S&s Self-Designed Home In The East

[XTR 1]

Hey XTR, I have the same gas heater. THe fan kicks in very frequently, even when no one's using hot water. It's pretty loud.

Is this normal?

hi ulti,

No the fan shouldnt kick in when its not in use. You need to get it checked out.

I dont find it loud because that's the correct loudness of the quick boiling of water.

[XTR 1]

Hi! Can I have your contactor's contact.

Thanks

done!

hi XTR!

may i have alan's contact too?

thx!

done!

Hi,

would you mind sharing with me your contractor's contact and the reno cost?

Thank you!

done!

[XTR 1]

juxstapose -->

prithee!

get one too. go order now.

Edited January 12, 2013 by XTR

[XTR 1]

Hi XTR,

impress with the DIY work of yours, i sure won't have the time and idea to do this... i have the same floor plan as your flat and you have given me some idea for my kitchen. But a few questions:

1. do you have a floor plan of the new layout? where is your dining area?

2. what paint do you use for the toilet area? was it waterproof? i can see they are just paint, but wouldn't gets moldy after a while?

hello hello,

1. I dont have floor plan of new layout. my dining area is beside the main entrance.

hope you can see where it is with the 2 pics below.

living room. diy black sprayed fan + dining lights + track lights + antelope horn

2.0m dining table + different styled chairs + black chalkboard dining wall

2. I used ICI weathershield. You need to tell the contractor to put primer as first layer to seal it. So far no mould. Just have an issue whereby it does become yellowish. Everyweek i will use CIF and scrub and wash. So far, I touched up and re-painted my toilet twice in a year to maintain that white. I love my white toilet wall but its hard to maintain. I will advise you to put tiles or use darker colour paints like white-grey because its less troublesome.

Edited January 12, 2013 by XTR

[XTR 1]

Hi, I am now doing up my kitchen now and I had chosen the same kind of stainless steel finish laminate as you however the carpenter advise us that there may be oil stain that will be difficult to clean off. Could you advise me base on your experience with the material and how heavy is your cooking? Also how do you maintain it, will it scratches easily? Thanks and much appreciated for any information.

i got no problem with the oil stains on the laminate. Its the same laminate as what everybody is using. The only difference is the colour.

Maybe u are refering to the cooking area backing? I used real stainless steel backing. This one need to be proper to last the years. I do cooking once a week and use very little oil. I have been living in for a year already and the laminate still looks shiny n fine.

As for your worries about the scratches.... if i take a knife/key/scissors and scratch it then of course it will scratch. I have knocked chairs against it and so far its alright. There wont really be many scratches to the laminate cupboards; there will be more to worry for your solid surface top.

Edited January 12, 2013 by XTR

[XTR 1]

Hi XTR .. thumbs up and well done on the whole reno .. really feeling the real thing just by looking at your pictures and imagining your descriptions of words .. nevertheless, please share with me the contact details of Alan ... do you know who else in renotalk has been using his service? Thanks..

thanks for going the descriptions one by one! pm-ed u.

[smartgold 0]

i got no problem with the oil stains on the laminate. Its the same laminate as what everybody is using. The only difference is the colour.

Maybe u are refering to the cooking area backing? I used real stainless steel backing. This one need to be proper to last the years. I do cooking once a week and use very little oil. I have been living in for a year already and the laminate still looks shiny n fine.

As for your worries about the scratches.... if i take a knife/key/scissors and scratch it then of course it will scratch. I have knocked chairs against it and so far its alright. There wont really be many scratches to the laminate cupboards; there will be more to worry for your solid surface top.

Thanks for the reply Xtr, I had already chosen another laminate as we cook quite heavily. Hope it turns out well. Thanks

[d4ph 0]

Hi XTR can you PM me your contractor details and reno costs please.

Thank you.=)

[keil 0]

hi there, mind pm me ya contractor and reno cost. and also where did ya gt ya antelope horn from? cheers!

[Caffreys 0]

Hi XTR, great home you have there. May I have Alan's contact please? Thanks.

[summersann 6]

your house is lovely. Very personalized and totally shows character. So much respect for the many DIYs

Can only hope ours turns out to be what we want it to be as well!

Enjoy your home

[XTR 1]

your house is lovely. Very personalized and totally shows character. So much respect for the many DIYs

Can only hope ours turns out to be what we want it to be as well!

Enjoy your home

hi summer,

thanks for your kind words. I hope yours turn out well too. just keep coming out ideas and see if they all fit in. have fun with reno...its enjoyable because it is your home.

[XTR 1]

some additions to the home

got this cloth hook from homeless.hk (hongkong)

diy confetti garland for wall

Edited January 14, 2013 by XTR

[Makanology 29]

Hi, this has been one of the most interesting and heart-warming renovation journeys I have read. Kudos to the job well done!

I am sorry to bother you but can you pm me the contact for Alan as well as a rough idea of the cost you have incurred on his end and a rough breakdown, if that is convenient?

My hubby and I are exploring to do away with an ID and find a reliable contractor who can take our colorful ideas and turn them into a reality! We are quite bent to bring a lot of IKEA stuff into the house, including the kitchen cabinets. A key reason is that there are 101 ways to use their EXPEDIT cupboards, FAKTUM system, PAX system and BESTA in all areas and this is where we want to take control Additionally we like splashes of colors in the house to add vibrancy and life! I think your contractor may be the right 'shifu' for us.

Looking forward to hear from you! And if you have heard any feedback about the long-term use of IKEA kitchen cabinets, do share with us. I have a wee concern - do they last as well as the custom-fit kitchen cabinets made by the contractors?

Thanks lots!

[zionbrenda 0]

Hi Hi!

Your house is beautiful! I am a newlywed and we are looking to hire a contractor instead of an ID. Alan looks perfect. Would you be able to PM me his mobile number?

Also, can I ask what is the range of budget you spent to do your contractor work? No need to incl. the furniture.

Thanks!

Brenda

below is a sneak peek to our white brick wall and brass snack bike

Before we started out our reno, we knew what theme we wanted and tried to go about it. We wanted a homely mid century/manhattan/industrial theme. Hope we managed to achieve it in the end while keeping the costs down.

The colours that we have chosen will be primary black/white/grey/brown. We feel too many colours is too jarring but this is up to the home owner preference. Personally, it makes a difference if matt colour is chosen instead glossy. imho.

One impt "research" that we found out was that friends tend to spend more on renovation than their furnishings. Once you spend all the money on reno then there will be little to spend on impt home equipment. We believe its the little items and knickknacks from our life's journey that will define the home.