Search the Community

Hello all, We have been reading and searching for good lobangs and ID/Contractor in RT for quite sometime but only decided to be member early of the year. After following some of the blogs here and envy their home, we decided to create ours as well. We strongly agreed that finding and shortlisting of ID/Contractor is a pain in the @ss. Hubby went through every single page of each blog for 2 weeks, to search for a good ID/Contractor. For that 2 weeks process, hubby managed to find 4 IDs and an unknown contractor. Out of the 5, we managed to meet 3 of them. The 1st ID was very patient and professional. As we are totally noob about renovation process and details to take note, he explained to us almost every single details. He also showed us his past projects. The best part was he knew that he is the 1st ID we met based on the questions we post to him. Then came the 2nd ID. He is quite young and he listened to all our queries.He did his homework and explained to us the position of the lighting etc. He also showed pictures of his projects. The final one was a contractor. We arranged to meet at 1 of his finish project to see the workmanship. Oh gosh, he was super late. Promised to meet at 1730 but he show up at 1840. While waiting, he advised us to enter the house to see the workmanship. Both hubby and wifey was surprised he allowed us to enter the house by ourselves. At this point, I wondered if I am to engage him, my new house will be his showroom and allowed strangers to enter my house. When he finally appeared, he bring along his wife and kid. What was he thinking? So we continued to discuss of the renovation details and he quote us slightly lesser than 2nd ID. Eventually, we decided to engage the 1st ID.

Hi all, I have been wanting to write about my renovation experience for a while now but have been putting it off until now . We took our keys back in July 2013 and officially moved in in Nov 2013. This forum has been a great source of information for me and I would like to give something back to the community. Hopefully, it will be of some benefit to anyone who is reading this . First of all, the floor plan: We started researching for our renovation since 2012. We read forums and flipped through home decor magazines at the library or bookstores etc. Take pictures - they might come in handy in future when you meet with contractors. A good idea is to write your notes in Google Drive so you can access them anywhere. We also kept a spreadsheet with all the quotation breakdowns from the contractors/IDs we contacted. This keeps things neat and easy to compare. Do include the prices of everything else you will need to budget for e.g. furnishings, electrical works etc. In this way, we knew for sure how much we spent in total for renovation (including all hidden costs!). Try to know what you want before going around asking for quotations. For example, we knew (after looking through countless magazines ) that we want a Scandinavian look for our house. That means: - furniture with simple and clean lines - bright, open spaces - light-color themes - wood-looking flooring - minimalism In short, there are lots of planning and research to do even before getting your keys. Do walk around home exhibitions (regularly at Expo) and furniture stores (IKEA). Shortlist the stuff that you like. Take note of prices and put them down in your budget spreadsheet. We had planned for a renovation budget of 40K (including furnishings) and I was quite proud that we spent within our budget AND did not compromise on the Scandinavian vision . Preview: I will try to narrate and dissect our renovation process in future posts in this topic so stay tuned! (I am rather slow in writing, so bear with me, hopefully just need a few weeks! ). P.S. In the meantime, you can head over to my wife's blog (http://yunzhijian.blogspot.sg/) for pictures and her views on our renovation (YES she has already finished her blog!! And I am still on my first post!!)

Hi my 3 room premium bto ( I have opt out the doors ) will be ready for key collection early next year.i have a tight budget and I just want to keep my house simple , any good contractor to recommend & any idea the cost will roughly be like ? Below are the stuff which I thought of doing : 1) kitchen - masonry (montar base), plumbing , carpentry work , installing of sink etc 2) service yard - montar base for washing machine , plumbing work , windows at service yard etc 3) doors - 2 bed room doors & 2 pvc toilet doors ( either cellular foam bi folding / folding doors ) 4) toilets - installing heater 5) electrical works 6) installing the lights 7) painting Seek all your advice & many thanks .

Ok. Same story as some of the people here. Been hanging around here.. reading and reading. viewing and viewing, envy and envy. Finally decided to create a blog to note down progress, and a page for me to save wonderful links. HEE. So as usual, first thing, floor plan. and these are some requirement that i'm looking at, in my floor plan..

Hi all! Hubby and I are longtime lurkers of renotalk and finally decided to start our very own renoblog! After a long long wait of over 3 years (from BTO release in March 2010..), we have finally collected our keys on Childrens' Day this year! (Auspicious date! Sign of things to come..? ) Ours is a very very small 3 room in Sembawang, just 67sqm 'big'. Here is our floorplan:

Dear all, We have just gotten our keys to a new standard 4-room HDB flat. Totally clueless about reno quotation. Would appreciate any advice on the quotation below - is it reasonable or not? Thanks for all the advice. Masonry works – tiles range $3 psf and below Homogenous floor tiles **** and dining area (60 by 60cm) – $1950 Homogeneous floor tiles at passageway (60 by 60cm) – $525 Overlay kitchen floor tiles – $850 Overlay common toilet floor tiles – $480 Overlay common toilet wall tiles – $1350 Overlay master toilet floor tiles – $480 Overlay master toilet floor tiles – $1350 Construct kitchen base c/w side tile finish 19.5ft – $350 Construct fridge and washing machine base c/w tile finish - $200 Construct shower screen kerb at master toilet c/w side tile finish - FOC Construct shower screen kerb at common toilet c/w side tile finish – FOC Lay craftstone at dining area L8ft x H8ft - $2400 Lay level up floor level at 3 bedrooms – by client Laminate flooring works Lmainate flooring master bedroom - $975 Lamiate flooring bedroom 2 – $715 Lamiate flooring bedroom 3 – $715 Kitchen Kitchen cabinet top hung laminate finish 17.5ft- $2100 Kitchen cabinet bottom hung laminate finish 17.5ft- $2100 Granite kitchen work top black galaxy 17.5ft – $2100 Full height kitchen cabinet for built in oven in laminate finish - $600 Install dish drainer – FOC Install kitchen hob and hood – FOC Main Entrance Full ht shoe cabinet in laminate finish 3ft – $840 Living Area Full ht feature wall in laminate finish 6ft – $1680 Suspended TV console c/w flip up glass door in laminate finish 6ft – $900 Designated sette c/w storage in laminate finish 11ft - $1650 Master bedroom Designated 6” height platform c/w storage 90 sqft - $2340 Designated half-height cushion bedhead for queen size bed approx. 6ft x 2ft - $650 Walk in L-shaped sliding and casement full ht wardrobe in laminate finish 11ft – $3520 Master bathroom Suspended vanity in laminate finish 3ft – $360 Solid surface vanity top 3ft – $240 Storage mirror in laminate finish 3ft – $420 Plumbing Works Supply labour to install 2 set of bathroom accessories ($150) Supply and install tap, inlet and outlet piping and kitchen sink ($120) Glass work To supply & install a 10mm clear tempered glass at kitchen entrance. 3ft W x 7ft H $ 600.00 To supply & install 1 set 10mm swing clear tempered glass shower screen at master-toilet. (1 fix panel & 1 swing door) $ 388.00 To supply & install a 10mm clear tempered glass at master toilet entrance. 3ft W x 7ft H $ 600.00 False Ceiling 1. L-Box cw false ceiling Living & Dining Hall. ($900) 2. false ceiling at passage way. ($400) 3. L-Box cw false ceiling Living & Dining Hall at Master bedroom. (FOC) Window Grilles based on 3ft height – Lump sum $1200 To supply labour and material to install sliding window grilles aluminum silver at Main bedroom (SMG 361) To supply labour and material to install sliding window grilles aluminum silver at bedroom 1(SMG 361) To supply labour and material to install sliding window grilles aluminum silver at bedroom 2 (SMG 361) To supply labour and material to install sliding window grilles aluminum silver **** room (SMG 361) To supply labour and material to install sliding window grilles aluminum silver at service yard (SMG 361)

Hi there... Long time since I last posted here and asked questions. Lately I came back to read so many beautifully done home again. Really well done! I have a question here as I am about to go for my new flat selection. There is a Optional Component Scheme (OCS) in the Sales Doc. The OCS has 2 portions; - Flooring for living/dinning n bedrooms, $5K - Doors and sanitary fittings fr bathrooms,$3.52K May I know based on all the bros and sis experience, how is the quality of these items? Worth the money? How many of you take this option? I apologize if someone already posted the same questions. Please point me to the page if possible. Thank you. Cheers :sport-smiley-018:

Established since 1981, Hoong Fatt Heng Renovation Pte Ltd, HDB license: HB-09-4071G Specialize/Direct Service: 1) Hacking Works/ Reinstatement for commercial properties, HDB, Landed, Condo 2) Tiling Works for commercial properties, HDB, Landed, Condo 3) Ceiling Works for commercial properties, HDB, Landed, Condo -We assure all our customer that our tilers/skilled workers has a minimum experience of 10-30 years in laying tiles, therefore giving you piece of mind for workmanship -Viewing of tiling workmanship available (Prior to exisiting customers agreement) -Tiles supplier include Soon Bee Huat Trading, Hafary Pte Ltd ,Lian Seng Hin, Taugres, therefore giving customers a huge tiles gallery to choose from. -Alternatively, you can provide us your 3D drawing (if any) from your own freelance designer and we can provide a quote for you. Interested, pls call Tony @ 90061763 or pm me.

Provide direct labour to Lay floor and wall tiles include hacking and plumbing, Licensed contractor, Offer reasonable price. Interested please call: 82008901 “Licensed contractor with offering a reasonable price.” Over a decade, Designer House Pte Ltd providing professional consultation, interior design & adaptation, decoration and fully turn-key services for all type of residential and commercial work. Specialized and direct labor for tiling work include hacking and plumbing. We continuously improve our service, quality and standard to make our customer happy and make their dream come true. do not click “Request to get contractor” button, it doesn’t link to us. You may direct email to me at ronald@designerhouse.com.sg