yoongf

I recently did an experiment with my shower. Original setup was a storage heater with a concealed mixer. Shower was very powerful and hot. But, as u mentioned, I din like the long time to get the hot water, so I installed a 3KW Joven EC707 instant heater. (Joven models specs allow high flowrates) The mixer instead of the hose going to the shower head, I it connected to the instant heater, and then instant heater was connected to the original shower head. Observation.. When full blast, the water was slightly warm. When flow was halved, the water was hot. This suggests, the instant heater cannot heat the water fast enough. I changed to the original joven showerhead, which had tiny water spouts instead of the normal sized TOTO shower head. The water was hot even at mixer full blast. This suggest that the instant heater showerhead was designed as a water saving feature, and limited the flow. My conclusion.. using instant heater .. the water pressure will be ok. But then.. the heater will not be powerful enough to heat the water. If got bathtub, which requires high flowrate to fill the tub, then instant heater sure no use. If bathtub is purely used as s shower tray.. then still ok. Therefore.. best is do like me, storage heater setup.. but connected to a instant heater. Best of both worlds. If the storage hot water heater reaches the instant heater, the instant heater has a overtemp sensor cutoff, so the instant heater wun be double consume power.. so still ok in terms of power consumption. But .. imagine.. 2 water heater power points! To install bathtub.. need to build a low wall to support the tub. That brick wall need to sit on cement screed (instead of sitting on orignal tiles) , so that few tiles have to be removed. Can replace with some nice skirting tiles ( or mosaics) after that.

installation of feature wall - laying bay window top - decking - varnishing -lights- painting - wall paper Heavy / wet works, or dirty work first. Varnishing is normally oil based, so water based paint drop on it can easily clean up. Varnish drop on paint is game over. Wall paper must be last, because any defect is not repair, but replace. Decking may be dusty due to sawing + sawdust. If lights already in. imagine cleaning the chandelier.

use mirrors!

I don't quite understand... for concealed system.... the bolts holding the white bowl are mounted onto the concealed blue frame. http://www.hongsoon.com.sg/site/?m=100&f=130&p1=1041064947&p2=1093584305&p3=1113416210 Why is there a need for a wall bracket to mount the bowl? The brick wall in front of the concealed system is purely for asthetics, it is not a load bearing wall. <-- I not implying u are heavy.

Dun get cheap ones. Get the branded ones. Cheap ones will tarnish. imagine seeing and touching it daily! Yale, Kwikset are good brands. Best is Balwin. Balwin buy from US (Home Depot) is super cheap compared to local distributor price. Can Vpost USA to Sg.

If u are reno from scratch, then can embed the cabling into the cement screed to pop up in the middle of the floor. alternatively, can do pole system shelving (Ikea type), or simply mount a see through glass partition. But. the space infront of the main door.. that is dining rm rite? If so, then u built a cabinet, one side is buffet table, other side is tv console. Either way. this design is costly.

Whoever is asking for it to be done is to bear the full cost. If we go by the logic, that costs are shared, then I will try.. hmm.. why not use titanium flashing, it will last forever since zero corrosion. Why not build a higher wall, then all got more privacy?

Those older HDB flat walls.. the original walls are simple cement block walls, dun even have cement screed, so don't expect original construction to be flat or SQUARE to the room! Can see the block patterns. Plastering walls is a major effort. Need to factor in smoothness, flatness, SQUARENESS to VERTICAL and HORIZONTAL and Floor/Wall. Without redoing the screed, is hard for a simple plasterer to promise all these. When tiling or doing built in cabinets, all these squareness issues will pop out. Therefore, need to manage expectations. If expect perfection, redo all the screed/skirting etc.

Sim Lim Tower got many shops in the basement and level 3 selling those surge protected power bar. Most comes with individual switches, made in taiwan, but is not approved for local use. The sockets can take the local 3 pin plug.

The general specs are referring to the "electrical wiring" to the aircon compressor. Not referring to the aircon gas piping.

Floor tiling is the wettest and dirtiest of all works. Shd be done as early as possible. Many things rely on floor to be in first, such as door measurement. Pix show the works look correct sequence.

CSC can be 6 months to 3 yrs after TOP, depending on how much outstanding issues there are. TOP basically means safe for public occupation, while CSC means the development has fully complied with govt requirements. Normally, airwell was introduced for a reason, ventilation or light. Simply decking over usually creates some new issues. Perhaps take this time to go look see how to make it more livable. Use glass flooring for natural lighting, or might want to put in a fireman's pole for the kids/pole dancing etc.

After TOP stil cannot do, need to be after CSC. (Officially). If get own contractor do, then original developer warranty voided. Try to talk to the original contractor to do the works, as a seperate agreement between owner and contractor. Be nice, so they dun void the original warranty. If possible, talk to the contractor now, so they can prepare the mounting position. Dun get the developer involved. Sure 100% wun agree, simply because they cannot agree legally.

Buildings before obtaining CSC cannot be amended. Wanna amendments, dun tell the whole world.

Wad do u mean tile up void space?? U mean u wanna concrete up the void, then tile?

No. Any stress on it, it will shatter. TRy to penertrate through the silicon?

Alternatively is those homogeneous type, with many colour options. But my view is that kitchen sink is a functional item, and durability and design is more important than looks. It's better to have a timeless design, rahther than risk a pattern that will could be outdated in a matter of months. Can get double bowl, deep, undercounter etc.

I dun see the value of having a full depth suspended kitchen cabinet. Firstly, light is not going to reach all the way back to the 600mm depth. U will create a dark zone. Is better to set in somehting like 400mm, so at least the lighting can reach the rear skirting. Easier to mop the floor also. Sometimes, yr kitchen sink.. the waste pipe goes straight down to the floor, so.. the rear skirting is also required to hide the pipe.

Roller blind in toilet window not advisable. 1. When closed, block out all the light and wind. 2. When open, give neighbour free peek. 3. When closed, and wind blow, give neighbour free peek also. Best is to use those venetian blind. Can adjust the angle for ideal privacy and airflow. Ventilator fan still best, get windy feeling. But I think is not allowed, but there are ways to go around it.

" ..... The more recent ones don't even come with grills. " Landed properties that came with grilles were those built in the 70s, like Opera Estate. That was a long long time ago. Safety and security is a personal choice.

Unless u are living in a GCB, u dun need 100A, cos unlikely u will be using all at the same time.

U shd be aware that any pure solid colour (especially white), any imperfection will really stand out. so far I see, Hafary at Defu got white homogeneous tile, and also got white compressed marble from Malaysia.

CPF Accrued interest is $ that goes back to your personal OA account. It is not interest earned by CPF. Therefore, I don't see why this topic is such a big issue.

At which stage of construction are u at, becuase once the structural plans are approved, this is not a changeable item. Clay roof tiles are normally supported by wooden purlins. Concrete or steel is not a usual material, unless u are referring to the beams holding up the wooden purlins? Ideally, beams should be concrete, but if the span is long, then the thickness will be an issue, and steel is preferred. Steel can be galvanised to reduce corosion issues. The area is hot and humid, so painted is not ideal.

The first 60K in CPF acct earns extra 1%. This gives even lesser reason to repay down the HDB loan. http://mycpf.cpf.gov.sg/CPF/News/News-Release/N_13May2011.htm