Sharing my journey of DSC reno at USJ.. started 2 weeks ago. Learnt a lotss from Lowyat members and now put it in action. Please alert me if I am in wrong track.

After many months in learning and searching info from Lowyat & others. Now start renovating my DSC in USJ:

As it is an old property, thus need to do lots of work.

Share my journey :
1) First, I need to re-design it, search the net for free ID software.. get to know free software i.e. Google Sketchup. It is free & quite user friendly, thus I do 3D basic interior design by myself. After few weeks of playing around, I designed 3D view of living hall, dining hall, also added one guest room at ground floor, new fencing, where to put fish pond & etc..

2) Contacted 4-5 different contractors; After filtering, I only requested quote from 3 contractors, 2 are members from Lowyat and one through friend’s introduction. Received their quote after 2 weeks; surprising to see 2 contractors from Lowyat site are quoted at much higher price! 80K and 90K+. Contractor from friend quoted at 50K only. So, sure let him do la. The payment term is progressive type i.e. every week 6K for 6 – 8 weeks.

3) Job progress : 3 indo workers are assigned to work every work days (Mon – Sat), after 2 weeks, they completed hacking and building walls. Removed broken marble flooring at living hall & dining hall, tiles at car porch & 3 bathrooms, parquet at 1st floor. Quite impressed with the job progress.

4) Electrical and Plumber job will start next week

Will update next week

Hi, Did you extend out the kitchen? the 50 k quoted incudes?

No, but re-layout with new kitchen cabinet, 20' base cabinet, 20' top cabinet, 2 ' tall cabinet. 10' solid surface and 10 compressed top.

Did you buy your own material? how was the cost for it?

No, by the contractor.

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Added on September 20, 2012, 11:35 amAdd something, the project is quoted based on my own Reno & ID that created by me using Google Sketchup

This post has been edited by Chuahks2001: Sep 20 2012, 11:35 AM

bro can u list out what the 50k includes?

any extension ? changing of tiles .. built in cabinets etc

thanks and have fun

It is based on my google sketchup deisgn. My hse has been fully extended.

The 50K includes
1) hack many 50 walls (> 50'),
2) build quest room 10' x 10'.
3) rebuild ground floor bathroom 6'x6'.
4) removed existing broken marble, tiles, parqeut and later apply cement grout n lay tiles (w/o tiles for whole hse n car porch
5) Hack and redo concrete for car porch (400 sqf)and wet kitchen(200 sqf outside)
6) remove & re-lay tiles for all 3 bathrooms and buid concrete basin, water proofing
7) Electrical work
8) Plumber work
9) Plaster ceiling.
10) Remove exiting doors, grilles and windows.
11) 20' base and 20' top cabinet. 10' solid surface

pardon my ignorance..whats DSC? DSL is double story link...DSC is?

double storey corner

wooo so mash mani.
Thanks for sharing.

Hi Sifus,

I received quote for Jognson suite toilet bowl: Pleas advise me whether it is reasonable? TQ

1) JS Celico RM 505 ea
2) JS Savona RM 685 ea

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Added on September 27, 2012, 11:26 pmHope some one reply. Going to buy it next week

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Added on September 28, 2012, 11:21 amNo really, I purchased it at RM 500k+ only. It is a small corner lot, build up 20x60

I received quote for Jognson suite toilet bowl: Pleas advise me whether it is reasonable? TQ

1) JS Celico RM 505 ea
2) JS Savona RM 685 ea

This post has been edited by Chuahks2001: Sep 28 2012, 11:21 AM

I got quote for JS celico soft close RM470 only from the active forumer here name Builders Hxxxxxxx. Very cheap price but I didn't buy from him because I sign package during exhibition so I use the price he gave me to nego same package. So sorry to Builder H. Also I bought American standards WC from Wasser Werkz got 50% discount, u may want to check.

My kitchen drawing is out, like it! will install end of Oct

I bought a few Johnson Suisse Lago one-piece WC - single flush + soft close seat cover => Price RM720.
The shop is Common Pact Marketing at Dataran Sunway. You need to bargain hard.

For toilet accessories and fittings, my contractor recommended hanlim at pj. I bought my wc there celico soft close single flush for 500.

congrats on ur property purchase and thanks for sharing of ur reno progress.

Thanks Bro. Now I am closely follow up the job progress every day and make sure I can move in by early Nov. I will upload more pictures later. I am lucky because it is very hard to get good contractor now especially with good price & able to complete job on time. SO far he is doing the great job.

Good night

Are u using google sketchup? What plugin u use to render? Thanks.

to the TS - can you also share with me your contractor contact ? im looking to reno my condo soon .

nice...keep us updated

Wow.. RM50K for so many things.. quite worth it.

The deisin is provided by kitchen cabinat supplier. Not sure using what software.



Rgds

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Added on October 23, 2012, 10:27 amHe is very busy to complete your reno as I need to move in by early Nov.

Want him to focus on my project now.. So I will let you know his contact later.

Rgs

This post has been edited by Chuahks2001: Oct 23 2012, 10:27 AM

Please share your progress.
I've a property coming for completion. Have to plan from now on.

Sharing some photos taken just now, super busy monitoring the progress now..



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bro..can u share your google sketchup design.
sorry i'm not aware we can design it by ourselves...

Haha, I saw the manager in the progress of monitoring, looking for more pic!

Good stuff man, congrats!

my wife la. but more kang cheong more manager

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Added on November 13, 2012, 9:37 pmJust download it for free and follow the tour/demo, then start your 3D design. It is very user friendly.

This post has been edited by Chuahks2001: Nov 13 2012, 09:37 PM

My hse outlook after roof repair and repaint using ICI roof shield. Like new roof now. Love it


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Kindly PM me your contractor contact no after he completed your house.

good job on your interior design !

TQVM

Sure. But he have few inquiries now. May not available until Feb/Mar 2013

nice...thumbs up!

Is ok as i will not reno my house till jun 2013 or further as i need to wait the tenant to vacant the house after the contract expired.

Ok, w pm you then

Can you PM me your contractor contact no as well?
I will start reno my house around april next yr.

Thank you very much.

This post has been edited by whitfurrows: Nov 22 2012, 12:28 PM

Update photos: my new TV cabinet and choice vinyl as background wall instead of painting,


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Hi.

Looks good.

Can u PM me your contractor's contact? I am looking for one. Thanks.

update photos: House outlook with, painting and grille for fencing will be installed tomorrow.


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Upload more photos:

1) Grille is installed, galvanised wrought iron, sea weed design,

2) Car porch fllooring with pebble wash at interface and step area. I mixed 5 bag black and 1 bad white small size pebble, not bad the finishing.

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Added on December 14, 2012, 12:23 pmLooks like no body interested to see or comment my sharing, sad..

This post has been edited by Chuahks2001: Dec 14 2012, 12:23 PM


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Update photo:

My fish pond arrived, will install it today.

I like the taiwan koi very much, but not many people sell it, any sifu know where to buy it?

Tq


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ello Chuah, silent reader here i'm new myself, just got my first house too. interesting to see urs and others' journeys

The Vinyl as the background is nice .
What material is it?.
Is it wallpaper or actual laminate wood layer?

It is vinyl that normally used for flooring. Bought it direct from Korean supplier at Rm3 psqft. market price is RM4 psqft. workmanship Rm3 psqft

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Added on December 18, 2012, 11:02 amThanks, my reno almost complete, since I learnt a lots from all sifu, time to share

This post has been edited by Chuahks2001: Dec 18 2012, 11:02 AM

It is 5' x 7' x 2' fibreglass pond, include UV, pump, 14 pcs concrete block, sand, stone & installation. cost me RM 4,400. Claim that it is maintenance free pond and only need to change water after half year. Hope it is true..

Does that mean you cannot move in for CNY?

You bought the pond from sg Buloh? I got the same one. so far so good.

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Added on December 20, 2012, 11:04 amPM me your contractor contact. I may want to change my outdoor floor tile.

This post has been edited by justheone_2: Dec 20 2012, 11:04 AM

Already moved in. Reno is almost complete

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Added on December 20, 2012, 12:15 pmYes, from Sg bulah.

For tile work only, you may skip main con. go direct with tile sifu

This post has been edited by Chuahks2001: Dec 20 2012, 12:15 PM

may i know what is your land size? and how much you purchase your house?

Land is around 40x60, bought it at R580K in Feb time. Now some body say RM800K..

Silent reader here... but would contact you neat year for recommendations of sifus / contractors when I get the keys to my place... Nice job on your reno....

Nice job bro

Sure, 2 forumers had engaged him for reno. He would not be free until Mar 13. he said he can only do 2 reno at one time. or else can't handle. He is very 'kind', my reno is almost complete, next monday will clear all junk at my garden but he still not collect final payment of 20K.

Hi, where did you buy and how much did you pay for the pond?

Hi Chuah, congratulation of your new house renovation, is such a milestone updating for us in every progress, and is a learning process for us.

I'm intended to do my house reno somewhere in April next year , you don't mind to give your contractor's contact to me? Thanks

My previous post has showed price at 4400.

Updated photos:

Fish pond installed, love it.

Spent 1 week to flaten the land and ready to plant grass now. heard cow grass needs lesser maitenance compare to pearl grass.. Is it true?


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Nice reno you have here! Congratulation on the works done & new home you have here!

Could you please pm me the contractor contact no too? Would need that in 2Q2013. Thanks!

hey bro can pm me your contractor no. tq

hi bro, congrats on yr successful reno, can pm me yr contractor, need his services 2..

Wow, nice fish pond bro!

Cow grass low maintenance as in you do not need to water them frequently, but the grow rate is not slow. Maintenance wise in terms of cutting is about the same with other type of grass. My neighbour's cow grass needs to cut in 1 month time, while my carpet grass once in every 3-4 months. So it depends on which type of maintenance you referring too.

P.S: Personally feel carpet grass and pearl grass look nicer than cow grass

Good to see your sharing. But too late for me Had paid for cow grass..

may i know how much your pond + installation?

It is 5' x 7' x 2' fibreglass pond, include UV, pump, 14 pcs concrete block, sand, stone & installation. cost me RM 4,400

To alert you try not to call fish pond guy for service even it is newly installed!!

Yesterday I saw algae starts growing in my pond, so called them, the guy came and told me it is normal. Before go off he asked for service charge RM 60 even he did not do any things at all!!

Nice fish pond, thinking of doing that to my house as well.. Now that you have moved in, can start snapping picture of your house and share to us here

Some are per service call. Petrol, time and material. All are$$$$

This post has been edited by weikee: Jan 9 2013, 03:11 PM

Let me tidy first b4 posting it. you know family with 2 kids..

hi bro .. can you please pm me your contractor name and number .. appreciate it. thanks

outdoor pond once got sunshine sure got algae ler.....from my experience la.....there is some liquid that can put in the pond and the whole pond will be dirty then after few days will be clear back and algae gone but wont last long.....not sure good to the fish or not so didnt continue to use it.....so if dont want algae then try not to kena sunshine lor....

According to fish pond guy, algae is always there but as long as water is clear, then it is normal.

Update photos:

My garden is completed after planting the cow grass. Water is crystal clear so my koi fish is 'happy'

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Hi
Thanks for sharing valuable info and tips.
Wonderful job done by contractor.
Would appreciate if u can pm the contractor contact?
GXFC

nice pond....ya as long as the water is clear....nothing much to do with algae when outdoor....beside that u need to watch the bubble.....bubble no good....

Hi bro, thanks for sharing. Don't mind if ask for your help if any problem in future?

hahaha....i'm not pro ler.....i just like to rare fish and my in law got outdoor pond so know a bit la.....the bubble thingy mean water not right so better change water....for me i dont really like to change water cos need to adjust the water again like anti chlorine... so i prefer add water and let it flow out till all the bubbles gone....and dont feed the fish too much cos when the fish didnt finish the pallet then will spoilt the water... if the fish come up for air then the water is low in oxygen.... so need to monitor the fish daily....

nice pond !

what is the dimension and how much do u pay for it (incl pump, fileter material & installation)

looking for one too.

read the rest of the pages, got the answers to my previous question. tks


just that, I feel 2' (presume it is depth) is too shallow for Koi fish when they grow 'big',
do they sell something bigger such as 5' x 7' x 3-4' ??

what a pleasure garden Thumbs up!

Not sure, but then quite high cost..

Hi Bro, thx for your good word

Updated photos:


For bathroom tile selection. what I did is: gave the tile supplier the actual dimension and asked him to do graphic design plus calculate quantities of tile needed, so my contractor/tile sifu just need follow the design and build it.

For the mirror, I use mirror with cabinet (RM 200) and hide T5 tube on top. you can't see it. SO the light come from back side of mirror and effect is quite good.

Spent RM800 to custom build black galaxy granite table top. Quite nice

My shower is alpha smart rain shower, the rain shower is great, but pump is very noisy..


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Hi,

Can you tell me where you bought the mirror cabinet?
Thanks

LOL

But you hear it only when you are using mah. Initially I wasn't used to it too. Now no feeling already

The mirror cabinet is quite common and you can find it in all bathroom acc shop. Price is +/- RM 200 each. Important is the dimension, must be at least 1.5' width and 0.5' depth so the 1' T5 tube can be totally hidden behind the mirror

Hi bro, can pm me your contractor contact? Plan to renovate after cny.
and where did you bought your bathroom tiles?

Thanks!

I bought my Feruni tiles during reno show. The representative is Buimaco in USJ 21. The sales man is James, quite friendly..

By the way, I still left 8 boxes of Guocera dark colored car porch tiles, any one want to take it, 30% discount

Nice job bro.

Thanks for sharing your reno journey.

Appreciate if you can PM me your contractor contact no too.

Thanks.

wad is TS tube?
btw,do all tile suppliers offer d service of graphic designing given d bathroom dimensions?

are d tile prices at Buimaco reasonable?can show pictures of d tiles u wanna sell?

Nice kitchen illustrations!
Wish my ID was able to do that.

Feel free to tap ideas from our renovation here

Hi Curious,

I am not sure whether all supplier does that, but it should be their job.

See my attached photo, it is 1x2 ceramic tiles and match perfectly with black/white mix pebble wash. I bought it at RM 5.50 per pc.


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Hello Hello...

I'm so glad to come across your post! Thx for sharing! I'm also planning to renovate my hse in USJ, 20x60 intermediate. I'm rather worried about the renovation cost considering the hse is an aged wan. Seeing so many things you managed to renovate at such reasonable rate relieves me somehow

It'd be really helpful if you can pls PM me your contractor, tiling, plumber and basically any contacts you have...lol

You have a very nice dream hse btw! Thx bro!

Hi Tokyou,

Happy CNY. USJ is termite area, do your termite treatment well before start reno. PMed you

care to share the labour cost for installation of such tiles?

Hi Iman,

Mine is around RM 6 per pc. inclu labour, cement, sand etc..

Very nice renovation! Thanks for sharing. Could you PM me your contractor number, I need to rehabilitate an old house in PJ.

Saw kingfisher dip into my pond to catch my fish.. Any sifu, pls teach me what to do to stop this bird

Really bad luck yesterday. My credit card was hacked after pumped petrol at Petron station at Batu Tiga area. Don't ever use your card at that station. Total RM 2000+ charged to my card for online purchase.

Luckily I blocked the card, or else I will broke...

I will upload the petrol station location after returned to KL.

Sorry to hear!!

Just to let you know that reno is going well

Glad to hear that. Share some of your reno picture?

Hi hi! So sorry to know bout ur credict card ! Hope it all settled by now. Dun let this pull your mood down , You have a really niz house !! I am so glad to come across your journey of Reno ! This really gives me lots of idea as in where and what to start off in renovating my new house also in USJ. could you PM the contractor contact ? really thanks for sharing:))

how much u buy this fish porn izzit removable

What is meaning of izzit?

Very nice work on your renovation. Appreciate if you can pm your contractor number. I am planning to start my reno too.

Your bathroom looks good! Can share with me what tiles you used? Could you PM me your contractor contact no as well?

Thank you very much.

Sorry. did not see mssg. PMed you

Great Reno there. Mind to share your contractor contact?

PMed you.

My fish pond is big disaster now. King fisher came very morning and evening to catch my fish. So far > 10 fishs has been lost..

Any sifu, please share your experince to catch/scare king fisher.. TQ

u can consider installing a layer of bird netting above the pond to turn away the kingfishers. depending on location, sometimes the owls will come to catch the fish at night. occasionally they end up in the net.





This post has been edited by macho dog: Apr 10 2013, 12:53 AM

Bro, many thanks!!

Dun know how to share file too big, each is more than 4MB.

For all who are interested, I wanna give a shoutout to the contractor. I oso PMed Chuah via LYN for his contact back when his place was almost done, and 4 mths down the road, our place is 65% done. The contractor is really quite responsible and patient. We are glad to be dealing with him for our reno.

Some of you may be skeptical and think this is advertising. But same as Chuah, we just like to share our good experience. He's not the cheapest but he's reasonable and he gives input & good advice. There's plenty of discussions between us.

Just thought to share our experience

Sharing:

Mr Ang need to spend us big dinner la..

Tip to save your reno, flooring is one major cost in our reno. BUT you can save lots of money (20k+) by doing your flooring with vinyl tile!! Cost for vinyl flooring is just 1/3 off ceramic tiling!! Like me, I spent 30K+ for my ground floor with ferun 800x800 tiles and spent 6K for 1st floor with vinyl tiles. The vinyl flooring with wood texture looks much nicer and still like new after 6 months .. I should do all floor with vinyl.. regret!!

It's all thanks to Chuahks2001 we are so fortunate and got a good contractor eh! I spoke with Mr Ang, he's very patient and listens for us to finish our statement before answering. Now that's what I call a good consultant & contractor, he hears us out and gets the gist of our plans..

Yes, vinyl flooring is way cheaper and looks nice too. But it's important to use good glue.