ClearValley

We are moving and sadly will not be able to bring our lovely teak furniture with us. We have four main pieces of furniture that we need to sell: 1) Dining Table from Journey East + chairs from Comfort Furniture (Purchased in 2013. The base of 3 out of 4 chairs have just been replaced a month ago). 2) Dresser/ Cabinet from Mountain Teak (Purchased this year only) 3) and 4) Extendable TV Console and Book Rack from Journey East (Purchased in 2013 along with the dining table). View to appreciate. Details are in the appended files. PM for more information.

Decided to use a local SG suppllier instead, because we opted for roller blinds for all the bedrooms. I think we paid around SGD 1,400 for 3 + 1 bedroom roller blinds plus living room day and night curtains. Not too bad, the local supplier matched the JB supplier's price.

Not specifically in this order, but close to this: - Installation of various fixtures. Seems like none of the subcontractors bothered to use their eyesight or a leveling tool. We had bathroom door handles which were askew, bath sinks which were lower at the front than at the back, light and fan switch boxes which looked like the were italicized because all were slanted, toilet seats which made you sit slightly to one side because it was askew, roller blinds which were higher on one end than the other, etc. Seriously, an obsessive-compulsive Project Manager would be a good thing to have. Too bad our project manager had to go to NS a couple of weeks into our renovation. - Paint. The guy who painted our house had the skills of a 5-year old. Remember when you were young and you'd get scolded at school whenever you painted outside the lines? He never got that lesson. - The bedroom doorknobs used (actually, levers) feel very low quality. - We paid a premium because we believed that we'd have a virtually headache-free renovation, and that we'd end up with a home that was obviously high quality. We spent 50k for the renovation, not counting furniture. We don't really feel that we got our money's worth because of all the QC lapses. We might have gotten the same result with another contractor that quoted 15k less. We also got very little in terms of ID ideas. We have a white house, it's clean, and it has a few slightly expensive pieces of furniture, but those were mostly our choices and not the ID's. But if you ask me whether we needed and ID to tell us that white walls and ceilings would make our home look brighter, I would say NO. Seems like one needs to spend 100k just to have a home that is magazine-worthy.

I used Helping Hands as well for our move a couple of weeks ago. Paid around $300 which includes payment for the elevator protection pads for our old condo. They work fast, a little bit lacking in finesse, but if you don't have a lot of delicate things to move, HH should probably be at the top of your list because they are nearly half the price of other movers (I got quotes from Shalom and another mover too). I even bought a big roll of bubble wrap from them, but it turns out it wasn't really needed because they bring a huge roll of cling wrap and wrap everything! The only casualty was one (ONE ONLY!) cheapo wine glass from Ikea. That was it. Everything else arrived at our new place in the same condition as when they left our old place. I agree with others who have mentioned this - booking can be a slightly unpleasant experience because Richard can be a bit gruff. But he is actually an OK guy in person.

What's worse than the flies is that they they used to be tiny black worms. Their lifespan is quite short. In our bathroom they used to breed in the cracks between tiles where the grout has worn off. Temporarily solved it by sealing the space with silicon, but now and then I see a few of them again.

Yeah, I did contact one shop in JB and their quote was half (more than half in some cases) than what SG shops have been quoting us. Will meet one JB curtain supplier on Friday. If their materials are good and if their final product is good, I will recommend them here.

Has anyone tried the shops over at JB? Any feedback? We are shocked by how expensive curtains are here in SG. Costs almost as much as a fancy sofa.

I think I also saw something like this at Verde Lights (Jalan Sultan). That's where we purchased the track lights and dining room lights for our renovation.

That wall clock is awesome. Can I ask where you bought it?

Nice sofa!

Thanks, Typhoonz! My ID included Mitsubishi ACs in his quote, and I have no experience with Mitsubishi ACs at all.

I have a DLink 2121 model (I think). Not sure about the specifics, but I also bought it at an IT Fair for a low price. It cannot be panned, but has audio (very sensitive), and is wifi-enabled. Do not lose the installer CD, because you will need that when you set up your phone. Otherwise, it is easier to buy the IP Cam Viewer app (SGD 5 only, I think) for android. Set-up was easy.

Guys, any reviews on the different AC brands? Mitsubishi? Daikin? LG? Panasonic? Toshiba? We have Daikin units installed in our rented home, gave us some problems previously, but it was expected because the units were old. We've never had any experience with the other brands. We are moving soon and need to buy AC units for the new home. Any suggestions or recommendations/actual experiences will be much appreciated. Thanks.

Not sure if they are accurate, but salespeople at HN and Courts all say that 3 ticks and 4 ticks don't differ much in terms of annual electricity consumption. Difference would be less than SGD 20 per annum only. I haven't done the math, but if they are correct, then there's not much incentive in buying a 4-tick ref over a 3-tick one.

There's a list here: http://www.renotalk.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=28536 The urge to DIY our wardrobe is huge, since our ID quoted 3k+ for it. I am still contemplating whether to try the DIY route (which includes actually asking for quotes from the available suppliers) and doing measurements, etc. If I had a lot of time on my hands this would be a satisfying project to complete.

They were actually able to give us a quote below 50K, and though there was going to be a lot of labor involved (hacking down a wall, floor and wall tiles, etc), I think the quote was mid to high priced only. We received a higher quote but felt more comfortable with that company than with Three-D Conceptwerke.

My ID also included the AC in his quote. Is this normal? Granted, it wasn't expensive (less than 4k for a system 3 - but brand was not given), I am just wondering why they would go to that trouble. kickbacks?

Bump! Anyone?

There's simply too many IDs/Contractors out there. I've gotten quotes from 4 IDs, and I've only seen one of those IDs mentioned out of all the threads in this forum. I think if you really want to get the services of an ID/Contractor, the best thing to do is to start early. Talk to each one, meet with them face to face so that you can get a sense of how easy it will be to work with them. Right now we are leaning towards giving the renovation work to one ID who we feel very comfortable with, even if their quote is the highest amongst all 4 we received. We just feel that there will be less misunderstandings with this one because they are not afraid to discuss with us. I have heard of too many horror stories about renovation projects which end up costing up to 30% more than the original budget because of miscommunication, or because the ID has an "attitude" and refuses to listen to the owner's inputs. Remember, it's your money (or the bank's money).

Got a quote from them, but unlikely we will use them. We know someone who is happy with their services, although personally I think the resulting design was way too plain for the price they paid.

I was also looking for reviews/feedback about ineedfurniture. I am also thinking of ordering a couple of pieces from them.

7th floor, about 3 minute walk to LRT and 5 bus stations away from Sengkang MRT. Walking distance as well to the sports centre.

Will be paying 50k cov for a Sengkang EA flat in very good, original condition. Other sellers asking for 60-95k for their no-taste renovations and crappy flat layout. Gila these people, I tell you. Still, 50k is a lot of money. Will need to sell my body soon.

I use a DLink as well, not this particular model. $59 should be a good deal (if it is still available). I paid $110 I think for my wireless ipcam. If you want a bit more flexibility you might want to get the model which tilts and pans left and right remotely. DLink has its own app for iPhone or Android so that you can use your smartphone, but there are also cheap, third-party apps which are easy to set up.

Standard Chartered is offering my wife and I 30K reno loans separately. Not sure about having 2 banks give one person separate loans...