我家就是 易财二世

[purecat 0]

Renovation Week 2 Continues

more photos

Master bedroom toilet . Mosaic tiles were up.

Kitchen wall tiles almost completed.

Balcony Wall are plastered. These will be spray with sediment flakes paint.

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Cam Whoring

Plastic corners for plastering of walls later.

Is this call shovel ? Tool for the sand & cement.

Tiles cutter ?

The lightings were just removed. Haiz previously can still visit at night to check on the progress, now cant.

Water storage for tiling / cleaning purposes.

[coldflamez 0]

progress seems to be too not bad. I had the same problem when they removed the lights in my house also. So i would try to rush home after work so that there is still some daylight when i reach. haha...

*edited for typo*

Edited April 20, 2010 by coldflamez

[purecat 0]

progress seems to be too bad. I had the same problem when they removed the lights in my house also. So i would try to rush home after work so that there is still some daylight when i reach. haha...

so long as they will fix the problem, i am not so worried.

yah thats what i try to do last thurs and friday... but caught up in the bad traffic jam... end up didnt get to see my flat until sat & sun.

[purecat 0]

013 Renovation Week 3 - 12th to 18th Apr

I did check out the renovation on early part of week 3 but as relying on lights outside the house, didnt take pictures then.

Progress appear to be slower than expected. Was told that 10 days was all that was required ? Then again, I made complaints and they need to remedy the hollow tiles. Husband saw 5 of them during one of the afternoon teabreak visit? Maybe after complaint , they were more careful, hence need more time ? ( self consoling )

Tiling Progress basis Sat Visit

Completed: Master BedRoom Toilet, Common Toilet, Kitchen Wall + Floor

Await Skirting : Master BedRoom & Dining Room

Not yet started : Living Room + Two Common Bedrooms.

We met up with Allan to discuss on what to do with the TV area. We were considering a gymsum board with pigeon holes to cover the ugly OpenSys thingy. Anyway the end decision is we will relocate the position, hence do away need to built a " fake " wall .

We also decided to install cornices ( though i understand this is no longer in trend ) but I am too used to concealed wiring on the ceiling... it is quite difficult for me to accept seeing the trunking . False ceiling will be ideal.. but unless I strike a big time 4D eh. Speaking of 4D,... hee hee quite lucky so far... genna a few times ibet ( flat unit no. & block no.) , still waiting for a big one of the exact no. to recover part of the reno investment leh.....( pray hard ....)

Allan told us that in week 4 it will be plastering of whole house + windows installation + balance tiles to complete.

Dining Room Flooring

Living Room Flooring - alot of " rubbish "

Kitchen completed

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Photos of toilets

Btw, we don't intend to do a shower screen unlike our current flat. It is too much of a hassle to clean the glass. And lack of cleaning means you will need to tolerate with " water stains" that wont go away even if you scrub hard.

So like my 1st woodlands 4room, we decided to go for shower curtain instead. I bought quite a nice one ( cost me like $ 36 + ) to match with the master bedroom colours.

Actually originally, I wanted blue mosiac for master bedroom, while husband wanted black. Thought we eventually agree with blue... but maybe didnt communicate properly with Alan, ended up master bedroom become " black mosiac ".

Still it ended ok since we like both tiles...and coincidently.. the "black" shower curtain ( stripes ) quite matches the colour theme. The blue isnt nice ( so lucky dont have to buy blue ) Not forgetting the acrylic liquid soap dispenser, toothbrush holder, soap holder , etc that i bought ( total spent like $100+ for two toilets and the kitchen liquid detergent dispenser) to match the theme.... but didnt take pictures for this, will just wait for house to complete then display these items to show to all of you.

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014 Some of the Purchased items

From Avanni, we bought a new dining table, a small TV console and my daughter's bedframe

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014 Some of the Purchased items

From Nova Furnishing, we bought a recliner full cow hide leather sofa to add on to our existing Zen Sofa which we will be bringing over. (ok not very Zen but we really like the sofa and we cant bear to part with our expensive Zen sofa we paid for a few years back. )

The colour from the photo is abit different due to the yellow lighting. Actual should be more walnut /brown in colour.

We also bought a new side table to match the " Zen " concept.

[purecat 0]

014 Some of the Purchased items

From Lion City Co ( this is the 3rd visit since our 3rd flat ) which we highly recommend, their prices are very competitive and can give good discounts if you can bargain well. More important, their recommended Ellane fan is currently 12 yrs old and same for the Hitachi Top Load Washing Machine is also 12 yrs old now.

Last two hoods, we got those flat kind and they were Electrolux then. I wanted Chimney this time round but Electrolux Chimney is too ex and will need about $1000+, so going for something really identical in design.

Brand : Ellane. The one we are buying looks like below , though the model no. is a newer one different to the model no. seen on the picture.

First flat we used " steel kind " of Cooker Hob ( forgot the brand ) but maintenace is horrible if you are a heavy cook ( imagine the " scratches" over wear and tear ). Hence 2nd flat onwards, we are sticking to Tempered Glass Surface ( current flat is Cornell )

This time we are getting Electrolux Cooker Hob. It is similar to the picture below , except it will have " 3 fire" ( < erm what is this call )

Heard from some that 3 fire is more auspicious. Means 升/胜/生活 rise and winning in life.

4 fire is not auspicious as it would means Sei Fou ( in cantonese means 死火), means deadfire, problems ?

Still it is for practical reasons that I need 3 fire lah. One for a big wok, one for a soup pot and the other for a smaller pot . That means I normally on 3 pots/wok at the same time to speed up my cooking.

[purecat 0]

014 Some of the Purchased items

From Sim Siang Choon, we bought SIM in house brand Carysil 1B1D Sink.

Originally I would prefer Sahara ( Sand) colour as it is the closest match to my solid surface and kitchen cabinet but unfortunately it is out of stock. No choice got to get grey (as white is too prone to dirt and grime that may be difficult to remove over heavy use ). And black will be too dark ?

We delibrate a long time on the kitchen tap. Wah the pricings are kinda crazy and big range... Ranging from $26+ to $200 + So we chose something at about $78

[purecat 0]

014 Some of the Purchased items

From Ikea, we bought our Curtain Rods , Shower Curtain Rod & a table lamp for daughter's room. There were alot more other purchases from Ikea but didnt take pictures for those .

Still we will have to visit Ikea again. There are certain things we wanted to buy but really need to space out due to cashflow planning reasons.

[mountainsmith 0]

hi there!!

we have the same layout, and coincidentally have the same neighbour problem. saw that you bought some curtain railings from ikea, u asking your contractor to fix it up for u?

[purecat 0]

hi there!!

we have the same layout, and coincidentally have the same neighbour problem. saw that you bought some curtain railings from ikea, u asking your contractor to fix it up for u?

oh realli ah, my next door neigbour should be alright.. greeted me when we bump into him twice.. is really the "ridiculous" neighbour downstairs ... and the " cleaniless" of the neighbour upstairs ( they actually have a pail outside their main door )

Latest update from Allan when I met him last saturday. The neighbour downstairs came into our flat twice again in week 3 ! Once when Allan was not around and the time when Allan was around, that neighbour is holding a camera ! Now the complaint is on wet cement without cover could possibly result in wet ceiling for this neighbour on his dining room .

I am thinking what the heck... HDB ceiling is that bad ah ??? or the Cement is that wet ? I really think this guy is trying to convinced Allan to do free painting for his ceiling ! Previously Allan only agreed to do it FOC for a bit of the kitchen ceiling and now Dining room ! just ridiculous.

Kaoz... I am really mad to hear about this. The more maddening part is how can he come into the flat without the owner's presence !Workers initially thought he is the owner hence dare not stop him ! Anyway I already told Allan to tell his contractors to call him ( and then me ) if this guy comes again, I will make a police report !

In fact I visited the police station while updating IC to check if neighbours can enter premises without owner's permission . Police say if the same neighbour is giving me problem constantly, they can help pay a visit to talk to this neighbour. So happy to hear this !

Yes on Ikea Curtain Rods, I am asking Allan to fix it. Did remind him to insert in Quote as FOC... but he didnt do it... Hope he wont last min charges me !

Edited April 20, 2010 by purecat

[purecat 0]

015 Brand Loyalty

Sharing Photos of our Loyal "Servant" . Both 12 yrs old this year and still going strong !

Fisher & Paykel Fridge that we bought in 1998

Hitachi Washing Machine - Manual "Twisting" Buttons Kind that we bought in 1998

These days electrical items dont last. Then again maybe the ones that last are brands that are out of business ? I recall there is a brand NEC and while I was young, we have a TV in that brand that never broke down but we at the end changes it for something newer. Is there still NEC brand around ? And I recall vaguely the video recorder then was Akai ! Also not around now ?

While in Woodlands flat we bought a very huge 52inch TV ( if didnt remember wrongly ) , cost around $5000 +then. But that broke down within the 6 yrs at least twice or more so after we shifted to JE, we went for Hitachi ( Forget the size but definitely smaller) but also broke down within like 4 yrs or so. Anyway the latest member is a Sony Bravia only 2 yrs old thereabout. Chances is we will still get a Sony ( targeting 40inch ) as parents in law's Sony lasted about 10 yrs ?? The existing living room Flat Screen we will shift to bedroom.

Aircon wise we are supporting Sanyo. The strange phenomenen is we noticed majority of our relatives including parents, we are loyal supporters for Sanyo. Our Woodlands flat aircon at 6 yrs ( at time of sale ) was still very cold. Recalled we only did one chemical wash and normal maintenance ( on our own ). Existing Flat also coming to 6 yrs this yr, also the same ( just one external service recently which was gas top up )

The feedback from most of the aircon suppliers was a 5 yrs lifespan for an aircon. So we are consider very lucky ! Cant imagine spending so much that only last 5 yrs before you see alot of breaking down problems.

Many years back I worked for Electric City ( finance dept ) which was sold to Harvey Norman, hence I am sharing this tip from what I heard from the salesmen back then.

Most aircon are about the same, the most reliable (老字号)basis feedback are always : Daikin, Carrier , Sanyo and last time there was a brand call Mc Quay ( is this still around? )

And the one that the salesman would tell the customers are very good and popular ( though may not be the truth ) is the one that provide the most commission.

Surveying recent market, I would think the best payers on Commission is currently Toshiba and Mitsubishi. ( Anyone in this line to firm this myth ? ) Mitsubishi's Marketing Strategy is really agressive but are they realli good ? ( only time will tell ?)

While it is true that inverters help conserve energy, we are still getting Non-inverter aircon. This is relying on belief that we will only use 2 bedroom out of the System 3 most of the time ( and upon at night ). Hence we feel that a non-inverter should work ok. Current utilities bill for 4room is around $ 150 to $170. And our bedrooms are about the same size when compared to upcoming 5 room. So will validate this a few months after shifting in.

This matches what Allan told us as well. If you dont switch on ALL units of the aircon, is alright to have a non-inverter. Price is about $1200+ difference. Imagine if 5 yrs lifespan, then avg savings is about $20 ( $ 1200/ (12X5)). I am thinking can we actually save $20/ mth of utilities by switching to inverter ? Probably not since we will ON aircon at a low temp ( unlikely the recommended 25 degree)

Hence it will still be a Sanyo. And fingers crossed it can last upto 10yrs maybe ?

Check out this website also for the no. of green ticks & expected savings, remember to divide by the no. of system unit .

http://els.nea.gov.sg/mels/aircon.asp

[ngunadi 2]

Yes on Ikea Curtain Rods, I am asking Allan to fix it. Did remind him to insert in Quote as FOC... but he didnt do it... Hope he wont last min charges me !

This one is very simple. As long as you have the drill, you can do it yourself also ... maybe that's why he didn't bother to put in the quote.