Extreme Makeover @ Pandan Gardens

[csingeu 0]

It is definitely useful as my children used all kinds of equipment / devices which comes with 2-Pin only. Even hair dryers also comes with 2-pin....

I asked the electrician to source for me. I paid additional $16 for each double sockets, and $9 for each single socket.

It is cheaper than I got from Sheng Shiong which was dismantled, which I paid about $20 for each single socket.

Here is the picture of the old one we installed..

so...

$9 for single socket...

$25 for double dockets...

hmmm....

I must remember to ask my electrician next time.

[mae29 2]

so...

$9 for single socket...

$25 for double dockets...

hmmm....

I must remember to ask my electrician next time.

For double socket, the electrician charged me $16 extra. I believe he had already offset the cost of normal wall socket.

[mae29 2]

Progress photographs:

When I went up yesterday during my lunchtime, saw that aircon installation was already completed. When they called me on Monday afternoon, I have asked them not to deliver as painting is still in progress. Yet, it was installed!! Sighzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Last evening, when the painters left, I conducted a detailed check and found the FCU at Bedroom 3 not properly flushed with the wall, and lower left portion was protruding. I called the installer and this is our dialogue:

Me: Joey, let me know when are you coming to collect the cheque for balance money, ok.

Joey: I thought of calling you 2 or 3 days later.

Me: Oh, you can ask your man come to collect the cheque from me, but I need to check what's wrong with the FCU at the bedroom facing the dining area.

Joey: Which one, which Room?

Me: Bedroom 3 lor, the smallest room. I see not aligned leh, left lower postion is protruding out.

Joey: There is outlet pipe connection at that FCU, the left side of it. So, you see non-alignment.

Me: Huh, What? How come only this FCU has outpipe ? I don't see others got problem leh?? The rest of FCUs sui sui, good alignment, no problem.

Joey: Ya, it is because of the aircon pipe coming out from that left side of FCU for that unit.

Me: I don't think so, you have to get your man to come & check for me.

Joey: OK, I send my man to check.

I climbed on top of a bench and took a close-up picture of the mentioned FCU:

The compressor outside the windows of MBR.

Other than the abovementioned issue, the rest of installation seems acceptable, but yet to test run the units.

Hi, there

Is there any particular / important things which I need to take note when I test run the aircon systems?

Edited January 12, 2011 by mae29

[RimBlock 0]

Trunking is the cheapest item on the list of items for laying the cable...so it should not be a problem or a hassle to obtain.

Anyway, it will be good to see your DIY cable laying effort once u are at it cos so far I have never seen any Renotalker actually laying the CAT 6 cables to spec..ie. observing minimum distance from electrical wires in a separate run of trunking

I can do with some practical examples for my next reno

When are u laying your network?

I'm interested to visit and see how it's done too!

Sure, I will be taking a look today (half day off from work) and moving the cable etc over. Maintaining the 6"->12" will be on best efforts but I think we worked out a route with minimal electrical cable runs.

Anyway.... Not wanting to hijack Maes' thread, sorry Mae, I will update more on this in my own.

The aircon looks good Mae but see what you mean about the alignment.

I have a Mit Heavy industries. The drainage tray has a hole at each end so the drainage pipe can be mounted on either side. Not sure why other models would not have this. You could usually tell if you take the front facia off which I found quite easy on mine (two hidden screws then it unclips). Maybe take note when the installer comes round or have your son around to take note if possible. Once you know how to take the faceplate off you can get a diy aircon cleaning kit from somewhere like Homefix and do the standard quarterly cleaning yourself. We still get someone in every year for a chemical clean but do the standard clean without needing to arrange for someone to visit. It really is not difficult.

RB

[donal5 0]

Hi mae29, I like your socket plug, this is very useful, especially for my wife. I noticed quite a few forumers here install network cable. Just curious, wont wireless router solve this problem, instead of putting LAN cable connection to each room?

[RimBlock 0]

Hi mae29, I like your socket plug, this is very useful, especially for my wife. I noticed quite a few forumers here install network cable. Just curious, wont wireless router solve this problem, instead of putting LAN cable connection to each room?

Hi Donal,

I put up a post in my blog explaining the differences. Please feel free to take a look (someone else also asked the same question as you )

One other thing I missed from that post;

Each cable can run (if properly installed) at its max speed. The speed quoted by wireless is shared between all machines connecting.

eg.

A 54Mbps wireless connection with two people connecting will have the bandwidth shared between both people so they could be fighting each other if they need more than is available.

A 100Mbit lan connection will be 100MBit. Only two devices can be connected via one cable (i.e. a router and a pc). A router or switch is usually rated at more than the speed of the individual links enabling each link to achieve their max speeds (depending ont he router / switch backbone or internal speeds). Of course if many machines are routing information through a single cable, they will still be fighting for bandwidth

i.e. Four PCs connect to a switch which also connects to the internet. Each PC can get max speed to the switch but have to share the speed to the internet.

So, imagine the wireless speed as one cable that needs to be shared by all devices connecting.

RB

[sgwong 0]

Mind to share which ID firm you using? Thanks

[Reiki 0]

Hi, there

Is there any particular / important things which I need to take note when I test run the aircon systems?

Hi Mae,

First, I must say that I enjoy reading your reno updates. There's a sense of love and joy being put into this whole reno process. Haha, and then suddenly, my heart kinda shadowed with emotion when I read your postings on January 10:

In 1999, I overlaid the floor tiles & changed the WC bowl when I moved in 11 years ago. Prior to that, my ex-husband (now deceased) and me had spent over $100K on our previous flat at Kim Tian and this sum of money was eventually gone down the drain when we sold the flat 5 years later!. So, I was like 'down-to-earth' and thought not wise spending so much on renotalk on this Pandan Garden flat at that point in time.

Now, for my children's sake, the extreme makeover plan began in November 2010!

and then again:

I am putting up this reno-blog to keep my children informed of progress. We have moved out during this reno period, and sometimes, my children stay with their friends. So, this forum is our communication channel to keep them update on our reno journey.

You have done a great job, Mae. Somehow, I feel that your house will have an ambience of a condo with all the extreme makeover. I am sure you, together with your children, will enjoy to stay in this house for many more years ahead.

Re the test for aircon system, what my ID did after the installation was to switch on all the units for a good half hour and ensuring that the units are working and churning cold air.. You may want to lower the temperature during this test. Also, make sure that the remote and louvers are working. Make sure that there is no water leaking from the unit. Usually, for a new system, the condenser unit should not be loud and noisy.

However, my ID did another intensive testing when the whole renovation was completed and before a proper handover. This is to make sure that the electrical DB Box works. Simply, switch on all electrical units in the house - all aircon units, all lights, ceiling fan, fridge, washing machine and what-have-you then.

Reiki

[mae29 2]

Mind to share which ID firm you using? Thanks

Hi, sgwong

In my humble opinion, it is not the ID firm that matters. This is because there is always a mix of so called 'good' and 'bad' ID's in every firms, even in those renowned firms recommended by forumers here. Some IDs will take up the 'Sales' process, and once you inked the contract, it is handled by their project team.

Also very important evaluation criteria is how well our ID has handled referenced projects for his customers, and the feedback on his service, his prompt follow up action & active project management, as well as our "click' factor.

To my understanding, their office called me up in between our renovation to check on my ID's performance, getting feedback from customers to see where they can improve their service.

So far, with a bit of luck & affinity, I am happy with the service my ID has provided and his dedication in taking care of the whole reno process.

I have PM'd you his full contact details. Good luck to you if you are searching for ID / ID's firm.

[mae29 2]

Hi Mae,

First, I must say that I enjoy reading your reno updates. There's a sense of love and joy being put into this whole reno process.

Hi, Reiki

Thank you for reading my blog and providing me the useful information which I truly appreciate it very much!

and then suddenly, my heart kinda shadowed with emotion when I read your postings on January 10:

You have done a great job, Mae. Somehow, I feel that your house will have an ambience of a condo with all the extreme makeover. I am sure you, together with your children, will enjoy to stay in this house for many more years ahead.

As parents, we divorced when the children were very young. I fought but eventually gave up the fight after 2 years contesting the custody of the children. Their father died last year, and they moved back to stay with me. (Believe in Destiny: What ever is Yours, Will be Yours!!) I had only the custody of my youngest son (3 years old then) and he has been staying alone in one of the 2 bedrooms. So, the 2 big boys have to share one room which prompted me to convert our livingroom into a new bedroom. Now all 3 sons have their own rooms equally & beautifully renovated

Being apart for so many years, this is now the least a maternal mother could do to keep the children happy.

As for my house, it was my children's idea to engage an ID and we have no regret so far. Our ID is very hardworking and he has been following closely the renovation works for me. I know I am a very picky & difficult customer for him to handle.

Further, as I have engaged a fengshui master to plan the color theme, I thought I have given too much restrictions & pressure to our ID. So I was curiously waiting for the 3D drawings to see how my ID whipped up his magic wand. That's how I choose the title and sub-heading of this t-blog.

Nevertheless, the 3D drawings turned out beautifully and we are all happy with the modern concept and colour theme for our makeover plan.

I salute to my ID for his patience and dedication!

[january 0]

hello mae29! Can't believe I've missed out on your reno action until now. Seems like your reno is going great... it must not be easy with work and kids to handle as well. Your attention to detail is admirable, kudos to you!

I think your request for this socket is genius. If only I'd seen this before my electrical work is complete, I would have all the sockets in my house changed to this one.

....and our unique 2-pin friendly socket...

cheers!

[january 0]

Last evening, confirmed the fabric selection for the 4 bedrooms. Total damage is $1,750, from a shop at Balestier Plaza. The bulk of this goes to the day & night curtains, full length, for my MBR. Most expensive is the day curtains...

I think that's a good deal... the cheapest window coverings quote I got was more than double that amount.

[mae29 2]

hello mae29! Can't believe I've missed out on your reno action until now. Seems like your reno is going great... it must not be easy with work and kids to handle as well. Your attention to detail is admirable, kudos to you!

I think your request for this socket is genius. If only I'd seen this before my electrical work is complete, I would have all the sockets in my house changed to this one.

cheers!

Hello, january

I am February here...literally - born in Feb! Welcome to my blog and I have been following up reading yours and others' reno blog.

My children seem to be busier than their mum! Hence, I am alone following up the reno. It is coming to an end soon...

The wall socket is really useful. Another useful gadget will be the remote control device for ceiling lights in MBR and my children's room so that we do not have to walk up to the wall switch to turn off lights at night, especially MBR comes with night curtains. Imagine you walk to turn off the lights, room becomes so dark and then you have to find your way back to the bed.

Edited January 12, 2011 by mae29

[mae29 2]

I think that's a good deal... the cheapest window coverings quote I got was more than double that amount.

I guess it is the quality of fabric that makes the price difference.

Only the MBR comes with full length curtains. The rest are all half-length due to obstruction by the suspended study tables in the children's room.

We also didn't install any roller blinds, and the fabric chosen not the heavy type as I am used to bringing down the curtains for washing every 2 months or so.

[january 0]

Ya I really need to get that wall socket now, especially since half of my family also live in Indonesia and we're often bringing electronics around... it's a useful thing to have.

The wall socket is really useful. Another useful gadget will be the remote control device for ceiling lights in MBR and my children's room so that we do not have to walk up to the wall switch to turn off lights at night, especially MBR comes with night curtains. Imagine you walk to turn off the lights, room becomes so dark and then you have to find your way back to the bed.

Wow you're such a caring mother, you think of every little thing.

The remote sounds like a home automation gadget to me. Did you have to do special wiring for it?

I remember that Philips have light bulbs which can be controlled via remote. Is that what you're using, perhaps?

And why do you need to wash the curtains every two months? I wash my curtains once a year. o_o

Edited January 12, 2011 by january