The Polates' Scandi 4-room BTO

[Mannequin 0]

On 15/07/2017 at 0:03 PM, infatuation1527 said:

Thought I'd do an update on the reno works that hubby and I have decided. Our quotation came up to $41k and these are what we have requested:

(Note: We won't be sharing our exact quotation as we feel that it is better if you consult Mr K directly on your individual needs and wants.)

Flooring

Initially, we were quite decided on using vinyl flooring as that would enable us to achieve the "wood" feel and at the same time not bursting our pockets because vinyl (as compared to tiles) are really much cheaper. However, hubby and I will be adopting a dog and some IDs that we met have advised that if the pet pee is not cleaned up after several hours, water may still well seep into vinyl. Not wanting to run into any problems in future, we decided to play safe and go with homogeneous wood tiles instead. 

NO False ceiling

No false ceiling because we will be having track lights for the entire house. We also don't want any creepy crawlies stuck somewhere up there. Some IDs also said that depending on the design of the false ceiling, some ceiling fans "wind strength" may be "blocked" by the shape of the false ceiling. 

Overlay both toilets

Hubby and I decided to spend a bit on beautifying our toilets. It came up to $2,500 per toilet for wall and floor tiles.

Hacking of bedroom 3

Perhaps the main focal point of our house would be bedroom 3. Initially,  bedroom 2 was a study room and bedroom 3 a game room. However, we thought that we would have no place to house the computer table and iMac in future if we were to have kids. So we redesigned bedroom 3 to make it a game + study room, leaving bedroom 2 completely untouched. As mentioned previously, the decision to go ahead with tempered glass panels with metal outlines was not easy. I hope we make the right decision. 

Kitchen

Initially, we wanted to have a wet and dry kitchen, i.e. The fridge and tall unit will be placed "outside" where the dining area was, making it the "dry" area of the kitchen while the sink and oven stay inside, making it the "wet" area. The kitchen wall will be hacked. However, after pondering over the idea for some time, I told the hubby that putting the fridge and tall unit outside would cause the living room and dining area to have lesser space. So, we scraped that idea and placed everything that needs to be in the kitchen back to the kitchen. No kitchen wall will be hacked too. We will be plastering the walls of the kitchen with any exposed tiles. This idea was gotten from a fellow renotalker as we do not want any white ugly kitchen tiles to be seen. We are doing both sides lower cabinets and 1 side top cabinets... trying to have lesser things in the kitchen to create a more spacious feel. 

Living room

We will be having a craft stone feature wall on the tv side, stretching all the way to our shoe cabinet which is beside our DB box and main door. No built in tv console as we can easily get a scandi look console from v.hive or star living for under $300.

$41k excludes electrical works as that has to be done on site. Mr K has advised that $5k is quite exaggerated so we are budgeting it at about $3k.

We have decided to have blinds for the entire house. Hubby's friend's uncle owns a curtain business so we have gotten a quote from him at $1,800 got the entire house (including our hacked wall in bedroom 3). My research also tells me that Alto Fabric is a not bad vendor and we are meeting them next week for an on site quotation. Will update then!

Hi

do you mind to share your quotation?

[infatuation1527 2]

@JennyTan my sink is undermount because I think it has a sleeker design. 

@Mannequin so sorry I won't be sharing my quotation as I feel that your needs and wants would be better quoted by Mr K himself. Hope you understand.

[infatuation1527 2]

The glass to cover up bedroom 3 is up. Mr K sent us pictures last night. Actually if we'd known that things will be completed so fast, we would schedule the delivery of our bed and other appliances soon. Else at present it is on 21 Oct - still more than a month away! Trying to convince the very reluctant husband to move forward the delivery of appliances and bed... he is reluctant because he's afraid that the delivery people would get ths dates mixed up and we would end up not receiving anything at all.

This will be changed to full stainless steel simply because... I can't accept the scratched-and-paint-dropping-off look. Mr K said that it's inevitable because the door needs to be secure closed by this thing (neither a magnet or a lock), otherwise if strong wind blows, the door will swing. I told him that the paint drop off look makes it look worn out so I'd rather have a full stainless steel one. Initially, I'd wanted a black handle bar. Really regretted not looking closely at the 3D drawings as I thought the handles could be settled later when things are up. Learning point is to always communicate clearly the details to your contractor before allowing work to commence. 

 

 

[infatuation1527 2]

Saturday was bizarre. I was so upset with the workmanship of the metal frames that I told Mr K straight that I will not accept such work. I asked him whether he was free to come to the flat to discuss how things could be solved but he said that he wasn't free! I was really fuming mad, maybe because I paid a lot for this and expected something better. 

After a few calls here and there, he called my husband and said that he will make a trip down. Well, the only good thing is perhaps he did not shirk responsibility, and he said that if I can't accept this workmanship (the best of all the his contacts), then he would tear everything down and go back to the cheaper aluminum alternative. I didn't want that because that would mean much thicker frames... and the whole idea right from the start was to have thin frames. After some discussion, he asked his men (who did the frames) and they came down really quite fast. He said they will try to touch up the ugly silicon which was glued anyhow and see if I could accept that. I cooled down for a while and complied, because I also don't think tearing it all down was a good option. Thankfully, I was able to accept the corrections:

1) Re-do black silicon evenly

2) Door "lock" would be changed to full stainless steel so the paint would not drop after opening and closing the door

3) Scratches on frames to be spray painted

A reno process can be really painful and frustrating sometimes. Mr K and I do get into some conflicts, but I must say that he is responsible throughout. The pictures below are just a few of the imperfections found... not very clear but the actual product was really not done well.

[Clarence Lye 10]

im doing up a game + study room too.

Mine sharing where you purchase that study table in the room? I dont know if i want to setupa L shape or just a table and tv console behind.

[infatuation1527 2]

The table is by my contractor and is included in my quote together with the wooden wall. I think L-shape is very comfy but takes up quite a bit of space.

[Songz 132]

From the pictures, I think it can be resolve by respray and better touch up of the silicone.

Hope all will goes well after they do it.

[infatuation1527 2]

Update 22 Sep:

Texted Mr K at 6.30am to tell him my discomfort regarding the glass door "ball" for bedroom 3 which makes the whole glass vibrate whenever someone closes it because the "ball" is quite hard so you got to like force-bang to close the door  Although hubby has been telling me it's ok (everything is always ok for him), I couldn't stop thinking about it. I suggested a couple of ways (including those old school toilet latch) but Mr K said that wasn't doable. However, he was kind enough to say that he will think about it again to see how that can be changed to something else. Hubby and I were admiring our house and he asked for my top 3 favourite things from the reno, and I said it has got to be my wash basins, craftstone feature wall and my Blum kitchen drawers. Also quite glad that my blue wall turned out quite well, not too bright. 

@Songz Thank you for your encouragement!  

End product, only left with chemical washing on Saturday! Still not satisfied with the metal frame door, toying with the idea of changing it to a sliding door to minimize the violent vibrations of the glass when I close the door. But most likely won’t be changing anymore since hubby can’t wait to move in and it will likely mean that I have to dismantle everything to fit a sliding door. Shall let the pictures do the talking! Note: photos are unprofessionally taken by me

 

Edited September 22, 2017 by infatuation1527

[halimunan 0]

may i know where you bought ur bathroom mirrors please?

[infatuation1527 2]

@halimunan mirrors are from Taobao. Link is shared in my previous post on page 2. Sorry, I don't know how to copy that post to put it here..

Edited September 21, 2017 by infatuation1527

[Benny Lim 0]

Hi, may sharing your quote?

Thanks.

 

[infatuation1527 2]

On 12/09/2017 at 2:00 PM, infatuation1527 said:

@JennyTan my sink is undermount because I think it has a sleeker design. 

@Mannequin so sorry I won't be sharing my quotation as I feel that your needs and wants would be better quoted by Mr K himself. Hope you understand.

Sorry, @Benny Lim. My total cost was $45k though.

[KFC1189 11]

Hi, I like your standalone wash basins too. Are there any shelves where you can keep your toothbrush, toothpaste, etc?  

[infatuation1527 2]

@KFC1189 unfortunately no space to put toothbrushes and cups  so we are mounting a rack between mirror and wash basin.

[spikeling 8]

Hi, it looks like your reno journey is almost completed. Congrats!

How do you find the quality of the carpentry and masonry works done by yr contractor?