koori

I think I've gotten an addiction to Taobao liao. This is loot number 2. Will update stuff purchased in later posts. Surprisingly, Peeka delivered on Vesak Day, arrived close to 6pm ~

Just realised I didn't take any photos of the boxes and boxes of stuff when they arrived. LOL. Picture below was taken after I was more or less done with the unpacking. Mom was already watching TV while I was unpacking...

Moved in over the weekend. Used 'Rodex Movers'. They were the lowest quote among the 4 movers I asked. [Actually Helping hands' quote is comparable, but the person handling phone calls is not very forthcoming with information. He sounded like he can't wait to hang up my call, kept ending sentences with 'ok, bye' after each question I asked. Maybe I caught him at a wrong timing.] For my move, me blur blob didn't confirm timing properly. I assumed was morning, admin lady didn't highlight it is a a afternoon slot, though she said she did when I called their office Saturday morning...I must have momentary lapse of memory or something. Anyways, so the move was scheduled for 3pm on Saturday. Not very punctual though. I called the move supervisor around 3.10pm when no sign of them and he said 3.30pm. Ended up the team arriving at 3.50pm or thereabouts. Team of 5, came with laminates and trolleys. They did know how to dismantle and re-assemble wardrobe and beds. Was careful with belongings too - no throwing of boxes or anything. Very efficient once they arrived. They moved all my 15 boxes of barangs + TV, dismantle and reassemble furniture within 1 hour. The guys all looked Indian, all very polite and cheerful. Overall still quite happy with the movers. Will update with pictures of the move in later. Very busy weekend with the unpacking...

I needed to change door locks anyways, so thought might as well do digital instead of doing manual locks. Not sure, but some other forumer said the manual lockset also cost around $200? Novelty of the lock means people play with it though. Haha...heard folks playing with it while inside the house. Or is it a potential burglar ? >.< Unlikely to get all 6 numbers correct though...if really can guess so accurately, the person might as well go buy toto, strike liao got millions which I don't even have. Password combi can be even longer than 6 digits, but I lazy to rememeber so many numbers.

I thought there is no restrictions on changing door and gate? Though think if your door is a fire-rated door need to get a permit to change [to another fire rated door]. Rules are different between resale and BTO arh? If so, pardon me. I just changed my gate grilles, no permit needed.

Wah.....so drama? I'm thankful my previous owners got their new BTO flat and moved out way before completion date...no need to argue on dates. Good luck for your renovation coming up~

It doesn't look bad from the pictures at least....haha...proof your photography skills is very good? Are you going for open kitchen concept?

My hob gave a strange high pitched whining sound when the higher flame setting was selected. The smaller flame setting was ok, no sounds detected. Wow....didn't know there are so many pipings underneath. Some spare part was replaced and hob is fne now. No more strange sounds.

Oh I see...I am using a normal 13A point so didn't understand the microwave point. LOL. And now that I read what you wrote, hacking and concealing is for wires...I was talking about plain wall hacking and patching... Sorry, mishmash. My bad... I am not sure about hacking wall and concealing wires - mine is 'old school'. All my wires are on the surface wall, trunking running all around. No separate charges for these trunkings. Just adding for reference... I have schneider switches /sockets, about $60 per double point.

Welcome~ no flat layout to share yet?

Nice windows! Me lazy bum didn't dare to get white grilles. Can only admire other folks' photos.

What's a microwave point? I thought microwaves can use the regular 13Amp points? Not sure if it is industry practice, but my quote from contractor also split into 2 parts when there is hacking and making good....though mishmash's is a lot more expensive. [think x2 of the prices I got] Though might not be comparable coz different area being hacked... I agree the lighting point feels a bit expensive. The 13 Amp points single are expensive too. $70 should be able to do double point and still have change.

Not that I am promoting digital locks....but in case anyone is interested...here's what went into my decision making process : 1. Purchase online and install it yourself or engage a handyman. Buy online at Qoo10, search 'digital lock' or 'digital door lock' and there is a whole list of sellers selling them, usually located in Korea, Models without handles cost around S$130-ish to S$190-ish. Models with handles cost around S$250-ish to S$350-ish. a. There are lots of youtube videos regarding this. Mainly you need a hole-saw [Yes, you have to drill a solid round hole through the door.] and a steady hand to drill holes on your wooden door. For example : www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7ZZOwQ4VkA b. What type of lock you are buying also makes a difference in the installation. Digital lock without a handle, the lock mortise is an additional plate. Note you need a 'flat' area to screw on the additional plate. The picture below is from my sister. Haha....she was trying to show me the difference when I was deciding between lock with handle vs without a handle: In this case, see she had to 'saw' off the wooden door frame partially around that area for the mortise to sit properly. Side view of the same door : Digital lock with handle, this is the pic of my place's lock. Note the side for the lock mortise required modification. My door frame is made of metal, so would be difficult to drill into... Alternatively, try to find a local handyman who can install the digital lock if you're not confident. I have no contacts to recommend though. Neither did my contractor Alex. The person who specialises in doors on his team only knows the traditional locks. 2. Buy the lock + local installation This is the route I went. I googled for digital locks and 2 company names came up. Interlock and mydigtial lock. I went for Interlock coz my sister used them 6 years ago in her old house, and I saw some other forumer at renotalk using them too. Also, because they had a promotion. Haha....It depends on your personal preference which company you go for. 1. They have professionals installing the locks. No payment if the lock doesn't fit, for whatever reason. [My experience : The installer tells you directly the 'problem' before he proceeds. If you think it is not ok for whatever reason, it's ok to cancel. For my case, he warned me there will be about 2cm difference, so the door will show it's 'true colors' once the old lock is removed. There will also be a very small hole on the back of the door due to the different placement of the holes for the door locks' mortise mechanism.] 2. Problem for my door is that I know the existing holes for the lockset are all in the wrong places so I had zero confidence it will be as easy as it seemed in the video I found. The video took shows it took around 8 minutes to install... Mine actually took the professional from interlock about 1 hour plus to install. He had to remove existing lockset, drill additional holes, fill up the existing 'wrong' holes, modify the metal at the side to ensure alignment. 3. There is a 1 2 year warranty on the lock. Anything wrong *touch wood*, can call up interlock and fix. [Requested for English manual from Interlock, and this very informative email came in, stated 2 years warranty....manufacturer's defects, parts covered only. Of course if you abuse the lock or misuse it not covered. ]

Sorry to poke my head in here, just happened to be reading... I think it is one password entry for each door, not individual passwords. [Mine is like this, so is my sister's. We both got Samsung locks, different model though] Depending on your lock model. If it has fingerprint recording function, then of course have to register each individual fingerprint and it will be different for everyone. Some locks come with RFID card, again have to register the cards on the lock and it will then be different for each individual holding the card. If battery is flat and you are outside the house, there is an option to charge the battery from the outside. was told need a 9V battery. For the model I bought, there is an additional physical (manual) key overwrite as well.

Got it from Interlock SG @$598, including installation. Not sure if ok to put their website link here. Just google 'interlock sg' and their site will come up in the search.

Old main door handle. Rusty, handle also listing to one side and not straight... Replaced with Samsung digital lock. Next project. painting the exposed area. Hope I'll have better luck with this then the window film removal exercise. Haha ~

Steel rack for the store-room. Was very ambitious, got a 50cm depth x 159 cm length one. Storeroom left space for just one person to get in or out now. Haha... This thing doesn't have any bolts / screws. The installer was punctual and installed it within 30 minutes. Got this from Sin Win Liang. Good thing is you can order online, fuss free. Rack is galvanized steel, comes in colors blue or white as well. ( I cheapskate, didn't want to pay extra for the colors coz hiding in store mah....) Drawback is they don't seem to have customisation. I didn't need a L shape coz my storeroom is too small to have a L at the other wall, so this is good for me.

Thank you all.

106 sqm. Is that considered big? I didn't survey floor area of other flats... Though my contractor did comment that it was very spacious for a 4 room. I engaged a contractor for the whole renovation, he arranged everything. Sorry, I don't have the individual contacts of the teams doing stuff. Do you still want the contacts in this case?

From experience, I remembered it took around 2-3 days. You can login to My HDBpage to check status of the renovation request ~

probably have to custom make if you want odd sizing bed frame...even then, mattress will likely be a problem. Singapore's mattress size seems to only come in Single, Super Single, Queen or King size wor...

Settled the bill today~ Total came up to $32,050 including electricals, excluding the sink/taps, etc... Not a lot of difference from the original considering I did add quite a number of stuff along the way. Alex also purchased the water closets, taps and sinks, even the Turbo glass hob on my behalf. Bill for these is about $1,400. See how 'hands-off' I am? Some overall pictures just for the heck of it...yet to move in. Arranged for movers in 2 weeks time. Now that it's completed, can safely say I would recommend Alex to anyone looking for contractor. Easy going, no black faces even when you tell him you wanna change something or tell him you spotted something needing to rectify. I think his 口头禅is ‘不好意思’ . Most frequently heard phrase from the many phone calls to him. Not much rectifications either. I only saw one dripping bidet spray connection, some missed painting....everything else was good. Mom also looked around, so confirm ok....In fact the missed painting were all spotted by mom. Noob me vs mom who has 2 flats reno under her belt. He can advise on the aesthetics too. Tiles/grilles/paint....in fact most of the colors were based on his recommendations. He was also the only one who had a suggestion on my flat's layout : create a doorway in BR2 facing MBR door. ALL the other IDs / contractors I spoke to recommended reverting back to the original HDB layout when I said I wanted the storeroom rebuilt, which meant even more hacking and walls building. Plus the MBR door will now be facing the living room, which means less privacy. If you spot something on internet, can show him pics and he can 'copy' quite well. Or tell you if it's not suitable for your place for watever reason...like my rockstone paint walls which gets in the way of most stuff... Disadvantage would be no 3D drawings that some folks like. There were a couple of drawings [hand-drawn] done for the cabinetry. If you have a good idea of what you want, this lack of 3D shouldn't be an issue. Another thing is, he doesn't answer messages/watsapp fast enough for my liking....so I call him up when I simply must have an answer...maybe that's why I hear the phrase ‘不好意思’ so often. wahaha....

I thought it's 'common' practice, if by 'design', you mean the 3D pictures for your place. There are some bloggers who wrote that they part with a few $K as they didn't like the 3D renderings after the quote signing. Unless you're talking about the flat layout drawing. Just drawing of some beds/wardrobe/TV placement from what I experienced during my ID/contractor hunting. These they give freely.

Phase 1 looks great from the pics. Is there air-con in the sleeping area? Not clear from the pictures. Looks like an enclosed area all by itself after the sliding door from the pics. The aircon looks like it's in the 'other room' before the sliding door...

Got a storage stool for the hall. Intending to place a shoe cabinet beside this. Some hiccups with delivery, said to deliver Wed late evening but didn't arrive. Re-delivery arranged today. Quite nice. I was eyeing this at taobao too, but due to the size, I think it might cost quite a bit to ship from China. Think is cheaper to get it on qoo10 when it's on discount.