My New Home - Serangoon 4 Room

[Serangoon4room 4]

The wall @ dining area screams for some decoration. A big mirror? Or a wall-sticker/ wallpaper..

hmm. i quite like the empty wall. Not planning to hang any deco or paintings. Plain and simple.

[Serangoon4room 4]

You are very detailed in flagging out the hollow tile by taking the effort to form a circle haha.

So have you move in?

haha. of course must make sure the tilers can see which are the hollow tiles.

They were very unhappy that they have to replace the tiles, and were hostile. They finished up the work in the end, but the grouting was poorly done.

Our wedding is in June, so will only move in after.

Now, this is our weekend home, where we'll laze and do our wedding planning.

it's so wonderful to have our own home.

[idealistic 0]

haha. of course must make sure the tilers can see which are the hollow tiles.

They were very unhappy that they have to replace the tiles, and were hostile. They finished up the work in the end, but the grouting was poorly done.

Our wedding is in June, so will only move in after.

Now, this is our weekend home, where we'll laze and do our wedding planning.

it's so wonderful to have our own home.

We are satisfied with our main tiler the contractor got for us. That's the best part for the whole reno. The tiling for our whole house is done by him alone and we have no issue with him, although it takes a slightly longer time to complete. We even check the kerb but in the end we also let it go.

oh.. that's great for you. 6 months to your wedding is just nice cos the busiest period is when wedding date is near.

Happy weekend stay @ serangoon

[Serangoon4room 4]

Anyone had any problems with the paint smell? I used AL26471 Duluxall Orange Paint for my guest room along the corridor. The first few coatings were fine (in the photos earlier) but the final coating produced a choking, pungent smell and it didn't go away for days after airing the room. I was hopping mad :furious: because our renovation was near completion and this has to happen.

We were very sure the smell came from the orange wall because when we press our nose on the wall and smell, we could immediately identify that horrible smell. None of the other walls had that smell.

we spoke with Terence and he went down to take a look. He initially said it's the standard paint smell. i reminded him that duluxall is odourless and all the other rooms didn't have that smell. He told his painters to come down to paint another coat, hoping to seal the smell. After another coat, the smell is still there. Terence then decided to tear down that partition wall and rebuild a new one. When they tore down the partition, they left 10 cm of the original partition from the floor as it already has tiles skirting done.

After tearing down the partition and building a new one, there was still a bit of that strange smell in my room, probably from the bottom of the partition... At least the smell is not that choking and overbearing.

However, that unique strange smell will trigger our memory and we immediately remembered how choking it was and we felt nauseous, again... That is just how horrible and choking that smell was and the impact it had on us.

We hoped that after painting a new coat of sealant and paint on the new wall, it should do the job of masking that strange smell.

We chose blue paint as we are really worried that the whole batch of the orange paint stinks. Today, the painters came and painted my wall. Keeping my fingers crossed that the new blue paint would seal up that original partition/paint smell. Will be going home to check that smell later...

Edited January 2, 2012 by Serangoon4room

[idealistic 0]

At least your id is willing to do something for you.

I can't imagine if I ask sunny to tear down the partition wall -_-""" and blah blah blah he goes...

[Serangoon4room 4]

At least your id is willing to do something for you.

I can't imagine if I ask sunny to tear down the partition wall -_-""" and blah blah blah he goes...

Yar, i was glad Terence took the responsibility and replace the partition.

[Serangoon4room 4]

My L-Shaped Sofa is here!!! so happy!! ever since i gotten my 2 cats 10 years ago, i never enjoyed lazing on a sofa. My cats terrorized my family's sofa and all the subsequent furniture are wooden chairs.

Seems like my coffee table is too big for the little space available.. but i love my L shaped sofa and coffee table...

Dilemma ...

[Serangoon4room 4]

My renovation is finally done. it is a long journey and i'm glad that i am able to share my experiences in this Tblog.

What have i learned personally...

1. When sourcing for contractors, it's safer to approach a bigger company than a one person ID firm. Of course it will be more expensive approaching the big firm. Look for firms that have been around for a long time.

2. Don't be worried if the ID firm has many registered names. They do it not because their old names have bad reputation, but for good reasons.

3. Have a detailed breakdown of your quotation. Ensure that your subsequent add ons are also included in the quotation that they carry along, including those major/minor requirements. Remember that your IDs have many jobs ongoing at any time, and the only thing they would always refer to is your quotation.

4. It's always better to have a theme in mind for your home and plan your home around that theme. The more exotic the theme, the riskier the renovation become.

5. Be nice to your IDs. Be strict but don't over push your IDs. Remember that your home is in their hands. Of course, really choose a ID with good reputation and has been around for years. They will definitely not risk their many years of good reputation on a poor job. Try to let your ID know you are actually having a Tblog here, with pictures etc etc... They will have the incentives of doing a good job.

6. Sometimes, small defects can be ignored and suan le. But do highlight to your ID of these small things and that you are willing to overlook to build rapport. and of course will have better bargaining when asking your IDs to fix the eyesores.

7. Even if your home has a normal theme, buying similar furniture ie same material or similar color, can still bring out a good theme.

8. Good to read the blogs here and do take their feedback into consideration. Be careful of those strangers that only have a few posts and try to ruin other people's reputation.

9. Always be prepared to fork out additional $$$ as there will be top ups definitely.

10. When choosing less common paint, be careful as paint may already go bad and stink. (personal experience)

I will be posting more photos. Stay tuned.

Edited January 4, 2012 by Serangoon4room

[kentut21 0]

Phew... been following your blog for quiet sometimes now... congratulation on the accomplishment! Eager to wait for mine as well... =)

[Bloom 0]

Hi S4Room, I enjoy reading the update! The outcome is really good!

Can I know what's the color used for your dinning area? It looks brown but showed up differently under different lighting.

[Serangoon4room 4]

Hi S4Room, I enjoy reading the update! The outcome is really good!

Can I know what's the color used for your dinning area? It looks brown but showed up differently under different lighting.

Hi Bloom,

It's Mocha Delight from Duluxall. Paint code is AL26346. Love the color!

[Serangoon4room 4]

I'm at my 5th page! As promised, photos galore!

[Serangoon4room 4]

[Serangoon4room 4]

[Serangoon4room 4]