Final Pics

Sharing the final pics:)

Progress Report 2

Dining light and settee reflected in the mirror

Lights, Lights.....They do make a real difference to the look and feel of the place at night. As such, this post will be dedicated to the glowing orbs and beacons that illuminate my 75% completed home.

Really like the dining light (you can see it in 3 of the 5 pics above :). Initially was a little worried that it might not match the design but after installation, most of those worries were eased and after switching on, we were pretty sure we made the right decision. We like the cove lights in the dining area that lead to the kitchen as well. Unfortunately, forgot to take photos.....maybe next time.

The square one in the 4th photo belongs to the bedroo#. Is supposed to be able to use as either pendant light or attached to the ceiling but the electrician cannot figure out how to attach it to the ceiling so far so currently it is a pendant light. Last but not least is the passage way light. The photo does not serve it justice as it looks much better when seen in real life.

On the topic regarding our wet master bed room wall, the HDB folks came by today and drilled holes in the wall to insert some waterproof chemicals and sealed up the holes. Was so happy initially they were so efficient and thought we could carry on with our bedroom reno plans for flooring and wardrobe as per schedule. Was then informed at the end of the day that they were planning to test their fix by attaching a gondola to the outside wall of the building and then spraying water from the outside wall to see if the dampness persists after the insertion of the chemical. I would really have been happy by the professionalism of the HDB guys to ensure their repair works at any time except this time when I am rushing to co#plete reno before the ghost month next week. I almost fainted when he told me that it was going to take a week to do this as they had to acquire a permit to move the gondola over frm a neighbouring block and attach the gondola to this block then they had to get someone to go out there and spray water to check if the water is getting in. Told the HDB that I was trying to get my reno done by this week and was planning for laminate flooring on Wednesday. Finally, he agreed that he could get it done by Wednesday and told me to delay the laminate flooring til thursday. My laminate floor supplier is not picking up the phone though so I hope he is able to change his schedule to Thursday or my entire schedule is going to be really screwed up.

Progress Report

Floral la#inate on living roo# bay window, still #issing its cushions

woody-feel kitchen cabinet, still #issing its doors & a glass backing

built-in shoe cabinet right by the entrance

dining settee, still #issing its co#fy cushion seats & a #irror

beehive-look-alike feature wall & tv console (still #issing a glass panel)

Finally posting another update on #y reno progress after so#e ti#e. Reno progress is good and though there are so#e hiccups with the di#ensions of the carpentry and the backsplash of the kitchen cabinet, it looks like all this will be settled by next Wednesday. The latest 2 proble#s though are in the bedroo# wall and the cooker hood.

After quite a bit of rain last week, it appears that the botto# wall surface of the #aster bed roo# is wet. Our ID suspects a proble# with the waterproofing and we have just reported this to the HDB service centre. They have pro#ised to send so#eone to rectify the proble# by drilling the wall and inserting so#e waterproofing che#icals early next week. Hope they do keep to their schedule or it will #ean a delay of the laying of the la#inate flooring and the built in wardrobe.

The cooker hood (Turbo brand) has started to rust after just a few weeks which is pretty ridiculous. Going to call up Gain City to co#plain and see what they say. Also posted photos of the 3/4 co#pleted reno above (#y cousin has constantly logged on to check on the reno progress and noticing a co#plete lack of updates, she finally s#sed #e for updates. So here they are:)

IDs and Contractors

Like#ost people, we went through the tiring process of talking to quite a few interior designers/contractors to select the right one to renovate our flat. Ulti#ately, we selected Willia# fro# Plush Living as he gave us a nice 3D drawing based on our selected colours and the#e. The price was also reasonable and we felt co#fortable talking to hi#.

The rejected ones:

1. Rest and Relax (Cadence) - Was nice talking to her but price was out of our budget.

2. Orange Cube (A#os) - Was quite i#pressed with hi# but price was out of budget just like first one.

3. OneInchSquareFeet (Adeline) - She offered ideas that were different fro# others in our first #eeting and pro#ised a free 3D drawing in 1 week as well. However, the 3D drawing took 2 weeks to produce and we also felt that the first #eeting was a waste of ti#e as she did not incorporate any of her ideas into the design as well. Quotation was on the lower end but effort into the 3D drawing was a let down.

4. Wilhun (Wilson) - He was a contractor who recently co#pleted the renovation for #y parent's flat. After #eeting hi# the first ti#e and requesting a quotation, he actually stood #e up for our second appoint#ent, not turning up at all and not answering calls at the sa#e ti#e.

5. ????(Ah Beng) - Although he was reco##ended in the foru#s, it was not to be as we rescheduled appoint#ent after appoint#ent and failed to #eet up. Once we could not #ake it, another ti#e, he had so#ething urgent to attend to and twice he was sick.

We spoke to another 2 as well, but honestly, they were hardly worth #entioning and cannot re#e#ber #uch of the#. Finally, after talking to 8 ID/contractors over a period of 4 weeks, we finally signed with Plush Living. Attached are the 3D drawings fro# Plush Living.

The Journey to a New House + Floor Plan

I guess I should start how everyone starts. Sharing about how I got #y flat and then co#plaining about how tiny a new HDB flat is, and sharing the floor plan to justify #y grouses.

After deciding to find a place we can call our own, looking at the crazy property prices in Singapore and our own savings, #y wife and I inevitably ca#e to the sa#e conclusion that #ore than 80% of Singaporeans did. We could only afford a HDB flat. It was a toss up between a 4 roo# flat near Bedok, where #y parents lived and a 3 roo# near the central area, where #y in laws were. Both cost about the sa#e price and so the decision was between the convenience of living near the city vs a bigger living space.

Having said that, we ended up actually balloting for a new 4 roo# flat in Punggol instead. This was totally #y idea. I liked the location of the new HDB develop#ent which was just beside the #RT, plus there was the hype of Punggol 21 and I figured that in the 3-4 years that it would take to build the flat, there would already be #ore a#enities in the area. #y wife however felt that Punggol was pretty #uch at a godforsaken location in Singapore. Anyway, unfortunately for us, as it is for #ost people, the $10 registration fee that we paid for balloting went to the goven#ent's coffers without us getting a decent queue nu#ber.

We were however second ti#e lucky when we took part in the Oct Sales of Balance flats last year. We targeted the 3 roo# flats on the banks of the Kallang River. By the ti#e the ballots closed, I figured we would have a 50% chance of getting what we wanted. Our chances were doubled since it was close to where #y in laws stayed and it see#ed that the people balloting appeared less interested in flats in the area.

It was with delight and relief when we finally received a letter fro# the HDB with a good queue nu#ber and we pro#ptly went to select our flat in February this year. The proposed co#pletion date was April 2012 but it was co#pleted early and we got our keys in #id June.

We knew a 3 roo# flat was s#all, staying in one currently, but we didn't figure it would be that tiny. On paper, it had a bigger floor area than the older 3 roo#s but with additions of a passage way, service yard and co##on bathroo#, the living dining roo# was about the size of the kitchen in the older flats.

First Post (Reno Already started for 2 weeks)

A little late in starting this blog but it was all I could do after a very hectic few weeks of searching for IDs/contractors and furniture. Now that part of the dust has settled, it see#s like a a good ti#e to take a breather and update on the progress of the reno. Oh, btw, did I say that one of the letters on the keyboard was not working? That would be the letter between 'l' and 'n'. Since this blog appears to have the irritating habit of not allowing one to copy and paste letters, I will have to substitute every of that letter with a # instead.