asoon88

There is nothing wrong with your house. Job losses was a norm in Singapore since late 2007 and it affected some people working for an MNC or SME. What you need to do is to forget about the past and look forward to the future. There are jobs in Singapore....plenty if you ask me. However, remuneration is something that you will need to adjust yourself to. Walk-in interviews stand a better chance than sending in resumes. Go to Gumtree.sg and look for opportunities there. The fact that your children's studies are good shows that the house is very conducive for them. Boys will always be rebellious during the growing up stage (some girls are also the same) . Be concerned about your son and his well-being. He will outgrow his attitude problem soon enough. However, you must be mindful of your nagging since you spend most of your time at home. Give him space. As for your husband, he is not alone in his problems. Encourage him to do an honest day's work and take life as it comes along. The fact that he was involved in 3 accidents show that his mind was worrying instead of concentrating on driving. Accidents don't happen just like that. Be the one to give way, follow speed limits and don't tail-gate, and he will find driving leisurely even if caught in a jam. When both of you bring up your financial and work problems infront of your children, be mindful that it will affect them. Let them know your problems so that they learn to share your pains. However, do not point fingers at your hubby or vice-versa. Your children will resent you for doing that. I reiterate again, there is nothing wrong with your house. Go and do what you need to do now....which is to look for a good job that you think you are up to the challenge. Engaging a FSM will not only set you back financially, what if things get worse ? Is he giving you a money-back guarantee ?

No offense to avid FS believers but with the exception of very old HDB flats, most MBRs have built-in toilets. Isn't that a water-feature ? When you flush the toilet, isn't it the same as water trickling down some motor-operated fountain that people spend a fortune on ? I find it ludicrous that many forumers despite their tertiary education both local and overseas still buy-in to these concepts. It is common sense that installing a water-feature in the bedroom will disturb your sleep. How I know ? Just allow your bath-tap to drip water at night and try to sleep. You will be irritated by the constant "tat-tat-tat" or "tink-tink-tink" sound of dripping water hitting the floor. Even if the FS master say it will bring "CAI" to you is all psychological. It defies logic because health problems arising from poor sleep will make you lose your "CAI" faster than the once in a blue moon 4-D windfall. For those who insist on installing a water-feature because of "body heat',etc, I suggest you buy yourselves an air mister. The air in your air-conditioned bedroom is probably too dry. Or you are the type that take too much herbal soups,etc...resulting in feeling unwell instead of feeling better. FS to me is common sense. Not elephants, donkeys, toads and statuettes. A FS master recommended my mum-in-law to place a water-feature in my dementia afflicted father-in-law's bedroom to "cool" the effects of dementia. She just bought a picture of a waterfall. I see no consolation in my father-in-law's condition. Before picture on the wall and after picture hung on the wall made no difference. The sad truth about FS is that people prefer to believe in illogical & money-draining concepts than to pay 50-cents for a parking coupon to park legally. They are willing to splurge hundreds if not thousands to have their houses audited by FSMs but baulk at the ideal of paying a few dollars more for medical insurance for themselves and their loved ones. Such is the foolishness of people affected by materialism that the line between "must-have" and "nice-to-have" are blurred beyond recognition. For those die-hard "CAI" location people, please PM your bank a/c no. so that I can transfer $10 on every 4-D or TOTO day to tap on your "CAI" winning formula. You can pay me 80% of the winnings. I also need "CAI" so maybe you can do a good deed by spreading some wealth to me !

In my honest opinion, I think you will be overpaying if you engage them. For both toilets, typical rates including tempered shower screen door is between $2,900~$3,500 per toilet. Your contractor is fleecing you in the kitchen area. If you are doing masonry work for 2 toilets & kitchen, it should cost no more than $10~$12K depending on tiles used. Therefore, I leave you to guess how much you will be fleeced. PS. Buy a $5K IKEA kitchen system with solid top will still leave you with some cash remaining

The advice given to sunny03 is to make him look again into his existing company's benefits before he decides to jump ship. In Singapore, unless you are a civil servant, nothing is guaranteed even if it is written in your letter of employment. I used to work for a British company. I was never paid AWS despite it being written in my letter of employment. The company's situation was dire then but I lived thru' it for 8 years before the company folded last year. Many of my ex-colleagues were given 2 wks pay per 1 yr served as retrenchment benefit. The Employment Act serves as a guideline for employers. It has no power to enforce all recommendations on employers to follow the guidelines. That is why employees deprived of additional childcare leave or AWS are left to fend for themselves even if they report the company to MOM. Only the CPF Act has power to rein errant employers. My ex-CEO once asked me, why do you (Singapore) have a 13th month pay (AWS) ? There are only 12 months in a year ! AWS is NOT bonus. Many Singaporeans treat the 13th mth pay as bonus and a given. It is not. In most other countries, a bonus is given provided the company has done exceeding well. The bonus is meant to entice employees to keep up productivity and minimise wastage. That is why Taiwanese & HK people are so "bonus" driven in their work. Singaporeans and our "government-invited foreign talent" are the complete opposite. Thanks to the 13mth AWS. Whether you perform or not, you will still get a minimum of the AWS. Singapore should do away with the 13mth pay system. The civil service will be more responsive thereafter.

My 3 children studied in De La Salle. I was an old boy there and enrolment was easy. Heard that it has moved or will be moving to Teck Whye temporarily for the next 2 ~ 3 years because of major renovations. My 4th child will not be enrolling there next year eventhough I get priority because it is all the same....teachers are so-so. All schools now have the same type of NIE teachers. Teach for a few months and then 'disappear' for upgrading. Relief teachers become the norm. Unity & Kranji are good schools too.

If you have a Rainbow vacuum cleaner, you can blow air into the pipe and see whether air is coming out from MBR tap (which is unlikely since you say got water already) ! The plumber should know what to do if he installs the water heater for you. Instant water heaters don't use more electricity than storage type heaters. The water tank in an instant water heater is probably the same size as your coffee cup. The heating element can be rated between 1000W ~ 3000W depending on brand but this doesn't mean that it will suck up that much energy. The internal thermostat regulates it quite well since a small volume of water heats up faster than a large volume of water (storage water heater). If you still intend to use the storage type, think of the energy that is used to heat up the volume of water inside the tank and go unused because you don't need that much water for a bath. I recommend you to use Panasonic brand for instant water heater because they look good esthetically & efficient...not the cheapest though !

If that's the case, Sim Lim Twr will be the most ideal choice to buy cables based on length. Crimping tools have cheap type too ! I bought one cheap one and regretted. Had to pay for an expensive one after that.

You can buy them direct from any Choo Chiang Marketing outlet in Singapore. Many electricians go there to buy stuff for installations. I bought mine from Pioneer North and Rowell Rd outlets. Same price but much cheaper than Sim Lim Twr.

Hon's posting is the reason why I discourage home owners from installing a storage type water heater. It is even more so for your type of concealed piping toilet because HDB has guidelines on where you can drill and where you cannot. If the plumbers are unfamiliar and use screws that are not thick and long enough, crashes like this can happen. Storage water heaters are designed for use in countries with cold winters. Instant heaters don't deliver heated water instantly in cold weather. Back to your question, where does the S shape pipe lead to in your MBR ? I understand that one end is opened in your common toilet but the other end must be connected to either your wash basin tap or bath tap in your MBR . If it is neither, is there a gas pipe leading to your toilet ?

Just went in the HDB website and saw the sketches for flats with concealed piping. The copper pipe should be capped right ? This is for the plumber to tap water and extend the piping to your water heater or additional bath tap.

There are two screws on the side of the rectangular body to adjust on the door closer. I don't have a picture to show you therefore you got to go by trial and error. Use a "minus" sign screw driver and turn one of the screws till you get a SLOW CLOSING action. Once you get the door to swing slower when closing, turn the other screw to achieve complete door close. Your existing door closer may have leaked hydraulic oil causing the fast closing slamming action OR the screw setting has run out of calibration.

Do not be worried about its construction. That's how manufacturers make money by giving you 1/3 orginal material and the remaining 2/3 using composite ! These tiles will be laid like standard homogenous ceramic tiles. The gap width depends on the "kang-hu" of the tile layer. Usually for these sort of marble tiles, the gaps are very small..sometimes unseen because the final waxing/polishing will make it almost invisible. Marble being a porous material will stain if strong liquids with colour are left unremoved. It will 'yellow' eventually but it won't be noticeable unless you buy virgin tiles and place it beside it in 20 years' time ! Cracks can appear if you drop something heavy and with force, otherwise it will take most everyday shocks.

Is your home a resale flat ? There is no reason for a copper pipe to stick out unless someone removed something,eg. storage water heater. Is there water flowing into your MBR toilet at the moment ? Usually the water mains flow from kitchen to common toilet and then to MBR toilet. If there is water flowing already, then this pipe could be for the air-con drainage.

Everything a man does has a cause and effect. Developers using reflective films are not wrong in helping residents to get a cooler temperature within their homes. However, if you ever travel on the roads, you will notice some buildings reflect sunlight rather strongly when compared with others. This can cause temporary blindness if you happen to look spot-on when driving. Similarly, noise and smoke from places of worship are also well intended. They symbolise offerings & prayers to their dieties. However, if you stay next to such places and have a low tolerance for noise and smell, a war will erupt. Same for MRT trains, bus-interchanges, Malay boys on their motor-bikes on the way to weddings and so forth..... Everything that you can think of that generates pollution, the BCA, HDB, LTA, JTC and other government agencies have already a set of guidelines and limits to address complaints. What is comfortable and money-making for one party may be bringing discomfort and financial anxiety to another as in the case of casinos in Singapore. FSMs are paid to do a job just like our traffic wardens. Both bring order to their respective fields, both generate controversy when you are a victim !

Water hammering is the noise generated within a water pipe due to a sudden shutting-off of a water tap. This is caused by the air-trapped upon closure and the water pressure surging forward within the pipe. This is very prevalent in copper and stainless steel pipes because they have narrower diameters as compared with PVC pipes. You can minimise or eliminate the noise by :- 1 ) Reducing your main inlet pressure (lower down water flow-rate) 2) Add a flexi hose or regulator between water faucet and main pipe at your basin. Hope this helps !