Not sure when to start planning for the renovation of your new HDB BTO home?
We have prepared this 6-month HDB renovation guide for your home renovation journey ahead. This roadmap will serve as a clear and comprehensive step-by-step checklist for you to check in throughout your renovation journey.
Failing to plan
“Failing to plan, is planning to fail.”
Are you overwhelmed by the thoughts of renovating your new BTO flat?
Do you constantly worry about missing a crucial step, and thus resulting in costly mistakes? The many possibilities of how things can go wrong stress you out and are so daunting, making you unsure of where even to begin.
Going online for answers only to find more questions. You start hearing about horror stories of renovation projects gone wrong. Homeowners end up with disappointing results and thousands of dollars down the drain.
With a tight budget, you doubled up your effort to ensure everything is done right. But the overwhelming information is so daunting that it drains you so much and leaves you all tired at the end of the day.
No wonder some people put off starting their renovation until it is too late, leaving them with less-than-desired outcomes.
This is where our 8-month HDB renovation guide comes in.
We have broken down the renovation process into manageable steps—a roadmap to ensure you can stay on track with a manageable timeline.
We have also provided important notes along each step so you can make informed decisions at every step of the journey.
Why 8 months?
Eight months! You might say. From extensive experience working alongside our customers, eight months before the collection of your house key is a sweet spot for most.
Even if you only expect relatively minor work, planning for a renovation could be a daunting experience.
Preparation within this timeframe helps to provide you with enough planning time to consider the many different aspects of the project. This will prevent you from making compromises or rash decisions due to a lack of time.
Why not prepare one or even two years before? Doing extensive planning too early is usually not ideal. Your ideas may change through the months, the trends could have changed, or even the circumstances could have changed. At the same time, if you approach Interior Design companies this early, they might be unable to give you accurate indicative pricing with such a long time lag.
Let’s start with the countdown towards the day you get your keys to your new BTO flat!
8 months before – Theme
This would be a good time for you and your loved ones to discuss and develop a better-consolidated idea of your design theme for your future home.
Having a design theme better focuses and streamlines your upcoming journey. So that you can start focusing on the correct place to look for inspiration, whether in design, furnishing or decor.
Design Themes
Design, design, design.
Start looking around for themed designs. For example, would you like a modern or rustic look? Simple or posh designs. Even Japanese look alongside simple, lighter Scandinavian colours to complete the Japandi look.
Perhaps you may want to look into the current trends. Or if you want to be unique, then try NOT to follow the trends.
It is important for you to lock-in to your design theme as this will lead you to the next very important step in your renovation plan – your budget.
You will be surprised that the design theme that you have decided on will greatly impact your renovation budget.
For example, posh themes such as Great Gatsby will cost more than a simpler Scandinavian design.
Some themes have distinctive features that require a higher renovation budget. Such as creating a Genkan or tatami room, will require the fabrication of platforms, as well as many wooden components. These premium additions and materials can add up to a substantial amount that you must budget early to realise your dream home eventually!
It is important to take some time to ensure you have carefully considered your design theme. What could be worse, is to change the theme again down the road. This would mean wasting all your previous effort and delaying the renovation timeline.
Being indecisive can also means ending up with an eclectic design theme at the end of the day.
Prepare your home renovation budget in advance
Planning your budget in advance helps you make sure you can achieve your dream design, and allows you to have time to look out for the best financing options if necessary.
Estimate your budget by looking at similar projects. Alternatively, if you want to analyse your home renovation costs in detail, you can use our Home Renovation Calculator and Tracker .
Benefits of Using a Home Renovation Guide and Expense Tracker
There are many benefits to using a Home Renovation Calculator and Tracker.
- It helps you to stay organised and on top of your renovation project
- Helps you to stay within your budget and avoid costly surprises
- Avoid overspending or over-budgeting
- Track and monitor the progress and help to ensure the project is completed on time
7 months before – Plan
Have you decided on your theme yet? Please do it now if you have not. Just return to the section above.
Space and activity planning is the game plan for this month.
Go to the HDB website if you have not gotten the floor plan. Looking at the floor plan. Figure out what kind of home you would like to be living in.
Do not go into the details, such as where to place the furniture, just yet.
But more to decide on which area would be your bedroom. Where to chill out. Would you like to have walk-in wardrobes?
Let your daily activities guide you. Think of your day, and what you usually do in a day. What is it that you would like to do? Write down a list of activities that you do daily.
Imagine yourself going through each of these activities. Which are more important to you? Which are the must-haves, and which are the good-to-haves?
Write a list of activities you would like to carry out in each living area on your floor plan. Put them down in terms of priorities.
Then, consider furniture that can help you in your identified activities. Do you need a study table in the study? Would it be L-shaped? Roughly how big?
Start exploring where you want to buy them, and what kind of space you need.
6 months before – Organise
We shall start looking at personal preferences this month.
After settling down on a design theme, and defining the spaces for the needs of your different activities – This is now a good time to get a little more personal.
Individuals often prefer different colours, materials and feel for the different living spaces. Starting a design mood board is a good way to get a better grasp of how the different elements can potentially blend (or clashes), as well as collate all your research done so far.
Putting together a design mood board
Whenever you come across decorations that appeal to you, snap a picture. If you see something in a magazine that makes you stop your page-turning, cut that out. If you see a lovely photo or video clip with the exact design you wanted, take a screen grab immediately!
Create a design mood board using simple software like PowerPoint or Keynote. Store all those lovely ideas that you have come across so that you can easily browse back later. You can then share your mood board easily with others and ask for their opinions or review some of the concepts you were thinking of.
Create a different board for each room or area. Filling up your mood board will help you to organise your thoughts. Do not get too attached to any particular designs. If you feel that a certain design does not gel well, feel free to discard that away!
5 months before – Learn
It is time to get into the groove of things.
Dedicate a good day and time per week to discuss your upcoming dream home with your loved ones. Getting this going is essential in creating a habit of having dedicated time for your upcoming renovation project.
Learning about building materials
This time can also be spent looking at and learning about the different building materials.
As a starter, you can try looking out for:
- Floorings: Different tile types like ceramic, homogenous, wood, vinyl
- Carpentry: Wood planks, solid woods, laminates, particle boards
- Surfaces: Quartz, marble, synthetics, pressed woods
- Doors and Windows: Laminated, glass, glazed, track designs
- Walls: Paints (and its colours!), wallpapers, tiles, laminates
Start looking at the pros and cons of each type of material, as well as how it can potentially affect the mood of your new home.
Learning about BTO renovation rules
“Let’s remove this wall to create a larger bedroom! Let’s install glass doors to allow more natural lights to enter. Let’s change the bathroom tiles to wood-grained ones to match the decor”.
As we get inspired by the many picture-perfect homes on social media, however some ideas may not always be practical. Moreover, certain designs may not even be possible due to specific restrictions imposed by HDB on newly built BTO flats.
Due to these restrictions, it could be impossible to transform your new BTO home entirely. This often leads to confusion during renovation projects and can result in misplaced expectations.
For example, If hacking of walls or window works is necessary, an HDB renovation permit is required before starting the renovation project. Even if a wall seemed to be ‘okay’ to be demolished on the floor plan, may sometimes get denied upon submission for approval.
It is, therefore, a good time to get better acquainted with common HDB BTO renovation rules and best practices. This will allow you to make a well-informed decision later.
4 months before – Choose
It is time to start looking for your Interior Designers (IDs). You will probably select a few IDs to meet up with on this renovation journey.
Remember the homework that you have done? Start by looking for designers who specialise in the type of property that you are moving into. In this case, those who have done many HDB projects before.
First, check out their portfolio, especially those projects which has been done similar to the theme that you have decided on. This can give you a better idea of their interpretation of your chosen design theme and the quality of their work.
Then, set up an appointment with the few selected IDs. Always make an appointment early to increase your chance of getting an appointment that suits your preferred day and time.
- Discuss your project over the phone to get a feel of their personalities, communication styles and service standards.
- Send over your floor plan, as well as your mood board. This can help the designer to understand your requirements better, and better prepare themselves during the meet-up. Remember to aim for a fruitful session whenever we meet with the designers.
Finally, get the following ready before your appointment:
- A layout floor plan of your BTO unit, filled with a list of activities you would like to do in each room.
- Your desired design theme.
- Any major pieces of furniture you have already purchased or must bring over (Such as an upright piano you have been using since you were young).
- Any specific timelines on which you would like to meet? Such as when to begin, when to move in, etc.
- Meeting frequencies with the designers.
- A budget that you would be comfortable with.
- We have prepared a home renovation guide and planning checklist for you to stay organised and on track throughout the renovation process.
We have listed a few points to look out for during your first meet-up with the interior designers you are interested in working with:
- The credibility of the firms.
- Their flexibility in meeting your budget and ultimate estimated project fees.
- Their availability matches your timeline.
- Any unique offerings? For example: Apart from the usual plywood, do they offer eco-friendly material?
- Do they have a showroom? This will allow you to preview the workmanship of their works.
Before selecting your desired ID, try meeting up with at least three firms.
Still trying to figure out what to look for?
Here is a home renovation guide and planning checklist that we have prepared for you.
Hope that this can help you stay organised and on track throughout the renovation process. It includes a list of tasks that need to be done for each area.
A checklist can help ensure your renovation project stays on track and budget.
3 months before – Design
Things just got real!
By taking some time to research and meeting with multiple designers, you should be able to make a better and informed decision by this time.
After getting to know the few designers better, their background and expertise, estimated costs, design, and the camaraderie. This is the time for you to make your decision.
Shortlist the interior designer that you like, and inform them immediately.
Most designer will require you to pay an initial deposit, especially if multiple 3D renders of the proposed design is to be done up.
In this crucial one month, your ID will propose designs according to your needs and go through the initial materials selections together with you—things such as wall tiles, floorings, paintings, and laminates for your cabinetries.
As these items will form most visual estates of your new home, it will be crucial to start working on them. This will form the basis for rendering your first version of the 3D drawings to give you a better idea of how the design will look. Only then would you be able to visualise better and make further tweaks along the way.
Before confirming your preferred ID, make sure that you have these answered:
- The budget
- The meeting frequencies
- The project milestones
- The deliverables at each milestone
- The payment schedules
- The first quotation
- Contingency plans
- Payment rates and plans in case of variations
Before making the first deposit payment to your confirmed ID, find out the following:
- Will they provide a proposed Mood Board?
- What is the lead time for the first set of 3D renders?
- How many design changes can be made during the design phase?
- Any extra charges for re-rendering 3D drawings?
- What is the lead time for design changes?
By confirming these beforehand, will allow you to have a better control over your budget, as well as the time frame. A few days here and a few weeks there, can quickly adds up to months. This is a potential bottleneck that many homeowners failed to prepare for and eventually delaying the project timeline.
2 months before – Confirm
You should have firmed up the final design with your ID by this time. Once everything is confirmed, make the necessary order immediately.
You will be surprised that sometimes things you like may not be readily available. This can include building materials such as tiles, especially popular or unique ones. Do not get tripped up by this, only to delay your renovation because of a stock issue. Some homeowners even forgo their preferred tile selection just because the tiles need two months to restock.
Furniture and other accessories can also have a lead time of up to 3 months. Even popular branded air-conditioning units can run out of stock, especially with popular retailers.
Make sure you make your order early once you have confirmed your design for your new home.
BTO Keys collection – Check
Finally! After waiting all these months, today is the day that you collect the keys to your new home.
After the celebrations with your loved ones, it is time to access your new place and check that you have got everything in order.
Water and Electricity
Once you are a proud owner of your new BTO flat, you can immediately apply for your utility accounts.
SP Powers counters are conveniently located within the HDB hub. Swing over to set up your SP Powers account right after your keys collection.
Setting up your water and power supply is also a necessary step for you to check for defects in your new place effectively.
Checking your new BTO flat for defects
Your new BTO HDB flat comes with a 1-year Defects Liability Period (DLP), which starts from the day you collect your keys.
It is advisable to report any defects within the first month of key collection, and definitely before starting any renovation works. This is to prevent any investigation works and potential disputes.
Rectification requests can be easily done online, or at the Building Service Centre (BSC), usually located conveniently within the precinct.
You can always check out more information on the HDB website for details.
Common areas to check for defects
- Walls and Ceiling:
- Check for any cracks or peeling paint
- Ensure walls are smooth and free of any defects
- Look out for marks and stains, especially due to water seepage
- Check wall tiles for “hollowness” by tapping with a checking stick / marble / coin
- Floors:
- Where applicable, check for chipping and scratched tiles
- Ensure tiles are aligned correctly and level
- Check for unusually huge gaps between tiles
- Check floor tiles for “hollowness” by tapping with a checking stick / marble / coin
- Check for the gradient of the floor by pouring a pail of water at the entrance of the kitchen / toilets and make sure the water flows towards the drains without major pooling
- Plumbing
- Make sure all sanitary fixtures are free from leaks or damage
- Test that all fittings are functioning correctly
- Check that all drains and toilets are free from blockages
- Electrical
- Check that all power sockets are working
- Make sure that all Socket boxes are fixed firmly and not loose
- Test all the switches on how well they flick. Especially on larger pieces such as the heater switch
- Ensure socket covers are fixed, or outdoor switches are used for those situated outdoors. Such as the switches at the service yard or air-con ledge
- Doors and windows
- Make sure that they are correctly aligned, open and close smoothly
- Check for signs of rusting, cracks or scratches
- Test all locks to be functioning correctly
If you are still worried and want peace of mind, you can even engage in professional Defect Inspection Services.
These professionals can help you conduct a thorough check and further advise you on rectifying defects. Most will include a report for you to easily submit to the BSC, thus saving you much time and hassle.
A quick search on the internet should point you towards a few companies providing such services. Depending on your unit size and service requirement, this should only set you back by around $200 – $400.
Remember always to rectify the defects, or at least submit them to the BSC before the start of your home renovation!
The Start of Your Home Renovation
When your renovation begins, it is important to make necessary preparations to avoid unnecessary problems and delays.
Here are several tips for you to prepare and supervise your renovation project.
On-Site measurement
Once you have gained access to your new place, the first step is for your ID to conduct a thorough on-site measurement. This is important as the measurement on-site can often differ from the floor plan, and this detail is important for the planning and fabrication works later on in the renovation project.
The site survey also ensures that all the design elements can fit correctly within the space, preventing costly mistakes and delays. It is also during this time when potential challenges can be identified and overcome by your designers at the drawing board.
Experienced designers would also start to drop markings on the walls using a pencil, to note down crucial information. This will benefit various stakeholders in the future to be aware of the information such as essential electrical, plumbing and gas works.
Timeline of the renovation
The time required for your BTO flat renovation usually ranges from 8 to 12 weeks.
If there are any requirements for getting a permit from HDB, such as hacking of walls – Extra time may be required before approvals are acquired.
Minor delays should also be generally expected and try to plan your time and give some buffer for possible extensions. Nevertheless, here are some milestones that you can expect.
| Works | Ave. Duration |
| Permits approval | 1 Week |
| Hacking | Max. 3 Days |
| Clearing and Haulages | 1 Week |
| Masonry, Tiling and Flooring | 1-2 Weeks |
| Electrical | 1 Week |
| Plumbing | 1 Week |
| Carpentry | 2-4 Weeks |
| Painting | 1 Week |
| Cleaning | 2 Days |
Monitoring the progress of your home renovation
You can always drop by your site every two to three days to keep track of the progress of your renovation works. Do let your ID know of the day that you are dropping in. This is not to “alert them”, but for them to better advise you on any precautions to look out for.
Your ID should also be able to provide you with photo and video updates of your project. Agree with an updated schedule, such as upon reaching certain milestones or perhaps weekly.
Immediately let your ID know whenever you spot any flaws or unsatisfactory work. This will allow the problems to be fixed early and avoid costly rectifications or delays later.
Handing over and moving in
At last! Your dream home is ready! Almost…
Before you arrange for the deliveries of your furniture and settle in, do a thorough inspection of your newly renovated home.
You can refer again to our defects checklist in the earlier section to review the items.
In addition, you may want to check for the workmanship of your carpentry and the measurements of any custom-made items.
Note all the defects and arrange for a handing-over inspection session with your ID to go through all the items together. Your ID would then better advise on any rectification works necessary and their timelines.
Finally, get ready to settle into your new dream home!
A summary of home renovation guides
Allow yourself at least six months to plan for your renovation. This can help to avoid nasty surprises and last-minute hiccups.
The right interior designer will help you to stay within your budget. Therefore, research and meet with multiple interior designers before making your decision.
Choose an ID firm with experience in projects similar to your dream home.
Make sure that you allocate enough time for your renovation project and communicate regularly with your interior designer. This will ensure the project stays on track, and more importantly, within budget.
Remember to throw a housewarming after completing your BTO home renovation. Invite your family and friends to share the joy of getting your dream home. Let your new home be the talk of the town.
If you are looking for a reliable ID firm, WhatsApp us at +65 8181 9917 and our FurnTec consultant will connect with you shortly. We will recommend the most suitable Interior Design firm that best suits your needs.
Let us help you make your dream home a reality!
No matter where you are on your renovation journey, we will be here to help you along the way.
At FurnTec, we value innovation and we are the manufacturer of new age cabinetry material that is low in formaldehyde, scratch resistant, highly resistant to moisture and anti-termite at the same time.
If you would like explore in using FurnTec innovation in your next project, feel free to contact us at +65 8181 9917 and link us up with your preferred designer / renovation firm. Alternatively, we can also provide you with our preferred list of renovation partners for your selection.
