S&s Self-Designed Home In The East

[adidaem 6]

adidaem--> thanks for the info and spending time finding it.

totally forgotten about this. my contractor did tell me about this option but he said this one can be scrapped off too. its like an in between option of either sanding the cement (natural) or epoxy which is a thick and durable layer.

No worries, I had it on my comp cos I am planning to do a feature on industrial themed reno in my blog. I did some research on cement screed during my reno and decided that I'm not suitable for such flooring. It is far more common overseas where people use in their garage. Lots of discussions on powdery floors. Some say it's simply cos the cement isn't 'cured', others say that the cement is 'overworked'. But from what I've read, it really means that the 'master' (shifu?) who does the screed have to be very experienced to know how to mix and then apply the cement screed. This was a helpful discussion that convinced me that cement screed can be nice and fuss free if the 'master' knows his stuff:

http://www.renotalk.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=12166

I think I know what most of you here refer to as the powdery feeling on a cement screed floor. We went for a site visit arranged by an ID that we were reviewing who had done such industrial loft concept with cement screed flooring. And yes, the cement screed flooring had the powdery feel. The owners have only stayed in for 8 months. We noticed the cracks and chips. Also, the colour wasn't right. We supposed that it may be due to the poor composite of the cement screed. Anyhow, we didn't engage them to renovate our apartment.

We are hoping to achieve the same cement screed of my grandparents' HDB shop house or the same flooring that we ran on playing catching barefooted along the HDB corridors and stairs.

My grandparents have a HDB shop house since 1978. A 2-burner stove and a rice cooker sit on the cement screed concrete stand that my grandparents use to cook for the family and the working staff. Walls are cement screed too. After 30 years of 'abuse', the cement screed flooring and walls are still good. And the beauty of it is that it doesn't date.

I grew up in that shop house and I don't remember that the flooring ever having a powdery feel even though I may be only 10 then when we first moved in.

As for ease of maintenance, I thought it was a breeze. My grandparents are too busy with the shop business to be much bothered with cleaning the place. My aunts would just do the usual mopping. We didn't polish the floor for sure. <img src="http://203.142.16.149/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="" border="0" alt="biggrin.gif" />

Now that we are getting our HDB apartment done, we are all for the cement screed finish.

But as another forummer commented on that thread, the 'masters' have passed on taking their skills with them. I think it's very much like carpentry and other skills - my contractor also commented that the older 'masters' are hard to find now or near retirement age.

As for epoxy flooring, the white one would look like this:

Pomelo Home store uses it with a mix of decorative bits scattered on top (also for some friction), quite a few carparks use epoxy flooring too - epoxy flooring has its pros and cons. At Pomelo Home, you'll notice cracks across the floor due to gas emission from the shophouse store. I suspect there is also some skill element to applying epoxy flooring. Done well, it's supposedly really low maintenance - overseas owners rave about their durability and stain resistance to garage spills. I love it mostly cos of the lack of grout lines tho.

[XTR 1]

My vintage style art deco flapper mannequin head. Another weird item too. Even the boyfriend thinks so

omgawd...weird to the max. even i am

think u are the 1 or 2 ppl in sg who will keep that.

my wife smiled when u recognize the Tribute sandals. think u made her day. lol

[XTR 1]

i remembered i read this last year on your t-blog and got really worried :D if we didnt get such shifus. yah, remembered i quickly closed the post (self-denial) ! they just knew what % composition to add the sand and cement. but i think now you can tell your friends that as long as they sand it down well, the cement will not be dusty. we can vouch for it.

really nice pic.

yes, i agree with u. epoxy white is also another great option. super durable option; that's why factories have it as their flooring too. we never thought about tiles because of the grout lines. just felt that without those lines, the room will seem bigger. although high on our priority options, we chose not to do it because cement can hide the dirt/dust/hair better. the readers here will really benefit from this discussion. all these pros/cons thoughts were going through our heads during reno but it was just thrown away after the reno.

[mickeywei 0]

Hi XTR, thanks for your sharing!

Looking for a reliable contractor, mind sharing Alan's contacts with me? Thank you.

[taichipanda 3]

hi haven...thanks for your comments.

yes we do like the cement screed floor. it has those unpredictable patterns and it hides my wife's hair very well. u are right about the dusty feeling on the feet. before we did the cement screed we were trying to research and the only answer we got was to let the dust settle down over the YEARS. i am sure a lot of the reno ppl who did cement floor had dusty feet, cuz we did. we also asked our tilers and they mentioned that we have to mop everyday for a yr before the cement will become smooth n shiny. of course all these info were like discouraging us to go ahead with the cement floor. but we still took the decision to try it out because we prefer to have such flooring. there still was 2 ideas that we were banking upon; that was to either mop everyday and sand the floor.

we tried the first idea but were utterly disappointed. every day we will mop but the feet will be grey powdered. so we went to the 2nd idea. we asked our contractor to help sand it down because we had an idea that if the surface was smooth enough, all the fine cement will be removed. it was very nice of him to hire a worker (for free. it wasnt included in the quotation)to sand buff the floor with those sanding machines. so what is the final result? it still was dusty. the floor wasnt smooth enough.

we didnt give up and went to buy the finest sand grid paper, sat down on the floor and manually sand the whole floor from the kitchen to the mbr. now i can tell you that the floor is very smooth, as shiny as your grandma's cement floor and also not dusty at all. so if u want to do the cement floor, get ready a few nights to do hard labour.

there will surely be hairline cracks. there is no way to escape it. if you cant accept it now, must not do it.

i have no idea about this vinyl flooring. never seen it before so cant comment about it.

there is a way to just skip the sanding part and that is to put epoxy on the floor. it will give u the shiny look, non-dusty and glossy look. BUT the drawback is you wont get the random raw look because its going to look even and the colour is going to be much darker.

valuation of the flat? i think it will affect..by how much? i dont know. remember that we are saving money by not doing tiling so valuation will be lower.

My previous place is cement screed... grey feet everyday, cold too especially after mopping cos cement is pores, will experience cracks forming everywhere, some as wide as 3mm. After all cracks have settled, you can lacquer it to seal the cracks and give you the shine or you can reseal all the cracks using pre-mixed cement compound.

[XTR 1]

My previous place is cement screed... grey feet everyday, cold too especially after mopping cos cement is pores, will experience cracks forming everywhere, some as wide as 3mm. After all cracks have settled, you can lacquer it to seal the cracks and give you the shine or you can reseal all the cracks using pre-mixed cement compound.

yah we did get grey feet everyday too but after the sanding and mopping, no such issue already. the cracks can go even bigger the 3mm too

so like what taichipanda has shared, cement screed enthusiast have to calm down and think twice. for me, i wouldnt lacquer at all because i think it will darken the grey by a bit. would it?

[XTR 1]

Hi XTR, thanks for your sharing!

Looking for a reliable contractor, mind sharing Alan's contacts with me? Thank you.

kk pm to u

[adidaem 6]

i remembered i read this last year on your t-blog and got really worried :D if we didnt get such shifus. yah, remembered i quickly closed the post (self-denial) ! they just knew what % composition to add the sand and cement. but i think now you can tell your friends that as long as they sand it down well, the cement will not be dusty. we can vouch for it.

really nice pic.

yes, i agree with u. epoxy white is also another great option. super durable option; that's why factories have it as their flooring too. we never thought about tiles because of the grout lines. just felt that without those lines, the room will seem bigger. although high on our priority options, we chose not to do it because cement can hide the dirt/dust/hair better. the readers here will really benefit from this discussion. all these pros/cons thoughts were going through our heads during reno but it was just thrown away after the reno.

Just to add to the discussion for would-be cement screed-ers

XTR: You think using a handheld buffing tool (instead of doing by elbow grease) will work? I can't imagine sandpapering the entire floor, so maybe 'machine help' can lessen the pain. Did you embed any metal strips in the cement btw?

[haven32 0]

i remembered i read this last year on your t-blog and got really worried :D if we didnt get such shifus. yah, remembered i quickly closed the post (self-denial) ! they just knew what % composition to add the sand and cement. but i think now you can tell your friends that as long as they sand it down well, the cement will not be dusty. we can vouch for it.

really nice pic.

yes, i agree with u. epoxy white is also another great option. super durable option; that's why factories have it as their flooring too. we never thought about tiles because of the grout lines. just felt that without those lines, the room will seem bigger. although high on our priority options, we chose not to do it because cement can hide the dirt/dust/hair better. the readers here will really benefit from this discussion. all these pros/cons thoughts were going through our heads during reno but it was just thrown away after the reno.

Hi Adidaem / XTR

This is the image i have in my mind but could not put it in words. white epoxy flooring !!!! finally got a technical name to it.No grout lines, white expanse space feel. based on both your experience, any contractor can do this type of flooring ? also does epoxy comes in white or isit because the cement screed floor is painted white thereafter coated with epoxy.

May I know where is Pomelo House store located. would love to go and see for myself if this is what i really want.

Hey thanks to both of you again and again. weeks of research on the net could not lead me to what you both had shared. so grateful for this.

[marigold 0]

but not all is rosy. there was a BIG BIG problem. when i tried to remote control the canvas to be pulled up, there wasnt enough friction between the motor and the internal diameter of the steel tube thus the canvas cant move up :curse:

buang la!

do so much and still fail... cui!

i had to think of other ways but it failed. finally i decided to drill and screw the canvas to the steel tube and to the motor inside. after everything, here is a video of our remote controlled 12 feet roller blinds in the living room. total costs is $740 for both automated blinds.

shiok can?! success!

in the video, the blinds have been programmed to stop at a certain height.

Very Impressive!! :bow: :jawdrop:

Really can be your sideline and earn money.

Can ask you to help to do if I need next time? :yeah:

[marigold 0]

If this forum had a like button, I would be liking all your posts!! Very nice and interesting blog even though I think we will not have the same taste for reno cos I'm looking for more luxury feel, I still enjoy reading your blog alot!!

Please post photos of the completed house!! I believe it is very beautiful!!

[XTR 1]

Very Impressive!! :bow: :jawdrop:

Really can be your sideline and earn money.

Can ask you to help to do if I need next time? :yeah:

thanks for the salute aargh!

yes can earn side money. can easily mark up the price and it will still be cheaper than the professionals.

but i wont want to do it again man. S H A G .

If this forum had a like button, I would be liking all your posts!! Very nice and interesting blog even though I think we will not have the same taste for reno cos I'm looking for more luxury feel, I still enjoy reading your blog alot!!

Please post photos of the completed house!! I believe it is very beautiful!!

like it argh! sweee swee!

we also do like luxurious theme. but its not cheap to achieve the whole look. will need money like adidaem then only can.

but luxurious also got different categories. we definitely are not on the baroque-side. we like these too but can we afford?

Edited May 8, 2012 by XTR

[XTR 1]

whack a few more pics

[XTR 1]

Just to add to the discussion for would-be cement screed-ers

XTR: You think using a handheld buffing tool (instead of doing by elbow grease) will work? I can't imagine sandpapering the entire floor, so maybe 'machine help' can lessen the pain. Did you embed any metal strips in the cement btw?

YES definitely. there was a forumer here that had a handheld buffing tool and he was willing to lend it (last yr). I didnt want to spend money to buy it for a one off occasion. having it would have saved a lot of time. but we did enjoy chatting while working our own floor. to be more detailed for others- we had to use medium grit to remove bigger bumps in the cement and then fine grit to polish it.

we didnt embed any metal strips into the cement. er, it helps?

[XTR 1]

Hi Adidaem / XTR

This is the image i have in my mind but could not put it in words. white epoxy flooring !!!! finally got a technical name to it.No grout lines, white expanse space feel. based on both your experience, any contractor can do this type of flooring ? also does epoxy comes in white or isit because the cement screed floor is painted white thereafter coated with epoxy.

May I know where is Pomelo House store located. would love to go and see for myself if this is what i really want.

Hey thanks to both of you again and again. weeks of research on the net could not lead me to what you both had shared. so grateful for this.

haven32--> can feel your "shiokness". i think not many contractors who do up homes have experience in it. its very viscous and dries fast. and if not done well, you will get bubbles. u must make sure your contractor acknowledges that he has done it before. epoxy has 2 parts...the resin and the hardener. its colourless but u can add any colour.

you can find pomelo here...

http://www.facebook.com/PomeloHome