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Hi KSToh! Thanks for dropping by... 1. I agree about the blame shifting game.. and. Totally agree with you sometimes the savings you get is not worth the hassle. But if the savings is more than $200 leh...? What's your take on it? 2. Hmmm.. What you said does make sense, that the glass should be installed first because there are only so many places (one) we can install the shower screen. But I guess what I meant is that the Measuring should be last. Actually initially I called JY to measure the glass area first because I was kiasu wanted them to make it quickly...but he told me I need to 'do everything else first' then call him. As a result, I installed everything and the plumbing guy also installed the rack too close to the track. I did not know the top track of the screen was going to be so fat. 3. Haha... by 10yrs experience in drilling, I meant just handling drills in general. Not that you need to be working as a contractor or handyman for 10yrs kind of experience! While it's definitely true that you need confidence, I had a lot of confidence (I was very haolian I could do it) but that did not stop my test tile from breaking LOL. I guess better for me to err on the side of caution and to advise other forumners to exercise the same caution...otherwise they too gung ho then spoil their tiles then blame me for defective advice! And YES bro your tutorial on drilling is very helpful...! Everyone who wants to attempt, pls check out KSToh's neatly organised Tblog...

Hi Mr K... are you THE mr k who is the much sought after contractor they are talking about? Here you go: http://www.renotalk.com/forum/topic/21051-good-contractor-to-share/page-4

And thanks @Pelect for your kind offer, it so happened that I was buying these lights anyway

Hi hi all..! I got some switch plates n sockets changed for $10, yayyy. Happy with work and service, so would be happy to recommend if anyone needs. Only thing is they are the electricians who were used by lights.sg (?) where I bought my lights. So essentially if you have lights to install, they charge $40 for the first light then the subsequent lights are $10 each.. if I recall correctly. I need to go bck to the house to check my receipts. And then they charge $10 per switch/point. In other words, they will need you to make it worth their while to go all the way to your house... so the more stuff you have for them to do, the cheaper per unit.

Got pics please? Thanks..

Long weekend...! Anybody going for any reno fairs of any kind? Or got lobang for any sales???

OK here's a new update for those of you who may be stuck and bored in the ridiculous queues at the #Padang. Hope you brought enough powerbanks...! Nan Huat Doors (glass works) So if you have read my previous posts on how I kena Jack in the Beanstalk by our friend at ACME glass, you would know that I was left last minute to find someone else to do my glass sliding shower screen and main glass swing door. JY was the young guy who first answered my queries when I stumbled upon their website. He was straight to the point, and after seeing the pictures sent a guy down to do the measurements. I told him that the budget was definitely a concern, and he was kind enough to give a discount to a nice auspicious number (for the total of both the shower screen and swing door). I was anxious about them starting work and delivering before CNY, so kept asking him how to pay him the deposit. The funny thing was, I had already withdrawn cash to pay the guy when he came for measurements, but he said to pay JY directly. JY told me simply to transfer the 50% deposit when I was able to... he didn't like rush me or be paranoid that I wasn't going to pay. Oh and then when I was not able to for a couple of days due to my internet banking needing a few days to add a new transfer recipient, he was cool about it (because I didn't have my internet banking token) and let me ask my friend (who is already a transfer recipient in my internet banking) who conveniently forgot to transfer promptly. He was quite lackadaisical about the collection of the money at both points (before and after installation) so it makes for a pleasant customer experience... not to be hounded and conned by people. Anyway, so then his men came to install the glass stuff. It was 2 people, and not one word of complaint was uttered about the bathroom being on the 3rd floor... even though they were sweating by the time they got all the glass panels up. They were very careful with the glass and took safety precautions, so I was quite relieved. Thought they were going to be bo chap cos the price was so cheap, but I was pleasantly surprised. Initially, we did have a problem. My plumbing guys had installed the wall mounted towel rack/hook thing at the wrong position, too close to the edge of the wooden door. The shower screen support needed to be installed right where the plumbing guys had installed the towel rack/hook, so this meant it needed to be dismantled, which would leave uglyyyyy holes in the walls At first I was LIVID. I was like, I didn't pay $8500 to have this bathroom full of holes on the walls! Then he said really no choice and I was like... omg, my worst nightmare has come true: HOLES IN THE WALLS. So I calmed down and told him, let me think about it first. And I told him to install the swing door first. I paced up and down, thinking and thinking. I thought maybe I could not have a shower screen after all... which would have been fine for me because the bathroom looked nice enough as it was. But then, surely, the company would not allow me to cancel the order of the shower screen because it's custom made. It would not be fair to refuse to pay for the shower screen, because it was not their fault. So I began thinking of other uses for the glass. And I got an idea, to use it on my balcony railing with a U-Channel and brackets so that I could paste on the privacy film and have the balcony I had been thinking of changing to! Excitedly, I called JY and asked if I could get the guys to do that instead. At least I would be utilising the glass (which happened to be of a similar size to my railing. JY was nice about it and said no problem... so I went to the guys and told them. However, when I brought them to the balcony, the guys were not very confident of doing it and declined. I was like, it's easy... you can do it! But then the Chinese guy was like, "Cannot... I scared later the glass fall how? Later my boss will scold me." I tried to convince him a few more times, but it was no go so it was back to the thinking corner for me So after much heartbreaking thinking, I agreed for him to remove the rack. So pek chek... saw all the holes after that But then they installed the shower screen and it looked nice. I had to force myself to not look at the bathroom for a week after that, as I felt very very upset everytime I saw the holes. Anyway, the next day JY came and I told him about some defects that happened during installation etc. He said those were unavoidable, and I was honest with him by saying that I think it's a very fair value for the price and I was happy to work with him. Even the handle for the swing door, he actually went to look for me a matte one instead of shiny (because I don't like how shiny tends to show up fingerprints and stains very easily) at no extra cost. And he knew I was on a budget so he advised me to not go for sandblasting (about $150 more), since I can just paste the privacy film to give the door a frosted look. I would really recommend Nan Huat for those of you looking for shower screen or doors. Even though their designs are quite limited, you'll be fine if you want just a simple design for your house or shop or office. And based on the service and quality (so far), I would give an 8 upon 10. I'll update this blog in a year and in 5yrs to share how the doors are holding up too! So here's a tip for you: If you have fittings, get them installed first then get them to measure where the glass has to be. Please make sure your co-ordination is correct, or at the very least if it's not then make sure your fittings installation guys can come back to help rectify their mistakes. For me, I was lucky... Clement's guys did come back (when I asked them to help me check if there was a leak) albeit after like 3weeks after CNY! Last tip is: Do NOT attempt to drill and install things on your own (unless you have at least 10yrs of driling experience) because you might crack your tiles. I do have some years of drilling experience, so I thought I knew how to just drill without waiting for Clement's guys to come. I mean, how hard can drilling tiles be compared to drilling normal concrete walls right? Wrong. Heng ah I tried practicing first on a leftover tile...it broke! I think I had the setting on to the hammer mode, that's why. And then I was like, ok. I shall definitely engage the pros to do this because I was so deathly afraid I would ruin my beautiful tiles. Oh and here's a really, really final tip: Where possible, ask your installation guys ahead of time what drill (brand, model) they will be using. And the drill bit (the measurements). Then buy a new masonry bit for them (just a few dollars) and when they come, ask them to use the new bit. I know this sounds ridiculous, but. 90% of cracked tiles happen because the drill bits are blunt and overused (makes sense right?), while 10% is just human error. So, knowing that your contractors and all these installers will not be changing drill bits for every job, just try to ensure that they use new ones you provide to reduce the risk of tiles cracking or being damaged. Pics coming up in the next few posts... Stay tuned.

And congrats on the awesome powder coated frame... looks very nice! I was thinking of doing it for my bathroom as well, but then i decided not to because too many black contrasts already.

Actually hor, the door looks great just like that...! IMHO la.

Hi Ashly, nice transformation of your toilet..! That's sort of what I did also to my dated 90's bathroom. Most people I showed the fugly 'before' pics could not believe how amazing it looked 'after' My old shower screen was aluminium and acrylic, so not a problem at all. You just need an electric screwdriver and a mallet to knock it out with some force. If it were the glass shower screen, though, maybe will be more challenging and heavier la. As for the sink... uh... we always remove it ourselves. Very easy and not at all heavy. You just need to know to turn off the pipes etc. You can save at least $200 doing all these yourself! I also put up half of my balcony perforated metal railing. I say half because I did all the drilling and fixed all the brackets, screws and bolts onto the concrete. Then I had to call my 'manual labour friends' to help me carry the perforated sheet over the existing railing (it was heavy and over 2.4m long, required 3 men to carry) and to fix on the bolts to the brackets. I only had to pay my friend $30. Railing and engineering companies were quoting me $300+ just to do that... wtf. Hahaaa... men cannot be perfectionist meh? Allow me introduce you to Dr Frasier Crane:

Not sure if you looking for plumber or leakage specialists, but if looking for plumber can try Clement at 81999168. They did my bathroom, I find the service very good attitude and reliable.. But if you looking for those leakage/ spalling concrete specialists, I'm not sure. You might want to ask Clement... he may give you contacts if he doesn't do himself. Good luck!

Hi Elfi, Yeah...! I learnt so many new things from this reno. Painful lessons too 1. Rain shower - Nope, it's both hot and cold. The heater is storage heater, I kept my old one and didn't change so they didn't really touch it (in the concealed ceiling of the bathroom). 2. Rain shower pump... hmmm, don't need leh. It's perfectly fine the way it is, perhaps because the original pressure is fine in the first place Thanks for your kind compliments, paiseh.. there are a lot of very interesting blogs and interesting forumners who write much funnier things than me IMHO. I don't know how to be naturally funny like them, my sense of humour is a bit lame and most ppl don't know when I'm joking and when I'm serious Feel free to ask away...! I'm still only 80% done with this blog, as I want to talk some more about the shower screen, glass door, stickers and plumbers. Just haven't had much time to get on Renotalk these days...

And thanks for the comments on the door... Yes, I am gonna do exactly that indeed! Am keeping the door as it is for now... it's actually quite swee

Hihi Eventide, I would think Meng Heng can recommend people to install. But I think it may depend on who you speak to..? If it's China staff who can't be bothered, they will tell you the standard "I don't know". Try to speak to the senior management of the sales dept and develop rapport with him. That time I got the quotes from Meng Heng was kinda long ago, so I don't remember who I spoke to that mentioned they can recommend. Unlike light or bathroom fittings shops, a pure glass supplier like Meng Heng may have very few 'direct installers' to recommend. The reason is because they actually supply to a lot of contractors and third-party type of service companies. They get a lot of business from these guys who then con us with the inflated contractor prices... so they try to avoid asking people to go direct. They don't want to offend their regular source of business ma. So just take note... if the people being recommended are those kind of freelance handymen then they should be cheap, but if the recommendation is like a company that's a contractor whose business is to supply and install these glass things then they will be not much difference in price so you might as well go to these companies. Otherwise you go through all the trouble for $10-20 savings, bo hua leh.

Hi Pricilla... cute cat pic! Thanks for your comments... Unfortunately, changing the door is not an option at all. Bo lui. My only 2 options are to paint it, or to leave it as it is. I get what you mean... lol but haha that's the point of a vintage industrial look I guess? Make it look like a bit grungy. I actually purposely sanded the door to look like that. Before this, it was just a normal looking brown door. Heh.. but I think different ppl have different taste..

Choosing a Glass Company I'm sure you all must have read about that Punggol freak accident death where the shower screen broke and the guy died being cut by it After that happened, I was even more paranoid. I mean, how and where can I get a cheap but good/safe shower screen done at such a last minute timing? Some things you need to consider when asking for your quotation are to make sure you mentioned it's tampered. If you want laminated for extra peace of mind, ask them also (this will increase the price significantly, by about $120++). Then there's whether you want it sandblasted or not, for that frosted glass look. It will also be another $100+ extra. If you don't want to spend that money, they can advise you to go for sticker/film alternative instead, which technically is only $20-30 for the roll of film itself BUT labour charges will be $120++ if you go to a company to ask them to do it for you. Honestly, it's actually easy to do (to me) but you just need to trial and error first then you will become pro at it. Which means, depending on your ability to scale the learning curve, you could end up wasting a lot of the film on your mistakes. I had gone to a couple of glass places before, including the famed Besglass and a few random others at the AMK Industrial Park. I was being quoted $680- $700+ for my shower screen, and $500+ for the swing door, which was simply way over my budget. When I was at the TPY Besglass, I was actually very attracted to their range of products on display... very nice, and the sales assistant was quite patient (maybe because she was bored - I was the only one there on a Saturday afternoon). But their prices were a bit steep for me, so I had to find other alternatives. Meng Heng actually has decent prices, is a local company (that I love to support) but unfortunately it does not install. It only supplies glass pieces, which can be customised. I've gotten a few quotations from them before and the prices are indeed competitive. But because it's glass, I don't want to take the risk of installing it myself and decided to leave it to the professsionals. So after much searching and calling around (Round 3), I found this company Nan Huat that specialises in doors.

People in Glass Houses Must Not Throw Stones Ok, continuing where I Ieft off by way of the reno story, I had actually chosen a company to do my shower screen (1 fixed, 1 sliding) and my glass swing door (as the entrance of the bathroom, apart from the above wooden door). The bathroom is an adjoining common bathroom, so the wooden door leads to my bro's room while the other door leads to the outside (lounge). After going back and forth a few times on the phone and via SMS, this Edward guy from ACME 'confirmed' that the shower screen was $480 and the swing door was $380. I specifically gave all the measurements because my width and the door size were slightly bigger than normal ones. Just slightly, but I wanted to make sure the price took this into consideration and that there were no hidden additional charges. Here's proof from November that I confirmed it with him: But as with my previous experiences throughout this reno, this scummy Edward guy also did a 'belakang pusing'. I had called him and arranged for him to come to my place for the measurements on Saturday 24 Jan 2015; the night before, I asked him what time he would be able to come. He said 11am to 1pm. When I sent him my LANDED property address, he suddenly claimed that the price was $600 for the shower screen. Instead of the above $480. Can you imagine my anger? When I called him, he claimed that he didn't see the measurements [see my pictures above as proof that he noted the measurements the first time round liao]. I msgd him: "That time you said it was $380 [in June 2014]. AFTER I told you the measurements [in Nov 2014] you said $480. Now you jacking it up some more." And "Please be reasonable la. I had wanted to ask you also to make swing door too, but now I'm afraid to even ask bcos you will try to jack up the price again." But he just completely ignored me, and didn't respond. Needless to say, he didn't even bother to turn up the following day too.. So please avoid this company at all cost. So untrustworthy. Liar. P.S.: If you note their ACME website, it states that their factory is in AMK and for the contact number it's a different mobile number beginning with 8. However, if you do a simple google search with the term "ACME glass Singapore", one of the top hits shows on googlemaps that this "A-ACME Design" is located in Balestier and the mobile number shown is this Edward's. So not sure what's going on there, if this Edward is still with the original ACME or not. Just be careful and avoid such snakes to save yourself the trouble

Anybody...? The door? Suggestions..?

@pelect: You're an electrician...?

The Doors Does anyone think I should do something to my wooden door? I personally feel it looks really nice like this. The other alternative is to paint it black... but why bother when I've achieved this vintage industrial look?

As for installing rain shower, mine was done by my plumbing guys... You can call Clement (boss) to enquire about the pricing as it would be different from mine...since I installed a lot of things. His number is 81999168.

Hi Tarzanboy! I just measured for you the showerhead. It's 30cm x 30cm... I guess it's a lot bigger than the standard size then?

Ya lor... that's why I am planning to reserve my time for the repainting around the socket/ the whole wall. Because this one I'm more expert at haha.. compared to electrical stuff. Division of labour

How did I spend $8k on a toopid toilet? You may want to read my t-blog here: http://www.renotalk.com/forum/topic/69575-chronicles-of-a-simple-bathroom-without-gold-taps/ Perhaps you can avoid the same mistakes I made, sigh. $8k...I still can't get over it. Xin tong ah... It's a revamp of an old toilet (15yrs old). But the transformation is amazing, it's so lovely now that I wanna sleep in it! lolz