5-Room Resale (Light Industrial) Learn & Share

[Xavvy 2]

On 3/24/2017 at 0:21 AM, ilkl said:

Painting Boo-Boo and DIY

DIY 1: Painting Our Own Cement Screed Effect
A little bit of rehash – we were leaving the wall tiles in the kitchen, service yard and common bathroom untouched and had them screeded over with cement to go for a more industrial look and to save on hacking costs.

For painting, my FIL offered the services of his close friend (let’s call him Uncle X) who is in the construction business and said all we needed was to buy our own paint and pay them a token sum. I was a little reluctant as I would rather let the ID handle the painting, but my husband wanted to save a little bit more and said he will co-ordinate the painting.

Just as our ID took a break for CNY, Uncle X asked if they can start the painting works. At that point in time, the wet-works just started, and our ID said it’s too soon. We also said it’s too soon. But Uncle X said that they will paint a base coat/sealer for the ceiling because the existing colour is very dark (we’re gonna have white ceilings) and it needs a few coats anyway. My husband reasons that Uncle X’s workers were free and he wanted to better utilise his manpower. So we bought 2 cans of 5L sealer for them to paint the ceiling in the living room.

This will turn into my biggest regret for the renovation…

We only discovered the mistake 1 week later when we brought the in-laws over to have a look at the house during CNY. To my horror, I realised the painters had painted the sealer all over the cement screed in the kitchen, service yard and bathroom!!

And the best part is, because they ran out of sealer, they didn’t manage to completely paint over the dark parts of the ceiling in the living room (WHICH WAS THE WHOLE POINT IN THE FIRST PLACE).

Even talking about it now still brings pain…  Uncle X's workers sure kena scolded by my husband and my FIL. 

We had to ask the ID to re-screed the common bathroom (at additional cost, ouch!!), but we decided to paint the walls in the kitchen and service yard. And since the walls are kind of rough, we thought perhaps we should try to do some special effects paint, like Momento. This is our own version of a special effects wall…

Firstly, we had the painter paint the kitchen and service yard walls with a light grey colour:

 

I was very anal and pasted “DO NOT PAINT” Post-it’s on our common bathroom cement screed walls, because God forbid the painters eff up another time and I will be inclined to commit murder! 

 

The next step required some sea sponges which one can easily buy from Art Friend:

 

 

Using the same light grey colour which the walls have been painted to, I also mixed in some white and also a darker grey-blue colour (which we got as leftover paint from a friend who just recently renovated), and randomly sponged on the different shades of color:

 

^{My handsome husband savouring his chance to express his minimal artistic skills hahaha...!}

As fun as it was sponging, the effect was not very impressive… I decided to just paint over the embarrassment and forget it ever happened. But funnily, I had attempted to use a damp roller with some light grey paint and as I rolled over the sponge effect, it created an accidental dreamy effect which the husband really liked! Wowza! So the last step, which was an accidental finding, was to use a stiffer-than-normal roller with some water and to lightly roll over the sponge effect, essentially blurring over the previous effect. Not really the cement screed effect I was hoping for (and I think it’s mainly due to the paint I used having a bluish tone rather than cement grey) but looks alright I guess!

 

DIY 2: Spray Painting Switch Boxes
Having a HDB unit means the sockets and switches cannot be flush mounted into the wall, so they will have to be surface mounted onto plastic switch boxes that only come in a standard white colour. Since we decided to go for a darker colour for the switches, white switchboxes would be an eyesore.

 

^{LeGrand Mallia colour choices. What a variety!!}

I remember reading @bie18's blog about spray painting the switch boxes after it was mounted, which sounds like a lot of work, so I told my ID upfront about passing me the switch boxes first to spray paint:

I used Krylon Fusion White as a primer mainly because a lot of the DIY stuff I read online emphasized on the use of primer, so I thought no harm having it, especially since my ID warned me that scratches will remove the spray paint and it will look ugly, so I want to minimize the risk. I got Nippon’s Pylox 47 Matt Black since I recall someone recommending Nippon spray paint on RT. Seems to spray on quite nicely and has a matte, powdery finish!

 

Important things to note about spray painting:

• Don’t be impatient and don’t get too close when spraying! 20-30cm away is good.
• Keep moving the spray can up/down or left/right - don't stay at one spot.
• A nice, firm pressure on the nozzle to prevent splatter of paint drops - otherwise will form bumps on the surface
• Multiple thin coats is definitely better than one thick coat!!
• Do in a well-ventilated area! The smell is quite awful  

Really enjoyed reading this whole post! So fun and informative! Inspires both of us lazy couch potatoes to want to attempt DIY as well! Especially the Switch boxes!! 

Thank you!!

[ilkl 6]

1 hour ago, Xavvy said:

Really enjoyed reading this whole post! So fun and informative! Inspires both of us lazy couch potatoes to want to attempt DIY as well! Especially the Switch boxes!! 

Thank you!!

Welcome! Have fun and all the best for your DIY. It's quite fun and satisfying when you see the results!

[ilkl 6]

Carpentry: Laminate Selection

Finally a post on Carpentry!

I must be forthcoming and admit that I’m very eager about this part, hence I requested for the sample book super duper early into the renovation, which I kept for more than 2 months haha. I also nicked those small card-sized samples when I see them in shops etc.

But obviously that is not enough, so I convinced my husband to drive me all the way to Sungei Kadut to look at larger samples. At that time I didn’t know of other brands (I was fixated on Lamitak), but now I know that almost all the known laminate brands have their warehouse/showroom situated there, so here’s a list:

• TAK (Lamitak): 41 Sungei Kadut Ave
• Admira: 45 Sungei Kadut Avenue
• EDL: 43 Sungei Kadut Street 1
• Jennings: 23 Sungei Kadut Street 1
• Greenlam: 11 Sungei Kadut Crescent
• Lam Chuan: 12 Sungei Kadut Way
• Arova: 6 Sungei Kadut Way

Best to call before going, especially to check on opening hours.

I was super thick-faced and asked for the A4 samples. By right my ID could get them for us, but at that time they were holidaying for CNY so I didn’t want to disturb them. Anyway if your ID/contractor is too unenthusiastic or too slow in getting the larger samples, I think it is worth making a trip down to Sungei Kadut to have a better look and to get your own samples. Since carpentry will be the main expense and if the laminate turned out unexpected, you will have to live with it so please don’t choose based on a tiny piece of sample.

^{Same same but different!!}

By the time we were ready to do our carpentry discussions, we had shortlisted our laminates. On hindsight, perhaps an ID was not necessary lol. I’ve also become quite familiar with Lamitak’s catalogue that I can spot and point out laminate names when walking around in shopping malls HAHAHA. “Oh! That’s Dario Ramblas! Oh and that’s Picasso!”

^{Our selections for the laminates, together with the vinyl floor and kompacplus countertop.}

[fifteenmay 40]

1 hour ago, ilkl said:

Carpentry: Laminate Selection

Finally a post on Carpentry!

I must be forthcoming and admit that I’m very eager about this part, hence I requested for the sample book super duper early into the renovation, which I kept for more than 2 months haha. I also nicked those small card-sized samples when I see them in shops etc.

But obviously that is not enough, so I convinced my husband to drive me all the way to Sungei Kadut to look at larger samples. At that time I didn’t know of other brands (I was fixated on Lamitak), but now I know that almost all the known laminate brands have their warehouse/showroom situated there, so here’s a list:

• TAK (Lamitak): 41 Sungei Kadut Ave
• Admira: 45 Sungei Kadut Avenue
• EDL: 43 Sungei Kadut Street 1
• Jennings: 23 Sungei Kadut Street 1
• Greenlam: 11 Sungei Kadut Crescent
• Lam Chuan: 12 Sungei Kadut Way
• Arova: 6 Sungei Kadut Way

Best to call before going, especially to check on opening hours.

I was super thick-faced and asked for the A4 samples. By right my ID could get them for us, but at that time they were holidaying for CNY so I didn’t want to disturb them. Anyway if your ID/contractor is too unenthusiastic or too slow in getting the larger samples, I think it is worth making a trip down to Sungei Kadut to have a better look and to get your own samples. Since carpentry will be the main expense and if the laminate turned out unexpected, you will have to live with it so please don’t choose based on a tiny piece of sample.

^{Same same but different!!}

By the time we were ready to do our carpentry discussions, we had shortlisted our laminates. On hindsight, perhaps an ID was not necessary lol. I’ve also become quite familiar with Lamitak’s catalogue that I can spot and point out laminate names when walking around in shopping malls HAHAHA. “Oh! That’s Dario Ramblas! Oh and that’s Picasso!”

^{Our selections for the laminates, together with the vinyl floor and kompacplus countertop.}

ooh, excited to know which combi u chose in e end! i thot i was e only one looking at laminates in shopping malls! hi 5!

laminates choosing was terrible! i kept looking and looking at the samples and try to visualise in whole! 

good luck to you!

[ilkl 6]

Carpentry: Design & Planning, with Results

Shoe Rack at Foyer
Challenge: Limited space behind the main door.

I remember some of the IDs/contractors we met told us upfront that we cannot put a shoe rack there. Luckily for us, the previous owner had an existing full height shoe rack there so that just shows some of these IDs/contractor don’t know what they are talking about (and they obviously did not look at my brief which I had sent to them hard enough to notice this).

Since the space is less than 30cm, the internal depth of the shoe rack will probably be around 20-23cm so that is insufficient for the shoes to lie flat. My ID at first suggested putting the shoes sideways but that’s kind of weird, right?

Fortunately I came across this slanted shelves (bottom pic), which I showed to my ID. He said it can be done. I also wanted AA tracks to adjust the shelves' height and he said can be done. I was very impressed!

 
^{Drawing by ID. We also shifted our DB box into the shoe cabinet.}

^{Laminate selection: Ava Milnerton for panels, Lava Slate for borders. Goes well with Denim Drift wall colour.}

But the end result is, even though using AA tracks, the slanted shelves need a fixed support pin to stop them from sliding towards the door and getting in the way of the door closing, so the AA tracks are rather redundant because I cannot anyhow change the height of the shelves without drilling more holes for the pins.

Result: Problem fixed but it’s a little funny, but we’re ok with it! Pass!

Study Room Bookcase
Challenge: Want super big bookcase and want to display books but don’t want dust. Also want to reduce costs.

My husband and myself are nerds and like to collect books. In order to entice us to read, we need to see them (out of sight, out of mind!) but we hate dusty books. The boss was on the fence about getting glass panels because he thinks they don’t look nice. He was ok with this kind of half height glass panels at first:

 
^{(Left) Idea from an app which-cannot-be-named, (Right) The initial 3D render for study room.}

But then we came across this (bottom pic) and he was very excited and wanted to have sliding full height glass doors. ID said ok, but need to top up. Boss willing to pay (so no objections on my part, as usual):

^{Full height sliding glass doors.}

ID had suggested using internal PVC instead of laminate to reduce the costs. Brilliant idea because honestly the internal PVC he chose for us looks pretty awesome, and matched the laminate we chose!

^{Internal PVC. Apparently feedback from carpenter is, this one most durable versus other selections. Plus looks nice!}

^{Study table not completed yet - missing the drawer panels. Laminate selection: Boston York Teak.}

Result: Pass with flying colours!! We really like our study room, A LOT! 

TV Console & Feature Wall
Challenge: Want magazine display shelves.

Saw this on Pinterest and wanted it for the TV area since I do buy quite some magazines and would like to display them nicely to induce myself to read more. ID said no problem, and drew them out to my satisfaction.

Unfortunately, carpenter made an error at first:

Magazines will just slide off since the ledge at the end is not at 90 degrees. Carpenter promptly sent the shelves back to the factory and modified them.

Result: Pass

At first our quote included a solid plywood feature wall which can hide the TV wires and will be the surface where they will stick on the bricks.

Later on, I decided I wanted to add in a suspended display cabinet and was worried the solid plywood will not be durable enough to support the mounted TV, all the brick tiles, and now the display cabinet. My ID reassured us that it’s not a problem, they will cut out the feature wall and mount the display cabinet directly on the wall. That got me thinking that the solid plywood is actually rather unnecessary because brick tiles can also stick on the wall directly, so it’s only real purpose is to hide the wires from the mounted TV. And because our feature wall is massive (15 ft!) and costs $2000, we decided the exposed wires are something we can live with (industrial theme leh, expose la!).

(Sometimes I really feel IDs purposely don’t tell you some things are unnecessary but they just do it anyway to earn more money from us)

Alternative was to do a smaller feature wall which supports only the TV but we prefer a continuous brick wall so that was not considered.

I thought at first the brick tiles will be stuck on the walls first and then the carpentry will be installed over the bricks, but interestingly that was not the case. Our ID says the brick tiles will not be able to support the suspended carpentry (makes sense) so they installed the cabinets and shelves first. Tiler then knocked holes into the wall:

And applied a layer of special tiling cement:

And stuck on the brick tiles around the carpentry!

Almost finished result (just lacking a black glass door for the middle cabinet and some touch-ups):

^{Laminate selection: Black Oregon Teak (black parts) and Sheldon Oak Lasalle (the only laminate chosen by our ID hahaha)}

Husband wanted the bricks to be messy. I find the hole in the bricks on the upper right hand side very funny but husband insist on keeping it like that, says it looks nice. What do you guys think??

Edited May 23, 2017 by ilkl

[ilkl 6]

Service Yard
Carpentry for the service yard is actually very simple, just bottom cabinets to accommodate a gas hob and a small sink.

Alas, because I got greedy and bought a 90cm wide gas hob, the space left is a little weird, about 20+ cm on each side of the gas hob. I saw this from Blum and thought it was a really great idea to store sauces, oil and other seasonings used during cooking. They have something similar from Excel, but I personally prefer Blum’s.

 

Challenge: Build me a pull-out narrow cabinet like Blum’s (with soft closing, of course)

Result: Pass! Well done! *clap clap*

We asked them to install handles because pulling these narrow cabinets open without handles will be quite challenging and the wood panel will wobble.

Work in progress photo... 

 

Dry Kitchen
Challenge: 1) Want a tall cabinet pantry 

^{Excel's tandem pantry}

Due to the space limitations we have, having a conventional pantry using Excel’s hardware was not possible, so I drew from Pinterest this idea of a narrow tall pantry which we will have it right next to the built-in ovens. At the same time, I wanted a horizontal bar over each shelf to prevent food items especially jars and cans from toppling out:

Alas, my ID didn’t really specify how the horizontal bars should be placed and the carpenter just cincai do up with random measurements. Besides looking terrible, some bars were so high up that they would have made putting in food items rather challenging! (The carpenters we got are really quite brainless – they just do and never even think from practical perspective. We had quite a lot of rectifications for the kitchen and master bedroom… that’s why this post is quite delayed as I was waiting for the things to be fixed first before I posted). If you are sharp, you will also notice the laminates are not flushed – slipshot work!!

^{Wrong, random measurements for the horizontal bar.}

I had to niao my ID and he went to niao the carpenters and they rectified it.

^{Stocking up on our food supply!}

Looks better but if you look closely, there are many extra drill holes they had to hide with the PVC stickers!!

 

Challenge: 2) Want a built-in dishwasher

Personally, I dislike doing the dishes. When I went to visit my best friend in New Zealand years ago, she had a Fisher & Paykel drawer dishwasher which was super convenient and so I’ve always wanted one. Compared to other brands, F&P’s is the only type which you pull open and place in the plates directly because it’s designed like a drawer. All other brands involve opening the dishwasher door and pulling out the racks before you can load/unload.

Went to Harvey Norman Millenia Walk and saw they had a few models for sale. I was going to buy the basic one but the salesperson told me that they have a special model which is not on display – long story short, I got that one! It’s called an Integrated Drawer Dishwasher because it’s meant to blend in with the carpentry, so the measurements must be done right and need to integrate water inlet, drainage pipe and electric point into the carpentry also. 

^{The hole on top is for the installer to access the inlet & outlet, and acts as a vent too.}

Due to the specialised skill needed to install it, I got Harvey Norman to pass me the contact of their authorised F&P installer and had to pay $120 for the installation (carpenter must of course provide the panel first). But look at the results! Seamless! (There is an optional F&P handle which is quite chio but must order from F&P, and it costs $65!)

^{Ta-da! Hidden dishwasher, me likey a lot!}

Other Problems:
One major problem with carpentry popped up at our dry kitchen and I only detected if after they started installing the carcasses. I realized that the island counter was only 60cm deep, and because there is a very thick, fat, unhackable beam with a thickness of 40cm, it resulted in the area next to the island to be extremely narrow! Only 20+cm depth. And also the knee space at the island counter was a measly 20cm which is quite uncomfortable to sit at.

^{See see see... even the carpentry drawings they did for us also stated 800mm for island depth!}

I pointed this out to my ID, it was an oversight on their team (carpenter also blindly do). They had to redo one of the carcasses, but kept the island counter part and shifted it, together with some modifications. Finally we have a 80cm deep island counter with a knee space of 30cm, and the counter next to the fat unhackable beam is 40cm, so we’re satisfied!

^{Laminate: Tadao Concrete (top cabinets) and Hamilton York Teak (bottom cabinets)}

Result: Pass only after a few headaches and many rectifications later.

We got white iQuartz countertop and asked for a cap - which means the sides are made to look thicker and more premium.
 

Edited April 12, 2017 by ilkl

[ilkl 6]

Master Bedroom
Challenge: Want to use IKEA pants hanger and IKEA LED lights with sensor in Wardrobe

I own a lot of pants and for my previous renovation of my sister’s place, I got the previous ID to make sure my pants hanger from IKEA could fit into the wardrobe, and they did it. I assumed this time around it shouldn’t be a problem, and if they could standardise the wardrobe size to IKEA’s standard wide, logic dictates that IKEA lights should not be a problem.

^{Even wrote down the measurements for the ID!}

Alas, this is where my ID failed us. Even though we purchased the pants hanger and lights early and left it in the house when the carpenter came to do the measurements, they forgot to include them. After the wardrobe went in, some parts have enough width but not enough depth, and other parts vice versa. I was so bummed as I thought I wasted our money, but luckily IKEA has a 100-day return period and we got those items refunded.

They tried to fabricate their own for us, but I laughed out loud when I first saw them!

This one is the smaller one. With only 3 bars, it’s really just going to be a waste of space, might as well use normal hangers lor. Dunno why they used the fat bars, not like pants are very heavy! (Like I said, they seemed to lack some thinking process). 

I asked them to use the same thin black bars they used for the tall pantry unit, and had to specify the number of bars and the distance between them. Finally they got it right!

^{This one is the husband's side. Funnily, he owns less pants than me. Guess we know who wears the pants hor??}

The IKEA LED lights are a good idea especially for sliding door wardrobes because it will only turn on when the doors are opened past their sensors:

^{The two black dots you see are the sensors which will turn on the lights. Very intuitive!}

However, the width of some parts of the wardrobe was too small to fit the lights, and the carpenters also built in a ledge which would work with normal LED strips but not with the IKEA lights.

So we just went with normal LED strip lights and the electrician did up separate switches for both parts of the wardrobe. Slightly less convenient than the original intention but will get used to it soon enough!

Our master bedroom has a window which leads to the aircon ledge so the space is kinda tricky to utilise as you cannot extend your wardrobe there. So we got the carpenter to install a top hung cabinet with a laminate backing, and I requested for a black bar to hang some clothes – essentially turning it into an open wardrobe space there.

Due to the ID’s miscommunication with the carpenter, he just hung up a very ugly-looking bar. Yuggs.

^{This is one horrible-looking bar. #FAIL}

The carpenter did up a L-shaped bar and installed in on the beam (said it was quite challenging to do, especially since I requested the bar to be as seamless as possible, didn’t want a base at the part where it sticks to the wall). Turned out great so we are really happy with it!

 

^{Laminate selection: Daario Ramblas for sliding doors, Valda Tivoli Elm for wardrobe borders and handle recess, Vita Tivoli Elm for dressing table, ledge and mirror cabinet.}

Result: Pass (despite some setbacks!)

Bathrooms Vanity Ledge & Mirror Cabinet
For the bathrooms, we didn’t want to do a vanity cabinet because I’m paranoid about the wood getting damp from splatter and turning mouldy inside (no mushrooms for me, thankyouverymuch). But doing a normal laminate vanity ledge is a bad idea because when water seems into the joints, it will cause warpage of the laminate. A Kompacplus countertop would be perfect, but our ID at first said it will just be one piece of Kompacplus and there will be a black thin border at the edge, which frankly doesn’t look that nice.

Thanks to Renotalk we found out that Kompacplus can be wrapped and asked our ID again. He said he will check with the Kompacplus guys and sure enough they could!

^{Two ways of doing a Kompacplus wrap: (Left) seamless type, (Right) with black edge seen}

Of course we chose the seamless type.

<sup>Work in progress - the vanity ledge has been installed, it's just a black-laminated solid plywood piece.

Kompacplus installed. We chose American Walnut 10.40 for the Master Bathroom.

Final result!</sup>

Love the look of our master bathroom! Super condo-feel!

^{3D render for comparison!} 

Edited April 20, 2017 by ilkl

[Raylowwl 1]

Hi, 

Like your bookcase, may I know the cost? Very interested to have 1 for my hifi room. Thanks

[ilkl 6]

On 3/27/2017 at 7:07 PM, Raylowwl said:

Hi, 

Like your bookcase, may I know the cost? Very interested to have 1 for my hifi room. Thanks

Hi @Raylowwl,

Sorry didn't reply sooner. Had to look up the numbers:

• Full height bookcase with internal laminates $400/ft
• With internal PVC $340/ft
• Internal PVC with glass sliding doors $410/ft

Just for comparison, our full height wardrobe is $380/ft.

Hope this helps!

Edited March 29, 2017 by ilkl

[mamit 6]

Hi ilkl,

your house is really very big. I love the inclined book shelf you have for your living room!

 

[megannn 0]

very nice bookcase! too bad i don't have the budget to make such a big bookcase

i too agree that the hole at upper right corner for the brick wall looks weird. haha.

[ilkl 6]

3 hours ago, mamit said:

Hi ilkl,

your house is really very big. I love the inclined book shelf you have for your living room!

 

Thank @mamit! Actually not that big la. Just that the living room is very long.

 

2 hours ago, megannn said:

very nice bookcase! too bad i don't have the budget to make such a big bookcase

i too agree that the hole at upper right corner for the brick wall looks weird. haha.

Thanks @megannn

Yalor!! My mother and his mother all say the hole is weird but the husband very very adamant that he wants to keep it. He was sooo grumpy when I told tiler to fill up the hole. Sigh. Anyway he says if everyone says it's ugly, next time he will hire someone to come and add on the brick tiles (I doubt any tiler will bother with such a small job though). And we modified it slightly so hopefully it looks better!

[lkccchris 0]

Hi, hows ur cemenr screed pn existing tiles so far? New here in reno.

Would like to save some $$ not to hack my kitchen wall as well... can share some info on how the cement on exiciting tiles work? They just put a layer of cement over the existing tiles? 

TIA

[zph19101 2]

omg.. full height wardrobe $380/ft. 

Got special design?

 

[Han Xiang 0]

Hi ilkl, after you outlay vinyl, did you experience uneven floor level between the living room, bedroom and the spot where is wall used to be? Notice you mentioned about sanding to even the plastering. Hows the outcome? We are preparing for our 5 room resale in mid may and your thread has been very useful to us.