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Try using a a bigger font next time, there are old folks here with fading eyesight.

Hi everyone, after staying in my home for the past 3 1/2 years , I have some feedback on the quality and longevity of the items purchased/ installed. 1. Miele washer and dryer set - *touch wood* no regrets so far , they are both going strong. we purchased a miele vacuum cleaner soon after too and it is doing well except for a slight problem with the on off switch. 2. blum & generic soft closing - waste of $$ and just advertising hype. the carpenters shared feedback when first installing that in their experience there would be problems with the mechanism in the long-term, which is true! while the soft closing aspect works well, the drawers started to slide open on their own shortly within that first year, and the cupboards are not closing fully anymore. even after changing some of the drawer mechanism, it starts to slide open shortly after changing. 3. lifestorey cloth sofas - both have been replaced as they started to sink and warp within these 3 years. 4. hansgrohe overhead rain shower and rain shower head - both are leaking but otherwise working ok, luckily still within the 5 year warranty period for free repair or replacement. 5. kdk fans, mitsubishi starmex aircon, philips tv, yale digi lock, lightning.com philips lighting, brandt appliances - all going strong so far

Yes if both toilets are in use at the same time. Even if not using heater, the water pressure will be more or less affected when 2 toilets in use at same time. If you want good water pressure, storage tank heater will be a better choice for you. THanks Songz. My shopping for furnishings are almost done. Now is to wait for them to be delivered on 05 July!

We are installing eubiq power track in the kitchen and study area. Since our kitchen is glass backing, we need to mark the places we want the power track to be. Our kitchen is taking shape. The top is quartz. I understand there is different sizes, the recommended size is 20mm. Some contractor/ID use different sizes so make sure you check it should be at least 20mm. We are also using blum system for all the drawers as we believed it will last longer. There is also other brands like hettich ( good for slidding doors ) but also just as expensive. However for all our casting door we are using in-house hinges because for hinges if you do read up not much difference. We learn where to splurge and where to save Under our sink we are putting cement base because in case of leakage it can last longer. More expensive but it is worth it, good investment.

I have encountered crown rated sellers who don't live up to their ratings. Imo, seller ratings are secondary to buyer reviews and sales volume. If the latter 2 aspects are good, the item will typically not have major issues.

nice mood shots. Hope to see more photos soon!

So! We are finally, officially homeowners! I'm over the moon! Got the keys today and was surprised at how quick the whole process was. Just 10 mins in the office. Didn't even need to sign anything. Unfortunately, we won't be able to start work right away. I suspect we confirmed our ID a little late and its only now that she's rendering 3D for us. Some ppl do hacking simultaneously but she's going on holiday soon and I'm waiting for the 3D to make a few decisions on hacking. (We are planning to tear down a wall to create a special feature but I noticed an irritating beam that might spoil the look. So if it looks weird in the 3D, i'll scrap the idea.) So as a result, work might only start at the end of this month. Ah well, better to delay things a bit and get it right than to rush it and screw up.

Budgeting for Renovation My carpentry works are still fabricating so no updates on renovation work for now. Just wanted to share a good excel file I found when I was googling for renovation related stuff late last year. This file has been a great help with my reno budgeting so far. It is very helpful for those who are at a loss where to start, or for budget conscious home owners, who don't wish to go crazy buying stuff only to realise your reno budget has burst. By then it will be too late. The excel is already prepped with all the formulas and sectioned into various areas. We just have to key in the cost of what we purchased and it will tally the total amount at the bottom. I added in another column to record what I bought beside the price for easy reference as and when I need it. Here's the link - Renovation Budgeting

Hi Dwinsplace, they removed this option to sort by seller rating recently I guess! Must be the low rating sellers complaining that it is unfair for them. I just bought some small items on taobao recently and I sorted them by "Sales volume" from high to low and then manually have to use my mouse over the shop name to check the rating. Alternatively can buy from tmall.

Digressing.... for more info on TB purchases, hubby aka mrlee08 will update separately. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So updates on our home again. We've rectified fully the 2nd defect list which we submitted and everything has been checked and signed off. The supervisor in charge of our black was a really nice foreign worker and helped us arrange many rectification on the side in the unofficial way instead of going through the BSC office. That definitely helped to speed up the process for us! With that out of the way, it means that reno will be starting soon! So hubby and I have decided that reno day 1 will be 11th June for us - as that's the day that aircon trunking has been arranged as well. So exciting! ID and his site supervisor have also been informed... looks like we're set to start things rolling very soon. Over the weekend, hubby and I went over to Heritage @ Geylang to buy some outstanding items which we've been procrastinating to buy. So we went back to buy our Mayer oven, Delizia Tabla Cap hood and Joven 25L storage heater. All at the most competitive pricing which I've been offered so far. In fact, Heritage is having massive GSS sale right now! Most items at 40% off... it's really a good place to visit to buy your kitchen/bathroom items now! It will last all the way till end-June, so hurry! One thing though, the Delizia hood I had my eye on had unfortunately increased price by over $100!! Luckily we managed to get them to maintain the price which was offered to us previously (3 months ago) and they managed to do so. The thing I like about Heritage is that they will write down the prices offered to you and keep in record so that it is sort of in 'black and white'... this shows their sincerity in doing business with their customers. And it really sits well with us! We will be going back to buy some more items soon like toilet accessories and ceiling fan.

Okay here're some stuffs we already bought..... Fan We had actually shortlisted Relite, Crestar (only has 46"), and Amasco (not reliable), until we found this from JB. It's made in Taiwan and has a 10 years warranty on its motor. More importantly, the matt metallic black gives it a rustic industrial look. There's also white and black colour available but it's shinny and thus not suitable. Only drawback is the drop down height of 330mm (ceiling to fan blades) and 440mm (ceiling to lowest point) from ceiling, which will looks a bit low for HDB ceiling. Still figure out best way to modify the mounting bracket. And best of all, only RM 350 (with remote control) (okay managed to fix it up, update at post #58)

Selecting IDs are not easy i agree....best if you have someone who could recommend one to you (and you have seen the work the ID did for the home). Popular ones may be flooded with so many requests, quality and attentiveness may suffer. You should see you ID as a working partner...there should be chemistry...ideas and communication should flow easily. During our ID selection process back in December 2012, we met up with quite a number of IDs. Amongst all, I had great chemistry and understanding with one of the IDs, which I unfortunately did not end up selecting as it is not only my decision to make but a joint decision between myself and hubby. But I did end up recommending her to a couple of friends instead of my ID as she left a strong impression on me. Be prepared to spend a lot of time monitoring the renovation progress as well. Just because you selected an ID does not mean you should just let go and let the ID coordinate everything. It is after all your home and you are investing a lot of money in the renovation so it's better to be safe and ensure you are getting what you want. To spot a renovation mistake on the spot and get it corrected asap is better than having everything completed and then do corrective works....it will take ages. Happy renovating! Cheers Mere http://mere-reno-journey.blogspot.sg/

Dont mind asking which contractor or ID ure liaising with? coz I'm looking for one as well. Im looking at 3 IDs at the moment but I believe IDs are pretty competitive in terms of prices maybe they're "branded" than contractors...hahha