Planning an HDB renovation: your questions
From the floor plan to the quote: short answers, each with the page that goes into it. Rules are HDB's own, linked on the page that covers them.
Floor plans
Where do I get the floor plan of my HDB flat?
It is in the sales brochure you were given at flat selection. If you do not have it, HDB sells a copy for $5, through its Purchase of Residential Floor Plan e-Service or at a self-service kiosk at any HDB Branch. Where to get your HDB floor plan.
How do I read the measurements on a floor plan?
The figures along the edges are lengths between tick marks, in millimetres on HDB plans: 3150 is 3.15 m. Thick solid walls are structure, thin ones are partitions, and a quarter-circle is a door and its swing. How to read a floor plan.
Can I turn a floor plan into 3D for free?
Yes. Setout takes a photo, PDF or DXF of the plan, reads the walls once you give it one known dimension, and shows the home furnished in 3D. It is free, runs in the browser and needs no account. How to use Setout.
All pages on this: Where to get your HDB floor plan, How to read a floor plan, How to draw a floor plan in Setout.
Flat sizes and dimensions
How big is each HDB flat type?
In recent flats: 2-room Flexi about 36–47 m² (388–506 sq ft); 3-room about 60–68 m² (646–732 sq ft); 4-room about 90–93 m² (969–1,001 sq ft); 5-room about 110–115 m² (1,184–1,238 sq ft). Sizes vary by block and by year built. HDB flat types and their sizes.
How do I convert square feet to square metres?
Divide square feet by 10.764 to get square metres, or multiply square metres by 10.764 to get square feet. A price per square foot becomes a price per square metre when multiplied by 10.764. Square feet to square metres.
All pages on this: HDB flat types and their sizes, 2-room Flexi: size and layout, 3-room flat: size and layout, 4-room flat: size and layout, 5-room flat: size and layout, Square feet to square metres.
HDB renovation rules and permits
Do I need a permit to renovate an HDB flat?
For some work, yes: hacking or altering walls, replacing floor finishes, and changing bathroom finishes among them. Your contractor, who must be on HDB’s Directory of Renovation Contractors, applies online for you, and work may start only once the permit is granted. The HDB renovation permit.
What hours is renovation allowed in an HDB flat?
General renovation: 9am to 6pm on weekdays and Saturdays, never on Sundays or public holidays. Noisy work such as hacking walls or removing tiles: 9am to 5pm on weekdays only. HDB renovation hours and rules.
Can I hack the bathroom tiles in a new BTO flat?
For three years, the wall and floor finishes in the bathrooms may not be removed. New tiles can be laid over the old ones. Renovating an HDB bathroom: the rules.
Can I hack a wall in an HDB flat?
Only with HDB’s written approval first, for every wall, in part or in full. Lightweight partition walls of hollow block, brick, drywall or Ferrolite may come down with a permit. Structural members, such as reinforced concrete walls, columns, beams and slabs, may not be hacked or removed. Hacking a wall in an HDB flat.
All pages on this: The HDB renovation permit, HDB renovation hours and rules, Hacking a wall in an HDB flat, Renovating an HDB bathroom: the rules, Stairs to BCA rules.
Before and after key collection
What do I bring to my BTO key collection appointment?
Identity cards for every applicant and occupier, physical or digital through Singpass; the fire insurance certificate if you are taking an HDB housing loan; and a phone with Singpass if you are paying with CPF savings. BTO key collection checklist.
How long do I have to report defects in a new BTO flat?
A new HDB flat has a 1-year Defects Liability Period from key collection. HDB asks you to report defects within 1 month of collecting your keys and before renovation begins, by scanning the QR code in your Welcome Kit or at the Building Service Centre near your block. Checking a new BTO flat for defects.
When should I start planning the renovation?
Before the keys. HDB’s own advice is to start thinking about the renovation and looking for a designer or contractor before your key collection date. The unit plan in your sales brochure is enough to plan the layout on. BTO projects due for keys.
How long do I have to renovate a new flat?
The approved work must be completed within 3 months of the date of the renovation permit for a newly completed block, and within 1 month for an existing block. HDB renovation hours and rules.
All pages on this: BTO key collection checklist, BTO projects due for keys, Checking a new flat for defects, Kent Heights BTO, Lakeside View BTO, Keat Hong Grange BTO, Woodlands South Plains BTO, Garden Waterfront I & II @ Tengah BTO, Parc Meadow @ Tengah BTO.
What renovating costs
How much does it cost to renovate a 4-room BTO flat?
Qanvast’s projected 2026 budget for a whole renovation is S$50,000 to S$60,000. The main trades on their own typically come to S$11,200 to S$26,600 before GST, at published Singapore rates. These are typical ranges, not a quote. Renovation cost calculator.
How much paint does an HDB flat take?
A 4-room flat takes about 33 litres for the bedrooms and living area, walls and ceilings, at two coats. Your own flat’s figure depends on its walls, doors and windows. Paint calculator.
What does each trade cost?
Painting, vinyl flooring, floor tiles, hacking, skirting, kitchen cabinets, worktop, wardrobes, bathrooms, electrical points, false ceiling and doors each have a page with the typical Singapore rate, its sources, and what it comes to for an HDB flat. All the renovation calculators.
All pages on this: Renovation cost calculator, All the renovation calculators, Paint calculator, Tile calculator, Wallpaper calculator, Downlight calculator, HDB painting cost, Vinyl flooring cost, Floor tiling cost, Hacking floor tiles cost, Skirting cost, Kitchen cabinets cost, Quartz worktop cost, Built-in wardrobe cost, Bathroom renovation cost, Electrical points cost, False ceiling cost, Bedroom door cost.
Quotes, designers and contractors
What should a renovation quotation include?
Who it is for and the site, a reference and how long it is valid; each item of work with its quantity and price; the total; and the terms, exclusions and payment stages. A plan to scale and a schedule of finishes avoid arguments later about what was quoted. A renovation quotation, measured off your plan.
Is there a free renovation quotation template?
Setout exports a quotation as a PDF for free, with the quantities for paint, flooring and mouldings measured off the floor plan you draw or import, priced at your own rates. See an example quote.
Can a design firm put its own logo on the quote?
Yes, on the one paid plan: the firm’s logo goes on the quote and the line naming Setout comes off, for S$80 a year by PayNow. Everything else is free. Setout for firms.
All pages on this: A renovation quotation, measured off your plan, Setout for firms: your logo on the quote.
Planning the layout
Is there a furnished HDB layout I can start from?
Yes: 2-room Flexi (Type 1), 2-room Flexi (Type 2), 4-room (Type 7). Each opens in the designer already furnished, drawn from the dimensions printed on HDB’s plan, for you to change. Real flats vary by block. Flat types and their layouts.
How do I check that furniture will fit?
Place it at true size on your own plan. Setout’s furniture is drawn to its real dimensions, and a door whose swing is blocked by something is flagged on the plan. How to use Setout.
Setout and other planning tools
Is Setout free?
Yes. The plan, the 3D and the quote are free, in the browser, with no account. The one paid plan is for firms that want their own logo on the quotes they send clients. About Setout.
Is my floor plan uploaded anywhere?
Not while you are signed out: the plan is read on your own device and the design is saved in your browser. Signing in keeps a copy with your account so it follows you to another device. Privacy.
How does Setout compare with Floorplanner?
Floorplanner is a general planner with image exports up to 8K, free for up to 5 projects and paid for by credits. Setout is free with no account, reads Singapore HDB and condo plans, and prices the paint and flooring off the drawing; it makes no rendered images. Setout and Floorplanner.
All pages on this: Setout and Floorplanner.