts posted by RyanYTH
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On 3/8/2018 at 12:40 PM, FrancisTay said:I am exactly not "ban dang", but for those who had collected keys and start renovating or move in,
do u guys and gals do any so call door opening ritual?
When i collected my keys, I remembered it was in the middle of 7th month imagine that lol.
That said, for me is not very pantang, but abit pantang lol.
Door opening for me was early morning, immediately after I got my key from HDB. I didn't specifically chose any special date.
1) I rolled a pineapple, 5 oranges, arranged them nicely in the middle of living room,
2) Said some auspicious lucky phrases
3) Opened all the windows and liberally sprinkle some sea salt at all corners of my home.
4) While sprinkling sea salt, using the 4 main languages of singapore, i requested for any unwanted visitors to kindly leave my home.
Worked so far for me. -
On 3/10/2018 at 1:16 AM, Melody2205 said:Hi All,
I'm new here. Have been reading the forum till page 50 until I decided to skip all the way back. Lol! I have just selected my unit last month. I noticed the floor plan for the toilet for some of you is a little different from mine. Does that mean that my toilet will only have one door? Mine is 45 sq mtrs 2-room unit at Bukit Batok. Estimated delivery possession date is Nov 2022. Still a long way to go!
Nice flat design you have there Melody.
Your floor plan for toilet is exactly same as mine, yes it will have only 1 door.
DB Box is well placed, can definitely be used as a shoe cabinet since its just next to the main door.
Kitchen is long without any funny corners, easy to plan for your kitchen cabinet.
Do you mind attaching the HDB Proposed Design here too? Because this one will give you a gauge
where the water points are so you will know agar agar where to place your kitchen sink etc.
The bedroom sliding door however, I suspect you may want to replace it.
From my experience of sliding door, HDB sliding door is very terok. Mine was stuck constantly, had a bad rust smell too.
It was the first item I needed to get rid off immediately lol. That said, the sliding door given to me by HDB was old model. Hopefully yours is better.
If you are replacing the sliding door, I can foresee that your reno budget may need to increase quite abit,
because you will also need to hack away the false wall and if that false wall contains any electrical outlets, there is another cost of re-wiring,
and of course if you still want to partition off your bedroom, you may need to re-build another false wall.
There are some new items i noticed circled in red.
Anyone knows what they are?
Item 1: What is this thing in the bedroom?
Item 2: What is this little notch?
Item 3: Is this a blocked off wall? or a raised platform kerb for Washing machine?
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Hey folks, so sorry for MIA for so long. How's everyone doing?
So sorry sigh, lost a couple of pictures, but I'll eventually get to posting the final post to my IKEA curtain guide.
Did a couple of amendments to this blog too.
I have now added direct links to the next blog entry at the end of every post.
They look like this: (Click Here for the Next Blog Entry:)
Found it abit silly and unfair to request for readers to always go back to Table of Contents just to go to the next entry.
So sorry for the inconvenience, this blog should hopefully be less confusing and flow more smoothly.
In addition, I discovered that Blog Entry 16 which I posted about my search for Pole Wardrobe
was hidden by Renotalk Moderators. I guess it looks like an advert to them?
No matter, this entry can still be viewed at my alternate Wordpress Blog. Sorry for the inconvenience.
https://hdb2roomrenovation.wordpress.com/
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I do still visit this blog often (because i set it so my browser will auto-ping me whenever there is a reply lol.)
Please do post any enquiries that you have, I will try my best to answer as best as I can.
Meanwhile, if you are new, if you haven't already, please do feel free to introduce yourself into the official
2-room discussion thread set up by mmoh. It is chock full of tips and tricks and is an excellent guide for
anyone who needs assistance.
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20 hours ago, Ickle Megan said:ryanyth, i spent all night reading thru all your blog posts on yr renovation. I am so envious right now i wished i had bought a BTO 5 years ago when 2room flexi first came out. May I ask how much u pay for your flat and if u got any grants? I am so confused with the grants, are there 3 i.e. singles grant, AHG & SHG? or is single grants just a generic term for AHG & SHG?
I am planning to apply and was looking online for pics of a showroom flat and chanced upon your design. I think you have a very chic design. Its like the saying ma que sui xiao wu zhang ju quanThanks very much for supporting my blog Ickle!
Getting a flat in singapore is always a good investment IMO.
Even if you still live in your parent's place, you can still rent it out in future for passive income. (or treat it as a weekend home
)
Or if say you got married in future, can still take time to sell away no need to rush.
Total cost for my flat was $111,130 (excluding grant)
Dunno about what AHG or SHG, but i remembered my grant was 15k i think.
Once you have selected your flat, HDB will do the calculation for you. This grant i think also not really a grant, because i remember if next time wanna sell off the flat,
will need to repay it back to HDB i think. The grant is more like to offset the additional amount that 2 roomers need to pay compared to married couples.
Finance wise, If you have been working regularly and had been building up your cpf till age 35,
your CPF should be sufficient.Don't forget when building the flat, your cpf will also be growing.
For my case, when it was time to collect my keys, my CPF was more then
enough to pay off everything and i didn't need to take any loan at all.
That in itself is absolutely fantastic because i don't have such worries like housing loan. -
5 hours ago, fiqa denny Lim said:Lovely thread Ryan.. Very useful guidelines and information for upcoming new home owners. The pressure has jus begun for me. Haha
Thank you very much!
Can be stressful yes, but can also be a very fulfilling and educational experience.
Please feel free to ask if you have any enquiries. I will try to answer them as best as I can.
If you haven't already, do introduce yourself in mmoh's forum thread exclusively
for fellow 2 roomers. Plenty of ideas, solutions available! -
6 hours ago, MiniBean said:Jan 2018 bill is cool.
Btw, how is your curtain guide going on?
Erm...still working on the curtain guide lol.
Might have misplaced some photos -
16 minutes ago, justmeonly said:Thank you so much for the useful information
No worries bro
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10 hours ago, justmeonly said:Hi, may i know what is the brand of your hob and hood and how much is it. any review?
and your sink also, thank you
All my appliances and fittings are listed in the attached blog post.
https://www.renotalk.com/forum/topic/78056-my-modern-zen-2-room-35sqm-type-1-hdb-bto-apartment-renovation-journey/?do=findComment&comment=962663
Didn't buy any hood because I thought it was unnecessary and I don't like the idea of cleaning it regularly.
And after cooking for some time, personally i'm glad I didn't buy the hood.
Hob:
Fujioh 2 Cooker Induction Hob FH-ID 5125
$760
After using it regularly for a couple of months, I find it pretty good, very reliable and certainly easier to
clean compared to conventional gas hobs. Literally just need to wipe it clean.
Whatever brand you are going for, do make sure its made of something
called "Schott Glass", because it is supposed to be tougher.
Once I forgot I was boiling some soup, and it spilled over, and the induction hob actually was smart enough
to recognize the spill and auto-shutoff immediately which I thought was pretty cool.
Kitchen Sink:
ALBE Single Bowl Kitchen Sink
$148 (combo price with kitchen tap)
Nothing special about this sink, it came in a combo with my Kitchen Tap.
However do ensure if you are getting stainless steel kitchen sink, minimum get 1.2mm thickness.
thinner will be cheaper, but will more prone to dents
Hope these helps -
11 hours ago, angell said:Hi Ryan, your home looks really nice! Just read through your blog and saw that u install regulator for your fan. Did the electrician hack and conceal the wiring for regulator? I want to install regulator instead of using remote control but was informed by the ID that there will be ugly exposed trunking from the regulator to the ceiling fan, and nowadays noone will do that to their home.
Hi thanks very much!
Actually no. By default hdb ceiling will already have a cable dangling for you hidden in the ceiling to install ceiling fan, and it should already be connected to one of the switch points in your home so there should be no need of a trunking from regulator to fan.
Not sure about the design for the latest btos but this was the case at least for mine.
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6 hours ago, daztan89 said:Actually not bad wor, bro.. Considering you on air-con every night. Refuse Removal is S&CC?
Yea i'm comfortable with the amount personally. In return can turn on aircon every night lol.
Anyway what is S&CC? I just quoted what was written in the bill lol.
Refuse Removal is by SembWaste pte ltd.
Edit: Oh i see what you were referring to. S&CC (Service and Conservancy Charge)
Refuse Removal is completely different from S&CC.
S&CC doesn't come along with the utilities bill, in fact it doesn't come in any bill at all.
You're however supposed to still pay at the start of every month to Town Council. If you don't pay,
they'll send reminder letters. S&CC charges for me per month is about $14.
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Jan 2018 bill is here.
Apparently due to the freak cold spell we had,
i didn't turn on aircon for a few nights, and its much cheaper lol
Electricity - $29.90 (101kWh)
Water - $9.06 (3.8 Cu M)
Refuse Removal - $7.71
GST - $3.27
Total - $49.94 -
On 16/01/2018 at 8:49 PM, 2Roomer said:Final piece of the puzzle!
I think you got your money's worth for the wardrobe, even with the long wait. Are the supporting poles sturdy? The Korean pole systems I've seen in Singapore are made of plastic and don't seem very strong.
Hahaha ya. Thanks.
Ya the poles are made of stainless steel and feels strong and sturdy. Drawers are made of solid wood.
Originally I had wanted to get the DIY Korea pole system from Qoo10 or Lazada but yea I'm skeptical if they are stable enough for long term usage.
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6 hours ago, mmoh said:Mind to share the cost of your platform? Just platform itself.
Platform as in platform bed? It was $3.8k i think.WIW - can you adjust the height of your drawers cos not enough height for the clothes hanging on top.
Adjustment is done during installation. Now that its installed, its better not to adjust anymore cause scare compromise
make the wardrobe unstable. Anyway I requested for larger space at the bottom to put luggage and bulky items.
Clothes hanging abit not enough height is fine for me, those clothes are casual shirts anyways.Is that a number lock for the drawer?
Ya its a digital lock. The usage was explained to me by Matthew, its very complicated, i never actually bother to use it lol.
I did request to see if it could be cheaper if I dun install this digital lock, but Smart Home say the package comes with it.
No change to price even if I don't want it. So might as well install lor.how do you feel now after usage? Would you recommend to utilise the HH as WIW? does it feels stuffy? Any impact on your clothes, in terms of moisture / temperature etc.?
Personally, after using it for close to 2 months, I really like it. I find it well utilized instead of just being a typical storeroom throw rubbish in it.
Stuffy wise is abit, but as long as the bomb shelter door is kept open, its perfectly fine IMO. If you want, can put a air freshener gel, but not really necessary.
For people who DIE DIE want Wardrobe type, (like @RuFus58) I wouldn't recommend it.
For folks who are more open-minded to an alternative way, and don't mind just abit of stuffiness,
especially 35sqm owners who are in need of space, I definitely recommend it.
Friends have come to my place and is very surprised at how nice it looked. Female friends in particular tell me,
if they do WiW, they'll request for a shelving dedicated to put their shoes lol!
Fire extinguisher - It is a good and necessary item I feel. But my vendor suggested to put the fire extinguisher in the living room but near to the kitchen entrance.
Cos kitchen has the highest probability to catch fire so you want to make it available in the living room, assuming you are not in the kitchen, it is available on your way.
Actually my bomb shelter is just next to my kitchen, so having fire extinguisher there is alright I guess.
The reason why I put in bomb shelter is because it is quite heavy, and I scare if it falls on kitchen floor,
it may break / scratch my kitchen tiles. If fall and break hdb bombshelter tiles at least not so headache. -
7 hours ago, bykaraanne said:Nice idea to make the bomb shelter into wiw! Looks good
Thank you very much
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Blog Entry Date: 16th January 2018 Tuesday
Click Here to go back to Page 1 - Table of Contents
Post Renovation - Slidearm and HDB Bomb Shelter Walk-In WardrobeYet another surprise Blog Entry lol!
Happy New Year 2018 Everyone, how has the new year been for all of you?Very Sorry, I know some folks have been waiting for this blog entry for some time to see how I convert the
existing HDB Bomb Shelter into a Walk-In Wardrobe, because after all, I don’t have a wardrobe in my bedroom.So without further delay, here it is.
In addition to the Walk-In Wardrobe Installation, I’ll also be including the Slide-Arm Door Holder installation process because its also done by the same company.
============================================================================================Slide-Arm
So way back in Oct 2017, if you’ve been following this blog, I shortlisted this company “Smart-Home” and
engaged them to install this Door Holder called “Slide-Arm” and also to install a Walk-In Wardrobe for my HDB Bomb Shelter.
After Renovations was completed, I went ahead and made my appointment with Joe from Smart-Home, and his installer Matthew visited my place.
Below are the pictures of how the installation went.
Installation of Slide-Arm took only about 5-10mins and was completed really quickly.
Slide-Arm nicely aligned and installed.
Working beautifully today even after 1 month+ after installation.
An elegant and nice solution for holding the door open.
In addition to installing Slide-Arm, Installer Matthew also took measurements of my HDB Bomb Shelter
to prep for the fabrication and installation of my Walk-In Wardrobe which took place at a later date.
(He actually came 2 times to do measuring because Smart-Home lost the initial measurements he did and he had to come again.)
============================================================================================Walk-In Wardrobe
It took a couple of weeks for the Pole Wardrobe to be fabricated and once again, Installer is Matthew lol.
Below are the pictures of how it went.
This was the line drawing of agar agar how its supposed to look like once completed.
Installation of Pole-Wardrobe was significantly longer, and took a couple of hours.
This is the final result after installation.
I really liked how it looks, as it fits in beautifully in my HDB Bomb Shelter.
There are ample areas to hang clothes, luggages, and even 2 drawers.Sorry I wish I own those special 360 degrees ball camera because these
photos can’t really convey how the thing looks like, I hope you get a vague idea though.
Got Matthew to help me leave a little space at the side to be able to store a small foldable trolley.
The other side of the HDB Bomb Shelter Wall holds my ladder and ironing board.
Even has space at a corner to hold a Toyogo Plastic Shoe Rack.
(Yes, I also kiasu until buy a small fire-extinguisher from Lazada for peace of mind lah)
Another thing of note, I got this hanging metal shelving from Lazada, and found that it can hang perfectly on the HDB Bomb Shelter door.
No drilling or adhesive required, just simple construction to fit the pieces and simply hang it on bomb shelter door.
While it does obstruct the Bomb Shelter door to not be able to close completely,
I gain extra storage to hang my bags and more barang barang on it.
Highly recommended and is a good buy IMO. As of this post, it costs only $14.90
https://www.lazada.sg/door-back-wall-hangers-nailless-storage-rack-adhesive-hook-63584867.html?spm=a2o42.customer.0.0.499f3f8d2cCPnM
============================================================================================Final Verdict
Total Costs:
Slide-Arm Door Holder – $50 (including delivery and installation)
Pole Wardrobe – $650 (including delivery and installation)
Personally, I’m very happy with how Slide-Arm and Pole Wardrobe eventually turned out.
They fit in nicely with my apartment’s aesthetics, looks good and completely functional.However, I find dealing with Smart-Home to be a very time-consuming process.
I dunno if they are short of manpower or what, but Joe, the person whom I’ve been
liasing with takes so long to reply to my Whatsapp messages.At one time, he even told me he lost the measurements of my HDB Bomb Shelter
and had to get Matthew to come up my place a 2nd time to do re-measuring. Ughhh.
I was especially worried when I paid my deposit, and he took his sweet time
replying to make appointment for Pole-Wardrobe installation. Double Ugghh.Matthew the installer on the other hand was very good with his work.
He is very friendly, and when he is working, you can tell he is very experienced with what he is doing.
It was a joy having him as an installer.
Honestly, I don’t know whether I should recommend Smart-Home or not.
Price wise is pretty good for me personally, and they did do a good job eventually.I just don’t like vendors who take their own sweet time in replying to messages especially when
you’ve paid money already. (Maybe I was spoilt by my ID Jason who replied to my enquiries promptly lol)If you engage Smart-Home, I hope you get a better response service from them,
but do take note that Joe will take a very long time to respond to your messages.
============================================================================================And so we come to the end of this Blog Entry.
Not much more entries to add from what I see other then the conclusion of my IKEA Curtain guide lol.
Sorry it took so long, very nua to do blogging now that my renovation is already completed lol.
Other then my curtain guide, are there anything else you’d like me to do a blog entry for?
Please do let me know.
Until then, see you in my next Blog Entry!
Click Here for the Next Blog Entry:
A Little Curtain Experiment - Part 3/3
Click Here to go back to Page 1 - Table of Contents -
On 1/8/2018 at 2:13 PM, Kith said:hi i just read through all your posts but this is the part that i was really surprised.. 31k for a 2-room BTO?
i noted that no feature wall right? and limited carpentry.. is this a normal price or really there were some additional items that drove up the price?
love your bedroom especially!
Thanks
Yes, 31k is considered alot for a 2-room BTO.
I got an excel sheet which list my budgeting, but i have no idea how to upload it.
So i'll extract the amount excluding furniture and appliances.
Actual total comes up to $24,900 + $5565 = $30,465
Additional items that drove up the price were electrical, the box up, and the couple of other stuffs as you can see.
Some of them were essential like Electrical, Plumbing and Haulage etc, some like the DB Box were a waste of money.
I would also advise anyone to prepare about $5k extra in addition to the amount that was quoted
in your renovation quotation. That said, your mileage may vary also. -
On 12/30/2017 at 9:39 PM, CaseBlue said:Wahhh really like the final look ... simple yet cosy ... thanks for accommodating to my photo request
I really like the raised platform ....though I will not be doing ... gonna keep my door and wall still ...
I just got my email from HDB, now a bit kan chiong cos I have not yet started negotiating an ID ... haha ...
Does your price of reno separately state ID fee from reno fee? Can share the price of ID like just drawing the floor plans only?
Thanks very much and you're welcome.
Sorry i'm not sure what you mean by "price of reno seperately state ID fee from Reno Fee"
Quoted price in quotation by my ID was 25k, during actual renovation extra things
to add makes it about 31k total. (not including furnitures / appliances)
By floor plans, do you mean 3D Drawing by the ID?
3D Drawings was $500, and its included in the quotation.
I'm not sure if you can get ID to just do 3D Drawing only without them doing renovation though. -
18 hours ago, MiniBean said:Wow!!! LOL, makes me hungry.... yummy lo!!!
Never share recipe...
haha, kidding.
Happy New Year !!!
Hahaha~ Happy New Year to you too!
13 hours ago, SuperZ said:A very cozy place indeed. It looks like you have a very nice flooring, smooth and shiny. Can you share what tiles you use and how much it cost? I have planning to have the same look for living and bed room in my 47 sqm humble place.
Thanks for the compliments!
Actually, other then my Kitchen and Bathroom, the rest of the white floor tiles are actually HDB tiles lol.
I opted for Optional Component Scheme. -
Just a random picture of the homemade pizza I just made lol.
Happy New Year Everyone!!
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9 hours ago, 2Roomer said:The cover-up is very well done. A simple & effective solution. No need to build a feature wall, drill into walls or use a TV cord cover. Thanks for the tip.
Thank you.
Ya originally in my initial reno plans, I had planned to build a
feature wall to cover cables, but as it was very expensive, I forgo the idea. -
On 12/26/2017 at 9:09 PM, 2Roomer said:Hi Ryanyth - I'm glad you are posting again. Can you please share with us how you hid the TV wires? They are dangling in one picture and "disappeared" in the next picture.
Ok first I use cable tie to bunch up the cables and try my best to slot them as deep as I can into the TV.
At the side, I stick a 3M hook to hold the cables as they come out and dangle to the side.
To cover up the cables that are dangling vertically from the hook,
sometimes I will use my curtain to hide it. Sorta like an illusion.
If I don't let down the curtain however, the cables dangling down will of course still be seen, but I find it neater
for them to dangle at the side compared to having them dangle right in the middle of the TV.
(That stick you see at the side is something I use to hold the curtain to the wall because if I open the window,
sometimes the wind will tend to blow the curtain, obscuring my view to the TV. I still haven't found
a more elegant solution to this, so this stick will have to do for now)
At certain angles (like the below picture) and sometimes when I'm leaned back on my Sofa, I don't see the cables as they dangle on the side, hidden by the curtain.
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19 hours ago, mmoh said:wanted to ask how come no gas then recall that you had induction instead.
Do you turn on both aircon units at night or only 1?
Hahaha ya I don't like having gas, because I always have this fear of gas leaking.
The aircon I turn on everynight is just the one in my bedroom when I sleep.
(Apparently it is strong enough to cool my bedroom fully even though I didn't have any door to enclose my bedroom.)
The one in the Living Room i turn on only if there are guests or like maybe once a week if I felt like it. -
On 12/26/2017 at 12:22 PM, MiniBean said:Do you mind sharing what is your electricity cost since you moved in?
OK my first actual bill is here.
This is measured reading, not estimated.
Electricity - $56.02 (276kWh)
Water - $15.76 (6.6 Cu M)
Refuse Removal - $7.71
GST - $5.56
Total - $85.05
This is taking in consideration I turn on air-con every night to sleep
(around 26 or 27 degrees), and cooking almost everyday. -
On 12/24/2017 at 4:24 PM, UrbanRen said:Thank you so much for documenting your renovation journey and sharing it with all of us. It will be a great deal of help when we get the keys to our BTO. Congratulations on completing your home.
Thank you for your kind compliments
I'm glad if it is of any help. Thanks again!21 hours ago, Kelvin Cheng said:Nice... eagerly awaiting ur built in wardrobe.
Oh ya Wardrobe is finally completed. I'm pleased with the results although I don't exactly recommend the company.
I'll elaborate more when I post my walk-in wardrobe in the bomb shelter. -
24 minutes ago, MiniBean said:You no sound no picture, I thought either you retire or the ladder haven't delivered so you can't show us the curtains.
'
Nice and cosy and you have space for the Xmas tree!
Btw, you using induction hob. Do you cook often?
Do you mind sharing what is your electricity cost since you moved in?
Thank you and enjoy the holidays!
Hahaha paiseh paiseh lol!
Thanks very much for your compliments
Ya i cook quite often, in fact I do weekly lunch meal preps on Sundays, cook dinner every day.
Weekends I will try out more special recipes like Curry or Ice-Cream i made recently.
In fact, this weekend I'm gonna try experiment make homemade pizza lol.
Electricity cost for this month haven't come in yet, and this will be the first actual bill I will see ever
since moving in. Not only cooking, I sleep with Air-Con turned on every night too. So i'm also
interested how much its gonna cost. Probably a couple of hundreds i'm assuming.
Once I received the bill, i'll update this post on how much it cost.
Thanks and happy new year to you too!
2-Room Bto
in RENOVATION IDEAS: Interior Design Themes, Space Planning
Posted · Edited by ryanyth
Has it been a hassle to keep cleaning the water splashes on glass after a shower?
How do you prevent algae build up in the shower cabin? My friend also did shower cabin,
and within a year, he found the grooves of the shower cabin filled with algae.
He does clean it semi-regularly, but algae still built up.
Your toilet floor looks nice, match the wall nicely, texture wise it looks smooth.
Did you regret choosing smooth texture for your toilet floor?
For me I thought I'd hate my toilet floor sandpaper rough texture as I assumed it would be super difficult to clean,
but in reality, using a mop still does the job relatively easily, but most importantly really protects against any accidental slips.
my mop does wear out faster lol, but i guess is small price to pay for safety i guess.