Renovation questions - ask away!

[justjaslin]

I'll answer anything related to home renovation! To my best ability and understanding of the industry.

Cause previously I also feel like i had a ton of questions but always worried if ID will smoke me just to close my deal. Now that I am in renovation industry, wanted to have a space for people to ask away without the same worries.

Started this thread cause I went in a few similar threads, but original thread owners are no longer replying.. not sure if it is polite to reply on behalf of them so started this one instead.

Ask away! I would also love to learn any inputs.

 

[Illusion8484]

how much is the typical markup above cost?

 

[TrueBeliever_jh]

Not sure if this is a question that I can ask here.

Is it possible to merge the master bedroom and common bathroom, as in hacking the wall between the 2 bathrooms.

TIA.

 

[MrBoxySquare]

Those default 5mm vinyl floorings proposed by IDs in the quote, are they toxic and how is their quality compared to the Evo Herf?

 

[justjaslin]

how much is the typical markup above cost?

It really all depends on your ID actually. Or how much each ID feels like they should mark up. Usually for referrals, they might mark up abit more.

More experienced IDs tend to mark up abit more. I.e. with the mindset: I feel like i should be earning this much from this project to be worth my time. But there are also experienced IDs who dont mind lowering it.

Newbie IDs tend to mark up lesser (cause they would want to close the deal more) but you trade-off with a lower experienced ID who may leave out some cost that is unknown to them unknowingly. And may ask you to top-up more. So depends on your luck actually!

 

[justjaslin]

Not sure if this is a question that I can ask here.

Is it possible to merge the master bedroom and common bathroom, as in hacking the wall between the 2 bathrooms.

TIA.

Yes it can be done, provided that your floorplan meets the following:

1. The wall in between is not in solid black color on your floor plan
2. Both your toilet bowls cannot be attached to the wall.
If just 1 toilet bowl, e.g. the common bathroom one, it is ok. You will have to take note that when you merge both bathrooms, you will essentially have to give up 1 toilet bowl. Also while on toiletbowls.. it is not possible to change the direction / facing of the toiletbowl. But you can give up 1 and "seal" over it.

 

[justjaslin]

Those default 5mm vinyl floorings proposed by IDs in the quote, are they toxic and how is their quality compared to the Evo Herf?

Hi I would recommend for you to check with the ID what is the brand of the vinyl flooring. There are many different brands in the market, and all of their quality differs (e.g. some are certified safe and some are not). Or should they bring you the vinyl catalogue book, usually you will be able to see the certified icons / logos accredition at the back of the book.

Generally u should look for Phthalates free / Floorscore certification / E1 rating etc. Maybe can take a picture of the logos and do your research after your meeting with the ID!

 

[TrueBeliever_jh]

Yes it can be done, provided that your floorplan meets the following:

1. The wall in between is not in solid black color on your floor plan
2. Both your toilet bowls cannot be attached to the wall.
If just 1 toilet bowl, e.g. the common bathroom one, it is ok. You will have to take note that when you merge both bathrooms, you will essentially have to give up 1 toilet bowl. Also while on toiletbowls.. it is not possible to change the direction / facing of the toiletbowl. But you can give up 1 and "seal" over it.

I supposed it's not a common request right~?

The thing is i wanna see if i can repurpose the common bathroom since im living alone.

 

[justjaslin]

I supposed it's not a common request right~?

The thing is i wanna see if i can repurpose the common bathroom since im living alone.

Yes it's not a common request. Also because most new home owners have limited budget so when it comes to bathroom (which is of lower priority), they don't really touch in. Or also not common if the family has kids / other members living in the house hold. E.g. morning rush to work everyone queue for 1 bathroom.

Also if you are intending to look for an ID which does that, do look for me! I'd love exploring and doing projects that doesnt looks like the "average" HDB.

 

[m/mink]

For the same renovation, does condo owners pay more than hdb?

 

[justjaslin]

For the same renovation, does condo owners pay more than hdb?

It is the same. Just that it is abit trickier and more complex when it comes to renovating condos. My general understanding is that most IDs would want to avoid doing Condo projects if possible (high risk of screwing something up and then higher risk of losing money should they have to rectify). Maybe thats why ID might tend to charge abit higher for condo projects to cover the "Just in case if XXX happens"

 

[transparos]

not sure is it related to renovation but here goes:

i am looking to replace kitchen cabinets and kitchen counter tops as it is more than 20 years already, the colour from white have changed to a little yellowish in colour, but the cabinet and counter top is still in good condition. best is no need to hack walls and floor tiles

i read that there is a option of lamination? not sure if it would solve the colour issue at this moment or would it be more advisable to replace whole cabinet and counter top long term wise?

 

[todomachi]

Hi justjaslin,

Am in the midst of looking for ID. In gist, i have a general idea of what i really want for the unit in term of the layout, don't need too fanciful theme, focus more on practicality, in such case. Do you think ID will still want to take up such cases? or do you take up such cases?

 

[justjaslin]

not sure is it related to renovation but here goes:

i am looking to replace kitchen cabinets and kitchen counter tops as it is more than 20 years already, the colour from white have changed to a little yellowish in colour, but the cabinet and counter top is still in good condition. best is no need to hack walls and floor tiles

i read that there is a option of lamination? not sure if it would solve the colour issue at this moment or would it be more advisable to replace whole cabinet and counter top long term wise?

Ok there are a few parts:

Firstly, there is absolutely no need to hack cabinet / countertop if both condition is ok like you mentioned

Yes there is a option of lamination. It is called relamination, so basically what happens is:

a) Cabinets wise, prices are by per door basis. Basically is to re-do new doors (to your existing measurements), with new lamination and ABS trimming (to prevent lami from peeling off due to frequent touch)

b) Kitchen cabinet body itself, yes doable for relamination. So we will tear off existing lami, and re-do new lamination of your preferred look / feel /design over. This is doable as ABS trimming is not required on the "body" of your cabinets. Price is usually by lump sum.

Just that most ID / any contractors who do this for you will likely not cover the warranty (as the base of the carpentry are not done by them). This option is as good as fresh new cabinets, and they should be able to last you quite some time.

 

[justjaslin]

Hi justjaslin,

Am in the midst of looking for ID. In gist, i have a general idea of what i really want for the unit in term of the layout, don't need too fanciful theme, focus more on practicality, in such case. Do you think ID will still want to take up such cases? or do you take up such cases?

Hi todomachi, it depends on the ID firm usually. Cause previously when I asked around from a customer POV (my cousin was looking for an ID), some ID firms may not be really keen unless you have bigger budget, or you really go for design wise (which design also translates to expensive). One company even told me that they only take in project values from 50k and above (so actually is telling me to look for others cause they are not keen for small projects).

But i think most ID firms will still be happy to take up the project, but please do look for RCMA + Casetrust certified companies. Price wise it depends on your luck whether you get assigned (by luck) to an ID that is ok to do for less, or might likely upsell you higher.

And yes I'd be happy to help. Perhaps you can just msg me your floorplan at https://wa.me/6581272773!

 

[transparos]

Ok there are a few parts:

Firstly, there is absolutely no need to hack cabinet / countertop if both condition is ok like you mentioned

Yes there is a option of lamination. It is called relamination, so basically what happens is:

a) Cabinets wise, prices are by per door basis. Basically is to re-do new doors (to your existing measurements), with new lamination and ABS trimming (to prevent lami from peeling off due to frequent touch)

b) Kitchen cabinet body itself, yes doable for relamination. So we will tear off existing lami, and re-do new lamination of your preferred look / feel /design over. This is doable as ABS trimming is not required on the "body" of your cabinets. Price is usually by lump sum.

Just that most ID / any contractors who do this for you will likely not cover the warranty (as the base of the carpentry are not done by them). This option is as good as fresh new cabinets, and they should be able to last you quite some time.

sorry, i don't quite understand, do you mean 1 of the type of relamination includes the replacement of kitchen cabinet doors and comes with new lamination?

another type of relamination would be just to tear off the outer lamination and replace it with new one?

 

[prayhard83]

Ok there are a few parts:

Firstly, there is absolutely no need to hack cabinet / countertop if both condition is ok like you mentioned

Yes there is a option of lamination. It is called relamination, so basically what happens is:

a) Cabinets wise, prices are by per door basis. Basically is to re-do new doors (to your existing measurements), with new lamination and ABS trimming (to prevent lami from peeling off due to frequent touch)

b) Kitchen cabinet body itself, yes doable for relamination. So we will tear off existing lami, and re-do new lamination of your preferred look / feel /design over. This is doable as ABS trimming is not required on the "body" of your cabinets. Price is usually by lump sum.

Just that most ID / any contractors who do this for you will likely not cover the warranty (as the base of the carpentry are not done by them). This option is as good as fresh new cabinets, and they should be able to last you quite some time.

is it possible to change the countertop (from solid top) to kompact plus without tearing the kitchen cabinets?

 

[PotatoMeister]

What's a good method to finding contractors for hacking, electricals, etc.? I'm to avoid hiring IDs cause we're not looking to do a massive reno on our existing house. HDBs website is quite hard to differentiate ID and contractor.

 

[shadow84]

There are some cracks on the countertop that houses the gas hob. Is there way to just remove the countertop without touching the cabinet below and side, replace with new 1, including cutting a new hole based on current gas hob size?

 

[justjaslin]

sorry, i don't quite understand, do you mean 1 of the type of relamination includes the replacement of kitchen cabinet doors and comes with new lamination?

another type of relamination would be just to tear off the outer lamination and replace it with new one?

Hi yes. Actually it’s just a term for the type of work that you need. So when it is a relamination job for kitchen cabinets, what it entails is that

a) cabinet body: tear off existing, redo new ones
b) cabinet door: will replace w new doors as current doors will likely have ABS trimming done on top of the lamination. By the time we tear off to do re-lami on the doors, it is more cost effective to do new doors instead