gidler

I've PM'ed you the cost. Work and traveling has been stopping me from updating my blog (excuse! and excuse! and more excuse! ). Actually a lot has already been completed, I will snap some photos tomorrow and upload onto my blog..

Have PM you the contractor.

Thanks! Haiz, that's what my wife wanted too.. kitchen is her "territory".. No no.. the intention is to put washer on the floor but wall mount the gas dryer (mid section) and storage heater (top section). But seems like the gas pipe position is going to pose a challenge for me.. sigh..

Now comes the most headache part, aircon trunking. Gain City installed the trunking last week when I'm out of town. As a result, I did not have the chance to supervise and only get to "scrutinize" the work over the weekend. They have to remove a window panel in order to mount the bracket. According to them, this is the recommended way by HDB as the outside wall on my unit is not suitable for mounting. Got a shock when I first saw the "damage" I think we have to box up the area to cover the ugly bracket and pipe. Out of the four split unit, I notice 2 of them have individual black insulator for the copper pipes However, the other 2 has a single black insulator with 2 copper pipes Looking at the oversize insulator, I do not think the insulation is properly done. I do not understand the rationale. Moreover, I notice the wording on the insulator is different Now my biggest questions are am I being short changed for shoddy installation work and paying extra for upgrading to G22 and 0.5" insulation. Have already lodge a call with Gain City and they will come down to explain the installation work. Anyone can offer any suggestion or opinion on this?

Was busy traveling for the past week and didn't have time to update my blog.. There are quite a few things done up since last update. The tiling has completed, plastering also done, citygas pipe done, rewiring work 80% completed and aircon piping done. Right now it's in the midst of doing up false ceiling. Let's take a took.. For electrical work, we got a total of 3 quotes and the current contractor gave the lowest pricing, even lower than what Eric (famous in this forum) quoted. Location of elec DB (will be concealed in shoe cabinet) Just some of the messy lighting and electrical pts (at last count, I have 61 light pts, 12 single and 14 double power pts) We requested for conceal wiring, as much as possible This is how they do it for some of the switch points After 3 attempts (they failed to turn up) and numerous complains to Citygas, we finally get the gas pipe installed for the cooker and dryer. As of now, I can only say I have very bad experience with Citygas. Looking at the pipe and switch position, I think we are going to have a problem mounting washing machine, dryer and storage heater at the same location (By the way, if you notice my wet kitchen casement window has been replaced with sliding. Managed to find a contractor that gave lower quote than Wellmax, which is famous in the forum) The installing of false ceiling is going on now They are going to box up my old aircon lobang as well as the "dunno for what purpose" ledge window

Arghhhhh....

Hi Crystal, May I know what is the height from your platform floor to the balcony window edge? We wanted to do a platform at our balcony also, but was told that HDB has a ruling that requires ground clearance of at least 90cm to window edge. Ours will be 80cm, that's why still pondering over this.. GIdler

Hi PiePie, I'm quite sure it's not Europe, cos there's a tag that says "ROC", which I assume it means Republic of China. May I know your downlight is single tube or double tube? Are there different prices for different wattages? Does the PLC comes with its own ballast? Sorry to throw you so many question as I'm gathering facts before I "bark" back at my ID.. The detail unit price breakdown of my PLC read something like this: (Holder Model) (PLC Model) [OU 8226 SC PLC#1] * [PLC26(CW) + Ballast(PLC)#2] - S$51.68 [OU 8118 SC PLC#1] * [PLCT18(CW) + Ballast#1] - S$28.89 [OU 8218 SC PLC#1] * [PLC18(CW) + Ballast#2] - S$42.69 [OU 8218 WH PLC#1] * [PLC13(CW) + Ballast#2] - S$38.20 You can tell that the price varies according to single/double tube, wattage & type of lighting (White Light vs Daylight).

Went to do some aircon shopping today.. but ended up buying mattress and lightings.. Somehow, I don't feel comfortable after the lighting purchase together with my ID.. can someone please tell me if I'm being "chopped": Item 6 x of 3W LED light (w driver and holder) - S$286.24 5 x PLC*2 26W (square holder, ballast*2) - S$258.40 25 x PLC*2 18W (square holder, ballast*2) - S$1008.22 2 x PLC*2 13W (square holder, ballast*2) - S$76.40 5 x T5 28W (w E.Ballast) - S$134.80 5 x T5 21W (w E.Ballast) - S$134.82 4 x Halogen Light 50W (rectangle holder, 2 bulb ea) - S$286.32 4 x PLC*2 E.Ballast 18W - S$205.44 2 x PLC*2 E.Ballast 26W - S$102.72 12 x T8*2 E.Ballast 36W - S$458.40 Total cost S$3100 (w GST). There a total of 6 LED and 47 PLC downlight. If I average it out, it cost me S$50 / light.. Is this the normal cost? The light cost already burst my budget even without any purchase of feature lights..

Haiz, Been quite a while since my last update. Too busy with work and a little lazy recently.. Anyway, there isn't too many things happening this week as the tiling work is on going. As of now, all the wet works are completed and starting of plastering work.. here comes the pic.. The tiles in the living room are white and with line patterns, but I didn't get the chance to see the effect as it was covered with cardboard. My ID told me this is to protect my flooring.. My dining and kitchen has a dark tiles for contrasting with living room A clearer picture of common bath area I finally get to see the effect of using the sunk in area of my bath room as storage shelf My master bathroom mosaic is also up Actually, after viewing all my picture, I just realize there's too much grey tone for my house.. Wonder if I can lighten the "mood" through light and bright paint colors.. haha.. Also gotten my first quote on electrical works, its amazingly HIGH.. Oh well, now begins my hunt for cheap and good electrician.. any recommendations pls?

Hi patsy_sg, I certainly hope so on the maintenance part. In fact, one of the key design criteria thrown to the ID is ease of maintenance. So things like pebble stones and water feature is a no no.. No choice, have to make life easier for my full time homemaker wife..

Hi lifestyle, Thanks. Usually the drawings looks better than the actual.. haha.. Wow!! So you've got any pics to show? Really curious how does it look completed.. Do you find the toilet too dark with the tiles?

Haha.. no need to hint.. He has already retiled it for me.. I just tell him I trust his professional judgement in this matter.. The storage heater is already part of our reno items. Well, I certainly hope this will help, if not you will see me as a regular patron to town council..

The usual good and bad news prevails... Good news is.. My ID has ordered new tiles from Hafary and ask the tiler to re-tile my common bath feature wall. I was glad that he took his initiative to change it for me.. another brownie points for my ID.. You can see the tiler hacking off the misaligned tiles and each tile cost S$16.. Ouch!!.. My wife and myself made a decision to shorten the width of our kitchen island top from 80cm to 70cm over the weekend as we felt its too huge within a limited space. My ID immediately get to work and re-align my water piping for island sink within the afternoon.. no complains and very accomodating to us.. another brownie points.. Bad news is.. This afternoon, my ID got his plumber to test my pipes for leaks and water pressure. The plumber commented that our water pressure is lower than normal. Our water pressure measurement is 0.5 bar as compared to standard 1 bar. This will affect my rain shower in my master bathroom.. Anybody has similar problem and any resolutions?

Actually the reno cost is 50% over our initial budget. We thought our budget is comfortable, but not until we start receiving quotes from all the IDs. Talk about inflation in SG...

Wah!! Is that a request from you or your ID suggested the re-tiling himself? Maybe I will relate your case to my ID tomorrow and get him to "fix" my wall.. Hello there neighbour.. You might just bump into me in Tampines mart.. especially in McDonald.. Just look out for 2 stressed parents with 3 rowdy kids.. haha..

Geez, I should have read this thread earlier.. Just to let everybody know, I ordered some furniture from Mode Studio in Kaki Bukit. I was surprise when the order was taken using a payment form with Red Apple Interior Furniture. Later I was told they are under the same management. Now, I'm really keeping my finger cross on my delivery and items..

Haiz, actually my ID wasn't sure also, but I keep "complaining" that the beam looks ugly so he ask HDB and gotten the approval to hack.. hee I've also PM you the reno cost.. I certainly hope its money well spent.. Well, the rooms are ok but it's never big enough when you have 3 kids.. We are still working on the feature wall design as we felt the wow factor is not there yet..

Like any other reno, there are always both good and bad news.. Good news is.. The balcony beam is hack and my living room looks much better now: ( ) Bad news is.. There are quality issues with my toilet tiles, whereby the width of some tiles are smaller than the stated 30cm. As a result, the alignment of my wall tiles doesn't really match up: ( ) Common Toilet Feature wall (the swirl tiles are smaller in width compared to the grey tiles) Master Toilet Feature wall (the grove doesn't really match up) It's difficult to see from the picture, especially using my lousy handphone camera.. My ID has already requested Hafary to send in another batch to fix the problem. Hoping for the best.

I must say the drawings are quite nice too.. Got to give credits to my ID.. I certainly hope the end result is as good.. finger cross on my reno progress..

Didn't find time to pop by and check out the reno progress today. My ID told me that HDB has approve the hacking of the beam at my balcony. That's a good news for me as my living room will look less weird Since I didn't have photos to post today, maybe I will share the 3D drawings Living Room Notice the ugly horizontal beam at balcony, that's going to be removed.. In case you ask why am I putting a ceiling fan, that's because I can't put aircon in my living and dinning due to electricity load limit.. Dry Kitchen The hood will not be there, and we will be using induction cooker instead.. Wet Kitchen Study Room Do not think we want the book shelf on the left.. The study table can be "folded" into the wall cabinet to free up space and keep it neat and tidy.. Master Bedroom Master Bathroom There are still 2 more drawings for foyer and dinning area. We are still in the midst of refining and changing some of the details (e.g. layout, color, design).

Yar, that's one of the question I post to my ID. He claims that there shouldn't be any problem as there are no joints (and definitely not allowed) on the pipe that's conceal on the ground and wall. That's the reason they need to use copper pipe for ease of joining through wielding. Young and destructive.. My new home to be will be at their mercy..

Was told by my ID that HDB has relax its ruling and now they allow conceal water piping.. Without second thoughts, I immediately told him to run all my water pipes beneath the tiles.. Here are some photos to shows the piping before the tiles are laid Inlet from Water Riser joint to internal pipes There's a mix of stainless steel and copper piping because of the bending needed. Was told that only copper pipes allows wielding and thus suitable for twist and turn round the whole house. Hot and Cold water pipe in Master Bathroom WCs, Sink Shower Area Water pipes for Wet Kitchen (Sink, Washing Machine, Storage Heater) Water pipes for Dry Kitchen (Island Top Sink) The old entrance to common toilet and kitchen has been sealed PS: The "handsome" guy is my ID.. I heard that the tilers has begun to lay the toilet tiles. Will pop by my place tomorrow to snap some more photos..

Definitely agree with your statement.. Current and new home are all in Tampines.. hee The block is at Tampines St 33, not really near to Central but it's ok for us since we drive.. We paid S$425K, val at S$405K.. It's the cheapest we can find during our home hunting last year Aug - Oct.. Most of the EA / Jumbo unit is asking S$50 - 80K COV.. crazy price

Well, eventually they will, but not now.. I would like them to share room while they are young to foster closer relationship.. The plan is to have a proper study room since one of them is starting school next year. Bedroom 2 will be shared between the 2 kids while the 3rd will "bunk" in with us in master bedroom since he's still young. That leaves us with one guest room. Will probably do another minor reno 5 years down the road to convert into individual room for them..