Home Sweet Home @ Punggol Topaz

[CountryGlow 10]

Hi Snowy89!

U shifted in alrdy? I think shld be very dusty coz everywhere is renovation going on. Do remember to shut the gaps of all openings and esp the bottom of ur main door. Stuff cloth or something frm the inside of ur flat. Dust will still enter no matter what measures we take.

#omg on the funny tasting water! That thought ever crossed my mind so we alrdy standby water purifier when we shift in.

Anw, we are starting renovation works this week. Hope to find time to start a T-blog on our reno progress.

I haven't try 2 people showering at the same time. We only try showering at the masterbedroom bathroom separately. It doesn't last very long unfortunately and I don't know why. Think once it is up, need to turn on again before the next person goes in. Otherwise, after a while the water won't be very hot. I asked my sister about it and she says that her heater switch is always on whenever they bathe. In that way, they will always have hot water. I think I need to get used to it cos now I use instant heater at our parents' house.

I will not be sending my quote because it isn't fair for my ID since I signed with them 2 years ago, prices may have been subjected to change. It is best for you to approach Miss Y for a quote should you be interested. My renovation cost me 45k excluding furnishing in total. It is a price that I will gladly pay again because the workmanship is superb plus very fuss-free lah, I say this after seeing other people's renovation. Really nothing to hiam.

My ID is gonna send her plumbers down again to help install some more bathroom accessories and help to pull a water pipe from the service yard because I am installing a water purifier for the new house. The water in punggol is yikes! Have you tried it yet? Got weird taste one.

[kakikaki 1]

Hi kakikaki,

R&R charges their ID services cost separately but that cost was also included in my total quote, which Miss Y has published in her blog profile.

They are not cheap but I think they are still affordable for what they do. We did a comparison between a contractor and our chosen one and decided to go for the more costly one despite of the cost due to their great reputation and well assured quality work. I don't feel short changed, in fact, feel like I gotten lots of extra good stuffs because of Miss Y's generosity. LOL.

Shopping for an ID/contractor requires chemistry and fate. For a peace of mind, take your time to go around asking for quotes to compare prices (so that you don't become too much of a chopped carrot) but in the end, it just boils down to how well you gel together with the ID/contractor and how much you like them because the cost is about the same plus minus.

I guess for us, it just happened and now that we have our dream house, it makes going back home feels like a staycation and a getaway.

Hi snowy89,

First of all Happy Chinese New Year to u & your family, hope everything is well & wish you Gong Xi Fatt Choy & Yang Yang De Yi.

I had collected my key last week & had went down to have a look on the surrounding.

Saw my block had been occupied with quite a number of new home owner already.

I also discovered some of the service yards did not install additional sliding window or metal grills, any advise on the pro & cons on this.

Hope you could advise me on some of the breakdown cost for:

1) The full ht sliding door wardrobe in your Master bedroom ($xxx / ft)

2) The shoe cabinet wardrobe in your dinning area. ($xxx / ft)

3) Lastly, the dining storage sette (seat) which I love the most.

4) Thanks.

Hope you are still keeping this forum "Home Sweet Home @ Punggol Topaz" active, I'm still reading your updates, haha.

[snowy89 12]

Hi Snowy89!

U shifted in alrdy? I think shld be very dusty coz everywhere is renovation going on. Do remember to shut the gaps of all openings and esp the bottom of ur main door. Stuff cloth or something frm the inside of ur flat. Dust will still enter no matter what measures we take.

#omg on the funny tasting water! That thought ever crossed my mind so we alrdy standby water purifier when we shift in.

Anw, we are starting renovation works this week. Hope to find time to start a T-blog on our reno progress.

Hey CountryGlow, surprisingly there is not much dust after the final clean up by my ID. Most of the time when we go, we will open the windows and we find it still alright. I think since our side is covered by the carpark and many other blocks, so the 260 side isn't so bad. Plus it is rather breezy but it is those gentle kind. I hate to live in super windy flat though mainly because the woes of long hair. I will be eating hair otherwise. However, the 259 side is very dusty because they are facing the main road.

I am still not living in yet, in the midst of transporting our stuffs over slowly. May I know what water purifier brand did you buy? I am currently considering novita, but would need to wait for the plumbers to get back to work to see if I would be able to install it since they are still celebrating their cny holiday.

[snowy89 12]

Hello Kakikaki,

Happy new year to you and your family too! I think the grilles and windows thing are more of a personal thing. If I have a choice, I would not install grilles around the whole house. Perhaps can save some money too.

However, windows on the other hand, is a must for me for the service yard. Otherwise when it rains, your washing machine/dryer will kanna the rain water..

My full height sliding WIW wardrobe is about $320/ft (Note: price is 2 years ago). But I topped up additional for the top hung mechanism, meaning no visible tracks unlike the usual sliding wardrobe.

I would like to comment after using encasement wardrobe and sliding wardrobe, I appreciate the sliding wardrobe more because there is more room to put a chair/desk in front of the wardrobe of our already very small room.

I feel that for my house, the rooms are quite small, especially the guest room in order to compensate for the bigger living room. But I am not complaining lah, at least it can fit my 2.8 metre sofa and I can sit there and nua all day.But I need to buy more TV channels so that I can do that everyday. #truestory

Shoe cabinet also cost about the same per ft as the WIW wardrobe. The dining seattee with storage and backing costed me roughly 1k odd. Nonetheless, all my carpentry comes with internal coloured PVC, blum hinges and mechanism.

I am still anticipating for a bed that I ordered online for my guest room. Hopefully it doesn't come too shabby. Plus it is cheap!! Even cheaper than ikea. Will be updating that before I close this journey of our mini project.

[CountryGlow 10]

Not dusty? Really?

We popped by our flat a few times and our closed windows panels got dusty-er each time we are there. Maybe becoz our block still doing renovations at the ground level so dusty-er. Idk! Hopefully will be ur side not as bad as we thought. And I gotta agree that our flat, despite the low floor is windy too! Soft breeze like u mentioned! And thank God that our unit is not hit by the sun so we feel cooling in there thru out the day..hee!!

For water purifier, we bought from Tuberware. Not the best brands around but we thought it was decent enough for the basic purifying function and it's compact! Save space on our counter top!! We got it at a promotion last Dec when the whole set was going at $888 + they throw in a set of tuberware foc! We thought it was super worth! U can consider

Btw can check with u on the rain shower set u bought from TB? Is quality good & worth? I'm considering to check to rain shower too!

Hey CountryGlow, surprisingly there is not much dust after the final clean up by my ID. Most of the time when we go, we will open the windows and we find it still alright. I think since our side is covered by the carpark and many other blocks, so the 260 side isn't so bad. Plus it is rather breezy but it is those gentle kind. I hate to live in super windy flat though mainly because the woes of long hair. I will be eating hair otherwise. However, the 259 side is very dusty because they are facing the main road.

I am still not living in yet, in the midst of transporting our stuffs over slowly. May I know what water purifier brand did you buy? I am currently considering novita, but would need to wait for the plumbers to get back to work to see if I would be able to install it since they are still celebrating their cny holiday.

[kakikaki 1]

Hello Kakikaki,

Happy new year to you and your family too! I think the grilles and windows thing are more of a personal thing. If I have a choice, I would not install grilles around the whole house. Perhaps can save some money too.

However, windows on the other hand, is a must for me for the service yard. Otherwise when it rains, your washing machine/dryer will kanna the rain water..

My full height sliding WIW wardrobe is about $320/ft (Note: price is 2 years ago). But I topped up additional for the top hung mechanism, meaning no visible tracks unlike the usual sliding wardrobe.

I would like to comment after using encasement wardrobe and sliding wardrobe, I appreciate the sliding wardrobe more because there is more room to put a chair/desk in front of the wardrobe of our already very small room.

I feel that for my house, the rooms are quite small, especially the guest room in order to compensate for the bigger living room. But I am not complaining lah, at least it can fit my 2.8 metre sofa and I can sit there and nua all day.But I need to buy more TV channels so that I can do that everyday. #truestory

Shoe cabinet also cost about the same per ft as the WIW wardrobe. The dining seattee with storage and backing costed me roughly 1k odd. Nonetheless, all my carpentry comes with internal coloured PVC, blum hinges and mechanism.

I am still anticipating for a bed that I ordered online for my guest room. Hopefully it doesn't come too shabby. Plus it is cheap!! Even cheaper than ikea. Will be updating that before I close this journey of our mini project.

Hi snowy89,

Really appreciate on your prompt feedback, thanks.

I saw you brought your kitchen sink from Taobao too, really cheap compare to prices selling in Singapore and the material is make from SUS 304

which is quite a good stainless steel grade.

I wish to purchase some items from Taobao too but have not purchase from Taobao before, hope you could guide me on this.

1) If I purchase the sink from Taobao by this weekend, how long do it take to arrive Singapore as I going to start looking for reno contractor probably

next week. I'm worry the purchase sink might not arrive in time for the contractor/plumber to fix them.

2) must I open a account with a local freight forwarder first before I can purchase the items from Taobao?

3) Must I open an account with Taobao too?

4) I had try to buy the items but I saw the delivery only within China province.

5) I pay the items with credit card thru forwarder or thru Taobao?

6) or any other account I needs to open.

7) I saw you mentioned you used Peeka for the shipment, is it by Air freight or by Sea mode?

Sorry for such a long lists of question, thanks.

[snowy89 12]

Hi Kakikaki,

I only used peeka for my taobao. You will need to sign up your account with them but don't need to have a taobao account. It's quite user friendly, just insert the Taobao link and choose which item you want, make sure the amount shown is correct and edit if needed. Payment through Internet banking or atm transfer.

They calculate by volumetric weight and by sea which explains why for bulky items they are cheaper than 65daigou. It takes roughly 1 month plus for sea shipping so I usually buy very early. You can still buy the sink, just that you require to give your ID the measurement for the carpentry measurement since plumber works are usually one of the last to be done. I trust peeka so far because I did not experience any breakage at all with all my glass items. I wouldn't risk buying from other agents since they do not check the goods before shipping out.

Their ship4u is by air and uses weight to calculate but I am unsure because I never tried using that. Faster to ship but I think if your item is heavy then it is going to be very expensive.

Buying from taobao directly requires a very complicated process and setting up the account right. Try googling and doing some research yourself for a better answer. I know we all want to save money since renovation can take quite a big chunk of it. Good luck!

[CountryGlow 10]

Hi snowy89...

Mind if u share on the reviews, quality etc of the rain shower you purchased frm TB too? Is water pressure good enough? Do u recommend the one you bought? I wanna buy if reviews are good.

[CountryGlow 10]

Hi Kakikaki,

Just to share, I'm starting renovation for my new flat & it's my first time shoppibg from Taobao too. I read thru various person's T-blogs to understand how TB works. As my mandarin sucks, I decided to use peeka as my "buyer" & forwarder to help me procure and ship my stuff over. It's user friendly and almost hassle-free!

If you wish to try ur hand at buying direct frm TB sellers, can search for OceanEleven's T-blog. He has a very good explanation of how this works.

Hope you have fun shopping at TB like all of us do! PS: don't get addicted TB-ing!

Hi Kakikaki,

I only used peeka for my taobao. You will need to sign up your account with them but don't need to have a taobao account. It's quite user friendly, just insert the Taobao link and choose which item you want, make sure the amount shown is correct and edit if needed. Payment through Internet banking or atm transfer.

They calculate by volumetric weight and by sea which explains why for bulky items they are cheaper than 65daigou. It takes roughly 1 month plus for sea shipping so I usually buy very early. You can still buy the sink, just that you require to give your ID the measurement for the carpentry measurement since plumber works are usually one of the last to be done. I trust peeka so far because I did not experience any breakage at all with all my glass items. I wouldn't risk buying from other agents since they do not check the goods before shipping out.

Their ship4u is by air and uses weight to calculate but I am unsure because I never tried using that. Faster to ship but I think if your item is heavy then it is going to be very expensive.

Buying from taobao directly requires a very complicated process and setting up the account right. Try googling and doing some research yourself for a better answer. I know we all want to save money since renovation can take quite a big chunk of it. Good luck!

[kakikaki 1]

Hi Kakikaki,

Just to share, I'm starting renovation for my new flat & it's my first time shoppibg from Taobao too. I read thru various person's T-blogs to understand how TB works. As my mandarin sucks, I decided to use peeka as my "buyer" & forwarder to help me procure and ship my stuff over. It's user friendly and almost hassle-free!

If you wish to try ur hand at buying direct frm TB sellers, can search for OceanEleven's T-blog. He has a very good explanation of how this works.

Hope you have fun shopping at TB like all of us do! PS: don't get addicted TB-ing!

Hi snowy89,

Thanks for the additional advise. Ya, now I doing just that reading thru all forum from RenoTalk but just felt a bit too late right now, I shall try my best anyway...haha (try hard to bring out a smile).

I saw you fixing Rinnai hob RB-3Si & Fujioh Hood FX900 for your kitchen, where & how much did you get for these 2 items, is it expensive?

[snowy89 12]

Hi snowy89...

Mind if u share on the reviews, quality etc of the rain shower you purchased frm TB too? Is water pressure good enough? Do u recommend the one you bought? I wanna buy if reviews are good.

Hi CountryGlow, I am happy with my rainshower set. It also comes with a mixer tap and handspray set. It is worth to buy as it only costs less than $100 each before shipping. I had seen random ones which are not as asthetically pleasing going for $300+. So really save alot to buy from taobao. Quality wise feels like hotel standard. But if you are the kind that enjoy heavy downpour then I guess it is not for you. Mine is more like light rain showers. Anyway, I seldom use the rain shower function as I prefer the handset too. I think for water pressure, it has nothing to do with the rainshower set, more of the level you are staying in etc.

[snowy89 12]

Hi snowy89,

Thanks for the additional advise. Ya, now I doing just that reading thru all forum from RenoTalk but just felt a bit too late right now, I shall try my best anyway...haha (try hard to bring out a smile).

I saw you fixing Rinnai hob RB-3Si & Fujioh Hood FX900 for your kitchen, where & how much did you get for these 2 items, is it expensive?

Hi kakikaki,

I bought it from one of the retailer (nick: zero) in renotalk! I asked for quotations outside and it was crazily expensive especially for the hob because it is made of cast iron.

I got it for less than $900 together. The fujioh hood is good at sucking oil and fumes. After I used it the kitchen got no residual smell after. I was bought over by their filter-less feature, which means I do not need to replace the filters. *lazy me*

It takes slightly longer to start up the flame for the hob though, however, I enjoy the feature of inner flame because I am slightly afraid of getting burn. *LOL*

His contact is Jerome 9225-6638. Either that or you can contact him via PM to give you a quote first. The delivery man is late for my delivery so be aware that if you are to schedule for delivery, make sure that you have the full day to spend waiting for him.

[CountryGlow 10]

Thanks for sharing snowy89!

I've gone ahead to order before your reply. Coz I can't wait longer as shipment wld take about 3 weeks to reach me. And I'm worried that my contractor will start fixing up the items soon. Hope the loots reach me fast!

Anyway, can I clarify. You bought ur rainshower set thru this TB seller right? Your recommendation - http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=1352358635#

U mentioned about handspray set? There isn't an handspray set in this link....are u referring to the usual hand-held shower? Also, can I ask if u bought the version A or B? I googled and realised that version A is stainless steel (RMB 498) while version B is copper/brass material (RMB 598). Seeing that copper material is better, I bought the RMB 598 (i.e. est S$130 before shipping) option. You mentioned u got yours less than $100? Is is version A? If not, I could have missed a discount

Anw, I do agree that water pressure depends largely on the level we're staying at. I happen to also stay on the lower floors too, hence the decision of a rainshower!

Hi CountryGlow, I am happy with my rainshower set. It also comes with a mixer tap and handspray set. It is worth to buy as it only costs less than $100 each before shipping. I had seen random ones which are not as asthetically pleasing going for $300+. So really save alot to buy from taobao. Quality wise feels like hotel standard. But if you are the kind that enjoy heavy downpour then I guess it is not for you. Mine is more like light rain showers. Anyway, I seldom use the rain shower function as I prefer the handset too. I think for water pressure, it has nothing to do with the rainshower set, more of the level you are staying in etc.

[snowy89 12]

Thanks for sharing snowy89!

I've gone ahead to order before your reply. Coz I can't wait longer as shipment wld take about 3 weeks to reach me. And I'm worried that my contractor will start fixing up the items soon. Hope the loots reach me fast!

Anyway, can I clarify. You bought ur rainshower set thru this TB seller right? Your recommendation - http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=1352358635#

U mentioned about handspray set? There isn't an handspray set in this link....are u referring to the usual hand-held shower? Also, can I ask if u bought the version A or B? I googled and realised that version A is stainless steel (RMB 498) while version B is copper/brass material (RMB 598). Seeing that copper material is better, I bought the RMB 598 (i.e. est S$130 before shipping) option. You mentioned u got yours less than $100? Is is version A? If not, I could have missed a discount

Anw, I do agree that water pressure depends largely on the level we're staying at. I happen to also stay on the lower floors too, hence the decision of a rainshower!

Sorry Countryglow, I bought the more expensive one. It is the same price as you have stated. I forgot about the rough $, but the exchange rate from peeka was slightly better then but still very worth it to buy as compared to buying locally. Saved about 70% I would say. The only annoying thing is the water marks left behind. If you want it to look sparkling new will have to clean it every other day.

[benetay 14]

Very nice! i enjoy all the pictures! Certainly one of the better toilets i have seen and well done. Thanks for sharing!!