RimBlock

Haha, hopefully not all on my own. Lots of others also happy to help provide advice like your hubby. My skills also cover IT as well so lets see if there is any decent anagram out there..... that would be HTSIT or maybe THIS-T or even H-TI$%, oops. Maybe HTS-IT will do . RB

No. us guys use the two finger punch of death . That, or if really frustrated, the hammer of Gods coupled with the cry of shattering stone . RB

Same here. Good design and strong flush usually good enough. Can be had for 200+ if you are ok with the designs. I thought they were an Asia thing. They have them in Thailand, here in Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan. Interesting to hear they are not common in Hong Kong. Maybe the cooler climate. Very uncommon in the west but that I think is partly due to most people not having 'wet' bathrooms. Having a spray is great for washing the toilet and also the bathroom if you have a wet bathroom. Just have to monitor the kids as I have 'shot' a number of times when the younger one was a bit younger . I am not sure I wish to know about you ladies and your one finger 'kung-fu' . RB

The networking.... The patch panel and switch. What it all is for. The more astute will recognise that there are 4 cables for 3 study PCs. This is because the server with all my movies / music / TV shows on has two network cards although I have not properly configured then yet. The green tape is Velcro for gardening from homefix which is much cheaper than the stuff for other uses and works just as well for this job. The bottom row of ports on the network switch mirrors the ports on the patch panel. The first port on the panel is for MioTV so doesn't go to the switch so bottom row first port on the switch is empty. Second port on the panel foes to the bottom row second port on the switch and so on. The top row on the switch are for the study room equipment with the first 4 ports for the 2 PCs and the server. The last two are for the networked printer so I can print from any PC in the house to the one printer if I have a network connection (wired or wifi). The last top row port on the switch goes to the larger Singtel router for internet connectivity over the telephone feed (hopefully FTTD Opennet at some point in the future). Our ID will be confirming date for finishing work on Monday. The work is likely to take two rounds, the first patching / painting / rectifying the most obvious items and the second round for fixing the last outstanding bits. Hopefully it will all be done before the baby pops out to say hello (or more likely "Wahhhhh"). Anytime from now onwards would be considered a normal term birth so we just have to wait doe baby to be ready. We have collected the baby cot which our youngest used from my Bil who had been using it for his son until recently. I just have to rearrange the master bedroom and then rebuild it which will be the main set of jobs for the weekend. If there are any specific things people would like pictures of then please let me know. I will also take some more after the painting is touched up and we have hung some photos. RB

Your wish is my command (give or take the Kitkat ). The Home Theatre set-up with the new power amp. The new power amp (I will get a better picture at some point). Cables still need tidying and you can see the patch of white on the left hand wall which needs repainting (blown plaster so needed the plaster redoing). RB

Thanks Kobelala, Nice to get confirmation err...... sort of . Good flush, good spray, good diet and sai marks go away . Maybe they should teach that in schools. Might make it less hassle having to chase my older son if they did . RB

I have laid laminate flooring and it is fairly simple for the most part. Linking rooms needs to be planned properly, cutting in to the wall needs to be done correctly with a space to allow for expansion and cutting along the boards when they meet the wall can be tricky whilst still maintaining the line of the boards so they look straight across the whole room (long side) rather than are going at an angle. You must remember to stagger the boards so the joins (short side) do not line up or it will weaken the floor. Don't forget to glue all the joints. Not using a power tool for cutting would be silly. Unless it is sill expensive, I would get the company to lay it. I did two small rooms and it too 2-3 days with my father who was a carpenter before retiring. When they laid floor for my EM it took a team of 5-6 people 2 days to do around 110sq mtrs and they worked well in to the night without my knowledge. RB

I bought a Bosch drill around 3 months ago. It was something like this one which is mid to upper level of their range. As a drill it goes maybe 1" into the concrete. As a rotary hammer drill it goes through concrete like butter. I would go for Bosch or Makita given a choice. RB

It really is a shame when such ill informed bigotry rears its ugly head. So lets recap, based on your description of events. Your aunt paid an unofficial 5k deposit to buy the next door neighbours 5 room apartment to be used for her and a maid. She signed a contract with presumably no legal basis stating that she would get 2*deposit if buyer pulled out. Neighbour was then offered better deal and tried to hike price of your aunt. Neighbour broke non-legally binding contract and sold for more money than your aunt could or would pay. Aunt didn't file a claim against the seller, possibly because the contract was not legally binding. Whos fault was it the neighbour sold to the other person....... the neighbours. Whos fault was it that your aunt did not get an OTP ...... your aunt Whos fault was it that the contract signed for the 2*deposit was not binding or not perused ........ your aunt If the buyer is not living there then let the HDB know as I believe they need to be resident for a minimum time. I take it you personally saw his PR status NRIC. I wonder how loudly you would complain if it was a Singapore citizen downgrading from a condo to a 5 room that outbid your aunt. Sounds like you are just sore that someone offered more cash than your aunt could afford and just happened to be a PR so you thought you would focus on that considering the current anti-PR sentiment in Singapore concerning housing. I believe that anyone, whether PR or Citizen should only be able to own 1 residence in Singapore. It seems you feel that should only PRs should be restricted this way. Citizens should be able to do just as this PR did without you seeing a problem with that else why would you highlight a PRs only as being the problem. If you think citizens are not renting you are very misinformed. Maybe you should look at the Expat sites where PRs regularly relate stories of citizen owners treating PR renters very badly whilst spooning in the very high rental prices they charge. "don't like me hike rent.... find somewhere else to live, don't like I don't fulfil my contractual obligations.... find somewhere else to live, Leaving now..... I make up damages you owe so no get deposit back." Those are common complaints heard by expats when renting in Singapore. I would suggest you look closer to home rather than blaming all PRs for what seems to be trying to deal for a cheap apartment, failing to follow official procedure and loosing out. RB

Hi Herlynn, I think you will be hard pressed to get floor standing speakers for 2k unless you look at an all in one system. A reasonable entry level subwoofer will set you back over S$500 on its own. To this end I think we need to manage your expectations. KEC are doing a few packages around your budget area at the moment but be aware there may be a few extras like cables or stands (if needed). A three of these offers I would strongly recommend listening to are the Yamaha 467 & Q Acoustics 2000 series, the Onkyo 508 with the Wharfedale 10 HCP (slimline) speakers and the Pod speakers and the Marantz NR-1501. All arre around 2k - 2.1k. They can be found here. A rule of thumb is that you should listen to a number of systems. Don't feel pressured to buy right away. Go out for a coffee and thing then come back later or another day. Don't be led. Just because someone tells you that XXX speakers sound more detailed, listen for yourself and ignore them. People prefer different types of music / sound and so you should buy based on what you like the sound of. Hopefully that is enough to get started with . RB

Nice. I always hated the compressor on balconies. Makes them hot and can be noisy when the aircon is on. Has anyone else mounted like you ?. I have never seen it before and just wonder if it is HDB approved. Would hope so as it is a much better way to do it. RB

Don't forget the splash factor. With no sliding there can be a big splash as the torpedo makes entry. A good flush is always required for those shotgun days...... . That or a powerful spray afterwards. RB

Yes that seems to be a common issue. IDs do not like any paper trail of agreed items so they cannot be pinned to the wall when they fail to meet expectations. I understand what you mean about not being able to work around it. Where are you staying now ?. Could you not tell him you hve to move out no option by XXX date and so it must be ready by then. We had to move out of our old place at a set time so our ID could not push back... it had to get done. RB

Great, thanks, I will add them in . Rb

Np, happy to help. I am only sitting at work err.... working . Again, glad to help..... more beer and icecream money for you . I understand your position, honestly I do and I tend to be on the softer side of pushing although I do have the advantage of being a fairly big westerner and so people have preconceived ideas about me being forceful and abrupt . Oh and I can be very stubborn . From what you have said I would arrange a meeting around a table with your ID, you and hubby. Ask for a list of outstanding works, a schedule of who will be completing when. Fix the final date and mention about things seeming to be miss placed. Make sure the ID knows that either he or your husband need to be on site when any workers are doing the work and you do not feel so comfortable being alone with the workers. He should understand and it is his job to keep the worker on schedule. Point out that the balcony is the only smoking area and he needs to inform all the workers. Advise him that any workers found to be smoking anywhere in your apartment other than the balcony will be asked to leave and not come back and a bill for cleaning the clothes and furniture will be forwarded to him. Make it clear that you are publishing the details of the renovation on the renotalk forums for everyone to see. If he cannot give you a completion date he can stick to then ask him who in his company can. He may not have the power to force the sub-contractors to meet schedules but someone in his company has. Post up the list of outstanding works, his schedule and track it here. Make sure you include both your IDs name and his company name on every update. If the deadlines start slipping again then ask who in his company can get them back on track and call / write to them making sure you provide the link to your blog so they know their performance is being recorded. Bottom line is that you are paying for a service within a set time frame and they are failing to deliver. You need to remove the personal connection and look at it as if this was a business property and you are now loosing money because you cannot open. People will take advantage of your kindness even if you think you have a good connection / working relationship with them. Sales people are notorious for this. If it helps, do some role playing (in persona only, don't actually paint yourself blue and carry a plastic axe to the table when meeting you ID ). Would your WoW character accept these delays and be so nice carrying an ash tray because the workers will not stop smoking. Go get a whistle and blow it a lot when the workers are staring at you or doing something you don't like or get a cane and slap it on to a table. Take them back to their school days. Please video it as I am sure it would be fantastic to watch all the workers running scared . Hopefully if nothing else that has brought a smile to you and hubbys faces. Ha-ha, you are really too kind. I am in a position where I can offer an alternative perspective on things having never been though your education system and coming from a different culture. Some of those views may be helpful and some may have no place for people in Singapore but it is nice to know the majority of my longgggggg posts are helpful to at least some others. I am an analyst by trade and back in the UK had friends who were pretty quick to pick up on any mistakes in how you phrase things or inaccurate information. To this end I tend to be very careful about how I phrase things and usually do checks before posting something as fact. I also like to research what others say and make up my own mind and so provide the links so others can do the same. I am not here to tell people what to think but to point them to decent info so they can make their own mind up. As I am sure you are aware, I never tell people to buy this or that when talking about HTS but point them at choices so they can make up their own mind. FKN is an amusing distraction and has provided me with a reason to dig deeper in to various areas of HTS in order to provide evidence that he is 'confused'. I cannot count how many times I have deleted the phrase 'are you a complete moron' from my replies to him as personal attacks are a bit too much . I am happy to share what I know and open to learn more so I am just glad I can help others and it is always nice to make new friends. Ok, now I think I have to be brutal (A kick with size 11 boots hopefully wrapped in pillows for you) . Stop and take a breath and a look around. Look at the before photos you have posted. Those photos are of a fairly nice place compared to the average in Singapore. Do you remember what some of the other places you looked at were like. If it was anything like some we saw then what you class as 'nothing special' is not the average in Singapore. Just by virtue of being able to to have a reno your place is special. Now take a step back and look at all the wonderful things you have bought to 'dress up' your apartment. Things that almost no one else will have in Singapore. How is that not special. If you are comparing with places you have lived in Aus then maybe it is not so special, just like me comparing my basic reno with places in the UK but we are now in Singapore. What you have is something very special indeed but you need to be able to step back to take a good look compared with the bigger picture. Not special is 30 year old original condition . Just because you have not got stacks of fancy laminates everywhere, does not make it not special. I am sure with your eye for detail that the sum of the parts will be better than the whole. Standing in the center of the whirlwind stops you seeing the big picture and familiarity breeds contempt. Ok, boots off . RB

Hmm, I would personally go to the amp, plug in the mic that came with it and run the config / setup option. Mine comes up when the amp senses the mic being plugged in. Have your sub at about half volume. The setup on the amp should manage the volume level and delay for each speaker so the listening position (where the mic is placed for the setup) gets the same comparative volume and timing for the sounds from all speakers. It is not perfect but it is usually the first step most people should do. If they were not using a SPL when setting up then I think you should defiantly run this as they are relying on their ears rather than science to get it right. You can tune to personal tastes from there. I have not see Pacific yet but I read the BoB book before they made it in to the series. My fav is still ep 2 on the flight over to France. On the pre episode interview, have the volume up at a good level for hearing them talk and then just leave it alone for the whole aeroplane part. It gets so loud and really feels like you are next to the engines with the flack flying etc. It is tempting to turn it down out of fear for disturbing the neighbours. Now pair that with the flashes of flack going off on the projector and it really is a 'lost in the movie' moment for me. So far, no one has complained. I bump in to the guy who lives down stairs to us now and then, his daughter is in our sons school class it seems, and have enquired about the noise but he says he has no issues at all. Guess these old buildings are pretty good at stopping the noise going too far (unless you re drilling or hacking the walls). My wife is fantastic and so the day to day life tasks are usually taken care of leaving me to do the extra stuff like the wiring and chasing the kids who have a habit of ignoring her. Luckily my 'upset' booming voice is usually enough to stop both of them in their tracks . They do keep us busy though. The reno works are a pain but you adapt and work with what you have the best you can. No toilet doors then hang sheets for now on a couple of removable hooks, we had no mirrors for a couple of months so I ended up shaving by 'estimation' and touch. No one laughed at work so it can't of been that bad. Getting it all together and finished is fantastic, seeing it so close but not getting closer is very frustrating. More so for me at this point as most of the things we need to complete I could do myself but then why am I paying the ID if I did.... Hassle your ID, get him to do his job on site with the workers and get an agreed firm schedule from him. With no schedule he can just keep excusing your completion away. With it you can hold him to it a bit easier. Just my thoughts . Maybe you should ask him down when I visit and we can have a few words . I promise to leave the baseball bat at home . Rb

Hi 666. Do you have a link for Kitbag and info of which country it is in and I will add it to the list of shopping sites ?. Also, just to confirm from you that TaoBao does not deliver internationally and there is no service providing a virtual address in China that anyone is currently aware of but some individuals do sometimes arrange shipping for people sort of like doing a spree (a group of people grouping together and purchases to save on delivery and possible get volume discounts) ?. Not reading Chinese I cannot confirm myself. Thanks RB

Ahh yes, something easily forgotten. Running in to loosen the speakers and get them to optimum state. Just play some nice high pitched 'only dogs can hear' tones for a few days while you are out . Would love to hear what the Wharfedale are like. They are highly reviewed most places in that price bracket so should be great. I like 'original' sound so I just try to setup so the equipment changes the music or movie soundtrack as little as possible. Others like to tune the sound to their ears, as you mentioned your wife prefers more bass. Nothing wrong with that at all but it is hard to calibrate as it is subjective to the listener . Best you can do is calibrate for neutral and then tune for the listener afterwords. I need to do mine first properly when I get some time, a decent mic, no screaming kids running around the house . I am sure we can work something out afterwards and do yours too. What did KEC do to set up your system ?. Did they just run the config program on the amp ?. Nice. THe 667 has gotten the OSD of the much higher prices Yamaha amps and it makes set-up / configuration so much easier as well. Maybe we will have to arrange a time when my wife is out as she is not so keen on the high volumes I like when listening. One evening is better as we can use the projector easier. I will see when she is likely to visit my MiL and let you know. My son is likely to stick around as he quite like the 'full effect home cinema' . After I have sorted my calibration out we can look at yours . After watching Tron again last night (light cycle battle) it is my reference for a great bass surround sound movie. War of the Worlds has better bass effects but Tron has a better 'whole package' with effects, surround and music all merged in to one. I also need to go through some other eps of Band of Brothers too as the shelling of the troops hidden around Bastogne is likely to be 'shattering'. That may be one episode where shockwaves will significantly add to the experience . I will bring some movies / music over when I finally get round to visiting to try out on your system as well . RB RB

Haha, yeah I am playing Dragon Age II at the moment. My sons love playing Joy Ride Kinect on the projector. My 3 yo keeps asking for 'Car game'. Same for me. No more Hifi for a while now although the Antimode looks nice at only S$450 . I would put yours at entry /mid and mine a bit more mid. I usually just put the amp on direct mode for music so it does no processing and only stereo as I prefer to hear it as intended rather than surround sound processed. For movies, again, I just put it on 'straight' mode and so get what is on the soundtrack without the amp 'amending' it. One of the BluRays I bough recently had the THX calibration on it although these calibrations are mainly for that movie rather than for movies as a whole. The calibration I did was for the projector rather than for audio as to do it properly you need a sound pressure level (SPL) meter or a PC with a decent microphone. I defenately don't wnat to have to micromanage my av stuff for each movie. I have enough problems trying to manage my movie/music/TV archive which is currently at around 3TB. Need more hard disks..... . Haha, I put on the light cycle battle on Tron again last night and that is my reference BluRay, especially for bass. Avatar is also great and War of the Worlds. Whilst I dislike the Disney corporate machine (they are the Sony of movies - i.e. charge a premium for the brand) they do make some stunning movies at least technically. I would hate to think I am 'brutal' in my honesty . Honest certainly with my opinions and I don't tend to pretty them up as a lot of people here do but I would like to think I am at least a little considerate of the others position / feelings. Considering the squeeling your husband has let on about coming from you, I would hope your HT is better than just 'ok'. I think you should have a very nice system there that is likely to give you much pleasure for a long time to come. When it comes down to it.... my opinion really doesn't matter as it is you who live with and must love it for your selection to have been a success. If you feel it is not that great, go demo a all-in-one system again and see the difference that most people are living with. I imagine all the reno stress is taking some of the enjoyment away from your new purchases so maybe it is better to assess after everything is complete. I am still in the same position with stuff left to do. Keep pushing and it will be completed. I have had the same experiences with two renovations in the last 4 years. After the second big payment has been made and there is very little cash left to pay, it seems hard to get anything arranged. Chase your ID everyday. It is not your fault he is stressed. It is up to him to manage the work timetable and deal with troublesome companies. We moved in as they were painting our place. Literally boxes were being brought upstairs as they were painting the walls and ceilings downstairs. We also had to wait for months to get our bathroom mirrors. I suspect we are going to have a big struggle to get any sort of finish to the light box on the stairs as well. My point being that you are not alone or unique in your frustration as many people end up going thought this 'almost finished' period where it seems you just cannot get the job finished. Chase, chase, chase and it will get done. Good luck, there are obviously many her routing for you and your hubby at this time. If nothing else, because they all want to come over and see your 'nothing special' reno. RB

Nice write up ED, The Cylinder subs are known to push a lot of air and so create a 'shockwave' for want of a better description. Some love it and some not so much. This tactile feel is interesting but not quite as accurate. Would you feel the shockwave if you were there and the arrow shot through the glass ?. The point though is that you have a sub that both you and your wife love, gives great entertainment, looks fantastic if you have the room and has a good bit of power behind it. A lot of the all-in-one HTS systems come with 5-6" subs and are pretty weak but take them away and you do notice a difference. For a small room a decent 8" should be fine but a 10" would be better. From what I hear the Velodynes are better for music so I find the boomy quality you heard to be a bit of a surprise. Many different things can affect the sound though like the room shape and size, speaker placement and calibration. One thing I noticed when demoing was that the subs were not calibrated but just brought in and swapped over when it came their turn. I have a different experience to you with my sub and that is that it blends very well almost in to the background. I sometimes am not sure the sub is on but if I were to turn it off the effect would be very obvious. As mine is the SB-12 (sealed box) I don't get the shockwave which I found fairly oppressive in the small demo room but would have been better out in my open living area. What I do get is the sharp screech and rumble of passing jet fighters. It does also manage some infra-bass where you feel more than hear the effect but not like a big pressure wall. It will be great to hear your when I finally am able to visit. Properly calibrated it should be great. What this also goes to show is, as ED stated, sound, bass included, is a very personal thing. Different people like different things. But... hey, it's all good RB

People are always asking questions about when they see so many nice items people have bought overseas so it just makes it easier having it all in one place. I used to get all my supermarket shopping delivered to my door after buying it all on-line. Oh how I miss that. Cold Storage and NTUC do home delivery I think but only during working hours . Used to be the same in the UK until the started charging a bit extra for evenings and the whole idea really took off. I am sure the kings and queens of internet shopping will find their ways here . RB

Ok, I have finally put up a Internet Shopping guide on RT here. All Internet shopping Kings and Queens please contribute so we can get a decent list of shops, improve on the base work I have done. RB p.s. there is a reason I posted here.... can you guess why

Over to you guys. Please contribute to make this a great guide for anyone wishing to look in to internet shopping. If you wish to add a shop link then please include the name, link, catagory of goods and any notes you may have (i.e. no international delivery / local credit card only). Thanks RB

Tips and suggestions. Consolidate multiple packages in to one delivery to save shipping costs but be aware of storage time as virtual address providers will give you free storage for only a limited time whist waiting for multiple packages to arrive. To avoid our local GST cap of SGD400 (items + shipping), always try to cap orders at max USD250 or less (dependent on exchange rate at that time)

Contributors to this guide. RimBlock, Sleek, 666, Ely1, Aegis0129