january

Stuff pending: 1. Proper installation of marble slabs at bay windows ( 5 or 6 Jan) 2. Plaster edges of bay window walls not covered by marble slabs (after 6 Jan) 3. Plumbing at service area to be installed (4 Jan) 4. Steel table to stack washing machine + dishwasher 5. Ceiling fan to be balanced 6. Re-plaster the ceiling 7. Re-paint whole apt w/ new paint colours 8. Wallpaper to be installed 9. MBR mirrored toiletries cabinet 10. Gypsum board btwn 2 bedrooms 11. Window grille in service area 12. Clear out blocked sink at MBR (dunno which irresponsible worker did this) HO on the 15th... but I think it's unlikely. And after that: 13. Window coverings 14. Furniture delivery

I know one, but you need to pay him $10K for the design fee alone. Not for people with a tight budget...

2 feet is about 60cm? My 5 yr old Mitsubishi folio fridge is just slightly over 60cm (doors included). You might want to check that range out.

Okay so it seems like ceiling fans aren't supposed to wobble around... my contractor was smoking me again. Thanks bro, neubie and cleong for the helpful tips.

maybe you can install mosquito net at the window. That should stop the crows from flying in.

Oh your living room is adorable. I'm guessing you don't eat at home often? It's really tiring to keep moving the tables around... Btw have you installed that Leifheit kitchen roll/cling wrap dispenser? How do you find it?

Happy New Year ymjp100. The LNER prints are fantastic. I noticed u have speakers in your dining room as well... do you have a multi-room stereo system?

My contractor's electricians just installed a V60WK ceiling fan in the living room and it wobbles quite a bit when it is turned on. Is some wobbling normal or did the electricians not install it correctly? Renotalkers please help me out! Thank youu.

Hi there gakuseisean, the sofa is from supellex, an Indonesian furniture maker. It costs around $2.2K.

Btw, I need some plumbing work done in the kitchen. Can anyone recommend reliable plumbers for me? Thanks in advance!

My contractor is away on holiday, so the ID is currently doing the project management of the reno. Things are actually going MUCH BETTER now. My ID is really a big hero... managed to fix all the cock ups by the contractor, including replacing the marble top. I got the story about the botched marble top. Apparently the contractor was trying to save a few bucks by doing the measurements himself, and then ordering the slabs from the marble supplier, and then asking his own men to fix the marble top. If everything goes well, this method is great. But if something goes wrong, then the (massive) liability falls on him. Now he has to replace the marble top from his own pocket, because he made a mistake. And those slabs of marble are not cheap... so I don't even think he's going to make that much from my reno. Which sucks for him. If it were some other contractor, they would probably have run away. So I'm glad my ID has a positive work attitude and wants to fix things up nicely for me. Kudos to my ID! Not so much to my contractor... Let's hope things get better from now.

Words of wisdom. I'm looking forward to the transformation of your home.

Ack. Now that I see those under cabinet lights... I should have done the same for my kitchen too! Looks great!

Dear ymjp100, no more new pictures?

(2) Okay this I didn't anticipate. What would be your recommendations to solving such a problem? (3) The light trough is done... I can't do anything about it now. (4) I don't understand what you mean by this. Oh wait, I get it now. You mean for the marble to be all the way to the glass right? Never thought about this before, but it's certainly a valid suggestion, although I can't do anything about it now. thanks reglxt!

@lazybum9: I wasn't given a psf price by my contractor... can't help u there sorry.

Ah... can't believe I missed out on the handover moment! Place looks fantastic... I think the kitchen is the best part. Well done headstomp!

My contractor has cocked up. Look at this. Can't believe he can get the measurement of a simple, straight line bay window WRONG. When I called him up, he said that he'll fix it and quickly hung up. It's a bit rude really.

Some more pictures today. Light trough at entrance & dining room. It definitely looks better in the picture. Unfinished TV console + display rack. The mirror backing on the display shelf would be installed ... next week. sigh. This next one illustrates a problem. The light you see is actually coming from ... the next room! We had lights run along the curtain pelmet and forgot about this bit of glass that's dividing the two rooms. Now when one room switches on this light, the other room will get it too! Definitely not good if one decides to stay up late and the other wants some shut eye... Will need to get some gypsum to cover this up. The marble top is going onto the bay windows tomorrow... quite excited to see what it will look like.

Can't remember the number, but it was the highest one from the range of transparent V-kool films. My condo doesn't allow the tinted ones

That's a cool dog! I wonder if the ability to sniff out bedbugs are nature's gift or were they trained to do that?

There's chalkboard surface door?! Interesting... It seems like you can get chalkboard paint from this store. I've never bought from them before though. The one in the link is a spray paint version, how convenient!

I've installed solar film before, and I think it's money down the drain. Doesn't help to reduce heat at all; then again my unit is west facing, so maybe the afternoon heat is just too strong. I think solar film is more useful if you live the air-con lifestyle, not so much if most of your cooling is done by fans. One thing the solar film is good for though, is UV protection. The colours of the upholstery and bedding will not fade as quickly.

Kerio I feel so sorry for you. A bug infestation really sucks. I can't offer much help in that area but I'm hoping the others will share their bug extermination secrets with you. As for solid surface, I have a white one in my current kitchen and I don't really have a problem with stains as long as I wipe them off immediately. Are you supposed to polish the solid surface? I never did. So sorry to hear about all the problems... You sound really fed up. But it's the last leg of the reno, so hang in there!

Concealed TV console/shoe cabinet... I'm very intrigued.