Search the Community

Hi Everyone, Finally got my SengKang 3rm BTO key. Now here the question, should I engage ID or Contractor? Got around 15-17k budget to spend on renovation. A few basic thing that I want, Kitchen cabinetTV feature wallWardrobe for all room​​Include those basic concrete for cabinet and washing machine , piping and plumbing work. Etc etc... Add on Shoe cabinMbr platform bedStorage seat near the living room windowHeadache ah! Not to mention really not much time to go and look around.. Sigh.. Anyone can really recommend me any ID or Contractor that will work out thing with me and with my BUDGET (Most important)

I am 75% done with my reno works at my new bto. I must say I am quite pleased with my contractor (Jeff). Everything very well taken care off, very efficient in answering queries and doubts. Keen on giving feedback and suggestions.To be honest, i had my doubts and was quite skeptical if he was like some contractors who are out to cheat us He's not an Interior Designer, but did provide 3D drawings before work starts to show how the layout will be like. Most of the input from me of course after looking at countless photos and ideas. I am happy with his overall service, he goes down everyday to make sure everything is in order. Anywhere I not too happy about, he try his best to accommodate. I am writing this post to promote his services and am willing to share with anyone who may be interested in getting a quote. I'm in no hurry to move in as my newborn is only 5 months old and wife just went back to work. so need help from my parents with my boy. SO agreed to let him use my place as a showflat for awhile. So if you just got your keys there, feel free to drop by. PM me and I will share his contact. Here are some of the stuff i did.One side feature wall with brick-like tiles aka Craftstone.Whole house tiled with wood-like tiles. really look like parquet but better lasting, wont scratch and very low maintenance.Hack 2 walls. Kitchen side hack half den add glass. Make kitchen brighter and look spacious. #rd bedroom hack half wall, also add glass so can look out to the living room. Got that classy feel.Full kitchen cabinets on both sides of kitchen, full length shoe racks, toilet mirror cabinets, 2 bedroom wardrobes, 2 tv consoles.Whole living and dining room false ceiling. Installed cove lights, down lights and 2 ceiling fans even though i have AC. Super afraid of the heat.Tempered glass shower screens in both toiletsService yard install windows to prevent rain entering.Box up alot of unsightly AC pipes.Whole house fresh coat of paint. Literally whole house.Grills installed also for safety,Lightings: Whole house LED lights. Jus get from Qoo10 or taobao. Very cheap and good. Aircon: I got the LG mirror one. Looks cool at the showroom but havnt seen it in action yet. Heard LG alot better than 3 years back. Now all made in Korea. I got it from Best Tech Katong. **** good their service. Even the installation crew also not bad. Usual BTO 4pm can finish already mine they only done at 6pm. Also no complaints. Cause my position of the aircon very unique due to the hacking of my wall. Kitchen Applainces: All got SMEG ones. Have lobang. Heater, kitchen sink and toilet stuff. All go Hoe Kee to get. Wont go wrong. So many generations people all go there to get. Their service and saleperson top notch. Will continue recommending people there. Total slightly more than 30K. I find it reasonable as i compare around, no one can beat this quote. Ok tired already. Have qns ask me. If you gonna stay at Macpherson Residency, rmb can drop by my place for a look. THese few days while i was there already have some curious aunty and uncles walk in to see. I dont get any commission but i do feel that if people give good service, must promote them abit.

Has anyone use homedesignsg before look like it quite cheap compare with other contractor outside

Hi All, Wanted to share my experience here... Will be getting my resale 5 Rm keys in Dec. Looking at renovation works mainly for Kitchen and the 2 bathroom. As usual, starting from early Oct, using google found several numbers of ID/Contractor offering "attractive packages" for Kitchen & 2 Bathrooms. Their Packages normally ranges between 8k to 12k Called up and even dropby to their showroom for quotations... Guess what! They all got so many hidden and unspoken terms and conditions. All the quotations eventually will end up somewhere at the 20k region, 1 Contractor even told us " Everybody putting up these price, if they dont follow suit how to get enquiry! This price how to do!" I never ask for a super unreasonable quote, I only wanted something that is at the best reasonable rate. Not asking for the moon ya. Feel so cheated and frustrated after all these running around. Still looking around and will post my experience using this thread. Hope I can shine some light into this super grey industrial. Always welcome any PM for good and reasonable price contractors! Thanks in advance...

Hi. I have a retail shop in mall about 275 sq ft and need simple renovation of wall hangers with back wall in 3 side wall and centre island display for placing laptops , accessories. Experiences contractor with mall experience work , please contact me and we can discuss. Work has to begin Aug 1, 2015. Can meet up today itself for discussion and finalize within 2 days.

Am looking for a contractor that can fix an exterior car porch for a corner terrace. A recent rain storm damaged the car porch and pulled out a couple of railings that supported the car porch. I am not sure if to look for a builder or an ID firm. Have searched the forum extensively but dont see anyone with similar need. Thanks in advance for helping me out.

we have gotten our 4 rms BTO flat at greenleaf tampines. It has been in the news a while back for its poor workmanship and tons of defects so we were kinda sketical during key collection day on 2nd dec. haha lucky for us, the defects are pretty minimal and they are implementing this tour thingy where the BSC contractor will walk the house with you to write down the defects so you dun have to write down yourself. so it is kinda a good thing. the skirtings were a shade of dark brown and pretty hideous and we r considering whether to hack it or paint it over. the flooring were a off white shade of yellow and the brown skirting make it even more obvious. the kitchen flooring and walls were also a yellowish tint.. duno y hdb uses this kind of ugly tiles.. cheap perhaps? 2 months prior to the key collection date, i start to stalk renotalk and etc and try to come out with a design that i like. i like things simple and thus was fancinated by the japanese minimalist and scandanavian look. I want to keep the whole house to a 60 percent white, 30 percent wood and 10 percent black color combi and maybe a bright color funiture to pop the colors in the living room i am a 3D artist by profession so i spent countless night trying to find the right funitures and look. i intend to find a contractor instead of an ID since i have the design. hopefully it will be cheaper since i am on a budget as well. i came up with the following concept. now while the BSC is fixing up the defects, we am finding a contracter. trying not to rush and find a lousy one , espcially after seeing so many horror stories on disaster renovation on renotalk and fb. hope u like it =)

Hello - Has anyone engaged **? Any feedback on them? I tried searching for old posts - but could not find much on them. Regards

Hello guys, the region beneath the stove, where we put our gas cylinder in a hdb household We have a plastic laminated cover , sliding cover, to hide the cylinders I need to replace this sliding door, intend to get this fabricated somewhere and install it myself Anyone knows where I can these kinda of stuff fabricated, Guys, teach me how to post a picture of the current condition Thanks for helping me out Raghu

Hi Everyone. Would like your guys advise on this quote. SERVICE YARD To supply labour & material to construct cement base for Washing Machine. To supply & install 3 Panel powder coated sliding window at service yard.KITCHEN To supply labour & material to construct cement base for Kitchen Cabinet. To fabricate & install Top & Bottom Kitchen cabinet in laminate finish at Wall A – approx. 7ft. To fabricate & install Bottom Kitchen cabinet with Tall Cabinet for Built-In Oven and Microwave at Wall B – approx. 11ft. To fabricate & install quartz surface kitchen worktop with backsplash finish. To extend piping for kitchen sinks and washing machine. To supply labour to install Kitchen Sink, Hob & Hood, Built-In Oven and Microwave.TOILETS To supply labour & materials to install tempered glass shower screen at 2 toilets. To supply labour & materials to install Vanity cabinet for Master Bedroom Toilet. To supply labour & material to install bidet at 2 toilets.MASTER BEDROOM To supply labour & materials to install L-Box with supply of 4 LED Downlights. To fabricate & install built-in sliding wardrobe with 1 side Full height mirror – approx. 6ft. To supply labour & materials to install False Ceiling at MBR Entrance with supply of 1 LED DownlightLIVING/DINING ROOM To supply labour & materials to install L-Box @ living room and Dining Room with supply of 12 LED Downlights. To supply labour & materials to install False Ceiling at Passageway with supply of 3 LED Downlights. To fabricate & install TV feature wall in laminate finish - approx.6ft To fabricate & install suspended TV console with flip-up tinted panel & drawer in laminate finish - approx. 6ft To supply labour & material to install full mirror panel @ living room wall up to ceiling heights – approx. 9ft. To supply labour & material to install shoe rack shelving below Main Switch Board Cupboard.OTHERS/MISCELLENEOUS To supply labour & material to install LED Ceiling Lights at 2 Bedrooms, 2 Toilets, Household Shelter, Service Balcony, Kitchen - Total 7 LED Lights. To supply labour to install toilets accessories, 2 Ceiling Fans and Dining Room Chandelier. To supply labour and relocate power points at Kitchen To supply labour & materials to install Powder Coated Window Grille @ living room and 3 Bedrooms. General Washing and Cleaning of Whole PremisesTotal Renovation Cost: $ 22,800

We started hunting for a HDB resale flat early this year and after a long process, we finally found a place that we love in Tampines. As we are starting our renovation, my husband (Tikiman) suggested that we should start a t-blog on renotalk. After all, we have gained a lot of information scouring through this forum, and it would be nice to share our own journey. The reasons we chose to buy a resale HDB unit : 1) Older units are bigger in floor space. 2) We dislike the bomb shelter because it is located in the middle of the unit like a sore thumb. 3) New HDB are built so close, neighbours can share salt/sugar via the kitchen/yard. In our search for a HDB apartment, we identified few requirements to fulfil: 1) Quiet and peaceful neighbourhood 2) Square layout without odd corners 3) No bomb shelter 4) Airy units with large windows / high ceiling 5) Corner unit 6) Last but not least, LOW COV haha... Tampines is a mature estate and individual neighbourhoods show unique characteristics. In the course of our search, we have walked the different neighbourhoods of Tampines at nights, off-days and on weekends to have a sense of the surrounding and to shortlist the neighbourhood that we like. Afterall, we can renovate the internal space of our apartment to fit our taste/requirement, but we usually have little control over the outside surrounding. Will share more details on our unit in the next post... Tikimum

Hi guys! I just had my renovation works done for my new 4-room BTO and am very pleased with the overall experience, materials, looks and finishing, therefore I'm briefly sharing my experience here in case some of you may be keen too. My husband and I are really into the contemporary look, because we like displaying items, and of cos the colour schemes for this concept. We happened to come across an ID that was recommended here a few months ago, and after a few meetings with that ID, we decided to go for him. Don't know why but he gives us a great sense of assurance and responsibility so ya.. hahahaha His quotation of 38k wasn't the cheapest, as some IDs quoted me around roughly 30k, but his carpentry designs and thoughtfulness captured us in. He wasn't pushy, handled our concerns and needs carefully and even spent lots of time accompanying us shopping for lightings, furnitures, literally everything we need in our new home. Regularly site inspections by him and the constant updates on the on-going works helps us to save lots of time too. If you doubt me, maybe you can try meeting up with him and see for yourselves. Some IDs insisted that I pay a design fee of about 1500-2000 before they can come up with everything, but he didn't even asked us to pay anything until all the proposal work is done and accepted by us.. with 0 hidden costs, we didn't feel cheated at all.. If you are keen to give my ID a try, do drop me a personal message and I will get back to you when I'm free again.

Hi everyone! My name is Jonah and I'm the principal photographer for All Aflutter (http://tobuildahome.sg); note that the website is still under construction and we're still uploading content to it. A quick FAQ on our project: What is To Build A Home (TBAH)? TBAH is a photography and videography project under the SG50 Celebration Fund that documents fresh home-owners moving into their homes for the first time. We want to show the customs and traditions that accompany the move-in as a way to engage and educate the audience, as well as highlight Singapore's rich melting pot of cultures and ethnicities. As a new home-owner myself, I was very intrigued by the intricate customs performed during the move-in, which I didn't know about until I was gently educated by my elders (mother-in-law, really), and I thought that it would be something very intriguing and unique to Singapore. I wanted to explore the meaning and significance of those customs. Who can join? Anyone who is moving into a new home - we don't want to limit it to only young, married couples moving into their new flat, but also explore Singaporeans of every stripe. We want to tell stories that highlight the diversity of our cultures and present the meaning behind the customs and traditions practiced by people moving into their homes for the first time. Instead of a nostalgic type of project, we want to do something that is forward-looking instead Do I have to pay anything? Short answer - no. As we're partially funded by MCCY under the Fund, there won't be any monetary costs on your end if you would like to participate. What's gonna happen if I want to participate? What kind of photography or videography is involved? We would do a pre-interview together with you and your partner, and find out a little more about you and your new home. If needed, we'll arrange a meeting, probably at your new place, to discuss the shoot in detail and fill you in on what's going to be involved. We'll tag along on your official move-in date (when you would carry out the customs or traditions, such as throwing of the pineapple, to name one) and document the process, and do a few portraits along the way as well! What do I get from this project? We'll put together a little memento from the shoot - such as a portrait photo print - and any digital images we would take from the shoot. If you want some photos of your pristine home with all your lovely decor and furniture, just let us know and we can provide them for you as well. I'm in! Where do I start? You can drop at email to jean.goh@allaflutter.sg or call me at 9726-1-726 to indicate your interest, and we'll get things started from there. We can also show you documentation/proof of our official appointment and approval by MCCY to show that we're not scammers or upselling you stuff you don't want or need. I hope I'm posting in the right place! Jonah Sun Principal Photographer All Aflutter

Hey all, Am renovating my resale flat, and I understand from my contractor that false ceiling is strictly not allowed according to HDB ruling. Is that true? The images I see online seem to have false ceiling for most HDB bathrooms? If it's a concern for leakage, I stay at the top floor, so there are no units above us..

Dear all, I am looking to renovate my 4 room bto, and went to approach My Design Pte Ltd.. We discussed for about 2 hours the concept and things we were looking in our home and he quoted us about $33k plus a $1500 design drawing fee which could be offset if we signed the contract. I haven't been able to find any threads or reviews on them. Does anyone know anything or have any reviews on them?? Btw, we paid the $1.5k for the design plans already!

Hi,Can anyone recommend a direct contractor for mirror feature wall and brick panel wall. For brick panel wall, i would prefer the creative wall panel, its like a 3d panel wall with brick design and we can paint over if we decide on a change of colour. Crafted stone wall, i understand that it will be more expensive than the 3d panel wall. Basically i am looking for direct contractor listed below: 1. Carpentry works 2. Vinyl flooring 3. Mirror - Full height feature wall 4. Brick panel wall - Refer to the attached photo If you guys have any recommendations, do comment ya. thanks alot.

Finally I will be collecting my BTO FLATS keys in 1-2 months time after 3 years of waiting. Was really happy and glad that the wait is over. Any BTO owner would like to share their same sentiment and joy as well as any renovation pointers to share. I had started to look for renovation contractor to renovate my new house. What is the difference between renovation contractor with drawing and one without drawing? Will the charges be the same? Please advice s this is my matrimonial home and want to keep within budget. Thanks a million

Today is considered the first week of renovation. ID said they will start hacking the floor.

Hi All, We got all these from Taobao ready to do reno. Before we can start on the renovation, we have a job posting to overseas and are selling these away. All RMB prices are what we paid and in addition, we have paid additional for delivery and custom fees; so the belows are priced to clear. Pickup at Bukit Timah area during weekday nights or weekends.

Hi Everyone, I don’t usually write in forums but I have benefited from others who have contributed advice and learnings to forums so I thought I should share my terrible experience with Zest Design and Construction (Victor Tan) so you can learn from our experience, and hopefully avoid the pitfalls that we went through when you are doing your renovations. We are now in a situation where Victor of Zest Design has walked off the job, and we are left to find some else to finish it. We also discovered that he had cut many corners, and did not do some of the things that were part of the contract, which we have already paid for. We engaged Zest Design & Construction (Victor Tan) as we had seen a number of good reviews on the Sammy boy forum. We had read of the many bad contractor experiences of others, and hence thought we would go with recommendations from others who had engaged him. Our biggest mistake was that we were too trusting, and did not do background checks. Our friends warned us about being too trusting but we kept insisting that Victor was different. He was a good & honest guy. How wrong we were! It was easy to be convinced by Victor in the beginning as he is well spoken in English, drives a Singapore-plated BMW 5-series, and had a ‘pleasant’ personality. Well, we certainly paid the price for not doing more checks and for being too impatient to find a contractor. I thought I’d share some tips of what you should watch out for when engaging your contractor (all the things we didn’t do): Contractors often do not quote for many things that we think are included. If you expect it to be included, ensure it is stated in the contract.For example, we thought tiling and ceiling plaster boards were included in the contract. Our contractor quoted for it in one part of the house, but not for another section. We thought windows were included in the contract. He only quoted for window frames! If you expect a door, make sure it is detailed. Don’t accept “Yes, it’s all included”. If you do not see it in the details of your contract, assume it is not included. It is the smallest of things, like a wooden railing for the balcony, or handles for the kitchen cabinet door, etc. If you a renovating a bathroom, do not assume the plumbing is included. If you are doing a new room, do not assume air-con piping is accounted for. Delivery Date / Deadline & CompensationEnsure that a delivery date is stated in the contract. Allow for a grace period, and then insist on a day rate compensation for further delays. Our original renovation was supposed to take 4 months. It has now been 11 months, and he has walked off the job. What contractors often do is move their workers around from one job to another. They take your deposit or progress payment, have workers at your place, then take on another job, move workers there, after a few days or even a week or two, workers come back to your job. This can go on for months, as we have experienced. Payment TermsNever, never, never agree to pay more than 25% upfront. And absolutely insist you will pay last 20% payment at the end of completion. We made a mistake by only holding on to 5% for the final payment. Hence, why he could walk away from the job. Maintain your own Records of Payments, Progress of Work and Variation OrdersAgain, we were too trusting and accepted his submission records. He tried to confuse us with multiple different Excel sheets, and very confusing method of listing the costs. Towards the end when we were in dispute, and we went through the records and documented it ourselves, we picked up double-billing of the same item, quoting for materials that weren’t actually used, asking for more final payment of that side order, when the job was actually not completed, etc. Take your own Measurements & Check the materials usedTiling and Ceiling plasterboards are charged per square foot. Victor was charging us a slightly larger area than the actual size he did the tiling and plastering. He was also charging us for better and different material then he actually used. When we questioned him, he did not respond. Another thing we discovered, he was supposed to do waterproofing of the roof, which is a basic requirement of any roof. He only did 1/3 of the area he is supposed to do! This was pointed out by the new plumber we engaged. Deposit with the ManagementMake the contractor put down the deposit with Management office. That way, you can be assured that he will clean up the vicinity before he leaves. Apparently this is acceptable & common. We made the mistake of putting down the deposit (RM5000). Now we have to spend our own money to clear the area as our contractor has left the debris behind. Get your own Sub-contractors if you want to save money If you are looking to save money, try to get your own subcontractors, and include that in your contract up front that you will engage sub-contractors as well. We bought our own tiles, glass doors, landscaper, etc. That was one of the things that upset our contractor. We found his quote for glass doors too high, so we got our own supplier. The difference in price was RM8000! And this is just for the glass doors alone. Qualifications & CredentialsAlways double-check that your contractor indeed has the experience and expertise to do what you need safely and correctly. When we re-read the good reviews on Zest Design, we realized that it was mainly on small projects like cabinetry, putting up interior walls, etc. Ours was a larger project as we put up an entire second floor. We actually did not double-check if he is certified to do such a project. All these points above may actually seem very obvious to do. But as I mentioned, we were too trusting and too “chin chai” as we were taken in by his ‘pleasant’ personality and thought Victor was honest and trust-worthy. Maybe he was in the past, but now I understand why people say never trust contractors in Johor. BE ON GUARD, all the time. My husband has some knowledge in construction and yet we were still fooled by Zest Design. Don’t rush into choosing a contractor. That was another mistake we made. We were too much of a hurry to get started and hence, did not do thorough checks. Take your time, talk to many people, and don’t be shy to ask around for advice. People are always willing to share. I really hope the above tips will help you have a better renovation experience than we did. Good luck!

Best spot to find interior designers and compare prices on the spot? Home Planner 2015 is the best place! Look out for the latest interior trends to realize your dream home for the new year. Brought to you by Full House Communications, organizer of top brand Singapore home shows including March Home, The BIG Furniture Fair and My Home International Grand Furniture and Renovation Expo. This festive fair promises to be a grand event with the widest range of the best furniture products and furnishing services with many exciting programmes, cash prizes, attractive gifts and bargains for visitors! Telephone: +65 6842 7266 Fax: +65 6842 7133 Email: sales@fullhouse.com.sg Website: www.myhomeinternational.com.sg Singapore EXPO Hall 4 1 Expo Drive, #02-01, Singapore 486150

Hi all, I am going to collect my keys to my place next year and have started to look for ID for preparation of my flat. Mine is a 4 room BTO which I have opted for flooring and doors to be done. So far I have went to about 4 IDs, some are too expensive and some way too cheap. I even have 1 quotation from an ID for whole house renovation, including changing of kitchen table top from solid surface to quartz, having a full length mirror at dinning, false ceiling for whole house (except 2 bedrooms) and making dinning bench all for $11,888. As a newbie, I would like any advise on how much a rough 4 room BTO renovation would cost and any recommendation so that I can have a better idea. Thank you!

Hello all, my first ever post, also the first home we have ever purchased. Am posting this first before trying out the "request for quote" feature of the site as i really am trying to avoid ppl calling me up when i am at work (+ having to explain to each caller what i want). So just wondering if anyone here can help out with a rough guesstimation of costs or if anyone out there is able to provide a quote based on our requirements. First and foremost, this build will have to be dictated by budget as we don't really want to spend too much. Here is our original floorplan. It's a 2 bedroom condo groundfloor apartment. In red are the walls i'd like to remove (which also means i need to relocate the DB box if that's possible) False ceilings to be hacked away also. And this is the proposed new layout i'd like (if budget wasn't a concern) The most important for us will be the work needed for the kitchen and toilets. The kitchen walls to be hacked away and to have an island to house the cooker as well as dining space. There is strangely a 3rd toilet in the yard. The proposal is to seal up the toilet entrance from the yard and to remove the wall that joins it to the common toilet, with a sliding door in place. The common toilet to be sealed up and to create a small walk-in-wardrobe area. I will not be needing shower facilities for the common toilet. The walls around bedroom 2 (or study), to be removed and to install either wire mesh grilles or black framed windows as a divider for just 1 side. (black thin lines behind couch) . Full height shelving (we have a somewhat decent height) for one of the study walls (+ ladder) Flooring we would like to have cement screed-look-alike homo floor tiles. Walls will be painted basic white with a wooden baseboard, ceilings to be white as well. To install polycarbonate awning (trellis) in patio. Wooden decking for patio also. Lights will be black track lights mostly and to have relite black fans in living room and study. (And if possible, the patio also) Airconditioning to be a 3 unit split for living room / masterbedroom / study