adrian_john

Care to share which would be the recommended safer brand?

Back to posting after almost a week. Still recovering from a sinus problem. Its been quite busy for me and wifey pertaining to reno stuff. Been trying to finalise some of the more immediate stuff like tiles and air-con. So I think we've basically covered most of the local tile stores. We're also considering laminate flooring for the rooms. Saw Tarkett's flooring and was quite impressed, bar the pushy sales people. Didn't have time to see the rest like Supreme and Pergo, but we'll try to do so this week. Back to the drawing board, here's a little idea we thought of for the Living Room. In view of using the previously planned TV console space for a storage wall. We thought of a suspended TV console board from the ceiling as follows: Some thoughts: - Aesthetics: Not sure if having a suspended console would kinda create a 'block' in the middle of the Living Room. Another angle we explored was parallel to the balcony, but by doing so, it'd kinda block out all the natural light from the Living/Dining area and make the whole house dark, also, there's the chunky block, which may not be nice. Suspended console will be good to hide wiring. - Practicality: A concern we have is whether it hinder movement, particularly of bigger objects from the living area to the bedrooms. People-wise its not a problem, just stuff like furniture and beds we're worried about. Also, hopefully, with kids - no crashing into the console. False ceiling and placement of ceiling fan will also need to be carefully planned out. - Space: With the ceiling hung suspended TV console, there'll be less space for Living furniture - This means re-locating coffee table, no 2 seat sofas, and the viewing distance will be slightly closer. Well, the good thing is, I won't need to buy a big LCD. Guess if this doesn't work out, perhaps I'll work on a simple console along the wall instead (Where the sofa is positioned now). Do feel free to share any thoughts/feedback/suggestions.

Sorry guys, just wanted to clarify, how does this drop work? Meaning you have a curb, followed by a top-hung glass with space at the bottom to accomodate a sloped down recessed drop for water flow below?

Agreed, the Kohler WCs look really sleek and nice. Saw it at Asia Excel (Balestier) on Sunday. But they were really crowded and hence, we didn't stay there long since couldn't talk to any of the staff. We'll probably go back again this week. Asia Excel has alot of nice bathroom accessories.

Heya, nice bumping into you. Sorry I abit 'seh' lah. I'm actually down with a bad case of sinus problems, which explains why I look like a junkie with the the bad voice and blur, droopy eyes. So embarrasing! Yeah, the file's like our reno 'bible'. Yesterday's actually the first time I ever stepped into IMM. I was at Hong Tar to enquire about air-con, then as we were exiting to go home, my wife saw IMM was just there so we thought just go and see see. BTW, anybody got any recommendations for air-con? Hong Tar recommended Mitsubishi H.I., Starmex and Toshiba. Anyone got any experience with these or other brands to share?

Stormcontrol & Mrspiglet: From the little that I understood and after checking with my wife, the tiny potty bowl (not the actual toilet bowl) was similar to those we used as kids in the old days. Its symbolically covered with some red cloth/paper with words on it. And the 'procedure' is after the groom fetches the bride home and all the tea ceremonies are over, I think they usually get a kid to burst it. Like the 'An Chuan' thing, its also another supposed 'determinant' of the baby's sex so they usually get a boy to do it. Mine was however, enthusiastically burst by a boy and 2 twin girls ... ahahahahaha! I wonder how that's gonna turn out!

Thanks Mrspiglet and F4 for sharing and enlightening me! Hmm ... altho' my in-laws quite traditional but I never recalled having the kids jumping on the bed. I renember the symbolic items like new bath sets, towel sets, bed sheets and clothing. Another thing, I remember is that they got some kids to burst the paper covering a potty bowl and that's about it. Is that part of the 'An Chuan' ritual too?

Good idea for a group buy!

Hi Mrspiglet, if we have a normal wardrobe flushed agains the wall, it'll mean no place for a TV console - mobile or fixed. So hence, the headache in figuring out how to work things out. I guess, at best if space allows maybe we'll try to do what I had illustrated in my 2nd MBR layout, where there's a passageway between the bathroom and wardrobe, and a TV console behind the wardrobe. Somehow, the actual space on-site is really very tight, leaving very squeezy walking space. It also doesn't help that my bed is king size, which takes up an extra 1ft of space allowance. Haiz ... hope Yeak's designer can come up with some bright ideas. Aiyo, detailed meh? I think most of this I picked up from Mr Yeak one cos' he's even more detailed than me. I see him do his measurements really meticulously and his judgement of space is really good too.

Does someone mind explaining to me what 'An Chuan' is?

Hi There, Welcome! I see you got Mr Yeak as your contractor as well. Looking forward to more updates on your reno.

Hi KTHC, Looks like good progress on your renovation. The tilers' work look very pro. Very nice touch with the mosaics too! Talking about the $200 set of mini glass tables from S&C, I think that's a really good buy and one of the more popular items there. Its good also in the sense that even if you don't use all 3, you can still slide them under the biggest one and save space. I'll probably get a set myself, if space allows.

Ya lor. U saying you're gonna turn up in a Piggy suit right? Kena eaten up by Tiger la!

Hi Ivy, The carpentry work looks very nice, especially the wardrobes! I like the dark bathroom too.

Ahahaha ... Guess so. I think Rondy got to change his nick to Randy liao. BTW, newnyew, nice touch with the knocked down walls and the tiger and gold tiles. It really adds a bold artsy look to the place and breathes some life and colour!

You all never hear stories about the noise of marbles on the floor at night before ar? Kekekekekekeke! Maybe its a different type of 'adult' or 'children' leh. I think HDB ceiling and walls too thin liao lah. My neighbour upstairs also very weird one. Every night around 12+ or 1+am will move furniture and stomp their elephant feet. Lucky also I shifting.... Eh ... reading the last posts like sound very kinky leh.

Nice update Neighbours. Your house is really looking great! Very nice and cosy bedroom! Yeah agreed with the rest on FSM matters. Sometimes its best to just go with what your in-laws/parents say. Whether agree, believe or not, just follow law. Less trouble, happier times!

Yes, taking measurements and having an on-site visit is definitely important. As illustrated in my previous post, when you're on-site with Yeak, he can point out the feasibility of doing what you had planned or also advice you on certain items that will or may have issues. It'll also help in providing a more accurate quote.

Met Mr Yeak last Thursday to go down to the new place for on-site view and measurement-taking. Took some time to talk to him While it was a good meeting, after the measurements, it seems now we'll have to have some re-think over a couple of things. - The biggest headache now's the Master Bedroom. Although the space looks ok on the floor plan. After taking measurements on-site, the space is very tight. So walk-in wardrobe may have to be shelved, and even so, placement of wardrobe is now quite tricky, especially since there's also a need for a TV wall or console. Mr Yeak says he'll ask his designer (I didn't know he had one) to work out some ideas for us. I'm very tempted to eat space in the next room, but Wifey is against it. - Mr Yeak's survey also found out that due to the overhanging pipes, doing a rainshower for the MBR would not be possible as one of the pipes overlaps the ideal position of a rain shower and because the pipes will be boxed up, there's no way to mount it. But since by default, there's already a bath tub there. Mr Yeak said putting a new bath tub there would also work well with the hotel theme. - Kitchen-wise is so far OK. Although to accomodate the newer styles of cooking hobs, we may have to shift the location of the hob. So we'll have to revisit the kitchen cabinet layout in further detail in our next meeting. - We found that the new place actually has concealed wiring. So this saves us abit of money as we won't need to spend on rewiring. However, to minimise trunking, we'll really have to plan the moving (if any) and placement of additional points properly. - For the Living area, we were thinking of putting some storage cabinets that will flush seamlessly and look like a wall. So, the initial area where we planned to place the TV console will now have to make way for this. Now the next thought will be the placement of the TV console. Off-hand I was thinking of perhaps doing a suspended one from the ceiling either parallel to (i) the balcony or (ii) the new flushed storage position. Issue with (i) is that it'll block out the natural light and have a block-like object between Living and Dining area. Issue with (ii) is that there might be problems in terms of sofa size and placement of secondary seats and coffee tables. So this is up for another re-think. Mr Yeak will also think it through and give his feedback. Guess now its back to the drawing board ....

Yup, my place is opposite the 2 eateries. The Romanian and Italian food should be quite good. I've been a fan of Peter Bontoi's (the chef) Italian food since he started at Alexandra Village. I'm glad he's coming to Bishan so now I don't need to go so far. So far I think only Reinshagen's, Asugama's and Smartie/Booy's place are pretty much done. Soon will be XiaoBB's. Mine will most likely be the last and ready in Oct 09. 2nd appointment is about 4.5 weeks away.

Happened to pop by Euromark 2 nights ago as I was in the vicinity to check out the range of Electrolux Washers and Dryers. They've essentially got most of the current models on site and their staff were nice and patient enough to tend to my queries even though they were actually closing. They did some demo on the EWF1073, 1082 and 14491 and explained the functions well for simple understanding. For a 7kg model, EWF1073's the model to get. Its essentially an updated version of EWF1074 with more Time Manager levels and using Jetspray. EWF1082's got pretty much the same features as the 1073, except that its loading capacity is 8kg. The 8kg load, made-in-Italy EWF14991's considered the top tier model for the range with basically all the features including a tilted drum, drum light. Prices-wise, EWF1082's going for $1,199 with free $160 Cold Storage Voucher while EFW14991's going for $1,599 with free $120 Cold Storage voucher. For dryers, was recommended the EDE57160W 7kg load model which is going at $679 with free $80 Cold Storage voucher. Edit: Forgot to add on earlier, I did ask them about EWF1495, they were saying that while its a good washer with many functions, its actually discontinued at the moment and replaced by the Time Manager models.

Hi sugardaddy, The glass shower screen is a good way to divide the dry/wet areas of the bathroom. Maintanence is definitely a must but won't be too much of a chore once it becomes an everyday routine. Just to share based on my experience: - Aesthetically nicer compared to those acrylic shower screens or shower curtains with the nice see-through effect. Shy people have the option of having the screen frosted and opaque, and even with that you can even play around with a mix of clear and opaque areas. - Maintanence is necessary but not too difficult. To avoid stains or mould, just need to rinse the affected glass areas after showering. It pays to also standby a cloth so you can wipe it dry or wipe off minor affected areas like what NCY mentioned. - If you rinse daily, the stains will not form, just make sure you do a full cleaning at least once a week. - The difficult part is that stains will gather on any silicone or rubber sealing areas affected over time, particularly at the bottom of the shower screen where the glass is mounted on the kerb. This is very hard to get rid off. But this will also be an issue and probably worse even if you use sliding plastic doors (like those bi-fold ones).

Hi ling3bzr. Yeah, looks like we're sharing the same reno dates. But seeing the dedicated, organised and meticulous person Yeak is, I'm sure he's got it all worked out. Do you have any fixed handover dates?

Reiki and Pet, Thanks so much for your suggestions to improve the design of my wife's vanity cabinet. I like suspended, but I was afraid that it may not be able to take the weight of all the items. Will check with Yeak to see if I can do it suspended. I think it'll look nicer, especially if I can do it with rounded edges. The hidden power points are really great. I really got alot to learn about wiring management from you guys! Reiki's blog is a really refreshing read with alot of heart - Really enjoy reading through.

Newnyew and kthc, Thanks for the feedback. I did ask Yeak yesterday also and he said its fine and will look nice. I did speak to him about the power points and the cabinet too and he'll have a think through and advise further on some suggestions. As for the MBR toilet, although it'll look a little dark, with warm white lights, it'll be quite cosy. My current MBR toilet is also dark-tiled so I think we'll be quite used to it. I like dark actually and I wouldn't mind my whole house looking more orh lu lu. But my wife and parents are the white and bright kinda people so I bo pian, have to compromise. I may also do a darker flooring for the bedrooms.