csingeu

in the midst of exam preparation for my 2nd last paper tmr... though losing steam (it's the final semester... FINALLY... and i just need a pass (C or D; but hopefully at least a B la.. ) in all my paper to graduate)... been on almost 2-week exam/personal leave... so i've been cycling over to my new place everyday (at least twice daily...) to check on progress, receive some goods (WCs, basins, etc), take photos and talk to contractor and tilers... it's really abt 5-min cycle away... a quick update on the work in progress: Tiling works: Living Room (incl Dining Room)- 85% (missing the main entrance part; as the main entrance is only finally hacked and the new door frame is put up today) Utility Room - 0% (coz it's beside the main entrance... zzz) Kitchen - 100% Wash Area - 100% MBR Bathroom - 100% Common Bathroom - 100% Balcony - 100% i think by tmr, tiling works would be 100% completed... BUT i'm having my papers tmr afternoon!!... cannot go down to put the $1 coins (for fengshui purposes) Plastering work: Living Room (incl Dining Room) - 85% (bits and pieces not done yet, as previously it was blocked by building materials) Utility Room - 100% Balcony - 100% Staircase Area - 100% MBR - 100% Common Rm 1 - 100% Common Rm 2 - 100% Windows 100% for Living Room, Dining Room, Kitchen, MBR, Common Rm 1 & 2, MBR Bathroom & Common Bathroom (grilles to be up later...) Electrical 25%? markings for power pts & lighting pts done... but work not started & lights not bought yet (AHHH!!!) Plumbing 50%? markings for installation pts done... 3 sets of WCs & basins bought... but still pending a lot of missing items... 1. 1 x Rain Shower set (likely to buy from ebay) 2. 1 x normal shower set (to get from Royal Fanco) 3. 3 x bidet sprays (to get from Royal Fanco) 4. 3 x basin taps (to get from Royal Fanco) 5. 1 x kitchen sink pull-out spray-tap (likely to buy from ebay) 6. 3 x toilet accessories (eg. toilet roll holder, corner shelves, towel racks, mirrors...) *faint* Carpentry for kitchen this is going to be a major headache... our kitchen actually not very big... and coz we're doing a semi-open concept... and one side of the wall is half-hacked, and the remaining portion, only has a giant chimney hood without and other wall cabinet... plus the fact that we are using LPG cylinder for cooking... and stupid (and super low) overhanging sewage pipes... there's really not much storage space... will update this another time... and also like what bro Kobelala & Soichiro said, laundry hanging is quite a headache... wife not very keen on hanging laundry outside the kitchen windows... and space for indoor air-drying also tricky... may have to resort to use balcony (which I'm not very keen... ) will try to upload all the work-in-progress pics after my last paper this thu... likely over the weekend... need to check out some smart solution for kitchen cabinet storage...

rubbish chute at the "mountain"? as in the back of the house? what's virtual water flow? swimming pool? is that part of the reasons why the owner is selling?

woah... busted my budget...

its "Sheng Qi" sector is missing? or main door facing is at "Jue Ming"?

Ha... i shall try my "guessing skills"... i've no idea where the unit is... except that it's in Bukit Panjang... so wild guess here... 1 internal form problem maybe answered by footprint liao? Maybe it's facing rubbish chute... or there's a canal with water flow leading away from it?

yes... pretty cool place... A1 decor... as you have mentioned... and I think really can save on renov and just buy furniture and shift in... why you say Nah ah? I can only guess it's feng shui-related reasons...

Hey! I just went to read your blogspot instead... think it's more informative and updated than what you've posted on renotalk...

Yellow stains found at MBR bathroom ceiling: Close-up of the yellow spots: They are obviously water droplets of yellow liquid... and the area ard it was also moist when I spotted them... if it's due to the drying of the cement screed/waterproofing membrane, i would have expected the whole ceiling to be moist and stuff... and also my common bathroom ceiling and the washarea downstairs... The spots found on the ceiling of the staircase area... seemed to have dried up... according to friends and some contractors, sometimes, the water will seep sideways and spread to other parts of the house... coz i really cannot imagine the water leaking at their living room area... coz my MBR bathroom... on top of it, the area would likely be the entrance of their wash area in the kitchen... hmmm... don't know what to make out of it... I do hope it's just due to the drying of wet cement and plaster... but i seriously doubt so...

wat to do? suan lor... should have stopped the worker from plastering the ceiling the other day, when i was doing my ad-hoc checks... now, too late... i just wondering if those droplets of yellow liquid... could it be from the drying of the wet cement in my bathroom flooring, when they are doing the waterproofing and cement screed? coz the ceiling of my staircase area also have yellow spots... but i only noticed them, after the worker was plastering the walls and ceilings of the staircase area... hmmm...

D-a-m-n stupid one... HDB officer just called me and informed that they will be going over to my unit to investigate on the water leaking issues from my MBR bathroom ceiling... the problem is... the worker has already plastered over the ceiling and all the yellow-stained wet spots... HDB officer said... anyyway, they got the pics I've sent them earlier on... they will just assess onsite lor... and if they are satisfied enough, they will go upstairs to request the upstair neighbours to do a water test... anyway, with the ceiling plastered up... i don't think we'll see much "water damage" so soon... but i got a feeling it will still leak in the future... just dun know when... it's like a timebomb OH WELL...

Hey Wenx! Thanks for visiting my t-blog. very near your current place? as in your current staying place or your new resale EA unit? your eldest son's pri school is Shuqun Primary or Rulang Primary? it's very near my parents' place (where i'm currently staying at now) too... i'm on leave these 2 weeks to study for my exams... and every day i'll cycle over to check on the work-in-progress twice... it's abt a 5-min cycle... hehehe... yah... technically i'm not new to Jurong... been here for > 20 years liao... hahaha my wife will be new to Jurong...

nice nice... a lot of pictures! anyway, i shall repeat myself again... i think Gen-2 EMs are much nicer... and your current flat condition is a lot better than mine, when i just took over. dun believe, can ask Linda... take more pics! and i'm looking forward to visiting your place, when your renovation is done. and i'm assuming i'll be invited la... HAHAHA...

Think last night, renotalk forum database got problems... apparently they say it's upgrading la... but seems like the whole of 18 April morning til 19 April... all gone... or maybe they are still "migrating" the data... or "recovering" the database... in any case, I think it's better to assume it's lost...

I believe if u can do sales well, u can do almost anything... Almost all jobs are abt selling... Be it: 1. Products 2. Services 3. Ideas/concepts 4. Visions 5. Realities Though I'm in IT, and at the lower end, I'm providing (or "selling") services to my fellow colleagues to support them to perform their work. But in reality, I would like to think that I'm exploring the use of IT in innovative ways to improve their productivity or help them perform their work better. And that's "selling ideas/concepts/visions"... At least that's what I think I'm doing at work la. LOL... But selling ideas may have its cons too, esp when they sell too well, and you can't deliver the promised services in time...

yeah... those items u mentioned... really are luxury items... 1. chengal wood decking for balcony - i want; but no budget... so not doing 2. tv feature wall - also not doing... 3. glass panels - very nice, but also $$$... i also not doing... but i go do white powder coated windows la... coz... the old ones were the very original HDB ones... eeeekkkk.. and i still have to spent $57K... sigh...

too busy with sch assignment deadlines, office project deadlines, handing over of duties to covering officer (coz i'm going on long exam leave; ~2+ weeks), and preparing for my exams soon... will try to update on this weekend on: 1. yellow spots found on MBR bathroom ceiling & ceiling of staircase area... and some "bad blood" history... 2. cock-up by aircon guys (my fault though) 3. cock-up by window guys (their fault though) 4. wall tiling work-in-progress for kitchen & bathrooms. 5. search for WCs (think it's time to get my WCs soon) will be on 2-weeks exam leave starting next Mon (18 Apr) to Tue (3 May)... enough time for me to check out the progress for my renovation... hopefully, no more major issues... argh...

URA has just launched their enhanced Property Market Information Portal & also an iPhone/iPad app for it too. URA Enhanced Property Market Information e-Services Property Market Information, Singapore by Urban Redevelopment Authority Link to news release ----------------------------------------------- News Releases 13 April 2011 Easy access to property market information on the go From today, home-buyers will have easy access to property market information on the go from their iPhones and iPads to enable them to make better informed decisions. Downloadable from the Apple’s App Store in iTunes, the new and free “Property Market Information, Singapore” application1 is developed by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) as part of its continual efforts to enhance the transparency of the property market. This new service will empower home-buyers with accurate and comprehensive information on private housing projects and encourage them to look at all available market information before making a purchase decision. At the same time, the URA has also enhanced its Property Market Information eServices on the URA website to provide more information and greater convenience to users. “Property Market Information, Singapore” Application The new ”Property Market Information, Singapore” iPhone/iPad application will allow members of the public easy access to the following property market information on the go: a) transaction prices2 for different private housing projects by project name, street name and district; b) rentals1 for different private housing projects by project name, street name and district; and c) the above information on transaction prices and rentals will be available on a map-base, e.g. users can see the prices of all private residential units transacted in a particular area or within a certain radius of a showflat on a map. Home-buyers and those looking to rent a private residential property can compare and consider carefully prices and rentals across different properties before making a commitment. To ensure greater public outreach and access to this property market information service, the URA has plans to make the same application available on Android phones in the 4th quarter of this year. Enhanced Property Market Information eServices Since 1996, the URA has been delivering comprehensive and timely property market information to the public free of charge via the Property Market Information (PMI) eServices on the URA website. URA reviews and obtains feedback from members of the public to improve the contents of our eServices. The enhanced eServices that URA will be introducing will enable home-buyers to make more informed decisions, e.g. by providing more detailed information that will enable buyers to compare different private housing projects and units. The key features of the enhanced eServices include: a) Enhanced interface that allows users to access different sets of information, including the prices and rentals, for a particular housing project or location with a single search; b) New map-based search function and viewing of data; c) New functions for plotting graphs with the property data; and d) New information on transactions, including the land tenure, 2-digit postal district, market segment and floor level range3 of non-landed private residential properties transacted. The duration of transaction data shown will also be extended from the current 12 months to 24 months. Members of the public can access the enhanced PMI eServices at http://www.ura.gov.sg/propertyinfo. URA also makes available detailed information on the pipeline supply of private residential units and the number of unsold units in new private housing projects. This information is also available via the enhanced PMI eServices. Prospective home-buyers are encouraged to make use of this information to make better informed decisions. 1 The application can be downloaded directly from http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/property-ma...6?mt=8&ls=1. Alternatively, the following keywords can be used to search for the “Property Market Information, Singapore” application on iTunes: PMI, Property Market Information, Property, Property Market, Urban Redevelopment Authority, URA, Singapore or SG. 2 The prices of transacted private residential units are obtained from URA’s monthly survey of developers and caveats lodged with the Singapore Land Authority for property sales. Rental information is obtained from the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore. This information is currently available free of charge on URA online. 3 The floor level of a private residential unit will be shown in intervals of 5 floors e.g. if a unit is on the 8th floor, we will indicate that it is located between the 6th to 10th floors.

Would have preferred to drop by earlier... so that we can spend more time at your place and catching up with the rest... I was still telling my wife, i must go, coz I wanted to meet bro Kobelala... LOL... but too bad, he left b4 i reached... was tied up with the contractor, as his previous clients took more time... and I was only expecting to clarify some additional items and changes with him, and maybe choose some laminates for the kitchen cabinet... ended up... but one thing led to another, and we were choosing everything... from staircase rail colour to balcony door colour, etc... will try to join in for the may gathering at boon keng... I should be more free then

yes... i like the cheesecake... quite nice wat... would be better if there's some coffee/tea to go with it... LOL... though I'm thinking more of those Starbucks frappies... OMG... they actually have socks for chair legs? amazing... LOL...

i also "gahmen" one... hehehe...

The pt of kerb being dangerous (due to ability to trip over them) was part of our main reason to pursue the matter initially; not so much that it might be aesthetically more pleasing too. I have come to the conclusion that: 1. my contractor's tiler is probably not as skillful to perform the task required. 2. he's too "follow the law" kind 3. he probably didn't hack the floor deep enough (i'm not too sure if a 12cm drop from bedroom to toilet (before any cement screed or tiling is done) is "deep enough" I recall him mentioning that he's using 40mm water pipes... and that 1/2 inch allowance is needed to create the gradient for water running. He did mentioned that he can do, but the end result would be that the drop from the bathroom area to the shower area will only be 1 tile difference (which is like 5mm), which is like a 5-mm drop?... it's as gd as no drop... i think a 2-3cm drop would be more useful... but not even a 1-cm drop? anyway, i've requested that the kerb be 30mm instead of 50mm... hopefully it's not too high... nevertheless, i think 30mm or 50mm not much difference... if it's going to be a kerb, there's a chance of tripping over it... oh well...

Yes... i also noticed that in my MBR bathroom last weekend, while doing the inspection of the work in progress. I found some droplets of yellow liquid. Today, I'm on off and my contractor popped by in the morning, and i highlighted it to him. He said, based on what it looks, maybe the upper level unit might have some water leaking issue. I took pics of it, and emailed the HDB technical officer IC for my area. my alternative theory is that, as i didn't notice the water marks and moisture previously... I wonder if it might be due to the wet cement in the MBR bathroom which is drying out over the past 2 days... the yellow spots - could it be coz by the worker, who might be smoking, while cementing the toilet walls? anyway, i'll wait for HDB's reply. anyway, there's small dark and yellow-ish patches on the ceiling of my staircase area too. The contractor said, it might be dried out stain, which might be caused by seepage from the upper unit when they did their renovation some time back. Or it might be due to the wall plastering drying out... anyway, he said, it should be ok after wall plastering and applying of sealant. anyway, i've emailed HDB abt it, and will wait for their reply. I noticed the bad sewage smell, just after the hacking was done. but more from the sewage pipes, i feel. But it shouldn't have, after your WC are installed, i guess. as for the smell from the drainage pipe... i think i read from some t-blogs, that maybe during the renovation, the workers might have thrown some big pieces of cloth/rag, rubbish, etc in to the drainage pipes... which might have blocked the drainage pipes... and will result in flooding issue and also the smell thing. hmmm... i thought usually the drainage pipe, will have the S or P-trap, which has water which will block out the foul smell...

ohh.. very nice colour scheme for the kitchen cabinets... just the kind i like... but my kitchen floor tiles... quite a bit darker... wife said.. don't want dark wood laminate... as she feels it might blend in with the floor tiles and hence no contrast, hence looks weird... I would like to go for this though... btw, u know the name of your laminates?

MBR Bathroom Design v1 Common Bathroom Design v1 Quick Recap Wall Tiles: 60x30cm light grey tiles Floor Tiles: 30x30cm mid-grey rough tiles Shower Feature Wall Tiles: 31x56cm Realonda Toronto Antracita Solid Surface: LG HiMacs "Iceberg" Cabinet laminate: "Light Talisa Plum"

MBR Wardrobe Design v1 Bedroom 2 (aka Guest Room) Wardrobe Design v1 - aluminium sliding door with frosted glass panels - glossy piano white for rest of finishing