diy Top @Kew Drive

[Ks Toh 74]

Mosquitoes can be a problem, especially during the renovation stage. I had to engage a pest controller to come fumigate the place every week or so. This is how he looked like.

We were also advised to do termite prevention and we also engaged him to do it. He and his workers came to do some initial treatment and told us to call them again after carpentry is done. He did not communicate his requirements clearly to us. After we put up the carpentry by OPSH and called him, he said "why you never call us before putting up the carpentry? how to treat the back of the carpentry now?" The only workaround now is to drill holes in the carpentry to inject the chemicals, something we are extremely loathe to do. Not only might it damage the beautiful cabinets, it might also pose a health risk. Anyway, he is the only contractor left for us to settle accounts. I think we will just strike a compromise with him and pay him part of the contract sum.

Edited November 14, 2013 by kstoh

[Ks Toh 74]

Even now, I leave this Hitronweb "Electronic Insect Exterminator" switched on in my yard the whole night. Seems to work well. Unfortunately, I had a hard time looking for the replacement bulb. Could not find it anywhere. In the end, I found it at Mustafa!

Edited November 14, 2013 by kstoh

[Isaac 0]

Hi Kstoh

Don't mind sharing the contact and cost of the polisher you engaged which remove the dirty grouting as well?

Thanks

[Ks Toh 74]

Hi Isaac

PM you the contact. However, I cannot remember the cost. It will also not be accurate because I remembered he asked for higher price because (a) he claimed my area was big, and (b) I needed him and his workers to do the job urgently over the weekend (OT rate).

[Ks Toh 74]

When I was young, my dad had an aquarium tank of fishes including a seahorse. I always wanted an aquarium in my house. A few times, I had a fish tank but I always had issues with the water filtration system, and had a hard time cleaning the tank and changing water. So, I was never really successful.

In my new place, I was lucky to have not one but two ponds. One outside (in front of my main door), one inside the house (below the vertical garden). The original filtration system used was not too good. All the koi pond contractors that came to view said that considering the amount of water in the inside pond, that box was not big enough. I was told it should be at least 3 times that size! As for the outside pond, they told me the small black box was a joke.

This is when I had to decide on various options.

Edited November 14, 2013 by kstoh

[Harriette 42]

Hi,

where did you buy the Hitronweb Electronic Insect Exterminator?

[Ks Toh 74]

Hi Harriete

I forgot where exactly I bought the Hitronweb from but definitely I saw it on sale at the hardware store in Simpang Bedok next to Selegie Bean Curd. However, they did not sell the bulb refill. I found the bulb refill at Mustafa. I thought I saw the Hitronweb on sale there too but I am not too sure. Do note my point that this bulb is hard to find.

There are also other types. I also have another cheaper normal type, where the lamp is just a simple single tube. For this type, you can find the refill easily. However, my helper tells me the Hitronweb is "more powerful". At HomeFix DIY and NTUC Fairprice, they sell the Pest-Stop brand.

Edited November 14, 2013 by kstoh

[Ks Toh 74]

Continuing with my koi pond story .... For many jobs, there are various alternatives. You need to do research and not rely on everything the ID or contractor says.

Contractor 1 told me the solution is to dig a large hole in the ground and put the filtration tanks inside. He will then put chengai decking over it. This meant digging up almost the entire area where my outdoor patio now resides. In addition, as there was drain culvert and possibly sewerage pipes here, this meant diversion works for these stuff. Good idea as everything is hidden but I added up the digging, diversion and chengai and basically, it was going to cost a lot. I shelved the thought.

Contractor 2 told me the solution is simply to partition the pond. He will use up one third to house the filtration chamber. No digging or diversion. But this meant that I lose one third of the ponds straightaway. No way.

Contractor 3, from http://www.phytowaterarts.com/, proposed their "bio-filtration system" to me. I had no clear idea what it was but the solution was appealing to me. They would put their bio-filtration system at the base of the pond. In this way, there will be no ugly filtration chamber visible anyway. I chose them.

Edited November 14, 2013 by kstoh

[Ks Toh 74]

The bio-filtration system sounded very advanced. But as far as I can see, it is PVC pipes with holes, followed by black plastic tray, then green netting followed by lots of granite.

Initially, the water was cloudy (from the granite) but after a few days, the water became clear.

Edited November 14, 2013 by kstoh

[Ks Toh 74]

The contractor promised me "crystal clear" water. for the inside pond, the water has been clear from day one. No problem.

However, for the outside pond, although the pond is clear most of the time, sometimes it turns dark green. After flushing out some of the water and fitler for one or two days, it will turn clear again. I am still trying to identify the problem.

Edited November 14, 2013 by kstoh

[Ks Toh 74]

If you noticed that the vases in the two photos are different, well they are different. The lighter one was the original vase. You can see some parts of the outside glazing peeling off. So, we tried to find a replacement.

We searched high and low. Went to all fish farms, nurseries & vase suppliers at every corner of Singapore but could not find a similar vase. They were either not green, or did not have the 3 frogs at the rim. Eventually, my wife searched the internet and found the maker of a similar vase in Myanmar.

Just in case the vase was damaged during shipment, we bought 2 pieces. The seller decided to throw in a 3rd piece as well. One piece has been installed, leaving the other two. The vase can be used as a water feature (as in my case for my koi pond) or simply as a planter. Vase is about 60 cm (2 feet) high and 58 cm wide at the widest part. Please PM me in case anyone is interested. It cost us only US$50 each but shipping, insurance and cargo clearance added S$900 to the bill !

I am quite proud to say that I installed the new vase myself!

Edited November 14, 2013 by kstoh

[Ks Toh 74]

I see many of you here DIY some parts of the renovation process. DIY is very common overseas, especially in USA and Canada. But they have Home Depot and all sorts of DIY shops which sell everything you need. And contractors are expensive there. Over here, we rely on a few DIY and hardware shops.

Some tips when you DIY:

1. Make sure you have the right equipment. Buy or borrow. For example, if you need to drill, make sure you have the right drill bit. If you need to saw or sand large pieces of wood, use an electric saw or sander. You will literally die doing it by hand.

2. Protection, protection, protection. Make sure you use cardboard or some soft material to protect the floor or work space. You don't want to DIY some beautiful object only to find that you have also DIY damaged your beautiful floor.

3. Be very careful. Do a little, check a little, do a little, check a little etc (including the surrounding areas). I learnt it the hard way. I drilled from one side of the wine cabinet but forgot the crystal glass backing on the other side. Ooops.

[Ks Toh 74]

I have a Chengai bench which I bought more than 10 years ago. Compared to the Chengai wood of today, that bench is still solid. No cracks or warping, even though it had been out in rain and sun for more than 10 years. When I gave the flooring job to the contractor who re-sand my floor and repaired some decking, I told him to include re-sanding and varnishing this bench and he agreed. But after the flooring job was completed, he backed out. He claimed that the bench was already painted and it would be extremely difficult to remove the old paint. He offered only to re-paint over it. I decided then to do myself.

I used an electric sander. Tried over a few days and did not achieve much. The contractor was right. It was almost impossible to remove the old paint completely. Unless I shaved off the top layer of wood. So, I gave up. Just remove those parts of the paint that were loose and re-varnish over it. Lesson to be learnt. Try not to paint over wood. If possible, just varnish. If you paint, then in future, you likely will have to re-paint over it again.

Edited November 15, 2013 by kstoh

[Ks Toh 74]

The other project, which I did only yesterday, was to change my letterbox lock to a combi lock. I thought it was a clever idea. As it is too troublesome to always bring a key to unlock it, we leave it unlocked all the time. But if we can have a combination lock, we don't have to worry about the key!

I could not find it in any shop here, so I bought it from Amazon.

Although the job looked simple enough, I somehow took a long time to do it. And I also felt kind of giddy after that.

Edited November 15, 2013 by kstoh

[greglhc 30]

Seeing your DIY pics is nice. And you have an electric sander!

Any chance to use your place for some of my small DIY projects? Lol