IceEyez

Hi, 1) Typically, it is unlikely that you can "unpair" the car access gate for a typical semi-detached of width 8-12m. Like what snoozee has illustrated above, the only case you can unpair the vehicular access is if that particular semi-detached has a large frontage of more than 12m. Aside from this, other considerations would be: Are there any OG (Overground) boxes, lamp posts etc at where you intend to relocate the vehicular access to? LTA/Powder Grid might have restrictions in that case --> distance between lamp posts and maximum distances of the OG boxes from the houses it is serving electricity to. The only way to have a clearer assessment of whether it is feasible would be view the actual site (just through google earth is sufficient usually). If you wish, you can PM me and i can advise further. 2) You don't need to engage a PE nor a surveyor to assess the feasibility of the above. Just a visual inspection will suffice for the preliminary assessment. Only if it a complex case, then you might need to write in to LTA/PUB/Nparks/SPPG for further assessment. Anyway to do a total rebuild (tear down existing house completely), you will need to engage an Architect (or a design & build contractor, who will engage their own architect anyway). PE will not be sufficient as PE's can only sign for A&A scale house projects. Topographical surveyor fees are around $1500-2500 and will be a one time process (usually done after you purchase the house). This is required by the Architect to begin the design process of the house as they need to know the exact plot sizes, levels of the ground etc.

Hi, 1) Technically it is always possible to change location of existing pillars/columns, just that it involves massive amount of work (temporarily prop up the existing slabs when you demolish the old columns/beams and recast new ones at different locations). However this involves a lot of work and it never cost effective to do so for an existing house. 2) It is also possible to do, but changing staircase position is also considered as major work as it involves hacking away openings in the slab where the new staircase is going to be, casting new beams/columns to support it. Not cost effective. The advice when doing A&A is to maintain the position of the staircase and design around it to save costs. 3) It is very unlikely that the original structure design is based on a system of structural walls rather than column system as it uses more materials and are not cost effective to do so. It looks like the position of the columns are indicated on the drawings drawn by your previous architect. However, architecture drawings may not be accurate when it comes to structure. As what snoozee has mentioned above, just go to the BCA website and purchase the structural plans to confirm. Once the actual positions of the columns are established, you can then tell which windows/openings can be enlarged etc. 4) Yes toilet location can change. New waterproofing, new piping everything will have to be done. It is cheaper/easier to change toilet positions for 2nd storey and above. 1st storey shifting of toilet position will involve more work as you will need to hack the 1st storey slab to rerun the pipes to the existing IC (Inspection Chamber). 2nd storey will just involve coring a new hole for the sanitary discharge pipes. 5) Based on the drawing, it is unlikely that the carporch roof can be coverted to a carporch balcony. Reason being that design of the roof - clay roof tiles and pitched shape would suggest likely it is built on a system of timber beams/rafters and it will not be possible to take the new loading of human traffic/railings etc. 6) Your house is situated in a non-landed zone, meaning the maximum permissible height of 15m. The current height is only around 10.5m based on the drawings. Yes will be possible to redo the attic/extend it further to have taller normal rooms. This will involve redo-ing the entire roof though. 7) The URA regulation governing the usage of the attic roof as a roof terrace is that the height of the roof terrace has to be at least 3m below the maximum envelope height, meaning in your case, 15m-3m = 12m. Your 1st+2nd storey is 5950mm, only meaning that definitely possible to do a roof terrace on the top. It sounds like what are considering very major work for the A&A/recon. The advice is always, if doing A&A/recon to keep it simpler. Once the scope of work crosses a threshold, it becomes more cost effective and better to simply just do a new erection. Further more you don't have the restrictions imposed by have to design around existing structure and you have the flexibility of having the house exactly the way you want. Also, the 1st storey water proofing, anti termite treatment, everything will be brand new and could save you headaches in the long run. And nope, consulting architects/builders typically don't incur any fees

Not true actually. Adding the 0.5 storey (meaning attic) can still be considered as A&A project. Only if it is an "additional storey", meaning from 2 stories to 3 stories in a 3-storey landed zone, or 1 storey to a 2 storey in a 2-storey landed zone then it has to automatically be classified as Reconstruction. Therefore it may still be possible to qualify for direct A&A lodgement (Fee payable will only be $742 (incl GST)), assuming other parameters remain - increase in GFA less than 50%, facade change less than 50%, structural changes less than 50%, If the house is at least 25 years old, you will almost certainly need new structure to support the attic as the structural loading calculations have become much more stringent nowadays compared to then. There will be necessary new foundations together with new columns to support the new floor. The most efficient method would be then to add steel structure for both new 1st storey and 2nd storey columns and even the attic floor slab. Reason being it is more difficult to do form work and cast RC columns within the existing house due to limited working space. It is easier to simply bring in steel columns that have been fabricated off site and do welding. Also, loading of steel structure will be lighter for the new floor, meaning that even if the soil is weaker (east coast area etc), it becomes possible to do away with piling to support the attic storey and use footings only - Cheaper and saves time.

Just to add on - there is still a risk of getting the subcon to do the work even when the main contractor has handed back the site. Typically houses has a Maintenance Period (like a warranty period) of 1 year. The issue with doing more work with your own subcons will result in a possible situation where the main con insists that the defects are caused by your additional work, rather than surfacing now because of some other underlying problem. Example, you install a new canopy and hairline cracks appear on the wall in a month. Likely it was due to bad plastering/painting by the main-contractor due to the time frame, but the main con (if he is irresponsible) could argue that it was caused during the installation of the canopy. Not a happy situation for all parties.

First step would be to determine whether the grass patch is within your boundary. You can visit the SLA one map website (www.onemap.sg) to see the land lot sizes in that area and compare the house with the neighbours. If the land lot size of the house and the neighbours who have extended are the same, than it might be already part of existing house. If their lot is bigger and there is a separate land lot for where the grass patch behind is, than likely it is not part of the existing house. It may be considered as remnant state land (check the ownership at onemap too) and it may be possible to parcel out the portion directly abutting the land you are looking to purchase. To confirm whether it can be done, you will need to write in to SLA to check whether they can allow the purchase. They have many considerations - whether they are saving it for future drainage development etc. As for whether it is feasible to build a basement, there are many considerations which can affect the cost: 1) Sewer Lines - whether there are any sewer pipes running through the land. If there is, it will affect the extent of the basement that can be built. As what Snozee has said above, you can purchase the SIP and DIP (Sewerage Interpretation Plan/Drainage Interpretation Plan) from PUB to find out. It costs only $14 each, so definitely worth it to purchase before bidding for a house that can cost millions. The depth of the sewer also (how far down it is below the ground) will also affect how near the basement can be built to it if you really want to have the maximum basement size. The deeper the pipe, the more distance the basement has to be away from the sewer. 2) Land Profile - If there is a steep sloping land profile, for example the land at the rear is higher than the front, It will be considered as 1st storey at the front but instead considered as the basement at the rear. It is a bit complicated to explain through words but the general idea is that the cost of construction, definition and therefore extent of whether it is a basement/1st storey depends on the land profile. 3) Area at which the house is located. Certain areas in Singapore (Example east coast area) are naturally below the PUB stipulated "anti-flood" level of 4m above the mean sea level. As such during any reconstruction, the 1st storey will have to be raised to the minimum height. As in the process of doing this raising of the first storey, you get a "free basement", which the construction cost is much cheaper than a standard "dig to achieve" basement. You can see the tanjong katong area houses (Branksome Road, Bournmouth Road etc) to understand what is meant by an elevated 1st storey and "free basement". To cover up the drains at the front of the house - yes can be done but you will need to get PUB's approval and the costs will be paid by yourself. It will not be as simple as "covering it up". In the process of covering it up, you will be required to make good any defects (cracks, insufficient gradient, sunken spots where water is ponding etc). You will also need to pay for the structural/civil engineer's services to design/check the drain before doing any work. It is not cheap so yes, only recommend to do so if you really dislike the open drain or if it is necessary while enlarging the culvert/drive way etc. Each land often has its own unique site condition, so actually the best route would be to get a professional (experienced contractor or an architect) to advice you on the feasibility/limitations of developing the land before putting up an offer. Hope all the above helps!

Swimming pools (whether sunken or raised) are not allowed to be within the green buffer. You will never be able to get approval for it in replacement of the green buffer. Well, It is not impossible to build a swimming pool on the adjoining wall side and still maintaining it as a semi-detached. You can either "internalize" the swimming pool (whether it is open to sky, or covered - depending on the design/your requirements) meaning it is considered as within the house, or you just still need to maintain a certain percentage of the house still adjoining the neighbour. How much percentage has to be reasonable of course and will be dependent on URA's evaluation/decision. And how they decide would probably be based on many factors - shape of the land, size, how much of the neighbour is "built" up already etc. Depends on how "creative" the design is lol. Is there any reason you wouldn't just consider construction it on the "non-adjoining" side?

Single dwelling units are always exempted from DC charge even if you are amalgamating two (or even more) semi-detached units into a single detached unit. In fact it is the reverse - subdividing a larger plot with an existing detached house into multiple separate semi-detached houses that will incur development charge as smaller land plots/smaller typologies typically command a higher "per square foot rate".

I can help you look at the plan if you want. See whether it can be determined through just looking at the plans/google maps first. May not need to physically see it. Just pm me.

Hi Jason, First you will need to find out whether the drain you are referring to at the back of the house is part of a separate "drainage reserve" or whether the drain is just a "common" drain shared the row of houses. You can do so by purchasing the Drainage Interpretation Plan. If there is no drainage reserve at the rear, than it is most definitely just a simple common drain that actually is part of the property (either yours or the rear neighbor) already. Next you need to find out whether the drain belongs to your boundary or the rear neighbor. Firstly you can do a visual inspection to see whether any neighbors (preferably newer developments) have already "claimed" back that portion of the drain. If the drain has been claimed by the neighbors on your side, almost certainly the land which the drain is at belongs to you. If the opposite neighbors have extended over the drain, than the drain likely was constructed within the rear neighbour's lands. If you see the drain on "your side", to have a 100% confirmation, you can engage a registered surveyor to determine exactly up to where your land boundary is until. You can extend your rear yard and house over the drain and to the edge of the boundary (while respecting the mandatory 2m rear set backs for the main building etc). Depending on what type of extension/works, you may need to engage a QP (architect or professional engineer) to do the required submissions etc. If you are simply thinking of just constructing a slab over the drain to extend the yard, then normal contractors should be able to do it.

It is a MOM directive that all houses that undergo renovation (including simple renovation, A&A, Reconstruction or New Erection) to do a asbestos survey prior to starting any construction work, If the house is built before 1st Jan 1991. Unless the house has done an asbestos survey previously to certify that there is no asbestos. https://www.mom.gov.sg/faq/notify-for-asbestos-work/do-i-need-to-carry-out-asbestos-survey-if-i-am-renovating-my-house You will need to engage a registered asbestos surveyor to survey the place. Estimated cost for a terrace/semi D survey is around $1.2k to $1.8k. If asbestos is discovered when the report is submitted, then you will need to separately engage an asbestos removal specialist. Removal can cost anywhere from $5k and above, depending on location of the asbestos whether scaffolding is required (example high ceiling area above staircase etc), and how much asbestos there is. Note: It is dangerous and illegal to removal the asbestos on your own!