diy Top @Kew Drive

[home-maker 0]

Hi Toh,

Mind sending me the contact for your vertical garden? Am back settling the reno stuff and would like to arrange for them to come in and assess if it will work for my open airwell. Thanks in advance.

Carol

[Ks Toh 74]

Hi Toh,

Mind sending me the contact for your vertical garden? Am back settling the reno stuff and would like to arrange for them to come in and assess if it will work for my open airwell. Thanks in advance.

Carol

Hi Carol

Welcome back. My vertical garden is from http://www.verticalgarden.com.sg but there are many companies offering vertical gardens with different technologies. You might want to check them out to see which is more suitable. Good luck to you.

After 3 years, but with regularly maintenance, my vertical garden is still doing well. .When it was first put up, one of my closest friends actually said: haha, let's see again in one year's time. I recently celebrated Mooncake Festival at my place. Took a photo of the vertical garden. Will put in up in next post.

Edited October 4, 2015 by kstoh

[Ks Toh 74]

Mooncake Festival 2015

Do you guys agree that mooncake prices are now ridiculous? Many of them were selling for $60 upwards per box. So, if you have 10 friends to give, you end up spending almost a thousand dollars on these things. Then in return, you get 10 boxes. Don't know how to finish them. Or throw them away.

Starting last year, my group of close friends made a pact not to give each other any mooncake. Instead, we agree to meet and each family will bring one box of the best or most unique he can find. This has been a great arrangement, which I suggest some of you can try. And so we met last week, with lanterns and all.

Edited October 4, 2015 by kstoh

[tomasulu 2]

I've a terrible case of power circuit frequent tripping too. Often it happened after a heavy downpour. I've done so many things but what worked was changing some of the items inside the db box to higher resistance ones. I can't remember what the electrician said but essentially it's to raise the threshold before the circuit trips. Not sure it's safe to do so but at least it helps reduce the tripping.

[tomasulu 2]

I've also routed the circuit that supports the appliances with the highest power requirements to another. So maybe that helped too.

[yakult 3]

WOW i love that glass "back-splash" that can see right outside when you cook! So gorgeous!

Our dry kitchen is totally white.

[Ks Toh 74]

I've a terrible case of power circuit frequent tripping too. Often it happened after a heavy downpour. I've done so many things but what worked was changing some of the items inside the db box to higher resistance ones. I can't remember what the electrician said but essentially it's to raise the threshold before the circuit trips. Not sure it's safe to do so but at least it helps reduce the tripping.

I've also routed the circuit that supports the appliances with the highest power requirements to another. So maybe that helped too.

Hi tomasulu

I have done similar works but the problem remains. This ground floor circuit that trips controls only the hall, dining and porch lights. So, it should not have high power consumption. In fact, it trips even if the lights are off. So, I think most likely there is water ingress somewhere. I am still searching!

[Ks Toh 74]

WOW i love that glass "back-splash" that can see right outside when you cook! So gorgeous!

Thank you.

[Ks Toh 74]

Cooker Hood in Ventilation (Evacuation) Mode

This is likely not allowed in HDB and most condominiums but likely possible in landed housing. It is very practical if you can do it.

I have come to the conclusion that no matter how good your cooker hood, your kitchen floor and walls are going to get oily when you cook regularly. The filter in the hood does not really work and the oily fumes just gets circulated in the kitchen. And most people do not even bother to wash or replace the filters. In fact, I read that some people do away with the hood completely and it makes not much difference. But if you can duct the cooking fumes out of the kitchen, it makes a lot of difference.

Edited November 8, 2015 by Ks Toh

[Ks Toh 74]

1. Your cooker hood must be mounted against a wall where you can duct out the fumes.

2. You must buy the ventilation (duct out / evacuation) model of the cooker hood. Many makes have two models, one for circulation, one for ventilation mode. Typically, the ventilation model does not have charcoal filters. There are also models that can be used both for circulation as well as ventilation. When used in ventilation mode, the charcoal filters are normally removed.

​3. You must buy a hood with very strong suction power. This means around 1000 m3/hr. Read one bad experience I had here.

4. Most contractors are not familiar with installation of cooker hoods in ventilation mode. They do not know what to do. You have to supervise.

5. Some models do not come with the ducting tube and/or the external exhaust grille. In that case, you must buy separately. I was told both items can be bought from hardware shops but I cannot find them at the hardware shops. In the end, I bought the external exhaust grille from Eldric Marketing at Centrepoint #05-03. As for the aluminium ducting tube, it was very expensive at Eldric. In the end, I bought a spare ducting tube from Electrolux service centre at a fraction of the cost. They are all the same at 6 inches in diameter.

6. You must look at the cooker hood installation manual very carefully and determine the top of the motor. You can then create a hole in the wall above the top of this motor, and just big enough to let your ducting tube pass through to the other side of the wall, where you mount the external exhaust grille. In my case, the motor was at 300 mm mark, I opened the hole at 500 mm mark.

7. Use aluminium tape for taping. Your contractor will likely use normal masking tape since he is not familiar. Aluminium tapes can be bought at the hardware stores.

8. For the external exhaust grille yourself, if possible get one that can open/close. I had that for my previous place, but for my current place, I was not able to find it.

I bought the one on the left.

Edited November 21, 2015 by Ks Toh

[Ks Toh 74]

During Construction

After Construction

Cooker Hood installed.

View from inside kitchen

View from outside kitchen

Edited November 8, 2015 by Ks Toh

[Ks Toh 74]

I know that for HDB and condominium, you probably cannot discharge your cooking exhaust out of the window. But I have always wondered if you can discharge the cooking fumes into your own service yard. If this is allowed, this can be considered.

Something like this

[lovejade 0]

I know that for HDB and condominium, you probably cannot discharge your cooking exhaust out of the window. But I have always wondered if you can discharge the cooking fumes into your own service yard. If this is allowed, this can be considered.

Something like this

hi.. then hdb discharge to where ar?

[Ks Toh 74]

hi.. then hdb discharge to where ar?

Cooker Hood in Recycling Mode

The normal arrangement is to use the Cooker Hood in Recycling Mode. The exhaust is sucked in by the hood, cleaned by the filters, and discharged at the top of the hood. So basically, the exhaust is discharged back to your kitchen.

Some house owners box up the top, such that the discharge goes nowhere but somewhere in the cupboard. I think in such cases, the air flow will be impeded, and the hood will not function as well as it should.

[lovejade 0]

oh.. no wonder my friend ask me to make sure where is an hole/ to drain out....