Grateful for the HIP

Finally the 1st June to 12th June Home Improvement Program is over officially at 7pm last night. HIP mainly renovate more than 30 years old flat units' toilets and changing of the main door, main gate and rubbish chute. Those with health issues seniors can opt for extra perks like ramps for their wheelchair/commode, bigger socket power points, fire alarm, bidet, wall mounted shower seat, U grab bar, etc.

A week prior, we were already moving stuff into boxes and shifting heavy furniture out from the master bedroom, the kitchen to make space for renovation work. We started to sleep in our enclosed living hall/red room since 29th May and even though it's 13th May wee morning now, we haven't shifted back into our master bedroom yet. We need help from our respite part time helper and our tenants with the unpacking and shifting again. Usually my tenants are only free on late evenings after work but SG law do not allow noise after 10.30pm so we can't shift until maybe this coming weekend day time when they are resting at home.

Despite the wait, I'm really grateful for this HIP. Really, being sick over a decade, I cannot work so I can't afford to renovate at all while caring for a mentally ill and now stroke Hubby. I'm showing how dilapidated the common toilet had turned into... even the metal door frame are coming off from the sides. The ceiling frequently dropped spading concrete too and mold spots were everywhere. With the illegal partitioned purplish frame at odd angle to separate the shower and wc area, it was very cramped and plus size like me can't use the wc at all. In fact, I did hacked an extra wall to build the pink door to the wc area as I used to have many tenants. This way they won't have to wait too long to shower as I install water heaters in both areas.

My master room toilet was slightly better as a few years ago, the water had leaked into my lower neighbour's flat so the Housing Department negotiate a deal for both units to repair the issue by paying half each. I get water proofing done for the flooring which they did give me a light pink toilet bowl and floor tiles. But the grey basin was not changed and the colours were different, looking very weird. I just make do with what we have.

So now after the completion of the HIP, it is so nice to see the 2 toilets so new and white... I still keeping the 2 doors for the common toilets, but I widen one of the doors to make it more accessible for wheelchair or commode. I do have a future plan that if my blue collared factory tenants might be leaving SG due to the changing scene of the economic market of workers (we need more service or health care workforce in future), I'm planning to turn my home into an assisted living facility in partnership with a private company/community service provider for those seniors who like to live together in a smaller ratio group with 2 caregivers. As SG is aging, everyday there's news of old people found rotting in their homes alone. So I see a potential in a community assisted living where no one is left behind to die alone. Check out RED CROWNS and you will understand my plan.

Of course, my home is not that beautiful enough yet for such an assisted living. I still need to renovate my kitchen which is also falling apart. That will be not easy as a normal big unit like mine will cost over $10K to even do simple reno now. HIP costs over $20-$30K but the government helped to pay for 90% while we pay only 10% as a local citizen. I do not have the money now but they allowed me to pay in 5 years through installments at interest rate of 2.6%. And I still need to pay another $3K (10%) for the upgrading of lift to my level in their next project.

I'm gotten trust THE LORD in the provision... at least now I have 2 beautiful toilets and I'm so blessed already. Even my tenants are smiling at the new toilet and I thanked them for being here with me in such bad conditions all these years and they didn't complain. I still has some issues to settle, as the renovation also took away the draining hole for their washing machine as that hole was hacked illegally in the main pillar, thus I was warned not to do that again due to structure safety. I now need to think of way to have another drainage area for that.

Later when 9am comes, my air con man will come to do a good cleaning of my master room aircon as the room was full of dust in this HIP period from all that hacking. Only after that, I can ask the replacement respite helper to help us change & wash the former bedsheets we used to cover the beds during HIP, plus the pillow covers too, and then unpack our boxed up stuff back into the master bedroom. I'm thankful my tenants already helped to clean and wipe the dust away from the room the past 2 days after all plastic covers were removed on 11th June.

Hopefully we can move back to our bedroom soon. Sleeping on the cramped sofa, my Hubby fell once in the first few nights and then I changed our place around. He gets the bigger size recliner portion while I squeeze on the sitting part of the L shaped sofa. But I'm much bigger size than him so it was very uncomfortable for me for almost 2 weeks now. He get to rest while I was all over having to see to the workers and liaising with the supervisors on various parts of HIP. Why this plastering still has hole? Why they used the wrong colour wall tile to patch my floor tile, why the water heater point and the toilet light point are not together but on different walls. etc?

Anyway, the HIP team was very kind to help with the rectification of any points I ask, so it was quite a smooth renovation too. I'm glad I keep praying for the whole process and it has ended in a great manner with the HIP team coming to check on the final inspection and taking photos together with us to showcase on their office walls. That's cute!

P/S: Below is the before and after photos of my common toilet with 2 doors in this HIP.