Search the Community

Hi Renotalkers, I'm about to embark on a reno for my 4-rm resale flat kitchen and 2 toilets hack-away and re-do. Got some queries that I need experienced hands to give me ur 2 cents' worth. Haven't chosen ID yet though have spoken with a few firms already. 1. For the kitchen wall at the cabinet area, is it possible for me to do the tiling on only the exposed wall area between the upper and lower cabinets? Or is it a standard procedure to have to tile up the entire wall including the wall behind the upper and lower cabinets? As my kitchen is very big and I plan to run my upper and lower cabinet up to a total length of 40ft, if I only need to tile up the area between the upper and lower cabinets, this would be a significant cost saving. 2. I intend to get the contractor/ID to construct a standard 50mm cement base for the cabinet. Should I do the same for the washing machine and fridge, or is it better to leave them on the tiled kitchen floor and not the base? What are your experiences of the pros and cons of each? Cost savings won't be much as I only allocate 3ft each for fridge and washing machine. 3. My kitchen layout means that my cabinet has an L-shaped corner, which I intend to include a carousel at the corner to "revive" the dead space. If you look at the Ikea kitchen, they have the carousel. Does anyone know if Ikea can come over after the cabinet installation is done and install the carousel? Cos the ID firms so far don't have the type of carousel I want. It seems only Ikea has it. 4. I was thinking of installing a door at the entrance between the kitchen and the living room as I intend to aircon the living room and don't want to over-burden my aircon by making it cool down the kitchen as well. Are there any restrictions (fire-safety or the like?) on putting up doors where there never was a door previously? 5. Lastly, the previous owners are leaving behind a built-in wardrobe in the master bedroom, which I intend to "refresh" by changing hinges, shelves and doors maybe. On top of that I intend to fabricate a small cabinet-cum-bench(10ft) to put below my living room windows to serve as extra storage and seating space. Should I engage a carpenter to do that separately or should I include under my reno package (which I think the ID always takes a cut right?)? Which is cheaper usually? Thanks in advance for all ur patience and help. May you be rewarded in some way or another for your good deed.