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lancified

Our Cosy Hideout!

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BTW guys,

when you buy your kitchen sink, make sure the metal thickness is at least 0.8MM or above. anything below that, will have chance of cracking when u pour boiling water into it. The sink i bought is 1.2mm thickness.

 

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Thanks for sharing the tips !

U going for top mount or under mount?

Definitely undermount. I like the "integrated feel" as well as the convenience of just sweeping water/waste into the sink easily. You can't do that with top mount. Bad point thou - if your sink ever gets damaged or you need a sink change, it is just troublesome since the sink is in between the counter top and wooden frame. you will need to remove the counter top, remove the sink and install the counter top back.

For myself, I choose a better sink (1.2mm - how to crack? My wife dropped the display set by mistake, the tile in the showroom cracked, but the sink is still strong with no even a dent! ironman sink!) to prevent the problem of having a damaged sink. My MIL's sink at her place is only 0.2mm or 0.3mm thick, everything I cook and put hot water into the sink, it changes shape and produces "tong tong tong" sounds. Like expanding and contracting rapidly. Don't know when it will crack.

Both my wife and I love cooking very much, in fact, most of our luxuries are spent on the kitchen. We managed to have a small "island", an built in oven and even a huge 2 door fridge details here, in our puny kitchen, anyone staying in compassvale pearl will know that the kitchen is puny lol.

 

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Hi everyone,

While waiting for my wife to wake up and go collect our kitchen sink and all other toilet accessories, I thought that I should share a little on how I saved on my toilet accessories. This is no joke, my toilet accessories should have easily cost over $2k but i'm really glad that after studying and understanding how the industry work, I managed to cut all the unnecessary middle man and got them for cheap!

I have surveyed all shops in SG, from balestier stretch to jalan besar, to even those shops that my ID recommend, say got special discount... basically, it's all a major scam. I understand that in SG, rental is expensive, manpower is expensive, taxes are heavy. I also understand that businesses must earn to survive. But take a look at the prices of the things i bought:

Kitchen sink 45cm x 45cm x 20cm (this is thick metal, not those that will warp and change shape after u pour boiling water)

ksslsr4545ss1.th.jpg

The best price is saw after walking balestier = SGD$599. Price that I bought it for = $210.

Kitchen faucet/tap (stainless steel, with mixer and pull out)

kitchentap.th.jpg

Best price in SG saw at jalan besar = $190. I paid $70.

Basin and tap for wife's vainity counter (basin is 50cm x 36cm, tap is 31cm high stainless steel)

bafsb5036w1024x768.th.jpg

kstgb218300186x300.th.jpg

We only saw the price of the basin, and we were so disgusted we don't even looked for the tap. SG price $380

My price for basin+tap+pop up drain pipe (stainless steel also!) = $150

Not to mention heaters, mirror cabinet, bidet sprays, stainless steel glass shelving for toilets, kitchen counter rails. I spent less than $700 when I could have easily exceeded $2k. I bought all my stuff from different retailers and some from online.

The items are all made overseas, but sometimes u see different brands on them even though they look the same. This is called OEM. the factory produces the design, the retailer buys them in bulk and and stamps their "italian branding" on it. If you go to balestier, u see many shops advertising made in italy/germany and all the crap. All rubbish. Do they think we were born yesterday? It's like putting a BMW logo on a proton and advertised it as made in germany.

I'll gladly share all my contacts, please PM me if you guys need them.

 

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For my aircon, I went with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. 1x18k and 3x9k system 4 inverter with a 32k compressor!

I know many people would choose Starmex or toshiba/sharp/panasonic. But I have never been a branding person, I dont appreciate having a celebrity teaching u how to clean an aircon and jack up (pun intended) the prices by so much.

I have many friends who specializes in aircons and they gave me the following advice:

1) aircon gas leaks are caused SOLELY by installer. you can have the best aircon, but a newbie installer who does not know how to bend piping problem will more probably induce a leak. take into consideration that R410A gas needs a pipe that can withstand the higher pressure. if u realised, why many old aircons dont leak and last so long, one reason: they are using R22 gas, which require less pressure so pipes are less likely to leak. but R22 will be phased out in 2015, so R410A is the way to go.

2) water dripping / leaking - definitely caused by a bobo installer.

3) the 5 year warranty on compressor only applies to parts (such as the fan motor) and NOT THE CIRCUIT BOARD! Therefore any compressor that have a history of circuit board burning out, I avoid. The brand that has a hedgehog called "sonic" in its name is a major culprit. all my kakis advised against that brand, even though they have more commission if they sell that. If your circuit board fails, it will cost u around $700-$900 for a replacement.

4) Ulu brands such as york/midea, most people dont like them. However, if you are budget constrained, I highly advise u to get them. I have stayed for prolong periods for work in Malaysia and China, and have used york / midea for 3 years without any servicing. and the aircon is still cold, no leaks and no sound. function/energy saving wise - they are comparable to korean brands. FYI, york is the number 1 brand in malaysia, and midea is a top electronics brand in china.

In the end, I chose MHI for many reasons:

- more functions than all the japanese brands

- higher compressor BTU means I can turn on living room or 2 rooms at any one time and only use 50% load.

- more energy saving than mitsubishi starmex (surprise surprise! many people don't know this)

- manufacturer pushing promo, i paid $700-$800 less than what was advertised at a top aircon retailer that is yellow and has a city in its name.

- wife is home based, so my aircon is going to be turned on for at least 16-20hrs a day, I dont want a compressor that burns out quick.

There u go. This savings means I can give my wife a new vanity counter for the MBR toilet!

Hi Lancified,

Do you mind to share your price and contact for your aircon? having difficulties to comfirm my aircon search.

 

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For my aircon, I went with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. 1x18k and 3x9k system 4 inverter with a 32k compressor!

I know many people would choose Starmex or toshiba/sharp/panasonic. But I have never been a branding person, I dont appreciate having a celebrity teaching u how to clean an aircon and jack up (pun intended) the prices by so much.

I have many friends who specializes in aircons and they gave me the following advice:

1) aircon gas leaks are caused SOLELY by installer. you can have the best aircon, but a newbie installer who does not know how to bend piping problem will more probably induce a leak. take into consideration that R410A gas needs a pipe that can withstand the higher pressure. if u realised, why many old aircons dont leak and last so long, one reason: they are using R22 gas, which require less pressure so pipes are less likely to leak. but R22 will be phased out in 2015, so R410A is the way to go.

2) water dripping / leaking - definitely caused by a bobo installer.

3) the 5 year warranty on compressor only applies to parts (such as the fan motor) and NOT THE CIRCUIT BOARD! Therefore any compressor that have a history of circuit board burning out, I avoid. The brand that has a hedgehog called "sonic" in its name is a major culprit. all my kakis advised against that brand, even though they have more commission if they sell that. If your circuit board fails, it will cost u around $700-$900 for a replacement.

4) Ulu brands such as york/midea, most people dont like them. However, if you are budget constrained, I highly advise u to get them. I have stayed for prolong periods for work in Malaysia and China, and have used york / midea for 3 years without any servicing. and the aircon is still cold, no leaks and no sound. function/energy saving wise - they are comparable to korean brands. FYI, york is the number 1 brand in malaysia, and midea is a top electronics brand in china.

In the end, I chose MHI for many reasons:

- more functions than all the japanese brands

- higher compressor BTU means I can turn on living room or 2 rooms at any one time and only use 50% load.

- more energy saving than mitsubishi starmex (surprise surprise! many people don't know this)

- manufacturer pushing promo, i paid $700-$800 less than what was advertised at a top aircon retailer that is yellow and has a city in its name.

- wife is home based, so my aircon is going to be turned on for at least 16-20hrs a day, I dont want a compressor that burns out quick.

There u go. This savings means I can give my wife a new vanity counter for the MBR toilet!

Hi, can share where you bought the aircons?

Edited by mummy222
 

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