Soichiro

An update regarding the paint job at my balcony. The original painter used Dulux Weathershield on my balcony walls. The wall stained badly after just a few months, and seemed to dissolve in water when I tried to clean it. I could see the cement beneath the paint already. I told my contractor since it is covered under the 2-year warranty. He sent a different painter, and he said it is normal and regular repainting is needed. I asked why HDB exterior can last a few years, he said those are special paint not available to us. (???) He then quoted almost $200 to paint that wall (which just uses about 1 litre of paint). Eventually, I obtained some spare primer and leftover paint from my friend, and painted that wall myself. It has been almost 2 years, and still looking good! Conclusion? The painter didn't use primer, used lousy/expired paint, or diluted it with water? I'm not sure. But he sure wasn't honest about the condition of the paint on my wall. The left, right and back side of the walls of my balcony are still using the inferior paint job. Not too badly affected as the rain doesn't really reach there. Might consider repainting those areas some time in the future!

Whoops sorry didn't see the post til now. Forgot the colour already, paiseh.

Looking for decently priced chairs for my study room. I spend a lot of time on the desktop there so will need good back support. Budget 100+, up to 200 for a good high one. Lots of ergonomic chairs out there.. anyone who did research on this before able to share or recommend chairs? Thanks in advance!

Looking to get a used outdoor bench. Preferably plain bench with no armrest no backrest like those in old school canteens except not that long. Please PM me if you have any to get rid of before new year.

You can check out Holly Interiors, they have a small shopfront at Golden Wall Flatted Factory #01-26, 2 Jalan Rajah, (S)329134 I did block out roller blinds for 1 full height at balcony and 3 rooms half height. Think cost me 3k-ish (sorry forgot exact amount liao) Deposit is in cash, so remember to bring decent amount if u wanna decide on the spot.

Hi there, Just make sure there is minimal concrete from router to wherever you expect to use the wifi. I have a maximum of 1 concrete wall in between router and device, except in kitchen and toilets. Also, make sure the signal line is relatively perpendicular to the wall. Avoid diagonally crossing a wall, or it could be equivalent of 2 or more walls. In your case, if your router is in the stairwell, and below the level 2 floor, it could be diagonally cutting through the floor before reaching your device. Try standing where your router is and look around, imagine a line between router and your device and see how you can move things around.

Balcony paint seems to be wearing off very quickly. Any other mansionette owners experiencing this problem too? Not sure if its lousy painter, lousy paint or normal to expect this.

My mansionette balcony wall is completely open to rain and sun, and it has kinda worn out within a year. Spoke to another painter, and he said that this is typical and I may have to keep repainting every few months. The original painter used Dulux Weathershield that time (offers 5 years of protection?? didn't even last a year in my case), but not sure how many coats he used, or whether he used any primer at all, as the worn out parts look really thin and we can see the cement screed already. Anyway, since it is only 1 wall, I would only need about 1 litre of paint.. problem is, seems that the smallest bucket of weathershield paint is 5L and costs $60-70. After opening, it is unlikely for the paint to last long so there would be alot of wastage. Questions... 1) Is there any way to buy a smaller quantity of paint? 2) Do I need to apply a primer in this case, or is cleaning sufficient? 3) I already have a roller, tray, and brush for the corners, and lots of masking tape with newspapers. Anything else required? Turpentine for cleaning up I suppose? Thanks in advance for any advise.

Personally don't like things in the stairwell though. But might be nice if done nicely. Still prefer 2 wireless routers like what I have now. It should pick the strongest signal automatically~ And, I'm still using desktop so will use cabled connection (more stable too) in study room.

Thanks~ but I had my blinds done up like a year ago leh. Now doing pet screen for the balcony and kitchen coz I don't want to do grilles there. Balcony will be sliding screen, and kitchen will be roller pull-down screen. Hope this allows air ventilation while not allowing as much dust in, but primary purpose for this is to block our pets

Anyone used Joy River air purifiers before? Any feedback? Those are so small, I wonder how they manage to effectively purify the air in even a single room? Most other air purifiers look much bigger.

Hallo! I have 2 wireless routers. The main one is in living room in the TV console. It is wired up to level 2 in my study room -- told contractor to use CAT6 cables. I consider it in the middle which has 1 concrete wall between each room, and I use the connection most often in the study room anyway.

Heyo! Good luck for your renovations! Feel free to ask me if in doubt of anything. =D

Hi! So far so good, noisy but expected of washing machines. It is top load, but side spin. I don't like to squat to throw all the clothes in... and this is the only model that is super slim. Fits nicely into my kitchen layout.

Thanks for the inputs! Have not fixed on wet or dry yet. Wet Vacuum Need to refill with water and wash after every use. Washing may not be as hygienic and may clog whatever you're washing it into. Dry Vacuum with Bag Need to change bag maybe every 6 months but not sure if suction power is compromised a lot along the way. Cleanest disposal method. Dry Vacuum Bagless Dustier when cleaning. Not sure if suction power is relatively lower compared to bag vacuums. Steam Vacuum (2 in 1) Very heavy (over 10kg), may be difficult to lug around especially when I'm cleaning a mansionette. Come to think of it, it doesn't save any time compared to separate steamers and vacuums since it is still 2 separate tasks. Steam Cleaner Karcher has some nice steam cleaners. Good for getting rid of stubborn stains and mopping floor as it dries immediately. But the mopping process is slower too. My priority is suction power with good dust trapping system both in exhaust and cleaning. Next would be ease of use and price. Silent feature is a good plus. Dyson is typically 2 or 3 times more expensive than other brands like Rowenta. From what I hear from the sales people, Dyson is very durable, lasts longer and has better attachments. No difference in terms of suction power. How much better is dyson over other similar models??

Actually the fan blows air outwards, not inwards. So the ventilating fan serves to discharge the wet/hot air out. Here's an example of what I did with my toilet: Any hacking requires some sort of permit. Better to call your HDB branch office to check. I doubt they will allow you to cover the window completely as it will affect the facade of the building. You will probably need to reopen that window when you sell your house.

Thanks for the suggestion! That model is a steam cleaner though, not a vacuum. It just sprays steam, so the other model is more of a 2-in-1 which does the steaming while vacuuming.

Hi everyone, Looking to get a good vacuum cleaner, anyone with recommendations? Need strong suction, able to clean out corners easily, traps dust/mites in the machine and not back out thru the exhaust... and hopefully save some time if it can do away with mopping. Don't have any carpets nor pets, just fabric sofa/chairs and bed. I'm considering Karcher SV1902 steam vacuum cleaner, but it is over $1k so I am still looking at any other options. This also means that Rainbow and Delphin are out of consideration. Hope to get some feedback on the vacuum cleaners u are using! =D

Your projector stuff looks cool bro, yeah probably much better with the blockout curtains. I did blockout rollerblinds at the balcony. When pulled down, whole house becomes super dark even in the day! Congrats and enjoy your house!! Post more pics of attempted home-cooked meals.. haha

Quick update... all blinds are installed. EXCEPT.... they didn't measure the blinds for the MBR properly, and now they are installed too close to the wardrobe. Now its being pressed by the wardrobe and cannot roll smoothly... so far no solution yet, will await the fella who did the initial measurements to have a look. Haven't paid in full though! All the other blinds are working fine. Love the living room giant blinds, will post pics soon. Now thinking of how to reduce the noise when the blinds knock on the walls from the wind. Didn't want to do any hooks, maybe buffer the noise by sticking something on the bar... btw, for study tables and bookshelves, does anyone have any good recommendation for places to get them? I was looking at V.Hive but wife didn't like the designs.

Thanks for your inputs! Yeah agree with your points. Now.. my prime minister just rejected all 4 layouts!! lol Hey thanks for your 2c, hehe. We have blockout blinds in that room, and since it is adjacent to the public staircase window, we won't leave it open often. Not much heat also since that room is at a corner, sun doesn't get in at all. Will update again, now its tough to do stuff without my comp.

Some possible layouts for the study room. None seem really right so far... zzz.z.z

Thanks~ lucky buy. haha. was eyeing the table for a long while but it was out of stock, until one they, they found one leftover in their warehouse. lol

Your bifold doors are same as mine, the veneer door designs are same as my main door too! =D Now hor... I feel that bifold doors are noisy. Cannot open/close without noise. So when I wake up early, wifey will get woken up with black face also. lol Sometimes due to air suction, your bifold may self-open/close when u open/close your room door. Happens when there's draft also. First time hearing that the tv will look bigger in the recess!! Agree though, looks big relative to the area around it.

Thanks~~ cheap yes.. haha.. heng heng saw it on sale and got the only piece. Heyo, everything looks big and spacious especially when its empty. haha. Contractor's bill is about $39k. Carpenter I engaged separately, about $10k for kitchen, mbr wardrobe, toilet cabinet, tv console.