OnTheRoad

Tiling started, which is nice to know for the start of the week... There are 3 beefy tilers in my MBRM toilet & 1 skinny one the other common toilet on 2nd floor. Common toilet shower area - blue mosaic looking tiles. The effect is much better when seen in person. The MBRM toilet shower area - got hotel look ma? The tilers are quite friendly & they sing & chat happily with one another as they work. I like that. Happy workers = good work. I'm also rewiring the entire house to prepare for a possible update to Phase 3 power somewhere down the road. At least then I just need to work on pulling the cables from front door to main gate without having to tear down the entire insides again. The electrical team has been hard at work, working full day on Saturdays as well...

Finally we finished hacking... we've also made the decision to not change the concealed copper pipes because i) copper is known to last a long time (25-50 yrs) ii) some websites advised that if pipes are not leaking, one shld leave it. in other words, don't fix what ain't broken. that's because new copper pipes will still require soldering at the joints & that is another new road to see if that will leak. iii) copper will have algae coated on the insides after awhile, but this actually inhibits the process of slow corrosion. new pipes will probably need to go through that again. iv) i don't have confidence that the copper nowadays are better than copper of old. who knows, the old copper might be of better quality! v) in the US, many households are replacing copper pipes with PEX, which is easier to install as its more pliable. The only downside to PEX is it cannot be exposed to external environments. So, in 5-10 yrs time, there might be new better technologies. Minister Khaw himself had alluded that our local construction technologies are not as advanced as US. vi) it's a good to have but not must have. We decided to save the funds for roof leakage remedies. The most important consideration is the plumbers did the test & reported no leakage. In times like these, I do wish I'm going with an industrial theme. Don't need to worry about concealed pipes... just paint all the trunkings / pipings black!

Hi 70wood, here they are: At the balcony part around the drainage joint. There should be a gutter above this roof... These are found in some parts of my ceiling here and there...not sure if this is old paint aging or water seepage? Anyone had this in your house before?

Solar is quite expensive still leh...waiting for government to subsidise renewable energy installations to consider. 300psf ah... that'll take me a long time to recoup from the savings on utilities!

Hi Jenova, hmm...i did rough calculation, assuming ur wet kitchen & dry kitchen are similar dimensions to mine, & wardrobe is 5ft per room, 50k shld be enough. With those IDs you spoke to, did you negotiate? U can consider contractor too, paloma, pinkwhale's contractor & May_dream's contractor have a reputation to live up to from this forum... tho they might be very busy now because many people are asking for their contact. alternatively, if u've time on your hands, can even engage each one on your own. the wardrobes+kitchen can deal direct, platform deal direct, its only the wet kitchen concret & tile construction that you need masonry works, unless u're thinking of using wood cabinets too. lights-wise, do u mean just lights or incl false ceiling / L-box? I've seen some contacts in this forum tho not sure if they're good. let me know if you wanna consider my ID.

Aren't these cool? Pictures taken from www.webert.it.

Tks for ur encouragement... We're believing for things to turn out well. Sometimes its a matter of coming across the right people who can do quality work at reasonable price, worth recommending as & when I come across. will check out the blog...maybe can copy some ideas from there...haha. Hv a good wkend!

Hi adidaem, tks. I've seen 2 blogs for landed 1 from here 1 from pte ppties thread... Mine is a inter-terrace built in about 2500 sf. But ya, there's the land area to take care of as well. So definitely amount will be more than EM or penthouse typically cos of backyard & front yard. I wld say depends on extent of reno ba. Minimum 130k for old house i think? There are quite abit of unpredictability in old house reno.... For A&A, the engagement of PE, getting approvals from URA & BCA alone will bring up the figure by abt 10-20k...then it depends on what u wanna do. For rebuilding, depending on how many floors, built in area, what type of professionals engaged & what materials used, I wld think it's in excess of 1mio...? I agree with Hin & bys, foundation works impt & must prioritise lor...budget must manage very well... So SS kitchen even if I want wld be low priority!

Oh champions league ah? My husband cldnt stay awake for it...haha. Oki I'll check out the gate, tk u! But haha u're right, I feel I'm just about short of doing A&A, having done so much hacking...we're saving the A&A part for reno round 2. Isit home protection insurance? I never bought this bef... Condo is nice, we will wanna move back to condo after my kids are grown up...which is 2-3 decades later.

Tks for sharing. I was kept up lat night reading up to decide if we should change whole house copper piping. Now that's been overtaken by having to get 2nd opinions abt the roofing. Really very subjective this one. Do u still hv the contact to change autogate (<2k?) can pm me if don't mind... Think the insurance is good suggestion. Which company u took from, can share?

Hmm...if u're renovating without hacking the ground floor tiles, I believe the pest control co will recommend inspection followed by spot treatment. Or using the bait system. That's why for landed, people always do this during reno to avoid more troublesome measures shld termite infestation really occur after moving in. U might also wish to check with ur left/right/behind neighbors if they've had termites prob bef...if so u wldnt wanna omit this.

erm... the several quotations i had never required a deposit until they presented they quotation & i signed on dotted line. Deposit also not 30%. I also had enquired with a pure ID (ie design consultancy & project management only, no contractor works) that quoted me 10k+ for design & project management alone. Even that he presented me with a quote first. So... urs doesnt seem to be norm based on my experiences. Don't give in! It's macam like wedding package like that...tsk tsk... there are plenty of IDs & contractors to take ur time & consider quotes on... give them deposit for what, unless u die die want them or need them then need to chope them...

Hi bys, wow 4 weeks for semi-d? did u do the foundation works - rewiring, repiping, reroofing? i've already done the termite treatment with rentokil...they checked & confirmed its dead trails. hmm...really ah? we were still thinking of keeping the gate, just cut out a side gate & install autogate mechanism...save money cos it seems roofing got surprise costs... hmm this part i'm abit disappointed with my IDs... now looking for recommended roof specialists to look at waterproofing... lemme know if u've contacts ya. yesterday & today are low points in the reno journey so far...

usually done around start of reno, during the hacking & before tiling... cos drilling of holes around perimeter is involved so u wanna be able to tile over the little holes...

Hmm..tks Aya & Hin, noted on the trap. Will ensure its a stainless steel one to keep the hotel look... I checked the pipes but it's all covered by cement, so I guess there won't be exposed pipes? For console, u mean remote control signals cant get thru plywood ah? Then don't make sense liao...But I refrain from using glass in my house for childproof reasons... Hmm, gotta think abt that one... Good thing I posted here! Missed out all these details...thanks guys.

Hi anyone has a reliable roofing contractor to recommend? I need help with my inter terrace roof, appears to have leakages so just want to patch this area. I'm doing just reno & my reno contractor's roof man quoted 6k to repair & waterproof all leak areas...I wld like a 2nd opinion. Most appreciated.

Hi rain, Prefer below to be open, don't want to monitor if there's leakage etc into the wood cabinets...I prefer to install cabinets on the wall that I can change & throw when it grows mouldy...it's a peculiarity of mine. Hehe. Will put nice laundry bag/basket under the counter instd. Initially didn't want to, we don't hv an oven now & only my mum cooks...but i just decided to get a basic one so I can play baking with my children...will hv full height cab after all. U're very detailed hor, I didn't notice there's no full height in the 3d...

Hi punggolfamily, I like ur black track lights...do u mind sharing where u bought from & how much? Tks. U not from spore motherhood portal hor? Thot I came across a punggolfamily nick there too.

Sorry to interrupt your conversation, do review the lights k, & if u don't mind can pm me the ironwood price? Tks!

Hi, I've pm-ed u.

The Fun Part - 3D Here's unveiling the 3Ds... My living room... My dry kitchen... My MBRM toilet... Open to all opinions & suggestions!

Ya lor... I also thought to change, but my dad says not necessary cos anyway government dont change their water pipes also... ultimately a good filter more important. Leakage wise the plumbers had checked & its ok leh. I wonder how long copper pipes last? 20 years? 50 years? any chemistry experts here?

Ya, it's hung at their counter on the upper floor. I'm told Balestier light shops also has...if you find cheaper than 560 share with me oso hor. Haha... then share the legal stuff only lor. Hehe... I asked cos I'm doing timber decking, & came across composite wood by Polydeck & real Accoya wood by Evorich. The latter I saw done up in my friend's place & it's nicer than Chengai wood which I have in my balcony now... so if you wan contacts & price lemme know. I haven't chosen which one but I thk the quotes given to me are both competitive.

Ya hor? nice hor...but oh, hv to maintain often? hmm...ok think twice liao...hur hur...want a neat garden...

Now faced with a decision to change the copper piping for whole house or not...any views? :s