lancified

I'm a risk taker too, and have bought all lightings from malaysia. I think we have more than enough safety features in our houses to prevent electrical fires. Bulbs have grounding cables, ballasts have fuses. We have fuses anywhere so it wont be a big issue. Hence the only danger I can see is that naked wires might create some "spark jumping" opportunities and may cause a fire. This can be easily mitigated by using copper wires (not copper fibre wires) with thicker insulation and proper installation. That said, if you're still worried about insurance, there are PSB approved branded lights that are sold in both malaysia and singapore. By buying them in malaysia, you get the same "PSB-approved" assurance at a cheaper price. Might be a good option for those who takes calculated risks.

Variety, I think every shop is the same since they get from the same distributors. It's more of a display space issue, small shops cannot display most of their products due to the lack of space. For my own experience of buying in bulk, I had to buy 8 LCD TVs for my ex-company. So I did my homework and went to big players (wanted to swipe my own card and claim back from company so that I can earn reward points) and told them I'm buying 8 TVs one shot, full payment immediately. Straightaway the sales guy tried to persuade me to take another model. Feeling pissed, I told him either to give me his best price on the unit I wanted, or I walk away. He gave me a price that is lower than their retail price, but same price as what the small shops offered me for 1 TV. BTW, for the small shops, u have to go down in person for the best price. To protect their own interests, they will never tell u the best price over the phone unless u are a regular customer. This is to prevent competitors from doing price checks. I walked out, called the small shop and asked whats the price for 8 TVs. Immediately they offered me 20% off. I drove down, handover cheque and all 8 TVs delivered within 2 days. Save time and money! Have to agree on the installment plans, only the big boys offer such options. Enjoy your reno!

Personally, I do not recommend any of the big players like GC and BK. Look at their big and nice shop area, with sales people everywhere. To me thats additional expenses to be paid by the customer. If you have done your necessary homework, there is no need to go to them to see the item / test test feel feel / listen to sales people explaination/recommendation. 1 year ago, based on friends recommendations, i tried going to courts, GC, BK and HM to look for suitable home appliances. I hear salesman A saying product A is better than the rest, but salesman B says product B is the best. The same goes for salesman C and D, only say their's is the best and everything else sucks. Used to have a friend working in HM as a manager, and he tells me that the salesman will push the product that has the most commission, regardless of functionality. Ever since I don't patronize such big players anymore. I only buy electronics from the small players like EJ, U**lite, GAB and the sorts. I always do my homework beforehand. Here's an example of how I buy something: Me: Hi, this model fridge and that brand washing machine how much? shop: checking... $1000 and $300. free rice cooker. Me: Gimme your lowest, I already know the prices from other shops. If yours is the lowest, I will pay full now, I have the cash in my pocket, steady one. shop: Ok swee, Cash now, $969 and $270. Still have free rice cooker. Me: DEAL! ON U NOW! *takes out cash* I bought all my home appliances chop chop de, so fast that summon auntie dont even have time to summon me for not putting coupon. lol... everyone loves a quick deal. Earn $100 within 5 mins is better than earning $150 within hours/days. If u go to any shop and ask questions from a to z, be prepared to pay more for their time/effort/saliva to explain to u. Anyway just sharing. Will PM u my contacts for bathroom and kitchen stuff.

More updates Living room TV console 1/2 done MBR side tables MBR toilet solid surface top

More carpentry updates Cooker on granite top Mini island for built in oven My strong and classy sink Handles have arrived!

As long as the wall around the blinds are of a different colour, it will look good! I'll show u my pictures once they are up

If don't have personal car, what my friend did was to "hire a car out" from JB to singapore. So he went in taking bus, and came out taking car. It's $80 per way if Im not wrong. I think $80 is very addordable given that you can easily save hundreds. Yea I've planned my reno myself, and factor in buffers for mis-timings/wrong delivery. Because I used to be a project manager myself, it is very easy for me to manage my ID, my shopping as well as payment schedules. Everything was planned in a manner where only we can hold the ID at knife point without being overly critical. This way, even if my ID go bankrupt, my reno will be delayed, but not destroyed along with my wallet. As long as you manage your expectations, it should be a very smooth reno

MBR

Corridor

Updates Updates! Most lightings are installed! Living room area

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Yea the ABS trimmings are really important. without them is like placing food in a ziplock bag without closing the zip. Do insist on this!

No problem, thanks! My lightings and fans are up! but too excited forgot to take pictures. Will do so tonight

Painting is almost done! Catch a glimpse of my funky study room! Just lights, study tables, white combi roller blinds and it's complete!

Some pictures of my hydraulics in action Assisted opening up to 80 degrees, hydraulics about 80% extended Fully opened by manually pushing up to 90degrees, hydraulics about 90% extended without locking

try to bend it, normal ply wood will flex easily while solid ply wood feels like a solid block of wood

No offence but you should be doing your homework diligently since your reno is starting. benefit of the doubt to you this time 1) Do they deliver for you? A) No, they are wholesaler/retailer, not installer/service provider. 2) Are there any levy or taxes involved? A) According to www.customs.gov.sg, the limit of tax free shopping is SGD$150/pax/day subjected to the list of approved items that you can buy. Any higher, u need to declare and pay 7% GST. 3) How much cheaper can it be to go this extra length to buy from Malaysia? A) Depends on individual and many factors such as exchange rate and on going promotions. I've heard of some that only saved 10%. If you have an eye for details, abit of business sense, and gift of negotiation, u can save more. For myself I managed to secure discounts of 70% on the avaerage. I managed to talk the shop owners to sell me cheaper + give me free gifts. 4) Lastly, do they install for you? A) Refer to 1A. Even if they would, I wouldnt recommend to let them install. You have your own electrician during your reno, they WILL conflict. time conflict, personality conflict, business conflict. You dont want your house to be a warzone for your vendors.

Shiok right? at least can buy lightings that we want without worrying too much about the cost. For ceiling fan, I choose elmark instead of KDK. Elmark is mainstream brand in malaysia also, but has better designs. We choose one that matched our decor zhun zhun. Whichever you choose, most important is not the brand, it's the cleaning. If you don't clean it regularly, dust will slow down the motor eventually and spoil it. Remember to find a model that has a "short adapter" that can be purchased separately. HDB ceilings are really low. My carpentry is already being installed, will attach some pictures soon.

Have you ever helped a friend to move his house and broke a bedframe or wardrobe in the process? What about kitchen cabinets that rot over time? Or weak drawers that collasp along with your plates? Welcome to the world of wood manipulation, or more commonly known as carpentry works. Most of us are not trained in wood works, the most we ever learnt was during D&T classes in secondary school. I am no expert, but I hope what I share here will be able to give prospective new home owners sufficient knowledge to make sure that their ID/contractor is giving them what they paid for. I will use kitchen cabinets as an example as they are exposed to the worst environment (oil, grime, humidity) Frame: The frame functions like the skeleton of the whole cabinet. This is the most important part of the cabinet, but also, it is something that is out of our control. Normally the frames are already constructed in the factory so LL Material: Please EMPHASIZE this to your ID or contractor to use solid plywood, absolutely stay away from chipwood or normal ply wood. Chipwood is like those vaccum packed wood shavings for hamsters. when packed, they are very strong, but once there's a leak in the packaging, it just disintegrate. Plywood dont have this issue but they are too weak to handle heavy loads. Hence thick and solid ply wood should do the trick. Finishing: Finishing is important as it protects the wood from external factors such as oil/water which can break down wood. Take a walk around NTUC or other hypermart that sells furniture. feel the surface of the internal shelves. If it's uneven or you feel some air bubbles, those are PVC. While you can use PVC for dry areas such a bedroom wardrobes, using them for kitchen is asking for trouble. Insist and demand - stamp your feet if needed to - that your ID provides FULL internal polykem. Polykem is thicker and more resistant to water/oil/grime. If they want to charge u more, don't engage them. Prices of polykem is very close to PVC nowadays due to mass production. How about those 90degrees area? We cannot bend a piece of laminate to wrap around the edge of the drawer so we can only use 2 pieces of laminate to cover. No matter how good the workmanship is, there is a little tiny slit that will allow water/oil/grime to enter and destroy your wood. It's like brushing your teeth, no matter how many times u brush/floss, u still have bacteria in your mouth is you do not rinse with mouthwash. In this case, ABS trimmings is the mouth wash. Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene acts like a glue and hardened to protect the edges. With the polykem, it seals the wood, looks pretty, and feels smooth instead of a sharp edge. Insist on this! For myself, I insisted on polykem for all carpentry. Operations - blum or no blum? The rage nowadays is full blum system. IMHO, if u have the cash and want some bragging rights, go for it. The system is really good and solid. However, if money is an issue, or if the system cannot justify the additional costs, it is alright to choose locally made systems too. Who says japanese cars are no better than BMWs? Heck, even korea cars nowadays boast electronics that rival their german counterparts - at fraction of there price. Just ensure the minimum recommendation is met, and your cabinets will have no problem matching up with blum besides cosmetics. Guide rails: Ensure that stainless steel rails and rollers are used. If rollers are plastic, they should at least have a metal core to support the plastic. This will ensure that your rollers will be able to withstand the additional stress once the plates are inside. If possible, do purchase the railings with anti slam built in. For myself, I dont see how blum is better than the rest. Hydraulics and hinges: For those cabinets that open downwards or upwards, there will be some kind of hydraulics rods. For blum, they integrated the hydraulic with the hinges in one piece so the force exert when u open or close the cabinet will be absorbed and distributed equally to the hinges and frames. If it becomes weak, u need to change the whole hinge. For other systems, it is 2 piece. hinge + hydraulic. The hinge provides the movement/antislam function, which the hydraulic assist to open/close the cabinet with less effort, like a hatchback car's tailgate. Hence, this is a challenge to choose the right hydraulics. If the hydraulic is too strong, the additional force will be transferred to the hinge, and eventually breaking it. If it's too weak, it will be more difficult to open/close the cabinet. How then? There is no tested and proven way to choose them since we can't measure hinge and hydraulics without equipment. After fixing my mom's cabinets and my friends' cabinets which encountered such issues, I came up with my own theory. 1. Choose the same brand, trust the factory to have done extensive tests so that their hinges will be balanced with their hydraulics. 2. Instruct your carpenter, to install the hydraulics in such a way that the hydraulic do not fully extend! When hydraulics fully extend, it "locks" itself. Think of it like your arm. when u lock your elbow, your arm is stronger but any impact is transferred directly to your joints and shoulders. Same logic as why we bend our knees when landing from a jump - it is to spread the impact and divert unnecessary energy away from the joints. Try landing while locking your knees, we will probably need to visit u at the hospital When the hydraulics is fully extended, it requires extra force to close the cabinet, and all of that force is transferred to your hinges. Soon, it will give way. My friend's cabinet requires a change of hinge every 6 months. He got so fed up, he just stopped using it altogether. Of course, there are some hydraulics with adjustable strength. Those cost more and will need tuning to work properly. Most of us use fixed strength hydraulics. The only way to control the power is by it's mounting position. The further u mount away from the inside mounting point, the weaker the hydraulic becomes. The goal is that when u open the cabinet, it will automatically open up to 90degrees. the hydraulic should be 80-90% fully extended. this way, u can extend the life of your hinges I'll try to take some pictures of my current cabinets to show u the difference. Enjoy!

For the benefit of those who subscribed to my t-blog, let's keep all requests to my PM. I regularly clear my PM so you guys should have no problem dropping me a PM Bro angmoh, dam touched la, u subscribed to me. For your support, I will post a guide on choosing cabinets systems. Realised your reno started already, hope it will be smooth for u!

Hi, Please check your profile -> messenger, have sent out twice already. Fridge model is Hitachi R-W691FMSX as stated in previous post All PMs sent!

If your hubby is technical enuff, u can buy samsung 6020 for below $300 online and do self installation, quite easy to install enjoy your reno process!

More updates! Carpentry for Kitchen 70% done, Wife's vanity counter 50% done.

all PMs sent!

New BTOs already have all of the common used points concealed.