Our First Home

[joyousonline 0]

Thanks. Yeah, we didn't opt for tiling up the kitchen wall coz (1) very costly (2) we know that tiles actually 'pop' out very time due to heat expansion and contraction (3) Just overall very mah fan lah.... want to drill stuff also need special drill bit...

Sure, can adopt the sliding glass for cups. haha no copyright yet until I become an id. One thing to note though... you'll need to know exactly how high you want that drawer to be coz if not you cannot put in wine glasses. We measured about 7 inches should be very comfy unless you get tall champagne glasses, then maybe 8 inches. It will affect your counter height a bit but should overall still be ok lah.

yeah true..i think i would not be tiling my kitchen wall too! just thinking of putting backsplash either stainless steel or tempered glass...hmm but then tough to drill stuff hor on them also...

thanks!! will take note of the measurements...as for tall champagne glasses..most prob will put into the cabinets ba...oh yeah..cannot b too high also..otherwise the bar stools will need to be high too!! nice to have a breakfast area..quickie breakfast over the counter while preparing for beverage or bread..heee

[superchrisho 0]

Cool, me too I skipped an ID to cut cost, haha

haha high five!

We went through quite a bit of consideration to not opt for id. Mainly coz we don't have that control of quality and that we have very specific ideas on how we want our place to be. A LOT of details... and most of them you can't see but will affect how things run in the house. e.g. piping, routing, electrical points, hinges.

haha Will list out some details of each room specifically to contribute back to renotalk.

[superchrisho 0]

yeah true..i think i would not be tiling my kitchen wall too! just thinking of putting backsplash either stainless steel or tempered glass...hmm but then tough to drill stuff hor on them also...

thanks!! will take note of the measurements...as for tall champagne glasses..most prob will put into the cabinets ba...oh yeah..cannot b too high also..otherwise the bar stools will need to be high too!! nice to have a breakfast area..quickie breakfast over the counter while preparing for beverage or bread..heee

Most contractors/ids will recommend you to tile up full height kitchen because that's where they can earn a lot. Labor for just tiling our small toilet/bathroom $1k liao. Honestly, labor cost only about $100 to pay 1 worker for 1 day, but then it's 'the market rate' so LL.... There's a conflict of interest with ids and homeowners coz ids are out to maximize profit while homeowners are out to maximize quality.

Tempered glass would be impossible to drill through coz you will cause the glass to lose integrity, then if it is near the cooker, slight expansion at the screw points, you will likely cause it to crack.

We opted for stainless steel coz it can be drilled through(need the stainless steel people to do it coz normal drill cannot punch through it unless your sheet is very thin). Also it is easy to clean, no expansion problem, no rust, no stain... if scratched, since it is matt, it'll look like part of the design. ;P

Yah, for counter height, there's a certain optimal height. Ours is 44 inches. Any higher and you might not be able to lean your weight on it even if you just standing. You can go ikea to check out their counter heights. They make it very comfy for most people. Yups it's a perfect place to have breakfast or if you have guests and they want to sit and talk to you while you prepare a meal. =) We have yet to find the bar stools we want yet.... the ikea ones have black legs and not hydraulic so we not keen on it. Probably get a splash of red chairs from vhive. Budget less than $100 if possible. haha

[superchrisho 0]

Cool, me too I skipped an ID to cut cost, haha

we got a main coordinator, David, he's the guy who does our flooring to handle all the schedules and stuff. He charged us a flat fee of $500 to get all the contacts and coordinate everything. We felt it was a better working relationship because no conflict of interest. David doesn't benefit or lose out if we are dissatisfied with the quality of things, he just gets another contractor to take over the job. So no probs on ensuring quality and efficiency of work here.

In terms of working relationship, David is a very nice guy. Very service oriented. The contractors he recommends are good. My father-in-law is in the construction business as well, so upon inspection by my FIL, he is pleased with it all... so I guess can get greenbook award liao. The only contractors we got on our own was for the windows and curtains because the ones given by david was a slight bit more ex. But we regret getting the windows on our own coz had to argue with them on the workmanship. Windows people was one of those flyer ads found in the mailbox. Cheap, but horrible workmanship... mess up our plastering... windows cannot open fully. Had to get them to come back so many times to rectify. On hindsight, we should have gone with David's, the cost difference was probably only $100

[slegna 0]

Hi there! Loving your custom doors and retro switches

I'm also looking to skip the ID and get either a main contractor OR act like a contractor myself... Haha... but I may be too gei-kiang since it's our first house. Could you please let me know David's contact? I just need to do mainly carpentry and some electric works.

much thanks~

[hafiizh 0]

cool hoping to see some pictures!

i happen to have been hunting for bar stools too - you might want to google gnee hong for their range of bar stools. I also budgeted $100 but in the end spent $200++ per chair hahaha.

the vhive one looks cool and value for money! in the end, we didn't go for it because we didn't have any backing for guests to lean back. you might want to check the sale forum here - once I saw someone selling their used stools for $20 but they all were grabbed fast!

best wishes on your journey!

[superchrisho 0]

cool hoping to see some pictures!

i happen to have been hunting for bar stools too - you might want to google gnee hong for their range of bar stools. I also budgeted $100 but in the end spent $200++ per chair hahaha.

the vhive one looks cool and value for money! in the end, we didn't go for it because we didn't have any backing for guests to lean back. you might want to check the sale forum here - once I saw someone selling their used stools for $20 but they all were grabbed fast!

best wishes on your journey!

Thanks. Will look at that gnee hong. haha We went to molecule to just see see.... jaw drop.... one bar stool about $1k!! siao! Can buy tv liao

[joyousonline 0]

Most contractors/ids will recommend you to tile up full height kitchen because that's where they can earn a lot. Labor for just tiling our small toilet/bathroom $1k liao. Honestly, labor cost only about $100 to pay 1 worker for 1 day, but then it's 'the market rate' so LL.... There's a conflict of interest with ids and homeowners coz ids are out to maximize profit while homeowners are out to maximize quality.

Tempered glass would be impossible to drill through coz you will cause the glass to lose integrity, then if it is near the cooker, slight expansion at the screw points, you will likely cause it to crack.

We opted for stainless steel coz it can be drilled through(need the stainless steel people to do it coz normal drill cannot punch through it unless your sheet is very thin). Also it is easy to clean, no expansion problem, no rust, no stain... if scratched, since it is matt, it'll look like part of the design. ;P

Yah, for counter height, there's a certain optimal height. Ours is 44 inches. Any higher and you might not be able to lean your weight on it even if you just standing. You can go ikea to check out their counter heights. They make it very comfy for most people. Yups it's a perfect place to have breakfast or if you have guests and they want to sit and talk to you while you prepare a meal. =) We have yet to find the bar stools we want yet.... the ikea ones have black legs and not hydraulic so we not keen on it. Probably get a splash of red chairs from vhive. Budget less than $100 if possible. haha

yah wall tiling is super ex.think for my kitchen i do not need to do full tile up since i will be doing more of cabinets for storage. love the look of glass but really not practical and will lose the space there. will consider stainless steel then.

ooh i am def looking forward to this breakfast counter..

oh yeah i saw the chairs from the molecule..it is so nice but the price tag also super nice!!!!!! will source for cheaper sources ba.

[Kobelala 8]

Thanks. Will look at that gnee hong. haha We went to molecule to just see see.... jaw drop.... one bar stool about $1k!! siao! Can buy tv liao

oh yeah i saw the chairs from the molecule..it is so nice but the price tag also super nice!!!!!! will source for cheaper sources ba.

Wife n me also went to Molecue... ... as we're almost cetain that most of those stuffs are MIC.... we're shock that they actually are selling their items at such high prices...

[superchrisho 0]

Latest update after 1+ year from moving in. Apologies that I never got to updating the cost and stuff. The flooring has not given me any problems. The only thing is when the skirting gets wet, it expands and discolors. I think that's unavoidable coz all skirtings aren't made of the same material as the flooring.

Had to do some patching for hairline cracks that developed.(just got some putty from home fix) But ever since I patched it, it has not shown anymore cracks. My guess is it was due to the cement drying and shrinking so cause the cracks.

Kitchen is perfect. The cabinets and solid surface are easy to clean. White is a good color coz the solid surface does get scratches even with good care, but on white it doesn't show. Just not glossy only.

Everything is very nice. Loving it. Friends and family who come over say our place feels more cozy and warmer(not temperature) than theirs. My guess is it's due to colours and lighting. We have no florescent lights. All warm or daylight.

As for furniture, ikea's tables and chairs and sofas are still ok. Our take is... if these things do break, it's gives good reason to get a new one! =)

[Sygnur 0]

It always gives me warm and fuzzy feeling to see reno job well done.

Thumbs up for everything.

Is david still in service? He sounds like a good person to work with and his contacts are fine. If he is, may i have his contact? Do we need to give him perspective drawings? I cant draw as well as u...

Congrats once again...