A Meeting Of East And West In Tampines.

[RimBlock 0]

So.....

Things are going great, on budget (or at least not run out of cash) and progress seems to be on track when my BiL calls. He has been searching around and the bottom line is that he also wants to get a projector and has found a place with a good price. We also get a little discount for buying two together.

Oh dear. This was now for phase two but it would be so much easier to put in now with all the cables etc. Unfortunately my BiL is pretty unwell so has not been able to go down to take a look to make sure the model looks good to him. He saw the Optima HD20 but didn't like the picture. After a bit of discussion he agreed for me to go and test and to buy for both of us if I thought the picture looked good.

Saturday afternoon I took my older son to Adelphi and went to view the projector. Bottom line is that it was very nice so we bought the two. We got the Epsom 3500 which came in at S$2,300 each. Due to the distance from my amp to the projector on the back wall (ceiling mounting will have problems from the ceiling fan and vibration) I need a long cable. HDMI is spec'd to 15mtrs max and we tested two cables. One was Taiwan made cheap at S$200. It managed the 16mtrs I would need but I was warned that at over spec length it may have issues later on. We also tried the 16mtr QED cable which was S$650 and to my surprise the QED cable was noticeably better, well as you would expect for over 3 times the price. I can best describe it as the difference between an old HD ready tv and a 1080p LED tv now. The colour was much nicer and the picture was much sharper. Bottom line is that I bought the more expensive one . What with a pull down 100" screen and a rear mounting bracket mine came in at S$3,400. I only took my BiLs one home along with my cable as the rest would be delivered free on Wednesday when they are doing the electrical work.

My BiL was very happy with the new projector and we tested the cables. His cheap 3mtr HDMI cable was just as good as the very expensive 16mtr one. So why get the 16mtr one....... because it manages the same quality over 16mtrs and the cheap one would most likely fail.

Progress photos coming later today.

RB

[RimBlock 0]

Some progress pictures...

Living room (looking towards kitchen and dining room).

Kitchen with bigger entrance way.

Some kitchen tiles up

Some more of the kitchen.

[RimBlock 0]

New plaster at the top of the stairs.

MBR Shower room wall tiles up.

More details of wall tiles (white patch on the feature tiles is the cameras flash).

One of the bedrooms has a leek in the ceiling from the blocks roof. We were told by the agents and previous owners that this was fixed and had the town council around to check but they need a 24hour period with no rain in order to fix the roof. After the room was plastered the gentleman from the TC came again to verify there was a leak (before plastering could not tell it is had been fixed) and is trying to get it fixed ASAP but is reliant on the weather.

Tiles and plaster due to finish by Wednesday although can run to Thursday without affecting the schedule.

RB

[RimBlock 0]

So on to the electrics and network cabling...

The electrician could not stop laughing when I told him the specs for laying Cat6 cable.

Only two main golden rules;

1. No bends greater than a 20 cent coins outer edge.

2. Shielded cables or 6" away from power cables to avoid interference.

The problem is that if you do not have false ceilings everywhere it is very hard to minimise bends and have a 6" gap between power and network cables without it looking very ugly.

Shielded cabling is up to 4 times more expensive for FTP (foil shielded twisted pair) and more for STP (shielded twisted pair). Both these types of cabling need to be terminated in shielded sockets and plugs to retain the protection of the shielding. We have come to an agreement. We will run, much as Mae has, using separate trunking but along with the power lines although minimising where possible. We will be using 1.5" trunking only for the network cables and have a max of 4 cables per trunking (I have 12 cables to run). The electrician has finally stopped laughing now although I expect he is laughing secretly at home while he rewrites his quotation for me sad.gif.

I have also spec'd for 4 speaker cables for the surround sound system and a long HDMI cable for the projector.

With the electrical work due to start tomorrow I am now a little concerned the revised quote has still not been received. I will be firm on making sure that the quote is received before work starts and if I am not happy with it then the work will not start. If it pushes back the completion deadline then 'so be it' but I am not going to be put in a position where I feel I have to accept regardless due to the renovation schedule.

I have sent an SMS to Henry to this affect.

RB

[january 0]

So on to the electrics and network cabling...

The electrician could not stop laughing when I told him the specs for laying Cat6 cable.

Only two main golden rules;

1. No bends greater than a 20 cent coins outer edge.

2. Shielded cables or 6" away from power cables to avoid interference.

Make sure you write this down on the contract. Just in case any dispute arises.

Also, make sure the electrician understands what you are talking about. My experience is that they just nod and say yes but when it comes to the actual installation they'll just do it their way. So make sure to check, point out that it's on the contract, and get them to re-do if it's not up to your standards.

It's the small things that count.

[RimBlock 0]

Make sure you write this down on the contract. Just in case any dispute arises.

Also, make sure the electrician understands what you are talking about. My experience is that they just nod and say yes but when it comes to the actual installation they'll just do it their way. So make sure to check, point out that it's on the contract, and get them to re-do if it's not up to your standards.

It's the small things that count.

Well we are all sorted there. The electricians quote came in at 50% more than originally quoted. We have dropped them doing the networking and the speaker cable / HDMI cable for the projector and I will for those. All he needs to do is but the trunking back and put the current wires back in to it. There are also a couple of extra plugs and lights but that is about it.

I will be doing the networking myself as originally planned.

RB

[csingeu 0]

Well we are all sorted there. The electricians quote came in at 50% more than originally quoted. We have dropped them doing the networking and the speaker cable / HDMI cable for the projector and I will for those. All he needs to do is but the trunking back and put the current wires back in to it. There are also a couple of extra plugs and lights but that is about it.

I will be doing the networking myself as originally planned.

RB

RimBlock,

can I visit your place, when you're done with your network and speaker cabling?

I'm also looking at doing up LAN cables for my bedrooms too (but not so many pts) and also speaker and HDMI cables for projector.

[vratenza 0]

Well we are all sorted there. The electricians quote came in at 50% more than originally quoted. We have dropped them doing the networking and the speaker cable / HDMI cable for the projector and I will for those. All he needs to do is but the trunking back and put the current wires back in to it. There are also a couple of extra plugs and lights but that is about it.

I will be doing the networking myself as originally planned.

RB

98% of the electrical contractors I have come across know nuts about networking...not to mention knowing how to terminate a RJ45 keystone/faceplate.

In the end, I just got them to lay the cables (self-supplied belden cat 6 UTP) concealed while I am terminating them myself once the cabinetry and painting is done. Already got the punchdown tool (really wonder why a punchdown tool with such simple mechanic can cost $90.... )and went through dozens of youtube "how to punchdown cat 6 keystone/patch panel" multiple times

Lesson to share: I bought a set of cat 6 Belden keystone when I bought the 305m reel of Belden cat 6 cables...only to find out that the Legrand MALIA series of CAT 6 double-jack faceplate comes with their own keystones already.....wasted the Belden keystones at $7-8/pc...not cheap...hopefully can sell them off once I am done with the renovation and confirmed that I do not need them.

[RimBlock 0]

RimBlock,

can I visit your place, when you're done with your network and speaker cabling?

I'm also looking at doing up LAN cables for my bedrooms too (but not so many pts) and also speaker and HDMI cables for projector.

I am sure something can be arranged. You could also visit while I am doing it if you would like. Let me know and we can work out some timings. Will need to be around the next week though as they will be painting etc after that. I will be there quite late tonight as I am expecting my projector delivery around 8pm.

98% of the electrical contractors I have come across know nuts about networking...not to mention knowing how to terminate a RJ45 keystone/faceplate.

Yeah but to be fair to them, it is only a recent requirement and it is not their field of expertise. The problem is when they try to give the impression that it is. Get an expert if you want it done properly but be prepared to pay accordingly. Get an electrician if you just want the cables and are not so concerned about if they match the 'standards'.

In the end, I just got them to lay the cables (self-supplied belden cat 6 UTP) concealed while I am terminating them myself once the cabinetry and painting is done. Already got the punchdown tool (really wonder why a punchdown tool with such simple mechanic can cost $90.... )and went through dozens of youtube "how to punchdown cat 6 keystone/patch panel" multiple times

Yep, I will be doing the same but will be laying the cable myself. I have my punchdown tool I brought from the UK with me. Id be shocked if it was the equivelent of S$90 though. EBay is pretty good for cheap network tools but you do get what you pay for. My cheap crimp tool bought in the uk now doesn't crimp correctly and last week the crimp form snapped off as it was only plastic. I bought a new one from SimLim. We will see how that goes. I also bought a cable tester which seems not to work. I need to take that back. Both were china brand but not so cheap. The cable tester feels very low quality like a science project. I may get an expensive one from Amazon or the like. Really in two minds as I don't want to throw away money but it can make life much easier when troubleshooting.

Lesson to share: I bought a set of cat 6 Belden keystone when I bought the 305m reel of Belden cat 6 cables...only to find out that the Legrand MALIA series of CAT 6 double-jack faceplate comes with their own keystones already.....wasted the Belden keystones at $7-8/pc...not cheap...hopefully can sell them off once I am done with the renovation and confirmed that I do not need them.

The stuff I have is all 3M and good quality. As is the way sometimes now, the keystones are punchless. There is a back piece and a lock so when the lock is pushed in to place it pushed the wires into the connectors. Here they are.

My lesson was from my very first cat5 install many years ago. Sharp bends were not an issue as I went under the floor boards (back in the UK) but had to drill holes through the beams. I was not very careful pulling the cables through and overstretched them and at one point knotted them so there was a rats nest of cables between two joists that I ended up leaving. Needless to say the cables ran sort of ok for a while and then started failing. I have learnt that lesson. Slow and steady pull with medium tension. I also make sure my server to patch panel cables are not sharply bent or overpulled at all and am replacing the supplied ones with self made cables.

For the electrical cable runs, most of mine are already in cornices which means I will have 1"->2" distance by default as I will lay trunking outside of the cornices.

I am still looking for decent reasonably prices trunking and need to measure out the runs to know how much I need. Homefix only go up to 0.5"x1". I have seen some intended for data cables with 'soft' bends etc but it is bog like you would have in a science lab.

RS spares (a well known distribute in the UK) have some options but are not the cheapest around and some has to be imported from the UK.

I am still sourcing but I will, for now, 'hang' the cables via Velcro ties (Velcro is very expensive in Homefix, I got some plant fastening Velcro from them as it was significantly cheaper) and concrete nails. I can then get the trunking, install and slot the cables in to it. I have 600mtrs of cable so plenty to allow for a few issues .

RB

[RimBlock 0]

Progress...

Most of the electrical work is done. I had to 'suggest' that some of the trunking followed the wall lines rather than coming a foot away from the wall straight down but that was tided up quite quickly.

We have decided on the position of our stairs light. It is a 3 daisy ball hanging light so we will have it in the square void area by the side of the stairs so we can have one high light, one stairs hight lamp and one lower level lamp. This will work if we get enough cable for those heights .

I have managed to get most of my HDMI cable run through the lighting box. It was a frustrating job and one of my hands which was used up through the light fittings to pull the cables along now has lots of times scratches on it. I now just have to make the final hole for the cable to come out of by the wall and then ease the cable along so the majority of spare cable is at the TV end of the room and make sure the cable is away from the lights so it is not affected by the heat generated when they are turned on.

Once that is finished, I will have to do the same again 4 times for the speaker cables . I need to get some sturdy wire like coat hanger wire as it will make things much easier from light point to light point in the light box. Using it for the speaker cable should be fine but it needs to be hands on for the HDMI cable as it needs to be 'looked after' and due to its cost.

I have just requested a quote for the lan trunking. I am estimating 4 mtrs (0.5"x2"), 26 mtrs (0.5"x1.5") and 32 mtrs (0.5"x1"). I need to do the wiring over the weekend as the painters start next week.

The plumbers are in Friday and we should be in pretty good shape for moving in on Friday the following week (21st Jan). The glass will not be complete and neither will the granite worktop due to Chinese New Year so we will have to wait until after that for those pieces. The sink needs to be plummed in regardless. It is an undermount sink so not too bad but the cabinets will need to have the tops covered by plastic to protect the wooden inners from water until the worktop can be fitted.

One more thing I have found out that I am a little unhappy with is that the consumer unit (electrical distribution box) with the circuit breakers in by the front door is not going to be replaced. The insides are fine but the plastic casing has bent and bowed and gone an ugly yellow colour. I have asked for a quote to get it replaced. I am expecting a quote of around S$500 but I am hoping they can just change the plastic casing for a lot less. I am not hoping too much though .

I still need to get two new downlights for the upstairs corridor to the common toilet. The ones there currently are rusty and the false ceiling will be taken down and remade after the water tank is delivered as the false ceiling will hide the tank with an access hatch. The lights in the balcony area and the living room light box also look like they could do with replacing. That will have to be round two though along with the windows as I have noticed some very rusty screws (why do people use steel screws when they know they will go rusty ... trying to save money so hard, product dangerous in short time for the sake of a few dollars).

I will hopefully be doing the networking over this weekend, family commitments permitting. Anyone who wants to pop over and see or even help is welcome. Please PM me for details and supply a mobile number so I can let you know when I am there.

I have a half day tomorrow for overseeing the aircon install and will take some update pictures then.

RB

[RimBlock 0]

Wahh, so long and no photos.

So here are a few (more to come tomorrow when I visit again).

MBR Shower room

MBR Shower

When Gain City came and installed the aircon there was nothing I could complain about. Good work, trunking is ok given the difficulties with beams in the way in the MBR doorway, but...... they decided to install using a bracket which puts the aircon compressor with its back to the MBR window.

When I saw it I didn't like it and I am fairly flexible but I knew my wife would hate it. I tole them it was no good and they told me lots of reasons why it was better this way (warm air blowing out being the main one) to which I said, "great but it is blocking the view from the window !!!". The main installer was not so good in English and the other installers had more or less no ability with English so communication was strained. He asked to call my wife to explain and I said not to bother.... I later found out he called her anyway. Well we spoke to the sales man and after lots of discussion they agreed to change the bracket so the back of the aircon is against the side wall. We are now much happier. I will take a snap tomorrow if I can.

[RimBlock 0]

and....

This is the fan we took down.

The black on the fan blade tops is not from our renovation work......

On Sunday, January popped down for a look around and a chat which was nice. Unfortunately the plumber who was asked to put a few holes in for me missed two of them and it just so happened one was required for the upstairs cable run and the other was for the down stairs cable run which meant I could not lay the cables. I spent most the weekend laying trunking.

The guys came today to start on the laminated flooring. They had finished most of the upstairs and were well on their way with the downstairs by the time I left. My wife and MiL ordered some doors for the bedrooms and a new front door and gate. Unfortunately when questioned, my wife cannot remember the colour of the doors for the bedrooms. We have now decided to blend the door frames with the room colours. The doors are solid wood but with plain flat faces, so like veneer doors but without the veneer variety of pattens.

It is all go with moving day coming (this Friday).

We have had a discussion with Henry and he has told us what will be done and what will not.

The kitchen worktop will be after CNY.

The carpentry install will be on Saturday

The Vanity worktops will be around Tues next week and the final plumbing will be around Thursday next week.

The glass work will also be in on Saturday (this was to be only after CNY originally).

Considering this is a 6 week reno in 4 weeks we are not too unhappy.

I will try and get some more pics tomorrow after work as I am sure we all love to see the pictures, I know I do with other people blogs...

RB

[csingeu 0]

and....

This is the fan we took down.

The black on the fan blade tops is not from our renovation work......

On Sunday, January popped down for a look around and a chat which was nice. Unfortunately the plumber who was asked to put a few holes in for me missed two of them and it just so happened one was required for the upstairs cable run and the other was for the down stairs cable run which meant I could not lay the cables. I spent most the weekend laying trunking.

The guys came today to start on the laminated flooring. They had finished most of the upstairs and were well on their way with the downstairs by the time I left. My wife and MiL ordered some doors for the bedrooms and a new front door and gate. Unfortunately when questioned, my wife cannot remember the colour of the doors for the bedrooms. We have now decided to blend the door frames with the room colours. The doors are solid wood but with plain flat faces, so like veneer doors but without the veneer variety of pattens.

It is all go with moving day coming (this Friday).

We have had a discussion with Henry and he has told us what will be done and what will not.

The kitchen worktop will be after CNY.

The carpentry install will be on Saturday

The Vanity worktops will be around Tues next week and the final plumbing will be around Thursday next week.

The glass work will also be in on Saturday (this was to be only after CNY originally).

Considering this is a 6 week reno in 4 weeks we are not too unhappy.

I will try and get some more pics tomorrow after work as I am sure we all love to see the pictures, I know I do with other people blogs...

RB

Hey RimBlock!

I'm still keen to visit your renovation-in-progress.

Will there be anyone else visiting this weekend? Can I make a trip down this weekend?

Thanks!

[May_dream1 14]

4 weeks for Reno that needed 6 weeks?? Very good!! I hope mine will finish earlier too cos I really need to move in soon.

Can't wait to see all pix from your newly renovated place.

[RimBlock 0]

Hey RimBlock!

I'm still keen to visit your renovation-in-progress.

Will there be anyone else visiting this weekend? Can I make a trip down this weekend?

Thanks!

This weekend is move in time although not yet complete. We have to move out of our place by the 22nd. Any time after today may be possible for a visit as I will be taking the next 3 days off. If you want to come around for a look then just PM me and I will pass on the details.

4 weeks for Reno that needed 6 weeks?? Very good!! I hope mine will finish earlier too cos I really need to move in soon.

Can't wait to see all pix from your newly renovated place.

Hopefully I will get some tonight or tomorrow. Tomorrow may be better as it will be light when I am there. Our reno is well managed so most of the work will be done although some will be completed in the first week we are living there. The biggest inconvenience will be the lack of sinks upstairs until the vanity and worktops are installed so we will have to use the shower and small sink downstairs for a few days.

As the plumber missed drilling two fundamental holes needed for my wiring, I have now got a larger drill bit but as it is a SDS bit I need either a new chuck for my drill (the front bit which holds the drill bit) or a new drill. I need to check the balance but hopefully it will be a new drill .

If I can drill the holes big enough tomorrow I can start laying the cables then and Thursday. Fingers crossed.....

RB