Our Home in Kovan

Ok, did some searching and this should be what's inside of a WC tank fitted with Geberit system: Gone are those floating ball and piston.  It also mean that it is more expensive if things go wrong, you will have to replaced the entire system costing around $100.  Fortunately, Geberit tested their system for up to "200,000 times, an equivalent to ordinary family use of sixty-years".  

WC - Treo I don't have the exact details of it but I bought it because it was a ToTo CW166B look-alike with Geberit system built-in.  It was the only one I liked in the line up in that shop.  At that moment in time, I was mostly happy that the price is ok and I don't have to go elsewhere to do more shopping and comparison.   Other than aesthetic reason, this design is a little bit taller and steeper in gradient than the Roz (using it currently) and Johnson Suisse (used it before).  I was hopeful that the increase in height and depth will translate to more forceful flushing power.   Another consideration I had for WC was the coating of the ceramic basin.  Toto was the only one to mention that it had an additional coating of CeFionTect for extra protection: a little like Teflon coating for cooking pans - easy to wash.  No other brand has mentioned any special coating, so I assume ToTo is the only one who bother to do a little extra.   This particular Treo W

Tiler: Mosaic Soon (顺) He is part of sub-con of my ID.  Stocky guy with a loud and intimidating voice.  When asked his name, he proudly announced:  Soon!... call me Mosaic Soon! For you newbies doing renovation for the very first time, tiling or wet works rank the highest in terms of importance.  Cement mix is not right, level is not aligned, tilt not enough (in bathroom)... you will have endless nightmares with the house.  So... Be very nice with the tilers. I will just show you some works he has done mending the walls. Before After Before After I am paying extra attention on the walls because they will just be painted at the end of the renovation.  If it is not smooth and flushed, it will be noticeable.  We are paying him extra to do all these patch ups because it was not included in the quote.  Will cost us extra $600 more as I ripped off all the aircon pipings and the ceilings.  Worth it if he can do it right.  So far so good.

We have used them twice and this will be the third.  They are professionals: quick, efficient and careful.  Stuffs that need to be protected will be wrapped and cushioned.  Large items are dismantled and put back with proper tools. They are not the cheapest.  But worth it if you value your household belongings.

There is this additional pipe in the toilet which no one had a clue what it was for.  Can we get rid of it? Who else better to ask than HDB?  I couldn't find a contact point for renovation questions so I tried the general email contact:  hdb@mailbox.hdb.gov.sg . I don't think I have had much good experience with emailing to general enquiry of any organisation to talk about.  In this case, I too, have forgotten about it as soon as I sent it. The email was sent on a Friday night at almost 10pm.  The following Tuesday morning, I got a call at 9am from Don, a representative from HDB saying he would be in my unit at 11am to have a look. Don was there at 11am.  After surveying, he said it is part of sewage pipe system from older design.  Only a some units in certain floors have it and I was one of the lucky ones.  And no, it cannot be dismantled. One working day, one officer on site, question answered, doubt cleared.  I am left with the astonishment of the speed of turn

We spent a lot of time on the design of the kitchen.  This would be the final design: Do the new designers do drawings like this?  On pencils?  We still kept the drafts of the carpentry work in our old flat done by Mr Chua.  A heady rush of nostalgia... loved it! The other side will look like this:

Venetian Blinds: J&R CurtainBlind Concept Pte Ltd Small local enterprise run by a knowledgeable, affectionate and bubbly lady, Joyce Ong. We are going to have venetian blind all around: white panel with black tape, so it was a relatively simple discussion.  She knew well how the configuration of the windows without us having to tell her.  We went along with her advice on the panel size and length. Offered us at $2k and we bargain a little to $1900.  We think the price is in the mid range.  Don't really have a clue because this was our only quote.

Window:  Singapore Safety Window System Updates and Verdict No experience here.  Contacted Alvin, a contactor from reading Renotalk forum.  He asked a few questions to see if I am doing anything else.  After which, he said he would get his worker, actually his subcon, to contact me. I made the call before noon and met up with the two young Malaysian at 4pm.  After measuring, he immediately gave us a quote: $2300.  We bargain down to $1900 for the following: 1. Living room: 6 panel casement 2. Master bedroom: 3 panel casement 3. Kitchen: 3 panel sliding 4. Bedroom 1: 3 panel casement 5. Bedroom 2: 4 panel casement 6. 2xBathroom windows.   No grilles.  It was $19/sqft for windows with grilles and $14/sqft for windows only.  All in all, $2,300 and we bargained down to $1880. Price seemed reasonable?  Don't like it that we had to ask for so much discount after their 'best' price.  Tom came down the next day for us to fill in the HDB applica

How does the flat look when striped bare? Kitchen, before Kitchen After Master bedroom, before.  Laminate floor. Master Bedroom, ceramic tiles revealed. Bedroom 1.  The frame in the middle is the storeroom. Bedroom 2 Common Toilet.  It used was the squatting type.  You can see the square concrete box on the top right corner. We were wrong...everything had to be changed! This was perhaps the expensive lesson we learned: looks can be deceiving.  We Thought that we could still use the laminate flooring but they popped out in some places.  We thought that we could still use the aircon but it was using an old refrigerant and the aircon pipping's layout was horrid. The aircon duct ran towards the window... Went around the room... Across to the other bedroom before entering the master bedroom toilet. We thought that we could use back the ceiling box but the position of some of the down lights were wrong.  So we decided to ripped

They stormed into the apartment and swiftly got to work.  The team of seven were seamless: everybody knew exactly what to do.  The foreman was a quiet, soft spoken man with a ready smile.  There were no loud instructions or hollers amongst each other.  The only noise was that of hammers and crowbars. On the second day, there was a heavy downpour.  I saw one of the worker shuffling up and down the elevator sweeping away the rain water and mud outside the lift landing on my floor and the ground floor. Lift landing outside unit Lift was kept clean Cleaning the floor all the way to the loading area What was scheduled for three days were done in one and a half.

Bath Room Accessories: Song Lin Building, Syed Alwi Road Randall said we cannot find prices like these elsewhere in Singapore.  A little exaggeration there of course but... yep, quite true. Items are mostly made in Malaysia or China and I can't recall the brands.  Picked out wash basin, taps, shower sets...etc for both of our bathroom.  Came out to just a little over $2000.   The exciting find for me was the toilet bowl.  As I had done my research, I had my mind set on a certain brand for its shape and features.  I found one here, looks exactly the same, fitted with Geberit system that went for one third of the price of the named brand.  Such a easy decision. I was also happy to settle everything in less than two hours.

Buying a HDB flat should not be difficult:  the regulations, procedures and dateline can all be found on the website. So we went ahead without any agent representation. What could go wrong? Seller, Agent Delayed Filling We placed our deposit immediately after viewing the unit.  We liked the layout, the distance from MRT and the condition of the flat.  The ERA team of husband and wife seemed amicable: we exchanged information about our children, complained about school systems and other parental affairs before discussion the timeline of the transaction.  It was early August.  We should be able to complete the transaction by October, they said.  The owner would like to request 2-3 weeks extension for time to move into his other HDB.  Ah, no problem, our son will be having his A-levels and we don't intend to do anything in November.  All of us were happy, hands were shaken and cheque presented. Why No Filling? A week later, we eagerly put in the options fee, filled up an onl

CE2+ CERTIFICATION EN 636-2 S (Structural plywood in internal humid conditions).  Or rated WBP/BWR (water & boil proof)  But I doubt any ID/carpenter would bother to supply this information.    What to look for: Cabinet structure: multi-ply ( 7-9 ply ~18mm) Top hung cabinet base: multi-ply ( 7-9 ply ~18mm) Drawers, dividers: multi-ply (5-7ply ~ 12-15mm) Drawer bottom: 12mm (less if it does not need to support heavy pots and pans)

Ikea Billy Bookshelf Woodchips sandwich with laminates.  It's alright, we know why we buy these, it is cheap and looks good. This 3-door wardrobe is what we are using now, bought it in the neigbourhood furniture shop for around $200?  Comes with delivery and installation.  Not a bad deal for something we just going to use for 2 years.  Although flimsy and feather light to the touch, it manages to hold it's shape better than those chipboard from Ikea. Closer look at the board. Here's what's happening to the Kitchen Cabinet doors above the cook top. More pic I took out a piece Does it look like .... Can you tell which one from the wardrobe and which one from the kitchen cabinet?  Looks the same ins't it?  I better go check what my ID is going to use. 

How to choose a WC?  Surely someone must have figure out a way to test and score the effectiveness? Yes, there is! An organisation called MAP. This is a test lab cater for the north Americans: USA and Canada.  I can't find other setup like this for Europe and certainly nothing like this exist in Asia. MAP uses Soya Bean paste for testing.  Since 2005, Miso paste has replaced plastic ball bearings in toilet testing.  There are two things to look for, one is Water Sense certification and the other is MAP score. WaterSense certification calls for a maximum volume of 4.8l and 350g of waste removal.  This should be the basic requirement everywhere.  MAP score measures the performance: how much waste it can remove.  MAP score of 500 means 500g and 1000 means 1kg. Most of the brands in the database are American.  The ones that come up frequently and available in Singapore are - American Standard, Kohler and Toto. A search on one-piece, WaterSense Certified, MAP premium r

Interior Designer Series -- 5 9 Creation, Ubi Road 1 We met with Randall from 9 Creation on the same day as the event mentioned in ID Series 4.  He came across as unassuming and thoughtful.   During our first meeting, after going through our floor plan and our requirements, among other things, he gave us an interesting solution for our storeroom door.  We wanted louvered doors.  But we all know that louvered doors are old fashioned and unsightly.  He showed us a PVC door that might fit our requirement whereas most other IDs had no clue or couldn't be bothered.  Why are we so picky on this?  We stayed in an apartment with bomb shelter used as a store room.   After a year, mould started to developed and ruined many things.  We had to rent a storage to store them for the next few years.  So yes, we think storerooms MUST be well ventilated. He scored bonus points for being the only ID who sent us a 3D drawing.  When we complained that his design made it looked claustro

Other than the showroom inside of their HQ, there is another one in Ang Mo Kio. Our friend excitedly told us about it after she went and came back with entire set of Gaggenau at 70% off.  We went last week but I think timing was bad; the great sales must have been so successful it was mostly empty. For those of you looking for Bosch products, it would be worthwhile to go check it out. BSH Home Appliances Pte Ltd Block 4012, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10, #01-01 Techplace I Singapore 569628 Operating hours: Mon-Fri, 8.30am-5.30pm

The bright and cheery London Telephone Booth beckons!  It is hard to go to the Bosch showroom without stopping by. Inside, it is piled high with teakwood furnitures of all sorts.  The boss, John, was extremely helpful and eager to show us some of his custom pieces. When mentioned teakwood, we would think of furnitures of our grandparents' generation; bulky, heavy and dull.  Yes... mostly true.  But there are some interesting and modern designs to be found here.  Best of all, if you have something in mind, uncle John could custom made for you. Check it out: Teakland Gallery TechPlace 1 Block 4012 #01-03 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10 www.teaklandgallery.com Open most days from 10-6pm

Wah ha! So happy that everything went through without a hitch! Were in HDB for our first appointment today.  Three parties were present:  us, our seller/buyer and the seller of Bedok flat.  Our seller bought another unit in Bedok and so will be doing a contra.  For the past weeks, we heard that the Bedok seller was not in a hurry and may hinder the sales process.  We wanted to move in January next year.  Working backwards, we would have to start renovation in early Dec.  In the end, we were all glad that the Bedok owner did not stop us from submitting a letter for an early closure - 6 weeks instead of the normal 8 weeks.  By just two weeks, that's the best we could ask for.  But we would take it as long as we can start early.  Throughout, we were so afraid that the Bedok seller would ask for a 3 month extension, then both our seller and us would be affected.  All the documents signing were done before noon.  Wah haha!!!  What a relief!   Now we can go on to finalise ou

Interior Designer Series -- 4 Attended an event hosted by another website where you could meet with nine IDs.  It was very well organised and we had a wonderful experience.  We did our homework before making appointment to meet with just two of them.  The first was: Rezt & Relax, Ubi Ave For those who have spent a little time checking out IDs, this name should be a familiar one.  Their projects have appeared in many publications.   We met with a petit, young and energetic lady.  I was quite impressed her idea with two area of our concern and she pointed them out immediately and effortlessly.  We went on to make an appointment to see her the following week. When we went in, she already had the table setup with our drawings and sample materials on the side.  We spend almost two hours with her before having to rush to another meeting.   R&R provides warranty for their renovation work for between 1-3 years and even lifetime warranty for some items.   Ra

Interior Designer Series -- 3   We came across a few designs on the site that we liked while combing through the web.  I sent a request and got a response.  In my reply, I fixed the time and also attached my floor plan and pictures.     O***, Somewhere in Joo Chiat   The designer was a lady in her thirties.  Once seated and the pleasantries exchanged, I was furious and I wanted to get out of the meeting right away.  She was not prepared!  I was sure that she had read the email because she replied to it but she didn't go through my attachments.  But somehow my wife had an affinity with her.  Ahh...had to be those children things; women loved to talk about children.     I endured the session and when I got out, I was ready to put it out of my mind.   However, my wife had other plans.  They communicated and setup the next meeting.     So what have we got:   The kitchen was designed for a clean and minimalistic look -- sure, it would look good when done and pho

Interior Designer Series -- 2 I posted my job scope in Renotalk's Get A Quote section.  It was just for renovation for my two toilets.   Shortly, a lady called to verify my posting - a good job on Renotalk's part to screen the requesters.  Within the day, 2 companies responded and I gave them each a floor plan and pictures I had taken.  We decided to visit just one: Unity Design, Kallang Avenue We stepped into the bright and modern showroom and was greeted by a bespectacled young man, dressed casually but chic in a sports jacket.  He led us to a dinning counter and on it, neatly laid out, were the printouts of the floor plan, the photos I sent and the proposal.  He gave us an overview of the company, what our scope of work and what approach he took in designing.  After verifying a few details, we were impressed enough to let him onto our plan for other parts of the house.  A date was set for more than a week later.  We were to discuss it when we visit his s

Interior Designer Series - Part 1 How do I pick an ID?  First and foremost is trust, then experience, taste and cost. Weiken, IMM We did not plan this.  We were wondering around IMM after work looking at furnitures and appliances.  Walking by a bookstand and it happened to be at a page where a photograph grabbed my attention.  We started to browse and a friendly bespectacled sales person came up to greet us.  He was very enthusiastic and we thought we just sit and hear what he had to offer.  After a while, in came the boss: a small, stocky guy but sporting a big strong voice.  We were introduced and he sat down to take a look.  Immediately, He showed us why he was the boss: he knows!  He knew why there was a kerb here, pipes there and explained why the current owner did things that way.  We were very impressed.  So we made an appointment to come back to see his proposal a week later. That evening, we googled and learned that Weiken was quite a large establishment and

This is a reminder for the upcoming event “Meet the Designers”. Date:  10 October 2015 (Saturday) Time:  2pm to 6pm Venue: Th e Design Store By Lifestorey Address:  16 Tai Seng   Street #01-00/A Singapore 534138 Parking: Free parking, Limited slots. All of our guests get to enjoy Exclusive discount on Lifestorey products. Light refreshment will be served at the start of the event, we encourage you to come early. ---------------------------------------- Organised by Renonation it was very well put together: there were many friendly helping hands and excellent crowd control.  Nine ID firms were present and it was always a worry that they packed as many customers as possible and you ended like queueing to buy fast food.  But not so, we have no problem with waiting and our sessions were unhurried.  All in all a great experience.  Do look out for their future event.