gothique

Hi people! I've noticed that some people prefer to DIY the painting, but others feel that it was terrible. Let's have a poll to vote. If DIY, we can save a few hundred bucks. But hwe ave to take leave, and some find that the work is too much! If we pay the contractor, he has professional workers who can paint in 3-4 days time and do a good job (hopefully). Which will you choose?

apple, i am hacking off all the wall tiles and plastering over. and will only tile up the cooking area. small area only. but then i am going for open kitchen intergrated with dining room. so thatz why i opted to plaster the kitchen walls so that it will look like part of the dining room. i too, feel that it is not good to overlay. oh yeah. and when we finally hacked the kitchen we realised it was ALREADY overlaid. haha.

i will definitely seal it up! cuz i like cold aircon when i sleep.

Hey there, isn't the payment terms inside the agreement? did you ask around for friend's recommendations? sometimes i think that is better cuz it shows that previous customer got positive experience. but anyway it's already past, hope you can enjoy your new home.

hi redbottle he got warranty but i cannot rem how many years. y dun u call him n ask? he's a good contractor. cheers!

hi all my reno in progress... not done yet but based on experience so far, i will also definitely recommend patrick to others.

hi people I got my fujioh at U-Home in AMK. they gave me quite a good price... but not so nice to reveal it here. look for florence... all the best!

hi Mace good for u ah.. mine... barely 10% done. the hacking of windows and RC hanger cannot continue because the PE haven't done his calculations yet!! OMG!! this weekend rushing to get sanitaryware as Patrick is asking us to hurry up and buy them. Have shortlisted 1. Poh Joo 2. Sim Siang Choon 3. Hoe Kee 4. Nan Wah Which do you guys recommend? TIA!

i think that humans are selfish by nature. so naturally, I love myself more. but to love someone more, it takes effort and commitment. so i would say, i choose to love my spouse more than myself. and put him first, think of him rather than myself. and since love is unconditional, try not to expect the same in return (if i were to do that, then it's not love already, it's called bater trade). but that's in theory lah. in practical, i have to keep reminding myself, "HELLO! Can you stop thinking of urself and show some love for your poor hubby?"

i think the job market is moving quite well now. so i'll go for 15 - 20% increment. of course, more is better, but scared that must do a lot of OT in new job. before i go for interview, will try to ask around see if got anyone inside the company who can enlighten me. and lastly, i will pray to God for direction and confirmation if that's really the job for me. So far i have been very blessed in terms of work-life balance (some more got a bit of time to surf renotalk, haha)

hi people I went down to my place again last night, the workers forgot to switch off the light in MBR bathroom. Other than that, it's fine! Quiet neat in their hacking... Has anyone here hacked walls and changed windows? I understand that both require a PE (Professional Engineer) or QP (Qualified Person) to do safety calculation. Here I am charged seperately for wall hacking and for windows (cuz it's below 90cm height from floor). I heard from others that actually one PE will do. Wonder why Ho Bee has 2 seperate charges for the PE? Anyone here can enlighten me? Thanks....!

hello people! yesterday i went down to my house. it has started finally! I really felt very happy when i saw the hacking being done. my kitchen cabinets were removed for the hacking of the wall... it will be replaced back again. i felt that it was very carefully done. though i have not seen ah keong, i feel that his work is very meticulous and careful... good so far lor...

hi guys actually i feel that patrick belongs to the "reasonable" range cuz i have seen cheaper quotes. but i chose him cuz i really felt that he is someone i can work with and trust. so i will still try to ask for more discount... but if he dun give, it's ok lah. I will still take him actually hubby even said that if he is happy with patrick's work, he will give him more than the agreed price. and if after 1 year, no problems we will give him Hamper for the following CNY! ahahahahhaha

hi apple yeah i know about the rounding down. but i thought usually they give 10% discount, not round down. anyway i guess what you say also makes sense. that he will deliver what he promised and more. well... with so many positive comments i really feel very reassured that i am in good hands! and that i made the right choice!! thanks guys... im going down to check on my place tonight! i think ah keong is going to modify some of my existing carpentry and tmr we going to hack. really can't wait....

sorry ah.. i mixed up ur identities ah! Wah... i din know patrick is so chin chai leh... very hard to find contractor so trusting of his customers nowadays... i guess maybe it's because nobody ever brought him to casetrust before.. so he doesn't care much about the legalities? i am impressed by his trust in me though HAHHAHA he not scared that i dun pay him meh? aiyah... i thought at least they will come up with a final quotation and have a clause "I accept the above quotation" or something like that. then i can bargain a bit before i sign it. now he so trusting, make me feel very pai say to bargain. did u guys ask for more discount? it's not that i feel his price is unreasonable. but it's just that i on tight budget mah. haha.

Hi Mace ???! u pay them when u feel like it??!!! AHHHHH okie.... what if i dun feel like paying them? hahahhahah then no need to pay is it? i din know they are so nice! most contractors will at least ask for deposit lor. anyway... then did u guys SIGN anything before he started? No contract or whatever? what if i want to bargain? then how u bring it up? thanks!

hello guys I also need some help here... I'm starting the reno with Ho Bee this week. HDB permit has been applied and posted on my door. But... I haven't signed anything or paid anything to Ho Bee yet. Neither do I have sort of a time table or planning or anything... I think we are starting the hacking this week. Is that the way Ho Bee works? No need to sign contract and all that? *blur*

hi girls! (btw i notice only girls posting here... all the men KEEP QUIET hor) i think we keep talking about the loose woman... but let's also focus on the men... i think it's very important that our hubby must recognise that a particular type of female can be very deadly and impossible to resist when it's too late, so must avoid at the first instance... for me i did notice that when got this type of girl try to get close to my hubby, he will automatically try to shun away from her... he told me personally that he will feel scared of her. e.g. in a group with this girl... then if all the girls want to go toilet, left only the flirty girl and the men, he will also say he want to go toilet to aviod being with her in a situation where I cannot see what is going on... and if there is a time when no choice, he is alone with her for a while, that night he will immediately tell me what happened. to avoid someone else telling me "hey, i saw ur hubby and XXX together... etc" and for all outings, he will always ask "can my wife come along?" (until i am sick of going to those outing then I volunteer not to go cuz i trust him) so i am very grateful to have such an "alert" hubby. and likewise... if there is an instance where i will be alone with another guy, i definitely tell my hubby in advance. just simple thing like, hey i am meeting my old fren for dinner tonight and it's a guy. we are going to xxx and i will be back at xx pm. so i guess the idea is to promote trust and try to minimise situation where suspicions can be aroused....

Cornetto, that is a really good and insightful article! Personally for me and Hubby there is nothign private. we share our financial information 100% as we trust each other with our very lives. and i think that should be the way...

this happened to one of my friends when she was on maternity leave. she found another job and is currently sueing her ex employer. if it's me... i think i will also complain to MOM and see what action I can take! so unfair lor

hi hi my house too! cuz mine is a corner unit and everytime i walk past the neighbours, i got to pass through potted plants and cloths hanging out to dry.. but what to do, it's their habit i guess cuz no one lived in the corner unit for a long time... anyway... my reno is finally starting next week. I can't believe i took so long to find contractor and finalise everything... super picky personality, me and SO. haha. so crystal, how will u handle, will u ask them to put the plants away?

AHHH Reiko that sounds bad. I'm getting patrick to change all my windows leh. were urs done by patrick?

yeah portable air con is the only way out... but it's not so strong as the normal aircon... unless u take the window casement type which already mentioned that its ugly. anyway my resale flat didn't come with aircon. so i have to install... it's going to be daikin inverter sys 4... but even with that. i scared that living room air con will be not strong. i can't aircon the dining room liao cuz it's only sys 4. haiz.

hello all my 2 bathrooms also cost around 7k. but i think for hacking and tiling, plus shower screen and various sanitaryware... it is entirely possible to spend this amount and considered reasonable already... reno is a major cash outflow... but like what the rest say... better do it now... if not will regret! ahahahah (that became the excuse for every single add-on for my reno)

hi Yellow and Wai Leong Wai Leong, I'm sorry to say you're wrong.. cuz I had the similar problem in my flat. For old resale flats without upgraded electricity ie 30amp, you can only have ONE compressor regardless of whether u got space to store it or not (usually dun have space to store on the ledge outside for old flats). So for Yellow, if your situation is the same as mine, the ONLY way to air con the living room is to buy a new System 4 unit to replace your entire old air con system. Not because of the air con technology problem. But due to HDB rules! ARRRGUH! Hubby and I spent a lot of time calling and asking. So thatz why i can share this with you. A quick way to check, just look at the flats in your block and surrounding blocks. Anyone got two compressors? If not, it's an added proof that you can't add 2 compressors ah... hahah anyway that's what i did. Hope it helps!