A 1970s or 1990s flat is a repair project first
Older 3-room and 4-room flats need the concrete, the board and the windows looked at before a style. A small spalling patch is S$150 to S$300. An HDB consumer unit from 12-way to 18-way is S$480 to S$780. We do not publish a ceiling height for the 1970s. Carpentry is quote on inspection.
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Photo: Stiller Beobachter, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
How it works
- 1
Send one photo per task, the block, and whether the home is HDB, condo or landed. Say if keys were collected this month.
- 2
We match a band already printed on HomeySG, or we say quote on inspection.
- 3
Developer defects, hacking, a new layout and permit windows are named. They are not folded into a handyman visit.
- 4
You confirm the scope before anyone comes. Curtains, blinds and roller shades stay off the booking.
What this job actually is
Last updated 31 October 2026.
People search 1970s 3-room and 1990s 4-room renovations as if the decade were a style. The decade is a hint that the concrete, the wiring and the windows may be tired. It is not a measurement. Flats of the same era do not share a kitchen length. Measure. HDB’s renovation page still governs the hack, the hours and the directory. The fine of up to $5,000 is HDB’s sentence. A resale of this age is usually past the three-year bathroom restriction that binds a new BTO. Check your completion date. Do not assume it, and do not hack on a Sunday even if the restriction has passed. Restricted hours stay weekdays.
Spalling is the stop. The ceiling page prices a small spalling concrete patch at S$150 to S$300. That is a patch. If the damage is a beam, a column, or a ceiling that keeps dropping, stop and appoint a Qualified Person. Homey Furnishing Pte. Ltd. is not an architect, not a professional engineer, and not a Qualified Person. BCA’s page on works that may not need plan approval says a Qualified Person is an architect registered with the Board of Architects, or a professional engineer registered with the Professional Engineers Board, with a valid practising certificate. We do not sign plans. Painting over exposed rebar is not the patch. The spalling note and the repair page are the names of that job. A leak that caused the stain is fixed first. The ceiling page will not paint a live leak.
Wiring is the DB page. A like-for-like RCCB or MCB is from S$138 to S$480. A socket on an existing circuit is S$55. A dedicated circuit is S$220 to S$450. An HDB 12-way to 18-way board is S$480 to S$780. The same page says pre-1985 HDB flats sit in the EMA 30mA RCCB requirement. Do not paste that sentence onto a 2010 flat. Do not paste a new-flat “the board is new” story onto a 1978 board with handwritten labels. Photograph the labels.
Windows in an old flat are often the safety item, not the aesthetic. BCA’s windows page describes workhead RW01. Replacement of HDB windows is an approved window contractor on HDB’s directory, with the permit path that page already describes on this site. Homey Furnishing is not that contractor. Casement stays, rollers and a seal are the window-repair pages when the frame stays. A grille is the grille pages. A shelter wall is still refused under clause 7.2, including in an old flat. Age does not cancel the shelter.
Maisonettes, jumbo flats, executive apartments and HUDC are the next note. They are not “a bigger 3-room” by default. A terrace with an HDB title is not the landed terrace note until you know it is not an HDB flat. Studio apartments and community care apartments are HDB types for older residents. We do not publish eligibility. A grab bar is the grab-bar page. A bathroom hack is still a hack. Carpentry after the concrete and the wires are understood is quote on inspection. A 3-room or 4-room move-in package, S$888 or S$1,048, is a handover visit, not a restoration.
Homey Furnishing Pte. Ltd. (ACRA UEN 202018148K), 27 Mandai Estate, #06-10 Innovation Place, Singapore 729931, invoices permit-exempt maintenance. V On Construction Pte. Ltd. (ACRA UEN 201611708H), on the HDB Directory of Renovation Contractors, invoices hacking, a new layout, and other work that needs an HDB renovation permit. Homey Furnishing is not a Council for Estate Agencies licensed estate agent and does not sell, rent or market flats. It is not a Ministry of Manpower licensed employment agency and does not place helpers.
Curtains, blinds and roller shades are not part of this booking. This page also does not sell or rent the home, and it does not place a domestic worker.
What to do first
Photograph the fitting before you buy a product or book a hack.
- Photograph spalling, the open DB, and the windows.
- Do not paint over exposed steel.
- Match the DB row to the age of the board, not the age of the style.
- Leave window replacement to an approved window contractor.
- Quote carpentry only after the structure is not the problem.
| What you see | Safe check | Stop |
|---|---|---|
| Small concrete patch | Ceiling page | S$150 to S$300 |
| Beam or column spalling | Qualified Person | Not a patch |
| Full HDB board | DB upgrade | S$480 to S$780 |
| Windows to be replaced | Approved window contractor | We are not that contractor |
HDB, condo and landed
The building changes the permission. It does not invent a second price.
| Question | HDB | Condo | Landed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s to 1990s HDB | HDB rules still apply. | Pre-1985 may be the EMA note. Check the board. | No published ceiling height. |
| Newer resale | Do not assume spalling. | Three-year rule may still apply. Check completion. | Same hours. |
| Condo of the same era | Use the old-condo sentences on the penthouse note only if it is a condo. | MCST, not HDB. | Spalling can still be a QP. |
Kitchens and toilets that have already been hacked once
An old flat may already have a renovation under the current tiles. A second hack can find wires and pipes the first one left. That is a reason to open a small inspection hole, not a reason to promise a price for a whole toilet. Quote on inspection. A sink base in a kitchen that is staying is still S$280 to S$700.
Hollow tiles can be injected at S$350 to S$750 for four to ten intact tiles. That does not need the three-year story if the flat is old. It also does not replace a waterproofing failure. If water is entering, the leak pages come first.
Kitchens that were modern in 1995
A 1990s kitchen can have a gas hob, a tired hood and a chipboard carcass that is still dry. Keep it if it is dry. A hinge is from S$38. A hood you buy is S$140 to S$260 to fit. Capping the gas for induction is a licensed gas worker, not a carpenter. If the carcass is soft, S$280 to S$700 is the sink-base repair when the layout stays. A full new layout is the S$5,000 to S$6,500 comparison only when that sentence matches, and it is a permit.
Toilets of that era often have a small window and a floor that has been re-screeded once already. Do not promise a walk-in shower until someone has seen the fall. Quote on inspection. A bidet hose is S$110 to S$180 when that kit matches. It does not need the floor up.
How you're charged
How you're charged
A job that already has a sentence on HomeySG uses that sentence. The hour is not added on top of a band unless the written scope says so. There is no fuel surcharge. A whole-flat repaint, a private defect-scan fee, and a litre of a named paint brand are not in the catalogue.
| Charge | What it covers | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Per hour | Permit-exempt handyman time when no job band matches | S$45/hr |
| Minimum charge | One task on one visit | S$55 |
| Small hole patch and repaint | The ceiling-page hole sentence | S$150 to S$280 |
| Hairline or stain, leak already fixed | The ceiling-page paint sentence | S$150 to S$400 |
| Handover reset | The package on the move-in page, by flat size | From S$298 |
| Anything without a row | A full repaint, a scan fee, a new membrane | quote on inspection |
Who may do the work
Who is allowed to do the work
HDB’s important information on renovation says renovation in a flat, including some work that does not need a permit, is carried out by a contractor from the Directory of Renovation Contractors. The same page says failing to use a listed contractor for renovations, or breaching the renovation rules, can lead to a fine of up to $5,000. That sentence is HDB’s. It is not a ruling on your flat. Read the page before you treat a handyman visit as a renovation.
- Permit-exempt maintenance that already has a band, such as a hinge, a silicone joint or a small hole patch, stays on the Homey Furnishing invoice.
- Hacking, a new layout, and replacement of toilet finishes inside HDB’s restriction period move to V On Construction Pte. Ltd. UEN 201611708H. The price of that permit scope is quote on inspection.
- A new cable or a consumer unit is an EMA licensed electrician. A new water point is a PUB licensed plumber. Piped gas is a licensed gas worker.
- Window installation and replacement on an HDB flat is a BCA approved window contractor on HDB’s directory, with a renovation permit first. BCA describes workhead RW01. Homey Furnishing is not that contractor.
- Selling, renting or marketing the flat is estate agency work. CEA registers property agents. We do not do that work.
- A weekly cleaner on this site is not a migrant domestic worker placement. We do not hire out helpers.
- Curtains, blinds and roller shades are not part of this booking.
Ways to keep the bill smaller
Ways to keep the bill smaller
- Photograph every mark before you book a full repaint. A hole that matches the S$150 to S$280 sentence does not need a whole-flat price.
- Put several permit-exempt tasks on one visit. The S$55 call-out is one task. Further permit-exempt time is S$45 an hour, not a second trip.
- Report a new-flat defect to HDB, or the developer if the contract says so, before you pay anyone to cover it.
- Do not hack a bathroom floor to “save” a later leak. HDB’s three-year restriction exists so the flat below stays dry.
- Photograph the beam and the DB with the cover open. A fresh coat of paint on rusted steel is the wrong order.
WhatsApp the photos to +65 8561 0630.
Price, or quote on inspection
Age is not a surcharge. These rows are repairs that already exist.
Anything not in that table is quote on inspection.
| Scope already published | 2026 band in the repo | Where it lives |
|---|---|---|
| Small spalling patch | S$150 to S$300 | Not a beam |
| HDB DB upgrade | S$480 to S$780 | 12-way to 18-way |
| Socket on an existing circuit | S$55 | DB page |
| Old-flat carpentry | quote on inspection | After structure is clear |
WhatsApp the photos to +65 8561 0630. The reply uses a band already printed on HomeySG, or it says quote on inspection.
Related pages
Who to compare for a resale flat
The patch, the board and the tiles stay the rows on this site. The list does not add a town price or a ceiling height.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much to renovate a 30-year-old HDB?
Quote on inspection. A small spalling patch is S$150 to S$300. A full board is S$480 to S$780. Those are not a whole-flat price.
Do old flats have lower ceilings?
We do not publish a height. Measure. A high-ceiling light visit has its own bands only when the height matches that page.
Can you replace the windows?
No. HDB window replacement is an approved window contractor where RW01 applies. We repair stays and seals when the frame stays.
Is a 1990s 4-room the same as a new 4-room?
No. Use this note for the old fabric and the 4-room BTO note for a new flat. Do not copy the kitchen across.
Are you a structural engineer?
No. A beam is a Qualified Person. We are not one.
Does the three-year bathroom rule apply?
It applies to new flats within HDB’s restriction. An old resale is often outside it. Confirm the completion date. Hacking hours still apply.