kaykay

You're right. What's most important is how comfortable you are living in the house you designed. And be confident of your decisions you crack your brain over.. I went up to take a look at the narrow (width 70cm) vanity space with my wife. The first words that came out of her mouth is... "wah so small????".. My confidence took a big hit. Haha.. Looks like I have to have more faith in myself. And keep moving on. And on. And on..

Thanks. Last night I lie awake in bed thinking hard. "What theme am I trying to achieve?". "Am I too brave not to engage ID but to trust my own taste?" "Will it turn out a Rojak style and be a joke?" "Are the dimensions of the fixtures feasible baswd on my estimation only?" (Contractor wants me to do a 90cm vanity, but I insist on a 70cm one to allow more space for furniture placement in the tiny bedroom..) "Can the colours complimemt each other?" (Greys and light purples).. Then I conclude. Renovation involves big steps of faith. Just follow my instincts and live with confidence, regardless of what others say.. Then I fell asleep with a smile.

Nice use of glass! May I clarify some things. When you shower, the glass door is supposed to be swung open and parked just next to the toilet bowl? First impression is that you stand in the door closed position during showers. Lol.. Where did you get the aluminum corner trims? Do you have any leftover to sell me? The water pipes are real neatly done up. I must show this to my contractor.

Something went wrong.. The before: "> The After: ">http://s495.photobucket.com/user/gervaise_2008/media/20140414_122455.jpg.html'>

I went down during lunchtime for some peeks, and what greeted me was a grand pleasant surprise. After the storeroom was hacked, the house opened up brightly and feels refreshingly airy. What's even more pleasing is the horizontal beam dividing the living and kitchen was completely removed. Initially it was thought to be a structure beam that cannot be moved, and I told the contractor to hack the beam to the highest possible level. It turns out that a top level unit do not have this horizontal beam, I can have a completely open kitchen. This of course pose other problems as well:- 1. The open-ness of the kitchen requires detailed proper planning. The walls have to be colour-coordinated carefully. Any "flaws" can be painfully visible. 2. The water pipe has now to be hidden in the kitchen cabinet. Or else ugly pipes can be seen easily too. 3. Cooking fumes.. well.. I have to control big-fire cooking.. Sigh.. However, overall, I still love the brightness and airiness it brings. The Before: ">">ttp://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr319/gervaise_2008/20140313_154200.jpg' alt='20140313_154200.jpg'> The After: ">http://s495.photobucket.com/user/gervaise_2008/media/20140414_122455.jpg.html'>

I received this update from Amcon Express (my forwarder for Taobao shopping) last week. The 2nd round of shopping at Taobao has been consolidated, and will ship to Singapore ETA14Apr2014, and will be delivered to my address a few days later. However, I have requested delivery to me takes place slightly later, due to the messy state of the flat from the renovations. A screenshot of the email, showing some details of dates and such. Last item receiving date is 4Apr. It takes only 10 days to ship to Sg. I think they are rather efficient. (Note: I am not related to Amcon, nor trying to sell them to you. I am just a happy customer of their's)

Thanks for all your invaluable inputs . I got a few quotes at Kelantan Lane. Let's use the 1gang1way switch as a base for apple to apple. Schneider's is $11, LeGrand $5 max. The quotes are quite consistent with a few shops there. So I have the strong impression that Schneider is more expensive. Moreover, the staff discount of 50% that my friend can get for me brings both prices quite similar. So this makes my choice all the more difficult. Somehow I have a feeling my eyes will rule over functionalities.. Men are just such weak creatures.. Lol. BTW I have requested for my elect rewiring quotation to omit the supply of switches.

Thanks for the very good points. In fact I have a friend who can get me staff discount for Schneider switches, after which prices will be just slightly higher than LeGrand.. Should I just go for Schneider instead? Head tells me so, but my eyes like the matt finish of LeGrand's silvers and greys.. Any advice?

Noted. However I think I will just stick with LeGrand. These tempered glass switches are too modern for me. Lol..

Wah very chio.. and also very expensive..

For non customised colour ones it's only $3.50 for a 1gang1way switch. To customise colour will add a dollar plus+. Go to Kelantan Lane for the cheapest rates. The shop is just next to the kek seng kio laksa coffeeshop.

Haha, I will just let them complain if they want to. I have the permission from HDB to demolish anyway. When it is their turn for reno in their next house, they will also disturb their future neighbours then. What goes around, comes around.

After contemplating the various layouts, I finally have a decision. My hands were almost forced into this decision. To accomodate my MIL to stay in so that she can provide child caregiver duties more conveniently, I have to "commission" an extra dedicated room in this 3-room unit. Haha.. now i will have 3 bedrooms. This is how the layout will be (I'm only using MS Paint to create this, so the scale may be a little off) The new door is created in the original bedroom, just facing the main door.

Hi Lemon, this can be easily solved. You can even do it yourself with $2 material cost, or ask your contractor to do it. 2 min job. Get 2 pcs of pvc elbows for this pvc pipe. Cut your existing aircon pvc drain pipe by 2cm. Place an elbow to turn it to the left. (From the perspective looking at it) Then another elbow to turn it towards the floor trap. You don't even need to glue it tight. Make it easy to wash away internal slime within the tail end of this pipe if needed.

Hi bro, it's the new customisable switches from LeGrand (Malllia series). Go on their website to see the full range.

Thanks guys.

Hi PT, Once you confirm using Amcon Express, they will forward you their contact person (it's actually their storemen) and tel number in China. This will be the contact person the shop will contact. However, usually no contact is required. They will only probably contact the person to ensure someone is there to receive delivery.

Real hacking work starts today! Debris everywhere. Some rapport building with the neighbours. Hehe..

Hi, I ordered a tall mixer tap for my initial itended top mount vanity basin from Taobao.com. However, my plans changed, and now I have this item on spare. The price is 286Yuan when I ordered, equivalent to S$57. I would like to sell it off at $55. The freight charges, GST, and delivery charges will not be factored in at all. More photos here. I can make dlivery to your doorstep. Cheers. KK.

Hi KimNaNa, Go on TB, it's amazing the savings you can get from shopping direct. Don't get addicted ya I will be posting more photos soon too. Starting here bah.. Lol.. Finally some activities in the house today! As i am just overlaying floor tiles for my kitchen, the change of the ugly cast iron drain pipe is changed to PVC one today. It has to be the worst shot I've ever taken in my life! Could it be due to my excitement? haha. Here's my tiles selection.. I'm disappointed I took only 20 minutes in my selection at Defu. I have read stories of you guys spending hours on end in the tile showroom. Kind of an anti climax feel in mine leh.. haha. It's almost like I did not fully utilised my choices.. Quite boring hor? So GREY...... Tiles delivered at void deck. That's not my car BTW. haha Went to get some switches to play around with the colour combi. Bought the boxes and spray painted grey. Here's the outcome. I will be choosing silver switch with dark silver plate. (It's the one on the right) That's all for now. More in a few days! Cheers!

Thanks for clarifying. I think you still need to contact Amcon at least once to inform them of your intention to send goods to their warehouse, don't you ? Anyway you need their Guangzhou warehouse address too. Try registering an account with TB. A non-China tel number will not be accepted. The 3% is imposed by Alipay, not your credit card issuer. Getting them to order at 50rmb seems a little excessive, considering the small value of my purchases. I'd rather pay the 3%. However this will be different if your single item is more than RMB1,700. My 2cts.

With pleasure. I just wanted to share my humble experience after deliberating on buying from TB. It wasn't as daunting as I thought it to be. I will share some links along the way. However, reviews will have to wait after using the items, which may be much later. Cheers.

On another note, I ordered this tap for top mount basin. Then I decided to do undermount basin for my vanity. Thus this tap will not be suitable. Anyone out there looking for such a tap can consider buying from me ya. The item is in my car, so we can trade quite conveniently. The tap feels rock solid and very heavy. The height. At least 20cm clearance for the topmount basin. Another look. The brand. I will not charge any courier or shipping. I bought it at 286yuan. Selling at S$55. Thank you.

Some of the actual items. Looks authentic Philips lights. Kitchen sink One of the 304 ss bathroom basket. Feels heavy and solid.

Came home to await delivery of the first batch of items from Taobao. Man, I must say I am truly satisfied with random checks of the items. The loot http:// In anticipation of questions via PM, I am writing this now: For those interested, please contact the following: Amcon Express 68441911 Ms May Ho The best way is to order directly from Taobao. But in order to order directly, you will need a Taobao account. To create a Taobao account, you will need the following: 1. China contact number 2. China contact person 3. China delivery address + "c/o <<YOUR NAME>>" The above will be provided by Amcon via email. They will also provide a worksheet for you to fill in your purchase details. Then pay with your local credit card to the sellers direct. Do note the prices stated on Taobao have not included their courier charges (if any) to the warehouse yet. Usually it's only a few / a few tens of Chinese Yuan. Alipay (the payment portal) will charge you a 3% processing fees. Then send your worksheet to Amcon via email. Do also let Amcon know the tracking number provided by the seller after they have couriered out the goods. Please note that Amcon will not inspect the items for you. For example,, if you order 5 items from the same seller in one single payment transaction, your goods will be packed in 1 carton if possible. This will be the unopened carton box that will be sent to your Singapore address. This carton will have a tracking number. This is the tracking number you have to provide to Amcon. You can request Amcon to ship to you your partial orders if you need them urgently, but if they do not add up to a cubic metre, you still have to pay the minimum charge of 1 cubic metre. Refer to my first picture above. Those 11 cartons only took up less than 85% of a cubic metre! Knowledge of the Chinese language is a pre-requisite to shop on Taobao. Tips: 1. Shop and compare prices. They should vary around 5 to 10% between sellers. If a deal looks too good to be true, it usually is. Give it a miss. 2. If you find any itmes you like, put them in the shopping cart first. Don't buy impulsely. 3. After I selected an item, I will enter the seller's shop to look at the rest of his goods. Sometimes you may find other useful related stuff here. And sometimes you may find the same things here that you have shortlisted at other sellers. Try to minimise the number of sellers. Save on courier charges. 4. I wait another 1 to 2 days to see if I need to order anymore items before I make payment. Pay for all the items within a 3-day period. This way, all your items will arrive at the warehouse at around the same time, plus/minus a few days. It makes consolidation easier for the warehouse. 5. Check the detail measurements of the items. 6. Sometimes it's worthwhile spending a bit more on quality items. For example, I only chose 304 stainless steel-made items for all my bathroom accessories and fittings. They cost 3 times more than the alloy ones, but I think they are still way cheaper if you get 304 ss bathroom items locally. 7. Shopping at Taobao can be addictive. Don't overindulge just because it is so so so cheap.. Happy shopping.