The Unveil of 656 Woodlands Ring Road

Starring: Mr "If you can't see it means it's clean" and Ms "You're not allowed to sit on the sofa".

After 1 month (plus) of renovation, the humble abode at Blk 656 Woodlands Ring Road was finally "ready"! The couple spent 2 days cleaning the house, during which Mr "If you can't see it means it's clean"'s philosophy was frequently applied, especially in obscure parts of the house. Nonetheless, the cleanup was still torturous; and to add to his  misery, Ms "You're not allowed to sit on the sofa" didn't allow him to sit on the sofa.

The sofa is currently covered with bedsheet and Ms "You're not allowed to sit on the sofa" insists that the sofa will only be functional when there are guests or after they move in. Otherwise it remains as an artpiece.

Cove lighting + art piece at the bottom-left corner

TV Console + Display cabinets from Mode Studio

Hock Siong coffee/end tables

View from the living room + ZX's grilles

Roller blinds for the service balcony void

Tempered glass sliding door for the kitchen

The Renovation Story: The day our savings flew away~

Starring: "The Designer", "The Engineer" and "Mr Hill"

The appointment on 29 May 2011 was all about selections, selections, and selections.

Agenda Item 1: Pick wardrobe laminate

"The Engineer"  was absolutely bewildered by the myriad of laminate designs available. She was certain that she didn't want glossy laminates, but had no opinions on whether the laminate should be patterned, wood-y, shiny-matt, classic-matt, leather-y or fabric-y! (http://www.formica.com.sg/product-information/high-pressure) In the end she picked "dark brown" and left the detailed decision-making to "The Designer" as this was way out of her league.

Agenda Item 2: Pick kitchen cabinet laminate

"The Engineer"  knew that she wanted a bright kitchen, but not white nor glossy laminates. Unfortunately, she had no idea if the top and bottom cabinets should have the same laminates. This decision, was also left to "The Designer", who ended up picking a light-ish brown wood with vertical grains, in order to match the $800+ stainless steel backing.

Agenda Item 3: Pick kitchen tiles

Mr Hill recommended a glossy homogeneous tile with beach-y feel for the kitchen wall. The couple picked a grey-ish textured tile for the kitchen floor so that it could match the granite floor in the living and the existing grey-ish tile in the service yard.

Agenda Item 4: Pick toilet tiles

The couple's original idea of a pebble-wash floor in the toilets was scrapped after Mr Hill explained that the pebble-wash is difficult to maintain and can cause moss/algae to grow in between the pebbles. He introduced to the couple homogeneous tiles that looked pebble-y instead. The couple picked a brownish/greyish textured tile to match the existing greyish wall tiles.

Agenda Item 5: Pick TV console laminate

This was an easy choice because the couple found "a set of living room shelving" in a designer furniture store (Mode Studio) at Tradehub that was having a "Moving Out Sale". The shelves are L-shaped and the couple bought THREE of them at a discounted price (2 of them are display sets, 1 is new). The laminate for the TV console should thus obviously match the laminate of the shelves.

Author's Note: The "Moving Out Sale" at Mode Studio ends on 31st July. They are relocating to Marina Square. If you happen to be at the sale and see a brown couch on sale (original price $1,399) please call the couple immediately as they have been hounding the sales people at Mode every weekend to give them a better price. Currently the lowest offer given stands at $888. The couple is looking to pay $700.

Agenda Item 6: Pick sanitary & kitchen fittings

Mr Hill brought the couple to a shop that sells everything -  ranging from kitchen sink to water heater to hot tubs. The couple spent around $2,400 on 3 WCs (1 designer, 2 plain), 2 designer basins, 1 huge kitchen sink, 5 taps (not designer), 2 water heaters, 1 stove + hob, toilet accessories, etc. "The Designer"' was insistent on having a designer toilet bowl with concealed screws. 
Deposit paid on that day = $700

Agenda Item 7: Pick lightings

"The Engineer" would like all readers to know that the total cost of all lights in "The Designer"'s cove lighting feature costs

The Designer" would also like all readers to know that "The Engineer"'s 3 ceiling fans with remote control cost $1,200.
The total damage done in the lighting shop = $2,100 (paid deposit of $1,000)

Mr Hill updated that the HDB permit was already applied, and his contractors are ready to start work on 1st June 2011. Another 40% of the contract price was due on start work day, so the couple issued a post-dated cheque. This brings the total damage done on 29 May 2011 to a grand total of $20,000 :(

The Renovation Story: When "The Designer" and "The Engineer" Met D'Esprit

Starring: "The Designer" and "The Engineer"

Contractor 02 mentioned in previous chapter is actually D'Esprit here.

The preliminary renovation quotation given was approx $40K and excluded the cost of the following:

• cost of sanitary fitting selection
• cost of electrical and light fitting and installation cost.
• plastering the ceiling/wall*
• cost of furniture selection

* Our existing surface of the wall and ceiling are texturized. Plastering, which is costly, is required to smoothen the surfaces.

The quotation is substantially higher than the budget allocated by the couple.
Both "The Designer" and The Engineer" want to keep the total budget within $40K (i.e. inclusive of the cost of the hidden items).

By 'shaping up the budget', the couple is prepared to remove some items from their renovation wish list but they also did not want to let off the contractor so easily and therefore, have to bargain with him and put their charm into use.

The couple worked with Mr Hill, project consultant for D'Esprit. He kindly spent the whole afternoon to adjust the quotation. Some of the key highlights included:

• With Mr Hill's advice, the "The Designer" decided that the existing sliding window, although does not tie in with his design intent, can actually be retained. (Savings of $3000)
• The extensive ceiling design will require substantiate number of costly downlight fittings and cost false ceiling board, "The Designer" was therefore, compiled to keep the ceiling design 'lean' (ie to compromise on the design intent and to allow budget make the decision = Savings of $3500)
• "The Engineer" wanted to have an extensive make-over for the toilets but upon hearing the cost breakdown, she decided to omit the option of hacking the toilet floor & wall tiles & the long bath in the master bedroom toilet. However she was still insistent in replacing the existing WC, wash-basin, to install a cheap cheap shower screen and bi-fold door. (Savings of $1000)
• "The Designer" and "The Engineer" also decided to keep the kitchen reno work lean by having a shorter kitchen cabinet. (Savings of $1000)

Plus some bargain here and there (reduced price of toilet door from $220 to $188, total cost savings of $96) with Mr Hill, the couple reduced the renovation cost to $27,000. This provided some allowance for miscellaneous and hidden costs such as cooker hob, lighting, electrical works, WC, kitchen sink & tap, which kept the overall budget in check.

Author's Note: Advice those looking for renovation contractor: Remember to clarify with the contractor on the various hidden items and their respective cost prior to awarding the contract. These miscellaneous & hidden costs could add up to $6,000. 

Pleased with the quotation and their "bargaining power", the couple signed the renovation contract that same day (i.e. 21 May, aka 6 days after Mr Hill's site visit at Woodlands Ring Road). Payment due upon contract signing was 10%, but the couple did not bring their cheque book and was lazy to walk to the nearest ATM (a block away). Mr Hill agreed to delay the payment till their next appointment, which was set a week later, on 29 May.

The Renovation Story: When "The Designer" Met "The Engineer"

Starring: "The Designer" and "The Engineer"

In "The Designer"'s world, the house should be designed to look like a showflat. That is, sleek designs, cozy lighting, proper placement of furniture, etc, so as to create a romantic and resort-like ambiance. Unfortunately, the expression of "The Designer"'s creative mind is severely restricted by (a) budget and (b) the existing grey granite floor.

Here are some of "The Designer"'s Inspirations (photos are linked directly from the web):
















In "The Engineer"'s world, the most important things to change are the toilet WCs and the kitchen. "The Engineer" is also strongly against standing standing fans and only endorses ceiling fans. Renovations to the rest of the house is secondary, and will take place only if budget permits.

Unfortunately, Woodlands Ring Road world belonged to both of them. There was a lot of compromising to be done, and a lot of expectations to be lowered.

Here's a summarised version of the renovation list that they came up with. The detailed version has around 90 items, and there is no need to bore the reader with irrelevant and uninteresting items like "Install kitchen sink with tap" and "Polishing of existing granite floor".

Living, Dining -- mainly the brainchild of the "The Designer"
1) Demolish existing hall feature, pillar, pipe cabinet, ceiling & cornices
2) Ceiling/Lighting/Ambiance feature
3) Sand & Re-varnish stairs railing
4) Timber venetian blinds
5) Elaborate oriental-styled TV console and shelving
6) Ceiling Fan -- veto-ed by "The Engineer" because she doesn't like standing fans

Toilets -- trump card played by "The Engineer"
1) Layover floor tiles
2) Replace WC & wash basin
3) Shower screen
4) Replace the bi-fold door

Kitchen -- Mutual decision
1) Entire makeover (including demolishing of existing floor & wall tiles)
2) Kitchen cabinet + Solid Surface + Stainless steel plate
3) Tempered glass sliding door

Master Bedroom -- Mutual decision
1) L-box/Cove Lighting -- Requested by "The Designer"
2) Full-height wardrobe
3) Timber venetian blinds
4) Ceiling fan

Whole House -- Mainly "The Designer"
1) Painting
2) Replace sliding windows to casement windows (white colour) -- "The Designer" claims that casement windows provide more ventilation
3) White colour window grilles -- "The Designer": For the minimalist look
4) Designer doors -- "The Designer" (duh)

Being a good civil servant ("The Engineer"), they asked for 3 quotations so that they can make an informed decision about who they wish to hire:
1) Random Interior Designer at IMM
2) "The Engineer"'s previous contractor
3) "The Designer"'s contractor contact

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Author's Note: Make sure that the contractor pays a visit to your house so that he can give a more accurate quotation. The site visit will also help him pick out potential problem areas and suggest alternative solutions.

The contractors take about 2 weeks to come back a preliminary quotation. After which, you should do a cost comparison based on each item in the quote. This action is highly-recommended because we discovered that despite giving all 3 contractors the same requirements, they all came back with quotations containing either too many or too little items.

Nonetheless, the general cost for our 90+ items to renovate is $10K more than our expected budget of $30K. We took a leap of faith, and "commissioned"* contractor 2 (details to be revealed in the next chapter). Thereafter we worked with him to push the renovation cost lower.

* Definition of "commissioned":
Pls note the word 'commissioned' used by the designer merely mean that the contractor 2 was approached to work out budget first.
No actual contract was signed at that point of time.