Renovation Plans Ahead

 Image copyrighted to paretoraw

 Renovation Plans Ahead

I have fallen pretty sick for the past few days. It is fortunate that my husband, let us address him as Mr Diva for this post, was around to take care of me and our place when I was out of action.

On the first day, I clogged up our basin because I couldn’t keep any food in my tummy. Then I realised how silly I was after Mr Diva gently reminded me that I should have used the toilet bowl instead. Over the next 2 days, Mr Diva constantly fussed over me and also took the opportunity to reassess together (by the bedside when I became restless after waking up from my drug-induced sleep) how we should best remodel our nest place.

Well, since I was constantly brainstorming on how to optimise and reorganise our so-very-limited space, I leaped on this rare chance to share with him some of my mini-renovation scope of work for  the coming year.

Our Study and Guest room was deliberately left out of our original renovation scope of work as we were unsure how we should maximise the physical space. We figured that instead of wasting precious resources – read: money, time and effort – on these two rooms, we should concentrate our efforts in other areas which we utilise more often.

Well, our lifestyle needs have evolved and certain habits have somewhat converged and become shared habits after living together for around half a decade. Aside from drawing, my interests expanded to include home interior designs, trends and new media, whilst Mr Diva has taken up photography and even serious political readings! Our shared hobby is now mountain biking.

Thus, we are in serious need of customised book-shelves and cupboard to store the numerous piles of books, magazines, photos, paintings and photography equipments and tools. Not forgetting, a decent storage solution for our pair of mountain bikes too.

We also realised that our living room is more multi-dimensional that we have originally thought of; for guest entertainment, meals, studying, doing work (somehow we dislike working in the study room), relaxation and chill out after a hard day work. In fact, we spend an extraordinary amount of time there. Thus we are looking at creating more storage space in our living room to keep up with such heavy utilisation.

We have more intimate knowledge of our flat right now and realised that although our home features the much sought-after breath-taking unblocked view of part of our neighbourhood, our place is still warm especially in the first half of the year. Although the fans and air-con helped, we are looking at having solar window firms to keep the heat out and consequently, our carbon foot prints down.

When we first started our renovation journey, we concentrated heavily on our needs, and our wants were set aside. As a result, our toilets were also left untouched and as what Mr Diva always deadpanned (whenever our relatives or friends enquired about the apparent clash in our design theme), in 100% “stock-condition”. However, we have somewhat gotten really tired of the awfully mismatched wall tiles – all thanks to aesthetically-challenged HDB architect – and desperately wished for a decent face-lift.

We felt that this mini to-do-renovation-list might be a bit too ambitious to accomplish over the upcoming year. Even though we have narrowed down our scope, we have yet to perform some decent ball-park figure on the total expected expenses and work out a decent renovation plan.

Well nevertheless, let us see how these will work out over the next year.  :)

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FAQ: What are the Renovation Works that are allowed in (Bomb) Shelters?

What are the Renovation Works that are allowed in (Bomb)Shelters?

This is a frequently asked question and I thought that it would be good to share this info with the home owners who are renovating their place. :)

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Knowing the Renovation Guidelines (for HDB owners)

Knowing the Renovation Guidelines (for HDB owners)

 Housing & Development (Renovation Control) Rules 2006.

To summarise, HDB flat owners need to:

1. Engage an HDB Registered Renovation Contractor (RRCs) to carry out renovation works. Otherwise, the owners can be fined up to $5,000 and other penalties;
2. Ensure that certain types of renovation work need a permit from HDB before commencing such works;

3. Ensure that the renovation work which may result in the following is not allowed to be carried out:

• Overloading the structure which may affect the structural integrity and safety of the building;
• Affecting the external facade/form of the building or public safety;
• Creating public nuisance, posing fire hazard or encroachment to public area;
• Infringing lease agreement, relevant statutory regulations or requirements, etc.

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How to make Your Home Elderly Proof: Part 1 - Making Your Home User-friendly

 

How to make Your Home Elderly Proof:

Part 1 - Making Your Home User-friendly

Interior design is meant to increase the quality of our life. Thus planning for a renovation without considering the needs of the elderly members will be detrimental. Unfortunately, I have seen too many young couples who are too caught up with constructing their “dream” home that they have sadly sidelined the needs of their aged parents or grandparents.

In fact, I am very disheartened to see that so much emphasis is placed in the look and feel of the home design that they forgot that a home is ultimately where our loved ones live in. Don't these couple know that their aged family members have feelings and specific needs too? To me, it is ironic that a house is so stylishly and modernly furnished and yet, our loved ones faced difficulty living in it.

Why is making a home elderly proof so important?

In addition, these couple fail to realize is that by making their home elderly proof also means that their senior family members get to maintain their independence and this means a whole world to them. In fact, the elderly prided their autonomy very much and want to move around the house with minimal assistance.

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What to do if your Renovation really goes wrong?

Despite your very best efforts and good intentions, I am sure there are times when things still go wrong. Sad but true. :(

So what should you do then?


1. Access the Impact

First of all, access the impact of the mistake with your Interior Designer (ID) or Contractor immediately. Find out whether does the mistake impact the renovation schedule and cost. The longer you wait, the more costly the mistake will be.

2. Perform Rectification Works

After that, find out what rectification works can be done to rectify the problem.


3. Set a Deadline

By setting a deadline, it allows for both parties to come together at a date and review the resolution together.

4. Review Proposal and revise Contract

Review the proposal with the ID and Contractor and revise the Contract and document the impact and rectification works

However, during the course of problem resolution disagreements may surface. Unfortunately when that happens, you should the following, in order of importance to prevent WWIII from erupting:

1. Withhold Payment until Dispute is Resolved


Never pay the ID or Contractor until the situation has been resolved.


2. Resolve with the ID or Contractor directly

Obviously this is the least costly method.


3. Keep a record of all Conversations and Communications

Keeping a book record helps to keep track of what is agreed and decisions made.


4. Take photos of your Concerns

Photos servers as undisputed proofs of unsuitable workmanship, materials etc.


5. File complaints with the Relevant Authorities

Contact the Renovation and Decoration Advisory Center (RADAC) or Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) for advise.


6. Find an Attorney

As the last resort, speak to a lawyer when a mutual resolution can’t be reached. However, this will be rather costly and time consuming.

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Home Renovation Checklist

 

Home Renovation Checklist

Before you begin your home renovation, it's important to do some pre-renovation groundwork (i.e. 1st Stage of Renovation - Initiate  ) and plan  (i.e. 2nd Stage of Renovation - Plan ) ahead. However once you have started, there are many important things that you should take note of when you are managing the renovation.

Hence, here is a simple checklist and tips to get you started. I will update and add on to this checklist whenever the need arises, so do remember to bookmark this post! :)

1) Existing Defects

   (For HDB home owners) Have the HDB Technical Officers to rectified the list of defects prior the start of renovation? 

2) Research

Have you talked to your friends, neighbors etc about their home renovation experience?    Have you dispelled the popular renovation myths?    Have you found answers to the common renovation questions?    Have you found out the 7 common renovation mistakes and how to avoid them?    Have you found out the renovation guidelines for HDB / DBSS or private residential properties?

Have you sourced for renovation design ideas in magazines, catalogs, or open houses?

Have you checked with banks on the renovation loan prerequisites, conditions and prevailing interest rates? 3) Renovation Budget    Have you decided on the renovation budget?    Have you decided on the type of mortgage loan? 4) Renovation Scope

Have you decided on the future inhabitants of your renovated home (i.e. any pets, grandparents etc)?    Have you talked to the future inhabitants on their needs and requirements?    Have you considered and determined on the type of lifestyle that you are leading?    Have you scoped out the extent of the renovation? 5) Contractor or Interior Designers selection    Have you interviewed and shortlisted the list of contractors or interior designers? 6) Renovation Package selection    Have you scrutinized the renovation quotes carefully for any hidden costs?    Have you decided on a renovation package?    Have you ensured that all verbal clarifications and additional requirements (if any) have been written down  before you sign the contract? 7) Renovation Plan    Have you drafted the renovation plan?    Have you and the contractor or interior designer agreed upon the renovation duration and the worked out the contingency actions to take when there are delays?    Have you gathered the detailed scope of the renovation?    Have you estimated all the costs involved, the budget to be set aside and contingency actions to take when there are cost overruns?    Have you and the contractor or interior designer agreed upon the acceptable quality of renovation and how these standards are going to be determined?    Have you and the contractor or interior designer discussed on the risks that will impact the renovation  project and how to handle these risks by developing the contingency plans?    Have you and the contractor or interior designer agreed on how communication is to be done and the frequency of communication? 8) Review and Monitor    Have you constantly monitor and review the renovation works to ensure that things are going according to the plan?    Have you constantly ensure that the renovation is still on time? 9) Handover / Post Renovation Review    Have you ensured that all obligations and works are delivered by the contractor or interior designer as stipulated in the contract?    Have you done a post renovation walk-through, especially on the quality of the renovation prior the handover and final payment?    Have you checked that the contractor or the interior designer has properly cleaned up and evacuated the place after the handover?    Have you changed the lock to your property after the handover? Hope you have found the checklist useful and do share this post to people who might need it too! :)

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Commonly Used Renovation Terms



To people who are new to renovation, here are some of the commonly used renovation terms. Hope you find it useful!  :)

All credits go to Whiteboard.

* Extracted for easiler reference *  

Construct Walls

The construction of walls for partitions or segregation reasons.

* Gypsum board - a type of light plasterboard used for making ceilings or walls.

* Hollow blocks - blocks laid in brick fashion using cement to join and plaster to finish off.

* Plywood (bare) - using plywood to create walls and finished with plaster.

Level-up Flooring

Usually used to level up flooring from the kitchen to living room, or from the balcony to living. The idea is to make the floor level the same height so that there is no more drop. Most of the times this is reserved for making the space look bigger by creating an extension of space from living to balcony.

Create Door Opening

When a door opening is needed, the designer will determine whether the wall needs to be hacked. If so, a door opening may be created, simply by hacking a non-load bearing wall.

Seal-up Door Opening

This means to cover up a former door opening by using either hollow blocks or other materials and finish it with plaster.

Concrete Support

Usually for kitchen or bathrooms. The concrete support is to house the sink or stove. It will be finished off with tiles or just plain cement screeding.

Cement base for kitchen / bathroom cabinets

This is also known as plinth. The plinth acts as a skirting from the flooring so that the cabinet will not be in contact with the flooring. For example, in the case of wet flooring.

Shower Kerb

(seperator placed in the bathroom on the floor)

It acts as a base for the shower screen. Otherwise it may also be used to deviate water from the shower area to the rest of the bathroom.

Water Proofing

(only when floor tiles are to be laid over kitchen or bathrooms)

A membrane known as waterproofing will be needed to apply on to the surface before tiles are laid. This is necessary as water may seep into the apartment downstairs if it is not applied.

All credits go to Construction Jagon.

* Extracted for easiler reference*

Wood flooring

Wood flooring is a type of flooring made from the timber of hardwoods, or of spruce or hard pine. There are two basic manufactured types of hardwood. Wood flooring comes unfinished, and once installed is sanded, then finished on site. More modernly, the product is pre-finished in a factory. The products that are pre-finished are often a polyurethane

finish that has added aluminium oxide, however some companies use titanium dioxide or other oxides instead. These metal oxide finishes are used in various types of floor coverings and increase the wear a hardwood floor can handle.

* Solid Wood Flooring

Solid hardwoods are typically 3/4" or 19mm thick, although some do come in 3/8" (10mm) or 5/16" (8mm) thicknesses. Typically the wearing thickness, i.e., the thickness that can be sanded over the lifetime of the floor, above the tongue-and-groove portion, is approximately 7/32" approaching 1/4". This type of hardwood flooring can be installed with a nail-down installation method over wood subfloors. This type of hardwood is also very susceptible to the effects of moisture and temperature, because hardwoods expand and contract with moisture and temperature changes in the atmosphere. Since hardwoods expand and contract in the width of the grain, this type of hardwood flooring is not recommended to be installed over a concrete slab, unless otherwise stated by the manufacturer. There are some instances where 3/8"-thick solid hardwood can be installed on a concrete slab.

* Engineered Wood Flooring

Rather than having one solid piece of hardwood, the engineered hardwood method uses layers of hardwood veneer to create a product that can range in thickness from 3/8" or 8mm up to 9/16" or 14mm thick. The wood veneer can range in thickness depending on the manufacturer, as will the top wearing thickness. In order to create an engineered hardwood, these veneer layers are stacked one on top of the other with the grain of adjacent layers oriented perpendicular to one other. Once the desired thickness is achieved, the boards are then cut into the correct board width. From there, the boards are then manufactured to have a tongue or groove on the edges. The final step is to add stain if necessary, and add a finish. By doing this, the engineered hardwood becomes less susceptible to the effects of moisture and temperature change, because wood expands and contracts in the width of the grain direction. Therefore engineered hardwood is referred to as being dimensionally stable. Solid hardwood does not have dimensional stability because all of the grain runs in the same direction. Because of its dimensional stability, engineered hardwood can be glued directly to concrete above or below grade, as opposed to solid hardwood which cannot.

All credits go to expert realestate.

* Extracted for easiler reference*

Click here for the entire list*.

*Note: The renovate glossary provided covers everything from simple building and carpentry terms, words used in contracts, home automation jargon and design terms.

homebuildingmanual.com

homebuildingmanual provides a comprehensive list of commonly used terms during home construction. You can make reference to them if you do not understand certain "big" or chiem (Singaporean Slang) terms your ID or Contractor is using. 

sherlockhomeinspectors.com

sherlockhomeinspectors provides a visual representation of some commonly used home construction terms.

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How to manage your Renovation?

A lot of people didn't realize that managing a Renovation is akin to managing a Project, and this involves a series of process and steps which you have to perform to ensure your is a success.


In fact, many of you might mistakenly think that by “out-sourcing” the Renovation process; it means minimal involvement and work from you. This typical mindset is wrong and will set stage for headaches and even heartaches when your Contractor/ID manages your Renovation badly.

Furthermore, Renovation is a delicate process and therefore, requires years of experience, expertise and the know-how to pull it off successfully.

However, I couldn’t help but notice that quite a few Contractor/ID are pretty young and inexperienced.

Nonetheless, In my subsequent series of blog posts, I will cover the following:

1) The 5 stages of Renovation:
2) The 7 knowledge areas of Renovation.

Stay tuned! :)

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7 Common Renovation Mistakes

NOTE: Kindly credit my site if you are using this article. All images copyrighted to the respective owners.

Amidst the enthusiasm and eagerness to renovate the flat into their dream homes, I would like to sound a note of warning to all home owners the 7 common renovation mistakes:

1. Insufficient and Poor Planing

Like any projects, having a sound plan plays a crucial role of ensuring success of your renovation. Ask yourself what will constitute a successful renovation? Most of the time, the end goals are multi-faceted. They could be:

a) Within budget
b) Within stipulated time
c) Practical
d) Visually appealing

Plan your renovation project such that it will not clash with your work commitments. This is to make sure that you will be available to attend to any renovation needs should any issues arises. You should also plan for contingencies as well (i.e. when the budget falls short, when the time-line is unexpectedly delayed etc).

2. Setting an Unrealistic Budget

Most people underestimate the cost for a decent renovation. Unexpected things happen, expenses piled up and blow your budget. In addition, areas which make up the renovation budget are as follows:

a) Renovation of the flat
b) Electrical works and lightings
c) Furniture and electrical appliances
d) Furnishing such as curtains etc

Hence, a + b + c + d = Actual Cost of Renovation

My advice is to inform your Contractor/ID only 80% of what you can afford for part (a). For instance, if your budget is 50k, tell your Contractor/ID that you only have 40k to spare Work with them what are the needs and wants of your renovation with that amount. Remember, 10k is your buffer for any unexpected expenses. Trust me, this trick always works! :)

3. Leaving everything to the Contractor/ID

Many homeowners make the mistake of leaving everything to their Contractor/ID; why? This is because they have assumed that the Contractor/ID should know what they want and will ensure that everything is in order.

However, the hard truth is that contractors/IDs run and handle multiple projects - yours included. Thus, they might miss out something. Hence, you should always keep track of how they are doing; by doing sites visits weekly and keeping a constant communication with them to ensure that everything runs smoothly.

In addition, you should keep tab of their progress to ensure that the renovation is on schedule. I believe that BOTH parties play a role in making the project work. Keeping a close tabs also means that you can also keep on eye on your budget and document down all the changes made during the course of renovation so that there will be no dispute later on.

4. Ignoring the fact that Your Lifestyle DO play an Important Role in Renovation

Most homeowners like to adopt popular themes for their design; but they did that without thinking through how exactly their lifestyle will fit in the chosen theme.

Take for instance, when the minimalist style is chosen, a couple will have to forgo alot of things when they move in. In the beginning, this shouldn't pose much of a problem. However over time,they might realized that they have allocated insufficient storage spaces to maintain their minimalistic look. This usually happens when the couple does not have the habit of buying only what they really need.

Other area that is frequently neglected is the lighting effects. As lighting effects can easily transform the feeling and ambiance of a home, most couples play lot of special attention in creating cozy atmosphere in their living room and dining corner. However, if they have the habit of reading in living room, the cozy lighting is hardly conducive and impractical to upkeep. Hence, you should consider 3 kinds of lighting in your renovation: general lighting, task lighting and drama or accent lighting. A combination of these 3 different kinds of lighting have to be included in your renovation plan.

5. Selecting the Hottest and most Trendy themes

Most wanted the latest hottest, coolest designs for their homes, however they forgot that this usually means that it is a passing fab - and ultimately such design will become passé. I always believe in timeless classic design; and that a truly great design should allow you to configure your home into as many styles as you like.

This is because as time passes, our interior living needs changes. Aged parents might moved in, new kids might be on the way or it could be that we might simply have gotten tired of the current design. For example, you might find modern complementary style too stifling and would prefer the rustic resort laid-back design more relaxing after a hard day's work.

Therefore, a good design should allow us to adopt a new theme, a fresh style easily . This should be effortlessly achieved by updating the wall colors, changing your furniture and also replacing soft furnishing like curtains.

Hence, it is advisable not to include too many fixtures in your renovation. For example, a lot of "curvy" (sorry for the lack of more appropriate words) doorways, false ceiling and other quirky fixtures are a must to achieve that Retro avant-garde look.....however be ready to be stuck with that design for many years...

6. Ignoring Details and Neglect Areas that needs REAL Attention.

Often, homeowners are so caught up with the overall design that they forget about the details such as the power points and where the lights should be located. One way to overcome this is to "dry run" and pretend that you have just stepped into the house after work, where is the first place you would reach for the lights? Which room you would venture into first? etc

If you spend a lot of your time in a particular area, be sure to allow sufficient time planning how that area should be designed so that you can work in the most efficient manner. Remember to be realistic and think whether there is enough storage space for all your needs. Nothing is worse than having a nice looking place that is flawed by the fact that it has insufficient storage area. Remember to plan your future storage needs too.

7. Not going Green with Electrical Appliances

You should ensure that the most commonly used appliances ( i.e. Dishwasher, TV, Fridge, Air cons etc has the green energy efficient label. This is ecause by using energy saving appliances, you can cut down your annual electrical bills by quite a decent sum. Its more earth friendly too.

Look for NCCC for the list of the labeled appliances available in Singapore. Tips are also available on how you can save the earth and ultimately, save money too.

Let's work together to make the world a better place to live in..and build a sustainable future for our next generation. :)

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What's your budget?

Many people set aside money for renovation. However, most neglect the other critical aspect when doing up their dream home: furnishing and essential household appliances.

To sum up, the big dream home project makes up of the following components:

1. Renovation (which includes painting of walls, adding shifting of lighting points etc)
2. Furnishing (furniture, curtains/blinds etc)

3. Household appliances (washing appliances, TV, fridge etc)

I have seen people dumping as much as S$70k in the renovation and left little for furnishing and thus, the end result is pretty lopsided. Remember, renovation only setup a "base"; only with appropriate furnishing that the character of the place will be brought out.

Last thing to note is that usually people tend to exceed their budget by 20%-30% on average. Thus, keep this in mind. ;)

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