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Ks Toh

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Everything posted by Ks Toh

  1. Ks Toh
    Where I bought my LED lights from: 1. All the downlights and cheaper lighting are from A LIghting Enterprise at 463 Geylang Road. Look for Alex Lai. Tel: 67451826. Alex's prices are very reasonable, if not one of the cheapest. Of course, cannot compare with buying online from China. 2. All the more expensive lights are from Alvin Ho. He is now with Premier Lighting. Tel: 6844 6512. 3. All the Philips lights are from http://www.lightings.com.sg. I believe their prices are fixed. Their biggest shop and warehouse is at TradeHub 21. Go there if you want to see the whole range. I forgot to add that initially, I had wanted to consider Philips downlights. I thought maybe if I buy Philips, I should be able to get spares easily in the future. But at that time, Philips did not have this type of downlights I was looking for. Even at their shop, they were selling third party lights.
  2. Ks Toh
    And finally the Philips iCare LED desk light for my kids. Useful because it has 2 USB ports to charge your iPhone with one more to spare! Especially since the ID and contractor always under provide for power points.
  3. Ks Toh
    I also bought two of the normal black box LED floodlights. Looks like the normal halogen floodlights but using LED. The small one is 10W equivalent to about 70W halogen. The bigger one is 20W equivalent to about 100W halogen. These are much cheaper.
  4. Ks Toh
    Next the floodlights. I bought two AZ e-lite XL LED floodlights. One with sensor, one without. They are really bright and nice. They have two sizes, big and small. I bought the big ones, 65W LED equivalent to around 450 to 500W. However, I did not get a good price for these two. And I am still trying to figure out how the sensor works. There is a smaller model.
  5. Ks Toh
    Next, the track lights. These are normal halogen track light holders but I put in LED bulbs. My wife wanted something simple. Not those with big transformers. Each is 6W, which I was given to understand is equivalent to about 35W halogen. However, the price of the LED bulb is expensive, many many times the price of normal halogen. So, in terms of cost, I am not sure if it is worth it. Still, they look pretty. And I feel happy every time I consider that I am using only 6 x 5 = 30W of power. But I would be happier if they are brighter.
  6. Ks Toh
    Hi guys If the parquet floor has been around for a long time, there is a chance it has already been re-sand a few times. In that case, be very careful if you intend to re-sand. Expressly tell the contractor to be very careful. If need to, do one small area first. Check, check, check. There is a limit to the number of times you can re-sand. In my previous place, the contractor got carried away and the floor was sanded till damaged. In some places where the wood overlap and join, it was very thin or hollow. Some places, a hole formed. Had to use wood putty to fill up. All very ugly and unacceptable. If I knew, I would have just lightly sanded or maybe don't bother. Better to have nice rough wood than smooth terrible wood.
  7. Ks Toh
    We had a headache trying to light up our hall. The hall is rather high. Originally, there was a huge light in the centre hanging from the high ceiling but we had changed that to a fan. We could not have a fan light as that meant having to have a remote control for the fan, which was not advisable for reasons which I had explained earlier. We could not have down lights or cove lights as there was no false ceiling. The only option was to have wall lights. But most wall lights are not meant to light up the area. They are meant primary for ambience lighting. Those that were really bright were those 300W to 500W halogen lights, and we needed 4 of them. Even then, they were shining upwards, and not bright enough for the whole place. In the end, at the suggestion of the light shop salesman, we chose 4 LED ceiling lights but fixed them as wall lights. The result was pretty good. Our backup plan was to have some standing lamps if the place was not bright enough but this proved unnecessary. Each of these LED lights was 12W and we were told they were equivalent to 70-80W halogen. We had 4 of them. Total 48W. I cannot imagine if we had to fix 4 of those 500W halogen bulbs. The heat generated and the energy consumption would have killed me!
  8. Ks Toh
    [back to Table of Contents] As can be seen from the photos of my dining area and room, my standard ceiling design for places where I want to put a ceiling fan is to have a false ceiling at the sides, with cove lighting and downlights. This works for me. I do not have any problem with flickering lights even with fan switched on. For cove lights, I originally intended to put LED strip lighting but changed my mind halfway and used normal T5 tubes instead. First, I was afraid that the LED lights might not be strong enough. Secondly, I did not know how to buy the LED strips and was afraid of buying the wrong thing. However, for my dining area cabinet, I did use Philips LED strip lighting. No regrets. I have a 5 m strip on top and a 2 m strip in the middle. The strip on top seems brighter, probably because it is reflecting off a white background, while the one in the middle seems more subdued, probably because it is shining onto the open cavity. As far as I can remember, Philips LED strips come in 2 lengths: 1 m and 5 m. They can be daisy chained up to certain length (which I forgot). Interestingly, you can cut the LED strip at designated areas every 5 cm. Notice the scissors marking.
  9. Ks Toh
    I feel that we should listen to our own instincts. Like the time when I wanted to put a spare power point in the false ceiling. I had no idea what I needed it for, but just in case. The ID thought I was crazy. My wife too. 2 against 1. I was out-voted. No point in the false ceiling. But just the other day, my wife asked if I could think of a way to fix a webcam on the ceiling without running ugly wires in sight. I thought for a moment, and .......... now where are you going to get the power from up on the ceiling ????
  10. Ks Toh
    Hi I turned on my V56 at highest speed and noticed that there was a slight wobble. But in my opinion, it is not as bad as yours. Anyway, i took a video for you to decide for yourself.
  11. Ks Toh
    I can confirm that the LED down lights are more lasting. When I was using PLC, I had to change bulbs every now and then. For LED, except for the initial stage when I had to change some defective units, I have yet to change any of the LED bulbs. However, I did notice one problem. For PLC, I could just change the bulb. I need not take down the entire casing. For LED, you have to take down the entire unit, casing and all. This meant applying force to remove the fixture from the false ceiling. Inevitably, the sides are damaged, and this is what you get if you look closely. It is irritating, but I have to live with it. Thankfully, it is not obvious if the light is switched on and if I don't point it out. But maybe I would not have this problem if I had chosen one without the glass trim. But the glass trim is nice! Cannot have the best of both worlds, I guess. [back to Table of Contents]
  12. Ks Toh
    We choose a LED downlight with transparent glass trim that is almost identical in size and design to our previous PLC downlights which had 2 x 18W PLC energy saving bulbs in each unit. According to the shop, our 12W LED cool white is equivalent to the 36W PLC energy saving. This means it consumes only one third of the energy. This is what we are given to understand but there is no way for us to verify this. Size wise, the LED light is clearly much slimmer. This means you can have a higher false ceiling. In terms of brightness, I can confirm that it is almost just as bright. However, LED lights tend to have less "throw" i.e. the light does not travel as far. The LED lights do not give out heat, which helps a little when you are trying to cool the room. For the LED lights at the area next to my dining table, I decided to buy the same type but with a different controller. When you switch on/off the switch, the lights will change from Daylight > Cool White > Warm White. Cost me about double the price. I thought it would be fun, but honestly I have yet to really utilise it. I turn it on and use the default Cool White.
  13. Ks Toh
    Lights. This is one area many of us are interested. Like many others, I wanted LED lights. But first, let us look at the advantages and disadvantages of LED compared to conventional lighting, or what I was given to understand at the time I was considering lights. Pros: 1. Energy saving 2. No heat 3. Longer lasting 4. Due to slimmer profile, do not need thicker false ceiling Cons: 1. More expensive 2. Not easy or cannot repair (may have to replace entire unit) In the past, the price of LED light was many times that of conventional lighting that it did not make economic sense. However, by the time I was making a decision, the price had come down to about double only. I understand that now, it is even lower. That being the case, I decided to take the plunge and go LED. Thus, about 95% of all my lighting are LED. As for repairs/replacement, I did not buy any expensive LED lighting set where the whole set may have to be replaced if one bulb blew. As for down lights, I used the same design throughout my house including rooms, toilets and kitchen. I bought a few spares. Should some units need replacement, my plan was to use the spares and if not enough and I cannot buy replacements, to change the lights in one toilet or room, and use the existing ones as spares.
  14. Ks Toh
    Hi greglhc, yes DIY can be very satisfying. That is, if you don't mess up anything in the process! As for the electric sander, I actually borrowed it! So, I don't have one to lend. So sorry.
  15. Ks Toh
    The other project, which I did only yesterday, was to change my letterbox lock to a combi lock. I thought it was a clever idea. As it is too troublesome to always bring a key to unlock it, we leave it unlocked all the time. But if we can have a combination lock, we don't have to worry about the key! I could not find it in any shop here, so I bought it from Amazon. Although the job looked simple enough, I somehow took a long time to do it. And I also felt kind of giddy after that.
  16. Ks Toh
    I have a Chengai bench which I bought more than 10 years ago. Compared to the Chengai wood of today, that bench is still solid. No cracks or warping, even though it had been out in rain and sun for more than 10 years. When I gave the flooring job to the contractor who re-sand my floor and repaired some decking, I told him to include re-sanding and varnishing this bench and he agreed. But after the flooring job was completed, he backed out. He claimed that the bench was already painted and it would be extremely difficult to remove the old paint. He offered only to re-paint over it. I decided then to do myself. I used an electric sander. Tried over a few days and did not achieve much. The contractor was right. It was almost impossible to remove the old paint completely. Unless I shaved off the top layer of wood. So, I gave up. Just remove those parts of the paint that were loose and re-varnish over it. Lesson to be learnt. Try not to paint over wood. If possible, just varnish. If you paint, then in future, you likely will have to re-paint over it again.
  17. Ks Toh
    I see many of you here DIY some parts of the renovation process. DIY is very common overseas, especially in USA and Canada. But they have Home Depot and all sorts of DIY shops which sell everything you need. And contractors are expensive there. Over here, we rely on a few DIY and hardware shops. Some tips when you DIY: 1. Make sure you have the right equipment. Buy or borrow. For example, if you need to drill, make sure you have the right drill bit. If you need to saw or sand large pieces of wood, use an electric saw or sander. You will literally die doing it by hand. 2. Protection, protection, protection. Make sure you use cardboard or some soft material to protect the floor or work space. You don't want to DIY some beautiful object only to find that you have also DIY damaged your beautiful floor. 3. Be very careful. Do a little, check a little, do a little, check a little etc (including the surrounding areas). I learnt it the hard way. I drilled from one side of the wine cabinet but forgot the crystal glass backing on the other side. Ooops.
  18. Ks Toh
    Just a thought, If you guys need ventilation holes for the cabinet under sink, why not locate the holes at the bottom, at the portion of the base that sticks out of the concrete base? Is that possible? I would put it there if possible.
  19. Ks Toh
    Hi I have 4 KDK V56VK and I can confirm they do not wobble, at least not the way you described. The one time one of them wobbled a bit visibly, the technician came down and did some adjustment. He said he did some balancing but added that by right, KDK fans need not be balanced. (I think there is supposed to be some auto-balance mechanism?). If you can take a video and post on Youtube, I can look at it and compare with mine. To me, it is not right to have a fan that wobbles terrifyingly at high speed. How can that be acceptable? And if KDK tells you that is normal, something is wrong.
  20. Ks Toh
    I wonder why all the sub contractors / workers are always called Ah Something. My carpenter was Ah Jia, electrician Ah Boy. The rest also Ah something.
  21. Ks Toh
    That is the problem with IDs and contractors. They always under provide for power sockets.
  22. Ks Toh
    Hi snowblind My understanding is that if you choose a light colour on a small sample on the catalogue, the same colour on a large wall will look much darker. As for CCTVs, there are many options: installed by pro, DIY, models etc. If you don't mind using an IP camera like me, you can consider this setup: http://www.renotalk.com/forum/topic/62505-top-kew-drive/?p=824181 But you will need a power source and internet connection (can be wired or wireless). And of course, if the thief makes away with your IP camera, there is not much more you can do. But you will be able to monitor the site from your smartphone 24 hours a day, even without lights.
  23. Ks Toh
    If you noticed that the vases in the two photos are different, well they are different. The lighter one was the original vase. You can see some parts of the outside glazing peeling off. So, we tried to find a replacement. We searched high and low. Went to all fish farms, nurseries & vase suppliers at every corner of Singapore but could not find a similar vase. They were either not green, or did not have the 3 frogs at the rim. Eventually, my wife searched the internet and found the maker of a similar vase in Myanmar. Just in case the vase was damaged during shipment, we bought 2 pieces. The seller decided to throw in a 3rd piece as well. One piece has been installed, leaving the other two. The vase can be used as a water feature (as in my case for my koi pond) or simply as a planter. Vase is about 60 cm (2 feet) high and 58 cm wide at the widest part. Please PM me in case anyone is interested. It cost us only US$50 each but shipping, insurance and cargo clearance added S$900 to the bill ! I am quite proud to say that I installed the new vase myself!
  24. Ks Toh
    The contractor promised me "crystal clear" water. for the inside pond, the water has been clear from day one. No problem. However, for the outside pond, although the pond is clear most of the time, sometimes it turns dark green. After flushing out some of the water and fitler for one or two days, it will turn clear again. I am still trying to identify the problem.
  25. Ks Toh
    The bio-filtration system sounded very advanced. But as far as I can see, it is PVC pipes with holes, followed by black plastic tray, then green netting followed by lots of granite. Initially, the water was cloudy (from the granite) but after a few days, the water became clear.
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