Yes, use more wood and glass - gives it a modern look.
Google Houz for more ideas.

Actually you should try metal and glass. Is even more modern look

Is it advisable to buy all the internal house items this year? eg:

-WC
-taps
-sinks
-other toilet stuff eg towel hanging bar, floor trap
-light switches
-clothes drying rack
-hood, hob, fridge, oven
etc etc

I went surveying couple of weeks back and a few stores having Christmas promotion, plus most tell me new pricing will be effective next year (GST, exch rate, general increase, etc). How much do prices generally increase for these items? If really that bad I might go do some last minute shopping before 2016.

Well if you have the budget to spend than by all means. You will never know how the price changes

I wouldn't bother much if it was electrical appliances eg. dyer or washing machine etc...because there's always gonna be newer models coming out and the older models will always be discounted.

Was considering that too. Maybe I'll limit myself to the non-electrical items, whereas fridge oven etc etc I will wait. Better for warranty too since buying now will just eat up the warranty period unnecessarily.

If the parquet can be salvaged, and you can get a contractor to do a good job to grind and refinish it properly, go for it. Otherwise change to solid timber. Don't waste your money on laminate. Changing to solid timber is a major job that will take a couple of months, so if you're going to do it, do it now.

Just sharing one of my quotes for comment & discussion. This one covers A-Z from wet works to ID. Total around 300k

1) I feel the electrical points is gonna be a killer, around 15-20k extra rough estimate.
2) Solar and roofing/insulation not included - another 25k there.
3) Approvals & drawing - 5k
4) Ventilation fans +ducting etc- 2k
5) Flooring not included - 20k

self note
6) Tiles not incl
7)

Total might breach 350k-370k

Some of the things I feel this guy maybe overpriced:
1) Part B - electrical/etc points gonna cost a bomb!
2) Part D - <Question> 17.5k including solar piping reasonable?
3) Part E - paintworks for link house costing 13.5k feels a bit expensive
4) Part E (the WINDOWS Part E, labelled twice) - folding door - RM5k?!
5) Part F - curtain I think I go Kamdar get cheap one.
6) Part G - built in I really have no idea what the pricing should be like.

Hope to get some tips from sifu here to formulate a robust nego/bargain plan






This post has been edited by phoenixxx: Dec 19 2015, 12:26 PM

Agree. the old parquet is totally incomparable in quality vs the ones nowadays.

i just finished renovating my house, and my one piece of advice is plan ahead what you want for your raw materials and finishing ( stuff like fixtures, tiles, etc. ). there are warehouse sales once or twice a year that make some things a steal vs what you would actually pay but they are never on when you are available. if you have your concept early, then plan ahead and take advantage of these.

Thx for the tip. Yeah, I'm kinda juggling those now - looking at everything from W.C. to tiles, shower etc to get a good idea on pricing & design so that I can snap up if the opportunity arises. Homedec was a wasted opportunity for me because I only went to collect brochures, I had no idea then what I wanted / needed. Lots of switches, bathroom / kitchen items going for a steal. So, I'm planning for these concurrently now.

Then there was Electrolux @ JayaOne. I actually even managed to book some items (kitchen hood&hob, washing machine, other small items) but decided to let them go because of doubts. A friend saw my name and I released it to him, so at least he benefited In hindsight the prices are really great for Electrolux brand & quality, same for Homedec.

This post has been edited by phoenixxx: Dec 19 2015, 12:35 PM

WRT your suggestion for 18mm merbau wood (in the laminate topic) is there any reason why I should go for 18mm vs 15mm? 3mm doesnt sound like a big difference to my novice ears. Hehe. Is it to leave extra for future sanding & grinding?

Overall the quotation is not expensive. Is reasonable. If can get 5% discount will be just nice

Based on latest discussion
Quoted price: 294,950

Add unquoted items
1) Upstairs timer flooring (based on 15mm Merbau) - 20k
2) Roof - retile, insulation, reflash, add steel battens - 20k
3) Electrical points + fittings - 15k (sounds unbelievable based on his rates, somemore include the fittings! )
4) CCTV & Alarm points - 3.5k
5) Solar - 4k
5) Mosquito netting whole house - 3k
6) Tiles whole house - 15k
7) Air con x 6 - 2k 12k
8) Grills - 12k
9) Misc (kitchen/toilet railings, tissue holder, various racks etc) - 2.5k
Subtotal: 107k

Total: 391k 401k
(EDIT: +10k due to erroneously counting air con as 2k instead of 12k)


He promise to do all the above for 360k
+ help do up my porch as well with minor items like repairing crack in walls, etc
+ throw in a security door for my back door

360k, still 20% more than my original intention. Wondering when actual work start, will there be another 20% on top of that, I will sleep on the streets then

His promise is he will cap the cost at 360k, with high likelihood it will be cheaper. No black and white.





self note - confirmed items
1) Copper piping for hot water solar - agreed
2) Reroute water pipe through roof - agreed
3) "Bypass" method for W.C. pipe (no need to go through pump) - agreed
4) Vapour barrier - toilet will drop down (lowered) - no need
5) Firewall / party wall - agreed
6) Con will bear unexpected cost with difficulties on old house - agreed
7) Con will cover repair / damage to neighbour - agreed

Others
1) Alarm & CCTV = ???
2) Window tinting/heat insulation = ???
3) Roof acrylic = ???
4) Electronic front door lock = ???
5) Membrane filter 2x - outdoor & indoor = ???
5) Extra water tank / replace with larger = ???
6) Rainwater harvesting = ???

This post has been edited by phoenixxx: Dec 19 2015, 05:53 PM

With the other item listed, most likely you going to add another 30k to 40k. So is best to prepare 400k as your budget

That's exactly it.

Bro, if you can, use the new plan minus the furniture except fixtures like WC to lay out electrical points, fan points, switch points etc. Also align and center fan points relative to occupant activity. Switches should be labeled and accounted for to avoid forgetting. The latter consequence is hacking or the ugly exposed add-on. Vent and light should be separate circuit. Even in the night, turning on the vent in the toilet won't waste unnecessary electricity from having to leave the light on because they have dedicated circuit. Ensure shared bath use dipole for both so that both rooms can turn on and off independently.

Also consider the following:
1. Ground toilet: just under the beam, have a 60cm wide x 30-45cm high fixed glass pane but frosted tint on the drying area side plus a 45x45cm on the part which faces that ground floor garden (ex dry yard). An 4-6" wall mounted exhaust fan on the side nearest the utility room but the model chosen must be have ventilation piping fittings attachable to the outside. That vent cap is on the back roof but see if supplier can supply one that has stainless steel mesh grill. Also that cap should be elevated 4-6" ie a neck over that roof tiles so that wind driven rain will not surge into the vent do easily. Solves lighting and ventilation.

2. Shared bathroom, just under the beam facing the back do the same as per ground floor toilet. This brings in morning sun which should be very nice. This one can be top hung casement if wished but with grill and mosquito screen. Also solves perennial lighting issue. Use a 4-6" wall mounted fan beside this window with a vent directly outside. KDK sells one with 90° down turn hood. If you wish, that original louvre can be replaced but have another similar sized one on the other side. This brings in light from NNE, E and SSW. Should brighten up the bathroom considerably.

3. Also what's the dimension of your master bathroom? It looks rather large. You might want to toy around the idea of "bringing in the garden". Bathrooms always have dark and gloomy lighting profile but this renovation brings the opportunity to improvise. Ventilation wise would be wall or mounted on that roof side wall for high clearance but pull a ceiling vent in the bathroom to allow suction or vice versa ceiling mounted vent fan but have pipes all the way to roof side wall.

4. Ensure enough clearance for fridge door opening since or will be obstructed by wet kitchen partition door.

5. If possible build a slightly raised flood/moisture barrier in all bathrooms that adjoin rooms with wooden floor. This prevents moisture ingress that plagues these areas eventually leading to wood rot.

This post has been edited by halcyon27: Dec 20 2015, 08:34 AM

400k with only car porch/ masterbed extension ? With the current layout the cost should not more than 300K as the staircase unchange, without back extension and the bathroom position also remain the same.

If you go through the entire list of the quotation you will know why

I believe if u spend a little time and efforts and moniter all by yourself u can atleast save around 10 to 15% , thats what i did, i have just done my renovation on a double story house ,

If the total from the quotation is RM294k -RM142k = RM152k for wet work which is excluding wiring cost, tiling materials, roofing?

From the quotation, already know that furniture work is bread and butter for this contractor.