Clueless Single's 4Rm Reno

[Songz 132]

I am at mid level 6

[koori 45]

izen with WPL3308T : +1 Vote

(Pls remember I am quite color mismatch kind )

thanks for the vote.

These laminates all have fancy names in the catalog de. These 4 laminates I picked - from left : Antrasit Alpi, Grey Cedar, Grey Oak, Zebrawood black.

Besides color, also had check that the laminate doesn't have too much 'embossed' lines/grooves. This can't be seen on computer screen, have to feel the sample square bits in the catalog to get a feel. Was told by mom that those embossed grooves will trap oiliness...will be more difficult to clean. Best is matt surface I guess.

I also read somewhere glossy laminates get scratched easily?

Tough part of the single getting reno....everything needs to be decided individually. No one to check with on color schemes/brands of stuff to get.... hhahah...

Will also be asking the contractor about the colors Monday when I meet him, but just thought I should have some idea to start with else will be a super long meeting......

Edited March 9, 2014 by koori

[koori 45]

I am at mid level 6

How tall is your block?

I'm just repeating the sales talk I was given. Secretly I dubbed it the 'water pump theory'.

I dunno how to verify though.

Based on the theory : HDB has 2 water pumps in each block. There is one at ground floor, water will pump upwards to about mid point of the block. There is another pump at top of the block, pumps downwards to also about mid point of the block. So levels closer to ground floor or top floors get good pressure due to proximity to the water pump.

Before this, I always thought there is only one water pump from top of block down....

[Songz 132]

The whole floor i think is 12 story high ...

[Takaishi 44]

hmmm i think not like that lei.. cos i know those at top floor e rain shower quite pathetic one.. maybe just those blocks? lol

[koori 45]

hmmm i think not like that lei.. cos i know those at top floor e rain shower quite pathetic one.. maybe just those blocks? lol

No idea. Shall review the water heater and the pressure after it is installed. Haha....at the moment it is still sitting in a box in Bedroom 2.

Was repeating wat the sales guy told me. I have no idea if it's true.

I was thinking worst come to the worst will just use the regular shower-head that came with the set if the rain shower has pathetic water pressure.

[koori 45]

Updates :

Met Alex [my contractor's name. Will use his name from henceforth. Less letters to type. haha] yesterday afternoon.

The plumbing uncle fly my kite. He was supposed to be around so I could point out where I wanted the bathroom accessories and the kitchen accessories to go onto. [plumbing uncle is also the guy drilling all those misc holes for bathroom accessories/kitchen odds and ends....]

Not too upset though. Electrician uncle who was around says he will be helping to do markings on what stuff goes where. I don't know leh....me thinks is ok to just indicate where I want the stuff and they will arrange. Mom insist must stand there see them drill....

Alex did take another look to confirm placement after he arrived. He did suggest a few movement of items for aesthetic purposes. Me and electrican uncle just thinking where it is practical, not much consideration on if nice or not de.

Colors chosen after meeting with Alex yesterday :

iQuartz top :iCrystal

Cabinet laminate : PG1881V

Living room paint color : Sail White

All bedrooms paint color : Lilac White

All doors : Sail White

All ceiling : Plain old white white....

Took iCrystal for the countertop color instead of grey in the end. Alex was saying that the entire kitchen looks grey-grey if top and cabinet both in darker colors. For contrast should get a lighter top. Was already hovering between the 2 colors, so now white top it is. iCrystal has these flecks, so hopefully not as difficult to maintain as plain solid white.

The cabinet laminate PG1881V (Antrasit Alpi) looks more brownish on computer screen, it looks more greyish in the catalog sample. Let's hope it doesn't turn out too bad.

Color wise, Sail White was suggested by Alex. I was thinking Cotton-White or Pearl....both more 'creamy white colors'. Think Alex is considering my 'open' kitchen and suggested sail white instead.

[Songz 132]

The advantages of a ID instead of contractor comes on the coloring and placement.

I will agree that it will be great if you are around for the drilling as sometimes they may try cover up if too much is being drill or etc ...

[koori 45]

The advantages of a ID instead of contractor comes on the coloring and placement.

I will agree that it will be great if you are around for the drilling as sometimes they may try cover up if too much is being drill or etc ...

Ya, I cheapskate dun want to pay for 3D, can't complain when cannot visualise.

For me, the only difference for me is ID will give you fancy 3D pictures. [cost hidden dunno where in your quote, likely +$10 item 1, +$20 item 2...etc...not obvious but adds up...]

Contrary to popular belief, getting a contractor does not mean he does not help on coloring and placement. Or did I happen to get a 'hybrid' contractor who can do some ID work without the 3D? LOL.

Mine does know matching of colors, and he can tell you where to place what. Of course need to communicate and ask him if you are open to suggestions lah....at least that is my experience so far. My floor tiling actually all picked by him coz the whole tile showroom is horrendously big and confusing to a clueless person like me...not to mention there are sections of 'out-of-reach' tiles coz too expensive for me.

Sorry for sounding like I was some kind of expert on colors. hahahhaa.....should have credited Alex earlier. I picked the wall tile, then went 'what floor tile do you suggest?' hahaha....then he had to go hunting for the suitable ones in the shop.

For placement of stuff, I go 'so where typically should the water heater/wardrobe/bed headboard/_______ go arh?'

He will suggest....of course if you insist on doing a non-typical way, he will follow your instructions lah.

Yes, me actually even ask about where the bed/study table should be placed when it's clearly none of his business. hahahah....

Edited March 11, 2014 by koori

[Songz 132]

Hahaha...

anyway all is good now as you are quite in good hands from what I see, some contractors are experienced in this field thus even color and placement also used to it ...

[koori 45]

Aircon installation today~

Out with the old :

In with the new :

[koori 45]

Opt for Toshiba Inverter System 3. Installers are Gain City. Team I had are Malaysians....Haha...obvious from the mandarin spoken.

Main reason for getting this brand is my sis and mum are both using Toshiba.Feedback from both is that the compressor is quite silent and maintenance (filter washing) is easy as well.

There are folks on Renotalk with a slightly lower quote....about $80 cheaper based on similar specs, but kiasee me went for GC anyways.

• Damage to pocket for System 3: $3,159 - $200 discount [voucher given, I asked for cash discount instead of getting vouchers]
• Stainless Steel bracket : $150. [no AC ledge in old flats. ]
• Dismantle of existing AC : FOC [trade-in]
• Power point : no cost. Used existing.

Mum was there earlier in the morning when the GC folks arrived at 10.40am. Alex arrived not sure when. Mum said she called him after the GC guys arrived.

The folks were waiting for me to decide the Bedroom 2 and Bedroom 3 aircon placement. Paiseh for making them wait.

I didn't understand when mom called me and asked me '走上面‘ 还是 ’走下面‘？ [literal translation : 'Go from above' or 'Go from below'? ]

Pardon the very very long post below...didn't know there is so many issues with just where to run the AC pipes/wires..just writing down what happened today. Haha....

MBR :

I understood when mom called me about the MBR, 'must be in middle of the protruding wall? Or can be placed to the side?'

Apparently Alex and GC guys both suggested to the side of the wall, but mom kept insisting middle of the wall...so she called me to confirm.

Opted for the side of the wall so that the trunking doesn't show up on this wall. It's on the wall behind so not obvious from the front.

BR2 :

Trunking came from MBR's wall from around the skirting area. Here's a photo showing where it connects to MBR.

There is a 'bend' in the trunking coz a beam is in the way. Can go straight too if you can accept the aircon being fixed much lower on the wall than usual.

BR3 :

Room causing the headache. The 'shortcut' from MBR is from the entryway between the 2 rooms.

Problem : There is a fake ceiling done by the previous owners...there's also some kind of cornice design at the entryway. Damages to the cornice definite... A no-no in Alex's opinion.

Ended up have to go through BR2 to reach BR3. Debated which wall to put the AC too. Per the GC guys, the longer the trunking/piping, the more inefficient the water drainage. Or maybe the more work they have to do so they say the shorter the better.

In BR2, GC guys show me that trunking can go across the wall about 12 inches from the ceiling, or below just above skirting area.

Advantage of going below is that the water will run down the drainage pipe easier as it's flowing downwards from aircon split units. Disadvantage....the trunking takes up space above the skirting area. Any furniture placed around the walls will not 'flush' with the wall.

Opt for this method coz going across the wall is simply so unsightly...cut across the whole room wall at where it is smack in front of your eyes. At least near the flooring not that obvious. At least I think most people look up instead of down when walking lah.

The piping that goes from below skirting to upwards at wall level is hidden in the storeroom. Might create a challenge for those storeroom shelves I want...well, we will worry about that later.

[koori 45]

Special mention...a guy arrived around 4.30pm saying his boss sent him to do cornices....He said his boss told him 'a little bit' only. Asked me where is the 'little' bit.

I was confused. I thought there was a lot of ending halfway cornices to settle. Haha....I went 'your boss didn't tell you arh?' Even the GC guys who were still there joked - Cornices? They are all over the place.

His first reaction on seeing half-way ending cornices in all 3 rooms was '够力~' I deduced he is a Malaysian based on this comment. LOL...Singaporean's equivalent will be 'jialat!'

Special mention coz he saw the installation in BR2 and straight away pointed out that it was too high up on the wall. The cornices to be done after will in future hinder the aircon flap from being opened...cleaning will be impossible. Lucky for me coz the GC guys were already 95% finished with the installation. They were already starting the cleanup....if you need to call GC back for position changes, it's $150 a trip.

The AC guy also cannot explain why they put this so high up. Alex did tell them earlier in the morning that there will be cornices on the ceiling. And me the newbie can't tell it's too high up....

Mr Cornice insist them change the position of the aircon... .Really glad he came up at such an odd timing. Not his fault he came at odd timing though, mine is the 3rd house he is scheduled work for today

One pic of the damaged ceiling after the cornice removal. Mr Cornice is really the 'talkative' sort. He commented that the cornices in the older days are very 'solid'. Very difficult to take down....nowadays false ceiling very easy to remove, not like this one. He took one look and said this must be at least 10 years old. Haha...

Edited March 14, 2014 by koori

[fats 4]

Ya, I cheapskate dun want to pay for 3D, can't complain when cannot visualise.

For me, the only difference for me is ID will give you fancy 3D pictures. [cost hidden dunno where in your quote, likely +$10 item 1, +$20 item 2...etc...not obvious but adds up...]

Contrary to popular belief, getting a contractor does not mean he does not help on coloring and placement. Or did I happen to get a 'hybrid' contractor who can do some ID work without the 3D? LOL.

Mine does know matching of colors, and he can tell you where to place what. Of course need to communicate and ask him if you are open to suggestions lah....at least that is my experience so far. My floor tiling actually all picked by him coz the whole tile showroom is horrendously big and confusing to a clueless person like me...not to mention there are sections of 'out-of-reach' tiles coz too expensive for me.

Sorry for sounding like I was some kind of expert on colors. hahahhaa.....should have credited Alex earlier. I picked the wall tile, then went 'what floor tile do you suggest?' hahaha....then he had to go hunting for the suitable ones in the shop.

For placement of stuff, I go 'so where typically should the water heater/wardrobe/bed headboard/_______ go arh?'

He will suggest....of course if you insist on doing a non-typical way, he will follow your instructions lah.

Yes, me actually even ask about where the bed/study table should be placed when it's clearly none of his business. hahahah....

Actually the id will charge you outright for his consultation and 3d drawings. There will be no hidden costs. If you are someone who knows what you want or have an idea of what you want, a good renovation contractor would suffice. By the way , I'm looking to remodel my nine year old kitchen and toilets. If possible feature a wall with a suspended tv console and have the whole house painted. I've been reading your post and so far seen only good reviews regarding your contractor. Mind sharing his contact info with me ? I've had three contractors do site visiting and take measurements for me. They were not recommended by anyone or I have not seen their works somewhere. Just got their numbers from HDB list of contractors. I just wanted to get to know how renovation costs are coming along in the present since the last time I renovated the whole house was back in 2005 when I got my new house The most expensive quotation so far is one that totals $27 000 including hacking, clearing, tiling, painting, installing and what nots Only one of them was satisfactory since he was willing to do all I requested and price seems reasonable, I think?! Sorry to hijack your post like this but would be grateful for the contact no. Thank you.

[koori 45]

Other updates:

Gas pipes connected.

Sink and stove support are both concrete based, which is why the structure here is standing here without the carpentry at the moment. The base and the sides are tiled. One of my earlier posts indicated the tile for 'sink&stove support' which is where it is used now.

The front of this will be covered by a wooden frame with doors so it will look the same as the wooden cabinets to the side.

The top of the structure is not tiled as I am opting for iQuartz top. It is possible to get homogenous tile top as well - there are grout lines to deal with though.

I think the sequence will be wood cabinets installation. After that iQuartz installation on top of this concrete structure + wood cabinets. Hob and sink tap should be the last to be installed after the top is up.

Will update photos when it's more completed. Carpentry in midst of fabrication at the moment, so nothing to show here yet.

Dish rack also up ~

Edited March 19, 2014 by koori