Kellhound

What sort of cooling/ventilation do you have for this room?

I'm considering overlaying artificial turf on current tiles for a significant part of my outdoor area. Saves on hacking and cheaper than laying new tiles.

Are you referring to the grouting between tiles? As far as I know, it's hard work cleaning them and there's no way to wash them 100% clean.

Thanks for the lighting tips!

Hi Snoozee, where do you house your server rack? On which floor? I'm planning a central hub as well but still deciding where to put it.

Did any of you do LED cove lights and did you then encounter shadows caused by ceiling fans?

Good tip on taking photos of the wiring layout. How was your experience with the lighting fixtures from China? My own experience is that it can be hit or miss and can be different from what is depicted in the photos.

Thanks for the detailed diagram!

I guess there are pros and cons for lump sum vs itemized. For me, itemized allows me to do better apples to apples comparison between different quotes. It also allows me to adjust my costs/budget on a finer level. The con is you have to manage more figures and do more research into the cost of each individual item.

So just to confirm, your glass doors are sliding but your grilles are bifold? I'm still trying to visualize how your grilles can fold 180 degrees flat.........

Lump sum is about $40K. No need for any submissions, I think? Mine is just "renovation" as I've decided not to do anything that requires BCA/URA submission. There's an earth bonding line item so is that the lightning conductors you're referring to? Does DB box really take up so much space? I was under the impression that it's just a small box....... I've planned for 10+ data points for rooms and POE CCTVs Does induction cooker really need 32A? Hmmm....provisioning for car charger is something to consider..... Electrician also quoted me $300 each for 5m LED strip with driver which seems rather exorbitant based on what I can find online. Plumbing is about $21K which includes installation of fittings and laying of new SS pipes throughout the house.

Hi I received the following quote and would like feedback if they're reasonable? They seem high to me so wondering if this is the "landed premium" factor being added on or is it that landed is really that much more complex to do. For example, lighting points will add up significantly e.g. probably 60-80 points range for the whole house. New 13A socket installation - $140 each New lighting point - $80 each Lighting installation - $20 each New fan point - $80 each Fan installation - $60 each Cat 6 data point - $250 each New 13A outdoor socket - $250 each Split from 1 DB on ground floor to 1 DB on each floor (3 floors) - $8K+

Hi Snoozee, So you only have grilles for your ground floor? Which means you can't fully enclose for aircon?

A pity that grilles significantly affect the overall aesthetic. The best option I've found for folding glass doors is folding grilles. Takes up double the space for the tracks and looks bulky when it's folded to the side. Example here:

Haha...if like that, I might as well don't renovate. Even better. 😂 The house I'm moving into looks quite scary now in its current state

I've lived with extractor fans in my toilets for 10+ years. After this experience, all I can say is that I resolved to only buy homes with toilets that have windows😀 Issues include: 1. The startup noise of the fan can be noisy as the fan gets older and may wake others in the room if it's an attached toilet. 2. In my case (condo), there is a continuous air duct running from the master toilet to the common toilet and finally terminates at the kitchen yard. Sometimes, heavy cooking from the kitchen can cause smells to "backflow" from kitchen to the toilets and eventually the rooms. So be careful where your fan ducts go 3. Mold is a big issue for poorly ventilated toilets.

Hi Snoozee, I've been sourcing for gates, especially bifold ones as they are trackless. However, quite a few vendors discouraged me as they said that the bifold mechanism is a common point of failure. They added that there must be a reason why bifold gates are rather rare in Singapore. How has your experience been with the bifold gate?

Hi, I notice that there is a trend of doing away with window grilles and having full length glass doors on the ground floor without grilles. While burglaries are indeed very rare, I would like to find out from others as to what security measures you currently use. Just IP CCTV?

Hi, I saw quite a few estimates online that peg tiling costs at $10-$12 psf (inclusive of labour which is valued at around $7 psf). Of course, COVID may have caused prices to rise since. Does premixed cement cost more than normal cement? What's the difference between the two?

I just received a renovation quotation which included supply and and laying of floor and wall tiles at an average of $15 psf. This seems rather high to me and the explanation given was that it includes cement bedding and the need to use pre-mixed cement. Does this sound reasonable?

Silicone doesn't last forever. It's just a matter of time before you need to redo the waterproofing. So just need to do the cost benefit analysis.

Hi, I'm trying to modernise the exterior facade of a mid-90s 3 storey house (pitched roof) with the typical orange wavy clay tiles. I want to switch to gray flat tiles and remove the roof eaves at the top of 1st and 2nd floors to achieve a cleaner look. Research on the internet tends to indicate that the roof eaves prevent erosion/staining from rain. However, I noticed that most of the newer houses do not have roof eaves anymore so are they really necessary? So would like to invite comments and feedback on this.

Hi Just wondering how you guys are getting digital TV reception? Separate indoor antenna for every TV? Is there a better way?

I believe I'm just outside the central tree conservation area. The issue is that the current owner planted 4-5 trees within a 5-6m wide kerb space outside the house. Along with large potted plants, it looks a like a small jungle. Thus, I also want to declutter the area as well by removing some of the trees.

Update: I checked with 3 other houses (all with 3+ floors) within 200 metres of mine and they all do not use the water tank/pump. 1 did not install at all. The second catered for space on roof for tank but did not install and the 3rd installed pump/tank but do not use it. Will consult my contractor/plumber to see if I can get rid of the tank/pump