bobztoise

Day 6 (also not today): Kitchen Wall hacked.. and though not very clear; living room false ceiling is up Day 7 & Day 8 (14th, 15th Dec): MBR wall hacked.. mirror image wall erected in Bedroom 2

Updates (been too busy to upload photos): Day 1 (not today): Walls identified to be hacked Wall separating kitchen and living room.. Wall separating MBR and Bedroom 2.. to make space for wardrobe Electrical and ceiling works began since approval for wall hacking was pending.. unfortunately, cannot find the photos taken

I think it is because the hood needs to be mounted on the wall path directly above the stove generally the way it is run in the picture is most widely use as it is the "least unsightly" way of running the gas pipe

same estate... so you collected a month ago.. should be more than halfway thru the reno right

this machine was on my shortlist too so i did some research previously as my current Samsung is giving me the same problem according to the sales person, it is because the wash load has exceeded the max not sure if this is true though..

sorry, you are right... extra sets.. that's why very good value

Hi, for washer/dryer units, the wash load is always greater than the dry load hence sometimes 1 wash load needs to be broken into 2 dry loads for a complete laundry cycle for course, sometimes not everything that is washed need to be dried via the dryer also, in the event of breakdown of 1 function, there is a possibility that the other function cannot be used as well until repairs are done

Sofa OM martino with headrest UP OM martino with headrest down After 3 consecutive weekends of searching, finally settled on the sofa Would have loved the unit I saw at Species or even a value-for-money unit at HTL unfortunately, due to time constraint, had to settle for this Not my top pick but acceptable... only half leather though

Should be full leather Basically what you find are leftover units after exporting the rest Very limited pieces available for each design And at extremely good value as they are priced to clear and brand new

256??? i want!! how much? only 1 piece? edit: it's sold... i presume to you...

oh I absolutely loved this too!! but above my budget how much did you pay for it?? may i also ask for wide is it? I forgot already but have so far not found a better replacement

You are right I have been following your thread and am very sorry to hear of the horror you have been thru I hope they are reading this and make an effort to end your project on a good note

Hi, I did not buy the Healsio in the end Perhaps you can make a better decision by thinking thru what are your most used functions While it is probably true that steam cooking is healthier, how much can you cook with such a small cavity? My day-to-day use is mostly limited to heating up and occasionally thawing Using a steam oven means more hassle of filling and emptying the water tank with each use AND taking a much longer time for re-heat compared to a microwave Perhaps I will make the switch in future when a steam oven with a much larger cavity becomes available at an affordable price

yes it's true when i ask over the phone, they will give me a price which is already lower than the mega stores they then add, come down to discuss, better prices

nice.. but can fit into living room? i called HTL several times today but no answer wanted to ask their operation hours

ID selection (continued) Here are the firms I went to.. may not be complete and details could be sketchy (1) Design Rebirth A relatively new company but helmed by very experienced people The most expensive "initial" quote but paid the highest attention to detail The final quote could have been lower but I could not proceed further as the quote was already beyond my budget before everything has been included A colleague has used them and handover completed Quality of work was good with great attention to detail and extremely close follow up (2) Sky Creative The only "big boy" I trusted as I have seen several of their designs Met with the ID (but I think should be salesperson) 3 times; seen an existing project they were working on I suspect their kind of structure works on 1 ID to several salesperson / project manager; so the salesperson will close deals and oversee the project while there is an ID who actually does the designing and conceptualizing the house I have no objections to such a setup as I think it actually makes the firm more effective; i.e. everybody focus on their strengths Salesperson I met was very clear with HDB rules and regulations and made no "over promises" Could tell she was very experienced in project management Made my final shortlist.. but someone else won it in the end... (3) Company H My final pick.. sorry I cannot name her yet because (i) the verdict will only be passed after handover and (ii) she has no time for any projects till after CNY A small firm along the likes of Design Rebirth Salesperson / ID / project manager all rolled in one Very impressed with her knowledge of HDB regulations and design skills I know she is all-in-one because she can draw the layout ON THE SPOT at a pace that tells you this is honed over years of experience Very very busy person (as I would expect) but never missed an email and SMS to date (4) Artrend (Balestier) Dropped in to have a look after seeing their impressive kitchen designs "ID" struck me as relatively young chap (can't be more than 30 yrs old) and was coaching a newbie to sit thru his presentation to us I use "ID" as I think he is more a salesperson than an ID (I think most of the big boys employ this same concept) Presentation was okay and walked us thru the 2 storeys unit to see their designs Told us will give us a quote within 2 weeks but never heard from them.. ever (5) Unimax Creative / Cissern / * / Weiken Went to these firms at Expo fair, IMM, MacPherson, TradeHub21 All deployed fairly pushy sales tactics (today's promo package, GST waiver only today, last day for special price etc) As a saleperson myself; am extremely sensitive to sales talk Normally deal is broken by the first meeting and no follow up is required If the deal means more to you than the house is to us, then it's no deal

ID selection Forgot to talk about this earlier as this was quite a few months back.. some details might be sketchy.. However, some general observations to share: (1) No news is good news If you cannot find anything or feedback on the internet or forums, the firm is either too new or they hardly screw up I think people are generally more ready to criticize than to praise so a good job is usually taken for granted but a bad job will surely make its way to the forums (2) Cheap is usually NOT good in this industry All the IDs and contractors need to make a certain money so that the job is worth their while I have spoken and discussed in detail with over 10 IDs / contractors The cheapest quotes usually gives me the worst vibes I have even signed with the lowest quote for another job for a relative and it was fairly disastrous With more jobs in the market than reliable firms (my impression), I doubt the good ones want to shortchange themselves being the cheapest Moreover, the good naturally get more and more jobs and will pick the higher paying jobs since taking 1 job is at the cost of foregoing another Of course I could be wrong and there are cheap and good ones... do share with other homeowners if anyone knows (3) The firms / deals at Expo are hardly any good I think there are reno/furnishing fairs at Expo EVERY week I cannot remember if I have ever been to Expo and NOT seen a reno fair aside from when Sitex, Motherhood or any major electronic fair that requires several halls So many, if not most exhibitors are permanent fixtures at these fairs Of course, some firms do rotate but for the large part, you will usually find the usual suspects there By the way, if any deal is "too good to be missed", it is usually not true I have asked for Expo pricing weeks after the fair at the shops itself and they will still be valid

sure... been running around non-stop the fast 3 days... current headache? SOFA!!!! been to Lorenzo, Cellini, OM, IFC, Furniture Mall, Harvey Norman, IMM, Suntec, even Carrefour more than 3 weekends still cannot decide...... the one I really really like is way above budget and it's found at Species did some research and found a thread that is not positive about them strange thing is, the bad experiences seem consistent from 2008 to now.. it takes a rather bad company to "sustain" such negativity for so long and then there was 1 at Winter International quite suitable in all aspects (dimensions, colour, size, design) but apparently related to Red Apple not sure if i want to take the risk another that i really like is from OM above budget and slightly over dimension hmmm...... it takes about 6-8 weeks for sofa to be ready so time running out......................

is the salesperson Devo? I met a very knowledgeable sales staff at that branch too

may i have the contact too??

Everjoint at AMK is cheapest but only cash payment

Yes... finally... less than 24 hours to keys... by the way, marshmallow is right; try removing the cover for cleaning before you commit the purchase it is indeed a little tricky it would be good to check out a few more models perhaps you can make a trip to CityGas gallery, more models to test but do not buy there as the prices are high and fixed

is it HDB or private apartment? I assume the price consists of engaging the PE and hacking the wall

I'm sure you have seen it before Ceramic Hob Works on almost any kind of pots Red ring indicates heat is on Temperature auto moderates to desired level Induction Hob Works only on "induction-able" pots i.e. no aluminium, no claypots, no teflon pots Pot does not heat up so you can touch the edges and top of the pot and still not scald yourself in most cases Heat gets transmitted into contents of the pot so cooking time is reduced any kitchen experts, correct me if i am wrong

About Electrical Appliances Thought I might share some tips gathered from my months of research Have been visiting various shops over many weekends since August or so (1) The cheapest (and for the cash rich) Everjoint at AMK Every single appliance that I checked had the lowest quote here From Samsung, Mitsubishi, Hitachi, Bosch, Brandt; they even carry hobs, hoods and ovens Unless they did not carry the item, otherwise they had the lowest quotes The downside is no credit card payment nor instalment schemes (2) The most negotiable among the "big boys" Mega Discount As the salepersons here run individual commissions, you can bargain better when doing bulk purchase i.e. there is no limitation that the salesperson selling TV must refer you to a colleague when you want a fridge also So if you are buying several appliances at one go, collate with 1 salesperson and nego for a discount If you buy the fridge from someone and ask for the TV from another, it is harder to get a good deal since commission gets split 2 ways I am not sure about instalment plans as I did not proceed to the purchase stage with them They also claim to have a price matching scheme where you can "place a deposit to lock in prices first" If prices drop further within Mega Discount stores before delivery of items, they will match the lower price Cannot verify the authenticity of this claim since this was a sure sign of desperation to close deal Note also that asking different salesperson on different days in the same shop will yield you different recommendations so do your own research (3) The "uncomfortable" pick Harvey Norman and Courts Been to several branches of both brands including the mega store at Tampines for Courts They seen to have the highest sticker prices and I suspect nobody pay those prices unless you did not ask Harvey Norman has an unspoken 8-9% discount off price tags on normal days; if you dun ask, they may not inform you though i think it would be strange if anyone was willing to pay the price indicated on labels Never go for Max Credit schemes at Courts, you are paying almost 3 times for your items if you do so Strange that they should advertise the scheme so much when a simple calculation will reveal that the total consumers would have paid over the 36 or 48 months will be way higher than the price tag In terms of product knowledge, none at Courts gave me a good vibe There were a couple at Harvey Norman but unfortunately; not my most comfortable choice (4) Those that know; know BEST Best Denki Best Denki's new tagline, you will see new posters along the lines of the above tagline I find it very clever From Ngee Ann City to IMM, most of the salesperson I spoke to display a deep understanding of their products not felt at other shops except 1 at Harvey Norman Perhaps it is the way they segregate the sales personnel The TV person will refer you to the fridge person who will then refer you to the washing machine person should you be looking for multiple appliances I get the impression that they will refer you to the specialist in that appliance category when you are doing your research Commission is also split accordingly so TV person, Fridge person will earn their respective deals from the appliance sold Hope the above helps I picked Best Denki in the end If not for cash flow concerns, I would certainly pick Everjoint as it is the lowest without a doubt Also, as my scheduled delivery is likely to be a week or two before CNY; reliability was my topmost concern