Ripples

i guess the answer is yes & no. yes, if i need to rip out the piping to look for leaks, then i'll need to hack the box-up. no, (i hope so) because the aircon guy has used extra thick tubing to secure the pipes from leaking. of course, there is no guarantee about leakage. for the sake of aesthetic, i'm taking the box-up option.

no, i didn't change my window. i added a window in my guest room and another in my bathroom. the guest room will have 4-panel sliding aluminum frame windows which cost $650. the bathroom will have 3-panel sliding frame-less glass.

yes, it should be the older model. most places are selling 6100 below $1K now. if you know someone who works at philips, you can get their staff price for 8140 at $1K.

hi blue diamond your study room box-up looks so much neater than mine. i still have a little plastic casing sticking out. need to rectify the "sore thumb".

hi graykitchen another option is to change the laminate on the top cabinets to glossy white. instead of a ceiling lamp, add cove lights or track lights to shine on the glossy surface for additional brightening effect. if you don't mind splurging, you can select a metallic silver/aluminum laminate with reflective surfaces.

hi wtc eiffel is correct. you need to the measure the length from the wall to the middle of the wc hole. you can do it accurately after you remove the old wc. you can go +/- 1" with your wc selection. also, you have to know if it has a p-trap or s-trap. your contractor should be able to tell you. as of july 1, all wc's need to have dual flush systems. so make sure you don't buy from the old stock at a cheaper price. it'll cost you more to replace the flushing system later on. just received my toto wc's. not sure what's your budget, but they've a great selection of wc's.

PM me if you like a referral to my ID.

hi beany i think i had the same problem as you. i had a huge aircon trunking running across the beam that separates my bedroom. it does look better boxed up even though i lost a few inches off the ceiling. Before: After: no, there is no additional charge to box-up aircon trunking.

Received delivery from Toto today. Very pleased with my purchases. Master Bathroom Basin Cistern with their new dual eco-flush system 6" Toilet Bowl

i bought the same light from jln besar. they'll be used as hanging lights in my bathrooms. looks like we share the same taste for our homes your reno is progressing really fast. it took me 4 weeks to get to your stage.

Everything that was exposed is now boxed up. The painters start tomorrow. Before: After: See more "boxing up" here: http://s658.photobucket.com/albums/uu304/Renotalk/Week%204/

looking forward to see your pics. i'm sure it'll look great and unique in the way you arrange the tiles.

hi kcsek glad you are happy with your id's selection. i changed my selection twice because i saw tiles i liked both times when i visited hafary and lsh. i collected samples from both suppliers because the same tile can look different from different stock. guess i'm a little more picky with my choices.

Week 4: The guys are busy boxing everything up and patching all the holes today. Before: After: The tiler came back to extend the mosaic wall for the hood backing. More bling! We should start the paint work on Wed. Here's my selection from ICI Dulux: http://s658.photobucket.com/albums/uu304/R...hopping%20List/

hi kcsek i saw your comment on sixer's t-blog. great choice have you selected the supplier? you can get this tile from hafary or lian sin heng. i chose my tiles from lsh because the rust looks fresher (more yellowish). the ones from hafary looks more aged. sixer likes the hafary selection better. the choice is yours, but both will look good. one helpful tip to get the best result from this tile texture: make your id do a dry-lay before tiling. we mixed the tiles up so that the rust is spread out on the wall in an uneven pattern. if you want to repeat the pattern like sixer's wall, then there is no need to carry out this step.

if you want to change to stainless steel, then you should insist on it. after all, you have to live with it, not your id. you shouldn't compromise on what is going to make you happy. it'll cost you more to make corrections after everything is done.

I'm using a combination of copper and stainless steel pipes. Why choose when you can have both? I'm using copper for the exposed pipes so I can paint them to blend with the walls. But I'm using stainless steel in the shower area to blend with the shower mixer. You can see pics on my blog before you decide.

hi sixer there are white plastic brackets that you can use to straighten the pipes. better to add them before they expand/contract over time and start to bend more. you can see the white brackets that i used to keep my pipes straight and neat. they should blend in with your white wall and not look untidy.

Hi Prawnee3 Thanks for the heads-up. I'm sticking with Brushed Aluminum laminate from EDL for the top cabinets. The LamiTAK range is too dull. And using the same brushed effect in black from LamiTAK for the bottom drawers. The original plan was to use Aluminum Ripples but the top-up cost is too high. Plus I need to tone down the shiny surfaces from the top cabinets and backsplash. I think the combination will work well together.

Hi Gorilla Glad you enjoy my updates. You can find my ID on my reno blog. The link is at the bottom of my signature.

End of Week 3. The plumbing work is complete and the new parquet wood floor is almost done. The plumber did a neat job with the water pipes. Only the vertical pipes will be seen after my cabinet is installed. The exposed copper pipes will be painted to match the wall color. I opted for stainless steel pipes for the shower area so they will blend with the mixer. Again only the vertical pipes will be seen after the top is boxed up. The parquet wood adds warmth to the living room. You'll be able to see it better once the protective boards are removed next week.

Thx sixer. Did you get yours from LSH or Hafary? I went with LSH because the rust was more obvious than the Hafary selection.

The tile work is done. I'm very happy with the results. I've a disco wall in my kitchen If you look closely, you will be able to see the little mirrors mixed with the metallic squares: It's a great alternative to a plain stainless steel backsplash. My bathroom shower wall and floor are done too The tiles look like actual copper sheets: The floor-to-ceiling mirror will complete the bathroom feature wall:

wow your electrician is really pricey. here's mine for comparison: Supply and install 13 amp single point = $35 Supply and install 13 amp double point = $50 Supply and install 15 amp air cond point = $60 Add lighting point = $30 Install normal light = $8 Install ceiling fan point = $40 Supply and install SCV point = $60 Supply and install telephone point = $60 Supply and install heater point = $60 my electrician is from Zenterra Engineering. i'm spending $2.6K to re-wire my whole em.

I bought my hood, oven and microwave from the Sale too. But I decided on the Ariston Avant Garde Hob as I like the gas and ceramic hob combination.