i'm new in here and new in property matters... i wanted to renovate my house which is single storey je..
dunno the procedure how to manage the budget coz my dad always said 'takda budget how to renovate?' aiyarrkk..
i just wanted to know the procedure 1st..

can anybody help me.........

What procedure do you need ?

You just need to know where you want to renovate, and you give it to people to quote. Then you will know which area is which for the costing.

check out which part of your house you plan to renovate
check out what kind of design you plan to have
look for contractor(s) and get quotations - compare them
check your budget - see if you can really afford
decide time to renovate

Go check out those Interior design / kitchen / wardrobe companies and ask for quotation. Most will offer you free consultation to get you started somewhere. You have to be "muka tembok" a lot to get as much as info as you can.

As for contractors, you have to find a few and compare. Most contractors will "bao" everything for you (masonry work, electrical, painting, ceiling works etc.)

Single storey house can be renovated to 1 1/2 storey. Even if u don have the budget now, it is worth to incorporate that in your plan, and do that as a second phase project. Even if u sell the house, the structural work u put in shld add value.

If it is an old house, it is advisable to redo the wiring and the plumbing. My timber floor supplier told me his fren house renovated without redoing the old pipes, and only did the new areas. Some time later his water bill shot thru the roof, then only discover the pipe burst!! Will be costly u know to rectify it.

When we renovate we like to knock down walls etc. Must find out where the old beams and load bearing columns are and work. I used a mppj draftsman to do my plan, in the end disaster. The planned bedroom ended up with 2 load bearing column, 1 at the bed location and the other at the wardrobe location. In the end, I had to hastily changed the layout...

Decide before hand your lighting plan. Research on what u want, and whether u will have plaster ceiling. When engaging electrician, don just tell them where u want your lights, tell them whether u want your switches too, otherwise, u can be rudely surprised. Walk around each room and visualise where u wld be needing light points and sockets.

Renovation is expensive, but I suppose u can cut down cost by sourcing your own materials. U may spend the same amt of money, but you are probably getting better specs and quality.

Also be realistic about what you can afford and spend within that. It is important to know ahead what u going to need so that the project wont be abandoned!!! If possible, arrange for standby credit line, by way of refinancing your home for a higher value (asssuming value has appreciated).

Make some call, ask few contractor to come over to your house, tell them what u want to do, and they will give you a set of quotation, then u will know what is the "budget" which may affortable or not for what u want to do, if out of budget, then just pick up part of it that you think MUST do 1st to move in.

THen other then this, u dont even need to know what is the progress of renovation, coz your contractor will do that for you. what you need to do is just inspect what they do is what u need or not, and make payment, that all.

Don't forget to apply approval plan and renovation permit from
Majlis Perbandaran..that's also include on ur costing

research and research. Go get more information on wat design you wan in ur dream house. But kitchen would be a good start as all homes does not equip with ready-cook designs.

nice.. thanks alot...

there's so mych thing to do.. waaaaaaaawaaaaaaaaa

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Added on December 21, 2010, 10:03 pmtrue.. hee hee.. i will.

This post has been edited by iya_ayako: Dec 21 2010, 10:03 PM

there's alot of info in LYN... make sure u checked them all out before u proceed.... good luck

ok bro, thank you

iya ayako,

We usually work according to budget provided and try squeeze as much possible your requirements. We plan from bandaraya approval, the layout, architectural design, the exterior looks, interior looks, paintings, furnishings and electrical and plumbing. As long the budget is reasonable we able to help =)

Hi, sorry to hijack the thread but Im also looking for a reliable general contractor to do minor renovations for an apartment.

Plan to retile 2 bathrooms and change fixtures, retile 2 balconies, do parquet polishing for 3 rooms and hack out all existing kitchen tiles and cabinets.

First time doing this so pls recommend if you know anyone good! Thanks!!!

recommendations plsss