LynZie

Updates for today

Hi there.. I compared the measurements for the screws of the new Yale set n my old one branded Posse.. From a rough eye view, it seems that the old holes could not be covered. As advised by our ID, its best to get the same old model. Finally, I bought another cheaper brand Nelon which the shop person said was the best fit to Posse handleset at 1/3 of the price. Guess if it lacks in quality wise, I can use the difference in price to replace another 2 times.. self-consolation..

Following r pics of what's been done till to date.. Till my next post

Woah...it has been a few days of hiatus for me here.. Reno r still ongoing.. Plastering r all done for the whole house.. We didn't planned to change the main door but decided to just replace the handleset..look at the condition of the current one N what a hassle it was to get a suitable one...I went to home fix to get the only available brand Yale..luckily the salesperson advised to confirm if it can be used to replace our existing one as he mentioned the old ones r usually longer than Yale's. N indeed, it was different in length. That would mean having to drill new holes n maybe the new handleset would not be able to hide the old holes.. I did saw a different brand Nelon selling at another hardware store in Jurong Point..but thinking it could be of inferior quality coz it was $79.90 compared to Yale's at $129, I striked it off the buying list on husb's advice (did the surveying on my own since husb was working) Thanks to RT forum.. Found out that some others had the same problem with Yale's handleset in term of the length. Mine was the old version branded Posse..n it seems that it's not easily available. Thru RT source, i went down to Toh Guan to check out the hardware stores there. Found the same so-called inferior quality Nelon handleset there n the shop person said this will be the best fit. So, I just grabbed it at $43.. Quite a deal compared to the other store that was selling at $79.90. Had to find that handleset fast as our ID inform that the worker will be reinstalling the main door by today so would need the replacement handleset by wed. However, when we went down to the unit today, the door was fixed but not the new handleset.. The trouble I went thru for nothing.. Another minor hiccup was when the wiring was up n we saw this... We didn't anticipated the switches will be there like duh...it normally would be there.. there goes our planned shoe cabinet..luckily the width of each of the 2 cabinet we will be using is just nice for the remaining space on that wall so that settles it..

Gee..Edlyn.. U have given quite a fair bit of tips.. Thanks soo much! Yup, time is really not on our side n with 3 kids in tow n me with a ballooning tummy, guess me n husb really took it a bit too fast in our purchases. Think we r almost done with what we thot we would need n want. Initially, there was a budget to guide us along.. But as we go along, we did sidetracked n that started with the reno cost Got my blinds at the same store where the ID brought us for the bathroom n lighting stuff.. Y didn't I even think of Spotlight? Husb thot of getting the LED strips to place underneath the kitchen cabinets. Guess for now, he has put that thot on hold after what we have spent.. He even forgo the idea of getting a frameless mirror for our dining area n settled for the mirror at Ikea which we went to purchase today. Btw, thanks again for all ur tips.. Will try to sneak in when they r doing the painting (ID did mention there will a sealant b4 the painting but guess its best to confirm ) n get husb to check the end result of the plastering... Personally, I, myself am not soo confident of plastered walls.. Coz we had our balcony wall at our previous home plastered n over the years, the edges just chipped bit by bit.. Guess it could be poor workmanship..

Hi there.. I wanted to buy the Yale handle set but was advised by the salesperson that it's advisable to measure first as the common old handle set r usually longer. Went home to measure n it is indeed longer then the Yale handle set. Can I ask if ur locksmith just drill an additional hole n the old hole is covered nicely by the Yale handle set? Thanks in advance!

Thanks for the advice NeoBY.. Hopefully it doesn't or if not just strong enuf to clear what it's supposed to clear..hehe.. Husb did check with the salesperson n he mentioned there is no diff.. Hope it's just not sales talk..

Hehe.. Actually if can sourced ard I'm sure can get cheaper version

Wow! Loved ur 1st tile design.. We got a similar design in dark grey for a single vertical tile size in our bathroom for the shower head area..just to create a different tone among our all white wall tiles.. But urs seems exclusive with shiny effect

The salesperson recommended the 1pc bowl range to us n immediately this particular one caught my attention becoz of the height.. Husb had no objections coz he said all serve the same purpose..lol! It was priced at $298..can't remember the exact price we paid for it thou coz we were given discount for the final bill of the items we purchased..

Thanks Ayazumi! Yes..Thank God..it seems to be.. Less than 2 weeks for the tentative date for our ID to handover our completed home to us.. So hoping everything will progress smoothly till the end.

It has been a hectic weekend trying to get the stuff we need for the new home. After the splurge done on sat, we took it slow to enioy our Sunday. Managed to visit our home to find some plastering done for some walls

It has been a tiring day today..decided to meet our ID since husb's not working. Met her at Tradehub 21.. A one stop shop for lightings, kitchen n bathroom accessories.. We went with intention to compare the prices from the limited places in IMM that we have recce. In the end, we got all the stuff from needed there n then...of coz with a higher price tag. Our words of consolation to each other were..we dun have to waste time to get stuff from different places n arrange differing delivery timing.. Just dun have the time n energy to roam around much with husb mostly free only on Sundays, 3 kids in tow n me with a heavy tummy.. Cost of so-called laziness : approx 2k for whole house lightings including downlights & 4k+ for bathroom accessories, kitchen sink n tap n cooker hob, hood n oven from a local brand Hobz.. Personally, I find e brand name kinda chic but I have never heard it b4. Initially, we thot of getting either the delizia or ariston package from Mayer which we saw previously. No point thinking much now.. Just hoping the Hobz hob+hood+oven can last us long..fingers doubly crossed. Only consolation is the glass hob comes with a lifetime warranty. Saw rinnai hob but was told warranty was only for 2 yrs The store was having a promo package of getting free gifts or cash disc if we meet the purchase amount for 3 categories ie bathroom, lightings n curtains. We intended to have roller blinds instead of curtains n husb thot the ready made ones at Ikea might not last us long so he said no harm getting a quotation. However, the lady i/c was not in yet so we thot we might just come back another time. Managed to settle at the store by slightly after lunchtime n the kids n even husb were complaining of hunger. So, we headed to IMM for lunch b4 meeting our ID again to purchase our aircon.. Already had our choice of aircon in mind.. Panasonic system 3.. Like e slim looking with greyish front. The best price we saw previously was at All Best.. But we headed to GC first since our ID was already waiting there. They were offering at $2378 if I remember it correctly.. But with the bracket n husb upgrading the insulation piping n taking up e servicing package..total damage set us to almost 3k Got to rush to husb's family gathering at hougang in the heavy rain thereafter when we got a call from our ID who informed that husb left his sunglasses there.. Had to be his fav so we headed to the store again after the gathering n so it happened that the curtain lady was around. Another damage to the pocket of 2k but since we met the promo criteria..we got a disc of $300. Total damage of the day for only 2 stores was slightly more than 10 grand! Husb n I promised each other that we wun talk abt what we have spent n not to check out prices of the stuff we bought anymore to save any heartaches.. But I had to to mention to him that I just bought a water spray for my mum few days back to replace the old one at only $10.90 from a neighbourhood store when we had selected ours at $35.. We could have gotten 3pcs n keep 2pcs as spares.. Well, what's done cannot be undone. We have relieved ourselves of getting whatever is needed for the new home n on a good note, our ID advised that tentatively she can handover our home by 26 or latest 28th of the month... We were expecting only to move in by 2nd week of May as initially were told it would take abt 6 working weeks to complete our overhaul reno. So now, we should be able to move in hopefully by this mth end! Now, I'm anxiously counting down to the next 2 weeks.. Wee!!! No pics taken for today..husb did asked also as to why I didn't take any pics.. But it was mind boggling already choosing the stuff at the store with the many choices n designs.. Will be visiting our home tomorrow n will snap2 then.. Our ID informed that today was plastering day.. Hope to see nice levelled walls tomorrow

Managed to drop by our house to check out the progress.. Windows up w/o grilles yet.. Our future nite view..

Hi Tankee.. Have to make do with whatever effect possible to get that bigger feel.. It is indeed challenging for a small unit without storeroom.. Hope we can manage to keep stuff out of sight wherever possible

It's at boon lay.. Been my childhood playground n husb's working nearby.. Dun wanna relocate elsewhere n disrupt kids school as well n like u said, being nearby mum's place is a bonus Not sure when was the last the painting was done but this is really an old estate with aging population

While walking towards my mum's block after sending my boys off to school, I heard loud knocking noise. There r a few units in my own block doing up renovation works. To my delight, I looked up n saw workers knocking off e windows at my utility room. So I guess they r doing up the windows for today. Will have to c the unit later when husb comes back from work

Thanks Ayazumi! Indeed a tough decision but hopefully it's for the best in the long run. Our 11yo girl also refused to sleep in her own room at our old flat so for now she would be happy to squeeze sleeping with her brothers.. Our utility room will be made into a study room for now n if the need arises in the future, it can be converted to a mini bedroom when she decided she needs her own space n privacy. Told husb that hopefully this will be our last home as I really can't be bothered with the moving anymore. It's indeed a challenge to effectively make full use of the small space we have when we r used to having the luxury of a 5room space. Thus we like the idea of having mostly light colours from tiles to kitchen cabinets n walls to make the unit appear bigger. Since there is no storeroom, we would have to make use of any space available in our kitchen cabinets, built in wardrobe n storage bed. Due to lack of storage space during the reno period, husb threw away our usable, but with minor defects like small tear n slightly peeling headboard, storage bed frame only to get the same design storage bed frame again..like duh... Lucky it's not that expensive.. If I'm an outsider, I would think that he's crazy..haha.. This is one of e storage space we hope to chuck as many stuff as we can..say like vacuum cleaner, steam iron, ladder, husb's toolbox n what-not

Hi Edlyn.. U said it rite.. The original pics depict how bad the condition was.. Previous owner was single n rooms were occasionally rented out..he decided to sell when he became blind n thus that further explains how the condition of the unit deteriotes.. Time wasn't on our side so we can't really be that bothered to recce much on IDs. In fact, we only managed to get 3 quotations as we were slacking initially with other family affairs. We only decided on our ID during the last week b4 we got our keys. So far so good.. Our ID provided sound suggestions on top of our existing ideas. Reno works on our unit seems to progress gradually. It would be great if we could move in b4 the initial estimated completion date. Btw, can I check where u got ur lights from? Husb did mentioned getting LED which he dun have much info on n I would prefer simple, fuss-free items which r also preferably light on e pockets.

Following pics includes the 3d drawings of our ideas n tiles selected..thou there seems to be some mixed up between the colours of tiles for our WC n kitchen.. But, after much consideration we just went ahead as to not wanting any delay in the whole process.. Some pics r also of the progress done to date that is about 2 weeks after the reno started ..that includes kitchen kerbs, floor tiles n wall tiles.. WC n bathroom floor tiles n wall tiles.. Utility room floor tiles.. Living room floor tiles n hacking of partial wall between living room n kitchen.. I'll be peering thru my mum's utility room window every morn to check if my unit's window is opened.. If it is, then my unit is being worked on.. Keeping my fingers crossed that the reno will go n be completed as planned.. Will be meeting up with my ID this sun to check out lightings, kitchen n bathroom accessories.. Will keep updating if there's any progress on the reno

Hi all, I have been a passerby on this site for a few months now,, checking out blogs n forums n scooping ideas.. Finally, I've decided to set up a blog on my or rather our journey to our new home. To cut the story short, due to family financial structuring and hopefully better financial management in the long run, husb n I decided to downgrade from our 5I to a 3I. Major decision it was taking in consideration that I'm now into my 8th month with our 4th child.. The space constrain for our kids..the furniture that had to be cut down to accommodate our new crib n blah..blah..blah.. But as husb always put it, we should be grateful that we have a roof over our head to shelter from the sun n rain.. He grew up with 3 other siblings in a single room flat so I guess that added to his reasoning. Anyway, it was a rush2 thingy for us.. Thankfully, the new buyer for our old flat allowed an extension of 2 mths stay when our new flat seller was unable to allow us to renovate his place b4 we officially get the keys. Even now, we are putting up at my mum's place(which is just a block away) n of course our stuff in a storage place. Sourcing for IDs was also rushed as husb was busy with work n we couldn't be too bothered to compare much. Didn't really go for the cheapest quotation but rather with an ID we felt we are comfortable with.. Of course we can't say much since we dun have that many IDs to select from..hee.. So, we collected our keys on a Friday, 23rd March 2012 n hacking started on the 27th.. Major overhaul it had to be as the flat was really badly maintained. That wasn't our issue anyway as we were looking for a unit in that particular estate n we knew we would need to renovate much for units in that old estate. Ok.. My intention of this blog is for less words n more pics but my intro is like a composition already... So, let the pics do the talking.. Finally managed to figure out how to upload the pics...hee.. So, here are the before pics