kooky 2 Report post Posted March 11, 2013 I like Mele but can't afford it now since we have blow our budget on reno! We just settled with Samsung washer and fridge as long as they can do the job.As you have hacked away the wall in your common room, definitely the 2nd floor is brighter than ours. Well done and I can see that your reno is progressing well, Spikedoll! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
spikedoll 2 Report post Posted March 11, 2013 Thank you kooky for the kind words We are having glass railing and teak parquet for the stairs. Ya the staircase area is brighter after hacking the common room wall. Our MBR toilet is still dark My ID said we have alot glass.. Duno how we going to clean and maintain zzzzSo far progressing ok lah.. ID also update my hubby almost daily. So far quite pleased with his svc. Hopefully the end results are good ( fingers crossed ) shall leave the reviews till the very last - handover Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
spikedoll 2 Report post Posted March 11, 2013 Seems like this "hole in the wall" thing in toilets is catching on for most people who are renovating their house... Good idea as can leave out the extra accessories to place your toiletries... Also can do away the risk of your contractor accidentally cracking your tiles while drilling the holes for them...By the way what's your design for your staircase?Hehe actually the main reason is no need buy those accessories.. Look more neat? My current house drilled alot accessories and they get dirty easily.. Stainless steel also can become stainedMy staircase is glass and parquet ( realized that I replied wrongly to kooky.. Using mobile to reply is like that one)So have you found your unit? Good luck ah! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
spikedoll 2 Report post Posted March 11, 2013 (edited) 15th day of renovationtook less than a day to complete laying the parquet flooring for the bedrooms.. Next should be lacquer process. Platform bed also in progress Staircase, U channel done Edited March 11, 2013 by spikedoll Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HappyAng 0 Report post Posted March 11, 2013 Hi spikedoll, ur ID able to hand-over the unit on time? Wow! U got a nice parquet flooring. How I wish we can have parquet flooring, but over our budget leh.. Ha..Ha..we also choose to have "hole in the wall" at toilet area so that no need to buy accessories (which tends to corrode or stain over a period of time) and it looks neater like hotel style. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
spikedoll 2 Report post Posted March 11, 2013 (edited) My ID said 没问题 to handover in late march but of coz still need minor touch ups here and there after that which we are fine with it. His background is he started from being a Reno worker... . Then started his own reno firm. A very hands on person.. He's not academically trained in design and well dressed like those big names ID forms. But he can provide very good practical ideas and able to tell us can do or cannot do from the start. Hehe he also had a share in hacking our common bedroom wall to ensure its properly done. He joked he can Reno for us alone by himself if give him 6 mths. He can do hacking and tiling himself lol. Having said that, cross fingers and toes everything goes smoothly.. Cannot comment too early first. Hopefully he don't disappoint us lah.Initially we wanted to do laminates but later on changed our mind since the differences is not that alot ( with bargaining) Edited March 11, 2013 by spikedoll Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
typhoonz 0 Report post Posted March 12, 2013 My ID said 没问题 to handover in late march but of coz still need minor touch ups here and there after that which we are fine with it. His background is he started from being a Reno worker... . Then started his own reno firm. A very hands on person.. He's not academically trained in design and well dressed like those big names ID forms. But he can provide very good practical ideas and able to tell us can do or cannot do from the start. Hehe he also had a share in hacking our common bedroom wall to ensure its properly done. He joked he can Reno for us alone by himself if give him 6 mths. He can do hacking and tiling himself lol. Having said that, cross fingers and toes everything goes smoothly.. Cannot comment too early first. Hopefully he don't disappoint us lah.Initially we wanted to do laminates but later on changed our mind since the differences is not that alot ( with bargaining)Between parquet or laminated flooring which is better? I currently have Kronotex in all my bedroom and so far so good, less a bit of squeaking after some years of walking on the same stretch... We chose the hardest and most scratch resistant (Mammut) and got "what we think" a good price when compared to high-end brands like Pergo... Had a very bad experience with HDB parquet in our first flat at Senja Road (Premium)... The parquet sunk it after a few months and had "holes" where the legs of the tables and chairs were... After that we swore off ever having parquet... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
spikedoll 2 Report post Posted March 12, 2013 Between parquet or laminated flooring which is better? I currently have Kronotex in all my bedroom and so far so good, less a bit of squeaking after some years of walking on the same stretch... We chose the hardest and most scratch resistant (Mammut) and got "what we think" a good price when compared to high-end brands like Pergo... Had a very bad experience with HDB parquet in our first flat at Senja Road (Premium)... The parquet sunk it after a few months and had "holes" where the legs of the tables and chairs were... After that we swore off ever having parquet...Actually our current flat bedrooms also parquet and the condition quite bad coz we didn't take good care.. I didn't dry the mop first and even used floor detergent. We were told to just use plain water and damp mop to mop will do. Yes parquet flooring require more care. But we still prefer parquet over laminate coz of the squeaking sound. More woody feel I guess. I think living in an EM will take up alot time on cleaning.. Ho seh Liao zzz Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
spikedoll 2 Report post Posted March 12, 2013 16th dayTiling for balcony, service yard and foyer completed! They also done on staircase! They are really fast! Once living room flooring is done, next is carpentry and glass works coming in!!! Balcony Foyer areaWe are lazy people so we chose the same tiles for balcony and foyer.. Even the 2 common toilets have the same tiles.. We thought actually all 3 toilets should have same tiles as well.. Lol boring lazy people with lazy ideas and taste.. No theme.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HappyAng 0 Report post Posted March 12, 2013 My ID said 没问题 to handover in late march but of coz still need minor touch ups here and there after that which we are fine with it. His background is he started from being a Reno worker... . Then started his own reno firm. A very hands on person.. He's not academically trained in design and well dressed like those big names ID forms. But he can provide very good practical ideas and able to tell us can do or cannot do from the start. Hehe he also had a share in hacking our common bedroom wall to ensure its properly done. He joked he can Reno for us alone by himself if give him 6 mths. He can do hacking and tiling himself lol. Having said that, cross fingers and toes everything goes smoothly.. Cannot comment too early first. Hopefully he don't disappoint us lah.Initially we wanted to do laminates but later on changed our mind since the differences is not that alot ( with bargaining)That's good! So u can move-in in early Apr le.. Ha..ha.. My ID also once a tiler. He told me, will personally do the pebble wash for our small foyer. Well.. Let's see how his workmanship ba.. Between parquet or laminated flooring which is better? I currently have Kronotex in all my bedroom and so far so good, less a bit of squeaking after some years of walking on the same stretch... We chose the hardest and most scratch resistant (Mammut) and got "what we think" a good price when compared to high-end brands like Pergo... Had a very bad experience with HDB parquet in our first flat at Senja Road (Premium)... The parquet sunk it after a few months and had "holes" where the legs of the tables and chairs were... After that we swore off ever having parquet...We are also choosing Kronotex laminate. Agreed with typhoonz, Kronotex from Germany and price is more affordable.. By the way, do u have a joining cap (a plastic strips approx 2-3mm thick) at the entrance? Kronotex salesperson told us, that is for expansion. But we are thinking of not having it to look more grand and nicer.HDB parquet will sunk? Thought parquet is glued onto the floor? That's a bad workmanship wor. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
typhoonz 0 Report post Posted March 13, 2013 That's good! So u can move-in in early Apr le.. Ha..ha.. My ID also once a tiler. He told me, will personally do the pebble wash for our small foyer. Well.. Let's see how his workmanship ba.. We are also choosing Kronotex laminate. Agreed with typhoonz, Kronotex from Germany and price is more affordable.. By the way, do u have a joining cap (a plastic strips approx 2-3mm thick) at the entrance? Kronotex salesperson told us, that is for expansion. But we are thinking of not having it to look more grand and nicer.HDB parquet will sunk? Thought parquet is glued onto the floor? That's a bad workmanship wor.Yes I have it and you probably won't notice it over time... Did the Kronotex sales person add in the "rubber" damping layer below the laminate? It was given to us free as we signed the package at an exhibition at Expo... The HDB parquet is really crap... So much for premium flats... Looking at the recent cases from the DBSS at Toa Payoh... They paid so much and yet the amount of complains is really terrible... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
spikedoll 2 Report post Posted March 13, 2013 My current premium 5rm also have some hollow tiles.. You can hear the difference when tap it with coin or foot.But so far never pop out after staying for past 5 yrs. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HappyAng 0 Report post Posted March 14, 2013 Yes I have it and you probably won't notice it over time... Did the Kronotex sales person add in the "rubber" damping layer below the laminate? It was given to us free as we signed the package at an exhibition at Expo... The HDB parquet is really crap... So much for premium flats... Looking at the recent cases from the DBSS at Toa Payoh... They paid so much and yet the amount of complains is really terrible...Hmm.. Think will add in the damping layer ba.. I will take note of it during installation.I saw some HDB parquet workmanship very rough. HDB cut down the construction time of new flats but end many complains on new flats workmanship. I also heard from my my ID, recent new flats with conceal pipes and electrical wires, many times the contractors drilled onto the pipes.. My current premium 5rm also have some hollow tiles.. You can hear the difference when tap it with coin or foot.But so far never pop out after staying for past 5 yrs.Ha..ha.. My previous flat at Strathmore which I bought direct from HDB through SERS also like that. The tiles workmanship really CMI and some hollow tiles. The household shelter couldn't close properly as the alignment is out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
typhoonz 0 Report post Posted March 14, 2013 My current premium 5rm also have some hollow tiles.. You can hear the difference when tap it with coin or foot.But so far never pop out after staying for past 5 yrs.To add on to the problems, a year later I had spalling ceiling in my kitchen and bedroom... When the HDB "engineer" came down for inspection, he told me it's due to me opening and closing the window (expansion and contraction) so not their fault... Wah BTH and told him off on the spot... After the visit HDB just sent me a letter saying they "wash hand" and cannot do anything... I took the pictures and sent it to my MP (Cedric Foo)... 3 days later HDB called me and say that they will do the repair out of goodwill blah blah blah... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
typhoonz 0 Report post Posted March 14, 2013 Hmm.. Think will add in the damping layer ba.. I will take note of it during installation.I saw some HDB parquet workmanship very rough. HDB cut down the construction time of new flats but end many complains on new flats workmanship. I also heard from my my ID, recent new flats with conceal pipes and electrical wires, many times the contractors drilled onto the pipes.. Ha..ha.. My previous flat at Strathmore which I bought direct from HDB through SERS also like that. The tiles workmanship really CMI and some hollow tiles. The household shelter couldn't close properly as the alignment is out.Actually I would rather HDB take a bit more time to construct it properly... Seems like they are not bothered and want to rush through it and handle the problems later... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
