Planning home upgrades in your HDB flat involves many important considerations.
What would the scope of work be? What are the HDB regulations and restrictions you’ll have to keep in mind when doing the job? Even more importantly – how much is it going to cost you? To answer the final question, you’ll need to do a bit of market research.
Checking out an HDB renovation package offered by a reputable Singapore interior design company will give you some idea. Such products are created to address the needs of different homeowners and give them a reasonable price.
Unfortunately, HDB renovation packages are not created equal. Sometimes, there will be hidden caveats and costs that aren’t presented upfront. As a result, such packages do not provide a realistic snapshot of the home renovation market.
If you’re looking forward to selecting your HDB renovation package, you’ll need to check out a couple of things. Doing your homework in advance will give you access to the best service at the most reasonable price.
Can You Use HDB Renovation Packages to Understand the Market?
Online research is a really good idea if you want a detailed overview of the market. It will reveal important information about the biggest companies, the range of services they offer and the prices they charge.
In Singapore, many interior design and renovation service providers give their clients access to renovation packages. The aim of such products is to offer comprehensive solutions at a fair price. Usually, packages range from basic to extensive and they can be used to address specific HDB flat renovation needs.
There’s still a big “but” when it comes to checking out renovation packages and using that information to understand the market better.
Sometimes, a package will exclude key processes that cannot be avoided and that will cost extra. In such instances, they’re used as a “hook.” After an agreement is signed, additional expenses materialize themselves, increasing the cost of the overall execution way beyond the original cost.
When looking at renovation packages, it’s also important to check out the kinds of materials that will be utilised. Apart from labour, material quality is the second biggest factor that will determine the cost. As a result, inexpensive choices like synthetics are often added to basic packages. If you’re looking for natural materials or a very specific home improvement solution, this is something else you’ll have to keep in mind.
Looking at an HDB renovation package is still helpful, especially if you have no idea what you’re getting yourself into. Still, such information should always be taken with a grain of salt (this is most important in cases when you don’t have relationships with a home renovation service provider and you’re unaware of their reputation).
Taking a look at multiple packages and getting detailed quotes about what these include is the best way to gain some realistic insight and use that information to make the best HDB property renovation decision.
Important Things to Look for in HDB Renovation Packages
You can benefit from an HDB renovation package in an attempt to bring down costs and get the outcome that you’re interested in. To benefit from both, however, you will have to pay attention to several essentials.
If you want a visualisation before work commences, make sure that it is included in the cost of the package.
Very often, interior design companies will mention 3D drawing and visualisation opportunities but these will be provided as a separate item to be paid for. In case you’re finding it difficult to imagine the renovation and you want professionals to handle this part of the process, make sure that the package envisions at least some form of visualisation.
When looking at a package, make sure you understand exactly what you’re getting out of it. The best case scenario would be for a home renovation package to include the cost of interior design, space planning, project management, both labour and materials/supplies. Sometimes, packages will only mention the cost of labour. This means that the homeowner will have to cover the cost of project management, design, space planning and materials separately and that’s a massive added expense.
Next, you need to check out the carpentry work parameters. It’s common for homeowners to underestimate the carpentry work dimensions for their HDB flat. As a result, the dimensions covered in the package are insufficient to get the job done and additional spending becomes required.
The final essential to pay attention to is the warranty period.
Lifetime warranty is usually impossible to provide because materials will sustain some damage due to the passage of time. Hence, you should check out if a package features lifetime warranty or lifetime after-service. These are two different things.
Lifetime after-service means you can get in touch with the interior design company if you need upgrades and fixes with the passage of time. Such work, however, will have to be paid for. It’s not going to be covered by warranty.
Normally, warranty periods span over the course of one to several years. If you’re getting an offer that seems too good to be true (for example – lifetime warranty for the carpentry and masonry work), it probably is. Do get in touch with the respective interior design team and demand some clarification on what’s covered and what the duration of the warranty is.
The Home Guide Advantage: Renovation Packages You Can Count on
Home Guide is a Singaporean interior design and renovation company that has decades of experience in HDB flat work. Over the years, we’ve sustained excellent reputation due to the transparent communication with our clients and adherence to best industry practices.
To give our customers more versatility and cost-efficiency, we have now developed an array of HDB BTO renovation packages.
Each package is created meticulously to correspond to the size of the respective flat. We have 2-room, 3-room, 4-room and 5-room packages for the needs of BTO home owners.
For each one of these, three price tiers are available. They depend on the type of flooring chosen – vinyl flooring, vinyl and homogenous tiles or just homogenous tiles. All of these package variations cover the key types of work to address every single residential area.
For HDB resale flats, we have separate kitchen and toilet renovation packages. These are ideal for homeowners interested in partial work and trying to upgrade solely functional areas on a limited budget.
Home renovation packages are a good way to simplify the execution of a project. Still, you have to be careful about what you’re paying for. Make sure there are no hidden costs and omitted procedures. Ask questions in advance and get a detailed price breakdown. Knowing exactly what you’re spending money on will help with budgeting and renovation planning.
If you’re interested in the Home Guide renovation packages but you have some questions, feel free to contact us and get additional information. We’d be more than happy to recommend the one solution that’s bound to address all of your home re-design and renovation needs.
