Full Renovation - Resale Condo

[shoe2015 0]

Hi Greenboi,

Thanks for the contact.

Your reno's journey is impressive. You have done a lot of shopping too

I have selected the ID and started the renovation today. It's lucky that the management approved it within 3 days.

If you haven't bought all your furniture, you may consider to buy from Cellini at Vertex, Ubi Avenue. Currently they have GSS promotion. Got freebies some more

Are you going to do anything on the black metal window? It seemed that there's nothing we can do on it, right?

[GreenBoi 3]

good progress!

Thanks Freb.

[GreenBoi 3]

Hi Greenboi,

Thanks for the contact.

Your reno's journey is impressive. You have done a lot of shopping too

I have selected the ID and started the renovation today. It's lucky that the management approved it within 3 days.

If you haven't bought all your furniture, you may consider to buy from Cellini at Vertex, Ubi Avenue. Currently they have GSS promotion. Got freebies some more

Are you going to do anything on the black metal window? It seemed that there's nothing we can do on it, right?

Hi shoe,

All the best with your reno! Thanks for the Cellini recommendation.

I dont think we can do anything for the outside part of the black metal window. However, you can paint the inside if you want. I'm leaving it as it is and will be installing venetian blinds

[GreenBoi 3]

PROGRESS UPDATE

Complete replumbing was done about 3 weeks ago. As you can see in the pictures above, we opted to go with copper piping.

Copper vs Stainless-Steel Piping

Copper is more pliable and can be bent easily. Poor quality copper piping can develop internal pitting after a few years. More expensive than stainless steel.

Stainless steel piping is much more difficult to bend. Hence it needs an experienced plumber to install this. Poor quality stainless steel pipes can rust. Hence its good to go for better quality ones.I heard its easier to paint stainless steel piping.

There is really no right and wrong with which one you chose though.

About 2 weeks ago, the concrete sink support was done. Concrete sink support is recommended both for support and in the event of leaks. I dont really know much about this. I just listened to Nic's advise that its better to have it.

Fridge base was finally up 2 weeks ago. Tiling is still not completed though . The skirting is yet to be done.

Cement screed on kitchen wall was done last week in preparation for the carpentry.

Edited July 1, 2015 by GreenBoi

[GreenBoi 3]

PROGRESS UPDATE

Rewiring work started about 2 weeks ago. It will resume again after the installation of carpentry.

Is there a need to do complete rewiring for a resale house?

I did some research on this and let me share some of my findings. Its generally recommended to do rewiring for houses older than 20 years. After 20 years you can expect some damages due to wear and tear. Also when house renovation is going on, the hacking work may cause damage to the old wiring. The best time to do rewiring would be during renovation as conceal work can be done easily. Also some wiring can be hidden behind carpentry.

A thing to note during rewiring is that, no matter how much you try to conceal the wiring, there may be minimal trunking on some areas. It is also strongly not recommended to run wires on the floor(for safety reason).

We opted for full rewiring as our house is nearly 20 years old and we did not want our electrical appliances to short-circuit. We opted not to get the professional safety testing done as it will cost extra SGD4k. Nic advised us its optional as the electricians are experienced. Oh well, i'm not sure about this, but decided not to go for this due to budget constraint.

L-Box and False Ceiling were installed real fast last week.

The L-Box in the MBR toilet was done wrongly. We wanted only the ventilator exhaust to be boxed up. Nic has agreed to get this rectified.

Edited July 1, 2015 by GreenBoi

[Gim Li 0]

hi, can i check what is the quote that your contractor quote you for your cement structure basin? my email add: kiwi271@msn.com

[GreenBoi 3]

hi, can i check what is the quote that your contractor quote you for your cement structure basin? my email add: kiwi271@msn.com

Hi Gim Li,

Please check your PM

[GreenBoi 3]

Television

A few updates based on my brief research:

Curved vs Flat:

Curved TV seem to be the trend nowadays. It also carries a higher price tag. Initially when I and wife saw the curved TV, we were impressed by the picture quality. However, the longer we stare at it, we started getting a bit of headache . Hence we decided to go with flat TV.

Curved TV manufacturers are pushing it as the trend now. All the best specs are allotted to curved TV. Its hard to find flat TV with similar specs nowadays. eg LG OLED TV in Singapore is currently all curved only. Curved TV is supposed to give better contrast and more immersive experience. Perhaps this is true as I and wife were impressed by it at first. The downside of curved TV is that if you view it from the side instead of from the center, you will be able to notice slight stretching/distortion of the image. I think in the end its up to the individual preference.

OLED vs UHD TV (also known as 4K TV) vs HD TV

OLED TVs undeniably has better colour and image quality compared to HD TV. Based on the reviews I have been reading, most people prefer OLED TV to the old generation UHD TV. However, the newer UHD TVs (Samsung's SUHD TV and LG's Ultra HDTV Line) have significantly improved their picture quality and is comparable to OLED TVs.

UHD TV when compared to HD TV has one significant advantage, its capable of resolution up to 3840X2160, which is X4 that of HD TV. Nevertheless, most programmes nowadays dont run on 4k. 4K is really useful if you watch Blu-Ray videos or if you have a expensive computer and use the UHD TV as monitor to play games. However, most UHD TV nowadays comes with 4K upscalers that is supposed to make the existing HD images slightly better.

In Singapore, Curved OLED TVs are mainly marketed by LG. The flat screen 4k OLED TVs are not available here yet. Although its available in overseas now.

I would recommend purchasing a UHD TV or OLED 4K TV instead of HD TV as its always better to be future-proof. The price of UHD TV is dropping real fast and we dont know what future have in store for us

Purchasing Tips:

Dont rely on the demo video that they play in the TV shops to decide on your TV. The demos comes in different qualities and the TVs are usually set at different contrast/colour etc, hence comparing them based on the demo videos is inaccurate. Do some research online before buying. Also ask the sales person to play the sound before deciding (sound quality may differ).

My Purchasing Dilemma (LG ULTRAHDTV UF950T vs Samsung SUHD TV JS8000):

LG UF950T

Samsung JS8000

Due to the small size of my living room, the largest TV I can purchase, given the viewing distance, for comfortable viewing would be 55inch. After doing extensive review on flat 55 inch TVs, i short-listed these two. They are both the top range flat TV available in 55inch now. The price is about the same. Both has similar image qualities as they both use the nano crystal colour technology. Dont be deceived by the different terms both LG and Samsung use, as these are essentially the same technology.

UF950T is much slimmer and comes with Harmon Kardon Speaker. JS8000 comes with an extendable HDMI/USB box (for easier access, no need to keep rummaging through the back of the TV). In the end I decided to go with the Samsung TV as I have always been using Samsung and am comfortable with it. I also like to play video games and am happy with the inbuilt 'Game Mode'. Although, i'm sure LG has a similar feature. Game Mode basically tune the refresh rate etc to prevent ghosting while playing games.

Edited July 4, 2015 by GreenBoi

[ashy 0]

Hi,mind sharing the ID contact and reno cost? Thx!

[GreenBoi 3]

Hi,mind sharing the ID contact and reno cost? Thx!

Hi Ashy. Please check your PM

[GreenBoi 3]

TIPS ON SHOPPING FOR ELECTRONICS:

-never settle for the amount on price tag as there is ALWAYS a discount

-bargain+++

-a good place to buy would be at Parkway Parade where both Best Denki and Harvey Norman is located side by side. I and wife basically walked to and from 4-5 times and they were undercutting each others price.

-always ask for free delivery

-grab those goodies/free items that comes with the appliances

-Megadiscount Store is not to be underestimated. I bought the same TV for SGD 400 less than that offered by other stores. However, their range of products is less than other stores.

Edited July 15, 2015 by GreenBoi

[GreenBoi 3]

PURCHASES

Fujioh SLM 900R

This is the updated version of the famous Fujioh FX900. SLM model is much slimmer and minimalistic looking.

Fujioh FG 3773 SVSS

This hob comes with both inner and normal fire. It also comes with glass backing (black or white) instead of stainless steel. Fujioh together with Rinnai is supposed to be the best for Asian cooking.

LG WD 14A9RD

We were told LG comes with one of the best motors with 10years warranty. This is both a washer and dryer. We dont have enough room in our tiny yard for separate washer and dryer.

Samsung RL4353BAMF

This is a 436L fridge with bottom freezer. Wife prefer smaller fridge. I was happy when she agreed to get this one

Samsung UA55JS8000

I described in detail about my TV selection process in one of my previous entries.

Edited July 5, 2015 by GreenBoi

[GreenBoi 3]

PURCHASES

We bought the King Koil Eternity World Series matress at King Koil Boutique at Marina Square. Its individually pocketed (meaning if your partner moves a lot, you wont feel it much). It has most of the bling blings that i dont really understand- Argentum (protects against dustmites), 100% natural latex( cooling in nature), Microgel and Memory Foam.

In deciding on the matress, the following forum in hardwarezone by Waterstones really helped:

http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/home-decor-furnishings-188/mattress-guide-101-thread-3923855.html

This Jupiter high-back chair from V-Hive is the same one I have been using for the last 4 years. It has been really comfortable all these while and lasted real long. Hence i decided to purchase the same one again

I have been eyeing this beauty for many years now. Its 'Hunter' from Komforte Recliner range of relax chairs at V-Hive. I plan to put this in the living room. Wife bought this for me as a gift

[GreenBoi 3]

RENOVATION PROGRESS

Remember the L-Box in the MBR toilet. It has been rectified. Kudos to Nic and CF

This is something we have been unhappy about. Our AOS digital control pane has been scratched. The protective layer was removed. CF was nice to sincerely apologize and offered to clean it up himself

This picture was taken about 3 weeks ago when tiling work was going on. Tiling has been completed now

Tim's men came and fixed the aircon. No problem with his service so far. Highly recommended for aircon.

Carpentry finally arrived about 2 weeks ago

Edited July 6, 2015 by GreenBoi

[GreenBoi 3]

RENOVATION PROGRESS

We were impressed with speed at which carpentry was fixed.

MBR sink area

The MBR wardrobe was slightly off from what we wanted. Wife wanted a full length mirror door on the left most side. Nic and CF were real nice to rectify this fast.