Tip: Before you start any work, install a door stopper hinge so that the contractors will not accidentally damage your door due to haulage. You can get them easily installed from SlideArm or UniArm.
Edit: Hacking works started first after we got the HDB approval to begin renovations. We got approval to hack the existing service yard windows and door to extend the kitchen and also hacked one wall panel of the MBR to extend our wardrobe.
Step 1: Aircon Trunking Installation
We started comparing prices rather early on and decided on our Mitsubushi Starmex System 4 from Mega Discount with premium installation of 2 visits.
When the installers came onsite, they commented that the structural beams for our BTO project was planned really badly and did not cater the right dimensions for Aircon to be installed nicely.
For instance, the beam just behind the living room is bigger and lower than the connecting beam which makes it impossible for us to have the unit installed at the living room. Most of us could only settle for the aircon at the dining area. Most of our trunking cannot be properly concealed for the same reason that the beam is built way lower than usual, while the aircon vent provided by hdb is way too high for proper installation of the aircon unit.
Tldr; HDB/BSC did a very terrible job building the structure of our estate. I don't think we deserve this after the price and long wait that came with this, but I guess we can only settle for the hideous aircon trunking which our installers tried their best to make it more aesthetically acceptable for us.
Step 2: Electrical Works
We are really lucky to have Zhaohui's uncle help us with the electrical wiring. Basically you need to start planning early where you need your plugs and additional lighting point to be. These labour cost can add up to a significant amount up to 2 - 3k based on the amount of work you plan to do for your unit.
The most challenging part was planning the light points for the unit as we're not planning on having any false ceilings. It is more difficult to have diffused lights with LED track lights so really crossing our fingers that the lighting plan would turn out fine for our rather dark unit.
You also need to know what lights you will be getting for each light point so that you can estimate the right location and dimensions for your electrician to pull the power source to.
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1. Materials Selection
A. Laminate/ Vinyl floor selection
This one did not take us long as we were pretty clear from the start what colours we need. I will dedicate another post on the design on the house later on, which also took us months to develop after tons of research on Pinterest and Qanvast.
We wanted to to get anti-fingerprint laminates for the kitchen and this material only comes in grey or black. We chose the latter.
As for Vinyl flooring, we needed a medium tone wood and it was easy since there was only one choice in that shade from Floor Xpert.
B. Tiles selection
This is by far the toughest and longest process ever. We did our first tile shop visit when we first finalize our ID before our key collection and we have still yet to finalize that one tile design.
It really is a tough job selecting the right tile. You know they may look same same but different? Even in a selected tile, one carton of the same tile can come in various shade/vein/variation. It is really difficult to picture how it looks since you normally only get to see one or two samples at once.
Tile shops visited till date:
Hafary Eunos*
Hafary Balestier
Soon Bee Huat Toh Guan*
Soon Bee Huat Changi
Lian Seng Hin Balestier
Lian Seng Hin Ubi*
Malford Ceramics
RICElab
I have included * to indicate the larger showrooms. It is worth the visit if you do not mind the traveling to the various galleries as they tend to display more pieces of a tile which helps with better visualisations. It's also useful to get more tile sample to bring back to your home. I noticed it is better to visualize how the tile will look at the actual site.
It is also more efficient to drop by Balestier since both Hafary and LSH is side by side. Imo Hafary is slightly higher priced. The last two listed are small boutiques with a small variety but we are desperate at the moment since we cannot find the right tile we need for our MBR toilet. Fingers crossed we can finalize them tile choices since we are delaying tiling works due to the prolonged selection process.
2. Purchases
A. TAOBAO
We also spent an extensive amount of time on Taobao for the past week. It is useful to note the substantial savings you can make if you choose to buy from Taobao wisely. Thankfully I shop frequently there and have no problem conversing on the Taobao language 亲亲 haha. It is important to time your shopping well as you need to take 2 - 3 weeks of sea shipping.
Our first shipment mainly consisted of toilet accessories and lightings that needs to be fixed by the plumber around Week 4. That's why it's been such a stressful week urgently shopping to get what we needed.
Besides the lower prices, many sellers on Taobao also support customisation so do explore that option if you can!
I have included brief screenshots of our purchases for our toilets. Feel free to let me know if you need further reviews or links later on!
It may be useful to note that you'd want to ship your bulky heavy items via sea volumetric shipping as shipping by weight is usually more costly. I decided to ship via Oops as it has the most competitive price (CNY450/CBM) and has a great customer service that replies WhatsApp instantly even at odd hours. They also have a great online platform for easy registration of parcels.
Here's a quick guide on how to ship your tb buys with OOPS:
1. Key in your unique shipping address on Taobao for all your purchases to be shipped to your unique OOPS address
2. Register parcel with domestic tracking number and price of parcel for gst declaration on OOPS
3. Consolidate shipment and prepare for stuffing to SG. It takes about 10 - 14 days upon stuffing on container, which happens on Tues/Fri. Just prepare your shipment and pay before that!
Here's my 93.9kg / 1 CBM, all ready to be packed. It is a great coincidence that it could be nicely packed in 1CBM. I like that OOPS can also ship in lower volumes (rate is not as good), and also prorate the rates above 1 CBM.
B. ELECTRONIC PURCHASES
- Brandt Induction Cassette Hood Hob, Pyrolytic Oven (Hoe Kee)
- LG OLED 55'' TV (Harvey Norman - KINEX Roadshow)
This pretty much sums up a rather busy Week 1!
Next up: Screeding and Tiling / JB Light and Fan shopping
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