Galloping Ps Build A Hygge-Rific Home

[gallopingpenguin 2]

Wah rao!! Y u get queen size bed????? Imyou should have gotten a King size, alamak u sure regret one with queen size. If can quickly change

Thanks, a Queen is enough for us.

[gallopingpenguin 2]

I guess the open concept is not something many can accept but it makes the whole MBR looks spacious, IMO. Somehow, with such open concept, the showering steam is negligible - hardly noticeable. I do get what you mean, say when we are taking shower in the hotel and the door is closed, the showering steam will 'fill' the whole mirror. The floor outside the shower area is not wet nor moist after our showers.

Your bf, IMO, did a good analysis to how the aircon would be utilized. If I can re-do my airconditioning system, I would like to place the biggest BTU in the living room and second biggest in the MBR.

Yeah, I'm sure it really opens up your MBR Really bold and different idea, kudos!

[Myjorney 0]

Hi do u mind pm me ur contractor details?

M looking for a good contractor

Thank u

[Myjorney 0]

Hi do u mind pm me ur contractor details?

M looking for a good contractor

Thank u

[gallopingpenguin 2]

Hi do u mind pm me ur contractor details?

M looking for a good contractor

Thank u

Hi Myjorney, sorry for the late reply, we have been away on a short holiday. Regarding our contractor, my BF and I think that we should wait for more things to be done before revealing his details (just in case there are any screw-ups *TOUCHWOOD*) Hope you understand & good luck on your search! (;

Edited December 16, 2015 by gallopingpenguin

[gallopingpenguin 2]

Hi everyone, hope y'all are well and all Renos are smooth-sailing!

We have been away on a short holiday hence the lack of updates. Renovation has also been slow-moving due to some miscomm with the aircon personnel who came to install the trunking a few days before we left Singapore. Although delaying the trunking would delay the floor tiling, it's no biggie since we aren't in a hurry to move in. So off we went for our winter holiday (so shiok! LOVE WINTER! :sport-smiley-018:)

*really short throwback post below*

Service Yard Window

We were advised to get this as rainwater would splash in and damage the washing machine etc. The noob me didn't even think of that! I was just so taken with all the space and openness! Thankful for parents and professionals

Electrical Works

After a meeting with our Contractor one day, he proceeded to get his electrician to settle all the electrical works. Because we are using the shorter wall in the Living Room as our TV wall, the TV point also had to be shifted. After creating, shifting and concealing, everything around the house is done!

Overlay of Toilet Tiles

We actually deliberated a while about whether to overlay the HDB accent tiles in the toilet. In the end, we decided to go for it and this tile at Hafary caught our eye. Really love the different colours embedded in it!

End product in the Common Toilet:

Can't really see the design/pattern of the tiles in the picture but in real life, it's great! They will be finished off with black grouting

*

The Aircon guys are actually at the site right now doing up the trunking etc. after being briefed by our Contractor this morning. Shall go down later and hopefully we will have good things to report!

Edited December 16, 2015 by gallopingpenguin

[GallopingPuffin 3]

Some updates about our purchases from Hoe Kee!

Kitchen Sink: Blanco Pleon 8 Single Bowl

Initially we went into the shop gunning for a stainless steel sink, but was swayed by how sleek the Blanco granite sinks looked. And they appear to be more solid than stainless steel sinks.

Kitchen sink mixer: Roz (I think) with retractable head

The Blanco one was too expensive I think so we settled for a cheaper one. We like the retractable head which allows us to spray water to the far ends of the sink for cleaning purposes. Also useful when washing big items like pots and pans; just move the head instead of maneuvering the whole pot when washing.

Rainshower: Grohe New Tempesta Cosmopolitan 160

This was on 50% off so we grabbed it. At first was worried about whether it will be too high for our toilets but was assured by the sales lady that it can fit into BTO toilets. So we bought it. But lo and behold, when we went back to measure the height from the water outlet in the wall to the the mesh that covers the piping, we found out the rainshower overshot by about 6-7cm.

As you can see from the stupid design by HDB (picture above): the water outlet for the shower is located on the wall where the mesh is , so the height is very limited (only 104cm). Moving the outlet down involves hacking the toilet wall so it's a no-no for the contractor. So we went back to Hoe Kee to change for a "shorter" rainshower. This nice uncle came out (think is the boss or manager) and said there is another way: ask our plumber to cut away a small length of the "chrome" part of the rainshower, because that is the outer covering. Inner pipe where the water flows will still be intact. He said his Hoe Kee workshop can cut for us if the plumber is unwilling to

Washbasin: ROZ Vanity round basin

Washbasin Mixer:

Edited January 24, 2016 by GallopingPuffin

[GallopingPuffin 3]

Aircon trunking and boxing up

Proposed aircon trunking plan

Sneak peek of floor tiles :

Edited December 20, 2015 by GallopingPuffin

[nextstep 3]

The tiles are so nice! All the best on your reno journey ya!!

[GallopingPuffin 3]

The tiles are so nice! All the best on your reno journey ya!!

Thanks!! Heh heh

[Sunnyshannie 0]

you box up every room? seems costly.

[GallopingPuffin 3]

“He that can have patience can have what he will.”
― Benjamin Franklin

After a few weeks, laying of tiles for the entire house is finally done!

Tile-laying is really an art in itself. There are so many variables to consider and extreme patience is required to do it properly. Kudos to the tile-setters because they really did a fantastic job! Right from the start, we knew it was not going to be easy because long wood tiles tend to have lippage problems; i.e the surface of the tiles are not made entirely flat from end to end. The contractor did show us using a spirit meter that the tiles were not uniformly flat end to end (usually the middle is less flat than both ends, forming a "crown") Hence, in order to minimize lippage, the tiles have to be laid in a certain pattern to make the entire floor as flat as possible. Industry standards state that the tiles should not overlap each other by more than 33%. Why is this so? Simply put, this is such that the end of one tile (which is the "flatter end") does not meet the middle (the most "protruding" area) of another tile. If the end of one tile meets the middle of another tile, you are causing maximum lippage, which is what we want to avoid. In pictorial terms:

So we employed the "step" pattern of tile-laying to avoid lippage. This pattern also mimics the look of real wood floor, which is what we want to achieve as well. Overall the floor looks uniformly flat and we were very pleased with the results

I think this is also partly the reason why IDs always recommend laying square tiles (600 x 600) or vinyl/laminate flooring because they are easier to lay and there's less room for error.

With the completion of the tiling works, I guess we are halfway through the renovation Now left with the carpentry, doors etc and the nitty-gritty stuff!

[GallopingPuffin 3]

Finally, a short update! Carpentry and laminates have been sorted out, pending fabrication! Our contractor cannot promise they will be done before CNY as he is stopping work on 30 Jan for his Malaysian workers to return home, but he will try his best!

Meanwhile, some photos on what had been done during the past weeks:

Living room DC ceiling fan and track lights for TV area

Spider pendant lights for dining table

Legrand sockets installed. Love their matt(?) texture!

Kitchen track lights; pending cabinet and island carpentry installation

Kitchen island track lights! One wall of the study room has been painted a nice shade of pastel blue

Corridor track lights

MBR DC ceiling fan installed

MBR toilet hanging light! With Grohe rainshower at the back

Joven storage heater neatly installed in the common toilet

Excellent bidet spray from Taobao. Powerful water pressure, despite having a slim and sleek profile!

All our lights were sourced from Taobao, and so far, they came intact and all work great! Particularly impressed with the tracklights; bought the 10W ones and they look bright enough for the house without being too overwhelming Our electrician's workmanship is top-notch and he's a nice chap as well. Amused at the emo 90's Mandarin songs that he was listening too on his Bluetooth speaker though

Edited January 23, 2016 by GallopingPuffin

[owlNbear 2]

Moving along very nicely! And very pretty sockets. They go so well with the wood-textured feature wall

[Lazyfatcat007 5]

Wah! Seemed like a lot has been done! Waiting for the rest of the look!!