adidaem

Hey wanna share that we finally found our guest bathroom mirror, and it's a fairly surprising choice I think. If you are interested to read the whole long story of why we got it and where from, do pop by HERE. Nice? It just amuses me lor.

Btw, fans of Bludot, Established & Sons or Pomelo... I just popped by Pomelo this afternoon and the coming shipment of Established & Sons will be delayed till after the Presidential voting weekend. Bludot shipment is in early-Sep so by mid-Sep the showroom should be full of nice new stuff to drool over. Is the planned outing still on?

Thanks JS & BB! Yep, just went on-site this afternoon and can see the design/feel coming along now that most of the carpentry are installed. Can't wait for the reno to be completed too! Photos embargo till the reno is done! It's really not too bad. Cos we intend/need to get a tall ladder for the wall lights anyway, so if we do need to clean the fan, we'll just stand near the inside/furthest from the balcony opening so it's not that scary. The fan rod is 2.5m long btw. Realised that it's nice as a feature as well cos it draws attention away from the 2 compressors and all the ugly pipes/casings in the balcony. Plus good for non-windy days, and for gatherings/drinking beer in the balcony.

Selection for Newgate clocks is a very limited at The Good Things tho. And prices not too attractive... (vs shipping in) but I do like window shopping there. If you go Clementi and have time, do check out the chwee kueh stall at the market. Yummy... branch of the Bedok one I think.

Think at least double lor... Good luck with your reno. Btw in the pic above, the "wall" where the switches are on is a false wall... that's why no protruding wires or box for the switch.

Only a few more days till completion, so I think I'll just post completed pics so spare you the incomplete mess. Have promised to let my IDs take pre- and post-furniture pics. ID sent me this pic today. Grills up! Almost forgot - the lock will change. Think my IDs cannot take how ugly and protruding the grill lock is... so when she sent me the pic and she also quickly added that the lock will change. Anyone got suggestions on a nice and simple doorbell? We just need the 'ding dong' sound (traditional huh?!). But design of the button and sound box must be either plain to the point of being unnoticeable or got some nice design. Help anyone?

Haiya, which is why i think got chance of phase 2.5 lor. Now too late to change. Yes Joyous reno coming along nicely. So nice to see photos.

I got 'bimbo' question... If my usual table is 1.6m, but extends to 2.2m, what's the length of the plastic sheet I should get? Just thinking if I get like 2.6m, then 50 cm will be hanging on either side most of the time. Think quite ugly right? But too short, then when extend also look weird. Anyone got suggestions? And how much are the plastic sheets?

LOL, I was reminded while reading this that I haven't told my parents (or his) that we have black toilets. JonsMom, don't worry so much about the comments. I'm sure they mean well, but you are the one staying in your home, not them. *** Joyous, can I have the granite contact pls? Just in case I hate my solid surface and need to change in Phase 2.5 of the reno... Thanks babe!

7 minutes to Great World City (we timed) by car and about 10 to Orchard if no jam. But I prefer hawker food in hawker centers. Ghim Moh market n Holland V is nearby too.

Oh ya, forgot one important point my contractor mentioned today... he told us that our direct neighbours are nice people. Despite the noise and dust they've had to put up with, they never really complain. He'd mentioned that his other clients' neighbours can end up quarrelling with the owners, so I think we are lucky to have nice neighbours. Gotta remember to thank them when the reno is over.

The lamp reflection on the table looks good. Will you be getting those transparent plastic sheets (like book wrapper but thicker) to protect your table? I feel a bit 'auntie' about it but I intend to get the sheets to protect my table.

Ok, to be fair about the whole incident, my ID explained that the charges are higher due to concealed wirings/switches. So as I understand from reading other RT threads, concealed points are more expensive than non-concealed ones. Any experts to help clarify? I also took the chance to look around the electricals in the apartment today and it's true that many of the switches are concealed in false walls/panels or in carpentry. The electricals VO is still not resolved, but I don't feel as upset. At least I think I can sleep better tonight lor. Unlike the last few days.

Am really glad I took half day leave to go on-site. Such a happening day. We saw our electrician (again), carpenters (1st time), plumber (1st time), a few guys seeming to randomly paint random corners at random times (couldn't figure out how those patches to paint were selected), contractor boss (again) and of course our IDs n contractor. There was like a party in the house (very crowded lor). Think around 15 pax in the apartment excluding SO & I. So before we reached our place I called my contractor to ask for help to carry the bathroom accessories and we expected him to send one of the workers down... instead he was at the void deck with his boss and a big trolley !! ! Ya lor was so surprised. He said his workers all very busy so he send himself lor. Actually all the electricals drama/angst aside, I still think that he is a very nice guy lar. Was told the installation of the carpentry started today and should finish by Friday. Think we saw everything onsite, and was greeted by the (surprising) sight of the lift lobby being packed full of carpentry when we first arrived. By the time we left, the lower kitchen cabinet was fixed, as was part of the utility area and the breakfast counter. In the MBR, part of the wardrobe and bed was fixed too. The carpenters also put in the guest toilet door and the pelmet for the sliding panels for the LEGO room. Of course, they moved all the cabinets inside before locking up for the day lar. Oh ya, and the cable for my dining lamp was fixed in. There was a little bit of drama in that cos I'd insisted that the placement was wrong (based on my naked eye agar-ration of the table size and space for chairs), so the electrician consulted ID, drilled a hole and then I still insisted that the placement was wrong (felt like the homeowner from ****). We finally figured that the CAD was not updated for revised ceiling downlight placements and the measurement was based on centering of the lamp between 2 of the downlights (which would have resulted in my dining lamp being off-centre since the downlights moved). Anyway, so that was my contribution for the day lor, amidst all the standing around and trying not to get in the way. Other updates... the parquet for stairs were in, ceiling fans were fixed in all the rooms, and the ugly balcony rail was gone. Toilet bowls were fixed too. Also went thru placement of the toilet accessories (so so many of them, ha!) with my IDs, contractor, plumber and electrican (for the magnifying mirror in my toilet). Really quite funny cos someone would act as the 'model' n sit on the toilet bowl while the others start figuring out where to put the toilet roll holder, bidet washer, etc. As usual, we spent the longest time in my toilet cos I've a toilet fan, a magnifying mirror, towel rail, towel rack, etc, etc. Starting to see the place coming together and feel all excited again. Ha, so much ramblings. Thanks for reading.

I don't have a choice, so move in than unpack. Very rushed... Think either is fine right? Cos it's when you start sleeping over that counts right? Errr... not sure. Not that bad lar. Think the fan is 2.8m high? Also why we chose a black fan... dirty also not so obvious. That's good to know! Thanks!

Can't sleep (no need to guess why, ha), so decided to post something that amused me when I saw it over the weekend: Wonder if the blades have gone up? Yep, the one and only balcony fan in the entire block... actually, been looking out for other EMs with balcony fan and haven't seen one yet. Hope we are not too crazy to install one. Unfortunately the ugly big metal bar is not removable... so that really spoils the view... the ugly hand rail will go tho (that rail is at eye level when seated, so really horrid). Am looking forward to sitting in my balcony after move in.

Am not officially a Queenstowner yet, but based on what I know the steamboat stall n zi char stall is open at night. Seems quite popular/crowded too. But yeah I think it's a predominantly daytime place. Am looking forward to moving nearby in a few more days/weeks. Any other nearby food places or is that the only one around? If not I also like Alexandra Market which is not too far by car. Haven't had time to go thru this blog but I suspect it'll have a list of makan places. http://myqueenstown.blogspot.com/

Thanks SR and Joyous for sharing your quotes. But as I'd mentioned, enough whining for today. I'll just quietly mope/fume about it. No leh... it's all internal walls which is why I think it's pre-fab wall panels. Anyway, those stupid grooves cost $700 to fix.

Haiz... still so upset, but shall control & not whine about it for the rest of today. Just moved all our toilet accessories, lights and the other bits and bobs that need to be installed to the car so that we can pass to the contractor tomorrow for installation. Yep, that's over $5K worth of stuff in the car. Luckily in SG we don't worry about car-jacking. Have also arranged for all the furnitures and electronics to be delivered on 25th - gonna be a mad rush from morning till evening! Originally we'd intended to move the stuff in on the 20th (original handover date), but looking at the status on Sunday, we decided to give them a few more days. Plus we don't want to get dust or paint over our furniture. Unfortunately, voting day on 27th so we can't get any deliveries that day. 29th is our actual move-in date. Yep, wait till 7th month is over lor. With the big picture in mind... yes, reno is gonna be over soon. Yay.

Oh, it's due to my bad photo taking and poor resolution lar. They are definitely there. Some more obvious than others. I think the grooves are due to HDB using pre-fab panels/walls. That's what my IDs told us.

Hi all, Joyous PM-ed me her electrical quote and confirm that the VO pricing is way off the market. Just by comparing the common items like electrical points, my VO went down by $1K! That's like 1/3 of the VO cost lor! So u imagine lar, my per point charges are like on average 50% more than hers! Can others with reasonable electrical quotes pls send me yours for reference? I'm using it to argue against the VO charges cos the VO charges are definitely not per market rate as they'd mentioned to us. Haiz, am really so upset with the electrical pricing.

LINKY for phone browsers to pan n zoom (click on full version at the bottom of mobile browser screen)

Well, this is an expensive reno lesson... before agreeing to any VO/changes to the reno, must get the quotation...

Sigh, still no other contributions... I'll add another EM that I think has served as a source of stairs lighting inspiration for many. Yep, Cleong's EM in the Northeast: Hey, I'm fast exhausting the EMs I eyed when I 1st started my reno... can someone pls start the ball rolling too? The eye candy folder on another forum that I modelled this thread on was always such a joy to scroll thru... really hope to see other great looking reno being shared.

Thanks for your timely reminder bro. Have asked my IDs for a lock. A little uglier cos it spoils the facade of the panels, but I told them I need the lock to protect my precious toys from pesky kids... I'll prob have to stop myself from whacking the kid/s if I see my precious vintage MISB sets opened lor... I think my IDs are not getting a cut. We've asked them to nego with the contractor and reduce the price cos it's just shocking. Can you pls send me your electricals quote? If PM is too difficult, my address is: amodularlife@hotmail.com. Thanks so much. Compared to a 4 room flat, EMs have one extra room, a balcony and a stairs. I don't think $6.8K (lowered after assessment of all the points) is a fair price and I really feel over-charged. Has anyone heard of a $6.8K electrical bill for an exec HDB? Actually even $5K for a 4 room is quite excessive since Joyous managed to do hers for $4K... Anyway, I'm super upset about the VO pricing. The initial contracted price was fairly reasonable. The VO price is just mind-boggling. Think about the price also Haiz...