***please Advise On Estimated Cost Of Renovation ?***

[maomee 0]

Hi folks, need your kind advise on an issue. My property will be completed soon and I am just wondering if I can get any ideas from you guys on the estimated renovation costs ?

Basically, it is literally in a move-in condition atypical of any private properties since the wardrobe, tiles, flooring, kitchen, toilets etc etc are all done up.

The things I need to do for my home:

1. False ceiling. According to the developer (UOL), the ceiling is 3.20m. I will need to fix false ceilings for all the rooms and living room to accomodate the lights. So, I need to know aga aga how much the false ceiling alone will cost...

2. Curtains. Basically, I will be doing day-night curtains for my living room and master bedroom. The guest room will most prolly be fixed with a roller blind.

Can you guys advise me on the estimated costs for these ?

3. Main balcony and MBR balcony. I will be fixing hardwood flooring over. Some advised me chengal or some hardwork that will be weather resistance. Can anyone also advise me on the estimated costs ?

I think that's about all. Hehehe... thanks in advance guys. And all renovation/thematic ideas are most welcome !

p/s: My entire unit is facing the pool.

Edited January 16, 2010 by maomee

[andante 0]

Congratulations to ur new breezy in the east First home purchase too?

False ceiling

I didnt do any to my new place... it's 3.2m too and i like it high which makes the room looks more spacious and allows hanging lights. However, i've had quotes from Mr Chan (recommended in this forum for false ceilings) for pelmets for curtains & he charged 350 for living room + 2 bedrooms which is dirt cheap compared to the 1900 one of my ids put in his first & only quotation.

Besides, there's no need for false ceilings to accomodate all the lights unless u are a massive downlight fan. Ceiling/hanging/track lights etc do not require false ceilings. And my condo came with false ceilings in quite a fair bit of places.... (see my tblog for floorplan) the entrance doorway all the way into the master bedroom, the kitchen, both toilets and the yard. I suspect the false ceilings were there for hiding either the aircon piping or the heaters... which in any case, was a pleasant surprise as i have intended for them to have downlights anyway.

Doubt u can tell from ur condo layout if there's any false ceilings..and an educated guess is there definitely will be coz a decent condo developer will not have his aircon pipes dangling/covered with big fugly plastic tracks running across the apartment all the way to the compressor. So maybe u might end up saving the trouble, or like me, end up becoming a fan of hanging crystals lights or chandeliers.

Curtains

My balcony is 5.8m long full length doors in 6 panels.. so that piece of day & night cost easily half of my quotation from MGL curtains. I've decided the following:

roller blinds - guest room aka walk-in-wardrobe room

d&n - MBR(blockout material), living room/balcony

Frosted windows - both toilets (which had windows by the bath area for very strange reasons)

bamboo blinds - yard

Quotes on curtains depends alot on the type of curtain & fabrics u choose. In ascending order, the cost of curtains: Venetian - Roller blinds - Wooden blinds - d&n - roman blinds. From the size of ur apt >1200 sqft + the size of ur balcony which looks easily over 6m long in an L shape (unless u are lucky and have walls on the side & lesser door panels) ur quotes shld be higher than my very bargainned 1750sgd..

Remember to tell them ur ceiling is 3.2m which is taller than the usual condo height. Especially if ur windows are full height like mine = more $$..

Decking

i'm choosing Chengal coz i'm such a scary cat about breaking decks & my ID kept telling me its better than ironwood (which i understand is more compact and prone to breaking as it doesnt take expansions & contractions as well) and balau (Especially if not chemically treated - will rot in a couple of years if exposed to rain) Anyway the quotes i got for the whole area (very rough apprx 5.8m X1m) is 1600 for chengal, 1400 for ironwood and 1200 for balau (untreated-eek) ... so why would i not pay that extra 200 or 400 when its not an astronomical difference?

One more thing i've learnt in the course of choosing chengai, choose the medium golden brown color. the dark (apparently more popular choice) will cover all the hints of the deck being Chengal and if the contractor has qualms about using the medium golden brown, u might be paying for Chengal but getting something else. Cant remember the exact reason my ID told me but i remember 2 other decking contractors also recommended me to use the golden brown color which looks like teak to know its the real deal.

Jus on the side, as much as u wanna save on the reno, u might end up pulling a couple of extra light points, shifting ur scv points (one of the more expensive electrical items - like ur heater switch).. all these will add a couple of hundreds or like mine, go up to over a thousand even for a brand new place.

Good luck & in the meantime, have patience for ur TOP! Mine was 1 month later than the expected...agents all said Nov 2009.. and when nothing happened, they said end Dec 2009 which turned out to be a great New year's gift.. but i would have preferred mine earlier to move out of my rental at a more comfortable pace.

Hi folks, need your kind advise on an issue. My property will be completed soon and I am just wondering if I can get any ideas from you guys on the estimated renovation costs ?

Basically, it is literally in a move-in condition atypical of any private properties since the wardrobe, tiles, flooring, kitchen, toilets etc etc are all done up.

The things I need to do for my home:

1. False ceiling. According to the developer (UOL), the ceiling is 3.20m. I will need to fix false ceilings for all the rooms and living room to accomodate the lights. So, I need to know aga aga how much the false ceiling alone will cost...

2. Curtains. Basically, I will be doing day-night curtains for my living room and master bedroom. The guest room will most prolly be fixed with a roller blind.

Can you guys advise me on the estimated costs for these ?

3. Main balcony and MBR balcony. I will be fixing hardwood flooring over. Some advised me chengal or some hardwork that will be weather resistance. Can anyone also advise me on the estimated costs ?

I think that's about all. Hehehe... thanks in advance guys. And all renovation/thematic ideas are most welcome !

p/s: My entire unit is facing the pool.

[maomee 0]

hey girl ! that's an aweful load of info you have given there ! thanks girl ! I totally agree with you that maybe most parts of my apartment will come with false ceilings. If that is really the fact, it can save me loads !

I am most prolly doing up chengal for my balconies. As you can see from the floorplan, I think it would be lovely since it is pretty huge in size. Check with you ah, I have no intention to cover up the planter box. By the wya, your balcony chengal is 'laid' over' your existing ceramic tiles right ? No hackin required ?

All in all, how long did your renov took ? Did you do a TV console aka wallboard ?

And if you don't mind, what was the total you spent excluding furnitures, fixtures and applicances ?

Apologies for the really puny picture but can you see the plants and pebbles at the balcony ? I intend to do that for my balconies as well. Have you done anything to yours ? If yes, appreciate if you could share the pics ?

As the date comes nearer, I will get the contacts of Mr Chan from you... what he quoted is really really fantastic !

By the way, what project is yours ? Fridge, washer, microwave etc all throw in ? Oh mannnnn Mine only comes with the typical kitchen stuff like hood, oven and cooker...

Cheers mate !

Edited January 17, 2010 by maomee

[andante 0]

no hacking needed for changai.. just a "step up" which is basically the thickness of the decking. The picture u showed there might be unrealistic if ur balcony;s like mine - cant grill it up/fit windows to close it.. so heavy rainy days = wet balcony. But if that pic is from the developer's site with the balconys close-able, it's an awesome idea and makes ur room looks bigger! So cool w the half parquet/half chengal flooring! But i wil NOT have plants.. simply no time for that.

My reno just started last fri.. so far all electrical stuffs + wardrobe hacked + lights all up in 1 day.. 'm super please with their efficiency.. now its all up to the carpenter. & the target completion for everything in the MBR is on the 2nd when i;m back from my hols.. i'll be living there for real. Final/actual completion shld be something ard 10th Feb. As long as its before my party during CNY, all's good.

I'm making a tv feature wall for the living room + a smaller one in the MBR... hate running wires and i like v v simple sleek thin tv consoles/panels which do not go hand in hand with the SCV box.. so i'm screwed and hoping my ID will come up with something brilliant tomorrow when i see her for the 3d drawings... if there's any.. (i'm not paying any design fee/consultation so mayb that's non-existant)

My very minor reno alone cost 8600sgd. (I didnt bargain..she's a friend's wife).. but there's bound to be slight changes coz i'm cant make up my mind abt the carpentry works yet.. we'll see.

My project's THE INSPIRA.. it came with a full kitchen - 2 induction 1 gas , microwave, oven, fridge and washing machine.. Very happy with that actually, saves me the trouble of having to read up abt wat to get and how much to budget for these.. now what's left is just a dryer to complete my apartment!

hey girl ! that's an aweful load of info you have given there ! thanks girl ! I totally agree with you that maybe most parts of my apartment will come with false ceilings. If that is really the fact, it can save me loads !

I am most prolly doing up chengal for my balconies. As you can see from the floorplan, I think it would be lovely since it is pretty huge in size. Check with you ah, I have no intention to cover up the planter box. By the wya, your balcony chengal is 'laid' over' your existing ceramic tiles right ? No hackin required ?

All in all, how long did your renov took ? Did you do a TV console aka wallboard ?

And if you don't mind, what was the total you spent excluding furnitures, fixtures and applicances ?

Apologies for the really puny picture but can you see the plants and pebbles at the balcony ? I intend to do that for my balconies as well. Have you done anything to yours ? If yes, appreciate if you could share the pics ?

As the date comes nearer, I will get the contacts of Mr Chan from you... what he quoted is really really fantastic !

By the way, what project is yours ? Fridge, washer, microwave etc all throw in ? Oh mannnnn Mine only comes with the typical kitchen stuff like hood, oven and cooker...

Cheers mate !