inthekohzwu
Slow living in a cozy space called home | 屋
What The Hack?! Low Effort, Mid Cost, High Impact.
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What the hack is all these about? It's all because of people like us wanting to hack this and that, that right now, we have "white flats" as a trial! Hacking cost a lot? After hacking, I think hacking allows a lot of room for play in the house layout but at the same time... there may be hidden cost. The hacking alone doesn't increase the cost. But it is the consequences of hacking that may snowball the effects! 
On the day of hacking, my ID had many workers around and he decided to bless the house the moment they hacked. It's those ceremonial things they do and who are into Fengshui will know more about this. But, this is a non-fengshui home. 
As I was preserving the floor for overlay, remember to have floor protection just in case the tiles get damaged (additional cost). 
First to go was the unsightly off-coloured brown partition that previous owner used to flush the wall flat. There concealed a lot of hidden electrical wires which we didn't expect. So when hacking, do expect certain surprises. Next to go was the square box false ceiling that was a little old school. The original power points and electrical wire placement may have helped you save some money from having new points (if those placements make sense). The original floor skirting was also removed to match the colour of the new floor. You don't have to live with the original one! Initially I wanted no skirting at all but to deal with wall scratching and movement of furniture, there wasn't much of a choice. 
Here comes the biggest problem when you intend to hack. Bedroom 3 was hacked to allow more wind and light into the home. The original bedroom flooring was parquet while the whole house was the original HDB tiles. After hacking the walls down, there was a small little valley where the placement of the walls were. My ID did prepare and warn me before hand but we will only find out after hacking. There should be options handed to you before this takes place! If the bedroom floor's and main floor's height difference isn't big, vinyl overlay should not be a problem. Well, my stars did not align and my unit happen to have a big difference (qn HDB why such workmanship). The gap was too big for vinyl overlay. It was so bad that a marble can roll on its own when placed there or when your foot step over that area, we can feel it directly. Think logically, when we force the vinyl into a mini slope, it will eventually return to its original straight form in the long run. It will not sit so nicely. We also need to decide if we are going to overlay vinyl and keep original kitchen tiles. It will also cause this high low effect. 
From this angle, the high low from the parquet and floor tiles is very obvious. However, from room to room, the parquet levelling issue was not a problem. Removing of doors because you do not like it also means you will be removing the door frame and some parts of the wall. That will be additional cost on your end. If the doors are not in good condition, do consider your options in the long run and also your tolerance of hacking and dust while living there. At this point, I love how airy and bright the whole house was with all the holes and gaps! 
My entryway to bedroom 2 was changed hence there was more hacking than normal. The support and structures would be exposed once all these hacking are done. This is also when you can see the original work done by HDB to ascertain if your project is safe to live in. Side note: you may need to be slightly more cautious in older units. There was a unit in a super mature estate which my ID was working on. The floor hacking was done as per normal as any other unit but unfortunately, they hacked through to the unit below. The older the unit, the more care, doubts and questions you need to have. The older ones did not seem to be done as well as the newer ones! 
The original service yard had an additional raised platform for the washing machine (old school style) that allows splashing of water for washing the floor. T In addition, there was a hole that allows water to flow in but it will also allow unknown occupants to live in there rent free. This was an additional cost which I did not expect to bear as I intended to keep the original tiles which were in good condition. Hacking the raised platform could not ensure that the tiles below will not be damaged. Again, playing the risk card. Hacking this area means having costs on hacking, waterproofing, re-tiling and buying new tiles! 
There is a condition for overlaying of parquet. Because of this, I asked many sources and googled many times. There seems to not have a fixed response. The condition of the original parquet needs to be good aka not mouldy, not popping, not warping. If there is such problems mentioned above, the parquet will eventually rot or cause more warping. This will push your vinyl upwards and will pop too. It will not longer be a situation of just changing the vinyl but removing the entire flooring and hacking out the destroyed parquet (additional unwanted cost). 
You must be wondering how to resolve the high-low issue? Well, this was an additional cost which burst the budget. Self leveling. I had to do self leveling for the whole house which: 1. Increase my reno cost 2. Increase my floor height (think additional concrete and vinyl height on top of original tiles) 3. Additional waiting time for the material to dry (+3~7 days depending on environmental factors) 4. Stoppage of all works (delaying reno) 
One unexpected place to hack is the entryway. The old school units are kerbs while the new ones are slopes to adapt and future-proof to wheelchair living. However, I did not like the idea of dust and dirt moving or flying in easily via the slope. In addition, the vinyl overlay cannot be extended out to the entrance. It's not just weird but it cannot sustain our hdb corridor washing. The vinyl will definitely warp and spoil eventually. Moreover, the vinyl that is forced to be pressed down into a slope form, will eventually return to it's original form. Hacking this area to be a kerb prevents water from the corridor washing to enter the home, and also create a good finishing for the vinyl to end before the entryway. What are some hacks that you are considering?
28 July
