Ks Toh

For my toilets, I used white Volakas marble for the walls and Black Galaxy granite for the floors. WC and basins all white from Toto. One tip I would like to share is the shower area. If you have a kerb or drop (to keep water from coming out of the shower area), this must be OUTSIDE of the shower door. I find many workers these days simply doing the kerb or drop directly below the shower door, or worse, inside the shower door. Then they use a rubber seal (not sure what you call it) below the door to try to stop the water from coming out. The seal does not work.

I asked my supplier and he told me they are "porcelain stoneware". No idea what it means.

For the kitchen floor, we considered various options before deciding on this: These are Etic tiles from http://www.rice-fields.com/ecowood.html. Looks and textured like wood, but suitable for use in wet areas. We were happy with them, and decided to use them for our yard floor as well. (Refer to yard picture above) Wood tiles for kitchen wall tiles as well.

Lucky I refused to pay for the Haiku fans and opted instead for the Vento fans. The Vento Uragano is nice. The Vento Libellula was not so good.

I am quite certain that the vast majority of people who choose laminate flooring do so not because "they came from sustainable forests" but simply because they offer many designs, are easy to lay relatively inexpensive, and are suitable for their needs. Indeed, for the majority of commercial units, especially those on rental, laminated flooring makes sense. You are going to tear up the whole place anyway in a few years' time. However, different considerations may apply if this is your home and you intend to stay there for a long time. I agree that timber or wooden floors are probably less environmentally friendly. In mitigation, I can only say that instead of ripping out the floor every few years (which you might do for laminated flooring), I did not rip out the wooden floors of my past three homes. In every case, I simply re-sanded the wooded flooring and it looked like new. Likewise, the person who bought from me also simply re-sanded the place. I should add that for my balcony, I used wood from www.accoya.com which claims to be from sutainable sources. If one is truly concerned about the forest and the ozone layer, then you should not even use wood at all, whether from sustainable forests or not. You can always use wood-like tiles, which I did for my kitchen and yard. Or go with bare cement - that seems to be a design for some people. Anyway, I appreciate that everyone has different needs and priorities, and that for some people laminated flooring may indeed be the best option.

Have you solved your problem?

You can use those tiles that look and feel like wood. I used them for my kitchen and yard. I got them from http://www.rice-fields.com/ecowood.html but you can find similar ones in many shops.

I guess most of us who say "warmth and natural feel" are simply responding to the question as to why many people choose timber or wooden floors. If cost is the most important consideration, I would choose tiles. I don't know if the technology has improved tremendously over the last one year, but so far I never have the solid feel walking on laminated flooring. There is this "hollow" feel. And quite often, you can actually feel the floor has warped. The worst case I saw in Taiwan was the entire floor in the sports section was undulating. Although we always think we can just change the floor every few years, the reality is that we won't do it. Too troublesome. But tiles are practically for forever.

Definitely because of the natural, warm and cosy feel. Unless you wear shoes into your bedrooms, maintenance is not an issue at all. One advantage of timber/parquet flooring over laminated flooring or homogeneous tiles is that after many years, you can re-sand the floor and it is new again.

Hi Best to contact my contractor directly. Price may be different due to dimensions & volume (he did all the carpentry including kitchen & wardrobes). Also need to stress that I have no idea what the Ikea design is, and do not know if my design is the same. It's just that externally, they look similar. Plus, the carpentry does not include the counter top (silestone from Builders Shop) and basin (from Toto).

This same contractor did all the electrical for my house, arranged through my ID. All the prices you have been quoted are cheaper than those I paid. But I guess it also depends on a number of factors including: - landed or condo (probably due to cabling distance) - exposed trunking or concealed I see you did not include heater points, 2 way switch etc. These are more expensive. The final bill is likely much higher because of all these, plus you will add new points etc.

You need to give more details.

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Everybody has different ideas. My take is that since you are going to have down lights, might as well put in cove lights. It's useful for ambience. Even for lighting, you cannot rely on the lights from most fan lights. It is true that a cove can trap dust. But so can the tops of any cupboard, fridge etc. In my case, I never cleaned it. But unlike in the past, where the cove is literally a huge cavity, these days, it can just be a ledge that is big enough for your cove lights. So, the area that traps dust is not much. And if you are using LED down lights and LED cove lights, this ledge can be even smaller. Here is my cove light for my previous place.

Not sure if this is the case with yours but when I bought my fans, both the shop and installer told me fan warranty applies only if I use their supplied regulator.

Nice white theme. I also did mine in white (and black). White sofa, dining chairs. Glass tables. White dry kitchen, black wet kitchen. Toilets white walls, black floor.

Is this acceptable? If so, can contact my contractor Freddy Shim from OPSH. 91017921

The simplest solution is to buy a fan with remote control. It should be possible to buy this fan with remote control. I have two almost identical fans, but from Amasco, both 3 blades, short stem, with LED light (changed from E27) and remote control. The switch on the wall will control power to the fan. The remote will control whether you want to turn on/off the light and/or fan and its speed. There is no need for regulator. If you do not want to use remote, I think it is difficult to do concealed. I believe you need to run another wire from fan to switch (unless some guru can think of a solution or maybe your developer had pre-laid additional wires). I don't think you can simply pull a wire. For the switch, you can buy one with 3 or 4 gang. But you still need a space for the regulator, right? If you use remote, there is no need to install a regulator.

I have been using ducting out for my kitchen exhaust for my last three homes, and it is excellent. I know that HDB does not allow you to knock a hole in the external wall or hang the ducting outlet out of the kitchen window, exhausting all your cooking fumes to your neighbours. But if you have a kitchen followed by a yard, can you simply hang your ducting outlet such that the exhaust is output to your yard, in the same way you would do for a portable air-con? Just in case you are in a position to do this, note the following: 1. Must buy the duct out model of the cooker hood. Many makes have two models, one for circulation, one for ducting out. Typically, the duct out model does not have those filters. 2. Most kitchen contractors are not familiar with ducting out hoods. They do not know what to do. You have to supervise 3. Some models do not come with the ducting tube. You must buy separately. 4. Use aluminium tape for taping. Your contractor will likely use normal masking tape. 5. You have to buy the external exhaust grille yourself. If possible, get one that can open/close. I had that for my previous place, but for my current place, I was not able to find it. (Ok, for HDB, you definitely cannot do this. No hacking of holes in the walls, please. You just have to hang your duct to your yard (assuming this is allowed). Sorry, I am not able to advise if this is HDB legal. But just giving you a design to consider.

For my previous place, we overcome this problem by installing a short rod fan (KDK V56VK) in the centre on the bare concrete ceiling with down lights and cove lights at the false ceiling at the sides. Works great. No flickering shadows. So, for current place we used this same method for most of the rooms as well as the dining area.

Time for a commercial break ... We searched high and low for this vase to replace my old one which was cracked. 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 found the supplier overseas. It cost us only US$50 each but shipping, insurance and cargo clearance added S$900 to the bill ! Just in case the vase was damaged during shipment, we bought 3 pieces. 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. Selling at cost at S$350 each or S$600 for both. Vase is about 60 cm (2 feet) high and 58 cm wide at the widest part. Please PM me if interested. Self collect.

Hi The carpentry is all by www.opsh.com.sg. Look for Freddy Shim 91017921. I am not sure what was the charge pfr. I think it depends on materials used etc. Best to check with OPSH.

I have been using ducting out for my kitchen exhaust for my last three homes, and it is excellent. But unfortunately, I think it is not allowed for HDB and most condos. Just in case you are in a position to do this, note the following: 1. Must buy the duct out model of the cooker hood. Many makes have two models, one for circulation, one for ducting out. Typically, the duct out model does not have those filters. 2. Most kitchen contractors are not familiar with ducting out hoods. They do not know what to do. You have to supervise 3. Some models do not come with the ducting tube. You must buy separately. 4. Use aluminium tape for taping. Your contractor will likely use normal masking tape. 5. You have to buy the external exhaust grille yourself. If possible, get one that can open/close. I had that for my previous place, but for my current place, I was not able to find it.

a washing machine? dryer?

All my wardrobes and cabinets, including my hall TV feature wall and kitchen, were done by http://www.opsh.com.sg. Freddy Shim 91017921. Wardrobes are using pole system. I have been using pole system wardrobes for many years. I like them because the space is maximised. The wall serves as the back of the wardrobe. Conventional carpentry requires a wooden carcass to be constructed, and these take up usable space.