He took one whole year to renovate his brand new three-room Housing Board flat — a length of time probably unacceptable by many people’s standards.
But rather than being a process wrought with frustration, for Den (not his real name), renovating his Build-to-Order (BTO) flat was a slow and steady labour of love.
After all, he wasn’t in a hurry, since he and his wife were staying with his parents and had a roof over their heads.
The extended timeline was also necessary due to another factor — Den wanted to do the renovation all on his own.
Den’s YouTube video showcasing his renovation journey was put up on Jan 10. Within two weeks, it had captured close to 450,000 views, drawing kudos and words of admiration from netizens.
Many could not imagine why, and how, one would take on such a huge project, solo. And they were amazed he could do so on a razor-thin $12,000 budget, to boot.
Realising a childhood dream
Speaking to AsiaOne in January, Den, who’s in his 40s, told us how building his own home from scratch had been the realisation of a “crazy” childhood dream.
But instead of constructing a house in “a faraway land” as envisioned, home is a modern, pre-fabricated HDB flat in Singapore.
For privacy reasons, Den declined to reveal the location of his home and when the housing project was completed.
He explained that his design considerations were based purely on “practicality, durability, and quality over quantity”. They should also require minimum maintenance while still preserving warmth and cosiness, all while adhering to a “less is more” principle.
In choosing the DIY route, Den shared that he was able to save on cost without sacrificing quality.
“It is true contractors usually get lower rates [on materials] locally as they are regular customers, but the significant savings from my overseas orders more than make up for this,” Den told AsiaOne.
He is especially proud of the engineered oak wood floor panels used for the home, and the aluminium-fitted cabinetry — materials considered premium due to their quality and durability.
“My entire renovation budget would barely be enough for just the engineered oak wood flooring if it were to be done by a contractor, not including the anti-pest treatment I integrated into the floor planks,” he explained.
The flat also features a unique feature seldom seen in HDB homes — a storage lift in the ceiling of the bedroom corridor which extends down from the ceiling.
It was by far the most difficult part of the home to build, said Den, due to the tight space constraints and challenges from working at height and against gravity.
“The work was extremely physically gruelling and that was the only occasion where a mistake could cause the installation to fail, rendering all the time and effort into designing and planning to waste,” said Den.
Not 100% DIY
In the video, Den showed himself hacking parts of the floor to apply a self-levelling screed, and painting and cutting up oak floor panels so it would fit every corner, among other backbreaking tasks — to us commonfolk anyway.
What he left to hired contractors though, were the stainless-steel kitchen countertop with integrated sink and backsplash, due to worries over the precision fabrication required and potential shipping damage.
“There won’t be any recourse for me if the manufacturer made any mistakes. The price was too high to take these risks [by doing it myself],” said Den.
For the same reason, the base screed for the bare BTO flat was also too risky to attempt, “as any mistakes would be very difficult to rectify”.
Nevertheless, renovating a home to this extent is a task few would undertake by themselves.
Wrote one commenter: “I can’t even assemble a table without breaking a sweat and you renovated the house all by yourself. Really deserve the recognition man.”
“This guy is a steel worker, carpenter, painter, mechanic, plumber, electrician, interior decorator all-in-one and he also does his own tint! Oh my God,” another complimented.
Even Den’s friends couldn’t quite believe what he’d set out to do when told.
“When I said I’m going to DIY the renovation, everyone simply thought I was just going to self-design, manage the contractors or maybe paint walls and assemble some Ikea furniture,” he said.
“After I explained my extent of DIY, they were shocked and intrigued.”
Not from renovation industry
While many online voiced suspicions that Den might be working in the renovation industry, Den would only tell us that he is not, describing himself as a “solopreneur in the creative industry”.
However, a keen interest in carpentry work and DIY projects led Den to architecture school, and also visual merchandising work.
Before embarking on his renovation solo, he told AsiaOne that he’d self-designed and managed the renovation for his previous home, alongside a contractor.
His latest achievement is just “another milestone” in his journey to accumulate more skills and experience, he shared.
The alternative — hiring skilled tradesmen — would be “an impossible task without an insane budget”, he added.
And his objective of sharing the process, said Den, is to offer HDB homeowners and interior designers here “a fresh perspective” on home makeover videos.
“While such DIY home makeover videos are quite common overseas, I noticed nobody has done a comprehensive self-renovation video in our local context,” he added.
Netizens certainly agree.
“One of the best renovation videos I’ve seen. This guy is so talented and blessed with an incredible skill,” one commenter stated.
Said another: “I’m crying from the perfect balance of aesthetic and practicality.”
And the result is certainly well worth the hard work, for a home tailored exactly to how Den and his wife like it.
“Most, if not all, of the design ideas have culminated in a home that requires very minimal and easy upkeep, achieved without compromising on the quality of space.
“Less time doing housework means more time to pursue life goals,” he quipped.
His innovative ideas are not limited to the storage lifts either.
Most interestingly, at least to this viewer, Den even converted an entire bathroom into a ‘walk-in’ wardrobe. The work, to the uninitiated, involved removing the cistern and plugging the drain outlets, among other steps.
Besides marvelling at his skills and creative solutions, many online also couldn’t help but notice how he did all the heavy lifting while looking immaculately put together.
His ‘uniform’ consisted of a long-sleeved white shirt, long pants, an apron, and ‘Sunday shoes’, as one netizen observed.
“Honestly, I’m amused and never expected this attention on my attire from many comments,” he responded when quizzed about the many comments on his outfit.
“I’m usually dressed in bermudas and sandals, but switched to long pants and covered shoes for safety reasons,” said Den, who threw in a white shirt “just to look a bit presentable” for the camera.
However, it turned out that the thin cotton shirt was ultimately more comfortable than any other T-shirt he owned, so the look stayed.
DIY home reno not for everyone
While one would think the DIY enthusiast would encourage others to endeavour to do the same, Den had some words of caution for the inexperienced.
“Hands-on DIY is definitely not for everyone, especially on this scale. In fact, I will not encourage others to do the same if it is purely for the sake of saving money.
“Unless they have an aptitude, interest, determination and patience for DIY, the enormous amount of time and effort that goes into planning, designing and sourcing, getting into stressful situations, or worse injured, is not worth it,” he stated.
Den also emphasised the importance of researching the HDB renovation guidelines, and to be considerate to neighbours “by ensuring any disturbance is kept to a minimum”.
He told AsiaOne that he is happy to have had the opportunity to inspire others by proving that what seems impossible is actually possible.
“I’m also very thankful for the many encouraging comments and hope my video can spark more interest in the local DIY community.”
Tips for new homeowners?
We picked Den’s brain to find out his thoughts on popular home finishes that he would advise new flat owners to reconsider.
Likening renovating a new home to “changing a new handphone”, he said: “During the honeymoon period, they will be excited with new features, theme, concept, shiny fixtures, but after that has passed and the years to come, all they will be concerned about are reliability, durability, ease of maintenance, repair. Is it worth spending good money for short-lived euphoria?”
Here are three things Den would personally say ‘no’ to:
His adherence to the principle of “less is more” makes him averse to the popular notion of building extensive storage spaces in the home.
“Building more carpentry for storage spaces may sound like common sense to many, but that could also subconsciously cultivate a habit of hoarding and over-consumerism, while exposing themselves to high formaldehyde levels,” he explained.
“Maybe they can consider using the opportunity to change to a more sustainable and healthier lifestyle.”
- Glass partitions, full height mirrors
Den also eschews using glass partitions and doors, and full-height mirrors to “open up” or brighten a space.
“They are very tedious to clean and maintain. Instead of improving the space quality, the space could end up looking worse with dirt, oil, and full of fingerprints without diligent upkeeping.”
Instead, Den prefers to use colour and furnishing choices to enhance the space.
- Wet-dry segregation for bathrooms
Another controversial take? He also doesn’t believe in needing a wet-dry segregation or a partition for bathrooms.
He explained: “The dry area is often semi-wet from using the wash basin, stepping out from a wet area or a damp floor mat, making it hard to sweep or vacuum, so it is often in a dirty state.
“The soap scum, mould and sludge on the glass partition, silicone and kerb are also a nightmare to maintain. Alternatively, a daily 10-second spray-down of the floor and toilet bowl after bath could result in a cleaner, quicker-to-dry bathroom with unimpeded airflow.”
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candicecai@asiaone.com
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