5 room Reno *~Renovation of My Home~*

[pinkpetter]

Introduction...

I used to post in RenoTalk and am a little addicted to renovation now haha. But Renotalk has been down and I'm very bored. So I decided to post here too! But I'm not married and not going to get married any time soon.

But I thought some of this information can also help those here.

So I'll be posting the photos of my renovation and information here.

Firstly, was the choosing of homes. My family and I viewed at least 50 units in the east area before settling for this one. It was really a hunt that lasted for months. I think the agents knew us and detested our fussiness. We looked for a place on lift landing, has amenities, is convenient for all 5 members of the family, has good facing, isn't hot, isn't on a low floor, has a good layout, has good neighbours.... and the list went on... Finally settled on this place in Simei. YAY!

 

[pinkpetter]

Then came looking for contractors...

I emailed/faxed and met up with so many IDs and contractors that I was really tired. List of people/companies we consulted...

Gp***
Joo Guan Huat
Chew Interior
Northwest Interior
Darwin
Hoo Bee
Uni*** Creative
Arise
Living Art
Extract Lifestyle
Tau's
Zhiseng
Lian Gek Ho
Kingshall

We also had our fair share of being ignored by some companies thanks to our small budget and large list of things to do...

In the end we managed to find a great contractor who gave us a good price and value for money.

My items done...

Hacking of all floor tiles in ENTIRE unit (122sqm)
Hacking of wall tiles in both toilets
Hacking of one 6ft wall
Removal of Balcony glass
Removal of kitchen cabinets
Removal of selected window grilles
Haulage


Tiling of living, balcony, bedrooms and store with 600X600 homo @ $3/psf
Levelling of balcony to living room height - FOC
Waterproofing of kitchen + tiling with 600X600 @ $3/psf
Tiling of both toilet walls and floor @ $3/psf
Kitchen Cabinet base
Building of wall for study + doorframe and door
Box up of pipe in balcony - FOC
Box up of pipe in kitchen
Cement and Plaster over tiles in Kitchen

Changing of 2 toilet doors to bi-fold doors
2 Glass Shower Screens
Labour for installing toilet bowls
Labour for installing sinks
Labour for installing bathroom accessories - FOC
Changing of glass for windows - FOC
2 mirrors - FOC
Plumbing - Stainless steel pipes (toilet + kitchen)

21ft kitchen cabinet (bottom only)
19ft solid surface
Installation of sink, hob, kitchen accessories
Labour and material for installing rubbish chute cover

Electrical $1000 (we only paid for half)
Total of 15 light changes, 5 SCV points, 5 phone points, 30-40 power pts, change main box, change of switches.
**note: Some were just changing of the panels, some involved rewiring.

Painting of whole house + pipes+ doors
10ft shoe cabinet
3 track window glass (est. 14ft)
Main Door + Grille
4 bedroom doors
Installation of shelves for store - FOC
Sealing up of vent at Storeroom -FOC
sealing up of mini windows in MBR and Bedroom -FOC
Servicing of 2 air con units - FOC
Tiling of window ledge in MBR - FOC
Plastering of balcony ledge - FOC
Assembly of items from IKEA - FOC
Stainless Steel backing for kitchen - FOC
Bamboo Pole holders in Kitchen - FOC

All the above cost us $25k.
Considering it's a complete overhaul of a 5 room flat it's very cheap.

 

[zonkkie]

warrows... u another one suffering from withdrawal...

 

[poseidon_gal]

pinkpetter!!!!

heeee i also miss reno talk.. =<
what happen har???
i miss reading reno-blog...

I got soo many questions.. no one to ask.. =<

 

[jrt_gal]

hi pet
can share who is ur contractor?
i am looking for one to full reno my 5rm also

 

[pinkpetter]

zonkkie... poseidon_gal... miss you all so much leh... *sob* desperate sia. have to post somewhere. Got question ask here lor

hi jrt_gal. Were you the one who left your email? Think I emailed you.

*****************************
Original PIctures of my flat
Floorplan
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Living Area/Hall
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Bedrooms
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Toilets
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Kitchen
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[pinkpetter]

And these are the AFTER pictures.

My new maindoor and grille.
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My foyer light
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The hallway viewed from the main door
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My living Area
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Kitchen
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Common Toilet
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MBR toilet
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My new storeroom
<img>

 

[pinkpetter]

Part 2 of completed photos...

Cosy area in Living which used to be balcony
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Master Bedroom
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Bedroom 1 (Sis' Room)
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My Room Bedroom 2
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******************************
Finishing touches around the house
Wall Decals from www.decorettestore.com
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Tempered glass placements from UK
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Screens to make a room for my bunny
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[poseidon_gal]

besides corian..what other brand of solid surface is good?? corian is very expensive according to my ID..

 

[poseidon_gal]

pinkpetter : where did you purchase your tempered glass placements? It can withstand high temperature?

 

[pinkpetter]

poseidon gal>> LG also makes pretty good solid surface but the price difference isn't very much. But the colours they have are delicious! haha

As for my glass placemats, my sister got them in London.... Can withstand temperature and were quite cheap... one set of 4 for about $10+

 

[poseidon_gal]

you are talking about LG hi-macs solid surface right??? same price as corian??? wah..also expensive...

 

[pinkpetter]

ya LG hi-macs is expensive too. seriously no matter how expensive you buy (these the prices are close to granite already) it's still solid surface. Get something within your budget ba.

 

[pinkpetter]

OHHH I finally know how to upload pictures already! hahah I'm SOOOO blur. Someone should smack me.

Here goes again. The pictures of the old condition.

Old- Kitchen

Old - Common toilet

Old - MBR toilet

Old Living Area

Bedrooms

The last bedroom was initially a dining area so we had to erect a wall to seal it off as a bedroom for my brother.

 

[pinkpetter]

Completed pictures...

Phew

Living Area

Altar

Kitchen

Toilets

MBR

Bedroom 1

Bedroom 2 (my room!)

 

[ziggy]

Hi Pinkpetter, can I have the contact of your contractor? Also getting a resale 5room soon.

Thanks.

 

[pinkpetter]

I PMed you Zig. I hope I did it correctly.

 

[ziggy]

Nope, didn't get it. Think send to my email at [email protected] easier. I also can't really remember how the PM system works here

Only recently become active again cos getting ideas for renovating my place.

Thanks.

 

[pinkpetter]

Glad you got the message already!

 

[pinkpetter]

Although my home looks complete but I still have project number 2!

My parents and I have decided to buy the recess area just outside our house. After much contemplation, discussion and calls to the relevant authorities, we decided to go ahead.

Just FYI, as we took a bank loan for the house, we had to engage our own lawyers when we bought the house. AND when we were buying the house, we were not able to buy the recess area until after the whole transaction was complete. So now that we have decided to buy, we have to ENGAGE our lawyers again to draft our new mortgage for us. Which means we have to pay our lawyers, the bank's lawyers and CPF lawyers all over again.

Here's our plan for the outside. We're going to tile using the same tile as the foyer and those are the italian tiles. SIGH.

 

[zonkkie]

Aiyoh... some of this govt procedure really irritating... now need to waste so much money on lawyers.

italian tiles... ask your contractor give u normal price again lor...

 

[jrt_gal]

is it true that now HDB allow hot/cold piping to be conceal?

was thinking to install city gas water heater... anyone can give me advise...

 

[jrt_gal]

hi pet

u are so lucky, ur house got recess area to buy. it the appilication tough n spend alot??

 

[pinkpetter]

zonkkie >> haha yes yes. in fact my parents are going to try to ask for free labour, material charge only. See how it goes. These days, all the red tape all require money. It's just a ploy to make us cough up more.

Hey jrt_gal! For old flats cannot. New flats they have concealed for the owners already. HOWEVER there are still people who do it.

this buying of recess area is even MORE headache than buying the house itself. You must apply ONLINE. If you go personally to HDB they wun serve you. After applying online, you must wait patiently for 2 months.... then a letter will come to inform you of 4-5 things things to do. Must coordinate with Power supply, water supply etc to shift all their things out of the recess area. ALL Govt bodies but they cannot coordinate themselves. HAIZ.

 

[waxie24]

pet> need to shift the power supply n water supply out of the recess??
my parents bought the recess many years ago.. i remember we will need to open the door for the meter guy to take readings, until one day, they upgraded the power meter n shiftedt it outside.. but water meter still in my recess area means still have to open door..
if no one's around, he will put a postcard, my dad will fill in the details n send back..

 

[pinkpetter]

Hi waxie24! Yes last time they were given an option not to shift. But in the letter they sent to me... as of 2008 (dunno which month) Power Supply, SCV and PUB have requested for all their items to be shifted out. AND YOU KNOW WHAT?? mine shift about 7-10 cm only. They purposely one le! Why make that time never make it more outwards?!!! urgh.

 

[waxie24]

hm.. new policy.. weird.. they jus wan our money~..
issit possbile to just buy the area until where the meters are, in this case the meters will be jus nicely places outside ur gate... hahaha..

 

[keivic]

Hihi Pet,

I'm in the midst of looking for a contractor to do a complete overhaul of my 122sqm 5rm as well. Do you mind giving me the contact for your contractor? my email is [email protected]
thanks vm.

 

[pinkpetter]

hi waxie24... YA they just want our money. Sadly cannot. They will make us pay for the entire area. Then if I build my wall to where the meters are, I will lugi quite a bit including the depth of the wall.

Anyway, they want us to submit a floorplan indicating where their meters will be before they approve the sale. SIghhhh

Hi Keivic! you have mail! ... and I'll be waiting for a reply k?

 

[hello88]

Hi Pet,

is your altar custom-made? How much did u paid for it? Do they sell altar stand for other religion?

 

[pinkpetter]

Hi sunnyday...

My altar was custom made by my contractor FOC.

It is a very small thing so he decided to give it to us free.Sorry I'm not much help.

 

[wennyow]

Hi Pet (Pinkpetter),

Could you share your contractor's contact with me? I'm looking at a 5-room resales flat too and the renovation is going to be a big headache.. need to re-install the 2 bedrooms, remove the built in cabinets, storeroom, redo kitchen and toilet.. sighs almost everything.. but really love the location and the view the unit has.. My email is [email protected]

Thanks!

 

[jamieogh]

Hi Pet (Pinkpetter),

Me too. I wish to have your contractor's contact =)
My email address is [email protected].
I'm so surprise that the whole renovation costs 25k only =)

 

[pinkpetter]

heyhey.. I'll email you when I get home after work k? Cos everything's at home.

 

[jamieogh]

No problem!
Thanks for sharing!

 

[pinkpetter]

Hey Wenny and Jamie.. you have mail!

looking forward to your reply.

 

[purple_tulip]

Hey Pet, thx for sending me this link ... I like ur reno ... simple &amp; nice ... exactly what I would also want for my new hse ... it looks big &amp; spacious

btw, u DIY on those wall decal? how much and where did u buy from?

 

[pinkpetter]

hey kuek! thanks!

I got the decals from www.decorettestore.com the one in the living room was customised at $50.

 

[sudo74]

Hi Pet (Pinkpetter),

Can email me your contractor too at [email protected]

Thanks

 

[lol_lyn]

Hi Pet,

Thanks for sharing pics of your new place. Cool!

Btw, your altar was done by your contractor as well? It looks cool &amp; mordern.

Do you mind to share with me the contact? Thanks.

 

[bubblepuzzle]

mind to share your 5rm flat quote with me?

[email protected]

 

[pinkpetter]

Hi Edmund, Lynn and Amanda I've emailed all of you.

Thanks!

 

[enivi]

Pet,
can i have your contact of the contractor to [email protected] ? tks

 

[pinkpetter]

hi enivi... sent.. but i think you already have the contact from the RT thread.

 

[enivi]

Oh..Pet,

But the contact number for the contractor is different from the one another forumer gave me leh

 

[pinkpetter]

m But mine's definitely correct. I still contact him. Maybe he has two numbers? but I doubt so. Or is the other one Mr Yeak's?

 

[enivi]

The other forumer told me both numbers are right. Ah soon got 2 numbers.
Must be a really busy man
..haha..

 

[pinkpetter]

that's great to hear! mm

 

[pinkladystar]

wow Pinkpetter, i tink you can get a commmission from Ah soon liao keke. you recommend so mani pple to him for business. anyway, i miss RT leh, down for so long!

 

[lol_lyn]

Hi Pet

Wow.. just read some postings on Renotalk. Wow! so many forumers here are engaging Ah Soon service.

He must be really good.