House By The Reservoir

[SaltedCaramel 0]

Hi everyone!

My first post on Renotalk after being a silent reader for the past few months! Like many, I browsed through many T-blogs during my renovation journey where I have learnt a lot and gained numerous ideas and useful information on renovation. A big thank you to all the bloggers that took time to blog about their renovation experience.

My renovation has been completed and I have just moved in. I would like to document our renovation journey to share with all and as keepsake of the exciting times. I enjoyed my renovation journey as I find it fun and exciting. Though it could be tiring (going to our house to check the progress before or after work, endless shopping during the weekend, co-ordination of the various delivery etc) and frustrating (arguing with hubby on the many decisions to be made), it was overall a smooth process and a very memorable, enjoyable and engaging experience for my hubby and I.

For those who have yet to start their renovation, I wish you a wonderful and smooth renovation journey. Thanks for reading!

First things first - the floor plan of my unit:

Floor area is 114sqm. One thing I don't like about the layout is the small kitchen and the wasted space of 4 planter boxes.

I like this unit because the balcony and the 3 rooms have a panoramic view of the reservoir. The unit is bright and airy and is walking distance to an upcoming MRT station that will open in 2017.

[ZzzMonster 7]

Congrats! I like your unit layout.

[SaltedCaramel 0]

Pre-renovation

My unit is a resale condo of about 15 years old. As there had been no renovation done in the past 15 years, the interior is a little dated.

How the house looked like before renovation:

Living and dining

Kitchen

Master bedroom

Master bathroom

Common bedroom

Common bathroom

[SaltedCaramel 0]

Congrats! I like your unit layout.

Thanks ZzzMonster! Congrats to you too! Love the full height windows in your master bedroom. At what stage is your renovation now?

[ZzzMonster 7]

Thanks ZzzMonster! Congrats to you too! Love the full height windows in your master bedroom. At what stage is your renovation now?

Thanks! I'm at the carpentry stage. Yesterday, the carpenters brought the stuff over, they will start installation from today till maybe mid next week.

[SaltedCaramel 0]

Theme

Before we met with IDs/Contractors, we researched on various themes to find a theme that we both like. We decided that we want a Scandinavian theme with some industrial element. The colour scheme will primarily be white, black and light wood; the design will be plain and simple. We will spruce up the bland design with pop of colours at the furnishing stage – colourful rugs, cushions and decoration.

We want a lot of storage space as we intend to convert the utility room into a helper’s room when we have kids. We like our house to be uncluttered and therefore we decided to do a lot of built-in carpentry to maximise the storage space. Not sure how this will fit into the Scandinavian theme as Scandinavian theme works best when you have plenty of open space. Anyway, we are fine with deviating from the theme as our ultimate objective is to create a home that is warm, cozy and functional.

[SaltedCaramel 0]

Thanks! I'm at the carpentry stage. Yesterday, the carpenters brought the stuff over, they will start installation from today till maybe mid next week.

The carpentry stage is the most exciting cause this is when you can finally see your house coming together!

[xhomesweethomex 7]

hello!

I love your balcony and THE view!!

Waiting for your pictorial updates!

[doubleEM 4]

The layout is squarish and proper usable spacing which is great and the view is awesome too...

[SaltedCaramel 0]

Selection of IDs/Contractors

As we are lazy people, we didn’t meet with a lot of IDs/Contractors. It is good to meet with at least a few IDs/Contractors to get better idea of pricing being offered on the market for your renovation. During such meetings, you can also gain some renovation ideas and design too. Our criteria in ID/Contractor selection are the same as everybody else looking to renovate their place –reasonable and competitive pricing, good workmanship and chemistry with the ID/Contractor.

We met with 3 IDs and 2 contractors. The quotes given by the IDs we met were about 15 to 20% higher than the 2 contractors we met. As we were clear about our design concept and what we wanted, we felt that an ID wasn't necessary since the costs were higher. Moreover, our design was simple and easy to execute. We decided to hire one of the contractors to save costs so that we could spend more on better appliances and furnishing.

Generally, if you engage a contractor instead of an ID, you will need to be more involved in the renovation. Contractors usually do not provide 3D and written work schedule. As there is no 3D, you must be able to visualise your design and know the specific details of your design. If you do not provide the contractor with the specific details and it slipped his mind to ask you, the contractor or his sub-contractor may just decide for you based on their standard operating procedure or industry standard and it may not be what you like. I like to be involved in the renovation process as I feel that it gives me more satisfaction and sense of achievement and make the whole renovation journey more memorable.

[SaltedCaramel 0]

Eeny meeni miny moe - Selected IDs/Contractors

We decided to engage Alan Tan from Aian Furniture and Renovation Contractor to renovate our home.

Reasons that we chose Alan:

• Pricing was reasonable and competitive. No GST.
• I read that the workmanship of his sub-con is good. Before we engaged him, we went to view one of his projects and the workmanship is pretty good.
• Though we didn’t talk much during our first meeting, we felt comfortable with him. Hope that this will translate to good rapport and chemistry during the renovation journey.
• He is a registered renovation contractor with HDB since 1999. He should be a reliable and trustworthy contractor or else he won’t be in business for so long.
• He seemed honest and sincere.

[SaltedCaramel 0]

hello!

I love your balcony and THE view!!

Waiting for your pictorial updates!

The layout is squarish and proper usable spacing which is great and the view is awesome too...

Thanks for dropping by xhomesweethomex and doubleEM!

[SaltedCaramel 0]

Magical day – Getting the keys to our unit

We met up with our lawyer at 5:30pm to get the keys to our unit. Yay! We were finally a house owner! We went for a quick dinner to celebrate the occasion before meeting our contractor at our house. We went through our requirements with him again and discussed the power, lighting points and placement of air-conds.

So excited that our renovation journey will begin soon!

[SaltedCaramel 0]

Let’s Get the Party Started - Hacking

Hacking started soon after we got the keys to our unit. Our contractor Whatsapped us in the morning to inform us that he had started hacking. So excited!

Hacking was completed in 2 days. We didn’t visit the unit during hacking and therefore we have no photo of the hacking and the aftermath. The only photo we have was when we visited the unit after the hacking had been completed and the debris cleared.

Common bathroom

Kitchen

Study room

The hacking of the walls of the study room made the whole unit looks much bigger and brighter. The walls will be replaced by aluminium framed glass panels.

[SaltedCaramel 0]

Selection of tiles, laminate and craft stone

As we engaged our contractor only a few days before we got our keys to the unit, he brought us to select tiles after completion of the hacking. We went to Hafary and Lian Seng Hin at Balestier. He guided us through the tile selection process and gave us some practical advice.

Master bathroom

The only place in our house where we used dark colour is the master bathroom. It has a grey theme.

Common bathroom

We chose beige as the colour scheme for our common bathroom.

Kitchen

As for the kitchen, we decided to use 3D subway tiles for the walls and beige tiles for our floor.

Laminate

For the laminate in living, dining and the 3 rooms, we chose Rustic Light Oak from the Berry Alloc Riviera series as we wanted something with light grey wood tone. I was a little worried that the eyes would be very distracting but my hubby said that the eyes made the laminate looked more natural. Ok, will just go along with hubby’s choice.

Brick wall

Our choice of craft stone for the brick wall. Though brick wall is overused but I really love it. I think it will look very pretty with a TV mounted on it.