diy Top @Kew Drive

[Ks Toh 74]

Hi greglhc, yes DIY can be very satisfying. That is, if you don't mess up anything in the process!

As for the electric sander, I actually borrowed it! So, I don't have one to lend. So sorry.

[ProjectH 0]

Wow! U r really hands on and did lots of research! Amazing job!

[Ks Toh 74]

Lights. This is one area many of us are interested.

Like many others, I wanted LED lights. But first, let us look at the advantages and disadvantages of LED compared to conventional lighting, or what I was given to understand at the time I was considering lights.

Pros:

1. Energy saving

2. No heat

3. Longer lasting

4. Due to slimmer profile, do not need thicker false ceiling

Cons:

1. More expensive

2. Not easy or cannot repair (may have to replace entire unit)

In the past, the price of LED light was many times that of conventional lighting that it did not make economic sense. However, by the time I was making a decision, the price had come down to about double only. I understand that now, it is even lower. That being the case, I decided to take the plunge and go LED. Thus, about 95% of all my lighting are LED.

As for repairs/replacement, I did not buy any expensive LED lighting set where the whole set may have to be replaced if one bulb blew. As for down lights, I used the same design throughout my house including rooms, toilets and kitchen. I bought a few spares. Should some units need replacement, my plan was to use the spares and if not enough and I cannot buy replacements, to change the lights in one toilet or room, and use the existing ones as spares.

[Ks Toh 74]

We choose a LED downlight with transparent glass trim that is almost identical in size and design to our previous PLC downlights which had 2 x 18W PLC energy saving bulbs in each unit. According to the shop, our 12W LED cool white is equivalent to the 36W PLC energy saving. This means it consumes only one third of the energy. This is what we are given to understand but there is no way for us to verify this.

Size wise, the LED light is clearly much slimmer. This means you can have a higher false ceiling.

In terms of brightness, I can confirm that it is almost just as bright. However, LED lights tend to have less "throw" i.e. the light does not travel as far. The LED lights do not give out heat, which helps a little when you are trying to cool the room.

For the LED lights at the area next to my dining table, I decided to buy the same type but with a different controller. When you switch on/off the switch, the lights will change from Daylight > Cool White > Warm White. Cost me about double the price. I thought it would be fun, but honestly I have yet to really utilise it. I turn it on and use the default Cool White.

Edited November 15, 2013 by kstoh

[Ks Toh 74]

I can confirm that the LED down lights are more lasting. When I was using PLC, I had to change bulbs every now and then. For LED, except for the initial stage when I had to change some defective units, I have yet to change any of the LED bulbs.

However, I did notice one problem. For PLC, I could just change the bulb. I need not take down the entire casing. For LED, you have to take down the entire unit, casing and all. This meant applying force to remove the fixture from the false ceiling. Inevitably, the sides are damaged, and this is what you get if you look closely.

It is irritating, but I have to live with it. Thankfully, it is not obvious if the light is switched on and if I don't point it out. But maybe I would not have this problem if I had chosen one without the glass trim. But the glass trim is nice! Cannot have the best of both worlds, I guess.

[back to Table of Contents]

Edited May 24, 2014 by kstoh

[Ks Toh 74]

[back to Table of Contents]

As can be seen from the photos of my dining area and room, my standard ceiling design for places where I want to put a ceiling fan is to have a false ceiling at the sides, with cove lighting and downlights. This works for me. I do not have any problem with flickering lights even with fan switched on.

For cove lights, I originally intended to put LED strip lighting but changed my mind halfway and used normal T5 tubes instead. First, I was afraid that the LED lights might not be strong enough. Secondly, I did not know how to buy the LED strips and was afraid of buying the wrong thing.

However, for my dining area cabinet, I did use Philips LED strip lighting. No regrets. I have a 5 m strip on top and a 2 m strip in the middle. The strip on top seems brighter, probably because it is reflecting off a white background, while the one in the middle seems more subdued, probably because it is shining onto the open cavity.

As far as I can remember, Philips LED strips come in 2 lengths: 1 m and 5 m. They can be daisy chained up to certain length (which I forgot). Interestingly, you can cut the LED strip at designated areas every 5 cm. Notice the scissors marking.

Edited May 24, 2014 by kstoh

[Ks Toh 74]

We had a headache trying to light up our hall. The hall is rather high. Originally, there was a huge light in the centre hanging from the high ceiling but we had changed that to a fan. We could not have a fan light as that meant having to have a remote control for the fan, which was not advisable for reasons which I had explained earlier.

We could not have down lights or cove lights as there was no false ceiling. The only option was to have wall lights. But most wall lights are not meant to light up the area. They are meant primary for ambience lighting. Those that were really bright were those 300W to 500W halogen lights, and we needed 4 of them. Even then, they were shining upwards, and not bright enough for the whole place.

In the end, at the suggestion of the light shop salesman, we chose 4 LED ceiling lights but fixed them as wall lights. The result was pretty good. Our backup plan was to have some standing lamps if the place was not bright enough but this proved unnecessary.

Each of these LED lights was 12W and we were told they were equivalent to 70-80W halogen. We had 4 of them. Total 48W. I cannot imagine if we had to fix 4 of those 500W halogen bulbs. The heat generated and the energy consumption would have killed me!

Edited November 15, 2013 by kstoh

[Harriette 42]

Thanks for sharing so much about lights. I have not started thinking about lights yet, and I didn't realise that there is so much to think about.

[Ks Toh 74]

Next, the track lights. These are normal halogen track light holders but I put in LED bulbs. My wife wanted something simple. Not those with big transformers. Each is 6W, which I was given to understand is equivalent to about 35W halogen. However, the price of the LED bulb is expensive, many many times the price of normal halogen. So, in terms of cost, I am not sure if it is worth it.

Still, they look pretty. And I feel happy every time I consider that I am using only 6 x 5 = 30W of power. But I would be happier if they are brighter.

[Ks Toh 74]

Next the floodlights. I bought two AZ e-lite XL LED floodlights. One with sensor, one without. They are really bright and nice. They have two sizes, big and small. I bought the big ones, 65W LED equivalent to around 450 to 500W. However, I did not get a good price for these two. And I am still trying to figure out how the sensor works.

There is a smaller model.

[Ks Toh 74]

I also bought two of the normal black box LED floodlights. Looks like the normal halogen floodlights but using LED. The small one is 10W equivalent to about 70W halogen. The bigger one is 20W equivalent to about 100W halogen. These are much cheaper.

[Ks Toh 74]

And finally the Philips iCare LED desk light for my kids. Useful because it has 2 USB ports to charge your iPhone with one more to spare! Especially since the ID and contractor always under provide for power points.

Edited November 16, 2013 by kstoh

[Ks Toh 74]

Where I bought my LED lights from:

1. All the downlights and cheaper lighting are from A LIghting Enterprise at 463 Geylang Road. Look for Alex Lai. Tel: 67451826. Alex's prices are very reasonable, if not one of the cheapest. Of course, cannot compare with buying online from China.

2. All the more expensive lights are from Alvin Ho. He is now with Premier Lighting. Tel: 6844 6512.

3. All the Philips lights are from http://www.lightings.com.sg. I believe their prices are fixed. Their biggest shop and warehouse is at TradeHub 21. Go there if you want to see the whole range.

I forgot to add that initially, I had wanted to consider Philips downlights. I thought maybe if I buy Philips, I should be able to get spares easily in the future. But at that time, Philips did not have this type of downlights I was looking for. Even at their shop, they were selling third party lights.

Edited November 17, 2013 by kstoh

[Ks Toh 74]

Latest LED lights acquisition.

Merry Christmas !

Edited November 17, 2013 by kstoh

[Ks Toh 74]

DIY DRILLING AND FIXING OBJECT

This morning, my wife asked me to fix up 2 Shieldtox NaturGard Automatic Insect Repellent System units. So, I thought I would document the steps. When I bought my first property, I was fortunate to be neighbours with a few guys around my age. One of them used to work as installer for electricity cables etc. He taught me how to drill etc. It is something I realise that not many people today know.

DISCLAIMER: The following is what I have been doing without any problems for more than 10 years. I don't know what is the textbook or correct way of doing things.

BASIC TOOLS

For those getting your first home, I think you should have at least a basic tool set. It will come in handy. I would highly recommend the Ikea basic tool set. (The newer version comes in a nicer box).

Ikea also has a longer set which comes with (if I remember correctly) a wooden saw, right angle ruler, clamp but I find the only things really useful inside are the measuring tape and the leveller, both of which you can buy separately.

If you are iphone or smartphone crazy, you can even use your iphone or smartphone as leveller, though I am not sure how reliable it is.

Edited December 6, 2013 by kstoh