Project Muji Home - of white, wood and chrome

[dietgalvon 14]

12 hours ago, Songz said:

Everyone want their place to be perfect of cause.

There are sure to be some give and take during renovation but for me if its eye sore then I will not accept it.

If you have all have decided to close the chapter , move on and enjoy those parts of the house that was good (Just my 2 cents worth)

@Songz of course! I looked past the imperfections in workmanship and the fiancé, he took it upon himself to rectify what we can do ourselves instead of getting contractor to rectify it. We really tried our best to compromise!

Honestly, even if anything was an eyesore, and contractor refuse to rectify, what can we do? We eventually decided to regrout the common toilet ourselves because we couldn't accept its current state.

[spooky 6]

I completely understand how you feel and the emotional/physical exhaustion that you must be going through. Towards the end of reno, you get so tired of it and you just want it to end, even overlooking some imperfect areas because you don't want things to drag on forever. My toilet grouting is a big issue too. I am looking to regrout and apply a layer of grout shield on it. If your grout color being uneven is the only concern, you can consider grout shield as well. Can choose from many colors and it supposedly keeps the grout looking clean. Hang in there... you'll get there eventually. Bit by bit.

[dietgalvon 14]

7 hours ago, spooky said:

I completely understand how you feel and the emotional/physical exhaustion that you must be going through. Towards the end of reno, you get so tired of it and you just want it to end, even overlooking some imperfect areas because you don't want things to drag on forever. My toilet grouting is a big issue too. I am looking to regrout and apply a layer of grout shield on it. If your grout color being uneven is the only concern, you can consider grout shield as well. Can choose from many colors and it supposedly keeps the grout looking clean. Hang in there... you'll get there eventually. Bit by bit.

Thanks @spooky for the encouragement! It will be the end if all goes well tomorrow as they rectify the last bit; I just hope they don't break my stuff in the process. 

When I asked my contractor, he said to re-grout, we have to scrape out all the existing grouting (he say tedious that's why tiler doesn't want to do -_-) and then re-grout using the cement mix powder. Does the grout shield goes on top of the powder? I've put up a request to get the powder from HDB lol. Hope they would entertain me.

[Clarence Lye 10]

idont like the grout powder, it still looks/feels cement to me.

Any recommend grout shield?
I'm looking at this grout shield from GroutShieldSingapore and seems good from review.. but to apply on top of our existing grout.. will it be too "uneven" as it's on top of the existing grout..?

[spooky 6]

2 hours ago, dietgalvon said:

Thanks @spooky for the encouragement! It will be the end if all goes well tomorrow as they rectify the last bit; I just hope they don't break my stuff in the process. 

When I asked my contractor, he said to re-grout, we have to scrape out all the existing grouting (he say tedious that's why tiler doesn't want to do -_-) and then re-grout using the cement mix powder. Does the grout shield goes on top of the powder? I've put up a request to get the powder from HDB lol. Hope they would entertain me.

Since the uneven color is because the tiler filled up the gaps with cement but not grouting powder, can't he do another touch up by using the grouting powder? Instead of re-grouting the whole floor. Or do they need to mix the cement and the powder before touching up the gaps? Very lazy of them if they just applied cement alone the first time around -_-

Grout shield goes on top of the grout (cement/powder). It acts like a sealant. Pros is that it doesn't look like cement, doesn't turn dark when it's wet, hence looks cleaner.

[Songz 132]

Agree that touch up should be done by the contractor else the job may fall on your side to settle it.

Good luck and hope the matter will be resolve and enjoy the new house   

[dietgalvon 14]

On 9/11/2017 at 10:51 PM, Clarence Lye said:

idont like the grout powder, it still looks/feels cement to me.

Any recommend grout shield?
I'm looking at this grout shield from GroutShieldSingapore and seems good from review.. but to apply on top of our existing grout.. will it be too "uneven" as it's on top of the existing grout..?

@Clarence Lye Grout powder beats having real cement smacked in random parts of my toilet!

23 hours ago, spooky said:

Since the uneven color is because the tiler filled up the gaps with cement but not grouting powder, can't he do another touch up by using the grouting powder? Instead of re-grouting the whole floor. Or do they need to mix the cement and the powder before touching up the gaps? Very lazy of them if they just applied cement alone the first time around -_-

Grout shield goes on top of the grout (cement/powder). It acts like a sealant. Pros is that it doesn't look like cement, doesn't turn dark when it's wet, hence looks cleaner.

@spooky I really wonder why! He could do the service yard one perfectly but my contractor say he had to scrape the original grouting and re-grout so it's a lot of work. We could tell that tiler didn't want to do it but seems like even contractor also cannot manage him. I don't know anymore. -___-

Thanks for the info! I'll explore grout shield after I settle the current grouting issue. 

[dietgalvon 14]

RENOVATION IS (ALMOST) OVER!

Well, I'd consider it to be so. Contractor was only willing to rectify the affected tiles at the kitchen wall, we are just very exhausted to argue anymore. Because their guys are very careless (resulted in chips on our doors and windows), before rectification, I reminded E to ask his guys to be careful with our stuff, especially the glass top on our dining table.

Initially the fiance spotted that there are gaps between carpentry and wall/floor, but to save any contact with J&E, we decided to get the silicon from Home-fix to DIY. But again, Murphy's law: two deep scratches on our glass top, along with many smaller scratches. 

Texted them, message read, but no response at all (as usual). -__- Well, so be it. I'll get to the review on them soon, but in gist, I really regretted my choice. Argh, why did the fiance not insist on engaging the ID instead! 

In the meantime, I'll do a review of the other vendors I engaged for the home! The irony is that, I have less issues dealing with my vendors compared to my contractor.

FLOORING - EVORICH HERF VINYL
Liaison: Kenneth

Flooring, we love it. The platform constructed by them, was all good as well.

The main issue I had was the capping that they used. I was initially told that no capping would be used, so I was rather unhappy when I saw the ugly capping! And more so after the liaison person told me that Evorich doesn't carry the slim trimming I wanted so it cannot be changed.

But hey, he did change it in the end.  He did tell me to give him 2 weeks to see how he can help me but I wasn't optimistic. But one day ,he just told me that he managed to source for the metal trimming and fixed a date to come down to change. 

Next issue, the vinyl was rather uneven. We thought it was the uneven cement screed (it could be). 

Promptly, he arranged for someone to come down on a certain date. And viola! 

SERVICE YARD WINDOWS - JUN CONTRACTOR

I outsourced because IDs/contractors are charging about $500 to $600plus. I chanced upon his contact and contacted him.

Everything about this contractor was how I liked it to be. First meeting to sign some application form to install windows: 5 minutes. His guys came down to install windows: 45 minutes. Fast hand fast leg, and cleaned up the area after that. Showed us on the spot that the windows are smooth. Fuss-free!

BLINDS - U SERVICE

Initially, thought that they are a little weird for being pissed because we asked for a quote from another vendor. However, their pricing is very reasonable, and while choices of types of blinds is rather limited, the quality is good (venetian blinds better than the other vendor, roller blinds exactly the same as what the other vendor offers).

The fiance was there during the installation and he loved how good their workmanship was. The couple also taught the fiance how to maintain the blinds, how to open the windows when blinds are down, etc. Did saw a few reviews subsequently that their replies are curt, slow, etc. But our experience with them has been alright. (Better affinity with the fiance, though. Not sure why he likes them so much!)

GLASS WORKS - AH JIA

Actually, by the time I was sourcing for a glass top, I knew I didn't want to get J&E to assist even though I didn't have any contacts. Things weren't that bad between us yet;I was tolerating his non-response etc so I told the fiance I want to deal directly with the vendor whom I pay even if it's more troublesome (which isn't at all!).

This turned out to be my favourite vendor actually!

Liaising was a breeze: he would fix a date to take measurements, send a quote, fix a date to install, and that's that. Super fast and fuss-free!

You probably can't spot anything wrong with this photo. And initially, we didn't too. One day later, I realized that one side is not cut out to fit my table nicely. I texted him, feeling afraid he would not care because we have already paid him.

BUT his response was again prompt. No questions asked, he said he will change a new piece for us. Gave me a date, and his guy really came to install the new piece of glass. Actually his guy say that the glass is cut in a straight line, it is our carpentry that is not straight. But anyhow, they changed it for us immediately! 

The bonus is...

 

This piece of glass that was a cut out of my glass top due to the L-shape. I asked him to let us have it since technically we paid for it. My mum wanted it for her coffee table and I gave him the dimensions, asked him how much it costs to cut to that and to temper the sides of the glass. My mum thought it's not worth it so I told him to just give me the raw glass.

End up, my mum say it fits her coffee table perfectly, and the sides are tempered. She even asked me if I paid the vendor to give her what she wants lol. I don't know if he accidentally did it according to my dimensions or what, but this was a pleasant surprise.

We will be getting him to make a new piece of glass for our glass top that J&E damaged. Top-notch service! 

Till the next!

Edited September 14, 2017 by dietgalvon

[homesweethome96 0]

Hihi dietgalvon, 

Can you pls provide the contacts for: 

SERVICE YARD WINDOWS - JUN CONTRACTOR

BLINDS - U SERVICE

GLASS WORKS - AH JIA

 

Thank you in advance! 

[dietgalvon 14]

On 9/15/2017 at 11:32 AM, homesweethome96 said:

Hihi dietgalvon, 

Can you pls provide the contacts for: 

SERVICE YARD WINDOWS - JUN CONTRACTOR

BLINDS - U SERVICE

GLASS WORKS - AH JIA

 

Thank you in advance! 

@homesweethome96 PM-ed

[iichigoz 0]

Hi there,

Is it possible to tell me the cost of your blinds? You only did your living hall?

[dietgalvon 14]

2 hours ago, iichigoz said:

Hi there,

Is it possible to tell me the cost of your blinds? You only did your living hall?

@iichigoz Would be better if you contact the vendor to ask for a quote. I did Venetian blinds for living and MBR, roller blinds for the two common rooms.

[Jas28 0]

care to share J & E , window vendor and the electrician contact. Thanks

Edited September 18, 2017 by Jas28

[Songz 132]

Love the flooring color, really make the house look cozy 

Like the table glass too but will it be hard to clean (Eg. Smudge marks and etc) ??

[dietgalvon 14]

On 9/19/2017 at 10:05 PM, Songz said:

Love the flooring color, really make the house look cozy 

Like the table glass too but will it be hard to clean (Eg. Smudge marks and etc) ??

@Songz Thanks! Most proud of the flooring and laminate we chose, haha. Ehh so far the glass is good, easier to clean the table in fact!