finkfad

Congratulations on the new place! I have a 4NG with a very similar layout, and we remodeled most of the internal walls too! Good luck with your renovation, hope it turns out awesome.

Also, we were out and about at Balestier with Foo, choosing tiles, yesterday (Sunday). There were quite many couples also out and about choosing their tiles with their contractors / IDs. And when you see how others work, you know Foo is awesome. He ran through all the possible combinations with us over many hours, always concerned about colors and canvasses, always running about getting tiles which he feels will work, and telling us frankly what wouldn't work. He was very patient as we were basically quite clueless. Other IDs / contractors that were there basically worked like this with their clients, "Which one would you like? This, this and this is nice. Pick one." I will update with pictures of the tiles when I get the picture from the Missus. She is having second thoughts over the tiles we've tentatively chosen (but not yet confirmed with the tile supplier)

Apologies for not updating this blog as much as I'd have wanted. I'm now writing up my thesis for submission, so I'd give some updates as and when I catch a break. Foo just updated us with pictures of our flat post-hacking, ever want to see a hdb without most of its walls? 1. View of the Living Room from the front door. The empty space you see on the left is what was once two bedrooms. 2. Same view of the Living Room (now you can see the Study behind the Living Room wall) from the entrance of the Kitchen. The Storeroom is also gone! 3. View from the corner of the Living Room, where you can see the Kitchen (area on the left) and what was left of the MBR and the MBR Toilet. 4. Looks awesome without walls! 5. The remaining wall outside the MBR Toilet will be used as a sink/vanity area.

You have a pretty awesome layout! The 3 rooms are nicely laid out, and you'd have so much freedom for reconfiguration. Congratulations on the place!

Did my final inspection last Thursday and finally got the keys on Monday. While waiting for Foo to come by and take a look at the place, I noticed this outside of my flat, and I'm deeply concerned. Whenever the wind blows, the peeling paint from the ceiling and the floor will all come through my window. While the cleaning up is annoying, what concerns me deeply is exposure to asbestos and lead. If you look at the exterior floor, the neglect is so bad that it has become completely black (I'm pretty sure that wasn't the original color ) The block was constructed in 1978, and if the exterior floor has been left to rot since then, then its very likely that the paint is lead-laden, and possibly even asbestos (which use was only regulated in 1989). Sent a email expressing my solemn concern to the Town Council, and hope they fix it before I move in . Also asked the Town Council if the neglect was in fact an arrangement with paint contractors not to paint that area, or whether the contractors did not fulfill their contractual obligations.

Already have one, doubling up as a DIY NAS, and also maybe a couple more for each room (don't tell the Missus ) hehe.

I have a few already as of now, and I'm itching to build another one already I currently have about 12 HDDs but I am tempted to buy another 4 x 6 TBs LOL

Thanks for the input! I was quite afraid of that too ... now this is becoming a little bit of a nightmare scenario, having to repair it every couple of years or so. That'd be terrible .. As for kids, well I think I have really no plans to try for one anytime soon. Maybe not for the next few years too (early 30s here). I figured that if we kept any room unused, it will pile up with rubbish almost immediately. So in case of any unplanned children, I'll build up a place at where the old MBR was for a small bedroom until the child is old enough for us to consider moving to a new place. But honestly, neither me nor the Missus likes children. So we'll get there only if we are REALLY ready

I play my movies directly from PC's now, through HDMI. The sound goes out my PC's audio output to speakers (currently 2.1 as I live in a very small room). For the house, it should be similar. Video is through HDMI, sound I'm not decided yet since I'm not getting the PLAYBAR. I'll probably keep using my current Z2300's which I brought back from my time in the United States, and still using now , until they release a proper PLAYBAR. I don't really think I'll go full Home Theater for this one. Actually I asked TC for a quote before, total nett came up to be about S$7,000 (that was for the planned deployment showed above I think). They only offered me a Bridge + a PLAY:1 for free as part of that package (excluding installation and wall mounts), so I figured I could save alot more by switching the PLAY:3's to PLAY:1's and buying them from Amazon instead. The gentleman at the showroom also told me they have very little room to bring down the price, unfortunately.

Oh thanks for the headsup on the price of the cable! I knew the Amazon's comes with the US 2pins so I was contemplating on just using the cheapo $1.50 pin adapters, but if its just S$10 I can change them (I didn't ask how much it was at TC). For rear-mounts in the 5.1 configuration, PLAY:1's and PLAY:3's would both work, though not the PLAY:5's. I heard the 5's but the price TC was selling at, its really not worth that price premium. And I've decided not to buy the PLAYBAR until they come up with an improved version. Now, it only supports 1 optical in, and doesn't support either DTS, or HDMI ARC, which is terrible in my opinion, because most of the movies I watch (MKVs) have DTS encodings.

That was the old plan, I was lazy to change it LOL. After I went for an audition at Tat Chuan, I am changing them all to the PLAY:1's (which I'm buying right now from Amazon), and only keep a pair of PLAY:3's (which I'm buying from Epicenter in Singapore). To be honest, there is only but a slight difference in the quality (the PLAY:3 sounds a little more 'full', but only just), but a huge leap in terms of price. So in small spaces I'm going for the PLAY:1s, and only leaving the PLAY:3 in the living room. Can't beat house full of wonderful music all day

How so? I have no plans for the other bedrooms. If I had left it as a guestroom then the Missus is going pile it up to the ceiling with her stuff.

Buying online, especially Taobao, is always a big hit and miss, but expectations have to be tempered in accordance with the price you pay. I recently got another batch of stuff which is hit-and-miss. As I mentioned in my T-Blog, I bought 60 wooden hangers from Tmall.com that had pretty good reviews. Now I just went through them and I don't think I will be using any of them now. Some of the wood has patches that are unvarnished, and I'm afraid I'll either get splinters, or my clothes will get snagged on the wood and gets destroyed. Now I'll have to give the whole batch away to a friend who wants them despite their conditions.

Welcome, future neighbor! I will keep you posted on what my ID suggests The toilet size is really depressing though. The Missus is also adamant that she doesn't want the toilets to be combined (one side for WC and basin, one side for wet area). As for our current plan, I intend to shift the basin/vanity area in the MBR to outside of the toilet (where the MBR will be knocked out until a narrow corridor is left as a walkway to the toilet). So the toilet will have room for a shower partition, and won't make the whole area wet. We'll convert the other bedroom into a WIW and study You can also see what ID has planned in his sketch (he doesn't do 3D drawings).

Thank you for sharing!

Did you have any experience with these types of problems as well? Hopefully my ID can suggest something to fix this. Thinking if it might be worse if I simply put up a false ceiling over it.

9. Aggregated Clippers On A Hanger [http://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=15882752637] Thoughts: Well finished, if a little thin. Nothing to write home about, but pretty functional I'd say. 10. Solid Steel Hangers [http://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=15882752637] Thoughts: We bought two models, one is the [ 4MM加粗款42CM ] model, which means "extra thickness", and the [ 普通款45CM(男士用) ] model, which means "normal thickness, for male-clothing". They are all solidly built and very well-constructed. And very heavy. Did I mention that the extra-thick model is very, very heavy? Every hanger hook as a protective plastic cap as well, in case you scrape yourself accidentally. Very satisfied with this after the debacle with the wooden hangers. 11. Real Leather Computer Chair [http://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=19423534077] Thoughts: Its a little tricky with this one because I can't unpack it right now, and I only look at it cursorily inside the box. I'm also not sure how to test if its really made with "real" leather. But it looks pretty good in the box and I can't wait to sit on it already. Very huge though, the box itself is 0.48 cubic meters. And poorly packed too. It wasn't packed with styrofoam or anything, just the chair part thrown inside the box in its entirety (at least they wrapped it with thin wrapping material), and the bottom part detached and thrown into the box as well. I hope shipping didn't damage anything. 12. 'Fake' Leather Chair Thoughts: The missus bought this so I can't really say much about this for now. But as above, poorly packed (literally came in a 'L'-shaped box with all the components and base of the chair stuffed inside, together with the chair itself). REALLY hope shipping didn't damage it. But the material feels a little meh, and I hope it doesn't start peeling. That's it for my Taobao loot so far. Once I get everything into its normal course of use I can give you more updates.

6. Meet My Singled Wang! [http://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=40157913097] Thoughts: Funny name, VERY thick steel, and the construction appears to be very solid. 7. Drainer Tray For The Singled Wang [http://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=25888720802] Thoughts: The steel portion is well constructed but the wood portion needs a little bit more work. It certainly doesn't look well-varnished like in the picture. 8. Soap Dispenser For My Singled Wang! [http://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=19256014616] Thoughts: AWESOME construction, VERY HEAVY, very solidly-built. Very happy with initial impressions.

Some items we've bought from Taobao so far. I can't give you much details how whether it works well, or with regards to its operation, because we only opened up the boxes for a brief inspection. 1. Metal Pump Bottle [http://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=8542476604] Thoughts: Bought 2 of these. The finish is pretty good, but the quality of the screw-on part is rather bad. One of them can't be screwed-on fully. The internal capacity is also surprisingly small. Would not recommend anyone to buy. 2. Wooden Hangers [http://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=37477686049] Thoughts: We bought 3 packs of 20 of these. But the wood finish on some of them are really so bad that we wouldn't be using them. Some seems to be varnished and some seems to be not. Those that are not properly varnished will destroy your clothes if they snag on the splinters and rough patches. So far it seems only 50% of these can be used. The rest, I don't know what to do with them. I will not risk hanging my clothes on those. Strongly recommended not to buy. 3. Wooden Hangers With Clips [same link as above] Thoughts: These are alright. Build quality is a little poor but I think they are mostly usable. 4. Flexible Kitchen Tap [http://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=38406898905] Thoughts: This thing is HEAVY. And the build quality is AWESOME. They packed it pretty well and you know they mean business when the tap comes properly packed and shipped in the box, and the tap kept inside a drawstring bag. 5. CAT6 LAN Cables, 0.5 meters [http://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=25876188851] Thoughts: Remember I said I was a geek? Yes. Who doesn't need 30 of these?! They come individually packed. I have not had a chance to test them though, but they're cheap. Comes individually in sealed packs, and every jack has a protective cap on it.

I think the thickness is not standard unfortunately. Just asked my ID about it and his reply was that there is always a solution to everything and asks me not to worry, LOL. I tend to trust him though, he's the same ID as OceanEleven's. A little about him (Foo from Custombox): He's a really interesting guy who is not a yes-man (pretty important). He wouldn't agree to doing something if it is not worthwhile doing The feeling that I get is that you are choosing him as an ID, as much as he is choosing you to be a client. If you want a bland and plain renovation with very minimal design involved then you may not find him agreeing with you So far we've only been through the stage of planning the layout. One very different aspect about working with him is that he didn't want me to give him a laundry list of things which I specifically want in each room. He preferred to focus on what's generally important to us, e.g. preferences in terms of design, must not-haves, must haves, good-to-haves, etc. This is important, because I think he needs room for creativity and design. If you have a very specific idea of what you want then maybe you might be better off with a contractor than with him. With us, we wanted an ID to be opinionated, and tell us what would work and what would not. So he checks the list there. He also didn't want to jump into just giving a quotation, but he wanted to take a week or two to plan the space with our floorplan. That's important too, because you know he's putting in thoughts into design, not just doing a contractor's job. So far, we've not started with renovation, so I wouldn't say whether I'd recommend him or not. But all in all initial impressions were very positive, the best we've met so far, though to be honest we only met Kevin (the famous Mr. K), and another. Kevin was a really nice gentleman, but the Missus can't speak Chinese very well so she feels more at ease when talking to Foo.

Oh, I see you have the problem with the pipes in the middle too. May I know what your ID is doing about that?

I think it wouldn't matter to most people, LOL But I'm a tech guy and a gadgets guy, so I do a mental tour around the house and think about what I want to put where, and what I want to use where Quite alot of those power points are going towards powering these,

Sigh, I asked my ID if it was safe to buy floor traps from Taobao, and he said yes, so I bought five of these (he suggested four, plus one spare), Item: http://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=37925911925 But now, from what I saw from other t-blogs, HDB doesn't allow these types of traps to be used as it will raise the floor of the toilet too high? Costs me almost S$100, argh

The perils of living under the water tank, I seriously hope this would not be a recurring issue after my renovation. Any tips and tricks with regards to fixing this kinds of problems once and for all? I understand the seller has already called in the town council to help fix this, but I don't know the current state of it. Final inspection is on the coming Thursday. Fingers crossed.

Oh, nice! May I know if you had problems with pipes? I am seriously considering combining the bathrooms, but I'm not sure how to handle this (see picture below). The pipe right smack in the middle of the bathroom ruined everything. The wall behind this pipe separates the two bathrooms. If I had a choice to remove the wall, I don't know what to do with the pipe.