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Its been more than 5 years since my first t-blog (you can find it here) and it was time to move to a bigger place. Settled on Bukit Panjang as fiance's family was staying nearby and got this unit after just viewing it once! It was going at a great price considering the size and proximity to the MRT (about 10 minutes walk). It's almost double the size of my previous flat (65sqm) with double the number of rooms and a balcony! Love the floor plan. Previous owners hacked away the storeroom though which was okay as the position was rather odd - just beside the kitchen. Currently waiting for the appointment date (scheduled in late July or early Aug) . I would have to move out from my current place by end Sept so its quite rushed! Hoping to document the journey here and hopefully help others in their renovation journey as well! We are looking at a minimalist scandi theme as we want to keep the house open, bright and airy and with less clutter as possible. We both like white with woods to accent the house and some black here and there. The plan is to have some plants in the balcony or maybe even a green wall if the budget permits.

Hi guys, Just want to share my humble 4RM BTO flat. My wife and I wanted something really simple so we opted for loose pieces of furnitures centred around a colour scheme of white, brown and maroon. Hope you like it! Also, any ideas on where I can find affordable art pieces?

Hello. I am new here in the forum and I am planning to renovate my place in Novena. I am needing some inspiration on the design, specifically with a Scandinavian theme so I can get my stuff from Ikea. Any helpful tips from you guys? Thanks.

Hi all, Wish to share my renovation journey with forumers here. After 3 years and 6months, the time to finally get our flat is here. Wifey and I are super excited! However, as we have a young kid (11months old) and both of us are working, it is really tiring to source for all the necessary for our renovation! But I'm sure we will get through this together. Here is our floorplan and our concept for the renovation. Some of you may have noticed the bomb shelter is connected to the kitchen. This is something we do not really like but we got no choice because our queue number for the BTO is too far behind! We are still thinking what to do with it. Here are the things we knew we wanted: 1.Featurewall + TV console 2.Shoe cabinet 3.Carpentry full length wardrobe at MBR, B2, B3 (study), 4.Study table and shelves at B3 5.Place to put piano in living room 6. Top and btm Kitchen cabinets, half wall to be raised + bifold doors 7.Vinyl flooring + overly kitchen and bathroom tiles (HDB ones are really ugly) 8.Ceiling fans + false ceiling with down lights Will post some the pictures we found on the net in our nxt post

Hi everyone! After a 4.5 years long wait, I have finally gotten my keys to my new home. My BTO is located in the west but due to privacy reasons, I will not be disclosing the exact location of my home. I have been following the forum since a couple of years back and today I have decided to start my own thread. I will be sharing my renovation journey, my thoughts and reviews. At the same time, I hope to gain valuable learning points from fellow forummers. This is my floor plan, 3 room 65sqm BTO. I will be sharing the unit with my sibling. View of my living room when you enter through the door. Another view of my living room. Will be doing a full height cabinet for this side of my kitchen. View of my living room from the kitchen. Will be doing a tempered glass swing door at the entrance, did considered a bifold door but my ID advised not to use a bifold door as it will make the whole area smaller with the kitchen completely segregated from the living room. Entrance to service yard, love that there is ample amount of sunlight streaming in throughout the day as this area is relatively unblocked as seen by the vast area of trees opposite. However, I heard that the area is slated for further developments so I will enjoy this scenery while it lasts. Only downside is my white cabinet might turn yellow easily due to the sunlight. Service yard, planning to do the auto pole system as this pulley thingy is so annoying.. I will also do a basin here for washing of dirty laundry and shoes, may also do a kerb at the bottom. The problem is, the contractor will have to run a pipe across from the other end.. The pipings will be quite unsightly.. Washing machine will be on this side. Common washroom. Will be doing a vanity cabinet and sliding door shower screen. Tiles and toilet bowl will remain as it is. I'm quite relieved that the tiles design look quite ok. Master bedroom washroom. Similarly for this washroom, tiles and toilet bowl will remain as it is. Will be doing a vanity cabinet and mirror cupboard, as well as a swingdoor shower screen. Master bedroom (it's so small!) Another view of the master bed room. Guestroom/ sibling room. Another view of the small bedroom Walkway to the bedrooms.

Like many others, I have been getting ideas from fellow renotalkers for our home. After 4.5 years of wait, we finally got our keys to our 4-rm BTO! As you can see from the floor plan, our bomb shelter is in the kitchen And these are some pictures of the rest of our "kosong" house as we did not opt for any flooring, doors or sanitary fittings. We did not have any wash basins in the toilets as well. So basically, we only had kitchen floor and wall tiles and a toilet bowl in each toilet! And so because we waited for 4.5 years, upon our collection of keys, we went straight in to roll all the pineapple, sprinkle rice at 4 corners, etc. I am not that superstitious, but the hubby wanted to follow the rules and whatnot so I complied. We did our defect checking on the very same day and I must say that we were lucky to not have that many defects. These were the few things which we spotted: - cracked wall along the entrance to the master toilet - stained / cracked tile (only 1 in the entire house) - hollow "openings" below the windows - scratches on main door and metal parts of windows We submitted the defect list the following day and we were told it would take 14-16 days for rectification to complete. To our surprise, it was all done after 1 week! ID and contractor selection As I was constantly excited about our house, our search for an ID began about 1 year before our key collection as I always heard that the TOP will be a year earlier (in fact, it wasn't). We were rather naive and gullible then and went to meet almost 10 IDs who gave us quotations just with the floor plan. By the way, we relied on q a n v a s t heavily during our search for an ID as we wanted to have a look at their past projects before meeting them. Sky Creation I forgot his name but we went to his office twice to discuss about the things that we wanted. He wasn't very pushy, but he still wanted to talk us into placing a deposit on the 2nd meeting. We wanted to look around so we turned him down politely. Fortunately, we didn't place any deposit as we have heard quite horrendous reviews about them over the 1 year. M3 Studio This lady was very frank (too frank actually). She did suggest some ideas and drew what we articulated quite well on a piece of blank paper. She also suggested quite a few ideas which other IDs did not managed to. It got quite uncomfortable when we told her that we haven't gotten our keys and she went like "I know you definitely won't come back if you leave now. It's ok, it's your choice ultimately." Starry Homestead Again I forgot his name, but he looked very decent (and totally like a salesman more than an ID) and discussed some ideas with us. We were at their office which had a showroom so the discussion went on and it was time to leave. He did not press us to place any deposit and told us to think it over before getting in touch again. However, after turning him down, he contacted the hubby several times and asked "so how?" many times until he finally gave up after 1-2 months? Lux Design We got to know them through q a n v a s t. We liked some of their works shown. I think they are contractors turned IDs because they have their own carpentry factory. Our meet up was always with the two of them because one was an apprentice. We did not take them up as we did not feel comfortable letting an inexperienced apprentice take over the design of our house. Also, most ideas were from us and they just said "ok". Chapter One Design After reading positive reviews about them on renotalk. We had a pleasant meet up with Fadhil. However, somehow Jonathan was roped in and the project became quite "grey" as we did not know exactly who was in charge of designing our home. Fadhil is a very nice guy and his ideas were also in line with ours. He also wasn't pushy and checked back with us even after 6 months! The hubby really wanted to sign with them, but I stopped him because I was so engrossed in reading all the renotalk tblogs and came to know of a few popular contractors. Contractors J & E I texted Edmund on the very day we collected our keys. Perhaps it was my fault to text him at 10.15pm so I did not receive a reply. The next morning, I texted him again with a "hello?" and he finally replied and we met the following week at our "kosong" house. As we communicated our ideas to him, he was constantly busy answering calls. I sort of expected this but still, I appreciate the fact that he was still trying his best to listen to our needs and wants. He jotted down briefly in his notebook and drew some rough drawings in it. The quotation came 3 days later as promised and we were quite disappointed to see that it was on par with an ID quotation. However, the hubby reminded me that at least this was an accurate quotation as compared to IDs who relied on floor plans to quote us. I told him to let me have some time to look through the quote and I'll get back to him next week. It has been 2 weeks and I never got back - and he never did as well. Although we have heard great reviews on their workmanship, the hubby and I were just not comfortable to engage someone who was constantly busy and unable to attend to us. Contractor K from h2o Interior Another renowned contractor is Mr K from renotalk. I texted him on the same morning I texted Edmund "hello?" and he replied almost immediately! I thought that his reply was fast because he was excited that he would be getting another project to work on. However, throughout our 2 weeks of communication, his replies have been quite fast. Even when I was upset about an increase in price in the quotation (also because hubby and I kept changing our ideas), he called me immediately to explain the reasons and that he doesn't mark up prices for no reason. I calmed down and listened (the hubby also talked some sense into me) and everything was back to normal. We changed our quotation a total of 5 times within 2 weeks! Even with so much going on, Mr K never once mentioned about taking any payment from us. Oh yes, he came down to our house twice because we needed to clarify some stuff. It was hard to fix a date to sign the contract as he is also very very busy! Weekends were out so we are going to sign the contract with him the week after next and choose our tiles and laminates for the cabinets and wardrobe on the same day. With no payment collected from us yet, Mr K has passed us 3 forms to fill up (installation of service yard windows, hacking of walls, commencement of reno) which we have since passed it back to him. He has submitted those forms to HDB which means that reno may commence very soon once we select our tiles at Hafary! In my next post, I shall share the things that we have bought thus far from Amazon and local stores as well as Taobao. Oh yes, and my mood board

Hi fellow Renotalkers, we are currently in the midst of renovation and found reading and learning from the collective experience of others to have helped us so much in our journey! As such we have decided to document our renovation and review the good and bad decisions we have made along the way. Hopefully it helps some of you out there! Our theme for this house is Eclectic Scandinavian. We wanted a mostly Scandinavian theme but wanted to attempt to incorporate some eclectism into it! Basically indecisive people needing an excuse for random out of place furniture I suspect the house is going to still turn out 99% scandinavian but we'll see how it goes! Below is our moodboard for the house! Living Room Kitchen Toilet Master Bedroom Of course, the journey first started with stressful ID/Contractor search and space planning We met about 6-7 ID/contractors in total. There's so much to say about this step but I think it can be summed up by going with your gut feel and with someone whom you can trust/can click with! Some thoughts on the whole process meet a few IDs/contractors at least before deciding Try to know your requirements before meeting them, and try to standardize the items that they quote you as far as possible so that you can compare cost Research and know the market price of certain items before going - e.g know the rough cost of floor tiles PSF, cost of labor for tiling psf, cost of quartz/granite/solid top per feet run, cost of cabinet carpentry per feet run, cost of paint etc. Much easier to bargain if you know which are the overpriced items on the quote! Specify the material you want as far as possible When one ID/contractor tells you something isn't possible, run the same problem by the other ID/contractors. We found solutions for many problems that way! Most importantly is how prompt they are. You will need to contact them a lot during the phase of renovation and it will make a huge difference if they are fast. If they cannot even give you a quotation on time, there's no way your renovation will be on track. Our main areas of built in Living room Craftstone brick wall Wall low cabinets Kitchen Hacking of wall Kitchen island Top and bottom kitchen cabinets Toilets Vanity cabinet and shower screens (half for common, full for master) Barn door for master bedroom toilet Master bedroom Straight Wardrobe Flooring Floor tiles for living room and vinyl for bedrooms Decided to minimise built in furnishings in the bedrooms so that they will be flexible in their use in the future! In the end we decided to go with a contractor as we felt he was efficient/prompt and had the confidence that he would be able to pull off the requirements we had. Didn't see a need for an ID as we felt that we would be able to design the house by ourselves! Turned out to be both a right and wrong decision at the same time! We had the space planning and concept in mind but honestly ended up struggling so much with paint colours, lighting positioning and furniture selection ! Below is a super duper untidy and unprofessionally drawn copy of our space planning! Funny circles with crosses in the middle is my way of indicating chairs HAHA We're some ways into the renovation and will try to compile categories together so that it will be easier to read!

Decided to start a T-Blog to detail our renovation process! Hopefully it would be able to help other new homeowners like how the previous T-Blogs helped me I would try to update the T-Blog within the first few posts so that its easier for new readers to browse through. Floor Plan for a 4-Room BTO @ Canberra East We had two main options 1) Bomb Shelter in Living room 2) Bomb Shelter in Kitchen. We decided to go with the bomb shelter in Kitchen as the layout was easier to work with. Moodboard: Generally we would be using light colours along with empty/hacked spaces to make the place look bigger. The furniture required would also be kept to a minimum. For Living Room - Going with something simple For Bedroom 3 - Planning for a half-hack alumimum lattice to make the place look spacious For Kitchen Entrance - Planning for half-hack as well for an open kitchen concept For Kitchen Area - Classic Brown/White combination for Kitchen Cabinets For Master Bedroom - L-Shape Walk-in For both Toilets - Standard Vanity Setup Budget Allocated: 1) Renovation: 30K 2) Electronics: 10K 3) Non- Electronics: 10K Total: 50K

Love the clean, minimalistic, natural look? Benz Design Interior has been at this for many years. Absolute consistency in their workmanship and dealings with people, it is no wonder Benz Design has been receiving a constant flow of good reviews. See one of their latest Scandinavian Home Themes (pictures attached) For more info: https://www.renotalk.com/directory-listing/company/11999/2/benz-design-interior Have a pleasant time browsing! Look up, amazing detail! Lights & branches. Clean & Natural look Plants need good light & that's what you have here Keeping true the theme from start More videos:

Dear Readers, Fairly new to RenoTalk as I merely just read and see pictures of other's T-Blogs, therefore decided to also share mine journey with everyone. Had friends and family whom encountered contractors/ID that ran away, ended up their money was cheated. Therefore, we were very careful in selecting our ID by ensuring that they are accredited with CaseTrust/RCMA. This is to prevent our money from dissapearing after hearing all those bad experiences... We wanted a home to display our Lego collection, as well as a cozy home to look forward to coming back everyday after work. As I do some baking as my hobby, i will need an open kitchen concept with lots of space to do my stuffs. Here are some details of my home: Location: Woodlands Type of Unit: HDB 4 Room Floor Size: 93m² Theme: Modern + Contemporary + Scandinavian + 15 Shades of Grey (not 50..) Floor Plan: HDB's Proposed Layout: Our Layout: Original's HDB layout is definitely not the layout i'm looking at as I have quite a number of Lego sets to display. These are some of the pictures/feels that I like when i first sourced for ideas/design/layout Moodboard Like all of you, selection of ID is the great headache of all. We were all hyped out and too excited, therefore started looking for ID as early as 2015-2016 after we booked our flat with HDB. FYI, our home is only going to be ready 2Q 2017. ID Selection 1) 3D I****** D****** - Strike Off Been hearing and seeing aloton them via Radio / Tv (RenoAid) as they are getting popular. Been to their showroom, didn't like the vibes of the company as the ID forgotten my appointment with them. Didn't bother to follow up after that, as they seems "too popular" or busy. 2) W**ken - Strike Off Visited them for fun at Tampines, didn't have much interesting ideas from them. Therefore decided to just drop them, as they are unable to think of anything out of the norm as all the proposed design/layout is what i found online. 3) Ciss**n Interior Design - Strike Off Also another ID that is frequently found at expo shows, quite like the home they did up for local celebrity - Judy, which was displayed at the showroom. Person we spoke to was very aggressive and pushy, therefore got quite turn off as during the point of time we were just looking out and finding out prices only. 4) i-Ch*pter - Strike Off Happen to chance upon them at one Star Living Furniture event, the ID we spoke to was quite knowledgeable and has lots of great, creative ideas. If you are looking for great ideas, you can look for him. We didn't select him because the company only offer 1 year warranty and the package is not enticing enough, furthermore hekeep calling me the wrong name ever since day 1. 5) Sk* Cr****** / Mus*e - Strike Off For those that visited the Musee Interior Design Resource Library would definitely come know them, as they are partners with Musee. It's an eye opener for a newbie like me to know about all about renovation and planning for my home, for those wanting to gain some knowledge can go visit them. We didn't eventually chose them because we felt that they want a share in every bit of every business, which makes them too "messy" and not specializing in what they are supposing to do. 6) U**** ID - Strike Off As the raves of the famous K** and Sa***** goes, we decided to also make an appointment with them to find out how good they are. On the 2nd meetup, you can tell that they are very sincere and serious in getting your business. They even do up a mood board and 3D for you to visualize, idont think i have come across any other ID that does this so far. Pretty amaze by what they can do to make you feel pressured. Their ideas are so-so in my opinion, quotation was super over-priced for the amount of work done. Furthermore, every hinges/drawer track provided were not even Excel or Blum. Didn't proceed with them as they only willing to offer 1 year warranty for that overprice quotation. 7) Rezt and Relax - [Selected] Always noticed their expo exhibition, visited them and quite like the vibes of their showroom/style. Made appointment with senior designer JJ and after a few meetup, we feel that the price is slightly on the high side. However, we were made to believe that it was because of the lifetime warranty. We decided to go with them as they are the only ID that offers lifetime warranty and is also backed by CaseTrust 8) Abs*l**k I******* D***** Saw alot of Facebook ads on this company, made appointment with them to just kaypoh kaypoh. The ideas and quotation were quite reasonable, we even manage to negotiate to a 5 years warranty coverage and free upgrade to blum for everything. The quotation were within our budget and best of all, it includes hacking of the 2nd Bedroom to cater my walk in wardrobe! However, we eventually didn't proceed with them because we have signed with R&R. Appliance/Equipment List: [Fridge, Aircon, Washing Machine, Heater, Basin] - Fridge: LG Door-in-Door Refrigerator 601L GS-J6011SB - AirCon: LG Artcool System 4 Mitsubishi Starmex System 4 5Ticks - Washer/Dryer: 12/8kg Inverter Direct Drive 6 Motion Front Loader WD1628RDS - Joven5035L Green Storage Heater: JH5035HE - Kitchen Basin: Blanco Metra 9 + Mida Sink MIxer [Hob, Hood, Oven, Microwave] - Hob/Hood: Brandt AT1490X + TG308XC1 + TI1000B package - Oven: Brandt 60cm Built-in Pyrolytic Oven FP1067XS - Microwave: Brandt 900w Built-in Microwave ME1030X i'm abit OCD and like things to be consistent, clean and neat. Therefore it has to be of the same brand/series... [Bathroom] - Rain Shower: Grohe Cosmopolitan 200 (Common) + Grohe Euphoria 180 (Master) - Basin Taps: Krisroz 43011C (Common) + Krizros KS35001 High Body (Master) - Toilet Bowl: American Standard AMS 2307 Acacia E Vortex - Bidet Spray: TBA - Accessories: TBA list to be updated, still looking around. Should be getting Grohe Rainshower and other stuffs... any recommendation? [Misc] - Eubiq Powertrack System - Evorich Flooring - Accessories: TBA - Deco Items: TBA Can you believe that we actually place deposit for Evorich Flooring back in early 2016, even way before anything else. We quite like the flexibility of Eubiq in the house (especially the kitchen), therefore we also went ahead to purchase the powertrack system and manage to negotiate a good deal to get additional stuffs. In the next post, will be posting details of the discussion of my 3D and pictures will be attached.

Been thinking long and hard if I should start a t-blog, because I’m not sure if I can commit to writing one between life, work, and the hectic reno process. But in the end I thought I should try to document the process of shaping my house into a home. Background This is a 3 room unit at Punggol, along the waterway. Key collection started on 14 March 2017 for the first 2 blocks, my block is next and I think we'll most likely get our keys in April. Different from most other t-blogs by couples, the house will be for myself, my mom and my younger brother. Since I’ll be paying for the place (+ reno and furniture/appliances) alone, I chose not to burden myself with a higher loan for my first home by getting a 4R. Hence my budget for reno isn't big at all; my challenge is to make it a nice place with everyone having their own space in a small house. Floor Plan I’m quite happy with the layout of the unit, even though it’s small. Kitchen is tiny but squarish, bedrooms are decent size and bomb shelter is not in front of the kitchen. Overall, I have no real issues with the positioning and shape of the rooms. It also has an open concept kitchen. Next few posts will cover my mood board, the space planning for the house and ID selection process. Can’t wait for my key collection! I was never too excited until the recent 2 months

Finally! It is our turn to contribute and start a T-Blog in Renotalk. Been reading quite a few T-Blogs since mid of last year to understand the renovation journey, tips etc. Not a wordy person, so I will not type a long essay and just go straight to the point but sometimes I may edit the contents of this T-Blog periodically so do check back if you are interested! This is our floor plan, a humble 4room BTO in Jurong West : Although our living room (TV/Sofa area a little small) seems to split into two because of the bomb shelter, we are blessed to have a long kitchen and we are going to do open kitchen concept which will effectively turn the whole area to look spacious! The bedrooms size is decent enough, except for the second room which seems to be quite small. Initially we wanted the third room to be our piano room but in the end we decided to use the second room instead. So the third room shall be our guest room for now. Our milestones: May 2013 - Apply for our BTO flat, we are lucky to get a very lucky queue no 71 to select our flat! Oct 2013 - Selected our unit and paid for the 5% down payment to HDB and the long wait for key collection begins... -_-" Mar 2016 - We done our customary wedding. May 2016 - We had our first honeymoon in Melbourne and truly enjoyed it as it was my wife's first time to visit Australia! Jun/Jul 2016 - Can't remember the exact month but we decided to kickstart our ID selection earlier. Visited quite a number of IDs before shortlisted our preferred ID last year Nov 2016. Oct 2016 - I know we are kiasu as we started purchases stuffs for our new home as early as last year October since there is quite a number of sales! LOL Feb 2017 - Our HLE auto approved! Mar 21st 2017 - Our key collection day! ID, window grille contractor, bedroom door and toilet door contractor came down to do on site measurement. Tim Wong also came down to do planning for aircon trunking installation. Mar 24th 2017 - Took 1 day leave to do through defects check with my wife. Submitted defect list to BSC for rectification. Mar 25th 2017 - BSC came down to our place to perform rectification. Window blind contractor came down to do onsite measurement. Also selected our window blind materials and given quotation. Installed shelving for bomb shelter. Apr 1st 2017 - Installed Varm on main door to allow 90 degrees opening without door stopper. Choose our wood material for our carpentry works with our ID and also finalise our laminates design for our carpentry works and wall colors. Apr 4th 2017 - Hack permit approved for hacking of kitchen wall. Apr 6th 2017 - Aircon trunking installation (1st installation). Apr 10th 2017 - ID sent us finalised carpentry works measurement and design. Apr 12th 2017 - Kitchen wall hacked. Apr 15th 2017 - Electrical works for power sockets. We didn't engage our ID's electrician as we found that his quote is quite expensive so found Mr Sim to do the electrical works for us. Apr 18th 2017 - Cement screeding for our flooring. Apr 20th - 22nd 2017 - Kitchen cabinet base / Shower kerb. Apr 22nd - 23rd 2017 - DIY painting (door frame + bomb shelter) Apr 22nd 2017 - Carpentry work fabrication Apr 24th - 26th 2017 - Painting for whole house. Apr 29th 2017 - Lightings & ceiling fan installation / Gas pipe installation / Aircon second installation. May 2nd - 4th 2017 - Vinyl flooring installation May 9th 2017 - Carpentry installation May 15th 2017 - Window grilles installation (Living room + Bedrooms + Service yard). Bedroom doors installation. May 20th 2017 - Blinds installation. Toilet doors installation May 27th 2017 - Taobao 2nd batch orders delivery. Jun 1st 2017 - Piano delivery. M1 Fiber broadband activation. Guestroom mattress delivery. Jun 3rd 2017 - Storage heater installation. Master bedroom mattress and bed frame delivery. Dining bench & chair (table left out!)+sofa+coffee table delivery. Washing Machine+dryer+refrigerator delivery. Jun 8th 2017 - Main gate installation Jun 10th 2017 - Gas activation. Dining table delivery. Tempered glass installation. Jun 12th 2017 - General cleaning. Kitchen mixer installation. Remaining switches & sockets installation on kitchen cabinet. ID handover! Jun 15th 2017 - Moving our stuffs to our new place. Jun 16th 2017 - Moving in to our new place! ---- Moodboard: We like Scandinavian themed homes very much as it is simple and not too old fashion (sorry to those Classic theme lovers!)... at the same time we want to throw in a bit of Industrial look to make it look more interesting... but instead of the usual black,white and woody feel, we want to throw in quite a large portion of grey (industrial feel) for our flooring and pastel colors to liven up our new home. Initially for the living room, I wanted some yellow as this color seems to be often overlook by other home owners ... but then I realised the exterior colors of our BTO is made up of grey and yellow... so... no go in case our home looks like representing our BTO lol For master bedroom, we wanted blue as it looks more calming. For piano room, my wife like sea green color. Some colors we like for our new home. We will let our ID to help our select the appropriate colors as we are not too good at matching colors. Table of Contents: 1. ID selection process 2. Our offline purchases 3. Our online purchases via Taobao/Qoo10/Amazon 4. How to buy from Taobao? 5. 3D drawings from our ID 6. Defects check We use this link as a guide - https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7KsvqdzcsrpaW5kVEUwVEZqX2M/edit | Mainly defects found includes: - choked pipes (TIP: once you found one, just declare all and don't be surprise BSC can clear one bagful of debris!) - loose window handles/hinges - rusty hinges - masking stains on walls - uneven paint marks (those teardrop paint marks) - Spotted a "potential" leak issue... but seems to be ok after BSC checked. Our neighbours (3-4 of them) found this pest issue with the floor skirting. 7. Renovation progress Carpentry material selection / Wall color selection Aircon 1st installation Carpentry measurements Wall hacked! Electrical works (sockets and switches) Cement screeding by HDB contractor and a bit of hiccups... Tiling works DIY painting (door frames + bomb shelter) Painting by ID and some hiccups... | Painting completion! Carpentry fabrication Gas pipe installation Aircon 2nd installation Electrical works (partial lights installation) Vinyl flooring installation Carpentry installation part I Carpentry installation part 2 Carpentry installation part 3 Carpentry installation part 4 Bedroom barn door installation part I Window grilles installation Bedroom barn door installation part II Toilet lourve door installation Blinds installation Kompacplus top installation Plumber works AO Smith digital storage heater installation Main gate installation Tempered glass kitchen backsplash installation Gas activation It's a wrap! 8. Renovation completion Sneak peek of our love nest

Hi ALL, i collected my keys in Jan 2017, in Boon Keng area, and finally works are starting!! This is my floor plan!

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My unit is a 4-room flat of 92sqm (including AC ledge). It's considered really small but oh wells, this is what you get for a 4-room flat nowadays, and thankfully me and wife aren't that big size either. The bombshelter is located in the kitchen that in turn, gives us more space in the LR, which is exactly what we wanted. Can host mahjong session in the LR Initial Floor Plan Our Basic Requirements 1. Spacious MBR and LR 2. Walk-in wardrobe 3. Work area 4. Long mirror cabinet in MBR toilet 5. High Resilient Vinyl Flooring for LR and all BRs 6. Overlay of floor and wall tiles in MBR toilet 7. Bottom cabinet only for hob side, top and bottom cabinet on the opposite side 8. Scandinavian style, with maybe a little pinch of Industrial feel Contractors/IDs Selection 1. Chun Xiang Renovation Pte Ltd I shall skip the scouting process as I'm too lazy to recall each and every detail of them. In summary, I've approached a couple of IDs and Main Cons, but none of them fits my budget with the requirements, except for Edmund (in short I'll just call him E here) from CX Reno. Actually he was introduced to me by a close friend, and I've personally went down to their new house to witness their fine carpentry's workmanship. One thing good about them is that they're already a registered reno contractors with HDB and it will make the approval process of the reno smoother and faster. New Floor Plan with my Idea 1. Sealing up BR2 actual door, and hacking a door linking BR2 with MBR. Making BR2 into a walk-in wardrobe and work area. 2. Changing the direction of MBR door to have better accessibility into walk-in wardrobe. Milestones and Progress Updates 19 / 10 / 2016 - Flat Unit Selected 05 / 01 / 2017 - Submitted Appeal Form for Smooth Rendering Floor (SRF) *mine is a SBF unit, therefore no flooring is done prior, and since we're doing vinyl flooring, we need to get cement screed for our flooring, should take around 6-8 weeks to get approved, i.e. latest by 2nd March* decided to withdraw and appoint my main con screed instead 16 / 01 / 2017 - Collected Keys and Signed of Lease Agreement, Performed Door-opening Ritual 19 / 01 / 2017 - 1st Defects Inspection 21 / 01 / 2017 - Submitted Defects Feedback Form to BSC *takes around 9-14 working days to be rectified by BSC, i.e. latest by 13th Feb* 13 / 02 / 2017 - BSC confirmed 1st rectification completed, pending for 2nd defects check or close case with BSC 18 / 02 / 2017 - Rectification completion confirmed and signed. 16 / 03 / 2017 - Renovation and Hacking work commences! 18 / 03 / 2017 - Electrical work commences! 03 / 06 / 2017 - Final Handover from CX Reno (but still got some nitty-gritty touch ups to be rectified, so they will still be back a few times. And my walk-in wardrobe that is handled by another door contractor, still has not been installed, hopefully they can be installed by mid June, furnitures and electrical appliances are slowly coming in.) Will keep this post updated every now and then... All the completed final renovation images. Hope my blog helped you guys along the way! Living Room Kitchen MBR Toilet Walk-in Wardrobe MBR

Pre-loved 3-seater fabric sofa used less than 2 years. Comes with matching ottoman. Condition: 8/10 Dimensions: Sofa > 190 x 85 x 75 (L x B x H in cm) Ottoman > 90 x 100 x 40 (L x B x H in cm) Slight chip on one side of sofa's leg. Not for fussies. Please arrange for own transport or additional $80 for delivery. Whole sofa can fit into lift. No need for assembly. Comes as it is. Smoke-free and pet-free environment. Never spilt liquid on sofa/ottoman. Original price: $2100 for whole set Now selling: $500 for whole set

Hi Everyone! I've been reading posts on Renotalk for a few months now, and find it a very helpful source of information. Decided that I will contribute by sharing my renovation journey! Flat Type: Resale 4 room Model A1 Size: 102 sqm Theme: Scandinavian with a splash of pastels - main colours light wood, white, light grey with splashes of pastel pink and mint Budget: $40K plus $10K for furniture ID: Y** Living - after one month of meeting and comparing quotes with 10 over ID/contractors, we decided to go with this ID as their price was most competitive, and the ID was responsive and gave us helpful ideas on how to save costs. Floorplan: The previous owner actually partitioned part of the living room into a Study. My hubby likes it because he can use it as his man-cave! The Store used to be in the living room, but the previous owner has removed it and carved space for it it out of an existing bedroom. Some photos of the "Before": Kitchen Service Balcony Living Room Master Bedroom Master Bedroom Toilet Common Room Common Room Toilet

Pre-loved with minor scratches, adding character to the chairs. Condition: 8/10 Selling at $100 per chair or purchase both at $180!

Hi Masters! this is my first post on reno talk, and i would like to seek some advice from experience folks here. I just purchased a 4-room DBSS unit (resale, 94sqm), and i'm planning to do a full overhaul of the entire house. I have a 30-40k renovation budget to turn my hdb into a nordic scandinavian vibe home. I would like to make the following changes Full hacking a demolition - living room + kitchen + 3 bedrooms + 2 toilets. I think i need to take down nearly everything - tiles, carpentry work, false ceiling, etc. Full painting in every room Minor electrical work touch up; addeding a few power points. Living room - New floor tiles (Vinyl or homogeneous tile), shoe cabinet, TV wall mounting, new curtains, and possibly a featured wall, installation of hanging fan Bedroom (master) - New floor tiles (vinyl or wood-like tiles), built-in wardrobe Bedroom x2 - New floor tiles (vinyl or wood like), 1 study table in 1 of the room, 1 built in ward robe in 1 of the room. Toilets - New floor (granite or other matt/rought materials) and wall tiles (Granite, ceramic or homogeneous tiles), sink/toilet bowl/vanity counter purchase + installation, glass wall Kitchen - New floor tiles and wall tiles, cabinet (white modern looking), kitchen top (granite or marble), new sink and cooking hobs + installation. I don't think my budget allows me to engage an ID, hence i'm looking for a contractor to help me with my renovation work. Any good intro?

Hello everyone! We have been silent readers of this community for quite awhile and started stalking t-blogs since more than a year ago - even before applying for our current flat! Bin of the #kingandbin duo has been interested in home decor for the longest time and has been browsing online forums/communities ever since Livejournal days. So you can say that she has been preparing for this even before knowing/meeting King . And yay! Our place is going to start renovations verrryyy soon. Thus we're here to share our experience! Home will be a 4-Room flat in Sengkang, in between the MRT station and our parents' place. It's approximately 6min by foot (or 1 bus stop) to the MRT and also about 6min by foot (or 1 bus stop too) where King currently stays with his parents. Here's the floor plan: It's a SOBF unit and we received the keys in mid February this year. We took our time to meet up with contractors and to think through (mainly Bin, King helps to make final decisions after she narrows options down ) about the works we would like to do for our home. We finally decided on & confirmed our contractor 2 weeks back. Work will commence just before the Lunar 7th Month begins. It's been a rather slow process so far but we are glad to get things started! Hope you join us on this t-blog as #kingandbin embarks on our exciting renovation journey for our first home! // HOME IN PHOTOS [BEFORE & AFTER] LIVING ROOM STUDY ROOM DRESSING ROOM MASTER BEDROOM KITCHEN COMMON BATHROOM MASTER BATHROOM CORRIDOR

We have just started our renovation recently, and decided that we should start a blog to document our Renovation Journey, so we could one day look back at our experience =) There are like so so so many tiny details that one should keep in mind during renovation. So many tricks, tips & pointers to look out for. Hopefully by sharing our humble experience, fellow renotalkers can also learn something from our renovation process as well. Nothing fanciful here, but I guess I shall start off with some pointers on ID/ Contractor Selection Process, my ideal steps as follow: 1) Get your floor plan (the above is ours). You can email HDB and they will send the hard copy to you by slow mail. Then photocopy a few copies of your floor plan, for future usage (e.g. to give to potential ids/contractors). When to start finding? It depends, we started like 3 or 2 months before we get our keys. However, if you know you are finding someone popular, then you might want to check his/her schedule earlier. 2) Brainstorm & write down in details what you would like to do for your house. Be specific. Don't just say Wardrobe in the Master Bedroom, say instead, 6ft length wardrobe in laminated finish, and whether you want casement or sliding doors. Number of drawers may matter too. Soft-closing and what brand also must say. Your ceiling height matters too (normally they do until 2.4m or 2.5m high only... extra height must top up). Whether you want the insides to be internal colour PVC finish or the standard white colour (which may turn yellow after many years..) also affects the price. Choice of external laminates matters too as some laminates can be more expensive than others. Sometimes even mirror or any fanciful design or material can affect the price, so be specific on your requirements. *EDITED ON 26 JUN 2016* 3) After having written down your specific requirements, do meet up with at least 5 Ids / Contractors to get your quotation (bring your floor plan too). Doing this will allow you to: a) compare the various quotations on the SAME job that is being done. b) observe the person to see if it's someone you can "click" with.. His/her attitude and design sense, etc. c) collect ideas. a good id/contractor may also point out impracticality of your design and explain stuffs to you why it's not good & propose better solutions. Do note that engaging ids will cost more than contractors (duh....the obvious), usually at least $2k to $5k+ more... it depends. You may consider getting an id if you have the budget + if you don't know what design you want, etc. If you already have a sense of direction what kind of design you want, then perhaps a contractor may suffice. Some contractors have designers to draw 3D drawings for them, so you can better conceptualise the design. The cheapest option, however, is to outsource EVERYTHING (e.g. find your own carpenter, tiler, electrician, etc). But that would require a lot of time & coordination on your side, and it could be quite stressful too.. *EDITED ON 26 JUN 2016* 4) Find out all the hidden costs, and also determine which items are worth outsourcing to make the overall renovation cost cheaper. Here are just some areas you can look into: a) Haulage & Debris Removal Service - Should you really pay $800-$1200 for haulage & debris removal service to your id/contractor? Or will it be cheaper if you call the HDB appointed Haulage Service contractor (his contact will be pasted near your BTO lift), and then ask your id/contractor to liaise with him instead? Haulage service is basically carrying the heavy stuffs for you, such as Tiles (if your flooring is not done yet), and debris removal is where they help you clear any debris from your renovation. I'm not sure if those who have no hacking & tiling works still need this service or not...as it may seem rather redundant unless you need to do kitchen mortar base, washing machine & fridge kerb then maybe need some labour need to carry the required materials such as prepacked cement, etc (this may probably cost you about $250?). For us, we have to hack some walls & do flooring... so we need this service. The amount of works done (hacking/flooring works) & the size of your flat (if do flooring) will determine the cost of this service. Some ids/contractors will ask you to get this service yourself and they will not include this in the quotation..., some may absorb this cost for you and provide it "free" (while jacking up the prices of other items maybe?), and some others will include this in the quotation as $800 to $1200++ and say it will be better if you engage from them as it is their own workers doing the service directly, so there will not be any miscommunication or delays. I later realised that this is kind of not true.. The HDB appointed Haulage Contractor for our BTO is "Mr Tan", and he says the service would cost $600 if got hacking + tiling works for 4 room (I'm not sure if other HDB appointed private contractors from other areas have different pricing or not..). I told my contractor (let's called him Uncle S) about it and he says he actually knows him coz they sometimes need to work together. He also remarked that he charge me cheaper than him too (Mr Tan charges Uncle S $700 for haulage/debris removal services)! So anyway, I passed Uncle S the money, he help me pay and get the receipt from Mr Tan. And from there onwards they work together no need me to call or arrange any appointments with Mr Tan at all. I never even met Mr Tan myself, only phoned & texted him to negotiate the cost of service only. Thus, it's not as troublesome as you may think if you engage Haulage service yourself, the point is whether your id/contractor is willing to help you liaise with the Haulage Contractor or not. So far everything seems okay. My walls have been hacked with debris cleared. Floor tiles are already in our house & tiling works are progressing, might be finishing by end of next week b) Window Grilles & Doors - It's usually cheaper to outsource these to those companies that do these works as their primary focus. I will update again the contacts once I am in that stage of installing these. It is better to install them at a later stage in the renovation (e.g. as doors may hinder movement or get scratched unless you protect them with cardboards and stuff). Uncle S says he will help me supervise the installation when the day comes (I hope ). c) Electrical, Plumbing Works & Aircon Works - These are usually not included in the quotation. You may choose to find your own electrician, plumber & aircon installer, or use the ones that your id/contractor works with. d) 3D Drawings - Do the 3D drawings come with unlimited edits? Or each re-draw/change of a 3D drawing (to see another design) will cost extra $$$? Stay away from those ids/contractors whereby 3D Drawings will cost exorbitant price like $500 each per change, as this will only limit/force you to proceed with the current design they proposed to you, which may not be what you really want. e) Internal Color PVC (example above) - As mentioned earlier, this is for the insides of the Cabinets/Drawers. The "default" is usually white color, but it may turn yellow after some years. If you want it to be internal Color PVC (non-white, there are a few colors & patterns to choose from..), then you have to top up. Do note that this is NOT the same as normal laminate, which is used for the OUTSIDE / EXTERNAL of the carpentry works. So, in terms of price, Internal White PVC < Internal Color PVC < Laminate. f) Full-height Carpentry works - If you are staying with higher ceiling height, full-height carpentry works will cost more. ** 5) Create an excel file to break-down and compare the quotations. Copy & paste the various jobs you have written in Step 2. Now, add in the quotations you have collected in Step 3. It may take awhile, but this step is very useful in helping you see the differences between the different ids/contractors quotation. It also allows you to calculate your costs easier as compared to writing these in word document. This means you will have 1 Column of Items, and X number of other Columns representing the X number of IDs/contractors you've seen. Additional Items & freebies can leave it to the last rows, do it in whatever format that you are comfortable with. Example, Requirements ID A ID B ID C Item 1: 7ft Brick Feature wall in Craftstone finish. $800 $1000 $900 Item 2: 6ft Wardrobe, sliding doors, height 2.6m, color internal PVC, with 1 mirror, 3 drawers, external laminates can choose $75 and below, etc (write whatever specific details) $1300 $1200 $1050 Item X: Window Grilles? (FREE = $0) $0 $900 $800 Basically you can use any method you want, no need to follow exactly the format here. The point is, to break up the quotations so you can weigh the pricing differences for the various works. 6) After comparing the quotes, and having a rough sense of who is more "reliable" or "comfortable" to you... you may then approach them again to further discuss & revise the quotes. Revise the quote? Well, remember the comparison you did in Step 5? You may approach the id/contractor you like and say so and so ID charged me cheaper for this item, do you think you can match his price? If you are lucky, the price can be matched, or a slight discount if the price difference is too big. 7) Ask to visit his current project sites to see the workmanship. Basically to see if the workmanship is good. Are the cabinet doors misaligned? Do they close properly? Is the floor grouting too wide? Etc. 8) Request for a site survey at your new house. The purpose is for a more accurate quotation... those with high ceiling height may have to top up more $$ on full-height carpentry works. It could also tell you how keen the person is in taking up your job (those not keen will say after sign contract then come...) 9) Ask lots & lots of questions if in doubt. Questions regarding the different materials, design solutions, costs, etc. Double check their facts. Do not take their answers for granted if possible. For example, recently TV got show some unfortunate couple got conned by a "contractor/ID" that claimed to be Case Trust & Radac. However, the CaseTrust website do not have the id/contractor company inside. The "contractor/id" has since disappeared and never to be found. You can also check Casetrust banned list here. If the company is not case trust, then do a google or search renotalk on their reviews. Sometimes you can find a lot of bad reviews about that company, and it may be safer if you avoid them. 10) Check check & check the contract before you sign. For example, on hindsight, it may be better for your contractor/id to charge you just for the labour for laying the tiles, instead of Labour + Price of tiles. Why do I say that? Think about it, say your id states that Bedroom tiles you can choose $2.50 to $4psf, before GST. If the Bedrooms are about 450 sqft in total, it would mean that a $2.50psf tile would cost 450 x $2.50 = $1,125. If you choose a $4psf tile, then it would be 450 x $4 = $1,800. That's a difference of $675 between the 2!! T_T And no... that will not be refunded if you have opted for the cheaper tiles. Thus, if we had taken out tiles prices in our quotation/contract, we will not have to worry about whether the tiles we are choosing is too cheap or too expensive. We could just choose based on the design. So this ideally should be discuss prior to signing the contract... unless your id/contractor is OKAY with refunding any extra $ if the tiles you choose are too cheap. *EDITED ON 26 JUN 2016* I suddenly remember something that Uncle S told me: If your house is still in initial building phase/not yet fully constructed, and you are absolutely sure that you want an open kitchen concept, you may request for them not to do up the wall that is partitioning the kitchen (if any). Also, if you don't like highlighting tiles, you may also request them not to include them in the toilets or kitchen. Although I'm not sure how true this is because I never personally tried it before (my unit was already constructed).... I suppose there is no harm giving it a try by asking your BTO/housing developer or something. If it works, then this could save you a few hundreds of dollars from wall hacking, wall tiles overlaying, etc. Not sure if I missed out any tips or pointers.. but feel free to comment ^_^

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.

Final Pics: Post from before: Hello everyone, after lurking around like many people here, asking for more information and learning more things as time goes, finally decide to contribute to future couples on their reno. Below is my floor plan. After much contemplation, I have decided to select a unit with the bomb shelter in the kitchen. Bigger living area, shorter but wider kitchen (I can live with that).. Requirements 1. Walk in wardrobe (wife want to enjoy life) 2. Dressing Table that can hold 2 people (my wife say I always snatch dressing table with her for work) 3. Closed but open feel kitchen (dunno how to explain this... basically is a close kitchen but must look like open kitchen) 4. Must keep all the doors, no sealing of any doors (wife is like garang guni.. everything must keep... thats why my current room like garang guni also)... 5. her theme is Scandiavian (which subsequently wifey gives alot of nonsense ideas... one of which is a concrete plastered wall... .. HELLO NOT INDUSTRIAL LEIII) 6. My theme is minimalist (which i subsequently give in to her theme more... makes my life easier) 7. Study table for 2 8. Island / high top (i forsee we wun be eating often at the dining table cos wifey likes to watch TV and eat... after eating she must stand like being punish for 1 hr.. told her doesnt help slim down cos she is still growing rounder ) ID / Contractor Search I have a total of 12 quotations or more.... I am lucky to meet most of the better IDs / contractors... My advice, don't go crazy like me and my wife.. Go for maybe 2 or 3 compare prices and get a feel... going too many only confuse and tire yourself.. I read online and notice alot of people being conned etc. hence I went for many many quotations which only confuses myself and my wife. Hence, we drag till 1 month after key collection, then we decided on the contractor. So let me get started on the list. Rejected *decide to delete away since no point putting IDs I have rejected* Worth a Mention Habitech - Top 3 of another fellow renotalker SingaSamurai, was shown into the flat of ID as her "Showroom". I must say, the couple really shows they know their stuff. They give a lot of ideas that newbies like us will never be able to think of. Their show room is those kind, open door.... WOW kind... But the quotation came back also.... WOWWWW.. Something I like about them is, they are very very very very detailed. Each customer will have an individual file with timeline, floorplan, carpentry measurements per drawer in details.... dun think anything will be missed out.. Go for them if you want someone you can trust with flair in design.. and abit more money to spend... The Interior Lab - Another top 3 of SingaSamurai.. ID is a honest guy. He is the one that proposed us on how to use our space efficiently.. quote came to be quite reasonable, but on the high side... did not shortlist him cos the price is not really within our budget after much calculation Diva - Selected by SingaSamurai.. Nice guy.. met him twice, feel he is those responsible kind.. he said, unless you want to let him earn, he recommend you to get lights or other stuffs outside that are recommended by his other clients that he heard is cheaper... He recommended alot of the practical stuffs.. Wife say no feel with him... maybe he too quiet and honest... Lol..

Hello Everyone! Our renovations are coming to an end soon and I guess we are ready to share our experiences! I had been a silent reader of Renotalk T-blog for the longest time since we started balloting for BTO. We had been pretty unlucky that all the queue numbers we have are mostly out of the available units which means that by the time we can choose the units it's always left with low floors! Finally in year 2010, we got a queue number which is within the available units and finally get to choose a mid-floor unit! No fish prawn also good right? If we keep on balloting we will be donating endless $10 to HDB! I hope my humble blog can help someone during their renovation journey. Here's our floor plan to kick start my T-blog! Mood Board As the title of my blog suggests, I am looking at neutral colors for my crib so that I can add on colors on the decoration later on. These are the ideas I have in mind before the hunting of IDs/contractors