Dj's Own Place...

[Et209 1]

Hi Kobelala,

Yes! Been in yishun for over 20 years... And now, have signed up for yet another decade or more...

Hi Et209,

I get what you mean. I had very similar notions too. However, after alot of consideration, I thought I oughta at least give the wife conversion of the original BR3 to become MBR, n original MBR to study.. Also, the other reason for not putting everything on hold is the consideration that we will also be using the house for 1-2yrs before going overseas.. And that is the idealistic plan. If the overseas stint gets pushed later, it would make living in a place sparcely done up not too pleasant for her.

All said and done, there is the ever important issue of the budget too.. If we cant afford even this, we'll have to just make do with what we end up with..

Agree. It is nice to make the home your own after getting it. There are many ways to keep a tight budget but yet still able to create what you want; e.g. Do your own painting, and use a contractor instead of a ID. happy renovation!

[Errandz 0]

Its been over 2 months since I updated this t-Blog. I choose to blame the fact that we were running around for wedding prep, plus also taking our time to meet a number of contractors before choosing.

Contrators selection : After following many fellows renotalkers t-blogs, I roughly came up with a 'works to be done' list and also a list of contractors who are very much loved here in the forums. We also got a couple of contacts from family members who has good experiences. Following that, my wife and I met each of them and took time to explain our situation (planning to rent out the house in 1.5-2yrs time when we move overseas for a while) and the extra tight budget (since only I am technically working; wife is doing postgrad studies).

It was a learning experience to see how their experience showed. Also the more experienced ones stood out clearly, when they could point out what we could skip doing now, and what really was important for our 'quality of living'.

In the end, after considering all the pricings and also the comfort and feel that the different people gave us, we made our choice... And now, the wife and I have joined

The Henner club!

We met up with Henry and I have to say, he was really one of the fastest. He could give me a quotation on the spot, after being in my house, walking about and talking for a short bit. He was done with the viewing and discussion AND the quotation preparation, all within an hour. Initially I was suspicious that, for a person to just quote so quickly, the prices were going to be exorbitant. But looking through didn't appear so. After that, when we looked through all the quotes we had received, it was clear that he did not just 'whack some price' to 'play safe' for his profits. His prices were really one of the lowest. And for selected items such as doors and all, looking at the prices from shops like Yon Tat that have been mentioned in this forums, one can see that his cut of the cake is nothing more than reasonable.

The contract signing and initial payment were settled on Monday (at ID Note office at Sultan Plaza), and this morning works have started! I went by at 9am on my way to work and already the kitchen cabinet doors were gone and the toilets getting wrecked.. Real fast..!

[Errandz 0]

Poor Henry..

On Wednesday, Henry went down to my house when I was at work. I had passed him the keys during the contract signing. And I had warned him that the door is problematic. Needs a fair bit of effort, plus some skill, to open it.. (22yr old door, with a 22yr old lockset too apparently - hence the changing of the door too)

Anyway, he went down with his colleague and they tried for 30min before calling me. I tried giving them pointers on how to open but after another 15min, they gave up.. Still Henry was nice about it. Didn't complain or anything. He just suggested using a number padlock for the gate and leaving the door unlocked.

So now, the house is secured with a bicycle chain and number padlock.. Much like the AhLongs use I understand...

[Errandz 0]

Its day 3 today. I've been down to the house at the end of everyday. I end late(like 11+) and hence cant see much of the work being done, so I wanna keep on eye at least on what is done at the end of each day.

So far, all the hacking was completed on Day 1.

It was great to see the house without the tattered kitchen cabinet, and without the worse-than-outfield toilet.

The wall opening to make the old BR3 into the new MBR also added to our spirits..

*View from new MBR*

*View from old MBR, before the wall is constructed; after that, its the new study room*

[Errandz 0]

On Sat, we went for tiles selection. Henry brought us to Lian Seng Hin Trading Co. There are a number of believers in picking one's own tiles shop, sanitary wares shop, aircon contact, etc etc. Well for tiles, we werent too picky and as such, decided to trust in Henry and went to where he pointed for the tiles selection.

Generally, there wasn't as much for us to do since it was only tiles for 2 toilets (wall & floor each). I was expecting a slightly wider range to pick from but then not that it mattered as the wife (and I) found stuff we liked within what was shown. We spent about 1.5hours there in all.

The only issue was that the white tiles for the MBRT came with a floral addon piece for the middle which we both didn't like. Given the unique thinner groove/portion at one edge of that tile, we couldn't pair it with some other tile. Hence we decided to pick mosaic tiles to lay floor to ceiling where the shower/heater would be in the MBRT. This added to the cost, plus added a lil for workmanship charges too.

Edited July 19, 2011 by Errandz

[Errandz 0]

Originally I had planned to get all my sanitary wares from Malaysia since I frequent the place. However, I got recommendation not to get everything there such as the WC, washbasins (WB) and all. The main complaints were, the need for transport, the hassle if there were problems, esp for big items. As such, we asked henry to point us to some place for sanitary wares once we finished selecting tiles. I knew from Renotalk of Nanwah and Poh Joo. So I thought I'd check the places out together with whatever Henry pointed to.

And the winner was (for the big items)..... Henry's contact - Hupfarri Bathroom & Kitchen Gallery Pte Ltd

The reason partly was due to their new outlet at Jln Besar not having gotten the GST licence yet, so no GST for that weekend. They are awaiting to get the licence for that outlet, supposedly should come in a few days. The other was the packages they had for the WC + WB.

We went down and spent about 30 min speaking to an SA, Li Fen. We told her Henry sent us and told her we were on a budget and planned to rent out our house after a yr or so. She was friendly and understanding and spent time taking us through our entire list. After everything, we decided we wanted to check the other places and told her upfront that we were leaving to do so. I was extra pleased when there was no long/black face or unhappiness. She happily bid us off.

Nan Wah just didn't appeal to us much and their prices were still more than Hupfarri. Poh Joo was having reno going on. We realised that their small items were cheaper than Hupfarri, eg the mirror, the toilet roll holder, handtowel holder, towel holders, glass fixture(??single shelf??) you add under the mirror.. Their Joven instant water heater with GST was also a lil bit cheaper. So we decided we'd get the big stuff first at Hupfarri and then come back for the small stuff.

Back at Hupfarri, we picked out the WCs, WBs, instant heaters, the kitchen sink, the stove, the taps for all, bidet sprays. For the heater, we initially told Li Fen that we planned to get it elsewhere as the price there was cheaper. However, in the end, when drawing up the total, she said she'd match the price and that made it easier for us too. She also spoke to her boss when I asked for a discount. Apparently Henry's name had an impact and the boss gave us a discount on top of the lack of GST. Li Fen also threw in all the itsy bitsy stuff like the holders and other stuff but I think thats common practice.

[Errandz 0]

Day 3 (Monday) - Nothing much appeared to be done at first glance. But then I realised that the aircon contact (from Henry) had already done his work.

On Sunday, I had spoken to him and, after finding his quote cheapest amongst a number of other aircon contacts from friends, family and renotalk too, chose a M.E. Starmex non-inv Sys 3 for my place.

Due to the trunking blocking the new doorway, whoever I picked, needed to make 3 (dismantle old stuff, lay trunking, install) instead of the usual 2(dismantle old stuff & lay trunking, install) trips. He agreed to that for no charge, on top of being the cheapest. Again, I believe that its perk of getting the contact through Henry. I could be wrong about that though

Anyway, the trunking and the old units are gone now.

I am just wondering about the patching of the holes in the wood above the doors where the old trunking ran. I know of wood fillers and all but I don't know about their effectiveness. Have to ask henry about all that.

Lastly, I found this below the block. Looks like its gonna be wall building time soon...

[Errandz 0]

Sian. I just typed a long post, and it disappeared.

Anyway, again.

As is obvious, I suck at maintain the blog regularly. I blame work. Daily routine is, 8am leave for work, come back mn++, go new house to look look see see on the works and take lots of photos, come home and look through pics and email Henry & Ran (his colleague) with any issues or points to highlight, then wash up and sleep. Its crazy. And for this alone, I salute everyone of you who updates the blog religiously. How do you ppl do it....

Ok, advice point to anyone new. Take lots and lots and lots of pics. useful when needing to email contractors in the wee hours about issues and pointers since we(i mean I) cant meet them in the daytime. Some people use things like masking tape and handwritten notes. I use photos and email. So whatever works.

The other reason photos are good, is when there are issues like cracks in sink (as I have now), it is easier to point when the crack appeared from and thus, whether its the issue from the shop or from installation or from usage after.

Another note, use a DSLR if u can. My point and shoot, was good but late night photos weren't as good as a DSLR would have been and when I was finding for a photo of the sink before the crack, I found a number of pics but only one or two not too grainy such that I can use that to show the original uncracked state.

Now, everything said, its time to try and chronicle everything left out to date. Thats about 2+ weeks of backlog. Time to catch up...

[mummymantras 0]

As is obvious, I suck at maintain the blog regularly. I blame work. Daily routine is, 8am leave for work, come back mn++, go new house to look look see see on the works and take lots of photos, come home and look through pics and email Henry & Ran (his colleague) with any issues or points to highlight, then wash up and sleep. Its crazy. And for this alone, I salute everyone of you who updates the blog religiously. How do you ppl do it....

We have no social life...

[Errandz 0]

We have no social life...

If blog-kings and queens come out to say they have a social life on top of everything else..... I would reali build monuments for them...

But wait, where to find time for that........

[Errandz 0]

Day 5 - The hollow blocks and all the necessary stuff for walling have been brought up. Also, the water pipes and the gas pipes in the kitchen have been removed already for the stainless steel piping to replace.

* The pic in the center is of some worker having hung his T-shirt on our bookcase..

Told Henry n he promptly got that removed plus put up a sign on the furniture in the house telling everyone to stay clear..

[Errandz 0]

Day 7 - The bottom portions of the common toilet have rusted to a very bad state that painting over will just not be possible to live with. Hence, the decision was made to repair the frames by cutting away the rusted portions and patch using cement. The only down side is that in the long run, like 15-20years, constant expansion and contraction under our weather and heat, will cause the slight contortion of the frame. (I have this problem in my current house) Anyway, this is how the bottom looks after the cutting away of the rusted portions.

The pics of the walls are to show the groove lines as per all the old hdb flats. We have asked Henry to patch all the grooves before painting so it might be abit more smooth. Lets see how it turns out.

[Errandz 0]

Day 8 :

Master toilet floor waterproofing

Master toilet tiling

Kitchen trunking removed to make way for wall plastering

* The center pic is to show that tiling has been done but the window hasnt been changed. Curious to see how they plan to remove the window now without any damage and then install the new one.

[Errandz 0]

Day 9 -

THE WALL IS UP! Yay!

And the common toilet tiles are done.

And they have dismantled the old dirty rubbish chute cover.

Also, we needed to give the dimensions for the bases for the fridge and the washing machine. However, we obviously havent gotten those items and haven't made the purchases, the most sensible approach I found was to go window shopping with a budget.

Armed with a budget of 'CHEAP', I set out to Best Denki (cos it was near office) to see what kinda sizes I had available to me.

This was all the stuff that I managed to find.

[Errandz 0]

Day 10 -

The Bases are done. (Alot faster than I expected, esp with the tiling and all too; I was very happy to see the effort in making the tiles line up with the old tiles. Maybe its expected but well I dun remember reading that it gets done and din expect it. So to see that they were properly lined up from the front and the side too, i was pleased)

Both the windows have been changed. (They managed to change the master windows without damaging the tiles, not bad..)

Master toilet wall & floor tilings are done.

Common toilet wall tilings all done too.

Common toilet floor waterproofing underway.

The entrance to the MBR walkway has also been smoothened out.