GHCY

for the height between the top and bottom cabinet, do not go beyond 750mm all the effectiveness of the cooker hood will be compromised. when doing measurements, in order to be clear use the term AFL - After Finished Floor Level , that means the measurement from the floor finish (eg. tiles or parquet) to the top of whatever cabinetry. this will help prevent misunderstanding. bottom cabinet height should be 85 to 87cm high BUT Westerners prefer 90cm. my personal view is do to the height which you are most comfortable with or using your existing house cabinet to gauge whether you will prefer it lower or higher or just status quo. i hope the above information helps. Cheers, GHCY

Height between top and bottom is 65 to 75cm. If you use tempered glass for your backing, it will never crack because of the heat. Hope this helps :-)

hi, you can try calling Kenneth 9231 9888 formerly of Urban Design. he should be able to get the works done for you. all the best. GHCY

hi, waterproofing works should last at least 5 years. waterproofing can only be damaged if you hack a hole in the floor after all works are done. pouring boiling water will NOT damage the waterproofing. most probably is that the waterproofing was not done well. some other reasons :- 1. if you have a long bath, there could be ponding of water under the longbath 2. the areas around the 'neck' of the floor trap ( the hole in the floor where water is discharge ) is not properly waterproofed OR there is an air-con discharge pipe there which is not positioned properly 3. if your house are conceal copper pipings ( waterpipes embedded into the wall ) then there could be a possibility that there is a leak in the copper pipes i always believe that if there is no 'ponding' water which means ALL water is discharged into the floor trap, no waterproofing also no problem because for a leak to happen, there must be a water source. i hope the above helps. all the best ! GHCY

if its a simple renovation , 6 weeks. if its a renovation that has potential to be on the cover of Home N Decor , 10 - 12 weeks :-) better buffer more than less. Cheers, GHCY

i hope that that the term 'internal lamination' and internal color PVC is not misunderstood. there is also white PVC and White polykem which is sprayed on white, the PVC is stick on. anyway, how you can get a good carpenter is able to tell the carpenter what you want and knowing what you want to get, and paying a fair price. all the best :-) GHCY

hi ALL, actually the process of a proper interior renovation is that you get an ID to design your house interior and then a builder/fitting up contractor to construct/realize it. a good ID may not be a good builder and vice versa. so there are a lot of so called sales designer in the market now. which actually tries to merge the 2 job scopes. unless you are really going to do something that is out of this world, i am sure that you can get what you want/like in magazines or the internet. so the role of the ID is more like trying to put together what you like and plan/fit it into your house layout taking into consideration the limitations/boundaries. unless you want to do something so unique, then you will have to be prepared to pay a bomb for the design fee and get a REAL good interior designer. as for the builder/fitting up contractor as compared to a normal contractor. the best way to put a example to this would be the following. take for instance painting works, as long as the paint 'touches' the wall, that is considered done. where else a proper painting job includes making sure that all the holes in the wall (of course if the walls have too many holes and impurities then a FULL plastering job has to be done) and filled in, rough surfaces smoothen and sealant/base coat applied before final finishing paint is applied and in 3 coats. so standards are different. so sometimes when prices are compared, it must be apple to apple or else you wont get a really accurate picture. one more example are air-con or electrical works. location of where the power points or air-con blower are standard but how the trunking are run (from the DB to position) and how the air-con blower and switches are mounted are different. therefore if you want a good design and renovation done, you must also know what you want and expect the standards to be. in that way, there are no surprises in the end for yourself and the ID company because they know what to deliver and you know what to expect. Kong Hei Fatt Choy ! 2012, may the Dragon year bring Health, Happiness and Prosperity to ALL! GHCY care1997@gmail.com

hi Niie, sad to hear about your bad experience on your renovation works. its very important actually to know that WHO will be looking after your renovation works. engaging a well known or good company does not guarantee you that the person looking after your renovation will be good too. its also a good idea that you get to know the person that is going to take care of your renovation works really well before your final confirmation. anyway, if you dont feel comfortable with the person in charge, best dont commit. i do not know how much is your outstanding with your contractor.( in terms of $$ ) but if you think its enough to do the rectification works or at least 70% of the cost, you should straight away get your lawyer to write him a ultimatum letter asking him to confirm when he can do the rectification works. if he does not reply, get your lawyer to write him a 2nd letter stating that if he does not respond within a certain date, you will engage someone else to rectify the works and will counter-claim from him. once you get your paper-work done, then you start planning on how to rectify your house defects. i will suggest you divide your house to 4 to 6 sections depending on how you are able to move your furniture around to make space for works to commence. it will be tedious but that will be the best way. example (5 room flat) :- section 1. kitchen and common bathroom 2. living room 3. dining room and bedroom 3 4. bedroom 2 5. master bedroom and master bathroom in that way, you can concentrate on finishing each section first before moving on to the next section. this will be the most effective way. another method will be to move everything out of the house and stay in another place but the cost involved is not worth it and it will be better spent on your rectification works. if you think that this is a good idea i can introduce some contractors to undertake the works for you. however if there were some sub-contractors who were good ( like the carpenter ), it will also be a nice gesture for you to approach them and check whether they would like to undertake your rectification works or not. wish you all the best. remember, then you have finish with the bitter, you will know the sweet too well too. God bless.

hi Passerbyz, you could try contacting Kenneth Chia 92319888 previously of Urban Design. he is a contractor but if you want a 'Fiting Up Works Contractor' you can get Kenneth to get him to get his associate involved. the difference between a normal and 'Fitting Up Works Contractor' is that one will think it through the things that needs to be done and the other just follow your instructions and do what is the norm in the market. especially nowadays when you have built in fridges, ovens, hoods, hobs, etc. there are a lot of thought that needs to be put into them to get the right finishing and termination. thats why you need to be clear what is the kind of standard that you want to have for your renovations before engaging the right person. its always OK before the confirmation but after the confirmation, OK might not come so easily. all the best ! Kong Hee Fatt Choy. GHCY :-)

if its your general kitchen wall then its ok. but if its for a wall that is exposed to water splashing, oil stains .... then best is to use something solid to cover the wall. eg. glass, stainless steel, tiles, solid surface, etc.

:-) ya, good communication is very important ! and i always feel instructions via email is best as everything is documented. this will cut down on misunderstandings and miscommunications. all the best to your reno ! :-)

for your information, there is a kind of shutter where if it is 80% close, there will be perforated holes which allows for ventilation. this is useful when you want ventilation and dont want the rain to splash in, of course a little rain will seep through. when the shutter is 100% close, wind also can come in anymore let alone rain. hope the information helps.

a ID person is to help you realise your plans on the actual site. their job is also to advice you on site restrictions as compared to the design intent. finally the ID will also help you filter the good workers and suppliers, and to coordinate the works on site.

if you want to do cement flooring, you should split it up to sections and use a stainless steel or copper strip inlay. if you want a cement flooring that does not crack (hairline crack dont count lah), use ready mix concrete from the cement truck. sure will be much much better :-)

your mezzanine is for a landed or condominium ?