Bachelorette's Pad

[xiaodingdang 0]

it was my electrician who highlighted to me that i could have done tile overlay, since 'there is so much height and space left'. he saw the quotation and commented that the pricing is very high. that was when my alarm bells started ringing - although too late then.

your entry is so funny i guess we both chose him for his reliability. i am extremely busy at work and absolutely have no time to manage all the nitty gritty stuff. so i have to rely alot on his recommendations. i only manage to go check reno at most once a week over the weekend, since i do not have any partner to split such errands with.

Hi Honeygal

for tiles overlay, most contractors will not recommend it for old flats, esp in the kitchen and wet areas. Not only may the old tiles give problem, the underlying waterproofing may be worn out and leaks may happen. When ur below neighbours complain.......ha.... jialat liao. 'Height and space' are not important factors in tiles overlaying.

Oh, sometimes its better to go at it alone. My hubby lets me decide most of the time, but when he tries to be funny, boy, WW3 hovers. His latest inspiration is we shld have "nice wooden pattern" laminate for the kitchen cabinets. My god, its so dated. Everyone knows the cabinets are made of wood, don't need to scream it IS definitely made of wood by laminating the pattern on it as well, right? But to avoid being called a dictator, I offered to let him decide on what goes in the kitchen as long as he promises to take care of kitchen chores on wkends.

BTW, wooden pattern goes with tiles. ie country style etc. Solid surface (which we are having) goes with more modern patterns. Agree?

[applefreak 1]

the original tiles are 6 years old. i dunno if that is considered old or new?

it's not the age of the tiles but the workmanship / condition that is important

badly laid tiles might cause the overlaid tiles to be uneven

or worse, require more cement which will affect the structural integrity

badly prepped tiles will pop after tens of years e.g. certain ceramic tiles need to be soaked overnight before laying.

if not soaked, it'd become too dry overtime and the cement won't be able to hold it down

my previous flat's ceramic tiles popped after 20 years

and believe me, it's not something anyone wants to go through

what will splinters flying all around :bangwall:

[Honeygal 1]

Hi Honeygal

for tiles overlay, most contractors will not recommend it for old flats, esp in the kitchen and wet areas. Not only may the old tiles give problem, the underlying waterproofing may be worn out and leaks may happen. When ur below neighbours complain.......ha.... jialat liao. 'Height and space' are not important factors in tiles overlaying.

Oh, sometimes its better to go at it alone. My hubby lets me decide most of the time, but when he tries to be funny, boy, WW3 hovers. His latest inspiration is we shld have "nice wooden pattern" laminate for the kitchen cabinets. My god, its so dated. Everyone knows the cabinets are made of wood, don't need to scream it IS definitely made of wood by laminating the pattern on it as well, right? But to avoid being called a dictator, I offered to let him decide on what goes in the kitchen as long as he promises to take care of kitchen chores on wkends.

BTW, wooden pattern goes with tiles. ie country style etc. Solid surface (which we are having) goes with more modern patterns. Agree?

i completely second your views about the wooden pattern laminate for cabinets, esp kitchen cabinet. that is also a big nono to me too! wouldn't even dream of it. and to have solid surface with wooden pattern laminate? gosh, that is just so salah!

maybe you can superimpose the two and show your hubby?

it's not the age of the tiles but the workmanship / condition that is important

badly laid tiles might cause the overlaid tiles to be uneven

or worse, require more cement which will affect the structural integrity

badly prepped tiles will pop after tens of years e.g. certain ceramic tiles need to be soaked overnight before laying.

if not soaked, it'd become too dry overtime and the cement won't be able to hold it down

my previous flat's ceramic tiles popped after 20 years

and believe me, it's not something anyone wants to go through

what will splinters flying all around :bangwall:

thanks, wow you are really so knowledgeable!

[Honeygal 1]

found these absolutely gorgeous camphor chinese chest boxes at Just Anthony. am a sucker for such contemporary chinese furniture. thinking of getting one of these as my bedside table or for use in the living room. costs $350 each and comes in a huge array of colours & patterns. white, green, pink, yellow, beige, orange, red, etc. as usual, the price is holding me back

have just been told to:

(1)change my selection of ceiling paint colour (contractor said the range i chose is not suitable for ceiling) and

(2)change my selection of vanity cabinet laminate (carpenter said laminate not available - but i know the real reason is that it is too expensive). really disappointed , since it's such a pretty laminate which many forumers here also commented earlier.

anyway, acid wash due next weekend. really excited coz many things happening next week - lights, painting, WC installation, pipe boxing, toilet windows & doors, cabinet installation. the whole place is a huge mess now so i decided against taking any pics.

[applefreak 1]

me not knowledgeable lah, just happen that i did a lot of research for my own renovation

plus the fact that my floor tiles popped just before we shifted

just anthony has a lot of nice stuff, but they are the priciest around too

maybe you want to check out places like nghee hong, feffco, singapore handicraft etc before committing to the purchase

as for the laminate, how about delaying the vanity cabinet?

my kitchen cabinet laminate was not available too but i chose to wait

better to wait a while than compromise

[Honeygal 1]

me not knowledgeable lah, just happen that i did a lot of research for my own renovation

plus the fact that my floor tiles popped just before we shifted

just anthony has a lot of nice stuff, but they are the priciest around too

maybe you want to check out places like nghee hong, feffco, singapore handicraft etc before committing to the purchase

as for the laminate, how about delaying the vanity cabinet?

my kitchen cabinet laminate was not available too but i chose to wait

better to wait a while than compromise

wow thanks for the wonderful tip! i did not know that Just Anthony is expensive until i went there. but their furniture especially cabinets are so beautiful. would you know if the other shops you listed sell the same type of stuff? i seem to remember that nghee hong and feffco sell rosewood, not the sort of stuff that Just Anthony sells. please correct me if i am wrong. if you know of any other shops which sell similar range as Just Anthony but cheaper, let me know.

for the laminate, the 'out of stock' was a lame excuse, as the carpenter later admitted that the one i chose was above the allowed price range. if i wanted to stick to my selection, i have to top up a lot more.

the carpenter also discouraged me from using Made in China solid surface top. i was told these have a lot of problems in time to come. does anyone know how true this is?

[pinkpetter 0]

Personally I just think that VERY few things are not made in China... Though the brand could be Italian/German or whatever... but in the end the factory that actually manufactures the thing is still China... or worse... So it doesn't really make a diff to me. BUT if you want to play safe...

[ilmare612 0]

Hi Honeygal,

Your contractor did not spell out your limits when you select your laminate? Like for our case when we chose HB, Patrick did informed us of the range which we can select from our quotation. For example, he told us we can select any laminates which are below $5 (for example, but cannot remember the exact amount). But he was really nice to inform us that if we chose something that is $5+, he can also do it for us at no extra cost. It's a give & take suitation. Maybe if you were to go thru HB for carpentery you may not have that problem, you reckon?

I second Pinkpetter's comment on China made products. I think 80% of the stuff are made in China nowadays. Most of the Europe brands have their plants in China for Asia.

Edited February 8, 2009 by ilmare612

[yokine9a 1]

Maybe you should consider granite top from china instead? As it is natural stone, be it from china or not doesn't make any diff.

Just need to top up a bit for granite.

BTW, did you manage to bring down your reno cost by cutting or delaying any work?

Those checkboxes from just anthony are really nice, but price also very nice too... almost the same price as my IKEA bookshelf.

[applefreak 1]

i know nghee hong does carry those korean cabinets

not too sure if they carry these exact same chests

i think accent on accent (singapore handicraft) might have something like this :dunno:

[Honeygal 1]

How can we ensure that contracter uses the specific grade of paint we have selected, ie, that they do not shortchange us, eg if i selected Dulux All White but they actually use Pentalite White?

[yokine9a 1]

You are using HB painter? Shouldn't be an issue as I don't think HB will do such thing to shortchange you.

When HB did my reno, several tins of diff colour paint were purchased & stored in my hse after I made my selection. During painting days, I could see that those paints were utilised slowly. When I went to check my hse during weekends, the paint uncle would come empty handed cos all his tools (brushes, thinner, paints) were in my hse.

After the whole reno work is done, HB will leave some paint of each colour (in their original tin) for you... so that if you need to do further touch up, you can do so.

If you are not using HB painter, then to ensure the painter is using the specific grade of paint you selected, just tell him to buy those paint & keep in your hse... as long as you can see the correct paint tins in your hse, you should be quite safe.

[Honeygal 1]

You are using HB painter? Shouldn't be an issue as I don't think HB will do such thing to shortchange you.

When HB did my reno, several tins of diff colour paint were purchased & stored in my hse after I made my selection. During painting days, I could see that those paints were utilised slowly. When I went to check my hse during weekends, the paint uncle would come empty handed cos all his tools (brushes, thinner, paints) were in my hse.

After the whole reno work is done, HB will leave some paint of each colour (in their original tin) for you... so that if you need to do further touch up, you can do so.

If you are not using HB painter, then to ensure the painter is using the specific grade of paint you selected, just tell him to buy those paint & keep in your hse... as long as you can see the correct paint tins in your hse, you should be quite safe.

Thanks for your detailed explanation.

Am using HB painter. I just found it unusual when HB advised me to use Pentalite instead of Dulux range (which is priciest i was told) for ceiling.

[yokine9a 1]

Pentalite is easier to paint & cheaper too.

I realised that although HB ordered those Easy-Wash paints I wanted for my walls, he used cheapo white paint to paint my ceiling... merely 4 mths after I moved into the hse, the paint on my kitchen ceiling started to crack... I was so mad with HB on this matter.

You should insist HB to use the brand you have selected to paint the ceiling... our quotation has catered for better paint type, not those cheapo one.

[Honeygal 1]

Pentalite is easier to paint & cheaper too.

I realised that although HB ordered those Easy-Wash paints I wanted for my walls, he used cheapo white paint to paint my ceiling... merely 4 mths after I moved into the hse, the paint on my kitchen ceiling started to crack... I was so mad with HB on this matter.

You should insist HB to use the brand you have selected to paint the ceiling... our quotation has catered for better paint type, not those cheapo one.

Oh dear me! so sorry to hear that! it's important to choose high quality range for ceiling.

i selected white for ceiling and i know there is a danger contractor may simply substitute the range - afterall, there is a white for every range.

that's why i want to be very sure contractor use the Dulux All range i selected for ceiling. looks like i have to go down during the paint job to spot check on the paint tins!