70wood

We cannot be too careful these days because formaldehyde and other forms of toxic gases are all over the place. In the home where we spent lots of time relaxing, putting active carbon and growing pots of devil's ivy (common money plant) and Chinese evergreen (万年青） are some simple solutions to the absorbtion of toxic gases. http://70wall.blogspot.com

When you say inherited, does it mean that the said property is an estate? Whether to sell or not is subject to what exactly the WILL stipulates. Where the MOP is concern, there is room for case-to-case settlement with HDB if the collective decision is to keep the property intact.

I like to share this thought with friends here. Many people, from small enterprise to big corporations rent commercial and industrial premises to run their business. One common thing I discovered is most are either unaware, or negligent of the fact that they need to restore, or reinstate their premises to its original condition when the lease expires unrenewed. Particularly the smaller businesses, many ended up unable to fund the reinstatement works, and being sued by landlord for its claims. Some pointers here may be worth considering. 1. Depending on the kind of business one is running, it is best that additions to the premises be made as minimal as possible. Only do the essential ones. If necessary, avoid works that are structural and requires a professional person to erect, and will also requires a professional person to qualify removal. 2. Forecast your reinstatement cost into your rental and see if it really make sense. If not, re-negotiate the rental or look for an alternate space. A check with the market shows that contractors use a guide of between $5/- to $15/- per sq ft charge for reinstatement works. 3. It is prudent to put aside monthly contribution into a sinking fund. At the end of your tenancy, you will find it as a great relief. 4. Do not think that your rental deposit is sufficient in the first place. If you just scoot away by forgoing your deposit, your landlord can still sue you for any differences. Once you let the landlord does the reinstatement, he has no mercy on costs. I have seen tenants spending a few hundred thousand dollars, and had to plead with the landlord to let them go. I hope this short posting is helpful to those who needs it.

I think you have brought up a good idea. I'm not sure whether ITE conducts part time practical courses for the two skills you mentioned. If not, it would be worth the while for them to consider doing so. For basic woodworking, it may be a lot easier to acquire the skill, but welding is a lot harder. You've got to consume a lot of welding rods and throw away a lot of metal pieces of various thickness in order to get your hand steady on holding the rod-holder and mastering welding from different angles and positions. http://70wood.blogspot.com

70wood is a type of WPC. You are right that maintenance is low for wpc. Your concern about wpc perhaps can be viewed thus.... WPC is different from natural timber in that the structural formation is not the same. Natural timber has a fibre like structure that clings together like fabric, where WPC are powder like plasticized together, so natural timber is superior if the material is being put to vigorous activities like acute bending or sudden impact. However, natural timber, being an organic material, is unable to withstand test of time by itself. It has to be treated regularly in order to withstand the harsh punishment of sun and rain. WPC, being an re-engineered product to withstand such harsh conditions do not face the same problems as natural timber does. In short, under normal use of walking, jumping, or even carrying of reasonable weight, WPC fares better than natural timber for durability. But of course, natural timber will always carry the beauty of nature with it all the time.

Yes you can, but a qualified person is needed, and I supposed it needs to be included into the submission drawings.

Seems like i am always late in catching interesting topics. But never mind, just talk for the sake of it.... In the first place, it is how you want the space to look like. Although there are some rules of the thumb, but they are not really casted in stone. OK. If the space is sqauarish, it's a lot easier as to whichever direction you want the wood grains to orientate. However, if the space is longish, or rectangular, let the grains fololw the long side, and that would create a continuous flow. If you do it otherwise, the whole floor looks like a piece of chop board. Again, there is no hard and fuzz rule because if the idea behind and the complementary elements are there, the chop board can look beautiful too.

Interesting topic. The reasons given on the issue of sewage pipes were all very relevant and valid. I would just like to add that when house hunting takes place, those details matters a lot less than (1) location, (2) address, (3) land size, (4) budget, and if no reconstruction or major renovation is expected, than (5) the overall design. Indeed, it is prudent to do due diligence on the details before signing the money away.

Hello OnTheRoad, apologies for not replying to your post. Was expecting the forum to automatically notify me. What you experienced was exactly the same as my old house. The flaking is a result of water seepage from above ceiling into the concrete. Over time, it may even cause the metal reinforcement bars to corrode and expand and result in spalding concrete. It happened to many older HDB flats as well. Contractors used grouting method to solve the problem, but the upper surface has to be waterproof first otherwise it will recur. Having said all the above, I do not see how this flaking at the ceiling relates to the roof, unless what I am seeing in the photo is not concrete ceiling, but gypsum material. If it is concrete, there is no need for the roof to be changed nor repaired. But if it is gypsum boards, then the roof is affecting it.

OnTheRoad, Could you describe the leak in detail? Maybe some pictures posted here might elicit some opinions from members of this forum. 6K sounds a lot to treat a leak where changing the entire roof is only about double that, yet having said that, we don't know the extent of the damage. It could be very simple, it could be serious.

If you have all the time in the world to handle prospective tenants, DIY. That will save you commission. Careful about advise on not using lawyers, and instead use CEA standard tenancy agreements. Agents are not lawyers, and unless they are so well versed with the law, and all related statutory matters, it is best to rely on the integrity of a trained legal person. Standard tenancy agreements only provides standard terms, and where terms that are peculiar to your property per se, you may not find them inside. One thing you may want to include into you tenancy agreement if you are renting to a corporate entity (meaning a company), companies can just closed off and you may not get redress should tenant go into arrears, or breached the tenancy agreement. So ask for personal guaranteed against that contract, but this will make it difficult for you to rent out if they are not willing to sign a personal guarantee. But, since they are not willing, the risk might quite be obvious. You may also want to set a term regulating who the tenant invites into the property to reside. Harbouring of illegal immigrants is an offence, so you may want to include certain terms preventing that. http://70wood.blogspot.com

Hello Reikotan, I hope your problem with leaking roof is already solved. There is one thing you need to do if it has not been solved, that is document all transaction with the management, by email or normal mail. You may also like to know that you are protected by law therefore the management cannot unreasonably delay its responsibility to rectify your problem.

Even though I am selling 70wood decking tiles, I think the bamboo deck looks very good, and the workmanship looks good too.

These are called cultured ledge stones. They are not real stones, but moulded to look exactly like stones. I know of two types of composite cultured stones. One made with quartz sand, fibres and iron oxide, and another is polyurethane, and fibre. They all looked the same, except one is heavier than the other.

Could DIY be an option to TV feature wall? If it only cost about $50 psf + some self-drilling?