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The Nest We had been scouting around for our own place for quite a while and looking back, it did seem that we were taking forever to nail down a place we want to call our first home. Our requirements for our own property then were simple - BIG and cheap... Probably that explained why we were forever looking for our property back then! In Singapore context where land is scarce, it's almost mission impossible to find one that is big and yet cheap... Well... Unless, it's old!!! And so our quest for such property brought us to our current home - an ex-HUDC apartment in the west. At 1,700 square feet going at less than $700 psf, it fulfilled exactly the 2 main requirements that we were looking for in our first home. Never mind the fact that it's coming to 30 years old. To add icing to the cake, all the 3 rooms and the living room have unblocked view of the scenic Chinese Gardens in front of us!

Hi Folks, Have joined this T-blog big family for a couple of years now. Benefit lots from the lobangs and reno knowledge that the Shifus here have unselfishly shared. Wanted to start a blog to document the reno process for my family 2nd home in the east. So here I am Hopefully my reno info/experience would be beneficial to others as well. Ok kindly bear with the old man here, will start off with the usual loso part. . Flash- Back--> Background: I stay in the east for the most part of my life. Married and got a resale flat in Tampines. Decided two years ago to get a second property. Looked at other parts of Singapore but in the end bought one condo unit(3 bd rm) at Loyang. I guess I am kind of fated to live in the east. While waiting for TOP, I started to look through fellow senior renotalk bloggers' experience in reno and buy magazine for inspirations. Came up with a list of potential IDs, contractors, reno lobangs etc. Over the course of the wait, I decided that with this new house I would go with no ID path. With this decision I start to narrow down the items that I will be doing up and its designs. Numerous ppt pkg was created with images gather from various sources like Pinterest, Qavant etc. I think my theme would be Scandinavian and abit of industrial. Love the wood accent and the white canvas walls. Joined the FB page of my development to get regular update on it build progress which helps with the reno schedule planning. With completion in sight, I set out to get quotation and visit the shop shortlisted to narrow down the choices. Its not an easy task, some would see it as a waste of time as we do not have the actual unit yet. Everything is base on the drawing provided in the brochure. But to me, I get to compare the prices of various contractors and the quality of the furniture that I am eyeing. This is not in rush mode so you get to analyze things carefully and rationally. Since I am not hiring any ID, the bulk of my Reno will involved customize carpentry to utilize the storage space in a limited living space. The search for the right carpenter intensified when I got news that the keys will be ready to issue out in 2 months time. With my carpentry design in hand, I call out to 5 different carpentry contractors to brief them on my needs and ideas. Requested them to quote base on the rough estimate measurement I took from the unit floor plan. The difference as i found out is as high as 10k with same required items With a limited budget, I narrow the choice to two carpentry contractors(A &B) that offer value for $ with my carpentry requirements. Another meeting at their respective factory and further communication with the carpenters, I chose contractor A. The reason why i chose him is as follows: 1) Good rapport(Chemistry), able to relate my design easily to him 2) Workmanship is pretty good 3) Price is more flexible i more room to add in additional item(color PVC etc) PS: I would not disclose the names of the contractors that I chose as the works are yet to complete. I will reveal more info when the Reno completes which i think its a fairer assessment of the contractor capability Will try to figure out how to upload the floor plan over the weekend.

Hi! We’re looking for a HDB flat/Private Residence to film in for an upcoming commercial that will be aired in Singapore. Preferably a 1st floor (or low floor), 3-5 room flat which is empty. If it’s furnished, we would gladly move everything out to storage and put everything back when the shoot is done. The shoot will take place for about 2 weeks between mid June to early July. We will also provide a fee to use the apartment, up to $350 per day if selected. We will also be looking at Interior designers that could provide assistance in building props for the house. Interested parties, please feel free to drop me an email at jake.lee@smallshop.sg with details of the flat, and we’ll get in contact to arrange for viewing of the house. Should you require further clarification, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you! Kind Regards, Jake Lee | Producer Smallshop Communications Pte Ltd 46 Kim Yam Road, #03-24 The Herencia Singapore 239351 O: +65 6385 8826 M: +65 9431 9661 E: jake.lee@smallshop.sg

I’m baaaacccckkkk! I was last here five years ago when I was documenting my renovation journey and eventual move to a condo in the east. You can read about that adventure in my signature below. My latest reno adventure all started from a remark made by a potential buyer of my house (I’ll get to that bit in a little while). The wifey said my house needed a lot of work so I need to lower my asking price. I was quite incensed by that remark . I take a lot of pride in my home. It’s clean and fairly well-maintained, so for her to criticise it, I took it very personally. Then I took a long, hard look at the apartment and realized that yes, some parts of it do need work. The whole place could benefit from a paint job which I’m planning to do anyway before we thought of selling it. The parquet floor in one of my girls’ bedroom is faded out. The laminates of the built-in bedroom set in the other bedroom is peeling. The white gloss on my kitchen cabinets has turned a yucky yellow colour, same goes for the toilet seat covers etc etc. But these were minor stuff and the new buyers are probably going to replace them anyway, so it shouldn’t matter. I think the couple was just finding excuses to justify their pitiful offer, which we initially rejected but then reconsidered and counter-offered. But the deal fell through, and though the apartment is still being listed, in my heart, I’ve kind of given up trying to sell it. Apart from the kitchen (which I hate) and some bits of the bathrooms (poorly designed), I love our house. It’s in a fantastic location! It’s on a high floor! It’s unblocked! Why would I want to move? This was a question my kids asked me – which they also asked five years ago when we decided to uproot from Queenstown to move here. (I’m still 80-20 on that decision. 80% of me think it was a wise decision, 20% of me wished we hadn’t moved. But, bygones!) Why do I want to sell the apartment if it’s so great? Several reasons – to cash out on the capital gains, to move to a bigger place where I can go all out and reno to my heart’s content, and to reduce our housing loan payments so we have a bit more CPF when my husband and I retire. Sound decisions on paper. But when you put in the emotional attachment, all the hard work my hubby and I had to put in to get this apartment in the first place, then it’s not so simple anymore. We started listing the property sometime in July/August. Apart from that one firm offer, it’s been a disappointing nine months. I blame the gahmen of course for introducing the cooling measures but I think a Higher Authority is telling me I should stay put and enjoy what I have. And so children, this is how my reno story begins.

I had sign up with A&D for my 5rm resale flat renovation and my ID is Elijah Yeo Renovation completed for almost 1 month and I'm very satisfied with the work done, some minor rectification that need to be done are done. Elijah was punctual for all our meetings. He kept his promises and knowing that we had to get the renovation done quickly, he went all out to help us achieve this. We were away for a week and he made sure that work was done properly while we were away. He's very easy to work with and helpful - he volunteered to wait for the delivery of our equipment eventhough it's not his job. When we texted him at 10 plus at night on a weekend, he even called us back to give us feedback. Afterall, the job was done so smoothly and without any fuss.

Studio available for rent @$3500 Fully furnished. Lease flexible. Personal or corporate tenants. 200m to somerset mrt. Full condo facilities. Contact 91715804. No agents.

This is one of our i1Reno Pte Ltd project in Lilydalle Executive Condo We completed this kitchen facelift in 2weeks with our client staying-in, we tried our best to bring minimal inconvenience to our value client. 'One customer well taken care of could be more valuable than of $100,000 worth of advertising' - Jim Rohn

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Hi all, I am a newbie ! I hope someone can help with true recommendation on good painter and carpenter company. I had used a few contractors but all are those typical irresponsible contractors. I am staying at bukit panjang condo, I would like to do painting for the whole house including ceilings. I am also planning to get good carpenter to do a small short cabinet in one of the room. Please.... begging all the experts house owner to give me the contact of GOOD and Responsible contractors. Thanks in advance !

Condo EVANIA for rent. It is along Upper Paya Lebar Road, less than 10 mins walk to Serangoon MRT station and NEX mall. It has 3 bedrooms and 2 toilets. Whole unit for $3850. Master room for $1350 and each common room for $1250 per month. Price neg. Facilities in condo include swimming pool, gym, jacuzzi, bbq pit (covered), playground. Interested, please PM me. Thanks. Jaye

Hi everyone, need some help on your expert views to see if this quote is reasonable. It's for a condo - no doubt i know IDs/contractors like to jack up prices for condos, but is this reasonable? It's a new condo, so don't need to do any tiling. The main things i'm looking at are space and design consultation, feature wall for TV in the living room and master bedroom, walk in wardrobe (using the existing ones given by the condo) was suggested by the ID. NO DESCRIPITION Unit Rate AMOUNT($) 1 Professional services Inclusive 1.1 Design Consultation Inclusive 1.2 Space Planning Inclusive 1.3 3D Perspective Drawing Inclusive 1.4 Material & Colour Proposal Inclusive 1.5 Project Management Inclusive 1.6 Site Supervision & Co-ordination Inclusive 2 PAINTING WORKS To supply labour, tools and materials to :- 2.1 Painting of internal wall and ceiling for whole unit using Nippon Emulsion Paint (5 optional colous) $1,500.00 Total: $1,500.00 3 OTHER WORKS 3.1 To supply labour, tools and materials to provide general cleaning to whole house $350.00 3.2 Floor protection with corrugated hard cover sheet for whole house $400.00 Total: $750.00 CUSTOM MADE FURNITURE External: Selected timber veneer or laminates with internal: Blum system hinges with soft closing 4 Living/Dining 4.1 Low suspended TV console in selected laminate finishing (2layer ) Size: 4200(L) x 550(D) x 550(HT) $2,000.00 4.2 Featured wall above TV console in selected laminate finishing Size: 3000(L) x 150(D) x full(HT) $3,000.00 4.3 To supply labour and design mirror feature at dining area size:2400x (FH) $1,600.00 4.4 To Supply labour and design shoe cabinet and cushion in selected laminate finishing Size: 1500(L) x 550(D) x 1050(HT) $1,950.00 4.5 To supply labour and design bench come with cushion in selected laminate finishing size:1200(L)x450(D)x1500(H) $1,000.00 Total: $9,550.00 5 Master Bedroom 5.1 To redesign existing wardrobe to walk-in wordrobe c/w sliding door in internal polygom finishing Size: 1500(L) x 600(D) x full(HT) $2,800.00 5.2 To fabricate and design bedhead feature wall c/w cushion and side table in selected laminate finishing Size: 2000(L) x 150(D) x 1500(HT) $1,750.00 5.3 To supply and design dressing table c/w mirror in selected laminate finishing Size: 900(L) x 450(D) x 1800(HT) $960.00 5.4 To supply and design suspended TV console in selected laminate finishing Size: 1200(L) x 450(D) x 550(HT) $750.00 5.5 To supply and design TV feature wall in selected laminate finishing Size: 1200(L) x 150(D) x full(HT) $900.00 Total: $7,160.00 6 Ceiling Works 6.1 To supply labour and install L-box to living/dining area and false ceiling to passage way $2,600.00 Total: $2,600.00 Sub Total $21,560.00