kovan4us

Bedroom flooring -- Neufloor Recommended by our ID and we picked "Oregon", light brown/grey tone. It was a clip-on system and installation for my three rooms took only two days: first day for the floor and the second day for skirting. We noticed these problems. The skirting was chunky and the colour didn't match. Also notice the gap between the skirting and the floor tiles. Bad workmanship The 'gap-filler' - the piece that separates the room and the hall, was of different colour and texture. Now, we had three distinct flavours. When questioned, the installer, a young bespectacled guy told us, "it is like that one". Also, "if you can find something else, I will replace for you." Challenge accepted. We visited Neufloor's showroom in Guillermard Road to see how it was done. We didn't managed to see the skirtings but the sales person showed us various pieces of "gap-filler" and there were different colours and textures for different range of flooring. That made sense doesn't it? Armed with the information, we were ready to confront the installer. However, our ID recognised the problem and said he would deal with it. Yet to be resolved... and we had already moved in.

Mattress -- What Matters? What matter most to you when you are buying a mattress? What matter most to the manufacturers? That you are confused. We bought our mattresses from Robinsons in the past whenever they are having a promotion: the store discount on top of the hefty discount seems like a great buy. We did the same thing this time, but brought our children, now teenagers along. First to The Centre Point, used to be Robinsons but now occupied by Metro. Layout is uncannily similar and we had no problem getting to the floor for beddings. After my teens jumped, rolled and laid down on almost all the mattresses, they picked two, one from Simmons (forgot the model because the price was quite high) and the other was Sealy's Boston ($1,299 after all the discount). Since it was closing time, we decided to come back other day. A week later, we went shopping again and this time to Takashimaya (selection was limited, no sales on), then to Robinsons. In Robinsons, the Simmons mattress we liked was Beautyrest Sea Breeze. Went around the corner, we found Sealy's and asked for the Boston. We were told that the Boston series was exclusive to Metro. It was there and then that I realised what the mattress industry is trying to do. Why would an international brand create a model that is exclusive to a local retail chain serving a small population? After letting the matter simmers in my head for a few more days, I suggested to go to our trusted local furniture store: Used to be in the same building as Seafood Paradise in Defu Lane, now shifted to three buildings further down the road: 4th floor, 85 Defu Lane 10. They have been in the business for long time and we go there to buy bit and pieces of furniture to fit in a corner, when urgently needed and when we cannot find what we liked in Ikea. Design wise, it is dated but you do get what you paid for: quality. When we moved after two years in a rented condo, most of the Ikea furnitures had given way and we had no hesitancy in throwing them away. But the shoe cabinet and dresser we bought here were still doing fine and it would pained us to throw them out. So we moved them into the new home even though we had no idea what to do with them. Ok, back to mattress. They carry Maxcoil (we heard of) and Mylatex (huh??). Nearer the entrance was Maxcoil, we tried and it was ok. Then we went further to discover Mylatex. Their advertisement made me chuckle: Someone who looks like a doctor. Checked. Pretty girl. Checked. Rubber trees? Huh? How's that going to make me like the mattress? Well, we settled. Two super single that were made up of pocketed spring (9inch), latex top (2inch), with a top finish that is soft and smooth enough for our liking. At $800+ each, it was a $400+ savings from what we wanted to buy: a lower end offering of a named brand. Another reason how I came to the conclusion was this: do a Google search on "Sealy's Boston" and "Simmons Sea Breeze". Then do a search on "mylatex Lexington". See how readily the informations pop up. How many levels you had to dig into to get the information you want?

Not steady -- Painting Painting was done by one guy and I am sure he rushed through it under pressure. Some parts, especially gaps in trunkings were not properly plastered and painted over. Since the painter will be coming back for final touch up, we will let him fix it up then. The problem is with the colour of paint for the sewage pipes. (I realised the pictures taken were too dark to show. Will have to retake) For the master bedroom toilet, the wall tiles are beige. The pipe colour, was not close enough to blend in but understandable. However, the common toilet wall tiles are grey and he used the same beige colour. When asked, our ID said "oh, you can only choose one colour for sewage pipe. The master bedroom toilet is more important so we choose that colour for both." Really? Aren't the IDs supposed to match colours to designs? When pressed, he told us, small matter, he would settle it. We are not happy already - repeatedly giving us excuses instead of fixing the problem right away.

Thanks! Good to know that the design works well.

Not steady -- Master Bathroom Our ID did the 3-D drawing, on-site inspection and everything looks alright. We divided the bathroom into half: left for shower and right for basin. The shower shall be glass divider with swing door. We also wanted a kerb because it is useful to put lots of things. Just two days ago, our carpenter asked us for the measurement of the wash basin area. Only then did we realised... The space is too small for a basin! Solution? He asked us if we mind taking a basin with 27cm in depth from Ikea. We quickly called up Tiong Yeong to change our order. Rushed to Hoe Kee, Sim Siang Choon and Ikea to look at other basins. Our ID came down to view and apologise. Since he cannot come up with a solution, we came up with one. But he will have to pay for it.

How 'steady' is your ID? With less than a week to completion. More work done and inevitably, more problems popped up. How does your ID handles problem? "It's like that one." I have been hearing this phrase very frequently the past few days. With three renovation done under our watch, nope, it is not like that one. Have to remind myself... Keep cool. There's no use shouting. Do some homework and show your ID what it is supposed to be like. "Can you accept it?" Before the sale, I am sure all ID will assure you of their high standard and taste. Why is it that once work started, they morphed into a general contractor? Shouldn't you, the ID, tell me if it is acceptable? Well, sad to say, my selected ID is not that steady.

Toto! Nice... Ya, those big brands use their own system. Should have what, 10 years warranty right?

Plumbing -- Horrible Plumbing! 5 days to move and we hit problems. One of them is plumbing. How to run a pipe? Shouldn't this issue been dealt with like... thousands of years ago? Whenever I see a few young men storming into the house and work in frantic paces, I can't help but worry that something would go wrong. Why am I so right? Bent, twisted and unceremoniously mutilated!! How should it be done? Here's a look at the piping work in my rented condo: Pipes are aligned horizontally and vertically. How to negotiate a bend? Use an angular connector! I am so glad good work like this is not hidden. Do take a moment to appreciate this display of splendid and meticulous workmanship. Something to show my ID and his plumber. And to add, I am furious at my ID for thinking that was acceptable work.

Hi KS! In my case, $243 for 3 years is reasonable. I was not very willing to pay more than $300 for warranty. When I buy fridge, I only look for those dumb dumb ones -- no other features like water dispenser or multi-zone temperature control... The fridge compressor, even those newer Inverter types, are hundred year's old technology and should run on and on until you get sick of it. Just make sure your area surrounding the fridge is well ventilated.

I got it from Tiong Yeong Hardware in Song Lin Building, Syed Alwi Road. Look for Fion.

Side-by-side Fridge: Samsung vs LG We settled on side-by-side configuration. In the beginning, we had our eyes on European brands like Bosch or Ariston for their looks and wider interior. Later, we decided to go with Korean brands for their supposedly better reliability and service. The final two that we shortlisted were: LG GSB5282PZ Samsung RS-H5SUSL2/XSS I preferred the Samsung because: - Made in Korea - Dual Fan - Larger capacity 551 vs 528 (LG) My wife preferred the LG because of the better internal configuration and look. LG has clear plastic trays and are height adjustable. Samsung's door side trays are cheaper looking white and not height adjustable. LG's Ice tray is larger and fits the shelf nicely. Samsung's ice tray is smaller and doesn't fit well. Since we could not come to an agreement, we let price be the deciding factor. Samsung was $1,699 and LG was $1,599. Samsung was running a promotion giving away $150 supermarket voucher and that pretty much seals the deal. But that's not the end. Shopping around the past few days brought us to Harvey Norman Millenia Walk, Courts Tampines and Harvey Norman Hougang Mall. HN Millenia: Fridge $1,499 + 3 years add-on Warranty $374 = $1,873 Courts TP: Fridge $1,549 ($1,699 - $150 in house voucher) + Warranty $325 (approx.) = $1,874 Finally, we decided to just stop by HN in Hougang because we were too tired to drive down to Millenia. The price on the Samsung was $1,699. We were served by Uncle Wong and he not only matched the price of the fridge to their Millenia outlet, he also lowered the price of warranty (items below $1,500 had a different warranty pricing level). HN Hougang: Fridge $1,499 + Warranty $243 = $1,742. Deal done and that was our last major item for the kitchen.

Ok, did some searching and this should be what's inside of a WC tank fitted with Geberit system: Gone are those floating ball and piston. It also means that it is more expensive if things go wrong, you will have to replaced the entire system costing around $100. Fortunately, Geberit tested their system for up to "200,000 times, an equivalent to ordinary family use of sixty-years".

Sorry bro... since I already settled on the WC, I didn't conduct any more investigation into it anymore and so won't be able to elaborate on Gerberit system. Suffice to say that it is like "Intel" inside for PC: branded, more QC and more reliable? I am busy with lightings now. Oh, when I passed by the neighbourhood shop selling bathroom items, I did notice the particular design I chose and with Gerberit fitting was also available in another brand. Can't recall the name because it is not one of those well marketed ones. It looked exactly the same and price was about $380 before discount.

WC - Treo I don't have the exact details of it but I bought it because it was a ToTo CW166B look-alike with Geberit system built-in. It was the only one I liked in the line up in that shop. At that moment in time, I was mostly happy that the price is ok and I don't have to go elsewhere to do more shopping and comparison. Other than aesthetic reason, this design is a little bit taller and steeper in gradient than the Roz (using it currently) and Johnson Suisse (used it before). I am hopeful that the increase in height and depth will translate to more forceful flushing power. Another consideration I had for WC was the coating of the ceramic basin. Toto was the only one to mention that it had an additional coating of CeFionTect for extra protection: a little like Teflon coating for cooking pans, non-stick and easy to wash. No other brand has mentioned any special coating, so I assume ToTo is the only one who bother to do a little extra. This particular Treo WC costs $330+ (need to check the receipt for actual). Was I right not to pay three times the price for a ToTo? Let's hope Treo won't let me down. To be updated...

Tiler: Mosaic Soon (顺) He is part of sub-con of my ID. Stocky guy with a loud and intimidating voice. When asked his name, he proudly announced: Soon!... call me Mosaic Soon! For you newbies doing renovation for the very first time, tiling or wet works rank the highest in terms of importance. Cement mix is not right, level is not aligned, tilt not enough (water flow)... you will have endless nightmares with the house. So... Be very nice with the tilers. I will just show you some works he has done mending the walls. Before After Before After I am paying extra attention on the walls because they will just be painted at the end of the renovation. If it is not smooth and flushed, it will be noticeable. We are paying him extra to do all these patch ups because it was not included in the quote. Will cost us extra $600 more as I ripped off all the aircon pipings and the ceilings. Worth it if he can do it right. So far so good.

Movers: Soon Seng Transport Service or SSTS Mover We have used them twice and this time will be the third. They are professionals: quick, efficient and careful. Stuffs that need to be protected will be wrapped and cushioned. Large items are dismantled and put back with proper tools. They are not the cheapest. But worth it if you value your household belongings.

Window: Singapore Safety Window System Updates and Verdict No experience here. Contacted Alvin, a contactor from reading Renotalk forum. He asked a few questions to see if I am doing anything else. After which, he said he would get his worker, actually his subcon, to contact me. I made the call before noon and met up with the two young Malaysian at 4pm. After measuring, he immediately gave us a quote: $2300. We bargain down to $1900 for the following: 1. Living room: 6 panel casement 2. Master bedroom: 3 panel casement 3. Kitchen: 3 panel sliding 4. Bedroom 1: 3 panel casement 5. Bedroom 2: 4 panel casement 6. 2xBathroom windows. No grilles. It was $19/sqft for windows with grilles and $14/sqft for windows only. All in all, $2,300 and we bargained down to $1880. Price seemed reasonable? Don't like it that we had to ask for so much discount after their 'best' price. Tom came down the next day for us to fill in the HDB application. So far, service was top notch. Just a little worried: they had been given 6 demerits points by HDB (can check from HDB website). Hope they learned their lessons and do a good job here. Contact person: Tom Lee +9448 6396 To be updated... Updates Material is of average quality. Workmanship in sealing the gaps and smoothing the surface was also of average quality. Should you use them? Please read on...They were tardy: first round of installation only started at 1pm. Second round of installation, they showed up after 3pm. They were thoughtless: After dismantling the old windows and installing the new frame, they needed a few hours for the water-proof cement to dry completely. Since they came at 3pm on the second day, they couldn't wait and had to go home. We had no windows that night. What if it were to rain?? They were reckless: Rocks were all over my parapet and they wanted to left for home. When questioned, they said they would come back after unloading their tool. Then they were gone. I scolded them over the phone and unhappily, they came back. There were these two pieces on the left that I was most concern. They were very close to the edge. When pressured and unable to pull the rocks back, they did something that left me speechless... Update 2 A week into the installation, one of our contractor pointed out this to us: We immediately called Tom up and he came by in the evening. To be clear, during the installation, he was on vacation and left the work to his two other worker, a young guy and an older man. So I showed Tom what else I was upset about: the debris left behind on my parapet and in the recess of the window grilles. He immediately got to work: changed all the screws to stainless steel ones and proceed to clean up all the debris. The younger man and him spent almost two hours clearing up the mess. Tom was the 'steady' one, he acknowledged the problems and was polite throughout. Before he left, he even helped us fix a fault in our metal gate. Verdict: Neutral (upgraded from Avoid). I would make sure Tom is around to oversee the installation. He is skilled, experienced and above all cool and calm when dealing with us and his worker.

Response time of HDB's general enquiry... so good! There is this additional pipe in the toilet which no one has a clue what it was for. Can we get rid of it? Who else better to ask than HDB? I couldn't find a contact point for renovation questions so I tried the general email: hdb@mailbox.hdb.gov.sg. I don't think I have had many good experiences when emailing to general enquiry of any organisation. In this case, I too, have forgotten about it as soon as I sent it. The email was sent on a Friday night at almost 10pm. The following Tuesday morning, I got a call at 9am from Don, a representative from HDB saying he would drop by my unit at 11am to have a look. Don was there at 11am. After surveying, he said it is part of sewage pipe system from older design. Only a some units in certain floors have it and I was one of the lucky ones. And no, it cannot be dismantled. One working day, one officer on site, question answered, doubt cleared. I am left with the astonishment of the speed of the turnaround time. HDB's 'general' enquiry email not only works but it is also quite extraordinary!

Kitchen Design We spent a lot of time on the design of the kitchen. This would be the final design: Do the new designers do drawings like this? On pencils? We still kept the drafts of the carpentry work in our old flat done by Mr Chua. A heady rush of nostalgia... loved it! The other side would look like this:

Venetian Blinds: J&R CurtainBlind Concept Pte Ltd A small local enterprise run by a knowledgeable, affectionate and bubbly lady, Joyce Ong. We are going to have venetian blind all around: white panel with black tape, so it was a relatively simple discussion. She knew well how the configuration of the windows without us having to tell her. We went along with her advice on the panel size and length. Offered us at $2k+ and we bargain a little to $1900. We think the price is in the mid range. Didn't really have a clue because this was our only quote. To be updated...

Renovation Stage 1: Emptying the flat. How does the flat look when striped bare? Kitchen Master bedroom, before. Laminated floor. Master Bedroom, ceramic tiles revealed. Bedroom 1. The frame in the middle marks the storeroom. Bedroom 2 Common Toilet. It used was the squatting type. You can see the square concrete box on the top right corner. We were wrong...everything had to be changed! This was the expensive lesson we learned: looks can be deceiving. We Thought that we could still use the laminate flooring but they popped out in places. We thought that we could still use the aircon but it was using an old refrigerant and the aircon pipping's layout was horrid. The aircon duct ran towards the window... Went around the room... Across to the other bedroom before entering the master bedroom toilet. We thought that we could use back the ceiling box but the position of some of the down lights were wrong. So we decided to ripped it all off. Ceiling, stripped bare. Actually, I was happy to not have ceiling box with down lights. I hate down lights. There were always so many. The thought of having to change them when the bulb blew was a turn off. There must be a better way to light the room. Now we are looking at an emptied apartment with just walls...and wonder how much more we have to spend. Emptied flat, empty wallet.

Window: Singapore Safety Window System No experience here. Contacted Alvin, a contactor from reading Renotalk forum. He asked a few questions to see if I am doing anything else. After which, he said he would get his worker, actually his subcon, to contact me. I made the call before noon and met up with the two young Malaysian at 4pm. After measuring, he immediately gave us a quote: $2300. We bargain down to $1900 for the following: 1. Living room: 6 panel casement 2. Master bedroom: 3 panel casement 3. Kitchen: 3 panel sliding 4. Bedroom 1: 3 panel casement 5. Bedroom 2: 4 panel casement 6. 2xBathroom windows. No grilles. It was $19/sqft for windows with grilles and $14/sqft for windows only. All in all, $2,300 and we bargained down to $1880. Price seemed reasonable? Don't like it that we had to ask for so much discount after their 'best' price. Tom came down the next day for us to fill in the HDB application. So far, service was top notch. Just a little worried: they had been given 6 demerits points by HDB (can check from HDB website). Hope they learned their lessons and do a good job here. Contact person: Tom Lee +9448 6396 To be updated...

Professionals at work: Hackers They stormed into the apartment and swiftly got to work. The team of seven were seamless: everybody knew exactly what to do. The foreman was a quiet, soft spoken man with a ready smile. There were no loud instructions or hollers amongst each other. The only noise was that of hammers and crowbars. On the second day, there was a heavy downpour. I saw one of the worker shuffling up and down the elevator sweeping away the rain water and mud outside the lift landing on my floor and the ground floor. Lift landing outside unit Lift was kept clean Cleaning the floor all the way to the loading area What was scheduled for three days were done in one and a half! Swift, clean and neat. True professionals. They are sub-con of 9 Creation. Verdict: Highly Recommended.

Emptied Flat The flat, striped bare: Kitchen, before Kitchen After Master Bedroom Bedroom 1. The frame in the middle marked the storeroom. Bedroom 2 We were wrong...everything has to changed!This was perhaps the expensive lesson we learned: looks can be deceiving. We Thought that we could still use the laminate flooring but they popped out in some places. We thought that we could still use the aircon but it was using an old refrigerant and the aircon pipping's layout was horrid. We thought that we could use back the ceiling box but the position of some of the down lights were wrong. Ceiling, stripped bare Now we are looking at an emptied apartment with just walls...and wonder how much more we have to spend.

Kitchen Hob and Hood: Hoe Kee Settled for Fujioh 890 Hood and a black glass Hob: $819. It is 10+ dollars more expensive than Goh Ah Bee but since we were there for the Blanco sink, might as well get it together. Uncle Johnny served us well during the past two visits, so must give him the sales.