leonjennawong 53 Report post Posted December 1, 2013 Hi iceage, is Kompacplus a laminate? How's the price like compared to quartz?Anyone here knows what kompactop is made of? Looks like normal laminate to me lei... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Makanology 29 Report post Posted December 1, 2013 Hi the baby gate doesn't need to be drilled to the wall. It is pretty easy to be fixed up so it can be taken out easily. But the size is quite standard so if you want something that is wide enough between the living room and kitchen, I think it may not be big enough... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
inthechouse 8 Report post Posted December 1, 2013 (edited) Hi guys, we've decided on our contractor! We are using the infamous Alan. Haha. Spoke to about ten ID/contractors in all before we made the decision. Finally, we decided to go with someone known for a final product of good quality, even if there will be a lot of chasing and supervising during the process. *worried*There were two IDs we would recommend. We liked them both but unfortunately they were over our budget. 1) Shawn Ng of Visual Dreams -the brother of a friend of mine- can tell him LX recommended. We went to visit one of his past project sites and it looked good. He was very earnest, helpful, and efficient. Just told him we decided to go with someone else and he offered his help if we have any questions or probs along the way with Alan. (Hopefully we won't have to take up his offer!)2) Evangeline of The Design Practice The co she works for did Reno for a friend, who was happy with the final product. She's very earnest and meticulous and gave us a discount but still the price was over what we were willing to pay.Will NOT recommend 1) Brendon of Posh Home His boss did the Reno for a friend, so we asked them for a quote. The co sent Brendon down on the day we allocated for all the contractors/IDs to come down to measure the flat. He actually gave us quite a good impression on that day itself but things went down downhill after. Said he couldn't send us quote by email as it was usual practice to meet up. We were okay with that and set a date. However, for a few times, he cancelled on us last min or tried to change locations last min. Then days or weeks later would pop by again and ask to meet up... Mentioned this to our friend who told his boss about it. The boss called to apologize and said brendon's reason for his behavior was that we were speaking to many IDs/contractors anyway (he saw them on the measuring day). The boss also offered to help look thru the quote we choose out of goodwill. Some other IDs did express surprise at the no. of people we contacted and asked to measure and quote but they still went along their work normally so this is really no excuse.So... With Alan it is. Hopefully it won't be tooooo much of a headache! Edited December 1, 2013 by inthechouse Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Makanology 29 Report post Posted December 1, 2013 Morning, saw that you have decided on Alan. Remember to keep a record of all discussions on whatsapp/ SMS / email. Monitor very closely and it helps if you know very well what the end result is. Keep communicating & reminding him and his sub-cons. Best if you can exchange phone numbers with his sub-cons so that they can quickly call you for any clarifications. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iceage 1 Report post Posted December 2, 2013 Anyone here knows what kompactop is made of? Looks like normal laminate to me lei...Hi inthechouse and leonjennawong,Kompactop is a laminate with resin in it. You can try to google at kompacplus for more information. I first saw it when I was browsing the blogs here too. Love the wood feel in it. But same worries here as I was afraid of the durability. However, some of the seniors here who have used it have not encountered any problems with it. You can ask geghlc and vanessa. However, vanessa did not use that for her kitchen in the end so I am 2 minds too now whether to go for kompactop or black granite top. However, I do not like black counter top la.. Aish...having real headache now... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CrimsonX 0 Report post Posted December 2, 2013 Anyone here knows what kompactop is made of? Looks like normal laminate to me lei...Hi,Kompactop is essentially a laminate, but a thicker version. they are soaked in resin and baked under high pressure. the end result is a hard, durable plastic like material. its actually a very tough material. actually, we come across it in everyday usage, when u visit the next washroom, take a look at the dividers, thats what the material is.main advantage is tat it comes in very large sizes, so minimal joint lines, and that it can have variety of patterns, if you're looking at something else besides usual stones and solid surfaces. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
inthechouse 8 Report post Posted December 2, 2013 Morning, saw that you have decided on Alan. Remember to keep a record of all discussions on whatsapp/ SMS / email. Monitor very closely and it helps if you know very well what the end result is. Keep communicating & reminding him and his sub-cons. Best if you can exchange phone numbers with his sub-cons so that they can quickly call you for any clarifications.Morning! Yup, saw that you used Alan too... Sigh. We're going to be really vigilant! Thankfully one of us works just a few minutes away from the new home so can pop by easily to check on the progress and catch any mistakes early. Thanks for the tip on the sub-cons, will do that!Hacking should start sometime this week! Woo! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
inthechouse 8 Report post Posted December 2, 2013 Hi,Kompactop is essentially a laminate, but a thicker version. they are soaked in resin and baked under high pressure. the end result is a hard, durable plastic like material. its actually a very tough material. actually, we come across it in everyday usage, when u visit the next washroom, take a look at the dividers, thats what the material is.main advantage is tat it comes in very large sizes, so minimal joint lines, and that it can have variety of patterns, if you're looking at something else besides usual stones and solid surfaces.Hi CrimsonX, thanks for the explanation!@iceage -- hmm, are you the conscientious type? I think if you conscientiously set pots and pans or hot dishes on a placemat or over a towel the kompactop surface should be okay. For me, I'm quite rough at handling things and my current prep space is tiled and can take a lot of nonsense, so I may forget to take care of solid surface tops which was what we were considering at first. That's why when making decisions for the house we tried to go for the more practical options instead of the more visually appealing ones. During house warming guests will probably be wondering why so little 'visible/ fancy' reno could cost so much...lol. So ask yourself if you/your family members are okay with giving whichever surface you choose the level of care it requires! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iceage 1 Report post Posted December 2, 2013 Hi CrimsonX, thanks for the explanation!@iceage -- hmm, are you the conscientious type? I think if you conscientiously set pots and pans or hot dishes on a placemat or over a towel the kompactop surface should be okay. For me, I'm quite rough at handling things and my current prep space is tiled and can take a lot of nonsense, so I may forget to take care of solid surface tops which was what we were considering at first. That's why when making decisions for the house we tried to go for the more practical options instead of the more visually appealing ones. During house warming guests will probably be wondering why so little 'visible/ fancy' reno could cost so much...lol. So ask yourself if you/your family members are okay with giving whichever surface you choose the level of care it requires! Hi intheChouse,Hmm, I am careful about taking care of my kitchen currently but what I am worried about are those things that are out of my control. For example, my coffee machine was faulty unknown to me and was staining the current counter top where I placed the machine on. Luckily I placed an old plastic chopping board on it and the counter top had a fabric cloth which is washable. Can you imagine if I placed it on my kompactop??? If it stains my countertop i think i will So am still ding-donging between granite and kompacplus hahaha Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
inthechouse 8 Report post Posted December 2, 2013 Does anyone have contacts for 1) a windows guy 2) mirror supplier?Alan's quote includes windows but kinda ex, and we are still looking for someone else to do it.For mirror we couldn't firm up the exact size we wanted (for dining area) so we took it out of the quote first. Also looking for someone else cheaper, else we may just buy from ikea.@iceage maybe you can put a corkboard/placemat on ur counter under all the items that may potentially leak! cut to size so it fits just nice under the item, so it won't affect the look of ur counter, and will help soak up any potential messes until you spot them. it's feasible if you only have a few appliances permanently sitting on counter. then for impt occasions when friends and family are over can just keep the placemat first for show haha. i think if we get a coffee machine i will cut out something as a base for it too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
retchlow 7 Report post Posted December 2, 2013 HAHAHHAHA HELLO PS....... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
retchlow 7 Report post Posted December 2, 2013 ok sorry..hello PS' fwen Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
inthechouse 8 Report post Posted December 2, 2013 hello retchlow! wow, didn't know that you're already a silver member! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
greglhc 30 Report post Posted December 2, 2013 Hi,Kompactop is essentially a laminate, but a thicker version. they are soaked in resin and baked under high pressure. the end result is a hard, durable plastic like material. its actually a very tough material. actually, we come across it in everyday usage, when u visit the next washroom, take a look at the dividers, thats what the material is.main advantage is tat it comes in very large sizes, so minimal joint lines, and that it can have variety of patterns, if you're looking at something else besides usual stones and solid surfaces.Just echoing what has been said about kompactop. The two things I like about it - wood grain available and it's thin-ness so looks sleek.It made durable because of the resin and most stains can be removed using thinner, including tumeric (which has been the thing that stains even the toughest surfaces)The two things which you have be careful about 1. cutting on the surface, obviously will scratch 2. cannot put hot cookware on it directly - must have a trivet. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
retchlow 7 Report post Posted December 2, 2013 hello retchlow! wow, didn't know that you're already a silver member! but being silver member doesn't make me any richer anyway have fun here! there are lots of Alan's customers in this forum so feel free to seek help & rant at the same time coz we've all been thru it. HAHA Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
