Retrospectrum Meets Modernisation!

[aubrey 0]

uncle very nice hor...he usually do not want us to do things that looks nice but not practical and will offer alternatives and help us save some bucks. So i also didn't really dare ask for freebies

ya he does advice on what to do. he said we shld do cornice to hide wiring but i didnt want it. do u all have cornices?? i thought it looked ugly.

[yokine9a 1]

ya he does advice on what to do. he said we shld do cornice to hide wiring but i didnt want it. do u all have cornices?? i thought it looked ugly.

I didn't do cornice in my hse... didn't want to spend the extra $$ for it... also, if I want to run more electrical points or re-wire existing points next time, got to hack away the cornice... prefer to have flexibility.

I also didn't do plastering... have never lived in a house with plastering, so don't see the need to do so... the house I stayed in Perth didn't even do painting work, I could count the no. of bricks on each wall everyday

[aubrey 0]

yokine9a

ya i think cornice looks horrid but ah soon said since we just rewired, shld not have any issues with the wiring so he suggested to do cornice to hide the wiring. but i still think its ugly!!! let me see his final quote then decide to do or not.

i think plastering will look nice! smooth all the walls. prefer to have it and its the best time to do it since we are doing reno now. always admired ppl with houses that have nice smooth walls.

[pinkpetter 0]

the house had cornices when we bought it. It's quite a simple design so I'm ok with it. Cornices come in many different designs, some big some small.. so you can take a look at the designs first.

[mrspiglet 2]

heh i have a feeling i will keep playing with it too! btw, your tv console, are they solid wood or do u have any glass in front of them? just asking more onto design-wise cos i know glass u can use remote. if plain wood then must open before u can use.

it was just pure solid wood, with a glass top on the surface. That's for living rm console. Somehow i would prefer something reflective like pinkpetter's from S&C, some reflective metallic surfaces for the drawings. But then my hub says its nice. So its nice ba? The drawers were more for keeping stuff not hiding the consoles.

My MBR TV console is a cabinet cum TV storage. So the TV is hidden inside the cabinet when i'm not using it. Also pure wood.

[Michele 0]

yup why not! do share how his works turns out to be cos ard the forum, not much uses DeFong so i am keen to see. it can act as a reference also for others looking for a suitable ID for their works.

where is your new place and how many rooms is it? hope u enjoy the bits n pieces of reno like picking tiles, laminates etc. and ya here's hoping the tiles turn out ok and hopefully nice and lasting to look at. aiyo 5 years later? dunno if i am still gonna be up for the re-covering.

have a nice reno journey michele!

Hi Aubrey,

Mine is 3NG - simple style

Actually, the owner allowed us to move in after the 1st appointment --> we have time to inspect the flat and book furniture - almost done

For hood,hob, sink, tap - I bought the Cuizino/ Franke package that Smallboy recommended on his blog - $700 for all!!!

We've already chosen laminate + paint + solid surface right after signing contract. It's fast bcoz I keep an idea of neutral theme in my mind

This Sat, we will choose tiles.

So, we can start reno right after 2nd appointment! I wish ... no trouble for my reno!

Cheers,

Michele

Edited April 16, 2009 by Michele

[aubrey 0]

pinkpetter

ya must see what uncle has to offer! im quite excited and happy actually, he is quite on the ball with me leh!! today as promised, he is coming down with completed english quote for me to have a look and to discuss the remainder items! so happy! I hope all smooth smooth. heh. will update later after the discussion with him to see whats to be done.

mrspiglet

do you mean drawings or drawers? a little confused.. i see. cos initially some ideas i got was to created a tv console with glass panels in front so i can put things like a dvd player in and i can still use my remote to control.if i want it just plain wood then i have to put the player on top of it, under the tv. just wanted to get some opinions of who has done what to see which is the best or just pros/cons.

Michele

ya that offer sounds so good. but not sure if the cuizino brand is lasting. was thinking of getting tecno or rinnai or something. the franke sink and tap sure sounds good tho!

so are u keeping jeremy busy? heh. he didnt follow up with me but i need to let him know that i am signing with uncle..

[Rasp 0]

Hi Aubrey,

Are you going to stay in during the reno? We have already moved in to our place but yet to reno. So we are considering what's our next step, whether to stay-in / rent a room first.

I spoken to 1 ID previously (afew moons ago). And he told me that if we are staying in during the reno, the cost is higher as more troublesome for them to do up the flat. As this is the only ID that we sat down and had a proper discussion, we don't know if this is the market practise.

How was your experience with your ID?

[mrspiglet 2]

mrspiglet

do you mean drawings or drawers? a little confused.. i see. cos initially some ideas i got was to created a tv console with glass panels in front so i can put things like a dvd player in and i can still use my remote to control.if i want it just plain wood then i have to put the player on top of it, under the tv. just wanted to get some opinions of who has done what to see which is the best or just pros/cons.

i mean the drawers. My 6ft console comes w 2 'layer', 1 is opened and the other is with 3 drawers. i wished i had opted for glass or rmetallic laminates when they did the console. glass panel still can use remote control w/o opening the panel? I think it also depends on the controller u using ba? E.g, some of my controllers point anywhere also can control, while some must point directly at the appliances.

[aubrey 0]

well we have spoken to a neighbour who lives alone. he's okay with us renting a room frm him. but mom is still considering to stay in. im gonna talk her out of it at least during the hacking part cos its super dirty and dusty. even if we were to stay in, we cant shower nor use the toilet when they are working on it. so i have to tell her to move out first.

however, it doesnt just end there. we stayed there for 23 years, we have a lot of stuff. esp her two altars which we can move it out so what happens is we have to shift all things into 1 room, have uncle soon plan how to hack and etc, then when 1 area is completed, move it out of the room to work on it. he has quite frankly told us that it will cost more than the avg reno simply for the fact that its more work having to shift things ard and it will take a longer time and he will need to pay his workers accordingly for that. which i can totally understand. he did say that we can stay in the house during reno but we still need to go elsewhere to shower. this will help us save on renting a room.

80% of IDs say move out better. i can understand too cos they dont wanna be held responsible for damages. they will have to replace so instead of earning, they lose. but the other 20% says can be done thru proper planning, just that cost will be higher. ah soon was the one who say, ya can stay, just stay la i do everything nice nice for u. so shuang kuai again.

either way, its either u pay rent or u pay for the delay in production due to u staying there. so ya, u still pay lor!! hope this helps u to decide!

[Michele 0]

ya that offer sounds so good. but not sure if the cuizino brand is lasting. was thinking of getting tecno or rinnai or something. the franke sink and tap sure sounds good tho!

so are u keeping jeremy busy? heh. he didnt follow up with me but i need to let him know that i am signing with uncle..

I used Rinnai before - very good! Now I try Cuizino due to the good deal . It's also one of well-known brand, as my friends' comments - it's good so far.

Hey, I dont make Jeremy busy ... just follow scheduled appointment ... and I only renovate kitchen + plastering and painting.

Hopefully he can finish the reno soon bcoz I & hubby will stay there during the reno ...

[familyof4 0]

it's really not easy to stay in the house if the hacking starts...the dust and mess...not good for the respiratory system too.

[pinkpetter 0]

can I say something? mmm Uncle completed my reno in 30 days... we moved in on the 31st day. At that point of time we still have some minor stuff not done and some rectifications.... So Uncle planned 4 trips to come and do.

Every single time.. he say it wouldn't be too dirty, it's quite obvious that his standard of dirty is a little different from ours... We had to clean and mop so many times after they leave.. and often they leave after 8pm. We clean and mop until 11plus then everyone shower and my mom wash clothes and I help her until 1am.. then next morning have to go to work early... Both my mom and I cried ( as in really cry). Both of us were so tired then and it was so suffering.

And no matter how much we cleaned, we still felt that it was dirty and couldn't sleep properly every night. Even when we closed all the bedroom doors to let them do the work outside... somehow the rooms felt very dirty, the beds felt dirty and my skin (sensitive) suffered so much I had to go to the doctor to take jabs cos I was breaking out in rashes every night. I had pimples too. sigh.

If possible.. really.. move out is a better option.

[lawry 3]

I've seen my place during the major bombing days, the carpentry in progress days, and the "small work" days.

During major bombing, STAY OUT, cement, dust, sand, fumes ....

During carpentry in progress, AVOID, silicon, glue, wood dust.

(but I had to stay around, else anyhow do),

Small work, I don't know why, even when they are just here for a look, there's always a layer of powdery stuff in the house after they leave. I'll have to mop after they leave and I'll do major cleaning everytime after any major rectification.

If possible, please find alternative accommodation while renovation ongoing.

pinkpetter I'm very sensitive to all dust also, will trigger an allergic reaction if come in contact, itchy skin, runny nose, watery eyes. So the house must be kept decently clean all the time.

[aubrey 0]

UPDATE!

just met with uncle soon, was supposed to meet at 7plus but he was held up so only met at 10+pm. poor uncle still haven't eaten. whipped out another revised quote for us in his curly chinese writing and talked about the details of the reno of my house. i am trying to draw up a simple floor plan/mock up of how i envision my house to be. let see if i can. now busy drawing..

Edited April 16, 2009 by aubrey