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 !

bepgof never criticise anyone. He was just stating a fact that some FSMs do not do comprehensive audits for their clients thus creating unnecessary issues with neighbours or within the family itself. Some forumers jump the gun without reading the intentions of contributors properly and start shooting from the hips. This is exactly what begof is trying to advise people to look at things in totality rather than getting FSMs to generate 'good qi' for themselves only.

There are many threads with answers to your question. 1) You will receive your COV cheque from HDB upon completion of the 2nd appt. Cheque needs to be cleared. So, you need to wait for at least 1.5 to 2 days before physical money can be drawn from your kitty. 2) You better seek a financial bridge for your new flat. The cash proceeds from your existing flat will not come in time since both transactions are done almost at the same period.

If you weren't getting married, I would encourage you to change your work environment to gain more work experience beyond working for a MNC. However, since you are and the SME doesn't sound like a strong company, you better stay put in the MNC. Realise this : 1) Getting married while still working in a MNC has its perks. You get the extended marriage leave entitlements, compassionate leave to attend to your future wife and children along the way, and colleagues support and understanding when family troubles happen. 2) You have worked for 6 years already. Yes, your pay may be incrementing slower than our GST or Stamp Duty but be thankful that it is at least increasing. 3) If your MNC folds, you get to enjoy retrenchment benefits. SMEs may not pay you a cent ! 4) Look beyond your current job's monotony by learning from other depts' task and responsibility. You will be surprised by how much knowledge you still lack. If your superior has an opportunity for you to move sideways, do it. It is better than leaving the company and into the 'fire'.

It is interesting to read about bk888's & umaisarah's experiences. Perhaps to help those who fear the unknown, let's list down some locations for would-be buyers to consider before they buy their resale property. Maybe they can ask the sellers for lower COVs in the process ! I will contribute by listing the following actual cases :- Early 1970s - Blk 102, 30-G, Henderson Crescent - Black Crawling Being seen by my elder brother March 1992 - Blk 260, Jurong East St 24 - 9th Flr - Brother-in-law committed suicide jumping off from common corridor Around 1996 - Blk 815, Jurong West St 81 - Between 10th~12th Flr - Schoolboy committed suicide jumping off from staircase landing Late 2009 - Blk 817, Jurong West St 81 - From 7th Flr home - JC girl jump off from room...still alive when I saw her...reported dead the next day Another case between Blks 720~729 in early 2000 - Indian man threw a child out of flat .... Spirits don't create problems...people do. Therefore , don't be too worried about past events in a house. Practise your religion fervently, do works of charity, keep a positive and open mind. If you believe FSMs can ward off 'evil', then pay them to do it. Best is to get your own religious teachers to do the job. Some people have good antennas to sense and feel such spirits. They need to be guided back to their own world not feared.

I see that your kitchen is very small for an EA. Yes, maybe it is better to hack away the wall. I thought it was like the EAs below :

Friend, Check the dictionary for the meaning of the word " superstition" before your confuse other innocent forumers. This forum is to help give sound advise to people who are ignorant of matters relating to their homes. If is up to them to use the advice.

Stop being superstitious ! Every resale flat / condo in Singapore will eventually be a 'haunted' house judging by the no. of deaths occuring every day in our own homes. Most FSMs will tell people to avoid buying a house if the seller is a Hindu. The belief is that the Hindus bring their deities/spirits into the house. Somehow, FSMs lack the 'power' to get rid of the deities' spirits if they choose to remain in the house ! I have viewed houses with altars built into the storerooms....yes it is a bit eerie. Similarly, for Muslim families, when their love one dies, they do the washing & rites inside the house. Again, FSMs will typically do a 'prayer' to guide the soul of the decease to leave the house. Nothing evil or scary about that. Just a peace of mind ritual. The same thing is done for Christian, Buddhist or Taoist resale homes. When your friend encounters a 'haunted' house, it is his ability to see & feel the 4th dimension. This is a gift or a curse depending on how you see it. It can also be psychological rather than real. FSMs can't do anything about it. Depending on your religious upbringing, it is advisable for you to get your own religious priest or tang-kee to do the house cleansing. FSMs may do more damage to your psychological well-being than good. Think carefully !

Most EAs / EMs are designed with small kitchens. The laundry area is always separated by a door. For EAs, the laundry area is not the most ideal to manipulate the bamboo or aluminium poles for your clothes. You need sometime to get accustomed to the space before it becomes second nature. It is not adviseable to hack the wall. You need to consider the toilet position as well. Get used to the cooking in a small kitchen, have your makan in the dinning and doing your laundry in the laundry area.

If I am selling an EA in Bishan, I will be asking for as much as $100K COV. It really boils down to how much you are willing to part with cold hard cash. If you had struck last Monday's TOTO, $100K COV would be chicken-feet. However, if you are earning a decent salary and making ends meet, a $10K COV is already considered too high. What you must decide for yourself is not to overpay for something that the market is not ready to offer. If the Bishan EA is in a good spot, well kept, $100K COV may be justified.

You can log into HDB's website to check on the last two quarter's COV around the Bishan area to get a feel of how much you will have to fork out. Typically , multiply the HDB statistics by 2. Actual COV will depend on seller and how much money you have to 'throw' away. EAs are premium flats now because their floor area is big as compared with big condos but cost less than half in terms of price. Unless the seller is a desparate seller, be prepared to fork out in excess of $40K for COV.