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Property Owner’s Guide

A Property Owner’s Guide to Understanding Floor Plan

When you consider a property whether it is in the Central Business District or in 1 Jalan Remaja like Botanik Residence, you will come across a floor plan. Floor plan serves as your guide but with many lines and arcs, sometimes things can look confusing especially if it is your first time considering a property.

Everyone in the real estate business uses floor plan. This is because a floor plan reveals the most about a specific unit or property. It shows the type of the house, size, number of rooms, bathrooms, stair location, window location and other structures. In Singapore, the floor plan uses the imperial system – square feet. This means that all units in Singapore are indicated in square feet. To understand floor plans, here are the things that you should know about it:

condo units in Singapore
What are the common floor sizes for HDB flat or condo units in Singapore?

You have to know that if you convert 1 square meter, it is equivalent to 10.76 square feet. The floor size starts from 538 square feet (50 square meter) followed by 646 square feet (60 square meters), 763 square feet (70 square meters), 861 square feet (80 square meters), 969 square feet (90 square meters), 1076 square feet (100 square meters) to 2691 square feet (250 square meters).

Can floor plans help with upgrading or renovation?

You have to know that floor plans can reveal if upgrading or renovation is harder to restructure than others. When you think about upgrading or renovating, you have to check the thickness of a wall indicated on the floor plan. This will give you an idea if it can be demolished. The load-bearing walls are indicated in bold lines – these walls are critical in keeping the building together so it should not be altered or demolished. Other structures that cannot be demolished include doors, staircases and household shelters. The non load-bearing walls are indicated in thin lines – these walls can be easily demolished for renovation. However, there are structures that you need to get approval from HDB before demolishing.

What are features unique to Singapore?

Floor plans are basically the same but there are some features that are unique to Singapore. For example, in 1998, the Civil Defense Shelter Act implemented that new residential units should have household shelters. Household shelters are made of thick steel walls capable of sustaining heavy bombardment; this feature is called bomb shelters. Another feature unique to Singapore is PES (Private Enclosed Space). This space refers to the private outdoor space on the ground floor; it is the space around the residential unit. You can do whatever you want but PES is ideal for gardening and even meditation. In Singapore, there are dual key layouts. These units are called multi-generation units. In this unit, there are two homes within the same title and unit. It is ideal if you want to have tenants or if you want to house your elderly parents.