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Where are you going to dump your trash downstairs? in the regular bin? You might want to check with HDB Branch office on whether can you seal off the rubbish chute.

Hi, Does anyone have contacts for Laminate flooring contractors to introduce? I did my laminate floor with Oriqin and recently gotten them to fix gaps on the flooring which they claimed was due to wear and tear. Less than 1 week, the gaps reappeared. Now I am looking for other flooring contractors that can help me fix this issue for good. Anyone can recommend someone to help fix my laminate floors? TIA

Thanks for your input gkbt. I'm still not very convinced that Alkaline Ionizer is really essential and the health benefits claims are not exactly well proven to me as well. However, I do feel that water filtration does help. There are other research that kind of made sense to me as in, our bodies cannot take really pure water like what is being used in the science labs. Minerals in the water do play a part in what our body needs. So there's a need to strike a balance on finding a water filtration system that does the job but not to the extend to make the water too pure for consumption. Went to check out what is available off the shelf and came across that majority of the products in the market talks about the number of plate used for applying electrolysis to the water to produce alkaline water and it also goes through a filter system. I'll go back to point on my focus, which is just to get a water filter system without the alkaline portion. In general, systems with the electrolysis will: Need a power source to run (added cost) For every "X" amount of alkaline water produced, "X" amount of acidic water is produced (added cost again even though you can use the acidic water for other purposes but end of the day, it makes a user consume more water and I personally feel, it alters the water usage behaviour) That's the added cost portion and it usually cost about $500 to $1,000 more than a system with just water filtration. Although the filters for alkaline water systems are usually cheaper, the start up cost is pretty much higher. So all in all, it's a rather apple to orange comparison. But cost of running is definitely higher for one that produces alkaline water as compared to a solely water filter system. So back to water filter system. Before I go on, I'm focused on only systems installed undersink and with a separate faucet to dispense the water. Generally in the market, there are: Water Filter attached to regular taps (Will not work with those with chef mixers) Gravity feed water filter system. Can be big like store around 10 litres or small like a 1 to 2 litre flask Counter top ( This sits on your counter top with a little faucet to dispense the water out) Undersink type with a faucet installed near your sink. I'm only interested in the last type as my countertop does not have much space, so i'll just talk about that in this post. Some brands I am looking at are: Cleansui A101ZC Watts Kwik-Change™ Cartridge Reverse Osmosis System 3M DWS2500T Ultrapure Undersink(local made) Hyflux HF1P-3AA or HF1P-3S So in general, they are from Japan (Cleansui), US (Watts & 3M) and local (Ultrapure and Hyflux) I realised the US and Hyflux are similar in their cartridges. They have about 2 to 3 different cartridges for 1 system. According to their spec sheets, it can filter between 3,800 to 5,800 liters of water and their cartridges generally have 2 types of lifespan. One is 3 to 6 months. The other is 6 months to 12 months. Some comes with electronic counter to monitor and advise on change. That's good. So, as for the rest, it's 1 huge cartridge that is a combination of pretty much the same function as the multiple cartridge system. Spec sheet put it that this cartirdge can last up to 12 months. This is up to user preference. No right or wrong I guess. For me, I'll go for single cartridge as having experienced using multiple cartidge, I confirm will forget what is supposed to be changed. Running costs in summary, 3M is probably the most expensive with the low capacity of about 3,000 litres of water filtered and with a start up cost of around $1.5k (rounded up). Others range from $400++ to about $1k as their start up. Filter replacement range from $150++ to about $300 for those systems. I'm not sure about 3M's replacement filter price though. End of the day, my decision is to go for Cleansui as a better established brand and it runs on single cartridge. A close 2nd is actually Ultrapure for its price.

You can see the pricing from their website: http://www.btbtrading.com/cleansui/product/undersink.html This is their undersink series. From the looks of it, it's 1 cartridge of multiple filters. I did some reading up to try and understand water filter system. I've used Diamond water before and in that counter-top unit, there's like 6 filters in them. The reason why my family stopped using it was that we find it quite difficult to keep track on which filter is due for replacement. Then we switched back to something that was really old school, a gravity feed water filter system that looks like this: It uses 1 cartridge like the cleansui system but it takes up space on the counter. I'll find out how much does it cost to maintain the cleansui system and update. I've also enquired about the Watts® Kwik-Change™ Cartridge Reverse Osmosis System. The only issue I have about that is the number of filters is about the same as diamond water system and the faucet is a tad ugly to me.

Not sure if I will get bashed for posting this or not but this is what I came across and thought might be good to share. http://www.apswater.com/article.asp?id=198&title=Alkaline_Water_Hoax_-_It_Is_Simple_Science. Basically, this website is saying Alkaline Water ionizer is a hoax and they themselves are selling quite a number of water filter systems. The "acid water" collection thing is also putting me back on going for Jupiter and the price also. Looks like I'm back to square one and will probably be looking for something ultra filtration and yet will not filter away the minerals in water. I'm looking at Cleansui at the moment.

Hi gkbt, I'm thinking of going for the Jupiter's Alphion JP-109 mainly due to form factor. Visited their showroom and was told both Marvello JP-101MX and the Jupiter's Alphion JP-109, there's not much difference between the 2. Having a tough time deciding where to collect the acidic water due to the layout of my place. At first I thought of collecting below the kitchen sink but it's like, "Out of sight, out of mind." So I might just leave it to collect the water on my counter top instead. As I'll be having a glass kitchen backsplash, the unit will not be mounted on the wall. What I saw from Kemp Trading is that a user just put the system on top of a container and run the pipe down to the container to collect the acidic water. Looks quite ugly IMO. I will be doing a separate water inlet for the system instead of hooking it up to my kitchen sink's tap as well. prefer the water filter system to run separately from the sink's tap.

Need help from those who installed the system and is collecting the acidic water. Can you show a photo of how you run the system? I saw the photos from Kemp Trading, doesn't seem to like the way it's being done actually. I'm trying to avoid keeping it "out of sight" at the under sink cabinet just in case it overflows and I am still clueless about it. TIA!

From what I had came across, the fans from JB usually will not come with the bracket. Not too sure on the cost of it though.

V groove also help to eliminate the slight difference in height when the planks swell. That was the consideration for me when I selected laminate flooring for myself.

What is the largest dimensions for quartz top without the need to pay for "special" prices to get a certain length and width?

If the light is above the blades, yes you will.

Definitely will when the reno gets started. Now it's still in hunting and sourcing for contractors/ID phase.

I understand what you mean. Since you've made your choice. Enjoy the reno process. I just want to point out 1 thing. When companies offer lifetime warranty, it is also a marketing gimmick. If they close shop, who will continue the warranty? Ask them that and if they say the floor manufacturer would, ask them to put it down on black and white, sign with company stamp. Verify with the manufacturer as well.

Thanks Pete!

Jaskel, so in the end I supposed he did deliver for you. Anyway, Andy Yeo Boon Heng is not contactable since June and Grupp Marketing is no longer the dealer for QuickStep laminate flooring. Thus, it will be a challenge to get QuickStep Laminate Flooring in the market for the moment until a new official dealer is unveiled. Just a word of advice for those looking around to engage IDs/Contractors. For my case, even though I had gotten a court order against this person that is on the run, that's all I will get. The amount is way too small to proceed for the next step to seize his assets. Worse still, our police is not able to pursue it further so long as someone on "top" determine it as a breach of agreement and make it a civil case. So all this person need to do is get a new mobile phone number, move house or move from their rented premises and they are free to continue to do whatever they want.

Thanks Kim76, now I have a new question actually. For those who installed an 18 inch wide Kraus sink, were your kitchen cabinet width made at around 27 inches wide? or did it still work with a 24 inch measurements? I'm mounting a chef mixer tap on the table top and was advised to go for 27 inch width.

Hi Pete, Just to check, for the socket panel of your surround sound speakers, where can I get that panel and is there a preferred wire to use for these panels?

According to what was found online, it requires more work to create a square or rectangle sink as compared to the conventional round edge sinks. That's the reason for the price difference. For those who purchased Kraus sink, could you share when will be a good time to purchase it? Is it before you start your reno works or midway but must be delivered before final measurements for your carpentry? Did anyone went old school and did a concrete slab for the sink area?

Did anyone else engaged Jimmy from 3D Innovative? Can you share your experience as well?

For those using Kraus Sink, are you able to give like about 1 com to 2 cm of the stainless steel border for the basin to be exposed so that it can be like the Kohler sink where a chopping block can be placed above it?

Hi angrybirds, Probably just advise your cousins and friends to do enough research and background checks on the contractors/ID. So long as they fail the criteria such as having valid HDB licenses or new companies. It's at best to avoid. The emotional turmoil from such issues is really not worth it and takes a fair bit of energy to move on and continue to source for a reliable contractor/ID/sub-contractor. I hope folks who are starting out their renovation will read about this and know what is their legal rights to all these things they are signing up for.

Hi, I'd like to also ask about this, for the cabinet on top of your dish drying rack area, is that space usable as well? Can show a picture of how that space is being used? Thanks!

hello, may I know what is the materila used for your vanity top cabinets?

Can't seem to find warranty information on this brand. is it still 10 years?

Thanks for the tips taichipanda. Just to make sure i get it right, for the centralized area where all the Cat 6 cables will be connected to a switch, they will be in this form: So i'll have a bunch of these at where the switch is located at.