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This is right beside the "holder" box up (my above post). One of my personal favorite. Nothing unique, took the idea from Blum, call the "Tower" unit. Tower is extremely useful to keep daily consumables such as sauces, canned food, condiments etc. Things that are pretty unsightly and take ups kitchen top space, keeping them in Tower, clears up space and looks tidy. It is only when you have one then you will appreciate the usefulness and functionality. Drawers no doubt takes up more space but the accessibility is second to none. What I simply adore are the drawers, especially at the lower parts. No more squatting down and digging to look for things you need. Now simply open the drawer and viola, bird's eye view of what I want.

Dear RLB, Thanks for reading through the pages and pages of info... glad that made some sense lol There are some difference between a faucet mounted and a typical filter. For 1 would be the materials used. Typical faucet mounted filters only contain 1 single material either silverized carbon or the 0.01m space fiber. However both materials have a different role in filteration, the 0.01M is rightly the final material to sieve out the tiny particles up to 0.01M while the carbon is meant to kill bacteria, remove odor and some simple chemicals. Therefore if you asked me.. a typical standard filter that consist of multi-layered materials would suit you best that end with a 0.01M space fiber material. however I would say in my opinion that the lesser the number of filter cartridges the better as that should minimize cost and timely reminders to change. There is no difference between undersink and table top filter other than space saving. Coming to the acidic water, its rather entrenched in my family to use up the acidic water... typically I would store this water for my washing up in the morning and the rest for rinsing my dishes since the container is beside the sink. I do agree that if the acidic water is diverted to another location it minimized kitchen disruption. However that would need planning and unless you have a "clean" slate kitchen to work with, chances it would be tough to route it anywhere far away. I have heard of acidic water going to a cleaning area, yard, garden, washing machine etc. So to say there is no choice would be a tat unfair though I know where you are coming from. All systems that are call Alkaline water ionizers will produce both alkaline and acidic water components, if they don't then they are either filters or Alkalizers (alkaline water) that tries to mimic alkaline ionized water. Hope the above helps! Cheers I stand corrected. I have just seen both of the models of cleansui facuet filters and I I think both would suit you well as they seem to have a multi material. However I think the down side would be frequency of filter change.

hi guys, i'll be collecting my keys soon to my really old 3I resale hdb. i know a contractor who will help me do the hard work - i.e.: renovation. but he's obviously not the most design-savvy person. will IDs be able to give me ideas for the flat layout and design if i don't sign up with them? i.e.: i simply tap on their vast knowledge and expertise, but not get them to do the reno for me. do they usually charge for that? thanks!

More pics

Brick Wall Completed

More photos

Sneak peep at the Study Room. I am so glad that all carpentry comes with internal PVC. It changes the overall look, despite some are actually covered up like a cabinet. The conventional white is out, always have problems with turning yellowish and any blemishes are magnified.

Thank you for your compliments. This is a place I call home for years to come, even with the intention to retire in. Hence the extra efforts to look into finer details and to stretch the dollar to the max. I am not saying it is an easy job but due diligence and some common sense will start the ball rolling. Information are abundance around, just need to sieve out the good and weed out the useless. Throw in with some cold calling and door knocking, you are master of you own. Like truly yours, the relentless effort to seek out the heavenly note paved way for amateurs like us. Saving us the agony and the chopping board while achieving what we initially venture out to seek. Starting a biz is definitely not on the agenda. A tad too tedious to please another's needs and demands. If you need someone to discuss how to make purchase from TB, drop me a PM and we can discuss some pointers.

Up and coming : Brick Wall

Carpentry and 3D Drawing My ID Mr Foo, is one who can conjure out simple 3D hand drawing without twitching his eyebrow. This is very important during discussion for reno work. Verbal discussion can only show so much while a picture paint a thousand words. But one issue, dont expect those fanciful 3D colored drawings from him, not that he is incapable of but both of us deem it as redundant. In most cases, your ID is not the one who is doing the 3D, either in house colleague doing it or outsource to a 3rd party. I heard the going rate can be as high as $150 per drawing. So imagine if you have 4 pcs of 3D, the cost is pretty high. And of cos, these are not charged but actually "absorbed" into the overall reno cost. Why I dont like 3D drawings. mainly they dont reflect things I want and time wasting. Often I see 3D drawings adding unnecessary features which I dont have or will not have. Commonly seen is the vase of flowers on the WC, pebbles under the toilet vanity, paintings, stools/chairs you will never buy and the list goes on. Sometimes, if one look hard enough, the 3D drawing's view is from an almost impossible angle. ie looking in "into" house. Or the viewer must be standing in the walls to have such a view. I have heard many cases that starting of work had been delayed due to waiting for 3D, amending of 3D. Had a friend who insisted on 3D drawing to the dot and 2 months after signing the contract, still pending final 3D drawings. Needless to say, the kopi sessions we had, circled around his bitching of the whole saga. So for me, a clean simple 3D is sufficed. I just need a good look at the layout, the shape and design. The same set of carpentry with different laminate will offer different look and feel, however the shape and size will remain the same. Likewise for washrooms. A WC is a WC, most are oval, or a little oblong but never trapezium or octagon. Some has shower screens and vanity top and mirror, so in general all things are the same with not much of a variation. I doubt you will find one with a TV feature wall to mount a 42". So by and large, 3D drawing? Nonetheless, there are folks who prefer to have a better idea of the general look, feeling more comfy to know what is coming. By all means please do so and request for 3D drawings. Different folks, different strokes.

Always great when the lights are up and running Its like another milestone of accomplishment for Reno ...

Vinyl Flooring A little experience I wanna share. If you are installing vinyl and laminate flooring, you may want to consider to do a clean up before installation. Think about it, all the hacking, patching, painting etc bound to have a little debris, nitty little pieces here and there. These little pieces will affect the overall finish of the flooring. If the small pieces are not removed, it may not show immediately. This is because vinyl and laminate has a layer of rubber or foam as the under layer. It is over time and adding on of weight on the flooring then the little lump will be more obvious. By this time, you may have move in 3-6 months already. Such issue can be rectify easily but the process is tedious and may face restrictions. With vinyl, you will have to remove from the edge of the wall that is nearest to the defect area. Despite being clip on system, vinyl are not exactly built and meant for remove/refit again. During removing, the edges may flare or buff and result in more defects. Also sometimes the nearest wall has a carpentry sitting on it and restrict access. Prior to installation, no doubt the flooring guys will clean up these are restricted to only sweeping. And it is done area by area ie. they clean the area they are installing and so on. What I had done requires a little more effort and time. I cleaned up the whole house to the best I could. First by sweeping then by vacuuming and finally mopping. It is a tedious and tiring process but it yields good result. Please use a vacuum that is not using a dust bag. Easier to dispose but be prepare for rough usage. Of course not every one have the time or the effort to do it this way but on one hand it facilitates the flooring guys to do a quicker and better job, on the other they know you meant business and will try harder to do a better job. Anyway, I was there for the whole installation process which took about 3 x 1 day session due to timing and the leveling of the balcony area. A point to note, please stop them from working late when there are no lighting in the unit for no one can see if each vinyl/laminate are in good condition.

This was how the balcony look like after all had been tore down: Now after the white powder coated full height window & grill are installed. The balcony leveled and flooring laid. Pardon the dark pictures.

Well well well... Today I want to talk about my choice of flooring.. To me, scandinavian theme usually has to go with good and nice woody grainy flooring... Maybe I got influenced by my good friend a little bit.. and also all those Pinterest posts on scandinavian living areas... (see post #23 for pictures) Haha.. Anyway I started to follow the famous #Evorich on facebook & slowly grew more and more convinced that I have to have some sort of laminate/vinyl flooring done for my living/dining area... I also managed to catch an #Evorich roadshow at one of the Singapore Expo events & boy, they do look quite popular.. Found out that their roadshow price was like $7 psf... which amounted to about $3100 if I want to do up my living & dining area (including the corridor which leads to the bedrooms) only. This kind of price got rejected hands-down by CFO... Her initial belief is, we had already opted in for the HDB floor tiles to be done up & are going to be paying for it (though using CPF).. Why should we spend extra money to lay additional flooring over these tiles? Also, she prefers the clean squeaky feeling that comes with a freshly mopped floor that only ceramic (or similar) tiles can offer... Big headache I tell you... my dream was about to come to an end.... When.. I found #Bilrich! Haha apparently they are the ASEAN region distributor for these HERF (high end resilient flooring) vinyl flooring from France, called #Alsafloor... I did some research on youtube, google & facebook for #Bilrich and #Alsafloor... This #Alsafloor looks to be quite a reputable brand in Europe.. They have nice professional looking catalogues in english & french, and you know what's the best part? Their vinyl floor price was at $4.50 psf! The only drawback was that for that price, I could only choose from 8 colours (from V01 to V08) & the thickness of the vinyl floor is only at 5mm, which may (or may not, depending on the #Bilrich sales person #May Tng) lead to the hollow feeling under your feet. And I'm just reading off their catalogue here... But it comes with: 20 years warranty (for discolouration, warping due to water etc.)sound insulation of (only) 5dB, water proofpressure/strain/wear/fire resistantuses some patented clipping installation system (though I dunno what is the difference with other laminate installation techniques)Graded A+ for emissions tests for volatile organic compounds such as formaldehyde (important, especially if the product is too cheap to be true.. nowadays everything can be made in China.. scary.)My good friend Mr Muscle & I went down almost the next day to the #Bilrich office to check out the product & we were served by this sales lady #MayTng and her boss... But I'd rather talk about her. Her boss kept trying to get us to buy the more expensive ranges... which made the visit so needlessly draggy. Anyway #MayTng is a very responsible and fast acting sales-rep.. I have even asked her if she could take pictures of the #Alsafloor for me to send to #CalvinTan & she always responds very promptly & professionally. In the end, I was convinced enough by the #Alsafloor product & based on the research I had gathered, it was a complete steal. (actually I think it is so similar to #Evorich, just that #Evorich is more aggressive with their online marketing) BUT not enough. I had to find a way into my CFO's heart. Hahahaha... Must be something i learnt from my previous company.. To package things nicely to seek buy-in. Project Seek CFO Buy-In #1 - Vinyl Flooring Purchase Request package CHALLENGE #1: CFO was not convinced by vinyl flooring & didn't do as much homework as I did, which was a big factor in me knowing that this was a good deal... ANS: I started singing even more praises of #Alsafloor and slowly slowly updated her with all the technicalities of vinyl flooring... Like how the emissions testing is important (I'm doing health & safety for a living, so this is important to me too)... like how the woody grain will IMMENSELY ENHANCE our scandinavian theme...CHALLENGE #2: when she told me that she likes the clean-squeaky feel.... ANS: I would answer her patiently that, hey the woody grain feel from the #Alsafloor is actually acting more like a safety feature because it is not as slippery after you do wet-moppingCHALLENGE #3: when she tells me that we are spending extra money on flooring when we already have the HDB floor tiles.. ANS: I will tell her that the quotation will amount to $2000+ and if there was anything else we could spend this $2000 on to achieve the same additional level of scandinavian-ness, this was it. Finally, make or break time. CFO still had reservations about the #Alsafloor being too grainy for her liking. She agreed to go down with me to #Bilrich office to take an actual physical look at the #Alsafloor.. And the rest is history. One small step for me, and a huge leap toward my dream house. *phew* (anyway Mr Muscle also went ahead with the contract for #Alsafloor hehe) BILRICH HAS SINCE INCREASED THEIR PRICE TO $4.70 PSF SEE THE #ALSAFLOOR V01 to V08 RANGES (PRINTSCREEN FROM CATALOGUE)

it's always useful to have additional counter top space for laundry stuffs too