pinkpetter

You're welcome! I guess we're all expressing the same thing.. just in different words which may not bring across the right message. I'm sure you made an informed decision based on your own set of criteria... Set up a blog to show us your reno when you're going through it? hehe I'm such a kaypoh.

Aubrey... are there a lot of tiles like that? Wah broom hitting the thing sounds quite serious. Please ask Uncle to take a look. I had my grouting re-done after I moved in also... it was dirty but not the un-manageable kind.

I think stove on island is a neat idea... however I'm confused a little about the washing machine.. so it'll be at the right side standing alone?

*jiat liat* Then I'm Ms Stingiest. Don't think I can ever dig out that kind of money... lol

mmm is it a grouting problem or a tile problem? Sometimes when the grout between the tiles have receded it causes the cutting feeling... it's not hard to change really in either case la.

haha ya they DIYed themselves. I would like to try one day too. but I wun be able to actually DO the work and have to hire people so cannot save so much money. mm they moved many times in his life and each time they renovated, so they have experience la.

They did some restructuring with the 1st floor of the house like hacking away one toilet, etc. ok la. They, like me, like doing this kind of thing. haha

SO MUCH MONEY???

Yup I think FOC is a good idea... haha but I do feel embarrassed for being overly helpful at times. Will probably help friends out with design. I've got my friend to buy the 3ds for me overseas... cos it's cheaper.. but have not received it yet.

familyof4 >> That's great to hear! I saw the carpenter climbing up and down on my stuff so I didn't worry about the wood quality and didn't test it. It's good for you to be "messing" around with the things since you're there anyway... better than to regret later ma

Good! He sounds like someone who knows his limits... just what Uncle needs. He must be a little scared now... lol

gaku... hahahahha thanks for sharing that!!! It's so funny!!!!! **** mm Will call Uncle up one of these days cos my recess area is going to be processed and we can finalise the plans for it.

haha no la. Next time if I needn't work (so hard) then I'll probably do something free lance... but before that I want to learn to do some 3D software thingy... hehe

Good design! Makes it much much easier to find things and yet not so transparent so you needn't keep it ultra neat...

hahah oops I just realise my previous comment seems weird. What I meant was that the wardrobe seems thick and very solid. It looks like those of very very good quality and I agree that it's nice to have the laminates on the inside too. Did that cost you more?

gaku70 haha yes I think I do like reno a lot. I've been keeping scrapbooks with pictures of beautiful homes I cut out from Magazines/newspapers... Been doing it since I was a teenager, way before we ever thought of renovating a place. Now that I depend on the Internet more I'm keeping digital albums and archives on my com. haha Yup... now that I have more time on my hands I shall... hehe You'll probably see me here more often too.

Glad to hear you're in good hands Metal...

eh? Just trying to ease some seriousness I guess. Agreed. I'm always excited to know that there's another nice contractor out there that is budget friendly... Saw one in SGbrides but couldn't convince the guy to set up T-blog here to show us the contractor's work. *sigh*

mmm familyof4... I notice that your wardrobe seems quite thick.. is it upon request or he gave it to you this way? ya smaller storeroom better la. My dad also hoards things... then when he goes out, my mom and I quickly clear some of the things he's been keeping for the last 30 years..... We found many antiques.. like the BIG floppy disk and an anchor...

hahah felt the itch in my ear that someone was calling... in fact I just mentioned to my bf that we can build a WIW in his room, despite the fact that he spends less than 50 days a year in it. LOL lalallaa Agreed on the bringing Uncle's Biz to the next level. I just hope Uncle is not experiencing any personal probs at the moment. Will be quite sad la. mm The hollow tile thing.. I think it's best to change the tiles and relay... it's not very difficult though... doors of cabinets should be able to change easily... though not cheaply.

It was a huge hassle! horrible. Firstly, we called HDB but the girl who answered didn't seem to know what to do. Then we went down to HDB personally but were told by the staff that we will not be able to get any info there. We must go home and submit our enquiries online. And when I asked where can I find the right link in the HDB website, the person could not advise me. So I went home... spent quite some time clicking around and around the "myHDB" website to find and finally managed to submit my enquiry. I wanted to know how much it would cost. Nearly 2 months later, they sent me a letter to tell me the cost of the space, the stamp fees, admin fees, etc... which came up to about 2k. And the instructions on the letter were quite vague. AND in order to buy the thing, we have to engage our lawyers (cos we took bank loan) to take back the mortgage and REDRAFT the whole mortgage again! Which simply means we have to pay our own lawyers, the bank's lawyers and CPF lawyers all over again. *faint* After that... the bank's reaction was so so so so so slow in responding......... and they sent me duplicates of documents to sign, making me think that they didn't receive the first set *panic*. Then... my contractor (Uncle Soon) had to show them how the meters were to be shifted BEFORE they allow us to buy. They had to submit floorplans showing where the new stuff were going to be... haiz... troublesome.... I think so. At least HDB loan people will have less people to deal with. No need to deal with the bank people and lawyers... mm haha yes finally back in action.

Whoa... today is Friday already... But then it's good to hear that Joseph is more responsible and quick to act.

Precious... did you take HDB or bank loan? I'm curious as to whether it would be just as troublesome for people who took HDB loan. We're suppose to pay for the moving part... I think it will cost $800... but the Uncle who moved the water meter didn't collect from us. I'm not sure why also.

Wah I really like your kitchen!

mmm at first my mom also liked the idea but she gave it some thought and she decided to put up two poles only... (I had to return the other 3). She said that some of the items will collect dust. mmm