neubie

grohe has this mixer tap that is cool to touch....

shd have such 24-hour (even 7-day timer) in 15A roundpin plug-type...

seems logical, as i have heard many pple saying it's not good to unplug the power supply to the condenser unit as it will shorten the life of the compressor for the reasons stated above... maybe i will install one 24-hour timer to cut the supply of the condenser before i leave the home and turn on 3 hours before i come back home.... question is, SG weather is not tat cool, so what exactly is their required temperature to keep the refrigerant suitable for anytime use?

i tink even for ground floor units, COV is still at least 20k....

if the pipings are done properly first time, dun need changing at all...if the aircons need replacement, just change the condenser + FCU, no need rerun all the piping, just ensure the installers perform pressure testing on the pipings after installation, before handing over to u... fyi, my non-inverter R22 MHI aircon piping is reused for my toshiba inverter and runs fine, even though installers recommending using the thicker piping (higher gas pressure for inverters). so can save on the copper piping. haaaa, i'm digressing too much.... back to topic

Warzone Cornices and marble flooring hacked on both bedrooms Targetted to clean out the unit by tomorrow....

you got PM...

aircon spoil is replaced aircon, nothing to do with piping if they are installed well in the first place. they are independent cases.

maybe with the gahment introduced cooling measures, he might be able to get leh... ;p

thanks.....yupz, hacking is done and completed within one day, eve of HRP, now they are clearing the debris....

floating design is nice, provides a great nest for cobwebs, lizards and roaches... but it is really a storage for air...

Tiles

dun tink the heater is designed to heat up condensation on the coil, if you are referring to the indoor FCU. what has been said is the heater is built into the outdoor condenser unit, not the indoor FCU....

what about using those WM with simi Ag+ silver ion thing that discharges odor/bacteria-inhibiting capabilities? i saw panasonic's claim to this but unsure if they really work anot...

paisay i dun tink my contractor will give any 3D. he has shown me the sketches of the kitchen cabinet there only, all pencil sketches, but that's good enuf for me, afterall, trying to match computer-rendered designs is easy, but trying to match the colors will be a big challenge... my contractor is, well, a contractor, not ID. one man show. he has the hdb-endorsed license, with >10yrs experience, his registered company address is his home address ;p. he has done many 3rm before, so to him is sup sup suey. in fact, he is one of the appointed reno contractor by the real-estate company who handled my flat purchase, so *shd* have the proficient skills and required standards mandated by the company. everything he does is going strictly by the books... powergrid testing for completed electrical wiring (this adds extra cost), certification of proper installation of high-current appliances like aircon and water heater (some skimp on this), etc. quotation-wise, his prices are quite good. one thing good about hiring standalone contractors is, you dun need to pay GST to the ID/reno firm. imagine the additional GST of a 30k bill can easily buy me a fridge, TV, WM and spare cash left in fact, initially i was a bit skeptical when the company contacted me as part of their value-added services to engage their in-house appointed reno contractor who can give pricing. his quote appeared reasonably attractive with the same exacting requirements set forth to other ID/contractors. having said all this, am keeping my fingers crossed to see how he delivers the entire reno... still too early to say anything right now...

in my opinion, the discount is too little... also, whatever customized carpentry is going to cost a bomb... take out unnecessary items, do what is needed and not what is wanted. from what i see, electrical wiring is not yet inside.... worst come to worst, KIV this quote and look for other contractors/ID. a contractor/ID should have the "no project is too big/small to handle" principle. if the shortlisted contractor feels that he does not earn much from this project, it's time to look elsewhere...i'm sure there will be one that satisfies ur requirements.

acherly, the demolition guys even commented the ceiling suxx big time it's really too low liao... had the broken marble flooring colors been more whiter, I would've kept it and pay $500+ bucks to get it polish until kilat kilat..... the bedroom doors are quite run down liao, with full of screw holes at the bottom (previous owner attached those rubber flaps to shut off dust), and worse still one of the door frames have been kicked open i asked my contractor if can just replace the door frame, he said can, but will need to alter the existing door to fit the new frame so LLST, change them out... my contractor told me he will do triple layer waterproofing on the wet areas, as he is more worried than me if leakage occurs in such old flats... in retrospect, had i chosen another resale flat with nicer floorings, i wouldn't be bothered to teardown everything and redo (which of cos will have to pay more for COV)....

Bathroom WC Both bathroom/WC wall tiles will be retained, but floor tiles will be hacked to incorporate a floortrap drain at the partition wall between the 2 cubicles...another example of how screwup HDB's archi design... currently it's just a mousehole at the partition wall, so whenever finish using the toilet, water flows from the WC to the bathroom floortrap via this mousehole... No changes will be done to the utility room as it will be used as a storeroom...

Kitchen Cabinet doors have been removed (in first few pics)

MBR Common room

Some pics of the existing condition... Condition was left intact by 2 previous owner (at least); so it's at least ten years old... Living Room View from kitchen

Toa Payoh lor, bot at a price of 280+.... mine is built in 1970, even older than me wor.... some of the 3rm in this estate got even more older one, if not wrong 1967/8 one oso hap... Interestingly I received a copy of the birthcert aka title deed of this flat...whoa the document is so retro, titled "THE LAND TITLES ORDINANCE, 1956" with calligraphy typefaces... contains the following: - topo map of the unit - floorplan layout of the flat in imperial units - endorsed licensed land surveyor - memorandum of prior encumberances - list of owners/lessees & the occupation period from the day it was built ( I'm the sixth owner of this flat) it even identifies the name and IC of the first lessee who paid a humble S$7,800 for this flat in 1970....

As part of the reno journey, a lot of time spent on getting quotations from various IDs. As far as I can remember, have visited quite a few of them (at least 8-9), some of which are: - contributing sponsors of this forum - some are independent forummers - some from IMM and other neighbourhood heartland shops For the similar requirements, quotations can vary quite a lot, while some are relatively close. Some firms boh hiew, never got back at all, maybe thinking that the profit margin for 3roomers is razor-thin or they too busy with projects, i dunno....Unusually high and low quotes are usually ditched, only the average and below-average quotes are considered for further clarification. Some firms package their reno as new, basic, premium resale packages with freebies like cooker/hood/kitchen cabinet/aircon. While these might be good for some, but if a lot of changes involved in the reno, it maybe difficult to compare costings among various IDs. Also thanks to the help of contributing forummers who share their ideas/info/lobangs, hopefully this has made me more informed of the choices I took. Going thru some of the T-blogs here has been extremely helpful. really gotta spend lotsa time digging into the threads for gems....sometimes i oso log onto RT during office hours if can't finish those extra long threads at home....if boss come faster switch window to inbox.....hahaha....

i heard my colleague once visited some ID firm and apparently the ID undercut his company by supping his own contacts to do, bypassing his company... as the quotes were much lower he became a little worried about quality and workmanship... in the end, nv signed up with him...

Greetings all, have recently joined in the 3roomers den.... haaaaa, now it's my turn to put up some pics of my 3-shoebox resale HDB flat . Here's the floorplan...