Homeowner

Heheh...wah, horror stories here! Me kaypoh a bit. Hello, Jan...welcome My current place uses gas heater and gas pipe, but my electricity bill per month is only abt $80-120 per month, depending on usage/ estimation. IMHO: pipe gas is a little more expensive 'cos $22 LPG seem to last and last a very long time. But, you get more cabinet space. For electricals, hob and hood, Hong Liang, Goh Ah Bee, Everjoint, Mega, Audio House, Poh Joo-hob/hood,... Think the most efficient way is actually to call them for the price if you know exactly what you want...cut out the leg work After you get the best price, call back another shop and see if they can better your best price .

Congrats! It'll be even more exciting when you see the tiles you've selected on the floor/wall...and when the kitchen cabinets come up...woah!

Paiseh...blog, blog, blog and no picture... The contractor lent me his catalogue. Here's the picture of the stainless steel dish rack on the catalogue. You can see it has three parts: one for the dishes, one for the bowls, etc. and tray to collect water. The one I got has a black plastic tray instead of a part stainless steel one like the picture.

I didn't go to the shop. I just called to find out the prices and got the contractor buy for me 'cos they offer the same price regardless of buyer so might as well let the contractor order direct. They do sell other kitchen stuff but these are chrome-plated. I got my drawer liners and powder coated steel carousal from Ikea instead. Cheaper. The catalogue also features other contractor stuff e.g. handles, hinges, ventilation caps, door knobs, pants hangers, etc. Very interesting to look at but not sure whether these are useful to the average homeowner.

Lights at the kitchen area from Nan Wah. "Sunburst" light at all three toilets, the frosted glass has a sort of spiral design, silver base... Really like this a lot. Light over the laundry area. Unbreakable plastic cover in case my bamboo pole accidentally hits the light. Utilitarian kitchen light...paiseh, the ceiling not yet painted when this picture is taken.

My electrician bill is only $860 with designer switches! :dancing queen: But, no rewiring, same light points and own co-ordination ('cos not contractor's electrician).

Seems quite okay 'cos mine is abt $21k for kitchen and 3 toilets. But, I may have slightly more carpentry than yours. Have you checked your kitchen layout for the exact length of cabinets you need? Nippon paint had $1500 package promotion for Exec. Dunno whether promo. still on. GMC was saying that all the contractors he worked with mixed paint...and he moved 8 times. So... We're prob. using my FIL's co.'s daily rated workers and buying the paint ourselves. We're leaving the old ceramic tiles for the bedrooms and stairs. The sellers have good taste...the tiles are bearable and I really like the stairs tiles and living/ dining rooms marble flooring. But, do check their reference carefully for a stress free reno, e.g. how is their workmanship, do they deliver on time, any hidden costs... Give you an example, my contractor has trustworthy workers. I go on site, I discuss any uncertain areas, I see their work, I feel very assured. They take pride in their work. So, I spent very little time on site (once or twice a week for one or two hours) and trust them to do their work nicely. Stress-free reno, very smooth...maybe after moving in, we may be more observant of any defects, but so far there is no rectification required. The other group ignored instructions, nice or not doesn't matter, slapstick workmanship...aiyoh, you feel upset, worried, angry...have to source for last minute babysitters so that you can be on site to make sure they do rectify properly...have to be mean and bitchy (makes you feel really very lousy in the process)...think the few hundred saved is not worth it. My total cost has climbied up to $33k 'cos we succumbed to nice wardrobes ($3k for 1+ wardrobes) and doors (sliding kitchen + 2 toilet doors+sand & repaint main door $900).

Besides the electricians and the air-con guys, the third group of people present on Monday were the wardrobe guys from Seng Kwong. And, I must say that I am very pleased with the plastered gypsum board walls that they did up, plastered and painted...very, very nice and very professional. No pictures 'cos you have to be there to see how smooth and nicely painted the walls are. But, gosh, it's really no easy task co-ordinating the various groups when you have a family to juggle as well. Dunno how you managed to find the time, GMC.

TAG hardware trading pte ltd, 18 Kranji Road, Tel: 6269 8831. The code for the 3 piece stainless steel rack is S304, p22 of catalogue. Three sizes: 560mm, 760mm ($28) and 860mm ($45). Was looking at it today, the tray I got is black plastic though. The catalogue picture shows a stainless steel tray with black plastic sides. Since it is significantly cheaper, I don't mind.

The electrician agreed don't need to rewire the whole flat 'cos the wires are protected by casing. Said "don't waste money". We just changed the sockets and switch boxes. New wiring for kitchen 'cos we changed the layout. But, we don't have fancy ambience lights and PLCs and we have to use back the same positions for all lighting points, give and take an inch or two. And, there a few out of date wiring e.g. antenna wire for TV, telephone wires in every room (before the avent of the wireless phone) that we asked the electrician to remove. For sockets at eye level, the electrician extended the wiring with connectors and put them lower. BTW, thank you, GMC, for your recommendation. I'm very pleased with your electrician. My electrical bill is <$900. My take on the rewiring issue: rewire if you want to change the layout of your lights. Don't rewire if you are happy to stick with the old lights layout.

1. They mismeasured and drilled four extra holes in my bedroom wall. The other side is a red brick wall. Rectification done today, with WHITE cement. 2. There's a beam that runs across the boys' bedroom to the toilet wall. The sales manager forgot to inform the installers that we wanted to do a pelmet across the beam and the installers extended the casing perpendicularly out of the beam ('cos didn't drill diagonally as instructed) and also ran the casing in line with the beam. Corrected immediately yesterday after I highlighted the mistake. 3. They drilled very big holes...the contractor was shocked, said that the company he uses normally drill very carefully a little circle and pull the trunking through. The sales manager said today that they purposely drill very big holes so that the insulation will not be damaged when they put the trunking through. Walls and corners restored to satisfaction today with white cement. To their credit, at least they didn't damage the bathroom tiles and they worked overtime today to mend the holes, plaster all gaps in the casing and so that the casing blends in with the wall... 4. We had a marble table set at the balcony, the sellers' gift. The installers made an effort to contain debris from drilling using a styroform box, but still some pieces flew off...I had to put a cardboard box cover to protect the marble table set. When I highlighted to them that debris were falling...they said that they're already careful. But, what really took the cake is this: Have you ever seen aircon casing right in the middle like that? That's when I blew up and insisted that they redo. They redid today so now the casing lies very nicely at the side next to the wall. Should have taken a picture of the after today 'cos it's very nicely done...will post it another day ('cos must be fair to the installers). I never knew that the stainless steel brackets had to be drilled through to the bedroom wall...so ugly...what to do? A 21 year old flat has no air-con ledge.

This describes today's air-con. installation: !! The contractor and electrician have never seen such cowboy installers!!!! Retification tomorrow.

warranty for the elements...was told to look out for double elements in water heaters so that if one spoils, the heater can still be used.

Yah, that's the best thing abt moving house...can remove all the little irritants of current place.

Do post pictures of the spray painted bathroom. Did you see a sample of the finished product before engaging David? Actually, think the tiles are already quite nice...looks like childrens' bathroom....perhaps it's the hygiene factor, huh?

heheh...maybe your lamps are a bit difficult to find...

Can hide under false ceiling and conices.

Dear lynzi, take it easy...first and third trimester are a bit more risky... reno. let your hubby do the legwork..send you photos to approve while you rest at home .

No, that's Crystalng. But, think I may have gotten you mixed up with someone else with donut basin and chandelier babies...

Looks like your reno. is completing soon too. Congrats!

Think it depends on what you want the bedroom to feel like: earth colours are casual and comfortable; red is fiery and makes a strong statement.

Hey, your new cabinet colour looks similar to mine. Is this for the kitchen cabinet or the room cabinets? The new handles updates the look. Ditto for the walnut doors. Nice chandelier....so where are its babies?

Haven't started packing yet...prob. next week I have chosen a very light coloured woodgrain laminate, Cherry Rosato (similar to birch), with matching light coloured woodgrain ABS trim. The light colour is chosen to contrast nicely with my Black Galaxy granite countertop. It's also supposed to help make the kitchen appear brighter and bigger. Didn't choose white or gloss colours 'cos these are hard to maintain - dirt and scratches can be seen easily. Not the high-maintenance sort of person . Didn't choose dark colours 'cos need the kitchen to appear bright - need yang (bright) places to lift my mood . Didn't choose solid colours 'cos patterns on laminate help to camouflage dirt/ stains...until I next clean them . The kitchen looks so nice and bright now with the white tiles...think it'll look slightly smaller next week when the cabinets go in.

Here's the slightly sunken shower area without the sloping skirting. The u-channel is in the sunken shower area. The glass shower screen fits into the u-channel. The boys' toilet with kerb. The wood lookalike kitchen floor is done, together with the fridge and washer bases. See what I've done? I've positioned my fridge above the floor trap! Bought a holeless floor trap to minimise exposure to humidity. Reno. likely to finish next week. !!

Welcome...post many pictures!