hobbes187 0 Report post Posted July 3, 2008 Hihi We're staying in the vicinity and also share the same dislike for those hideous metal grilles at the balcony. However, I am not sure if you would to do fixed panels as things can get lodged in between the grilles and your glass window. eg. leaves, lego blocks from naughty kids etc. And you can't reach to clear them since the panels are fixed.. That was one of my concern also but after the panels were up, we realised the gap between the metal and the glass is very small. Things like lego blocks and anything from inside the house cant be stuffed inside cos the frame of the window has been fixed on top of the railing of the metal piece. Only very very small objects flying into the gap from outside will get lodged inside. I'm on a high floor so there wont be leaves also. The only things I can think of are dead insects and dust etc... And the only way to clean is to spray water with high pressure hose during rainy day Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hobbes187 0 Report post Posted July 5, 2008 Today I bought the Duro Master System lock set. It comes with a lock for the main gate, a replacement lock for the main wooden door and the letter box. The main reason I got this is I can open all 3 with one single key No more carrying 3 different keys for the 3 locks... Can reduce the size of my keychain significantly Had been eyeing it for a long time and finally got it cos I found that the price is the same everywhere and there's a free water filter with this set so went ahead and got it. To those who have gotten this set before, can I know that in addition to the keyhole thing for the wooden door, is there supposed to be the round covering also? Or am I supposed to reuse the existing round covering? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hobbes187 0 Report post Posted July 6, 2008 Aircon DIY Update After much consideration, I removed the plastic film I used last week and replaced it with a reflective sunshade that was left unused in my car for some time. I think this is a better method at preventing the insulation from being exposed to sunlight. The sunshade is designed for prolonged use in the sun so will be able to withstand the heat. Hopefully, this will help slow down the wear and tear in the exposed insulations. So any comments on this one? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hobbes187 0 Report post Posted July 6, 2008 Arrival of Carpentry When i opened the door today, I was pleasantly surprised to see that all the carpentry items have arrived and ready for installation this coming week We spent some time inspecting the stuff and identifying which piece is for which area in the house as they were all mixed up. Seems like a big jigsaw puzzle waiting to be pieced together. Got a glimse of some of the laminates we chose and were quite happy with what we saw. Hopefully they will all look good when installed. This picture shows one of the package we tore open to peek and we guess it is part of the shelter feature wall I guess we will be going down quite a few times this week to inspect the carpentry installation and will have a lot more pictures to post along the way. Toilet stuff will be installed next weekend, followed by painting of 2nd coat, chemical washing and final touch up. So I guess the place will be ready for handover in 2 weeks time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jeddie 0 Report post Posted July 7, 2008 hi hobbes your schedule is the same as mine...my capentry also coming in today.....so we are at the last 2 weeks of our reno..... jiayou!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hobbes187 0 Report post Posted July 7, 2008 hi hobbes your schedule is the same as mine...my capentry also coming in today.....so we are at the last 2 weeks of our reno..... jiayou!!! Yeah... Finally in the last stretch... The project has overrun by a few weeks (mostly due to revision of designs and 3D etc) Hopefully everything can be installed swee swee without needing much rectification Let me know when u post up pics of ur carpentry too... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hobbes187 0 Report post Posted July 7, 2008 Wow, ID just called me and says that they sent in many workers today and that my carpentry can be 90% installed today :) So efficient... Think I will pop by tonight to see see... The remaining ones will be my kitchen top cabinet which will be installed on wed since I want to personally direct them in fixing the cabinet lighting. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skywolf 0 Report post Posted July 7, 2008 Cool! So you need not hang on till end Jul! You must be very happy. Same as you, one fine day popped up and see all wood... and feeling that this is it! Last stretch to home run! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hobbes187 0 Report post Posted July 7, 2008 Just came back from viewing the house... And I have a whole bag of complaints for the ID Lets talk about the problems first... 1) Firstly, we wanted the living room TV console and feature wall to be installed nearer to the right side of the wall besides the balcony. But the workers installed it in the middle of the wall and as a result I think the walking space on the left side of the hall is reduced. Their reason was that they wanted to align the console with my ceiling fan which I find was an acceptable reason. However, I've asked the ID to follow the 3D diagram and shift the console. 2) Next, the guestroom wardrobe doors are done in a wrong laminate colour!! Instead of glossy white, they used a matt light brown which was way off the 3D. Again, ID has to rectify this... 3) Then, MBR TV console was installed without allowance for curtains which we specifically asked for. ID says he forgot... So will give him a chance to rectify it. 4) Finally, we were disappointed with the MBR vanity laminate... We find it quite ugly ID says he will take a look tmr but I'm going to insist he change it. To be fair to him, we chose the laminate but it looked better as a small piece than as a whole thing Ugly MBR vanity laminate Now for some of the good... 1) Though the positioning is off, the living rm TV console is pretty well done up with hidden holes for future expansion of appliances... 2) The bomb shelter feature wall is also done up nicely as expected... Bomb shelter feature 3) The Mrs love the large shoe cabinet with lots (and I do mean lots!) of shelves... Think can fit in 50 pairs of shoes inside! Shoe cabinet Kitchen is still undergoing installation but looks ok from what I see... The rest of the kitchen should be up by wed... So we met with our first big headache during this reno and were naturally angry and frustrated. But luckily, when we complained to him, Max promised to look into it and rectify the problems... Hopefully will turn out fine... Some of the problems we really cant live with it Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hobbes187 0 Report post Posted July 9, 2008 Ongoing carpentry rectifications After listing out all my complaints to my ID, the rectification is going on right now... Popped by today to take a look at what they are doing... I wanted the TV console on the right side of the living room wall to allow for more walking space on the left. So today the workers tore down the entire feature wall + console in preparation for a shift. Before rectification - feature wall mounted smack in the middle of the living room wall Everything down! The ugly toilet vanity cabinet laminate has been replaced Now it look so much better. We really hated the previous laminate which made the wood look raw and untreated Before After - Carcass done. Doors will be done by end of week The MBR TV console was done without allowance for my curtain to move behind it. The carpenter agreed to tear down the whole thing and redo it. The laminates has to be redone due to the changes... Hope it turn out well. Before - Entire console mounted on the wall with no allowance for curtain Now - Removed the console, shift it out and pending redo laminate. The carpenters got the laminates for the guestroom all wrong!! They gave me a ghastly matt brown instead of the glossy white I wanted to complement the wood grain laminate. Now they have to remove the doors and redo the whole thing... Why cant they do it once and do it right Before - Wrong laminates Now - Doors removed to redo Other carpentry works done or ongoing The kitchen is currently still under construction. The main cabinets are up but the drawers, doors and solid top are still not done. So far the result looks ok and I like the ***** of my kitchen where the hob is going to be at a 45 degrees angle The coffee corner is also still under construction so hopefully can see something soon. View from kitchen entrance Sink and 45 degree hob area Coffee corner The shoe cabinet is completed and I think it can hold a lot of shoes. ID told me he will get the carpenter to open some small holes at the side to allow for the air inside to circulate. Shoe cabinet closed Shoe cabinet opened Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
groovygenie 0 Report post Posted July 9, 2008 Looking great!! From experience, carpenters/ID always try to get away with their mistakes or their 'suka-suka' own decisions, until we spot them of course But its a good thing your ID and carpenters are re-doing their mistakes without too much complain, quite happy for you. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jessie 0 Report post Posted July 10, 2008 wow.........impressive! lots of carpentary works leh....must hv cost a bomb! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hobbes187 0 Report post Posted July 10, 2008 Looking great!! From experience, carpenters/ID always try to get away with their mistakes or their 'suka-suka' own decisions, until we spot them of course But its a good thing your ID and carpenters are re-doing their mistakes without too much complain, quite happy for you. Yup, though my ID is blur sometimes, he is willing to rectify and change till we're happy with no complaints. At least dont have to argue and get unhappy... wow.........impressive! lots of carpentary works leh....must hv cost a bomb! I think my carpentry is already little compared to many of the other homes featured here! There're a lot of other things I would like to have like study tables, shelves, platform bed etc etc but no $$$ Anyway, carpentry should be completed by friday and plumber is coming on sat Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LittleDevil 0 Report post Posted July 10, 2008 Aircon DIY Update After much consideration, I removed the plastic film I used last week and replaced it with a reflective sunshade that was left unused in my car for some time. I think this is a better method at preventing the insulation from being exposed to sunlight. The sunshade is designed for prolonged use in the sun so will be able to withstand the heat. Hopefully, this will help slow down the wear and tear in the exposed insulations. So any comments on this one? I also have expose insulations. Saw one of my neighbours have each of the exposed insulation wrapped up indivually with aluminium foil. Probably will ask my air-con man to do the same for me. Not sure whether it is good? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hobbes187 0 Report post Posted July 10, 2008 I also have expose insulations. Saw one of my neighbours have each of the exposed insulation wrapped up indivually with aluminium foil. Probably will ask my air-con man to do the same for me. Not sure whether it is good? Yeah it should help. But this can only be done easily during the install stage. Once installed it will be difficult to individually wrap them. So plan ahead! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
