Been lurking in the forums for quite some time trying to learn the ropes and envying other people's renovation and home.

Now it's finally our turn, our turn to build our Castle in the Sky.

We signed our OTP last night concluding our search for a flat. It's a 4S (84sqm) flat in Simei. The experience of the search was at times frustrating due to our budget and we've met some nice, and some not so nice agents in the process.

Now that one headache is over, time to brace ourselves for the next one. Renovation! Hopefully, we could learn from all the experts here with regards to this to make the headache a little easier to bear.

We'll probably exercise the OTP tonight or tomorrow, depending on when the funds go through into my cheque account. Will try to take some pics if possible and maybe get hold of the floor plan.

Stay tuned and wish us luck! Cheers!

spam chop

Goodie!! good luck!

hi neighbour! My house is being renovated now completing by end of this month I believe will also share pics

hi neighbour! My house is being renovated now completing by end of this month I believe will also share pics

cool. which blk u in? which floor?

my reno will start quite late cos now haven even first appt. and agreement with owner to stay 6weeks after completion. so hopefully reno can start by mid november.

will use the time to source ID and do planning. hoping to start reno once keys are handed over

Edited June 18, 200818 yr by aves

Yay flowplan arrived in my email shortly after my purchase of it through hdb website!

Here is my lil 4S unit... The storeroom is actually not there anymore cos the previous owner hacked it away... My future wifey actually likes storerooms cos we an chuck all the ugly looking and useless stuff inside...

congrats!

nice layout!

Agree with Jessie. Good layout

don't worry about the storeroom

you can always build it back or have an open shelf and cover with curtain

Nice layout, easy to plan. yah agree with the storeroom thingy, i bought 1 unit without the store room as well and didn't rebuild it as our junks are more then the size of storerooms.

how i wish i can have this type of nice layout

congrates on your flat!

thanks. i also think the layout is quite good. the thing is, the way the windows, 'corners' and doors are located, we will pretty much be limited in the way furniture is placed so end up still the same layout as the previous owner in terms of wardrobes and beds. hehe

cool. which blk u in? which floor?

my reno will start quite late cos now haven even first appt. and agreement with owner to stay 6weeks after completion. so hopefully reno can start by mid november.

will use the time to source ID and do planning. hoping to start reno once keys are handed over

I'm at Blk 107 - you? My layout almost same as yours but mine's a 4A. Future in-laws have the exact same layout as my current too. They're at Blk 230.

I waited some time for my owners to move too...started reno in May.

I'm at Blk 107 - you? My layout almost same as yours but mine's a 4A. Future in-laws have the exact same layout as my current too. They're at Blk 230.

I waited some time for my owners to move too...started reno in May.

Mine's 4S at Blk 135 top floor facing the PIE exit.

wow both of your flats are very near MRT compared to mine... hehe

anyway what kind of reno you did and who is your ID/contractor? any problems? mind to share you quotation with me?

Edited June 19, 200818 yr by aves

Mine's 4S at Blk 135 top floor facing the PIE exit.

wow both of your flats are very near MRT compared to mine... hehe

anyway what kind of reno you did and who is your ID/contractor? any problems? mind to share you quotation with me?

I've viewed a 4S flat around your area before, but not the top floor Yes, i love that it's near the mrt but not too near

My reno is very minimal in that I did very little built-in stuff except for MBR wardrobe, kitchen cabinet and a display cabinet in the living room. But I overhauled the rest of the flat coz it's 19 years old. Hacked the floortiles, changed all the doors, changed electrical wiring and plumbing. Kept window grilles and windows, door frames. Everything else I changed. I didn't hire an ID coz I don't really need an ID for these items and the house layout is very rectangular, so I got a reno contractor instead which my future father-in-law knows. it's not exceptionally cheap but I can trust their workmanship - but I'll confirm again after the reno completes!

The problem with having a reno contractor is that communication-wise it's not as sophisticated. No computer drawings but hand-sketches for my cabinets. For the contractor doing my plumbing and electrical, I can't really speak with him coz it's all in Chinese, and plumbing terms in Chinese or dialect I completely don't understand. Also, everything is paid in cash/cheque, so I can't earn points from using credit card.

There are pros-and-cons but we visited many IDs too and I can't find one I can entrust my flat to. The main point is, I felt I don't need an ID. But I did a lot of research and printed out pictures to show my contractor to get by. Even then, I felt I wasn't really prepared. My contractor isn't so bad and gave good practical suggestions. Then again, an ID might try to hoodwink you too so you can't get away with not doing your own research. This forum has been very helpful

Anyway, I can share my quote with you - no problem. It's hand-written though so I gotta type it out for you - haha