babyQ

I have a Bosch washer Maxx Classic 800 RPM (WAE 16060 SG), bought it to replace my Thomson TX728 in Jan this year. it's a 7 Kg Front Load with Green Label – energy and water saving. i went to Courts Megastore in Tampines to check the price, then called Goh Ah Bee to order. It was $100 off right away. They delivered it the very next day. can't find my file, but have my cheque book stub, managed to check how much i paid - $790. Bosch provided a free training session. just call up and they will send a technician down to demonstrate the washing machine features to you. after 7 years using the tiny Thomson, i must say i love the Bosch! can wash more per load, clothes very clean and my utility bills actually reduced eventhough i have more washing to do. no complaints.

Me me! I have a Bosch washer Maxx Classic 800 RPM (WAE 16060 SG), bought it to replace my Thomson TX728 in Jan this year. it's a 7 Kg Front Load with Green Label – energy and water saving. i went to Courts Megastore in Tampines to check the price, then called Goh Ah Bee to order. It was $100 off right away. They delivered it the very next day. sorry can't find my file now, can't remember how much i paid off hand. Bosch provided a free training session. just call up and they will send a technician down to demonstrate the washing machine features to you. after 7 years using the tiny Thomson, i must say i love the Bosch! can wash more per load, clothes very clean and my utility bills actually reduced eventhough i have more washing to do.

i have DC03 bought in year 2000 and still working wonderfully. the bagless system is great. what i do after each vacuum is use a plastic bag to cover the container and pour out the dust, then wash the container and airdry. the white filter can be washed. the HEPA filter needs to be changed. time for me to change mine after i do some heavy duty cleaning after my reno is completed! i did a lot of research (water vs cyclone, bag vs no-bag) before i bought the vacuum cleaner. will try to dig out the vacuum cleaner link for you. to me, it is worth every cent i paid for it (think it was high $600 at that time). i love the yellow and purple colour too (and my son loves the toy vacuum lor).

Mitsubishi Starmex System 4 Inverter R410A Model: MXY-4A28VA/ MSXY-GA10VA x 3 MSXY-GA26VA x 1 BTU/HR: 26,000 Materials include: 1. Copper tube 1.2: x 0.61 G23 (12.70mm) 2. LF PVC Pipe Drain 13mm x 2.9m 3. Armoflex Tubing 3/8" x 3/8" x 2m (then i read the singapore aircon blogspot and i ask the uncle to change to 1/2". he said ok he will change. then when i go check, i see some 5/8", some 1/2", some 1/4". give some take some, ok lah) c/w stainless steel bracket + dismantle + remove all old trunking + aircon + Unlimited site survey/installation trips Total Amount: $3,800 Chye Lee Airconditioning & Electrical Services at Block 446 Hougang Ave 8.

hi Grace, i think different contractors will use different heading/sub-section for their quotations. it also depends on the scope of your reno, eg. whether your flooring is tiles thruout, etc. "masonry works" is interchangeable with wet works. both mean the same thing. the scope of wet works for my quotation include those works involving the two bathrooms only: supply building material (cement, chemical cement, white cement, W1 bonding and sand) supply floor and wall tiles (usually will specify price range or you can choose to buy your own) supply labour to lay floor and wall tiles supply 104 quickseal waterproofing membrane before laying floor tiles labour and materials to construct shower kerb or bath tub support if any hacking or change position of toilet doors, then cost of erecting new wall and patching up old entrance with hollow block if you are using tiles for your whole house + kitchen, then wet works will include: lay floor tiles ****/dining/storeroom bedrooms c/w skirting lay floor and wall tiles at kitchen c/w waterproofing treatment level up kitchen with EPF (if doing) construct kitchen cabinet base replace rubbish chute erecting any walls eg in storeroom for my quotation, plastering and painting works is under separate heading. i got a quotation which is very clear using these headings: 1. Demolition Works 2. Masonry Works = wet works 3. Plastering Works 4. Plumbing Works 5. Door Works 6. Aluminium Works 7. Electrical Works 8. Ceiling Works 9. Carpentry Works 10. Painting Works hope this helps! good luck on your reno!

this contractor is really very chialat - all the T&C are all in his favour! i hope more experienced reno forummers can advice you further on how to deal with him since you have tried all ways and nothing seems to work. seems like he is happy to take the 40% and going to take his time to drag. i hope you can resolve this soonest possible!!

wah... i am hooked on your blog of magnificent tips!! the Fish Off sounds really interesting!! http://www.cedarfresh.com/detail.asp?Q=36&Cat=3 the aussie mini mart has many, many interesting things!

i must go buy feather duster today! gam xia!

MaCe, thanks for sharing all these money-saving tips!! saves me a lot of hassle and headache to clean up the place after reno. the place looks like a warzone now!

hahaa.. funny you asked that! my place is in Tampines and i went all the way to AMK to get it! electrician told me he gets his supplies from that AMK shop and prices are cheap. but not cheapest i must say, coz i saw another thread on switches and the heater switch is $6 and they charged me $8+ at this shop.

Not sure if this is the right forum to post to. I am thinking of getting SingTel LiveCam with 2 or 3 cameras installed. Does anyone have experience with SingTel LiveCam or any other Camera Surveillance system for residential use? Thanks!!

i just bought Legrand switches from a shop at AMK yesterday. Don't think it's the cheapest, they are supposed to give me my electrician's supplier rate, but i don't think they did. See me blur... 1-gang $1.90 ($2.03 w GST) 2-gang $3.80 ($4.07 w GST) 3-gang $5.70 (didn't get this, so no GST calc) 3-gang 2-way $8.80 ($9.42 w GST) Heater switch $9.50 ($10.17 w GST) Doorbell switch $3 ($3.21 w GST) Total for 15 switches + 4 wallplugs $89.80 Yoong Shen Trading 531 Ang Mo Kio Ave 10 #01-2449 Singapore 560531 Tel: 6556 0550 Fax: 6556 0500

I didn't get Clipsal switches from them but they stock it together with MK, Le Grand, Fong Yip. etc: Yoong Shen Trading Blk 531 #01-2249 Ang Mo Kio Ave 10 Singapore 560531 Tel: 6556 0550

i'm looking for one too! i went to get my rocker switches from a shop in AMK Ave 10 today (electrician recommended) and the range of doorbells they have is extremely limited - just two choices! looks very outdated too.

front back thanks! after reading your explanation, it's confirmed what i have here is not a piece of homo tile (since surface and backing is not the same material). hmmm.. how come SBH market is as homo thanks Lawry, i checked, it has sharp edges! but still don't think it's homo after reading the next two forummers' answers! sorry, i am very new to all these reno terms and a bit slow... ahhh... u make me more confused now! !! never mind, as yoongf said, i shouldn't lose zzz over this since they are giving me what i chose after all. thanks everyone!

Hi Everyone, Tile selected at SBH IMM the code says HT: B305 Salesman told me HT stands for Homogeneous Tiles Close up: HT-B305 Tiles delivered the box packaging says: Ceramic Tiles Side of the box is B305 Called SBH, they say it's Homogeneous. I asked how come the packaging says Ceramic. Staff who answered my call says they don't have Ceramic Tiles for the tile code. Anyone can advice? I really have no idea how to tell whether I've been given Ceramic or Homo Tiles. And if I've paid for Homo Tiles only to be given Ceramic. So confusing!! Thanks in advance!

hi huabaobao, my contractor got an aircon guy to quote but i found a cheaper quote and hence i ala carte for aircon. if you are getting your own aircon contractor, do ask him to recce your place first to confirm his quote (sometimes they say one price on the phone and when they go to your flat, they start saying this one extra, that one extra). it helps if your main contractor is around when the aircon contractor comes, so they can discuss whether the placement of the blowers will affect your other reno. also they will need to discuss the schedule - when to install, etc. if your resale HDB has existing aircon, the aircon contractor needs to dismantle everything and discard all the trunking (not done by your main contractor since they are not making any $ from you on this). this should be done at the early stage of your reno. for my case, it is just after hacking. i am also newbie here and renovating my resale flat. found this aircon blog which is super useful: http://singapore-aircon.blogspot.com/ just print out the checklist and ask the aircon contractor to fill in the blanks. hope you have a smooth-sailing, hassle-free reno!

Hi Suzanne, Can I have Mr Lim's contact please? Thank you! BQ

i just went to SBH at IMM, they have something similar. but i didn't try to carry them to see if it's light weight or heavy.

Hi Cornetto, Can you share your electrician contact please? What is MDB box? Is it a must to change? Thank you! Cheers, BQ

thanks very much waileong. your reflections are very timely and useful! hi Happy, my reno is as simple as simple can be too! i need the space with 2 active children, so no designer stuff too! just curious, why do you need design features for storage room? happy hunting.. i will stick to my instinct, this contractor's quote is not the cheapest, but have good "rapport" and gan jue with him. hope both our reno goes smoothly and hassle-free! cheers!

hi RT forummers, i am new here, been lurking and burning midnight oil taking a crash course on reno and reading posts here till my eyes blur blur... but learnt a lot! thank you! hopefully will make a good decision and have a happy outcome with my reno. we have moved out of our resale 5-room 128 sq m 5-I (stayed there for 7+ years) and going to renovate. supposed to start dong kong (symbolic) today - Saturday 11 Aug before Lunar 7th month. got 3 quotes, compared and this one seems ok, though i think some areas can be reduced. to save $, i am not doing anything to the kitchen. happy to live with it. here goes: Hacking Works To dismantle off existing cabinet **** room 100 To dismantle existing sliding window (glass doors) at balcony area 80 To hack existing wall at balcony area 100 To dismantle existing cabinets at Bedroom 3 80 To dismantle existing cabinets at Bedroom 2 80 To dismantle existing wardrobe at Master Bedroom 80 To hack whole house skirtings 250 To hack existing toilet floor and wall for both toilets 450 To hack an opening for door way for Master Toilet 100 To remove whole house cornices 250 Haulage and Disposal 650 Total 2220 Wet Works / Masonry Works MBR + Kitchen Toilet + Balcony Supply sand/cement and labour to lay homogenous floor tiles at MBR Toilet 300 Supply sand/cement and labour to lay homogenous floor tiles at Kitchen Toilet 300 Supply and construct shower kerb at both toilets 180 Supply labour and material to lay ceramic wall tiles at kitchen toilet (tiles not included) 650 Supply labour and material to lay ceramic wall tiles at MBR toilet (tiles not included) 650 Apply water proofing membrane BEFORE laying floor tiles 200 Supply and construct 6ft full height partition wall between balcony/bedroom 2 350 Seal up existing door way for MBR toilet with hollow block 280 Total 2910 Carpentry Works Living Room Design and install 7 ft full height shoe cabinet at entrance area 1680 Supply and install full height mirror at back of 7ft shoe rack at entrance area 420 Total 2100 Balcony Area 6ft Table accessed from Balcony 800 Master Bedroom Recessed window - 7ft half height storage cabinet with doors at window underside area 680 Bedroom 2 11 ft alumix closet door framed with tempered frosted glass foor only 1900 Supply and install Qty: 02 3 ft solidply wooden ledge with laminate FOC Total: 5480 Painting and Plastering Works Plaster the whole unit internal walls and smoothen all ceiling 1800 Paint whole house Nippon Ici Pentalite 5 colours include sealant 1350 Please confirm sealant is Oil Sealer from Nippon Total 3150 Windows Whole house sliding window except study room and bedroom 3 1400 casement window for study room (3 panels) 350 Whole house grilles 970 Total 2720 Doors Supply and install 02 Bi-fold Besglas Ezi toilet doors 480 Shower Screen Supply and install frameless clear tempered glass shower screen at both toilets 960 Ceiling Install L-box **** Room 520 Install L-box at Dining Room 350 Total 870 Plumbing Works Run new copper pipe at kitchen and both toilets 450 Run hot and and cold pipe for kitchen toilet (storage heater) 220 Supply labour and install kitchen toilet storage heater 80 Supply labour and install MBR toilet instant heater 60 Supply labour and install 2 nos of toilet bowls 180 Supply labour and install 2 nos of wash basin and taps 160 Labour to install 2 toilet accessories 120 Total 1270 Kitchen Door Kitchen Sliding door from Besglas 790 Others Protect Floor FOC Cleaning/Chemical Wash FOC Grand Total $20850 I thought these can be reduced: Haulage and disposal 650-150 = $500 Labour and installation of toilet bowls, basins and taps ($180+$160)-60= $280 TOTAL AMOUNT $20,640 Not sure where else I can save. Trying to keep to $20K or less. Still have electrical, aircon and flooring which will add up another $10K at least. Any input and suggestions and recommendations for electrical and aircon contractor? Anyone has a good painter to recommend if I were to go ala carte on this quotation? I had a bad experience when we first got our place 7 years ago. The painter charged us $1.5K and did not use sealer. We kena ripped off and none the wiser coz gong gong and no renotalk.com at that time! Thanks in advance!!