inthechouse

Thanks, Songz. You're right. Even the PD/Swingslide Door offices are not fully functional too.

Thanks, Astarz. We hope so too. We're not expecting him to get everything rectified right away, but we just want to know if he will. On a few occasions, his reaction was "it's like that" or something similar. Naturally, that would make us feel uneasy. Anyway, as he is overseas right now, and since he said he will check it, we will just await updates. Also, we're concerned about painting works taking place when the furniture have been delivered.

Thanks!

Hi, enjoyed looking at your pix. Also glad to see that the furry ones have their own space. Are you using just day curtains for your living room? And may I ask where did you buy the big display shelf?

Pix enhanced for better viewing: I hope he agrees to repainting some of the walls. Fingers crossed.

Happy Lunar New Year! Update: - Right before CNY, we checked with Alan about what's to expect after his workers start work. Apparently, asking more than one question equates to doubting his/their professionalism. You can also expect a long, defensive lecture. Didn't want to get into any arguments this festive season so we stopped at 2. Note: In case anyone thinks that we were impolite to begin with, drop me a PM and I will gladly show you all the screen grabs. - Still mulling over the laminates. Lamitak has too many nice options. It's so hard to pick 2! - Wrong door levers installed. Had asked for Yale. But this can be easily rectified. - Some of the Legrand power points were not fixed properly (cover out of place). Shoddy. - Upon closer scrutiny of the painted walls, we noticed that the pencil markings made by the electricians are still visible. I'm guessing there's only 2 coats of paint. As for the non-white walls, we found out that one of them has just one coat of paint! Told Alan about him and he said he would check it out, but he's overseas right now. Also, the texture of the paint leaves much to be desired. I think the workers may have used a very rough roller. - Also, upon close scrunity, the cement above the floor skirtings around the entire unit was pretty badly laid. Bumps and patches everywhere. What else can one do but to buy more furniture and place them everywhere against the walls? - Common bathroom has a funky smell although the WC is clean. Smell persists long after WC cover is down. Not sure what's going on. - Seeing that no one was sunning their laundry below my unit, we got a stick to flick off all the clothing items that have been stuck on my kitchen ledge (under the bamboo pole holders) for what seems like a million years. Took quite a bit of effort to "scrape" them off the ledge but we did it! Then we took a lift down in a flash to pick up the items for disposal (lest we get Stomped for littering). - Wanted to switch the aircon on for a bit just to see what happens. True enough, after approximately 30 mins @ 23 deg, one unit started to leak like no tomorrow. The source of the leak: Where the trunking meets the unit. Called Gain City and fixed an appointment this weekend. I hope they don't have to pry open the trunking whatsoever, because Alan has got part of it neatly boxed up. Others: - Getting Yee Sin to customise an L-shaped storeroom rack. - Getting a 5-pole laundry rack that can be lowered. Supplier TBC. - No sound from the iron wrought gate supplier despite having had several rounds of phone calls. Since it's still CNY, we can wait for a week or two. - Bought a safety gate from Babytown for the little one. - Most of the big electrical and furnishing items will be delivered during the last week of the month, which is when we have to move in, whether Alan likes it or not. Pix to come.

good idea

Hi friends, I have a question. According to Alan, my cement screed wall in the kitchen (opposite the cabinets) will not be "finished". Is this advisable? Do I just leave it as it is? Update: - Texted Alan last night to ask him something, and found out that the classic doors for all bedrooms and the storeroom are up. They will be painted after CNY. - Still no sight of the Lamitak catalogue. Alan's having a hard time locating his copy.

Positive mindset! You're right, let's look ahead.

Nice. I've got a similar breakfast counter (akan datang). Are you using Quartz? Deciding what images to frame and put up has proven to be a bit of a headache for us. Hehe. We're into paintings but obviously can't afford the real thang. And one of us is averse to putting up imitations or poster-versions.

Sorry to hear about this. Would you consider making a police report? From what I've heard, the police will contact the pawn shops, etc.

Update: - Kitchen cabinet base issue sorted. Apparently it's meant to be like that. - Alan showed up voluntary during my first meeting with the carpenter (Ah Gui). The latter - a somewhat mild-mannered gentleman - said he would work on my cabinets the first thing after the CNY break. Target completion date for carpentry: Feb 20-22. - Chemical wash took place over the weekend. Here are some pix: Kitchen pipes (to be boxed up). Spotted some mess in the ceiling and told Alan about it. This is the bracket of the bathroom pipe. Asked Alan if the stuff in white is plaster. He said yes. I asked if it can be removed. Still awaiting reply.

Update: - Dropped by the unit for an appointment with Open Net and saw that the common bathroom light was switched on. Possibly all night and day. Texted Alan about it right away and he apologized. I hope he conveyed the matter to whoever responsible. - Didn't require extra cabling for Open Net. But the workers ripped open some trunking or whatever it's called, and because it was painted over, it now looks a bit untidy. Also, they left black finger marks on my freshly painted walls. Not really their fault though. And thank goodness for washable paint. - Aircon condensor is slanted. Rang Gain City and they sent their guys over to fix it. No sweat. - However, I still can't test my aircon. Coz the plug can't be plugged into the 15A point the electricians created. Told Alan about it over text but it took a phone call (from him) for the matter to be communicated clearly. He said he would look into it. - Spotted that the kitchen cabinet base is a little slanted. Told Alan about it and he called to say that it had to be slanted so water can flow into the drainage hole. I think there's some miscomm here. I meant that the base (from left) gets thicker across to the right. Will pursue this in person when we next meet. - Decided to go for blinds rather than curtains. Less hassle.

Thanks thanks! Yeah time flies. But I am still worried about the rectifications. It's a tedious haggling process... For my unit, I think the masonry guy and the tiling guys' work = least satisfactory.

To be fair, here's what I think are OK/good: - He has replied 99% of my messages, albeit not in the span of time that most of us may be used to. - He has never cancelled on a meeting. Sometimes it's a very last minute request but he shows up - even if 15-30 mins late. Note: Be clear that his presence at your site is mostly based on your request, not at his own initiative. So far he has met me at the unit voluntary once - the day the lights would be installed. He said the electricians can't come before 9am and since I have to be at work by 9+, he offered to meet me there at 8.30am. - Progress of the reno has been pretty good thus far. Note: We did not order any faucets, sinks or lights online. There's just quite a bit of grief getting him to rectify certain things - half of which have been rectified. One of this rectified work isn't done properly, but I think the fault lies with the sub-con. Still thinking of what to do with this issue. So in other words, he does rectify errors. But you would have to communicate your requests to him tactfully and probably even skillfull, if you know what I mean. P.S: Because I want to be present whenever each team of workers start work, I texted him often to ask for updates. And he would tell me 1-2 days ahead of time what would be taking place for the next stage. With an understanding boss, and a lull period at work (Dec to early Jan), it was totally possible to take leave or time off 1-2 days in advance.

Photo caption: Philips LED light (22w) in the background. For functional lights, we experienced wonderful pre and post-sales customer service from Ms Xiao Ke at the Balestier branch of Lightings.com.sg. Update: - Finally made my first order on TB. It consists of mainly items for my Chihuahua. - I learnt that no matter what kind of lights you use/install, insects will somehow find their way into it, and they will gather there until you decide to clean it. Didn't think about that. Coz 1 or 2 lights we have are pretty **** hard to "open up". - For chemical wash, I was advised by someone that we have to ensure the drains don't get clogged. Apparently the workers are supposed to pour some powder down the drain to unclog whatever that was washed down. Is this true? Would someone like to share their experience?

I would advise anyone who's thinking of engaging Alan to be fully aware of what they are in for before signing on the dotted line. For the record, my flat is very close to where I work and presently live. Hence it's not that difficult dropping by every now and then, for whatever reason. But if one is hoping to be more hands-off, or is unable to visit the site often, then he/she may need to think twice. Still praying for some rectification works to happen eventually. And for handover on time.

Woah very good.

Good on you! Maybe you may wanna mark out on a copy of your floor plan too? In case you yourself forget where the 25 points are. Heh. After a week, we almost forgot too. Coz there are/were just so many things to remember. This will come in handy when calculating your final bill. The masking tapes will come off at some stage.

Yeah, I didn't order from TB. As for Legrand, we prefer the "rounded edges", that's all. Having read several threads here I don't think there's a lot of difference in performance? Apparently both suck for adapters... Thanks. Just confirmed with Alan via text that it is still possible.

I think so too. Thanks for sharing your thoughts! Updates: - Here's a photo of my switches. Previously we were deciding between Schneider and Legrand. You can see from here that we went with Legrand. Pretty happy with the choice! Pity the fan's remote control holder is not straight. But that can be easily fixed later on. P.S: KDK's "1/f Yuragi for comfortable nature breeze" feels kinda shiok! - Speaking of the fan, we're glad to see that it is working fine. Which means (I assume) that it has been installed properly somewhat. - Of all the lights installed, one wasn't working. I highlighted it to Alan right away. Also, I think the pendant lights are higher too high up. I hope this can be adjusted later on too. - Bought 3 LED spots for a 1.5m track. The sales people told me that I should get 4 or 5. But looking at it now, I think 3 is fine. It's personal preference, so don't get pressured. In any case, you can buy more the next time and add them to your track easily. That's all for now. (Dreading the mass cleaning to come)

Wow, so many friends here have used a Malaysian company for their curtains/blinds. Out of curiosity, I have fixed an appointment with two local companies (Golden Leaf and I forgot the other). But.. funds are draining... so it's rather likely we'll go for a Malaysian company too... The issue with the front gate has yet to be fixed. Those who have provided a quotation have quoted sky-high prices. But that's also because I refuse to select a run-of-the-mill design. Alan said it's ok to have it fixed/replaced after CNY, so let's see how it goes. Silly question but since I am meeting the carpenter this weekend, I reckon I would need to give him the measurements of my hob, oven and fridge?? Looks like I may have to go order them asap...

Cool! Looking forward to your pix. I see that Lamitak's office is at Sungei Kadut... faints... LOL. But thanks for the tip, I will definitely download and check the PDF files before making a decision!

Hi Makan, from the start, Alan said ok to installing KDK fans so we just went ahead to buy it. He didn't even give any disclaimer. PARANOID! I can only check tomorrow evening... I hope they've had more practice by now...

Then they must have been hoping that I had purchased one. When they saw that I didn't, they just mumbled something.