We Bought A Flat, And Made It Our Home

[marshmallow 0]

yeah... my COV is as abt half my estimated renov budget liao...

LOL... i hope i won't be lamenting to you my reno mistakes then...

despite having started doing research for my reno since Nov 2010 and going thru 20+ IDs/contractors... I still feel... kana "chopped", in some ways... it's like there's always some blindspots, that we have missed out or overlooked...

just the last round of amendments to the quotation, my wife suddenly said she wants to have black granite for kitchen worktop, rather than white solid surface top...

don't know why she got sudden change of mind... but since the kitchen is going to be her "baby" next time... plus we already "saved" a bit, by not doing my chengal wood decking and outdoor wall tiles...

I let her have it her way...

but just now, i was reading another topic on kitchen worktop...

seems like though granite is more heat and scratch resistant, compared to solid surface...

it is a natural stone, and can be quite porous, hence easily stained... water stains... or even beverage spills... soiled dishes...

hmmm.... *scratch head ah...*

sigh opposite from you, my COV is almost 2x of reno cost lor.... anyway, it's over liao....

hahaha i think one important thing in reno is that we should think less of being "chopped" by contractor/ID. of course, one should do his homework to know the appropriate market price etc, but if we keep calculating and thinking whether the contractor is taking advantage of us, it doesn't help reno process at all - in fact i feel this mentality makes pple more suspicious and cause the trust between contractor and house owner to erode... my $0.02

btw, on black granite - the black granite in my kitchen is one of the best things i've done in reno~ of course each material will have its pros and cons, but personal opinion is that problems with granite is not as kua zhang as what the pple are saying in that kitchen top thread... well i guess it depends very much on the user also~

pple said re-sealing needed every 6 months. my sis place's granite never re-seal for the past 13 yrs (i doubt they know what is re-sealing ) and it still looks great - no stain, damage etc. actually if you choose dark granite, can see stain meh? water marks will be there if the top is very wet and you never wipe at all... but as general, good housekeeping practice, you should never leave your kitchen top so wet la~ be it granite or solid top~

as for spillage/stain - frankly, say if you accidentally spill coffee on any table or kitchen top, what's your natural, immediate reaction? usually pple will clean it immediately mah... rite? if that's the case, there is really no issue on stain on granite... problem only comes for pple who leave it there for a long time and not clean it....

bro if you comes to my place, you can take a look at my black granite also btw my black granite is cheaper than good solid top e.g. Corian or LG.

[May_dream1 14]

sigh opposite from you, my COV is almost 2x of reno cost lor.... anyway, it's over liao....

hahaha i think one important thing in reno is that we should think less of being "chopped" by contractor/ID. of course, one should do his homework to know the appropriate market price etc, but if we keep calculating and thinking whether the contractor is taking advantage of us, it doesn't help reno process at all - in fact i feel this mentality makes pple more suspicious and cause the trust between contractor and house owner to erode... my $0.02

btw, on black granite - the black granite in my kitchen is one of the best things i've done in reno~ of course each material will have its pros and cons, but personal opinion is that problems with granite is not as kua zhang as what the pple are saying in that kitchen top thread... well i guess it depends very much on the user also~

pple said re-sealing needed every 6 months. my sis place's granite never re-seal for the past 13 yrs (i doubt they know what is re-sealing ) and it still looks great - no stain, damage etc. actually if you choose dark granite, can see stain meh? water marks will be there if the top is very wet and you never wipe at all... but as general, good housekeeping practice, you should never leave your kitchen top so wet la~ be it granite or solid top~

as for spillage/stain - frankly, say if you accidentally spill coffee on any table or kitchen top, what's your natural, immediate reaction? usually pple will clean it immediately mah... rite? if that's the case, there is really no issue on stain on granite... problem only comes for pple who leave it there for a long time and not clean it....

bro if you comes to my place, you can take a look at my black granite also btw my black granite is cheaper than good solid top e.g. Corian or LG.

Marsh, what if its granite top but not black in colour? i am thinking of changing from solid top to granite but i want really light colour since my theme is red and white.

[friends78 0]

hahaha i think one important thing in reno is that we should think less of being "chopped" by contractor/ID. of course, one should do his homework to know the appropriate market price etc, but if we keep calculating and thinking whether the contractor is taking advantage of us, it doesn't help reno process at all - in fact i feel this mentality makes pple more suspicious and cause the trust between contractor and house owner to erode... my $0.02

Well said! I also look at the whole package. There are some items that the contractor does charge higher but overall costing still cheaper. Cannot everything cheapest than everyone, rite? He is doing business not charity leh... Also, when selecting contractor, chemistry also important. The feeling must be comfortable and right...

BTW, I have LG solid surface top for my previous hse... Still got stain leh...

[marshmallow 0]

Marsh, what if its granite top but not black in colour? i am thinking of changing from solid top to granite but i want really light colour since my theme is red and white.

May, white/light-coloured granite is not available for most home reno contractors in SG. even the lighter ones will have "patterns". something like this:

i would love to have something like this, but i just can't find it...

and i was completely shocked that these are called white too :

Ocean White:

Rockville White:

anyway, for those lighter colour granite i saw at various contractors' offices, they look kinda earthy and organic, so i feel it doesn't go well with your modern white/red theme, hmmmm

a good choice for stones that matches your theme well would be quartz e.g. Caesarstone, which costs a BOMB but looks really PRETTY~

maybe you can pester your contractor to source the ideal granite for you... hee hee hee

[Kobelala 8]

yeah... my COV is as abt half my estimated renov budget liao...

but just now, i was reading another topic on kitchen worktop...

seems like though granite is more heat and scratch resistant, compared to solid surface...

it is a natural stone, and can be quite porous, hence easily stained... water stains... or even beverage spills... soiled dishes...

hmmm.... *scratch head ah...*

Yeah Bro, COV is killing alot of potential resale buyers off... .. Hmm, for the kitchen top Bro, I think Granite top will be the better choice correct ??

all the new hdb also small small rooms. The one I saw yesterday at city view is smaller than 3x3m..... Hehe....

Wa Lau, HDB flats are shrinking.. .. less than 3 x 3 put 1 queen bed almost full liao.. ..

but totally agree with what you said, it's the people in the family, not the house itself, that makes a home nice

That's Right Sis Marshy I won't want a 5000 sq feet house when my wife don't love me

bro if you comes to my place, you can take a look at my black granite also btw my black granite is cheaper than good solid top e.g. Corian or LG.

Hey Sis Marshy, would like to look at your Granite top

May, white/light-coloured granite is not available for most home reno contractors in SG. even the lighter ones will have "patterns". something like this:

This Granite top very nice .... I want do

[May_dream1 14]

May, white/light-coloured granite is not available for most home reno contractors in SG. even the lighter ones will have "patterns". something like this:

i would love to have something like this, but i just can't find it...

and i was completely shocked that these are called white too :

anyway, for those lighter colour granite i saw at various contractors' offices, they look kinda earthy and organic, so i feel it doesn't go well with your modern white/red theme, hmmmm

a good choice for stones that matches your theme well would be quartz e.g. Caesarstone, which costs a BOMB but looks really PRETTY~

maybe you can pester your contractor to source the ideal granite for you... hee hee hee

But light colored will easily stained?? I am afraid leh....

Bit looks nice lah....

[LADY_R 0]

bro if you comes to my place, you can take a look at my black granite also btw my black granite is cheaper than good solid top e.g. Corian or LG.

is ur black granite call Black Galaxy? I told my contractor i wanted d darkest colour n he say only black galaxy d darkest.. BTW.. yest already cfrm wif my contractor n also d final price now i feel so light headed..if not i be in stress for so many weeks to keep on thinking of his final quote

[Kobelala 8]

is ur black granite call Black Galaxy? I told my contractor i wanted d darkest colour n he say only black galaxy d darkest.. BTW.. yest already cfrm wif my contractor n also d final price now i feel so light headed..if not i be in stress for so many weeks to keep on thinking of his final quote

Hey Lady R, congrats, 4 more days to completion date so u starting reno immediately ??

[jackwan 0]

men make houses , women make homes

I agreed with that

Bro, u have a huge area!! Happy Reno!!

[LADY_R 0]

Hey Lady R, congrats, 4 more days to completion date so u starting reno immediately ??

Thanks bro, plan to do hacking on d 28th. I supposed can hack earlier but due to diff culture between buyer n us, so i need to clean d house 1st

praying n hoping that all d submission for hacking will be approved by dis wk

[marshmallow 0]

But light colored will easily stained?? I am afraid leh....

Bit looks nice lah....

*i think* it wouldn't stain so easily if you maintain properly... my parents' home is using marble counter top, white based one. marble should be more porous than granite le, but it's already been 17 yrs and still good~

is ur black granite call Black Galaxy? I told my contractor i wanted d darkest colour n he say only black galaxy d darkest.. BTW.. yest already cfrm wif my contractor n also d final price now i feel so light headed..if not i be in stress for so many weeks to keep on thinking of his final quote

mine is imperial black. if i remember correctly, black galaxy has more sparks in the granite which doesn't go with the overall look of my kitchen

Henry went "wah don't take those sparkle sparkle one lahhh.... sooooo old fashion~!" really made me laugh hahahaha

[LADY_R 0]

mine is imperial black. if i remember correctly, black galaxy has more sparks in the granite which doesn't go with the overall look of my kitchen

Henry went "wah don't take those sparkle sparkle one lahhh.... sooooo old fashion~!" really made me laugh hahahaha

I like ur granite top very nice.. yup I do prefer a simple one w/o too many sparkle as my kitchen is more to black n white.. I will check with Neo my contractor.. he sometimes vry BLUR eh

[beachfox 0]

Hi Kobelala,

Which part of Yishun are you located at? Blk 300 series?

I'm staying in Yishun EM too. Currently choosing ID/Contactor for my reno.

[marshmallow 0]

I like ur granite top very nice.. yup I do prefer a simple one w/o too many sparkle as my kitchen is more to black n white.. I will check with Neo my contractor.. he sometimes vry BLUR eh

yea i prefer less sparks too. easier on my aging eyes

your contractor is really called Neo? he's Matrix fan?

[Kobelala 8]

Hi Kobelala,

Which part of Yishun are you located at? Blk 300 series?

I'm staying in Yishun EM too. Currently choosing ID/Contactor for my reno.

Hi Beachfox, yeah right I am at Yishun Ctl 300+ behind Adora Green what bout u ?