blue_skies

Not antique lah It's just an older property. Are you staying there or renting it out? There is a new development (The Gale) coming up in the Flora Rd area, I think the undeveloped land around Edelweisss Park will be used for another 1-2 condominium projects so it'll be quite a busy area in the future. It'll be good if SBS starts some bus services in that area coz otherwise most residents would have to rely on the condominium shuttle service or private transport. How do you find the traffic there so far? I always see long queues leading into Old Tampines Rd in the mornings and evenings.

Not antique lah It's just an older property. Are you staying there or renting it out? There is a new development (The Gale) coming up in the Flora Rd area, I think the undeveloped land around Edelweisss Park will be used for another 1-2 condominium projects so it'll be quite a busy area in the future. It'll be good if SBS starts some bus services in that area coz otherwise most residents would have to rely on the condominium shuttle service or private transport. How do you find the traffic there so far? I always see long queues leading into Old Tampines Rd in the mornings and evenings.

I would hold the proceeds if I were you to buy another ppty In the meantime, deposit the money in SGD fixed deposit and enjoy priority banking for a while. Haha!

Are you using those casement type windows? You might want to check where the water is seeping in from when it rains. Maybe it's through the seals where the screws are in the windows? If that's the case then perhaps a bit of silicone at those areas will help. If it's leakage on all the sides of the windows that meet the walls, then maybe the vertical edges of the walls are uneven and the window frame doesn't meet the wall nicely so it's causing water to seep in? I have not heard of waterproofing material being used on the window walls. However, if the whole wall below the window is having mould problems or is damp all the time, then it's a bigger issue that needs to be taken up with HDB. I had to install some anti-slip thing for my sliding windows last time and because it's a small job, most of the HDB window contractors I called said they don't do this type of work. Only 1 out of the 5 that I called said they can do the job (total was $160). So if it's a small job that needs to be done, you can try this guy (Ah Gui 91446857). He works for a HDB licensed window co. - sorry I forgot the name already, you can check with him. IMO to change the rubber gasket is not an easy job coz the guy has to take down all the windows and then put them back again. You can't change it with the panels still attached / fixed to the hinges or sliding grilles.

Before you tear down, you might want to check whether the back of that cabinet is original wall? E.g. If the house was plastered with the cabinet already fixed on, means that you would have rock stone wall after tearing down the cabinet - you are going to have a headache! Are you going to re-paint only that area behind the cabinet after you tear it down? You got to re-paint the whole room actually coz otherwise they will be two different colours. The cabinets are typically fixed to the wall with screws. You need to remove them using a battery powered screwdriver otherwise it will take ages..... and lots of lots of sweat! And like melmeow mentioned, you'll also need to patch up those holes in the walls nicely otherwise it won't be pretty when you paint over them. You'll need a certain degree of strength to take apart the cabinets. Watch your hands, especially if you are a lady, not nice to have scratches all over

You can get those nice curtain ties from Joo Chiat Complex - lots of curtain shops to choose from! It's basically a small loop the you tie around your curtains to bunch them together and it's heavy enough to hold them down so they don't fly out of the window.

You can get clear silicone from the hardware shop to seal the bottom edge of your hob to the kitchen top. Don't forget the get the "gun" to press out the silicone too if you don't have one. Don't cut the pointy edge of the silicone container too much otherwise you'll get a big blob oozing out instead of a neat squirt when you squeeze the gun. The silicone should cost you something btw $10-$12 but it's a pretty large tube that you can also use to silicone the edges of your kitchen sink to the cabinet top in case they haven't done it for you (they should have already though). I requested for silicone to be applied around the edges of my hob coz I was afraid gravy that spilled might get under the hob and later cause a stain on the kitchen top. However not everyone does it so the contractor won't do it unless you specifically request for it to be done. I don't think water will seep into the cabinet unless you spilled a large mug of water right at the edge of the hob

Your contractor would likely have engaged a carpenter as a sub-contractor to do the carpentry for your home. The carpenter is the one who is best suited to fit your hob and hood. However, the carpenter may not be the supplier of the solid top, so he has to work with the solid top guys to ensure your hob fits nicely into the cut out of the solid top, otherwise the solid top guys would have to sand off the edges etc. There should be no problems with fitting the hob onto the solid surface if measurements were taken properly. Logically speaking, you'll just need to remove your hob from the packing and fit it on top of the solid surface top (touch wood it sits in nicely), then call City Gas to connect the gas outlet for you (assuming you are using City Gas and not the LPG type). In your case, I would ask the contractor to install the hob because it is his responsibility that it sits in properly. If it doesn't sit in properly, it's his business to make sure it fits because it means the carpenter & solid surface guys he engaged didn't do a proper job.

Just to share, I bought my lights from I Lite at 351 Jln Besar. It was by chance that we walked past the shop and decided to take a look at what they had. We were attended to by a guy called Nick. Showed him our floor plan and explained to him the type of lights we wanted. The salespersons in the shop are not the pushy types. We wanted the place to be bright and also low maintenance lights (minimal cleaning, insects cannot get in type). He suggested some designs which would be most suitable, plus also gave us the extra bright tubes. Had a minor problem with one of the screws for the bedroom light, brought it back to the shop to get it changed, no problem at all. Delivery was punctual, everything in order. You might want to take a look at the shop if you are in the area. And just as a comparison, the full set for a downlight with ballast was $25. We got 11 pcs of downlights

Thanks Ronald Trust me, a bathtub beats a rain shower hands down Your guys are great, nice people to work with. The plasterer is very good, my mum keeps looking at the walls and says it's very even. Haha. The tiles in the kitchen look good with the kitchen cabinets fully up now. I just moved in over the weekend and still busy unpacking, will post more photos soon. Oh, and sorry for terrorising Sam and one of Seng's guys (I think his name is Hua?) with lowering my toilet kerb until it's almost non-existent But it's what we need, many thanks for your guys kind patience. I hope Sam didn't lose more hair after managing the reno at our place. Haha!

Are you referring to this? I just did it for my place http://www.renotalk.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=37439 Method is as what Heronspring mentioned. They will also use cement below the tub around the hollow bricks. Make sure that they do not step into the tub after the cement is laid. To set the tub evenly, they should fill the tub up with water overnight (plug up the hole well).

edelweiss, Based on my experience with these bugs, the best way to get rid of them is to re-paint the walls / rooms which are affected, and then air the rooms regularly to prevent build-up of moisture in the rooms, especially if you often close up the house when you are out during the way for work. If you get sunlight into the rooms, it's even better, sun the rooms as much as you can, and air it well after that to prevent build up of moisture. kerio, From what I understand, the sealant is actually for walls that have one side exposed to the outside. Sometimes during construction, the materials used may not be good and the walls end up being semi-porous. So when it rains, these walls become damp because the water finds its way through tiny holes in the wall and mould can start to grow on the inside of your rooms on these walls. By applying a sealant, you prevent the moisture from going through the wall to the side of your room wall. Of course, the best solution would also be to apply a layer of sealant on the exterior wall so that both sides of the wall are protected. Note that you need to remove the existing coat of paint (using sandpaper) on your interior wall before applying the sealant for best results. Normally they apply 2 coats of sealant, then after that, you paint over it. The sealant is transparent when dried. It's like a solvent.

What a pile of crap. Not sure what other forummers views are on this, but I'd say the measures won't cause the property prices to drop. It'll just stagnate, but unlikely to see a dip unless govt releases some bad news on recession or jobless rates etc.

Master toilet - WC, sink, hairdryer! Kept the original wall tiles to save cost. Used PVC folding door so that naughty little fingers don't get hurt if they are trapped in there Master room toilet with bathtub Wrought iron gate (galvanised), plus an acrylic sheet at the bottom to keep the rain out coz the rain comes into the corridor. Door is not painted yet.

More photos of works in progress: L-shaped kitchen counter top - Hob and kitchen top not installed yet. Kitchen sink area - Sink and kitchen top not installed yet. Fridge to be placed at the wall on the right. Living room with curtains Bedroom 2 with curtains and sliding cabinets below window (there is a recess area there). All bedrooms use the same curtains and also have sliding cabinets below the window.

I used to stay in the Kembangan area too. Was house-hunting there for a good couple of months. You are staying near Lengkong Tiga? The area there is really breezy coz it's unblocked!

House cleaning was completed yesterday and all the debris moved out. Installation of cabinets and wardrobes starts today. Photos after cleaning up of the house Living room - love the nicely plastered walls A far cry from the original rock stone walls By the way, didn't change the flooring in the living rooms or bedrooms coz we wanted to save cost, so that's the original flooring. Another view of the living room - the cupboards in the background are actually the sliding cabinets for the rooms Work in progress - Installation of the kitchen cabinets. The dining table will be placed under where the fan light is located. The kitchen floor tiles and wall tiles have been changed. Same tiles used for service balcony area.

Just a couple of photos during the renovation: To make space for open concept kitchen Kitchen and study wall hacked to open up the kitchen to living room area

Common toilet Master rm toilet Master Rm Bedroom 3 (adjoining with Master Rm) Bedroom 2 Finally managed to post the images instead of the links. These photos really don't do justice to the house.

The major changes to be done: - Hack study room wall adjoining to kitchen - Hack wall of study and kitchen to have open concept kitchen - Hack a wall at service balcony to make kitchen more open - Change doorway for common toilet so that can install sit down bathtub This is in addition to - Hack and re lay tiles in kitchen & study room area & service balcony - Re do whole house plumbing - Hack both toilet floor tiles and re lay tiles, install bath tub for both toilets - Re do whole house electrical wiring - Plastering whole house - Change all doors - Replace kitchen cabinets with L shape counter top - Install built in wardrobes for 3 bedrooms We had a timeline of approx 6 wks for everything. Plan is to move in at end of Jan before CNY. Here are some photos before renovation - thanks to Ronald for the photos: Main door Living room Study room wall to be hacked (both walls) Kitchen wall (adjoining to study room) to be hacked

Hi, Just wanted to share photos of our renovated EA at Pasir Ris (144 sq m). I must admit I was a bit too pre-occupied with the reno so didn't take much photos of the renovation process (hacking etc). No interior designers were engaged, got Ronald and Tiler Seng from Designer House to do most of the renovation works, plus a carpenter for the carpentry works (Andrew Chin from Chin Jun Furniture). Here's the original floor plan for a start. It's actually been modified by the first owner (we are third owners). The store room has been shifted so that the Master room door no longer exists. A wall has been hacked between the Master room and Bedroom 3 so they are adjoining and share a common door (Bedroom 3 door). Floor Plan

Well there's always inflation to consider. You may be able to buy a plate of chicken rice for $3.50 today but 10 years later, the standard price may be $5. So even if you start saving now and 10 years later you have accumulated, say $70K in cash in the bank, you will find that it's not enough for the "retirement" life you intend to lead... Might be better to put the savings somewhere where it can grow and multiply$$$$

Not too sure about penalties for air-conditioning the whole roof terrace, but I think the electricity bill will be SCARY. You can have a good mix of plants on your roof terrace to keep it nice and shady, then you don't need to box it all up, otherwise, it's quite a waste really.... If they used chengai wood for the roof terrace, I imagine it should last a good 10+ yrs at least, but the shine and lustre on the wood will fade because of the sun and rain. I didn't put any wooden planks on my rooftop because I was worried how to clean the area below the planks, and how to make sure creepy crawlies weren't living under there. If you got problem with waterproofing later on, you also need to remove all the wooden planks. I think having a small area with wooden planks is ok, but to do up the whole roof terrace and maintain it in tip top condition might be more tricky, especially in our type of climate.

OH! It's horrible to be in that position. When you sit on toilet bowl to do business, have to carry umbrella. Been through that before. Nothing can describe the frustration.... I would call up HDB everyday to tell them of the "daily trauma" and constantly remind my neighbour upstairs until they get it fixed!!

I think what HDB meant is that you should be socially responsible and check your windows every 6 mths to make sure that all the parts are in place and working well, nothing is missing and windows are safe to use. You do not need to get BCA approved window contrator to do this 6 monthly check, but you can do it yourself. However, if the windows are spoilt and need to be repaired or replaced, then ou need to get a BCA approved contractor. As for which one to use, well, you could call up a few of them near where you stay and compare the prices.