Hacking Out A Home-Shaped Hole @ Cassia

[Dwinsplace 48]

I believe I posted that i wanted a digital lock before and I was researching on the Kwikset lock, Goji Lock, as well as the August Smart lock.

All 3 of those use bluetooth technology to access your smartphone and automatically unlocks when you approach. Similar to your smart keys on the cars these day. Friggin awesome i thought! But sadly the first is not so pretty, and the next two are still in production phase and based in US. I suspect alot of the initial problems will also have solutions that might not apply to global users.

The big deal breaker though, was that the wife didn't really buy into the idea that they were safe. Too easy to steal your phone or misplace your phone and those sort of things.

For the longest time, electronic locks were off the table for us and I was sad... But its super important to feel safe in your own home so I agreed to go with traditional key locks.

BUT! The wife has recently changed her mind! Not sure why, but she does seem sure that she would be ok with electronic gate so YAY! Thanks dear!

Now I'm contacting all the local providers for digital locks because the installation onto metal gates is a lot more complex than on a door.

Has anyone done it before? Know what I should look out for? I'm currently asking interlock and An digital lock for advice.

[eastlovin 1]

Hi Dwinsplace, haha we were also specifically sourcing for flats in the MP and Cassia neighbourhoods around the same time as you and we ended up in MP!

We are currently in the midst of renovations and have encountered the same problem of finding out only during hacking that the HDB layout plan was not very accurate with the exact beam locations and measurements. We ended up having to re-configure our design after spending so much time planning and discussing the proposed design layout according to the supposed official HDB layout plan! But considering that the flat is close to 40 years old, maybe measurements weren't so accurate in the 70's lol

We have decided to install a digital lock for our main door too but are still contemplating whether to go for a digital lock for the gate as well cos it almost seems to defeat the purpose if we have bring the key for the gate when we go out!

Your 3D plans look great- looking forward to further updates from you!

[Dwinsplace 48]

Hi Dwinsplace, haha we were also specifically sourcing for flats in the MP and Cassia neighbourhoods around the same time as you and we ended up in MP!

We are currently in the midst of renovations and have encountered the same problem of finding out only during hacking that the HDB layout plan was not very accurate with the exact beam locations and measurements. We ended up having to re-configure our design after spending so much time planning and discussing the proposed design layout according to the supposed official HDB layout plan! But considering that the flat is close to 40 years old, maybe measurements weren't so accurate in the 70's lol

We have decided to install a digital lock for our main door too but are still contemplating whether to go for a digital lock for the gate as well cos it almost seems to defeat the purpose if we have bring the key for the gate when we go out!

Your 3D plans look great- looking forward to further updates from you!

Hey eastlovin! Love your nick. Easties FTW!

I have a feeling HDB plans are STILL not very accurate. tsk. Someone should them all. Its a lot of wasted man hours having to reconfigure everything.

Yeah I would agree with you about the gate. There are promotions to doing both but it will cost you ard $1000 ish. Unlike door alone where you can just get it online and self install with a simple drill. ($200ish) Gate work would require metal brackets, remote controls... oh well. Its the price of convenience and a one time payment for years of ease.

I have a number of photos in my phone but I havent gotten around to updating the blog. haha. Hacking pics, tile pics, first taobao shipment (quality is good!) Soon soon!

[OceanEleven 203]

Has anyone done it before? Know what I should look out for? I'm currently asking interlock and An digital lock for advice.

I had installed digital lock on both gate and main door but I did replace both gate and main door.

Hence installation was taken into consideration when ordering the gate and door so I do not face the gate installation issue.

I employed the service of An Digital, they did my 3 bedroom and main door as well.

So far I would say they did a good job. Price may not be the cheapest around but they are the authorized distributor.

Choose to pay to have a peace of mind, the price difference is not as if hundreds as well.

[Dwinsplace 48]

I had installed digital lock on both gate and main door but I did replace both gate and main door.

Hence installation was taken into consideration when ordering the gate and door so I do not face the gate installation issue.

I employed the service of An Digital, they did my 3 bedroom and main door as well.

So far I would say they did a good job. Price may not be the cheapest around but they are the authorized distributor.

Choose to pay to have a peace of mind, the price difference is not as if hundreds as well.

How did you design your gate to fit the lock nicely? Can take some pics of the back and front? Thanks!

[Dwinsplace 48]

Here is a before pic of the house.

Yes... it needed a lot of work.

So now it kinda looks like this!

(view frm main door)

(kitchen)

(the near wall on the right side will be torn down to be the dining area. The opened up wall behind will be where my dungeon will be )

[Dwinsplace 48]

Most of our floor will be a dark brown vinyl. I think our ID is using Kronos brand.

We chose to go with tiles for the more oily/wet areas like kitchen, toilets and balconies.

Here are our choices! Pardon the bad photos.

Concrete screed tiles for that industrial I-don't-give-a-****-look-but-actually-care-alot-about-ease-of-maintenance. Fairly big tiles. Probably 600x600? This will be for the entrance, kitchen and balconies (i think) They tried to convince me to use a cement tile patterned with flowers but it felt too much like a balinese resort so I vetoed it.

These were the 2 tiles for the bathrooms that got mixed up by the ID. We wanted darker for the walls and lighter for the floor. We thought the dark colour would be a lovely contrast to the stark white of the WC and sink. Add in some mood lighting and it should be a damned sexy toilet. Anyway, our ID has very efficiently admitted to her mistake, reordered new tiles (darker ones will be in a larger size) which will be delivered on thurs. In the meantime they will work on the other areas.

These are our brick stones for the feature wall! ID wanted red brick at first but we wanted a more monotone for the fixed features for a tighter aesthetic. And the colour is called chinchilla! The mrs is really tickled to have large hamsters on our wall. lol! I like that these tiles are alot more distressed than some others i saw at Hafary. A more natural look. Even though, yes.. its fake. lol. Apparently imported from Korea. Gmarket? haha.

Edited July 9, 2014 by Dwinsplace

[Dwinsplace 48]

Made an initial purchase from TB just to test the system and the quality of the items. And it just got here! Please pardon me for not posting any TB links at this time. I will have everything installed and tested and then post the links on a single page. I found that format most useful for me when i was reading other blogs.

Bought 2 different LED track lights to test the brightness. 12W and 7W. Only to realise that

1. I bought 1 wrongly as a ceiling mount instead of a track mount.

2. they are both HUGE

3. the best part... i have no existing tracks with which to test the brightness.

Bought an edison bulb to test if it was packed nicely and could survive the shipping and its BEAUTIFUL! They are sold for about $20-30 a bulb at lorgan's i think, while its only about $5 from TB including shipping!! My lighting options have just exploded to a whole new level of gorgeousness!!

Lastly is the kitchen tap that would go nicely with the industrial look. Very sturdy feel and of a good size. Having the pull hose will be very useful in cleaning the big sink we got. But will only know if its good when the plumber sets it up.

[Dwinsplace 48]

I've been spending the whole day trying to chat with different TB sellers to ask for specs, to make sure that they pack it for overseas shipping etc. Just found out that I should also ask if they can flatpack certain items for less shipping costs. But I haven't found out what flatpack is in chinese yet.

And apparently, there is a max number of new sellers that you can chat with in a day!! I guess they want to make sure that I'm not a bot out to crash their system. lol. Just as well, my brain was frying from going back and forth from google translate also. I think the CTRL C/ CTRL V buttons on my keyboard are going to break.

That said, i must say that so far, its been a pleasure talking to the guys on TB. Almost all of them are very helpful and prompt in their assistance. Once you get things set up on the website and get the hang of where to click for what, its pretty easy getting what you need. Even the chinese gets less daunting but I will be right up against my computer screen reading out loud like an idiot during chinese oral exams. Ahhh... nostalgia....

[eastlovin 1]

The hacking works are looking good- should be very open and spacious with the walls torn down!

Also, great idea of using concrete screed tiles for the raw look but not compromising on ease of maintenance I've gone for parquet throughout the entire flat except for the kitchen which will be tiled up.

I've not bought anything from TB for my reno even though I've heard largely good reviews from other renotalkers cos there are so many learning curves like navigating the site in Mandarin and looking for a freight forwarder etc and I'm just so **** lazy LOL

[mintyvintage 52]

if those 3 chairs dont match then maybe

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.0.0.kwi9nB&id=39170923432&ns=1#detail but also will have to stain wood darker.

Oh oh! and I REALLLY LOVE

Clothes rack from TB... wonder if i have the space though...

Still on the hunt for a tv console.

Man i really can't wait for the 3D so we can start making some purchases! Itchy... heh

Hi! do you still have this link from TB? it would be super useful to me for my too many clothes. HAHA.

thanks in adv. if not i will try to search with some keywords

[Songz 132]

Think we got the same color of tiles for bathroom

With the savings you got from TaoBao, you can change to a new keyboard ~ Heheh

[samuelmk 0]

Hey Samuel,

I guess you know better because you're right! HDB did not approve that. But IDs found it odd and so did my relative who is also an ID. Waterproofing can be (and is usually) redone since the toilets are all hacked anyway. If the HDB doesn't trust private company waterproofing then how can they allow the hacking of the toilets?

Our ID also said that they have done a very similar layout where this exact extension was approved. HDB just said that it was denied, but didn't give a reason.

in the end, we thought that the extension would have made the service yard too small to work in anyway so all good!

Hi Dwin, thanks for the updates. Aiya, thought that they have relaxed on that rule and wanted have a go at enlarging the bathroom. Haha.. Seem like all are going good on your reno!

[Dwinsplace 48]

The hacking works are looking good- should be very open and spacious with the walls torn down!

Also, great idea of using concrete screed tiles for the raw look but not compromising on ease of maintenance I've gone for parquet throughout the entire flat except for the kitchen which will be tiled up.

I've not bought anything from TB for my reno even though I've heard largely good reviews from other renotalkers cos there are so many learning curves like navigating the site in Mandarin and looking for a freight forwarder etc and I'm just so **** lazy LOL

Parquet is nice. love the feel of real wood. But i'm really scared of the maintenance.

Haha it IS a hassle to get started on TB. But once you get started, it really isn't that bad. The service is good! I'm just being super cautious and manually telling everyone that I want them to package carefully cos it will be shipped overseas haha. YOU SHOULD DO IT!!

[Dwinsplace 48]

Hi! do you still have this link from TB? it would be super useful to me for my too many clothes. HAHA.

thanks in adv. if not i will try to search with some keywords

These are the links that I've highlighted but pls note that I haven't actually bought them. So i don't know about quality etc. That said, if YOU buy them please let me know if they are good! haha.

First link is for the one pictured. Second is for my alternative.

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.0.0.klxGG3&id=37412520216&ns=1#detail

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.0.0.HhTo1g&id=38688667010&ns=1#detail