El Nino_Al Nito

read Tulips' blog before...really liked her marble floor but 11k sia... layout is similar i guess just that hers is 5 room w/ balcony whereas mine is not. can say near north point la...abt 7-8 mins walk? closer to chong pang actually...

better late then never laaa...lucky u started it.. ur blog is an informative source for Henry's telephone directory and work of art.. think without it and RT he might not be so well known...haha

Contractor Selection Phase This is a long one... Right after my 1st appt in Dec 09, I used the time in between 2nd appt to get quotations for our planned overhaul. After reading up experiences and feedbacks from fellow RenoTalkers, nominated 4 contractors and one ID to revert to me. Jason from U&B Reno - Prompt with his first email reply. Told me to call him coz not clear on some of my requirements. - When called him he abit forgot who I was. Remembered me after I cracked a joke. Said he will quote. - Never heard from him since. - Verdict: Nice chap to talk with but he’s probably bugged down by many projects. Strike one. Mr Yeak from Basic Image - Also very prompt. This time I decide not to email. Sms him if could meet up and discuss. He said on lah. - Had a good half hour session discussing our requirements. Half hour is all it took coz I had prepared a spreadsheet of things to do. All he have to do is fill in the numbers. Haha. - He commented very straightforward. Also near his office. And reno is only in late March. He still available. - Gave advises as well on some of my requirements whether can do or not. Got cost effective alternatives or not. - Verdict: Ho sei la…Plus points on the advises given, promptness and good communications exchanged. Henry from ID Note - Read up all about him from forummers in the ‘Henner Club’ -> still unofficial ah guys? - Sms him if could meet up and discuss. He did not revert at all. - Decided to drop by his shop the next day. He was not around so too bad for us. - Found that he gave me a miss call when I got home. Called him back and told him I was at his shop earlier. Apparently missed him by 10mins. - Somehow he knew my full name even though I had never disclosed to him prior to this. Freaky. - He told me to email him my requirements and he will revert next week. - Emailed him. No news since. Last spotted flying kite at open field along Woodlands Ave 5. - Verdict: Freaky but nice uncle to chat with. Not sure why ask me to email but never revert. Strike two. Henry from Impress21 Design and Build - No one open fan club for him? Hah…Nonetheless, Henry’s works on several of the forummers here made me shortlist him too. Sms him my intention to meet up and discuss. - He was prompt and honest in his reply. Said he was busy and will revert to me the end of the following week. I told him lets see if you will remember. - Surprisingly he did. Didn’t remind him. End of following week he sms me that he is available to meet up and discuss. - Our meeting was a brief one. He seemed to be rushing for another job. Also fully understood our requirements. Didn’t have much inputs and advises from him as compared to Mr Yeak. - Said he will revert within few days. Through enough he kept his words. - Verdict:Very very prompt and kept to his words. So far so good. Hope quotation is good too! ID from Ideal House ID -Thot whats the fuss all about with this Interior Design Company, so dropped them an enquiry on their web - An ID reverted within days via email. Echanged some info before forwarding him my floor plan and requiremenst - Reverted after a week or so. Very surprisingly, the cheapest quote thus far! Hence my shock whether ID now cut cost become cheaper than contractors? - Looked closely at his quote. Quite a number of gaps and lobangs missing from my requirements. Oh-oh I thought. I reminded him got missing items. He said he will check and revert. - Came back a week later with rectifications to his initial quote. Now quotation bumped up to slightly more than Mr Yeak’s and Henry’s. Plus his materials were kinda basic. - Verdict: Reasonably prompt but the gaps he left in the quotation kinda make me wonder what other hidden costs will there be in future? Strike three. Spent two more weeks mulling over Mr Yeak’s and Henry Impress21’s quotations. Along the way, I probed them for what materials they be using for this and that. This allows me to shape up my requirements to fit within my budget. Not much diff between them although Mr Yeak was cheaper by 3k. Henry sensed my deliberation. He dangled a carrot in front of me. Discount $1k but valid if I sign within 2 weeks from his offer. I said ok, let me think deeper. Discussed with my wife. She’s comfortable with Mr Yeak. I felt this was important too, how we bond and communicate with the contractor. Plus, I think Mr Yeak’s ad hoc costs are much cheaper than Henry in case I wanna do add-ons for example. End up confirming with Mr Yeak just before CNY. He was delighted to get an early ang bao. Haha. He knows my agenda. Handover before World Cup 2010!!!

hah...thanks simon. been itching to start but not much to show or say back then.

ala carte vendors? then u shd contact (or shd i say consult) ossify. im sure he can help yah. check out his t-blog if u have not. oven with digital panel? if u keen on those, do get additional warranty and ensure that it covers the digital panel. guess u dun need one with cleaning functions? im taking some of ur previous advise and going for a pyrolytic oven. hehe. also because the functions i want are within this types. think urs would be harder to decide since got more variety to choose from. Lol.

Thanks dude. what resizing spec to use on here ah? i chose 640x480 (msg boards) like still smallish leh... Nope. No hacking of walls. None. Zero. Zilch. Kosong. Otherwise i kena by HDB...

hello...congrats on getting keys this week! me settled 2nd appt in feb but only getting keys next week. planned for a contractor or ID? would be ideal to start works once you get the keys. oh yah, me also back and forth on the oven choices...Lol currently shortlisted to brandt or ariston. dun seem to have much oven experts here in RT as compared to sgbrides.

Hiya graceakaclouds! or is it grace or clouds for short? haha Yeah, recalled u from the oven and hob thread...fancy us starting t-blogs on same day. not yet...im holding out until the first piece of tile has been hacked then i go buy...Lol. with the IT show next weekend, not that far off either...hope got bargains there..

Been living in a rented MBR in woodlands for the past half year. Been living nomadically in other rented places for the past 3 years. Sums up to 5 different units in 3 years for me and my wife. Glad all this will come to a stop soon. Completed the 2nd appointment in Feb just before CNY. Since sellers request for extension of 1 month, will only get keys in 2 weeks time. Yippee kaye yay! Wife has been counting down days everyday since the 2nd appt. Lol. My poor sweetheart.

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Unit's Current Conditions Not much on this. Using pics from the valuation report. Here you go. Resale Kitchen Resale MBR Resale Living Area Resale Common Room

thats fast! thanks for the welcome guys. hah...

The Floorplan Hope this upload comes out right. Not much to brief or describe. Squarish, rectangular lay out. Easy on the eyes. Pretty straightforward. Cons Lil problem. For me, at least. Its a pre-fab unit. That means cant hack walls. Nothing fancy. Any works must be within the HDB book. There goes my open concept kitchen. Should have enquired before signing OTP. Oh well, on the bright side, i will save costs on this area. Secondly, no gahment gas pipes laid in this vicinity. Gonna be stuck with LPG gas cylinders. Have to waste one cabinet space just for this barrel. On the bright side, not much since im doing up light box so with gas pipes would have had that covered. Pros Massive MBR toilet. Me likes! Longish kitchen. Sweet! Windows in the store room. Just what i need. A personal room for my cat(s). Too bad kinda small though. Near in-laws. Had it not be down to their persuasive skills, i'd probably end up in the west by now. Near markets, schools and MRT. Though i hate that the nearest expressway is like 8 minutes away. Oh well. Cant have it all in life. Hehe.

Wow...finally gotten my fingers to key in my first thread in this T-Blog section! Been itching to do one since Jan but waited for an apt moment and an auspicious date (to me at least). Lol. Looks good. Feels good. Is good! This is it then. My journey begins!

yup...think abt 24yrs old my 'new, old' flat... anyway, if you cant decide on brands,maybe some stats will help u along... try this if you have not -> http://els.nea.gov.sg/mels/aircon.asp good luck!

me too...but its good if have neutral feedback on experiences with such lesser known vendors... I had enquired on Pana CS-S24JKZ single split for my hall. HT price abt 1.9k inc removal of old a/c and 1/2" insulation etc GC price abt 1.8k plus $100 for removal and i think some lesser specs insulation which upon top up etc will be higher than HT i guess... take note that diff GC outlets will quote you diff pricing...wonder where the extras go to? Lol... Also enquired on toshiba and mitsubishi electric for comparisons sake...mitsu more ex by $200 or so, toshiba is abt $100 diff in range from the pana model i asked... i'd prefer to have more quotes other than HT and GC tho... alright, no harm checking the price range then... forcesguy, can help me check from your lobang what's the price for Pana CS-S24JKZ single split and Mitsubishi MSY-GE18VA? and what type of insulation, piping etc included? thanks man...

ai sey...thanks ah! with the pics some more, now i understooded liao...

hi forcesguy, likewise, will this group buy be from GC or Hong Tar? im very keen on a high powered single split unit...

you know whats coming.....qns on ur toilets lor! hehe, so lovely... is it a T5 tube u use for the lighting effect? this is considered as one lighting point charge right? how to access if one day need to replace? thanks! thanks! YNWA, El Nino

aha! thanks for the tips...thats what i thought too... i think worse case scenario i get speaker stands? but kinda spoil it aesthetics wise i feel... another thing to check, if you know...since the cables are laid within the false ceiling, can i just unplug the speakers and swap the position? i.e. TV from wall A to B, so front goes to back and vice versa. will sound still come out right where its suppose to after the repositioning? my wife likes to move things around now and then la...so hoping i can just swap around the satelites when this happens...

haha...theres only one torres la...me el nino! sweet...i guess for a viewing distance of abt 3.5m, procinema 600 should suffice for me then. check with you, would it be weird if i put up both front speakers near the ceiling like your rear speakers? i.e. so that all 4 satelites kinda pointing downwards towards your seating position... im not having feature wall so feel if placed on low console, sound from the front like kinda subdued?

hi, nice entertainment setup... im thinking of getting similar or thereabouts... how much did it cost you from KEC? did you use the default speaker cables or bought elsewhere? YNWA, El Nino

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hah...called summer trading just now...ms kee not ard so some other lady quoted me.. abt 2.2k for the combo i want..like only less $100 from rinnai's webpage..oh well, citygas price so far still best to me...weird though...Lol! and the search continues.....

hehe...thanks for the info! was it a better price then elsewhere?