january

ymjp, I see you couldn't resist the green. Which one did you choose in the end?

@khimwoon: as far as I remember the bed only fits European sized mattresses. So European queen is 170cm width and the King which is 200cm. edit: I'd like to add that I didn't have the best shopping experience with Le Mercier. I was not allowed to delay the delivery date of the bed even though my contractor had close connections with the owner of Le Mercier, and the delay was caused by the contractor's poor project management. The bed had to sit around a messy apartment for a few months and there is some damage to the leather frame (even after I plastic wrapped it) due to the frequent handling by the workers. If you forsee things like that to happen, I would highly recommend getting the furniture from somewhere else. @madmilo: the brand of the divan is maxcoil. You can probably get it from any HDB shop but I got it from Sai Hup furniture decoration in Geylang East Central.

Hey there Ely1, just wanna chip in regarding the water wall feature. It could be quite a bad idea asking your contractor to do this by trial and error (especially if you want to have fish eventually) because most contractors know nothing about pumps and filters and are usually too busy to get good information regarding this stuff. Also, have you discussed fees regarding the construction of this? Because if he's doing it through trial and error you're most likely going to end up paying for the mistakes he made... and eventually it might cost the same as getting it from an experienced company. Just something to think about @green giraffe: Regarding the algae, there's this anti-algae coating you can buy from (I think) fish tank / koi shops that you can apply to prevent the algae from growing on the walls of the water feature. If your water is green and murky with algae you will need a UV filter to get rid of the algae. Hope this helps.

Some developers erect all the walls in show units... using glass. Which is misleading too.

Hi Ely1... you're really funny. You bought floor traps from eBay... but I guess why not right, esp if they look nice. Happy Reno

I got the Yale 3110 from Contat Decor in Bedok. Don't think it's the best price but very good service. If you don't want to worry about stuff then I suggest you give them a call. edit: fyi, apparently the locks branded gateman are old stock and the new ones should be branded yale. I'm not sure what the difference could be, but perhaps some new features?

Ah, you bought the lights already... okay. Thinking again, I do have the 3watts LEDs and they are rather dim, so maybe you do need 9 of them. But don't they have LEDs in higher wattage... maybe that defeats the purpose. Good that you bought in JB and save a bunch... I hope they all work! Cable clutter is not a problem if you know how to hide the cables.

Don't people use floor lamps anymore? I much prefer them to ceiling lights. 9 LED downlights could be overkill. My scientific approach for level of lighting: Check the lumens for the led lights and check your floor area. Divide lumens over floor area to get lux. Refer to wiki article for appropriate brightness. If your electrician doesn't want to give u the lumens figure, hound him until he does, but with a smile My living + dining combined only has 8 PLC lights and I find it very bright already... So, I'm just trying to save you some money here and to prevent your place from looking ridiculously overlit.

@sfk7: thank you thank you sooo much for your quote.. it was really helpful. Interestingly I did shortlist your ID company, but didn't choose them in the end. Argh regret. But thank you so much! @lazybum9: I've PM-ed you. Hope the info is useful! So! Things are pretty settled... about 98%. We've bought mattresses from Getha, a Malaysian latex mattress producer. Their prices for latex mattresses are kinda hard to beat... plus they're Malaysian and I like to support South East Asian businesses I say I'm quite impressed with their mattress packaging. They came in a mattress bag and the pillows also came with lock and key. It's quite silly but I think it makes it that bit more special. So kudos to their marketing team. Some pictures... (I apologise for the retro look... the iPhone is just so fun)

Stainless steel can be very expensive. You didn't mention the dimensions, so it's hard to tell whether the price is fair or not. That said, you can try Yew Lee Metalworks at 17 Tai Seng Dr to get a quote for stainless steel items. Their prices seem pretty fair. http://www.yewlee.com.sg/ You can try.

Do you mean the really expensive ones like B&B Italia, Cecotti, Minotti, MisuraEmme, Riva1912...?

Your kitchen sink is tiny! But I guess you have a dishwasher... Dining area looks really good... love the chairs and tables.

...headache I feel that I should pay him for the work done, but I want to pay him a fair amount, and not this inflated amount that he's quoted me. I called up CASE this afternoon to try to figure out what I could do if I feel that the contractor is charging me way above market rate for reno items, and the lady on the phone said that I need to gather 2 or more quotes to establish the market rate and prove that he is overcharging. So renotalkers, I need your help. Please post or PM me your contractors quotes for the following items: 1. False ceiling 2. Electrical 3. Acrylic or PVC bi-fold door 4. Bed head 5. Shoe Cabinet 6. TV console 7. Painting (indicate size of house as a estimation of area painted) 8. Protection and cleaning Please indicate the contractor/reno firm's name, address and contact number, the date of the quote. Include the dimensions and materials used as much as possible. I would be so so so grateful for your kindness.

Nope, these are additional items, so nothing was signed when he went on to install these things. He didn't chase me for payment according to schedule, so I am still withholding a significant amount of the final payment. @lazybum: I removed the door but am keeping it inside of the bomb shelter. Don't think it will be an issue unless you're trying to sell away the house and an inspector comes.

Got a quote from the contractor for some additional items... Seems like he inflated the prices quite a bit to recoup for the losses due to the mistakes that he made. Well, if he's going to be unethical... 1. He's charging me $800 to polish marble and $800 to polish parquet, both of which were damaged because he didn't do the floor protection well enough. I don't think I should be paying for this, especially when he is charging $700 for protection and $500 for cleaning. Also, the toilet seats all have urine stains because the workers who were using them didn't keep them clean. I still need to get him to change it. 2. $950 for 5 additional powerpoints (concealed wiring), and a door bell which he covered up by mistake with the shoe cabinet. 3. $950 to repaint the walls because the first paint job wasn't well done. Btw he only charged $600 for the first time, to paint the walls not covered by wallpaper. 4. $550 for minor plumbing works. 5. $650 for PVC bifold door?! Including removal of the bomb shelter door. And more for some other items. Plus, his statement of accounts are such a big mess. I have to look through 4 different revised quotes to figure out exactly how much I will need to pay him. This guy has given me no reason to trust him anymore. I'll need to start calling up the different vendors to figure out prices. I'm not going to let him earn the money so easily.

hm, not sure if it's wise to get lights and sanitary ware from Malaysia. If the product you buy is defective it's very troublesome to change it... just get them in Singapore. Much easier.

@csingeu: You're an IT man right? Maybe you can program it to speak kopitiam Hokkien for me! Anyway. Getting the keys back from contractor today since most of the electronics is in the place alr. Will need to schedule a day for inspection and bill settlement during the handover. Should probably get some negotiation tips from mae29 Happy CNY everyone

You posted on IKEA furniture before? I must have missed it. Your reno's not started and your t-blog already 6 pages hahaha. Built-in kitchen and wardrobe just get from IKEA also loh, because the materials used by the local contractors really CMI... I'm not kidding. Your staircase... should box up the area under to use as storage. And if you want it to be nice, definitely go for glass! Get the laminated type though. Actually i don't think the railings are ugly loh. Then again I only have a tiny picture for reference. To save money I'll paint the railings... maybe black or grey. Spend the money on the messy stuff like the walls, toilets, kitchen, and you probably want to add more electrical sockets. Most importantly get a responsible contractor... don't be like me. Contractor still hasn't given me the keys back.

Yeah well it's not cheap, since it's from Holland and everything But worth it I think. It's cheaper than wooden decking anyway. Are there any nurseries/landscape firms around your area? They probably have artificial turf too. You can go check with them. Happy CNY

I'm planning to do that too. But my door is more complicated because the mechanism is concealed in the door. The door holder itself is about $130 and labour will be $80. Will do that after CNY, together with digital lock.

I used De-Frame Shop at Katong Rd, near the Joo Chiat intersection. It's next to the whole line of eateries like cocogelo, pave, naive... They have many framing styles on display that you can choose from. Or Framing Angie at Holland Village. She's famous. And very good. She can give you an instant preview of what your picture will look like after framing... highly recommended.

I have bay window in the toilet too. Solution: roller blinds, about 80-90% opacity. So it's still bright in the daytime w/o lights and nobody can see you.

haha, modern contemporary with a touch of art deco... all this depends on your furniture and soft furnishings! Not so much to do with the contractor. Anyway if you're looking for kitchen inspiration, here's some poison for you. http://www.cleanup.co.jp/kitchen/ss/ss_storage.shtml I really think they have the best kitchen system and lots of useful ideas for storage. If I'm ever re-doing my kitchen I'll probably want to get this.

Congrats on getting your keys! Looks like major rehaul is required. You know what, forget about fancy designs for now... focus on getting the basic systems for the functional areas right . Flooring, electrical, pipes etc. Don't even do built-in carpentry unless absolutely necessary for odd corners, just get everything from IKEA first. Once you've figured out your lifestyle in the house, you can start making it beautiful.

It really depends on the granite supplier. If you want a single block with no joins I think you can request and they will cut it from the slab. It's probably more difficult to transport and depending on the size it may not fit in some lifts.