countrylover

My toilet bowls are having the backflow problem like many of our neighbours here. I have filled up the maintenance request form earlier, which was why they came to check. But two weeks liao, no news from them. When HDB came down to inspect your toilet bowls, what did they do to check huh? Can't expect us to do "business" on the spot to prove it's faulty right?

Need to check with our neighbours here regarding the toilet bowl issue. Did HDB change a new flushing system for all of you? Anybody got rejected? Some officers came to inspect my toilets 2 weeks back. They spoke to me to understand the problem and also did some flushes in between. Then said they'll discuss and get back to me. But from the look on their faces, they seem quite reluctant to want to change for me leh. Since then, I've not heard anything from them. Any advice on how I shd proceed from here? Think I will make a call to Mr. Tan on Mon to check on the outcome.

I just submitted my e-maintenance request form via HDB website and Mr. Tan called me back within 30 mins! Wow...very efficient. He said will arrange a time for the contractor to come up my place to take a look.

Thanks! My home deco is actually not done yet, still adding on stuff every mth. Hopefully everything can be nicely set up by end of the year.

Glad to hear that they have proposed to hack your ceilings. But I feel u shd request that they do it FOC since it's not your fault and probably due to the poor workmanship of HDB. However if it's due to waterproofing issues, I understand you might need to spilt the costs with your neighbour staying upstairs. Hope the HDB contractor can resolve your problem soon. Understand your frustration as I experienced the same issue, a problem which took more than 1 year before HDB got it resolved!

Gosh...sorry to hear about that. I suggest that you resolve your issue 1st and delay the delivery of your furniture. My ceilings didn't leak, but there were defects in the skim coat. As a result, my reno was delayed by 2 months. I think your leaking might be due to some waterproofing issues? Hmm...and I don't think painting over will solve this problem! Who was the HDB officer who spoke to you? I spoke to Mr Tan from Queenstown Branch Office back then. Will PM you his number. As we complained big time and even threatened to see the MP, they eventually proposed to hack the skim coats for my ceilings and rebuild them. You should tell them that the leaking has damaged your floor tiles and ask if they gonna pay for hacking and replacing the floor tiles if they still refuse to resolve the problem. But it's a good thing too, that you discovered this leaking before moving. Can't imagine what will happen after you've moved in all your new furniture and this incident happens.

LOL. Some appliances may unknowingly consume more electricity than we expect them to, as harmless as they may seem. I think mine is also due to the water heater I'm using, shd have gone for the Citygas one instead.

I'm not a pro, still learning. Just keep shooting...you'll find yourself improving in no time.

Gosh...I'm an "Alpha-ist" too! All from my many years of being a Minolta user! Anyway glad to meet fellow hobbyists here! Can arrange to go for shoots on weekend liao.

Hehe...cool! But any idea if the dry box takes up a lot of energy consumption? My current one is a 30L and I'm running out of storage space. Cos I have my 2 SLRs and 5-6 lenses all back to back now. Actually thinking of upgrading to at least a 50L one but think it's gonna use up even more electricity? I've got another 30L one at my parent's place, maybe I shd bring it over. But just worried abt the consumption ie 2 X 30L vs 1 x 50L. Hmm... Erm, I actually checked with my electrician, but he said there are no energy saving ones for that kind of bulb holders for my chandeliers. The size of the holders are really small, not the usual sizes for lamps. So end up my chandeliers are really there as display, cos dun dare to switch them on too often. Sigh... But thanks for your suggestions, I will check out Ikea since I might be going tonite. Hopefully they have a solution for me.

More wallies for my MBR... There are lots more, including big murals, which I've bought but not had time to put everything up yet. Will do so over the next few weekends. Can't wait to get them all up, as my home is still pretty plain, with some empty walls around.

Yesterday I passed by Takashimaya and was pleasantly pleased to find out that they are celebrating their 15 years anniversary and having a 15% storewide sale! What made me more excited was that the sale also included all items from the Laura Ashley store! Bought this candle holder which I've been eyeing for very long. Best time to buy since they are having a sale now. Too bad I'm not a Takashimaya cardholder, if not I'll be entitled to an additional 15% off! I also bought some paintings to decorate my kitchen. $4 each for the unframed ones and $5 for the framed ones. The unframed ones also come with a "buy 3 get 1 free" promo, so I ended up with 4 pieces! Will be giving some of these to a friend as I won't have space for so many in my kitchen.

It's been a while since I last updated my blog, as I've been busy with work and domestic stuff. I shipped over some wallies from USA with a friend recently and over the weekend, spent some time to give my home a little makeover.

Yup, seems like everyone's bill is way below ours! Currently, there are 3 adults and 2 children staying in my flat, so $200 might sound reasonable? I only have my fridge and electronic dry box (for camera eqpt) that are running 24/7. As far as possible, we try to remember to switch off our appliances after use, so they are not even in standby mode. For laundry, we wash an average of twice per week, usually waiting for a full load before washing. I guess maybe it could be because my mum cooks everyday? Sigh...we gonna install air-con soon. Can't imagine how much the bill will increase then! I think it's also because of my two chandeliers at home! They dun operate on energy-saving lamps, and there's no way we can use energy-saving ones on them. But thing is, we also seldom switch them on mah.

Can I have a sense of what's the average amt of the PUB bill of our neighbours here? I just received my bill yesterday and it's about $200+. Seems to be on the increase every mth since I moved in 3 mths ago. With the 21% increase, it will probably go up to abt $250 this mth!! I'm staying in a 4-room and not using air-con. Is it normal?

I've not logged in to Renotalk for quite a while, so now trying to catch up on the topics that I've missed. Re the toilet bowl problem, after moving in for 3 mths, realise that we have the backflow problem too. How did HDB contact u guys to replace the flush? Was it because you had feedback on the problem previously? So if I also want mine replaced, I will need to call Mr Tan? Hey Sohzai! Welcome to the TH neighbourhood! Agree that packing is such a headache. Took us 1 whole week to pack everything in the old place, and we even stayed up the entire nite to finish up before the move, didn't sleep at all. Worst is having to uppack after moving! Till now, 3 mths after we move, we still had some stuff packed away in boxes. hehe

Hi Jule I think I have the same problem as u. Does it sound like a high pitch screeching sound, ie like a child screaming? We heard it a few nights ago (it came from the MBR toilet) and my hb asked if my girl was crying?? Then he started joking that the toilet is haunted. Alamak...

Hehe...good that they managed to resolve things for u! Usually when a new pdt is launched, there are bound to be problems and technical glitches, and these early adopters always end up becoming like "guinea pigs". To be frank, I used to work with a telco. And I've seen how customers bang tables and give all sorts of threats just to get their way around (to the extent of trying to get a waiver of $0.10!!!). Dun be mistaken, I'm not referring to u but just trying to highlight the fact that most of these service providers will give in to customers demands if they know their reputation is at stake. Owing to my experience, think I also start to have higher expectations for the services I engage. Anyway, we pay a considerable amt and thus expect a good customer experience. Excuses like short of qualified personnel are not acceptable, as these shd have been anticipated and dealt with before the launch of a new service.

Thanks to all for your comments! Yes, the reason why I still much prefer to keep my SNBB plan is cos I intend to subscribe to the MIO plan, as the charges really look very attractive. Problem is, I just recontracted my ST mobile line before I moved in and to subscribe to MIO, we can't have more than 12 mths remaining contract. They said the earliest I can subscribe to MIO will be in Dec. Since it's just 3 mths away, will just wait then. I've been on SNBB for the past 8 yrs, no complaints on the service and speed so far. Has any of u called the Town Council to complain? I'm also very peeved by the state of rubbish lying around. For eg boxes and junk left by neighbours at the common chute area were not cleared. They just cleared last weekend I think, after allowing those rubbish to lie around for more than 1 mth!

Does anybody have any comments on SingNet Broadband vs Maxonline? ie how is the speed as compared to Maxonline? I'm currently still contracted to SNBB, contract ending in Oct. Thus, considering to recontract or subscribe to Maxonline instead. Any thoughts on this?

Yeah, I had the same problem. Can't watch Ch 8 for the past few days.

I just measured my sofa, it's abt 2m long, not 2.5m like I told u earlier. Sorry for the over-estimate! It fitted nicely into the lift, so I guess for something longer, u might have a problem getting it in.

Actually if u ask me, it's ok. Since u mentioned that your kitchen has a simple design and not really geared to any theme, any kind of decor should suffice. If u dun mind spending a little more, then u can buy the photo frames from Laura Ashley. Abt $50+ I think for 4R size.

The French-style furniture from Cottage Crafts is really nice, but gosh...so ex! Like u, we didn't buy a fabric sofa too. Bought a teak wood one from Picket & Rail. Agree that it takes a lot of time and effort to decor the whole house. Ours is probably only abt 50% done. Looking forward to your completed look! I went to the pushcart at Anchor Point 2 weeks back. They have some really nice shabby chic decor items. Prices are ok, abt $20+ for signages, $40+ for clocks and $100+ for the lamps. They having a 10% storewide discount, but not too sure if it's ongoing. Agree that Creations from the Heart (basement@Anchor Point) has very nice country-style decor too. That shop is actually an ID specialising in country-style reno. They sell mostly signages and decor items for the kitchen.

I have a rather long sofa set...abt 2.5 to 3m I think. No problem at all getting it up in the upper level lift.