adrian_john

Agreed PJ. Good maids are really a god-send. Fresh maids can be good and bad. Some come with 'inflated' resumes but totally CMI, and there's also those with a bad attitude problems. Our first maid was such as example, moreover even more cunning and like to play domestic politics by pitting my wife against my mother. Then very arrogant also, always do things her way and not follow my wife's instructions. Luckily she asked to go home. Our current maid is so far really very capable and reliable, so no need to really teach her all over again. She's also got good rapport with the 2 kids and can even helps by repeating some of the things we read or teach them. Overall very dedicated to the job and very little attitude problem. I guess as employers we also have to treat them well if they do their work well. For us, we try to help out in terms of getting her the daily necessities, give her clothing, and also at times treat her to her favourite food on weekends.

Heya Everyone. Firstly, big thanks to PJ for hosting us and for everyone's contribution of lovely goodies. The lychee champagne was great! Nice to meet so many of you at PJ's place yesterday. Finally get to see the faces behind the nicks. Sorry, didn't really get to chat with some of you as I either was too shy (especially more so with ladies) and also because I had to leave early. But I guess we'll have more similar meet-ups or gatherings in the near future. Look forward to that.

Granite top usually comes in either 20mm or 40mm thickness. But I think most would opt for the latter. The more popular choice of granite would be Indian granite - e.g. those black galaxy types.

The set-up in the last picture looks really stylish, I like it but I think it looks more applicable for a really big space. Practically-speaking, you know, with my kinda kids around, I can just imagine them spinning each shelf level round and round like those traditional Tibetan monastery bells! I like the 2nd one. Guess its practical, compact and sleek and fulfils the purpose of holding the TV and the consoles very neatly.

Guy lao shi, your place really looks very unique and artsy with all that retro circle theme. Glad to see your reno's almost done. Looks like a very cosy bachelor pad!

Ah, so you've already experienced first-hand the infamous car park jams and frustrations. Its always horns blaring and people fighting where I am. I often get annoyed when I come back hungry and late around 9-ish and can't get a lot despite waiting for 20 minutes. There's once I came back at 3plus AM and there's no lots red or white. So you can imagine how annoying it can be. Anyhow, I'll probably PM you a recommended 'remedy' should you ever encounter similar. Yeah, the lift upgrading does cause abit of inconvenience. I went through the whole process, but once its over, its really much better. You have less people fighting for the same lift since every corner of the block gets their own lift. There is proper wet market - Its at St 11 at Blk 151A. Nearby there also have nice kopitiams. We currently do our marketing there every Sunday. Nearer to our St 24 side, the Bishan North Mall, near Ang Moh got wet market in the mornings. If you go to the St 11 market and like prata, stop by Maya prata at the kopitiam at Blk 150A. It rocks! The curry is thick and rich in flavour. Since you're sick now, perhaps you eat more soupy stuff lah. I think the kopitiam near your block got those fish ball soup or bah chor mee right? Porridge also sure can get. Take care Booy! Wah XiaoBB, I think you're the best person to consult on Bishan North food right since you've been eating there regularly. I haven't tried any of the food there as yet. Wanted to try that Australian food store but the fella's gone. St 12 and 13, definitely alot of good food. Kim San Leng got the best chicken rice. Always long queue. S-11's wester food is pretty good, so is the 'Korean' store. But the Zi Car there cannot make it lah. Kim San Leng's Zi Car store much better.

Yup. I did a comparison of walking timing from my current place at St 13 to the new place at St 24. Current place St 13: to NTUC, Shop N' Save, HDB Area Office, Community Club, Kim San Leng = Approx 10 to 20 seconds. to Interchange = Approx 1 minute. to J8, MRT, CPF, S11, banks and Library = Approx 3 to 4 minutes. New place St 24: to Interchange, J8, MRT, CPF, S11, banks and Library = Approx 10 to 13 minutes. to NTUC, Shop N' Save, HDB Area Office, Community Club, Kim San Leng = Approx 15 to 18 minutes. Same here. Interchange with one dusty dirt path across bare land to the then-newly opened MRT.

PJ, since you're into decals, I saw there's this trolley cart at United Square's basement level, near to the MacDonalds that's selling decals for homes to. They have a catalogue on site and I passed by and caught a glimpse of some of the samples on the cart. They have a quite a number of nice designs. I didn't really get to browse through cos' the car was quite crowded and I ended up at Mega Discount Store looking at LCDs instead. If you happen to be around there, you could probably take a look.

Storm: That's definitely an alternative we're considering as well. We were just thinking that having the top-hung console would give abit of a design element and dimension to the place. But then again, agreed with you, and like what my wife likes to nag me at, sometimes practicality overrules aesthetics. Anyways, with the sorta kids I have, they'll run smack into anything and everything. As long as they don't go over the balcony, I think I can breathe easy already. Thanks for the tips Ivy, hidden sockets and good wire management's always good to keep the home neat!

Yep. From the vantage point of your pics I can see that we're actually quite close. I think you're probably near the low 190s stretch. Glad to know that exposed pipes is quite minimal at your place. We had 2 running across the living room that we had to box up. Although the location we're at's pretty good, I'd have to warn you that if you own a car and are getting season parking, getting a lot and around the car park can be a headache during peak periods cos' the areas always very crowded and full of cars due to either: (i) Meet the MP session (ii) Parents with kids in enrichment classes at the CC (iii) Kim San Leng and NTUC/Central shop patrons. We really love the current location and pretty sad to be moving away from there to St 24 soon. Just trying to enjoy all the convenience while we can.

Ivy, thanks so much for providing the pictures! Very inspiring and sleek designs indeed. At least now I have an idea on how the console works with the pole. Although I'm still curious where all the power and AV cables go to... Heya PJ and Rondy, Thanks for your feedback. The concerns you had are exactly the same ones I have about putting the suspended console in the middle of the hall. Firstly its the 2 naughty boys running around and secondly space-wise also. According to Yeak, he said there's space - Just that can't have a 2 seater sofa and coffee table. So its probably just 3 seater sofa flushed to the wall and a single seat at either side. My drawing proportion and scale a little koyak lah, so it looks close, but actually about almost 3 tiles distance between the console and the 3 seater flushed to the wall. Yeak lagi funny, he said, good for you mah, can save money on TV, no need to buy big one! Will probably discuss this further with him again, if not feasible or too much trouble, what I'll do is probably reposition the TV to the wall and do a simple suspended console there instead. I guess that'll give more flexibility in terms of moving furniture around. Only negative thing will be glare on that wall from the balcony.

Yes Ivy, I saw those in a mag once. Looks very sleek. I think its by the Hafale brand. Most people seem to use it for the MBR to save space. But was wondering, where do they fit the console to hold the players and SCV boxes?

Storm, Thanks for sharing your feedback on Hong Tar. Really useful info to take note of. I'm also considering using them for my air-con installation. But a concern I had was that their techs seemed quite tardy and leh feh when I visited their showroom, and I guess your experience has shown that. But agreed that their materials used is quite good, and price very competitive. Service by their sales person was also very good - sincere and non-pushy.

Heya Pet, Thanks for the suggestion. Using pillars will surely help in increasing visibility and reducing the blocky-ness of a single console. I'll check on its feasibility to be hung from the ceiling, and weight loading.

Congrats on your new place Beany! Glad to welcome another fellow Bishanite. I'm located currently at 197. Your layout looks similar to those around the St 11 to 13 cluster. Yup, agreed that the perpetual Bishan Beam problem always gives owners a headache. Looks like you'll have to plan a good false ceiling layout to minimise it. Hope you don't have those exposed pipes running across your living area too. Look forward to hearing your plans and seeing pics.

My parents' place is on the 2nd floor. So far, no insect problems faced. Although occasionally, you get a bold bird perching on the clothesline peeking into the kitchen. Just throw a small piece of bread out to the grass below and they swoop away. So far, there are some 'disavantages' but not too hard to live with: - Noise levels: There's a bus stop in front of the block so the sound of buses will be there throughout the day. People-noise is still OK. - Views: While no fantastic skyline views, but a park view is still pretty good. Also, staying on the 2nd floor makes it easier to watch your car at the parking lot from the kitchen window. Good for short-term visitors to 'escape' if the aunties pop by - faster to reach the car too. - There seem to be a **** lot of sanitary pipes in the common toilet compared to other floors. But this was remedied with a box up. So far the negative encounters were: 1) Pungent urine smell: This was quite persistent for a period of time. Seemed someone frequently urniated in a corner below the block. Highlighted the problem to HDB, they investigated and found out that it was an elderly lady who was often left to wander around below the void deck and she urinated there because her family didn't give her the key to get into the house until they got back. So since she had no toilet, she just peed at that area. HDB spoke to the family - Now, although the lady still hangs around the block, she got keys to go back to the toilet if she needs to. 2) Inconsiderate neighbours hanging wet, dripping clothes: Unfortunately, there are a few such people, thus being on the 2nd floor, you'll kenna the most, if not all of it.

Wind, When the agent tells you the seller refuses to do a valuation, they're trying to work on your eagerness for the place to get the price they want, at your expense. Regardless whether the owner does a valuation or not, HDB will definitely require a valuation report on the house eventually. If you very much like the house and say you'll pay $400K, and the valuation turns out to be only $350K, then the $50K difference is considered as Cash-Over-Valuation, which will put you in the spot. From the sounds of it, don't think the Agent is one to be trusted. Best is for you to see other similar units in the same area. From those valuation reports, you'd be able to have a rough gauge in terms of the valuation for the area. Other factors will make plus-minus in a valuation are floor level (higher floor = higher value), facing, proximity to amenities (e.g. food centre, bus stop, MRT), current condition of home, type of flooring (Marble = highest), lift level, upgraded etc. Hope this helps.

I think boxing up the top is fine and a good idea. It'll solve all your concerns like dust and aesthetics and you will get additional storage space. Alternatively, if you decide to leave it as is, I guess you could possibly do some aesthetic enhancements like glass bottles with coloured pasta perhaps? Personally, I'd go for boxing it up.

Charemme, If you highlight the issue to HDB, its not so much the owner that will get into trouble, but I believe they'll go after the Contractor who applied for the permit first. I guess since the cops can't help, this would be the next best alternative, if the late night rush work continues to be a disturbance. The owner is probably not even aware of what the contractor's doing anyway. On to dogs, wow, didn't know you had 2 doggies. Are they both Schnauzers? I have a very mini one. She's already 5 years old but still sized like a puppy.

Charemme, Interesting story about noises in the night. But like you said, I'm sure its the Contractor playing hide-and-seek with both you and the cops. Apart from the cops (although personally I don't think they do or bother much about such cases anyways), do also pop by your HDB Area Office and notify them too. I don't think any heavy work is allowed at such late timing and on Sundays. BTW, cute Schnauzer in your siggy.

Nice blinds Pet. They somehow add a new dimension in terms of look and feel to the whole house! Agreed, the 3-tone is definitely better than 1 tone.

Hi Wakzool. Congrats on the 2 beautiful angels. Just wanted to say that your place looks really sleek and modern with all the nice furniture and colours thrown in. Really priceless to come home to a place like that.

Just to share, this is a quote given to me from Natural Cool when I visited them on Sunday. Very nice service rendered. Not pushy, but gave good recommendations based on a couple of brands we highlighted. Mitsubishi Electric Starmex System 4 Inverter 1 X 12K BTU MSXY-GA13VA 3 X 9K BTU MSXY-GA10VA 1 X Bracket Total Cost: $3,799. Optional Insulation upgrade per unit is $80. This is inclusive of GST and 2-Time installation. Was told by salesperson, price is still 'negotiable'.

Due to my poor sense of proportion, it looks very near in the drawing. But based on floor plan, the distance is still relatively OK. Just that, with the console, we can't depoly a coffee table of any kind in front of the sofa to give some spatial allowance. Coffee / Low table I guess can always be shifted to the side of the sofa. I'll consult Yeak and see what he says.

Thanks SuperSimon! I'll probably check them out this weekend.