3room B&L's Humble Peaceful-Hippie 65sqm Abode

[blueygirls 0]

Hi Guys! 

I've been lurking on this forum for quite a while now. I didn't think that key collection would come so fast, but it has!! HDB just messaged me today to collect keys on the 3rd! 

We got a 3 room unit BTO.. So our design will be pretty different, because we prefer bohemian designs but at the same time I can't take too many rugs because of the dust. 

We have already met up with a few IDs.. surprisingly contractors are very hard for me to come by lol.  I'll do a write up on the IDs later, but I'll probably only give full details at the end of the whole renovation. 

So this is what we plan to do: 

1.) Vinyl Flooring (any good brands to recommend that is not so ex?) :) I'm pretty fussy about the brand of vinyl because I think that a lot of them have a lot of unknown chemicals in them that can be bad in the long run. 

2.) Platform bed with storage in the master room. Now the thing with platform beds is that if you get it without storage, you can get it laid with vinyl, but if you get it with storage it will be laid with laminate (those they use on the cabinets not on the floor) .. haha. So I think the storage-less will last longer maybe.. but then no point ah.. the house is so small, plus my fiancee has A LOT OF STUFF. In our case its really reverse.. he has A LOT OF things and I don't have much. hahaha. so you won't see me saying "walk in wardrobe for a lot of my clothes or need a lot of storage for shoes" #stereotypes. 

3.) Pole system wardrobe with sliding doors. I don't see that many posts on pole wardrobes here. But what do you guys think? supposedly its more flexible and configurations can be changed more easily. 

3.) Ventilation fan in the bathroom. Do you guys think this is useful? lol 

4.) Tic Tac mirror door extending along the DB box. 

5.) the usual for kitchen, but I will be doing some open shelves instead of top cabinets on both sides. 

I plan to write some stuff maybe later tonight. Until the next post.. ;) Stay Creative and Hopeful ! 

 

[squazee 0]

Pretty decent layout! A bit small but i guess that's HDB's fault I like the fact that the bomb shelter door is in the hallway where it's not as visible. I'm so annoyed that mine is right smack in the middle of the hall.

The outside toilet looks a bit small for a dry shower, is it possible?

I'm also planning to do ventilation fan in toilet. If you plan to have carpentry, i think it helps.

As for the kitchen, as long as you don't do much high heat cooking, open shelves look nicer and make the kitchen look less cramped.

 

 

 

[Window Film Specialist 4]

THANKS FOR SHARING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

[hdb4ever 3]

Looking forward to more updates! ?

[blueygirls 0]

Hi guys... so sorry I haven't updated for so long.. This process of renovation really very tedious LOL. 

On top of that, last year I did a post on all the types of vinyl flooring and what to look out for in terms of safety, and it somehow DID NOT GET POSTED. 

Anyway at the moment.. all I've done so far is submit defect rectification and sign on a contractor/ID. Will do a post about it later on. 

[blueygirls 0]

On 12/4/2018 at 8:03 PM, squazee said:

I'm also planning to do ventilation fan in toilet. If you plan to have carpentry, i think it helps.

As for the kitchen, as long as you don't do much high heat cooking, open shelves look nicer and make the kitchen look less cramped.

 

 

 

I heard the ventilation fan is great! Hubby is against it, so we decided to compromise and get it in one toilet only. Also, i heard a story from my neighbour that someone did the ventilation fan in both toilets, and when they were standing at the service yard, they smelt sumthinsumthin very funny from the common bathroom coming out through the ventilation fan . 

I've decided to get a hood in the end, because I think it will be less dirty and don't have to clean so much as compared to open shelves. The other end of the kitchen will have open shelving. 

[blueygirls 0]

ok so guys.. here comes my first proper post.. Trust me when i said, I really met A LOT OF IDs/Contractors. Also I think I will be providing some new insights to some of you who are long time readers of renotalk.  So here it goes.. 

IDs (PART 1) 

1.) S***n from T** I*****or L** (dropped)

This was the first ID i met in my search, and when i arrived at TIL (oops.. i guess i gave the name away haha) , i realized he just woke up . Anyways, i'm patient so its ok I waited. He seemed to know his stuff, and could give good advice. Also his home is **** BEAUTIFUL ok!! I told him at the end of the meeting by budget was 20k, and he said it may be hard to meet it. I had to chase a few times for the quote, and when it came back it was 10k + OVER MY BUDGET!  Anyways, nevermind I had a second meet up, and told him to revise, but soon after he went MIA. What a shame, because when I apologized for wasting his time since he had to do a second quote, he did tell me that its normal to go through several quotes before signing.. so I thought that was reassuring. 

2.) S*e*en from H** C**n*ept ID (shortlisted and would recommend)

So while getting INSpo from INSta, i came across this man's IMPRESSIVE hand-drawn sketch of a living room/kitchen. Its amazing really! Can say its like a B&W 3D drawing PMed him and we met up at the studio soon after. Very very nice, polite guy. He had quite a few suggestions to give as well, and he was prompt in following up. Price is very reasonable for ID and his sketches are TOP NOTCH. He gets back to you VERY FAST as well.  Below is just an example of what he can do !  

3.)  Sh** L* from J*s***s ID (dropped)

Got to know about this contact through facebook. Also another nice, polite fellow. I think prices are ok. I've seen his past projects, and if you want something really bold (like whole house many shades of blue, or all marble theme) maybe hes the guy to look for. There was one carpentry product that I wanted to fabricate : basically a low dining table cum sofa with storage .. the quote for that came to 4.8K.. For one item lol. The rest of the quote was reasonable. So anyways, I asked to revise the quote and send to me first before I came to his studio , but he never reverted back. 

4.) Ric & Nick from Renoguyz 

No point concealing this one lah. & YES, THEY ARE IDs not contractors!!! HAHAHA. Who is Ric?! Told you guys I'd have some new info lol. I asked Nick, how come nobody mentioned anyone else, and they always say contractor.. he said IDK.  So I've seen some people on this forum say sometimes Nick won't do certain stuff because he thinks its impractical etc. It comes from a good place lah.. BUT.. BUT.. with RIC in the picture, the brainstorming starts and new ideas come out to solve the nicks n kinks in the previous idea. I say this so many times already... but Ric is reaaaaaally soft spoken. He checks up often as well.  Quote is reasonable as well. ON THE SPOT QUOTE. POWER  Unfortunately, I chose not to go them because I wasn't sure if they could do boho designs. Their designs are plain and simple, which is not a bad thing, but i like complex LOL. 

5.) Melvyn and Cornelius Contractor (I mainly dealt with Melvyn)

How I met this contractor is a long long story, but here is the short one: someone from Facebook group A recommended Melvyn, I was in contact with a Melvyn from my own housing estate group.. and I found out much later that they were one and the same !  This person from Facebook group A, recommended Melvyn because their previous ID was horrible and so they let Melvyn take over. So... I've seen TWO of Melvyn's done up houses, and I managed to speak to one of the home owners, and they are very very impressed and happy!  So ya, i did completed reno project visits, before seeing the quote. lol. I know for a fact that Melvyn goes OUT of his way to help and is VERY responsive.. usually more responsive than the contractor I chose . I'm not sure about his pricing though because after new years, we rushed and made our selection, and did not have a chance to see their quote. Go for this person if you want a contractor with design sense. If you're nice to him , he can also share with you a lot of lobangs from Malaysia  

In hindsight, I regret not taking more time to make my decision.. because I would have considered Melvyn, and ID 2 & 4 above more seriously. Part of the reason why we did not take our own time to make our decision is because of the experience below.

6.) G** L**ng from Ab***o*k (dropped, but would recommend to others with a midrange budget)

Don't get me wrong from the paragraph above, my experience with this ID was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. The price was I would say , mid-range and reasonable for an ID, but slightly over our budget. Budget was our priority because we had a really tight one. Out of ALL the IDs, our "telepathy" and communication  with this one was THE BEST (excluding my neighbour contractor of course). Give you one example: For the platform bed, I said, I want the one where it is flat and then you push and a handle comes out.  SUPER VAGUE.. and yet, he said "this one?" AND IT WAS EXACTLY the one I had in mind.   We told him repeatedly we loved his ideas, which were fresh and almost no other ID offered us these ideas!!     So since we were getting along SPLENDIDLY, this ID thought that we were really happy and ready to sign, which I completely understand.. and that was why when we said no because of the price, he seemed genuinely dejected. So then, my fiancee got upset at me lah.... since he thought i'm a heartbreaker LOL. He said "we cannot do this again.. we meet someone, tell them we like everything and are amazed.. then we turn them down". He also thought that once you meet with an ID, after second meeting you must sign.. I told him the process can be a lot longer than that!! TDLR: we felt bad for making this ID dejected after giving so much praise, and we did not want to "lead people on".. 

Also, I 100% recommend this ID if you have a mid-range budget and want an ID with NEW and innovative ideas! The only reason we eliminated them so early is because their budget was not as cheap as the rest. They were not very expensive actually, cheaper than ID 1.

Edited March 1, 2019 by blueygirls

[blueygirls 0]

hahaha.. seems like my posts not garnering any attention.. but anyways, i need help so i'll just try my luck and post here and hope someone sees.
Before signing contract, we used to meet our contractor very often, to discuss things.. but the thing is after we signed contract, we only met once, prior to the 10% payment.. and a short meeting another time to confirm the electrical works..
I've asked for a meeting a few times, but it seems like its always glazed over..
May I know when you guys sign contract with an ID, how often do you meet up with your ID and for what purpose? And at which phase during the project you usually meet? Thanks guys!

 

Sorry for the lack of updates, been really stressed out with all this.. 

[hdb4ever 3]

Hi maybe you can ask them to project when the meetings are likely to take place ahead of the start of renovation?

For mine, we met up about 6-8 weeks before projected commencement of renovation to select and finalize tiles and about 4 weeks prior to finalize everything else including laminates, paint, lighting points etc

[blueygirls 0]

1 hour ago, hdb4ever said:

Hi maybe you can ask them to project when the meetings are likely to take place ahead of the start of renovation?

For mine, we met up about 6-8 weeks before projected commencement of renovation to select and finalize tiles and about 4 weeks prior to finalize everything else including laminates, paint, lighting points etc

Thanks so much for the response! I'm so glad that we arranged for a meeting today. We usually get along so well in person haha.. Maybe they are just super duper busy during CNY. So they did start on some electricals. The thing is the last we met it was in the unrenovated house, which is soo unconducive for a proper meeting! I hope the next meeting goes well and we settle a lot of things with regards to laminates etc.

So after you finalized the laminates you had to wait a few weeks for the 3D drawings? 

[blueygirls 0]

ok guys, so I'm going to do a review on Vinyl Flooring and how to save some moolah $$  and tips on getting SAFE VINYL!  (Amount saved = $450) 

I'm sure we don't want to be installing something in our house that can give out toxic gases or be harmful to us our our kids. I for one am super particular about all these things, so I sort of scoured through all the vinyl suppliers, similar to how I did for finding an ID. 

HOW TO KNOW WHETHER YOUR VINYL IS SAFE: These days almost every vinyl supplier will have some kind of cert like greenlabel cert lah or floorscore.. but this only means that their vinyl meets the MINIMUM requirement and its not TOO harmful. A PASS Is not enough! #asianparentstyle 

1. Check whether it is virgin vinyl. If you use recycled vinyl, you won't be sure what kind of processes and toxins they use in the recycling process. Even if the recycled vinyl has green label, SKIP IT.. If you want to save the environment, go vegan! Thats the number #1 thing you can do. lol 
2. Check what kind of glue is used .. you will want something that uses DOTP , which is basically a non-phalate plasticizer. Phalates are TOXIC
3. NO NANO-SILVER . A lot of vinyl sellers are now using this as a selling point, saying its antibacterial. “Silver as a metal does not pose any danger, but when you break it down to nano-sizes, the particles become small enough to penetrate a cell wall,” said Professor Frank Kjeldsen and Thiago Verano-Braga. “If nano-silver enters a human cell, it can cause changes to the cell.”  My sister, who is a nurse and told me they use silver gauze for wounds...In this case silver is used because if you don't use it, there is a risk of infection. Do you really want that on your floor?! Even if lets say research is inconclusive, why take the risk!? If you ask me i'd rather stick to cleaning floors with a mild detergent to keep it antibacterial. No thank you, I do not want to be laying or sitting on my floor and have nano silver particles being absorbed into my bloodstream!  Btw, this is also why I struck Admira off my laminate options. lol 
4. Ask for safety test reports. Typically, you want 2 types of reports: 1.) VOC emission rate (basically how much VOC it emits at rest per hour) & 2.) VOC emissions during combustion. Look for results whereby most of them are below the detectable limit (< 5mg/m3 for example). 

Ok I think for safety, I've more or less covered the important things.. For quality, go for 5mm with wear layer of 0.5mm should be good enough.  Trust me, you won't believe me that I found certain brands that had better test reports and were MUCH CHEAPER, to those more well-known expensive brands.**hint hint** TIGER *cough cough** 

Whats the vinyl I ended up choosing? Color is below! Not my house though *envy the big space* Can anyone guess where its from and what its called? 

Absolutely love the grains and color. I think it looks like real wood flooring! in love..    

Stay tuned 

 

Edited February 15, 2019 by blueygirls

[Tamago 0]

camping here! my floorplan is similar to yours! do you mind sharing me the contact for S*e*en from H** C**n*ept ID?

thanks in advance! i look forward to your updates!

[blueygirls 0]

So here are the appliances I have bought so far.. TOTAL DAMAGE = $2800

 

1.)  OVEN: BOSCH HBF113 ($7XX), so far the best price i've gotten.. i got it from Harvey Norman at Parkway Parade, do look for Bruce (9765 4741) .. I just want to say that I really like Harvey Norman, if they cannot match your price, they will refund you the deposit you put in.Tried and tested... Real honesty you can get there. 

Decided to just go for an entry level one, by Bosch because: 1.) EVERYBODY is buying bosch oven .. I managed to get a very good price also, I compared to Everjoint, Goh Ah Bee etc.. Turns out GAINCITY Sungei Kadut was a waste of my time!!  Went ALL the way down there, and their price was $1xxx for this, even after I mentioned that I managed to get ard $800 elsewhere! Rinnai hob also MORE EXPENSIVE! 

2.) Heater: 707 PRINCETON ($25X) Harvey Norman
If you're looking for an instant heater , GO FOR 707.. My house has this old 707 heater, and its worked for the past 20 years!!!  Decided to go for Champagne color.. It looks a bit different in real life. 

 

3.) Hob: Rinnai RB-93-US ($4XX) From Hoe Kee at Tanjong Katong

I was seriously confused about the hobs.. At first I wanted to go for 30cm domino induction + 60cm stainless steel gas.. but the price also $$$ and will have less space for my kitchen drawers.. 

Between Bosch hob and Rinnai hob, I decided to choose Rinnai because I think its more suitable for asian cooking and it has a stronger flame. Between Rinnai Hyperburner series and Innerburner series... I went for Hyperburner in the end..  Reason being.. the Inner burner series for Rinnai, is not completely sealed off.. Yes, there is a collection cup inside for things that overboil, but if you overboil more than the cup can collect?! then HOW?! I just think its mafan to clean lah.. 

 

4.)  Sink: Blanco Naya 6 ($350++..can't remember exact price) Hoe Kee

So me being the "resourceful" person I am, I thought since its from UK can get it cheaper from Eurohomedirect.. they quoted me $700+ and said that if Hoe Kee is really selling at this price, its really cheap and should buy from them! They also told me that Blanco is the #1 brand for kitchen sinks.. Personally, I would skip Carysil since its not that much cheaper than Blanco also.. and I believe Blanco is far superior and it doesn't have the red color "Carysil" logo on the sink. So you heard it here guys, Hoe Kee is the CHEAPEST for Blanco. I spoke to them and they said its because they really import a lot of it so they can afford to sell it cheaper. 

5.) Hood: Telescopic Tecno TH 913 T ($25X i believe) Hoe Kee

Believe it or not, I've NEVER used a hood in my entire life..  

I mean, I have it in my mother's kitchen, but its just there, we have never switched it on.. The only reason its there is because the previous owners put it in  

I decided to get one this time, just to protect the cabinets in case.. But decided to go with a telescopic one because I'm not used to having the hood there in my face while i'm cooking  

Decided to go with Tecno because Turbo and Bosch is more expensive, because Fujioh is even MORE EXPENSIVE .. and because this Tecno one doesn't really take up so much space in the cabinet, and it is reasonable 

 

6.) Fridge: Panasonic 6 door, ($480) 2nd hand from Carousell 

When I saw the Hitachi and Mitsubishi 5 door and 6 door fridges, i fell in love.. ... BUT I DID NOT FALL IN LOVE WITH THE PRICE  2K-3K   

I decided to be patient and source for a 2nd hand one.. so happy I got a Panasonic one because a sales man at Harvey Norman told me that actually Mitsubishi fridge uses Panasonic technology... and Hitachi one has nano filter lah.. which i'm not really comfortable using..

I really like the idea of bottom freezer, top fridge.. because you normally open the fridge more often than the freezer so it makes sense to have it at eye level  But most of the top fridge, bottom freezer fridges, to get to the bottom freezer you need to open the door, THEN pull out the drawer.. WASTE TIME LAH! 

7.) Fans: Vento Fino 2 ($330+) , Crompton 33cm fan ($23 LOLOLLL ) 

I was thinking whether I should list both the fans or not... because the 2nd fan i've listed is only available in India, but ITS THE BEST FAN ON EARTH !  Don't be fooled by its small size, its really REALLY powerful! When I spoke to my aunt recently to ask for which fan to buy, she said the best ones are actually from India... and the price is . The size is perfect also to fit into small areas, or if you want to have 2 fans in the living room.. a small one to cover the dining room, but to still have space for pendant lights.. 

 

Vento Fino 2.. just get it from Malaysia lah.. Over here they are selling it for 3x the price.. its RIDICULOUS 

 

As for the washing machine, main living room fan etc.. I haven't decided yet lah.. I think once all the light fixtures are in I can estimate what size fan to get then. 

 

Edited February 26, 2019 by blueygirls

[blueygirls 0]

On 2/25/2019 at 2:04 PM, Tamago said:

camping here! my floorplan is similar to yours! do you mind sharing me the contact for S*e*en from H** C**n*ept ID?

thanks in advance! i look forward to your updates!

Sure!  He has allowed me to share his contact here. Its Steven (9373 9251).. 

Oh thats nice! Will be nice to share ideas and how to utilize space! hahaha 

[blueygirls 0]

TAOBAO BUYS 

 

So far these are the things I've bought: Some track lights, pendant lights which are gorgeous (BUT COST 3X the price here in SG ) , a low dining table as hubby and I like to sit on the floor and eat, and tatami bed handle for our platform bed