lawry

DNKY, nice color combi!! I mentioned that gas cylinder idea to my ID and she mentioned extra charges, was there extra charge for that? She also mentioned, the gas cylinder might be too heavy for it.

I'm not sure how mine was done, but smearing plaster over the pimply rockstones, doesn't that increase the thickness of the walls by a little? I noticed the edges near the door frames and window frames are slightly bulgy, I'm not sure if it were done the same way.

What your friends were cautioning out of goodwill are their general impression these id/contractors. Don't worry too much about what they say. Put it this way, they don't know Uncle Soon. But he has enough satisfied customers here to put you at ease.

I like your layout, those white tiles with brown wooden skirting. Gives it a different look.

The overall price is good for 5room - $1300/$1100. Even the professional ones from Nippon are charging similar prices. But since the cost of the paint is factored into the nett amount, don't understand why they would need to "inflate" it just for show. All these items are commonly found in paint shops, and prices are readily available. There's no need for that I-am-giving-you-good-paint claim. It might backfire if one decides to buy their own paint and get them to minus out the cost difference. =P Another thing, besides walls that need to be painted, there are also pipes, doors and some others, will those be included?

I got my prices from neighbourhood stores first to get a feel of how low it can go. Armed with that information, I went to these bigger companies (Harvey to be specific) to check prices, tell them to give their best price, you will give them the deal. Most of the time they are willing to match the neighbourhood prices, and sometimes they come with extra freebies.

Yes, it's just a sort of protective layer against scratches because one is slotted in the other, once it's extended to your desired height, just peel it off.

Zonkkie, you notice the white area above the hood? That's the extension piece, you should be able to pull that up and extend it.

Welcome ! You should use these codes [img=http://i724.photobucket.com/albums/ww248/BottomCorner/th_FloorPlan.jpg]

Oooh aubrey, this is quite nicely drawn! The small breakfast table idea is nice, see if Uncle Soon can design something that can be pulled out from the table top to become a table, push it back in when it's not in use. I've seen that concept before in someone's blog, but I can't remember who's.

I've seen my place during the major bombing days, the carpentry in progress days, and the "small work" days. During major bombing, STAY OUT, cement, dust, sand, fumes .... During carpentry in progress, AVOID, silicon, glue, wood dust. (but I had to stay around, else anyhow do), Small work, I don't know why, even when they are just here for a look, there's always a layer of powdery stuff in the house after they leave. I'll have to mop after they leave and I'll do major cleaning everytime after any major rectification. If possible, please find alternative accommodation while renovation ongoing. pinkpetter I'm very sensitive to all dust also, will trigger an allergic reaction if come in contact, itchy skin, runny nose, watery eyes. So the house must be kept decently clean all the time.

It's legally yours, if you are in a rush to move in, you can seize the place. But if you're not in a rush, charge them market rental + 25% extra.

No problem, just show it to her and tell her to stop acting blur. Lazy, eat into her profits, just say the word, stop giving excuses like impossible to do. If she can't offer solutions, she will have to pay for that mistake, simply that.

Kari, not sure if my PM was sent, my IE crashed while sending. Can do something about the drawer insides like in the 3rd illustration. The top 2 drawers will have to be reduced and the tracks moved up, while the drawer front remains the same. Your ID will have to redo the top 2 drawers and relocate the tracks. Even with this arrangement, you still can't put your bottles near the edge, would still have to tilt your bottle to one side before you put them in, same thing when you want to remove them. Edited. Opps I should have read your blog before I replied your PM. My solution was more for bottom drawers. Your bottles are at the top drawer? That would be an issue because of the table top. 14" to you was the minimal depth, 14" to her was the drawer front height. I can only suggest this if that is the case.

@pinkpetter Brand doesn't matter, so long he actually made the effort to add in all these "bells and whistles". I expect those from IDs, but honestly very surprised to know contractors are giving that. My ID not even one piece! @mrspiglet free 3ft extension for carpentry is fantastic. My rouge of an ID pestered for 1ft extension, ripped me off another $500 for that and gave me the wrong proportions. I'm going to write about that next!!! @aubrey Remember what the painter told me, he said small players are better than big companies (with some weak IDs) in general. Some big companies just want high profit, high volume, neglect quality. Profit split between company and ID. Whereas small players take 100% of what they can earn, so they can afford to give better. Congrats for getting him as your contractor.

aubrey, it's either the BLUM system or something similar to that. Surprised he would use that for free for his carpentry, mine charge this kind of price still want to cut corner. Wait till I put up all my carpentry prices, you can compare and see what I got and what Uncle Soon's giving you.

I'd go for the latter. I've wasted $40k on a terrible renovation done by someone who knows nothing about Interior Design, not to mention the lousy workmanship to boot. If it costs another $5k to engage a proper ID and it makes a 360 degree difference. I would pay for that. OR even a combination of a qualified ID and a good contractor. Please, some of these phony sales person who call themselves interior designers, they are an insult to what Interior Design really is.

Must look at country of manufacture, rather than the brand name. Especially these so called in house brands, a lot of them outsource to look for OEM models (is that the right term) in China, then stick on their label and make it look like a million dollar item. Toilet Bowls It's not difficult for any of these big companies to find such China deals, order from the supplier direct. Might be worth $40 there, but sell $300 here. Depending on price and item, sometimes I would never settle for a MIC. Like a MIC camera $399 vs a MIJapan camera $499. I rather take Japan anytime, even at lower specs.

Soooo good!! My carpentry all super-slam, drawer also like that. Can let me know his carpentry prices in $howmuch/ft?

There are a lot of other house poisons that we are unaware of. If you have time, read up on indoor pollution, the air in your house is much dirtier than the air outside. Examples like such? Toxic Walls

Jalan Besar ah? Remember to go early. Can't remember weekend what time close, but weekdays they close at 6pm. There are quite a few along the whole stretch. Hom Tech, Royal Franco, Poh Joo, then Chuan Heng (opposite poh joo), if you walk all the way down towards lavender food centre, there will be a lot more on the way. Target your hob/hood/oven brand and model and price first, compare and see which shop cheaper. WC/basins/sinks/taps - very wide selection, see which ones you like, don't decide so fast. Please skip Ho Kee at new world centre, a lot of bad comments about that place in this forum.

Mine is a 4NG, I plastered the entire house. My ID also mentioned sealant is not necessary, but I heard otherwise. So I insisted on having it and she charged me an additional $150 for that. (Not sure water or oil base)

Ivy, just started browsing your blog. My previous home is very near to your new place I miss Clementi, all my memories there, school, poly, nice food.

Holy ...... After reading your account, I went to check on my unused cutlery meant for guests. Mine is the DRAGON set, a housewarming gift from my friends. Dragon Cultery Those in the drawers all rusted as well! I'm making a trip down to IKEA for a return, don't throw yours away, bring them down to IKEA and return them for IKEA vouchers, if you lost your receipt, they can always call them housewarming gifts. Added: Guess what, I just called them, and they used the usual "You're the first case" excuse. Maybe all of us should gather all our rusty IKEAs down for a mass return?

hahah, I don't really know what to do with them either when I first received, some of which might be impt? There's just so many after 6mths and no one's collecting them, so just try my luck. No more free passes for them now, so long already, they should have changed their addresses for the majorly important ones.