purecat

wow very pretty ! looking forward to see your completed unit ! I think Causeway has a shop that sell very interesting lamps , clocks that may matches your house but not sure if that is victoria theme though...

016 Our Existing 4 Room Flat in JE More photos : Kitchen Master Bedroom Daughter's Bedroom Ermm actually i have a study room photo but didnt have it in this laptop. Basically that is a room with a normal built in wardrobe + study table that is " directly attached" below the windows . Anyway it is currently a room with many boxes of stuff that I have packed for the shift. Maybe can take a picture of this " messy " room later.

016 Our Existing 4 Room Flat in JE We are going to miss our current flat. It is very squarish as well and looks big though only 103 sq m. On day of open house, there were alot of interested parties ( majority PR ). However the lift upgrading costs will not be billed until completion. Hence it is likely whoever who buy our flat will have to pay these fees. That will get the PRs worried because it will be very expensive. Tip : To check for the estimated billing date of Lift Upgrade, click here. If the block you like isnt listed here, it is expected that within 3 months you wont get a bill. http://www.hdb.gov.sg/fi10/fi10328p.nsf/w/...PP?OpenDocument There were 3 firm offers and we went for the 3rd which is closest to our original intended selling price ( diff $1k ) Two more family still come by after we " sold " the unit. Had I know our area is so popular, maybe I would have asked for $50k COV which is the current offer if you source my area now . ( Basis the phamplet ads lately ) I understand from my agent that JW market quite a few stretch of blocks are no longer eligible for PRs . Hence that will further jerk up the price of JE . Living Room + Altar & Dining Room View Living Room ( Built in Shoe Cabinet ) & Tiny " Display Cabinet " dividing the Living and the bedrooms Living Room ( View standing from Altar area ). We will be bringing over our Zen Sofa but adding another two seater. Dining Area ( Gymsum Board to patch up the " hole " next to the wall to become a display section ) Jialet wonder where to put our crystals displays since we dont have this sort of " built in display walls in upcoming flat ?

015 Brand Loyalty Sharing Photos of our Loyal "Servant" . Both 12 yrs old this year and still going strong ! Fisher & Paykel Fridge that we bought in 1998 Hitachi Washing Machine - Manual "Twisting" Buttons Kind that we bought in 1998 These days electrical items dont last. Then again maybe the ones that last are brands that are out of business ? I recall there is a brand NEC and while I was young, we have a TV in that brand that never broke down but we at the end changes it for something newer. Is there still NEC brand around ? And I recall vaguely the video recorder then was Akai ! Also not around now ? While in Woodlands flat we bought a very huge 52inch TV ( if didnt remember wrongly ) , cost around $5000 +then. But that broke down within the 6 yrs at least twice or more so after we shifted to JE, we went for Hitachi ( Forget the size but definitely smaller) but also broke down within like 4 yrs or so. Anyway the latest member is a Sony Bravia only 2 yrs old thereabout. Chances is we will still get a Sony ( targeting 40inch ) as parents in law's Sony lasted about 10 yrs ?? The existing living room Flat Screen we will shift to bedroom. Aircon wise we are supporting Sanyo. The strange phenomenen is we noticed majority of our relatives including parents, we are loyal supporters for Sanyo. Our Woodlands flat aircon at 6 yrs ( at time of sale ) was still very cold. Recalled we only did one chemical wash and normal maintenance ( on our own ). Existing Flat also coming to 6 yrs this yr, also the same ( just one external service recently which was gas top up ) The feedback from most of the aircon suppliers was a 5 yrs lifespan for an aircon. So we are consider very lucky ! Cant imagine spending so much that only last 5 yrs before you see alot of breaking down problems. Many years back I worked for Electric City ( finance dept ) which was sold to Harvey Norman, hence I am sharing this tip from what I heard from the salesmen back then. Most aircon are about the same, the most reliable (老字号)basis feedback are always : Daikin, Carrier , Sanyo and last time there was a brand call Mc Quay ( is this still around? ) And the one that the salesman would tell the customers are very good and popular ( though may not be the truth ) is the one that provide the most commission. Surveying recent market, I would think the best payers on Commission is currently Toshiba and Mitsubishi. ( Anyone in this line to firm this myth ? ) Mitsubishi's Marketing Strategy is really agressive but are they realli good ? ( only time will tell ?) While it is true that inverters help conserve energy, we are still getting Non-inverter aircon. This is relying on belief that we will only use 2 bedroom out of the System 3 most of the time ( and upon at night ). Hence we feel that a non-inverter should work ok. Current utilities bill for 4room is around $ 150 to $170. And our bedrooms are about the same size when compared to upcoming 5 room. So will validate this a few months after shifting in. This matches what Allan told us as well. If you dont switch on ALL units of the aircon, is alright to have a non-inverter. Price is about $1200+ difference. Imagine if 5 yrs lifespan, then avg savings is about $20 ( $ 1200/ (12X5)). I am thinking can we actually save $20/ mth of utilities by switching to inverter ? Probably not since we will ON aircon at a low temp ( unlikely the recommended 25 degree) Hence it will still be a Sanyo. And fingers crossed it can last upto 10yrs maybe ? Check out this website also for the no. of green ticks & expected savings, remember to divide by the no. of system unit . http://els.nea.gov.sg/mels/aircon.asp

oh realli ah, my next door neigbour should be alright.. greeted me when we bump into him twice.. is really the "ridiculous" neighbour downstairs ... and the " cleaniless" of the neighbour upstairs ( they actually have a pail outside their main door ) Latest update from Allan when I met him last saturday. The neighbour downstairs came into our flat twice again in week 3 ! Once when Allan was not around and the time when Allan was around, that neighbour is holding a camera ! Now the complaint is on wet cement without cover could possibly result in wet ceiling for this neighbour on his dining room . I am thinking what the heck... HDB ceiling is that bad ah ??? or the Cement is that wet ? I really think this guy is trying to convinced Allan to do free painting for his ceiling ! Previously Allan only agreed to do it FOC for a bit of the kitchen ceiling and now Dining room ! just ridiculous. Kaoz... I am really mad to hear about this. The more maddening part is how can he come into the flat without the owner's presence !Workers initially thought he is the owner hence dare not stop him ! Anyway I already told Allan to tell his contractors to call him ( and then me ) if this guy comes again, I will make a police report ! In fact I visited the police station while updating IC to check if neighbours can enter premises without owner's permission . Police say if the same neighbour is giving me problem constantly, they can help pay a visit to talk to this neighbour. So happy to hear this ! Yes on Ikea Curtain Rods, I am asking Allan to fix it. Did remind him to insert in Quote as FOC... but he didnt do it... Hope he wont last min charges me !

014 Some of the Purchased items From Ikea, we bought our Curtain Rods , Shower Curtain Rod & a table lamp for daughter's room. There were alot more other purchases from Ikea but didnt take pictures for those . Still we will have to visit Ikea again. There are certain things we wanted to buy but really need to space out due to cashflow planning reasons.

014 Some of the Purchased items From Sim Siang Choon, we bought SIM in house brand Carysil 1B1D Sink. Originally I would prefer Sahara ( Sand) colour as it is the closest match to my solid surface and kitchen cabinet but unfortunately it is out of stock. No choice got to get grey (as white is too prone to dirt and grime that may be difficult to remove over heavy use ). And black will be too dark ? We delibrate a long time on the kitchen tap. Wah the pricings are kinda crazy and big range... Ranging from $26+ to $200 + So we chose something at about $78

014 Some of the Purchased items From Lion City Co ( this is the 3rd visit since our 3rd flat ) which we highly recommend, their prices are very competitive and can give good discounts if you can bargain well. More important, their recommended Ellane fan is currently 12 yrs old and same for the Hitachi Top Load Washing Machine is also 12 yrs old now. Last two hoods, we got those flat kind and they were Electrolux then. I wanted Chimney this time round but Electrolux Chimney is too ex and will need about $1000+, so going for something really identical in design. Brand : Ellane. The one we are buying looks like below , though the model no. is a newer one different to the model no. seen on the picture. First flat we used " steel kind " of Cooker Hob ( forgot the brand ) but maintenace is horrible if you are a heavy cook ( imagine the " scratches" over wear and tear ). Hence 2nd flat onwards, we are sticking to Tempered Glass Surface ( current flat is Cornell ) This time we are getting Electrolux Cooker Hob. It is similar to the picture below , except it will have " 3 fire" ( < erm what is this call ) Heard from some that 3 fire is more auspicious. Means 升/胜/生活 rise and winning in life. 4 fire is not auspicious as it would means Sei Fou ( in cantonese means 死火), means deadfire, problems ? Still it is for practical reasons that I need 3 fire lah. One for a big wok, one for a soup pot and the other for a smaller pot . That means I normally on 3 pots/wok at the same time to speed up my cooking.

014 Some of the Purchased items From Nova Furnishing, we bought a recliner full cow hide leather sofa to add on to our existing Zen Sofa which we will be bringing over. (ok not very Zen but we really like the sofa and we cant bear to part with our expensive Zen sofa we paid for a few years back. ) The colour from the photo is abit different due to the yellow lighting. Actual should be more walnut /brown in colour. We also bought a new side table to match the " Zen " concept.

014 Some of the Purchased items From Avanni, we bought a new dining table, a small TV console and my daughter's bedframe

Photos of toilets Btw, we don't intend to do a shower screen unlike our current flat. It is too much of a hassle to clean the glass. And lack of cleaning means you will need to tolerate with " water stains" that wont go away even if you scrub hard. So like my 1st woodlands 4room, we decided to go for shower curtain instead. I bought quite a nice one ( cost me like $ 36 + ) to match with the master bedroom colours. Actually originally, I wanted blue mosiac for master bedroom, while husband wanted black. Thought we eventually agree with blue... but maybe didnt communicate properly with Alan, ended up master bedroom become " black mosiac ". Still it ended ok since we like both tiles...and coincidently.. the "black" shower curtain ( stripes ) quite matches the colour theme. The blue isnt nice ( so lucky dont have to buy blue ) Not forgetting the acrylic liquid soap dispenser, toothbrush holder, soap holder , etc that i bought ( total spent like $100+ for two toilets and the kitchen liquid detergent dispenser) to match the theme.... but didnt take pictures for this, will just wait for house to complete then display these items to show to all of you.

013 Renovation Week 3 - 12th to 18th Apr I did check out the renovation on early part of week 3 but as relying on lights outside the house, didnt take pictures then. Progress appear to be slower than expected. Was told that 10 days was all that was required ? Then again, I made complaints and they need to remedy the hollow tiles. Husband saw 5 of them during one of the afternoon teabreak visit? Maybe after complaint , they were more careful, hence need more time ? ( self consoling ) Tiling Progress basis Sat Visit Completed: Master BedRoom Toilet, Common Toilet, Kitchen Wall + Floor Await Skirting : Master BedRoom & Dining Room Not yet started : Living Room + Two Common Bedrooms. We met up with Allan to discuss on what to do with the TV area. We were considering a gymsum board with pigeon holes to cover the ugly OpenSys thingy. Anyway the end decision is we will relocate the position, hence do away need to built a " fake " wall . We also decided to install cornices ( though i understand this is no longer in trend ) but I am too used to concealed wiring on the ceiling... it is quite difficult for me to accept seeing the trunking . False ceiling will be ideal.. but unless I strike a big time 4D eh. Speaking of 4D,... hee hee quite lucky so far... genna a few times ibet ( flat unit no. & block no.) , still waiting for a big one of the exact no. to recover part of the reno investment leh.....( pray hard ....) Allan told us that in week 4 it will be plastering of whole house + windows installation + balance tiles to complete. Dining Room Flooring Living Room Flooring - alot of " rubbish " Kitchen completed

so long as they will fix the problem, i am not so worried. yah thats what i try to do last thurs and friday... but caught up in the bad traffic jam... end up didnt get to see my flat until sat & sun.

Hi Reuben82 Congrats on getting your ideal house ! Your house is very square (ideal shape ) and original ( save need to hack stuff), hence best for full reno ! I must say... the toilet sure looks "scary", wonder if they ever washes it ? But all will be gone with a full new look after your reno. Happy ID hunting !

maybe complaint to town council ?... dilema, complaint scared affect relationship... dont complaint... quite a sight to tolerate everyday isnt it ?

Cam Whoring Plastic corners for plastering of walls later. Is this call shovel ? Tool for the sand & cement. Tiles cutter ? The lightings were just removed. Haiz previously can still visit at night to check on the progress, now cant. Water storage for tiling / cleaning purposes.

Renovation Week 2 Continues more photos Master bedroom toilet . Mosaic tiles were up. Kitchen wall tiles almost completed. Balcony Wall are plastered. These will be spray with sediment flakes paint.

Renovation Week 2 Continues Photos taken on 10 Apr Lintel ( basically the portion above the original door are now sealed ) completed, Door frame were up. So the blue blue thingy earlier is for holding the lintel. More sand on the common bedrooms, tiling for floor will be next week. To show the new height of the water proofing for the toilet side walls. Master BedRoom Floors barely started.

Hi Strawberry Congrats on finding your house ! I like your house layout, squarish and not missing any important corners. So how long is the queue now ? Ours was like 4 mths ( from exercise option to 2nd appointment ) The wait may be long but it also give you umple time to plan like you are doing now. When eventually you get your keys... you can start your reno immediately. Happy Planning !

Nice colours for kitchen !

Mine target 12th April, Husband want to shift the Buddha in on 15th . Though officially we will shift in on 21st April. Thats true if you already have an idea of what you want, then save extras from not using an ID, throw into furniture more worth it. Yah there are a few near our market. Not harm asking them to quote. The challenge is always the timeline. Technically 6 weeks should be enough. Hacking 3 days Tiling approx. 7 to 10 days. Some of these can be done concurrently : Plastering, piping & toilet fittings installation, cabinets & wardrobe ( abt a week to fabricate ) , rewiring, painting, installing wardrobe & cabinets ( about 3 days ), windows & grilles installation, aircon installation ( 2days ) All you need is a good main con who can supervise a few sub con in at the same time. Allan told me after tiling, his men will be up to measure cabinets + rewiring n piping at the same time. If everything is per scheduled, tiling should complete by end of next week. See how it goes. so when you intend to end reno and shift in ?

reading your story, i think both of you are just FATED to get this flat . Congrats ! and happy ID shopping !

near our area actually have one ID call decormark ( a shop near the MRT - next to the kopitiam ). The thing is... the quote came up exceeding my budget.. then the funny thing is when i tell him i shortlisted another because of the pricing. He say he can also give me contractor pricing ??! maybe really no biz There are a few other contractors ( shops near market ) but i didnt try out. actually too many quotes also quite a headache. The other is Meng Design ( at Jurong West ). They have very very nice brochure ( it is one booklet almost 1/2cm thick ) You go try lah... take the brochure, get the idea also not bad heehee... Think they are around for very long already but price is also above budget then next to consider will be tradehub, there are quite a few reputable ones there. Good or not you can check out the RT forum for the reviews ( some of them were mentioned ) Suggest shop around for IDs , some design very nice layouts ( they will give u free ), some dont give u... but u can remember the idea roughly. Then see which quote meets your budget then decide whether u stick to ID or contractor . actually we dont really just rely on recommendations... they are good ones who will sometimes get bad reviews. It really depend on who the ID hire for as contractors. ( for all you know some famous IDs may get the same contractors ) so end of the day is which ID is responsive to your " complaints " or " demands " Hence whether it is ID or contractor for your choice, maybe sure you have good frequency , can communicate and they can understand your needs. That should be the priority and not just because alot say they are good Hope this helps. We chosen Primework because Allan can answer very technical questions we asked and his main customers are ID and they are not exactly a contractor but a builder. So they normally bid for govt or big projects . In that sense, i will think they are more stable financially. Also he has a regular team of workers / subcontractors that follow him for all projects so I think there is better quality control ( no good can easily switch and change ) Most importantly because he is consider the "main con ", he can coordinate all the different work ( some can come in same time - work in diff room ), hence we expect shorter time since we have a tight deadline to meet . Most IDs told us they need at least two months. ( as they will probably need to coordinate a few sub cons who enter flat separately hence dragging whole process)

Renovation Week 2 - continued 8 Apr 2010 Allan replied email confirming change of one tiler ie the one for the ugly workmanship in common toilet. ( presume the one for master bedroom will stay) He also advise that the grout lines for the wall tiles and floor tiles may not align as the wall tiles n floor tiles dimensions are different. ( ok we understand , didnt even think about this.) Didnt visit my new flat. giving Allan a breather... machiam later avoid my calls since i continuously call him everyday... add things, change things, complaint haha.... 9 Apr 2010 This evening visited my flat after work but cannot enter. For some reason, only manage to open the number lock but the main door is too tight until I tot is locked ... Thought my key has problem or my contractor change the door lock ???!! . Haiz so no pictures to share here. Husband check out the flat again after his shower. Actually the main door isnt lock... just that there were some cardboard " protecting the door " that make it so tight! ( as if locked ) Anyway they remove the lights already... so if want to check on flat in future, we have to either go in the day or only on weekends.. haiz haiz. But husband vaguely with the lights from outside the window , can tell that part of the kitchen walls are done. and the hollow tiles in the common toilet are replaced. Tomorrow will check them out and have a look myself . So await photos from my olympus cam either sat or sun.

the morale of that complaint story is i probably have fussy (yim jim) neighbours upstairs and downstairs .... dangerous. Interesting thing is my immediate neighbour upstairs is also renovating... and the opposite unit to that unit has a pail of water outside the house. we are not certain if they are upset about the renovation works or what ? As we need to come down by lift and everytime we pass by that unit, the stairs are always wet ( in puddles kind ) so must always remind my daughter to be careful when she walk down. And on the ugly workmanship, we hope that problem will go away with the tiler being replaced. Btw you mean now u in St32 eh ? You know we have nice food stalls at our hawker right... Nice bah Ku Teh, fish soup, porridge , chicken rice, you mian. And not forgetting Zu Lin Coffee shop. Remember to check these out if you havent. My most favourite is still the fish soup selling between 10 to 2pm only. And long Qs on sunday ! Next time i got to walk further since we shifted to near the polyclinic area.