Jump to content
Find Professionals    Deals    Get Quotations   Portfolios

Ks Toh

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Content Count

    841

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    14

Everything posted by Ks Toh

  1. Ks Toh
    Is it submission to HDB must also include artwork which includes details such as the staircase side wall??? I would have thought you only need to indicate which wall to demolish which wall to construct.
  2. Ks Toh
    You only need to peep at your neighboring units to have an idea of the original state. I also think original should be metal railings.
  3. Ks Toh
    I engaged PE approval for some hacking works before and it cannot be so much. Of course, the cost of hacking it plus putting another staircase up will probably cost you a bomb. But the PE approval itself should not be much.
  4. Ks Toh
    I used Yee Sin for the racks in my bomb shelter. Looks similar to yours. Comparing your size and mine, I think Yee Sin's price should be about the same or slightly cheaper.
  5. Ks Toh
    My son bought a number of strange prints from the National Geographic store when it was closing down. My wife only allowed him to choose one to hang in his room and he chose this "Woman with Birdcage, Afghanistan" prints. I put the print in a Ikea picture frame. The Ikea frame was rather flimsy, so I had it reinforced with wires criss-crossing many, many times. Then I mounted it, and I almost immediately realised that I had made a horrible mistake. Most people do not realise it and my son was quite alright to let the mistake remain. And I am too lazy to re-do everything again. (See if you can spot the mistake) I made no mistake for this "Betty Boop (Pop Art) Poster" print for my daughter's room.
  6. Ks Toh
    I did not make any mistakes for my other pieces. But I guess for these, the orientation was clear. "Summer Orchard" for my study. "Alpine II" for my master bedroom.
  7. Ks Toh
    I took some time to install the "Vivacious" wall art from Artisan House in my living room above the sofa. It is rather big and came in two pieces. It was unclear how they were to be connected and orientated. Fortunately, my wife had taken a photograph of the piece when it was hung up at the shop. So, I used that as a guide to join the two pieces, lay the joined piece on the floor and orientated it. I used a big piece of cardboard to mark out the location of the hanging locations. Then I transferred the cardboard to the wall and marked out the drilling locations. There were about 8 of them, but I decided that it should be sufficient to install 4 screws to hang up the entire piece. The result was not too bad. Until I realised that it seems that the shop had hung the piece upside down, and I had followed suit! I came to this conclusion after I saw the hanging hooks were upside down. Instead of the piece hanging from the hook (which is the case for all my other pieces), it was now sitting on the hook. I had to secure the piece to all the screws as I was afraid the entire piece would drop off. And I was too lazy to re-do everything, as I had already drilled holes. But when I checked the internet, it seems that this is also the orientation everybody uses. So, I am not sure if this is correct or wrong. As orientated, it looks like the island of Singapore. So, I am quite content to let it be.
  8. Ks Toh
    That is not much you can do. If it is a manufacturing defect, then it is not really the contractor's fault and you cannot blame him. At most, you can go after the manufacturer and make noise. Maybe they will send people to take a look at the others etc?
  9. Ks Toh
    DIY DRILLING TILES (MARBLE, CERAMIC ETC) I read in one of the blogs that the contractor accidentally cracked one of the tiles while drilling. Although accidents are unavoidable, I would like to say that often the contractors do not take sufficient care in drilling tiles). I have drilled through countless tiles (marble, ceramic etc) without any problems, always creating a very neat, clean puncture hole in the tile. But often the hole drilled by contractors is not neat. There are cracks around it. You cannot see it because often the article you are installing (holder, rack etc) covers the hole. Once you remove the article, you can see the ugly drill hole. It is only in cases where the cracks are larger than the part of the article covering the hole that you see the ugly job. The steps for drilling tiles are the same as for drilling concrete except for the few additional steps below. STEP 1 For tiles, I always tape the drilling location with a masking tape and mark the point over it. For ceramic tiles where there is a large gap between tiles, I often try to drill in the grout lines between the tiles. My thinking is that should I need to change the location of the fixture in the future, I can just cover up the hole there and it is not too obvious. STEP 2 Using a wall nail (or screw) and a hammer, I will knock a small hole at the drilling point. This is to allow the drill bit to sit properly and not move about. STEP 3 I always use the normal masonry drill bit but you must use a new drill bit which is still sharp. As a rule, I will use a new drill bit to drill marble for about 6 to 8 holes before i "retire" it for use to drill concrete. When drilling marble, once I pass the marble and reach the concrete, I will change the drill bit to the "retired" drill bits. The problem with contractors is that they will use the same drill bit for many, many drill jobs. They cannot be changing drill bits for you every few holes. But that is why the holes are not neat, and sometimes they crack the tiles. STEP 4 When drilling tiles, you must use drill mode (not hammer) at low speed. It is only after you have passed the tile and reached the concrete that you can use hammer mode at high speed. I find that when drilling tiles, applying water to the drill bit (or hole) helps the process. This is the end result: Many of the racks in the toilets were installed by me.
  10. Ks Toh
    With the correct driver, it is possible to have a downlight that can alternate between colours. The lights at the area next to my dining area can alternate between daylight, cool white and warm white. But in practice, never really used the toggle. Just used the default light i.e. cool white.
  11. Ks Toh
    The Robinsons of today is different from the Robinsons of the past. In the past, you can always go back to get exchange or refund with no questions asked within a month or so, and I believe many of us continue to believe that. But when I tried to get a refund on a teapot recently, the staff pointed to a line on the receipt which said Refund only within 7 days! And the refund is not in cash, it is into a stored value card. I also bought the mattresses and the salesman promised me the sky. He said as per Robinsons' policy, I could change my mind anytime before delivery. I wanted him to write down what he promised but he said there is no need, as this is guarantee by Robinsons. But this was not totally true. I faced some problems claiming my free coffeemaker for every mattress etc. Basically, get the salesman to write down what he promised.
  12. Ks Toh
    I have no idea, but I have another one that is mounted just above the inside pond (Refer to pictures on page 1) and so far my fishes are fine. According to the literature, very little of this spray is released.
  13. Ks Toh
    Haha. The improvement is in the use of a PC, excel and colour printout. Payment terms to be negotiated between you and ID / contractor. Sometimes ID / contractor needs to pay sub-contractor first to order material etc. Ideally, pay only after work completed. But if amount is not too big, and you see progress, can pay just before each stage. I think you need to supervise daily.
  14. Ks Toh
    My advice to you: 1. Pay according to progress: after hacking, after cement screeding, after carpentry etc. If you pay up almost all upfront, you are stuck and cannot go to point 2. 2. Have an exit plan. This guy may never deliver. Maybe you may have to cut him out and get someone else to finish the job.
  15. Ks Toh
    I have used the Electrolux hood and it was great. Strong suction power. Mine was the duct out model EFC9573X but everything else should be the same as your model. This model is Made in China but I actually preferred it over my much more expensive Made in Japan Ariafina cooker hood (by Fujioh).
  16. Ks Toh
    STEP 5 The final step is just to screw in the screw and hang up the object!
  17. Ks Toh
    STEP 4 The amount of dust created by just one drill hole can drive you crazy. If you just let the dust fly all over the room, it is going to be very difficult to clean up. One method is to turn on the vacuum cleaner and hold it below the drill hole. Make sure you turn on the vacuum cleaner! This (forgot to turn on vacuum cleaner) happened to me many times. I normally just use the vacuum stick (do you call it pipe) without the end part that attaches to it, and hold it very very near the drill hole. However, from experience, I think somehow an envelope stuck just below the drill hole does a better job. With steady hands, go ahead and drill until you reach the masking tape marking. When starting, the drill should be switched to "drill" mode. Make sure also that the drill is turning in the correct direction i.e. clockwise. Drill slowly at first by pressing the power button lightly, increasing speed only when you have already "entered" the concrete. You can use the "hammer" mode subsequently if you have difficulties drilling through. Once the hole is done, you can use a hammer to lightly push the wall plug in. The wall plug should be flush with the wall. If the end sticks out, likely you did not drill deep enough. You can use a pair of pliers to pull out the plug, and drill again deeper. Or you can be lazy and just use a penknife and cut away the protruding end. Use a damp cloth or tissue to clean away any dust stuck around the hole.
  18. Ks Toh
    STEP 3 Determine and use a pencil to mark the desired drilling location on the wall. Choose the location most carefully. Avoid hidden electricity cables, water & gas pipes or other cables e.g alarm. If there is a power point or switch, note that electric cables are normally laid vertical from the top down to the point (although some workers are lazy and do not follow this practice). Water pipes are normally laid upwards to the tap or outlet. If you look at the texture of the wall, sometimes you can tell clearly that the portion of the wall is not original meaning something has been laid underneath it. This is why for those who lay hidden cables and pipes, it is often a good idea to take photographs. Ideally there should be layout plans, but in practice, I have not been given such detailed drawings. Before you start drilling, it is best that you hold the object, bring it to the point you have marked and ask your wife to confirm that is the location she wants. Sometimes, my wife changes her mind. At least, it is not too late if I have not started drilling.
  19. Ks Toh
    STEP 2 Determine the appropriate screws, wall plugs and drill bit. You can use the screws and wall plugs supplied (if any) but I always prefer to use my own screws and wall plugs. The three types of wall plugs I keep are white, red and green. These determine the type of drill bit and screw size that you can use. 95% of the time, I use No 6 to 8 screws (not sure how you call the screws but basically i use a slightly bigger screw), white wall plugs with a 5 mm masonry drill bit. Sometimes if the object is heavier, I use a bigger screw, which means I need to use bigger drill bits and red or green wall plugs. In this particular case, I am going to use a 5 mm drill bit, white wall plug and a No. 8 screw. I like to use white plugs because it is the colour of most of my walls. My practice is to use masking tape to tape the screw to the length of the wall plug. This helps me to determine when to stop drilling. Screws come in various lengths. Buy one that is longer than your screw by just enough to hang your object. I think usually I buy 1 1/2 inch screws. Flat tip is best for most uses. Buy stainless steel screws if possible.
  20. Ks Toh
    Ok, back to the topic ... DIY DRILLING AND FIXING OBJECT STEP 1 Open the box and see what you have got. There may be installation instructions to follow. Make sure you have all the proper tools (see above posts). In this particular case, no screws or wall plugs were supplied. Often, screws will be supplied with some white, grey or beige colour plugs.
  21. Ks Toh
    I find one of my best investments was my Bosch electric drill. I have used it for more than 10 years and it is still working perfectly fine. I would highly recommend all of you new home owners to buy one of these things that can last for a long time. I don't think those rechargeable types are a good idea, not for drills. A rechargeable screwdriver is very useful, though not absolutely necessary. It will save you a lot of time and many sore fingers, especially if, like me, you like to buy lots of Ikea furniture and fix them yourself. Once you have it, you will not want to be without it.
  22. Ks Toh
    DIY DRILLING AND FIXING OBJECT This morning, my wife asked me to fix up 2 Shieldtox NaturGard Automatic Insect Repellent System units. So, I thought I would document the steps. When I bought my first property, I was fortunate to be neighbours with a few guys around my age. One of them used to work as installer for electricity cables etc. He taught me how to drill etc. It is something I realise that not many people today know. DISCLAIMER: The following is what I have been doing without any problems for more than 10 years. I don't know what is the textbook or correct way of doing things. BASIC TOOLS For those getting your first home, I think you should have at least a basic tool set. It will come in handy. I would highly recommend the Ikea basic tool set. (The newer version comes in a nicer box). Ikea also has a longer set which comes with (if I remember correctly) a wooden saw, right angle ruler, clamp but I find the only things really useful inside are the measuring tape and the leveller, both of which you can buy separately. If you are iphone or smartphone crazy, you can even use your iphone or smartphone as leveller, though I am not sure how reliable it is.
  23. Ks Toh
    Latest LED lights acquisition. Merry Christmas !
  24. Ks Toh
    My wife will flip if she sees this. She will demand that all brand names be removed. Especially something so big.
  25. Ks Toh
    Better ask the experts. I have no idea.
×