Reiken

Just came back from overseas. E informed me that my common bathroom has stones in the floor trap, hence arrange for a joint inspection again with BSC (yes... they just come up see then orh... like that also must arrange joint inspection which takes less than 1 min..) When I reach, E was in the house... and the reason why he is there is Overlaying of toilet in process!!! Wifey loves the colour and she say got feel... due to taking photo using phone and anyhow take, the colour does not look correct.. real life, really quite nice... For all your information, these 2 colours are the colours of J&E toilet.... Yes... she reach their office she say got feel... straightaway ask E for the tiles code at Hafary... J & E commented that like that the reno of their toilet worth it.... Btw... my MBR wardrobe/study/dressing laminate also copy J&E office laminate ... sibe copy cat... Rush to Castlery and finally decided to finalise the Sofa, dining table and tv console etc. After which, went to Ikea to look at lights again... After looking at taobao so long, I really dunno should get from Taobao or Ikea.... I mean Taobao has something similar or very simple kind... but its around the same price as Ikea... is there a reason why pple dun buy lights from Ikea?? Looking at the lightings in Ikea, where I can see and touch, I am leaning towards getting from Ikea (although I may need to DIY to spray paint white for some model). Just before my overseas trip, received the last update from E with regards to my 3D. This is the living room 3D i requested with a change of laminate. I edit abit with some free program to see what if it is with black track lights. Leaning towards white lights and fans, which is why i may need to spray paint white for the pendant lights above island (yes its not track lights above island). Also because Im in love with the light laminates, I decided I could not get TV console from Taobao (which looks more brown). Surprisingly, the TV console from castlery match the laminate I chose.

Yes.. I saw someone bought for 1400+... when i reach there.. I say i wanna see vento 2... He show le.. i was contemplating.. until he say now offer special price.. 1001... i straight away say BUY!!!!! was thinking getting another put near dinning area.. even if end up cant put anywhere can sell cheap cheap...

Tampoi in jb having hari raya sales... selling at 1001 ringgit now for vento 2 and 500+ ringgit for vento 1

Work has started since yesterday... From what I heard from E, yesterday was protection, today is hacking and tmr clearing debris.. My wife went down just now after work to see see... was quite amazed, hacking and clearing of debris has been done (so so so fast)... Surreal feeling... was very excited when she said arrive, and sending me the pictures while im still in office working.. wifey say must credit her for the photos Last Sat we received the 3D from E. The first draft I honestly think was okay, but totally failed the scandi attempt I was looking at... I guess me and my wife are really really not designer background... lol.. making changes to the colours, and hopefully bring me closer to the feel ba... we changed some colours and received the 2nd drafts today... still awaiting one more colour change from E for Living Room and maybe we will tweak here and there abit more... Living Room 1st draft 2nd draft Kitchen 1st draft 2nd draft MBR 1st draft 2nd draft First draft I was more daring, as wifey wanted black track lights, this light at dining and becos my estate's window are black... so i put in black frames, black ABS trimmings etc. As I am using 10.2 of Kompac plus for the table top for my Kitchen and the island in the Living room, I chose the laminate closest to 10.2 to give a more consistent look... I must say, the laminate looks quite disaster in 3D... Hence I am changing the laminate in living room... Its a learning experience, but a headache one... Hence i strongly recommend go to J&E if you have an idea of what you want... I have an idea, but I think I think too highly of myself... I also think the flooring plays a part for that "scandi" feel... One good example is from xhomesweethomex's house... You can take a look at his/her house from http://www.renotalk.com/forum/topic/71341-theoverusewoodwhiteblack-theme-home/ the house was overlay-ed a year after reno and in my opinion, further improve the look of the house... Too bad, no budget liao... Need to save more $$$, maybe also after a year den overlay ba.....

My unit is famous with the BSC alr... I heard they have someone in my estate with 158 defects... Mine 63

Hi Zilah, mine is 817A

Few days ago I blogged about me having trouble with my BSC.. after the quarrel... I must thank them.. they expedite the whole process of replacing the chipped tiles and also the rest of the rectification of defects... so reno can start on Monday!!! Went to tampoi to buy fino 2 and look at lights prices.. guys.. dun say I dun share... they are having hari raya sales and fino 2 is going for 30% off.. hence I got it for 1001 ringgit.. usual price 1400++ ringgit.. do the math with 1sgd to 3 ringgit.. 300 plus sgd for fino2.. I think it is a good price...

It is you... lolll Cos this is indeed Keat Hong Mirage...

There will be a delay to my reno again... Went up see after rectification still got defects a not... and i Saw... Door not fixed... ok nvm.... then in the same room... I saw... Eh hello... this was not there before man.... must be caused during rectification... i check every piece of tiles with absolute inspection liao lei... then i argue with BSC for 1 hr... they say since this is "new defect", need another 14 days.... worst.. the person say they knew this tile before the 1st rectification start (but cannot be lei... there wasnt a chipped before..)... also meaning... you know got defect but dun wan rectify till owner say?? haix.. Abit regret take HDB tiles le... firstly no scandi feel liao... now... give me problems again... haix... maybe next time i might just put vinyl on top of these tiles... $$$ again.... btw, in the end they told me living room also got another chipped tile (though small)... haix... Emotional day....

The process is, open house, check for defects (sure have), report to HDB (BSC / Developer to be exact) regarding the defects by writing the defect list.. they repair within 2 weeks then handover the house to you to check again... meaning after rectification, there should not be any more defect, unless they take out sticker without rectifying... With absolute inspection, they help you check for first round and fill up the defect list.. 2nd round will go through with BSC the list of defects... 3rd round after rectification, they ensure all defects has been rectified... Yes, including tiles... yea... i also find so many stickers, but mostly are stains etc... some actually can ignore if you renovating, but some really is beyond repair then they will change... like chiped in windows glass etc...

Yea, was shock to see at first as well... was thinking whether to overlay that wall since im overlaying my MBR toilet... my wife say just overlay ba.. since common bathroom got the same wall as well... I believe HDB are improving, looking at the trend etc... Newer BTOs will not have kitchen wall, as everyone seems to be hacking that.. you want then they build.. which I think its good.. Hi Malaxo, saw your reno finishing soon... now is my turn to start only... after such a long while since I got the contact from you... Yea, my hair start to drop alot already lol.... laminates, paints, tiles (for MBR only so hard to choose)... waiting for first 3D.. hopefully is what i expect it to be...

Yes.. they are very very thorough... I believe it would be better to contact them to get the quote.. I paid a few hundreds for 3 checks.. first round.. 2nd with bsc... and later today the final round after rectification.. Some say abit ex.. but i find it average... treat it as buy an assurance... some parts they dun point out, I wun be able to notice.. example.. one of the rubber between the window is sliced in half.. like wtf.. Different rooms different prices.. end of the day I feel.. at least I feel safer.. like buy assurance..

After collection of keys, I engaged Absolute Inspection to inspect the defects of my house... Is it required? honestly I dun think so... since I am doing reno... but becos I am kind of lazy, and also dun really know how to check... and I got tiles from HDB, I decided to spend a bit more to buy assurance...Anyway, some seniors say, use marble or coin knock knock will know... but i really dunno... and maybe lazy... To my amazement, I did not know there are so many that are considered as defects (which BSC agreed during joint inspection).. OMG... A little read up on Absolute Inspection will know that the boss, used to be a scholar from BCA... so I think he know the limits whether which is defect and which are within the tolerance... Below are the pics with taggings... like free of charge like that... lucky no hollow tiles...

A brief idea of what I will be doing.. Not really accurate but you could see what i will be doing... I will not be sleeping in the MBR... and since my wife wanna keep all the doors... even if remove also must put in storeroom... we will be hacking an "opening" between MBR and Bedroom 2.. Also we will be shifting the position of wall, as seen, I covered that hole with carpentry... Will be hacking half wall and use tempered glass... Like breadtalk kitchen concept lo.. (the open yet closed concept)....

SHORTLISTED LUSH Interior Design - Introduced by my wife's friend.. went up to her house, **** niceeeeee.... except abit here and there i dun like, which i think can be improved.. Met up with the boss at one of the most ulu place (i really wonder how he survive the business for over 10 years).. he dun go to expo as well... where does he get all his customers... unless its true like what he said... by word of mouth.... His office / showroom really show how well his design is.. He is very very strong in industrial (my wife fren house is also industrial themed)... He has the flair from our discussion, giving many nice ideas.. some are more towards aesthetic > practicality.. example.. my wife wanna keep her doors, he wanna seal the door which i believe if we insist, he will ok lo.... lol... if you really need an ID giving good advice including colours etc, the boss is the one to go to.. (he passed us to his colleague to manage our project which i dint really like).. kinda regret now cos I have a headache about selection of laminates and colours, which I am afraid, it is not the scandi feel I hoped it would be... haix... H2O interior - Don't need much introduction... many many many nice projects done up by Mr K.. Especially recently the house of GallopingPuffin... Go to their fb page if you need to see more...I like how he could increase the thickness of the kompacplus.. I was torned between selecting them and the contractor we selected... they were proactive in following up with us... too proactive in a way which my wife become skeptical... haix.. she thinks too much... Also, they mentioned its hard and need to seek permission to view a house they done up... which we dun really feel comfortable.. SELECTED J&E (CX Reno) - I don't think I need to introduce this duo here...only look for them when you collected the keys and are ready to open door... they take a rough measurement and give a quote based on the measurement... after asking them, found out they were doing reno for a house next block.. we wanna see the house and they said, go lo proudly... and lo and behold... the workmanship is really good... we were on the verge of giving up on them cos E is not the kind that reply your message straightaway or promptly... Also, they are very very very very busy..... but one fine day... suddenly when we were going to sign with H2O, our dear E suddenly send me pics that I want but dint mentioned to him.. and suddenly he become more active... met with E to discuss the quote again and finally, decided to engaged them.... hopefully i dint do the wrong thing.. I really like their workmanship and hope my end product is like what i saw.... *UPDATE* as of now, Contractor James is a registered contractor for renovation in HDB and his company is Chun Xiang Renovation. If i have to rank based on workmanship 1.J&E 2. Lush 3. H2O (not accurate cos not able to see ongoing project, based on the cupboard in the showroom) Based on Design factors 1. LUSH 2. H2O 3. J&E (practically, as of now, we are the one selecting, which quite headache no confusing..) So, go to J&E if you are sure and really know what you want... you can show them pics for more ideas but.. its difficult also...

Final Pics: Post from before: Hello everyone, after lurking around like many people here, asking for more information and learning more things as time goes, finally decide to contribute to future couples on their reno. Below is my floor plan. After much contemplation, I have decided to select a unit with the bomb shelter in the kitchen. Bigger living area, shorter but wider kitchen (I can live with that).. Requirements 1. Walk in wardrobe (wife want to enjoy life) 2. Dressing Table that can hold 2 people (my wife say I always snatch dressing table with her for work) 3. Closed but open feel kitchen (dunno how to explain this... basically is a close kitchen but must look like open kitchen) 4. Must keep all the doors, no sealing of any doors (wife is like garang guni.. everything must keep... thats why my current room like garang guni also)... 5. her theme is Scandiavian (which subsequently wifey gives alot of nonsense ideas... one of which is a concrete plastered wall... .. HELLO NOT INDUSTRIAL LEIII) 6. My theme is minimalist (which i subsequently give in to her theme more... makes my life easier) 7. Study table for 2 8. Island / high top (i forsee we wun be eating often at the dining table cos wifey likes to watch TV and eat... after eating she must stand like being punish for 1 hr.. told her doesnt help slim down cos she is still growing rounder ) ID / Contractor Search I have a total of 12 quotations or more.... I am lucky to meet most of the better IDs / contractors... My advice, don't go crazy like me and my wife.. Go for maybe 2 or 3 compare prices and get a feel... going too many only confuse and tire yourself.. I read online and notice alot of people being conned etc. hence I went for many many quotations which only confuses myself and my wife. Hence, we drag till 1 month after key collection, then we decided on the contractor. So let me get started on the list. Rejected *decide to delete away since no point putting IDs I have rejected* Worth a Mention Habitech - Top 3 of another fellow renotalker SingaSamurai, was shown into the flat of ID as her "Showroom". I must say, the couple really shows they know their stuff. They give a lot of ideas that newbies like us will never be able to think of. Their show room is those kind, open door.... WOW kind... But the quotation came back also.... WOWWWW.. Something I like about them is, they are very very very very detailed. Each customer will have an individual file with timeline, floorplan, carpentry measurements per drawer in details.... dun think anything will be missed out.. Go for them if you want someone you can trust with flair in design.. and abit more money to spend... The Interior Lab - Another top 3 of SingaSamurai.. ID is a honest guy. He is the one that proposed us on how to use our space efficiently.. quote came to be quite reasonable, but on the high side... did not shortlist him cos the price is not really within our budget after much calculation Diva - Selected by SingaSamurai.. Nice guy.. met him twice, feel he is those responsible kind.. he said, unless you want to let him earn, he recommend you to get lights or other stuffs outside that are recommended by his other clients that he heard is cheaper... He recommended alot of the practical stuffs.. Wife say no feel with him... maybe he too quiet and honest... Lol..

@lalashir I have just engaged J&E as well. The laminate selection process headache sia. Can check if your kitchen cabinet is New york Teak? and your toilet is different I guess?

Do note that Granite though more ex, it is porous. That is one of the reason pple uses solid top in toilets, as it is non-porous, and toilets are less prone to scratches compared to kitchen. But since yours is black granite, should not have so much of a problem ^^.

How much you bought the fino 2, and is it wobbly or hard to install? Looking to buy Fino 2, but dunno will have problem like u faced with the Elmark.

Defintely more than Tampoi. 599 SGD for fan, 3 tone light 150 I think.

Check Phylux. They sell the same Elmark Fans and have 3 tone light kits. When they demo in their showroom, not wobbly.

Just curious, after Hacking away the screeding, do your ID need to re-screed the floor? If need there is gonna be additional charge I guess which will be more than $600.

Hi, Was contemplating whether I have the mood/time to start a T-Blog. I have been stalking around for quite sometime and learnt alot from the experience people here. Just to share my experience with UD (which eventually I may write my review), as I have my concern since you find them sincere. *This is my personal opinion (was served by another guy)*. They give me the feel they are "Sales" ID, talking more about different materials they have and carry. Its good for learning, but doesnt feel right for a ID. Mentioned by the person I have approached "In the morning we will do our rounds and update our clients, afternoon and evening will be for sales in the office and doing quotations". The quote I received is also one of the cheapest comparing to another 10+ more, but I also feel there are alot of hidden costs. Just my 2 cents.

Hi singasamurai, Thank you for your informative post. Can PM me (or someone else) the list of IDs as I am looking around for IDs and does not know where to start. Cheers to fellow bro/sis looking for IDs ^^