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We have two in our house and we are pretty satisfied with the fans.. we bought directly from the crestar office at kallang (where you can see the full range) & we have been impressed so far with the after sales service.. They have come down twice since we installed the fans in June. The first time was in the first week when we noticed a scratch on the body.. no questions asked, they came to replace.. and another time was two months ago as the remote control was not working. Their guy came and replaced the battery (oops! Super paiseh cos we didnt think of that) with a smile.. and no charges on both instances.. we might have saved a few dollars buying it outside but we decided to buy it directly from the company's office at kallang since there would be peace of mind and we could also ensure that we did not end up using the 'wrong' lights which we would have affected the warranty (some of the shops allowed using lights from another brand with the crestar fans though it was not very compatible).. hope this helps!

Hi.. We have started using it for about 2 weeks.. so far so good.. the rainshower has ok pressure even though we are on the top floor.. but if you want a rainshower with very strong pressure, then maybe you need to look further into it?

Not too sure about the price. But maybe as a gauge, mine is about $1350 for living room and 3 rooms incl aircon ledge at MBR.. Day and night for living room (5-rm), roller blinds for 2 bedrooms and Roman blinds for MBR windows..

Hi Skymill..I am still in the process of renovating my flat.. but so far I am quite pleased with my contractor.. He is mr yeak from basic image.. you can find reviews of him on renotalk.. all the best!

Oh and forgot to add.. for the carpentry, only one drawer or one set of drawers is included in the $230/ft run he quoted you? 1 drawer seems too little and it may mean that he will charge you extra for additional drawers..

The painting seems quite expensive too.. you may want to ask your contractor to specify the number of colours allowed and the range you can choose from.. the amount you are paying for for the oil paint on top of the wall paint seems too ex.. Also, i assume you do not need a sealer coat for the wall?

It is best that you do not start your renovation until the issue is resolved.. Once they have finished repainting, wait for a while to see if the matter is indeed settled.. If you are on the top floor, wait for a few days of heavy rain and monitor.. If you are not, then see if your neighbour can help by pouring water on their floor where the problem is.. Because once you start reno, any further seepage will be blamed on your contractor and it is more difficult to get BSC to rectify.. All the best for your reno!

Hi, just checking if anyone has had a water seepage problem before in their BTO flat? I.e. there are water stains on your walls that have one side facing outwards. It was not obvious before we painted because the water stains dont show up on white walls and the rainy season also started only when we began our renovations.. We called the building service centre to inform them about the problem and they said it was due to our renovation. First they said it was because we removed the timber skirting, but we told them that we did not have that as we did not opt for the tiles. Then he changed it to it was due to us replastering the wall and damaged the waterproofing. But again we didnt replaster those walls either.. And woukd replastering cause damage to rhe waterproofing? He is refusing to do anything about it and the building service centre is closing down tomorrow.. wondering whether anyone has had the same seepage issue and can advise us on what we can do to get it repaired? Can we ask the town council or hdb for help? Dont really want to end up paying for something that was not our fault! Thanks!

About 1.2-1.4k? At least that was what i was charged by my contractor for 5-6 colours for my bto 5-rm.. but only vinilex or pentalite series..

Think it is ok to show your contractor some pictures.. In fact, it might help you to better communicate your ideas to the contractor.. If the contractor says no to everything you show him saying it is not possible or difficult to do, then my suggestion would be to take your money elsewhere and find another contractor.. It is important fir you to find a contractor who will be open to your ideas and if it is really not possible, then offer suggestions that will give you the look that you want without compromising safety and quality.. I feel that while it is important for you to listen to the contractor since he is most likely more experienced than you when it comes to renovation, it is also not wrong for you to expect some form of respect from the contractor in relation to your ideas as it is your money and your home.. all the best!

An experienced contractor will be able to point out flaws and offer suggestions but you definitely must have some ideas, particularly for the major works.. At first, my husband and I also thought of getting an ID but after talking to two IDs, we realised that an experienced ID charges quite a bit (i.e. markups can be on the high side) and the cheaper ones can be quite inexperienced (she was quite clueless about a lot of things).. But if you are lucky and do enough research, you might be able to find an experienced ID that charges reasonably. Do ask around for recommendations.. In the end we decided to take the leap and engage a contractor.. So far, he has been very accommodating to us changing our minds about stuffs even after we have discussed it and somewhat finalised the details.. He also helped to coordinate the different sub-contractors he has employed and is willing to make rectifications when necessary.. But for carpentry, we got the help of my dad who used to be a carpenter to help us draw and liaise with our contractor as we have little clue about designing the kitchen..

Hi, Not sure if this comes too late. went to JB two weeks ago to look for lights and bathroom accessories.. For lights, I felt that the selection was not that good unless you are going for basic lighting.. Avalon and VIP lighting had more of the designer range but their prices are higher, almost like SG shops.. For basic lighting, Tampoi Lighting Centre seems fine.. Did not buy anything there but the prices were quite good.. We didnt buy any lights in the end in JB as we felt that the selection in the five shops we went to did not fulfil our criteria.. We ended up buying all our track lights from a supplier in Sg at the same price we found at JB but of better quality.. For bathroom accessories, Aldeco is definitely worth a visit.. We spent RM820 there (about $320) and we got loads of stuffs incl 2 bidet sprays with taps (saw the same bidet spray being sold at a Sg shop yesterday for SGD$59, we bought for RM59), 2 stainless steel cabinets with mirrors (the cheapest we found in Sg was $115 for this), 2 stainless steel towel bars, 5 stainless steel hooks, 1 clothes hook bar (to be placed behind the bedroom door.. this was really heavy.. and cheap RM11.90).. Cant remember what else we got but it was a great shopping experience.. They were having a promotion where if you buy more than RM180 worth of items, you automatically qualify as a member and you will get 32% off your purchases (except for already heavily discounted items.. which were not that many.. most items still qualified for this discount even though they were already discounted).. But think this promotion only until end of March? Sales service at Aldeco was good.. not pushy and they were patient to answer your questions, help you check all your items before repacking and explain how to assemble them.. You dont feel like they are rushing you even though they have to attend to other customers in between.. If you want to see bigger items like basins, toilet cabinets, etc, you may want to go to their branch at Taman Sentosa. The sales staff at Sutera Mall branch informed us that that is their main showroom and has the full range of items on display.. Happy shopping!

Thanks much!

Hi! would you happen to have the taobao link for your dining room lights? Cant read a word of Mandarin but still want to give taobao a try.. Really like the look of your glass box lights! Saw something similar at a shop at joo chiat going for $450 for the small version and $550 for the larger version (which is yours) *faints*.. Thanks!

Thanks for the pics! That looks very neat without wires going everywhere or having to create a special box up for the wires.. Will try to look for the stick-on type of LED strip. I assume that we have to get our contractor to leave a lighting point for that? Thanks!

Hi.. a silent reader of your blog.. your kitchen looks great esp with the undercabinet lighting.. would you mind taking a photo of how the light looks like beneath the cabinet? Would like to know how you have installed it.. many thanks in advance!

Hi david, Thanks for the reminder to check for local support.. So far, the reviews on hanstone quartz that we found were from overseas users but should be the same.. Hopefully the Singapore distributor that installs it will alsi be good.. Thanks!

Hi.. Has anyone used Hanstone quartz for kitchen countertop before? Any feedback? Also, how about the workmanship for countertop installation by Neworkz? Tried finding revires about them but limited. Thanks!

Glad we stumbled upon this thread.. We were almost ready to sign with Alan since we thought his workmanship was good.. But after hearing all your accounts, we are not too sure anymore.. Nevertheless, hope you are enjoying your new house (for those whose reno is completed) or will enjoy your new house soon (for those who are still reno-ing)!

Hi, Just wondering if anyone knows the HDB Licence number for NID? Can't seem to find them on the HDB website.. Thanks!