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bentoon

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About bentoon

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  1. My kitchen is also without wall tiles. The wall is with cement screed/plastering. First consideration was to save cost. Second consideration was that most of my kitchen walls will be covered by either cabinets or glass backsplash, leaving only one part of a wall exposed. It didn't make sense to tile a wall only to have it covered up by carpentry. If I just tile the exposed area, it will not only be funny, but also a reno headache for the future if we decide to "update" the kitchen.
  2. Not sure if you are still looking for options. I recently came across PVC wall decals that reproduce the mosaic effect. The downside is that if you get closer you'll realize that it is not actually what it seems. Also I'm not sure the lifespan of wall decals in use at high moisture areas.
  3. Main reasons for me against using alu frame bifold doors are the bottom track and the annoying snap clip. The clips of both my current bifold doors spoiled within a year of installation and we could not fully close the doors without force (lift and yank method). The noise it made always disturbs my baby's sleep at night so I swore off bifolds for my new house. I am having PD doors at my new house for both the common and MBR toilets, as well as at the kitchen/service balcony doorway. Before I comment on the PD doors, there are couple of things to note: There are actually 2 main companies dealing with PD Door types, one at Balestier Rd (Swing Slide Door), and one at Eunos Avenue 6 (PD Door). My contractor told me that both are actually the same company because even though the order is placed at Balestier, its the Eunos office that calls regarding installation arrangements. However, I don't have info on whether which "office" is cheaper. If you want to look at the range, look up the PD Door website. It has a better representation of what you are getting. If you visit the offices personally, I would expect both to have the same samples on display. I can't confirm this though since I only visited the Balestier office. The price goes up from Acrylic + Acrylic, to Acrylic + Phenolic, to Glass + Acrylic/Phenolic. You can also go with 2 panes of glass if you wish. There are 4 types of latches. The default ,which they call H-Latch, is just a sliding (up/down) catch on the door's alu frame, with the hook on the door frame itself. The sales will claim the hook is prone to breaking on rough use, especially if the door is slammed shut. They will sell the guardian latch which you will need to top up on top of the Door Price. The hook is on the door this time and will rotate back into the door if the door is forcefully closed. This is supposed to minimize the chance of the hook snapping (although any forceful lateral movement may still break it). Another is the Coin-Turn Lock, which I did not see at the showroom. One final latch is the type commonly seen is balcony glass sliding doors. It is not shown anywhere that this can be used but I asked for it and they were able to accommodate my request. One final note is that there are 4 colors to the door frame, White, Bronze, Grey and Blue-Tint. You might want to factor that into your design As mentioned in earlier posts, the lack of a bottom track does tend to make the PD Door slightly more flimsy. I was advised to select a door design which is sturdier to counter this. Having said that, the door's build itself is no weaker than the standard alu bifolds. When communicating the way you want the PD Door installed, be very specific in how you want it to open, swing and operate. Sometimes the guys taking measurements can get it wrong and it will be too late after installation. The installation workmanship can be slip-shod at times (as in my personal experience). Inspect the installation carefully and insist on getting anything amiss rectified. On durability, I guess its up to us to take care of our own things. If we use it with care, it should last us at least as long as bifold doors. (As a side note, if anyone can remember the HDB installed bifolds with the plastic handles, I snapped the handle cleanly off while trying to close the latch barely 2 months moving into my current house 10 years ago. )
  4. Tips on buying sofas: Full leather sofas would likely to mean Top Grain is on anywhere your body touches...the cushions, backs, armrests. Anywhere else (the back, sides and bottom) will use split-grain. Full grain everywhere would be extremely expensive. Half leather would mean leather is used only where it touches the body, the other areas is upholstered in synthetic material such as vinyl or PVC. This option is meant to provide the same look and feel as a full leather product, but at a lower price. Be sure to check what is the type of leather used in Full leather sofas. If you ever see any piece of furniture marked "100% leather" and nothing else, LEAVE. Once a piece of furniture says that, there's nothing good left to say about it. 100% leather (esp. in furniture) means they've gathered all the scrap pieces of split leather (and you can split leather for awhile), mix it together with glue and essentially "stamp" it together to make it look like a grain.
  5. Adapted from Wikipedia: Full-grain leather refers to the upper section of a hide that previously contained the epidermis and hair, but were removed from the hide/skin. Full-grain refers to hides that have not been sanded, buffed, or snuffed (as opposed to top-grain or corrected leather) in order to remove imperfections (or natural marks) on the surface of the hide. The grain remains in its natural state allowing the best fiber strength and durability. The natural grain also has natural breathability, resulting in less moisture from prolonged contact. Rather than wearing out, it will develop a natural patina (a sheen on produced by age, wear, and polishing; or any such acquired change of a surface through age and exposure over time) with some cracking and splitting. The finest leather furniture and footwear are made from full-grain leather. For these reasons, only the best raw hide is used to create full-grain leather. One way to test if leather is full-grain is to lightly scratch its surface with your nail. If it leaves a lighter-colored streak, it's full-grain. Full-grain leathers are typically available in two finish types: aniline and semi-aniline. Top-grain leather is a misnomer: it gives the false impression that it is "top" quality. In fact, full-grain is the highest quality. Top-grain leather is the second-highest quality. Its surface has been sanded and refinished. As a result, it has a colder, plastic feel, less breathability, and will not develop a natural patina. However, it does have 2 advantages over full-grain leather: it is typically less expensive, and has greater resistance to stains. Nubuck is top-grain cattle hide leather that has been sanded or buffed on the grain side, or outside, to give a slight nap of short protein fibers, producing a velvet-like surface. Corrected-grain leather is any leather that has had an artificial grain applied to its surface. The hides used to create corrected leather are of inferior quality that do not meet the high standards for use in creating vegetable-tanned or aniline leather. The imperfections are corrected and an artificial grain applied. Most corrected-grain leather is used to make pigmented leather as the solid pigment helps hide the corrections or imperfections. Corrected grain leathers can mainly be bought as two finish types: semi-aniline and pigmented. Split leather is leather created from the fibrous part of the hide left once the top-grain of the rawhide has been separated from the hide. During the splitting operation, the grain and drop split are separated. The drop split can be further split (thickness allowing) into a middle split and a flesh split. In very thick hides, the middle split can be separated into multiple layers until the thickness prevents further splitting. Split leather then has an artificial layer applied to the surface of the split and is embossed with a leather grain (Bycast leather). Splits are also used to create Suede. The strongest suedes are usually made from grain splits (that have the grain completely removed) or from the flesh split that has been shaved to the correct thickness. Suede is "fuzzy" on both sides. Manufacturers use a variety of techniques to make suede from full-grain. For example, in one operation, leather finish is applied to one side of the suede, which is then pressed through rollers; these flatten and even out one side of the material, giving it the smooth appearance of full-grain. Latigo is one of the trade names for this product. The following are not 'true' leathers, but contain leather material. Depending on jurisdiction, they may still be labeled as "Genuine Leather." Bonded leather , or "reconstituted Leather", is not really a true leather but a man-made material. Some types of bonded leather are composed of 90% to 100% leather fibers (often scrap from leather tanneries or leather workshops) bonded together with latex binders to create a look and feel similar to that of 'true' leather at a fraction of the cost. This bonded leather is not as durable as other leathers, and is recommended for use only if the product will be used infrequently. An example for the use of this type of bonded leather is in Bible covers. The term "bonded leather" when used to describe upholstered furniture is a different product and construction. Bonded leather upholstery is a vinyl upholstery that contains about 17% leather fiber in its backing material. Hence, there is no leather in the surface of this product. The vinyl is stamped to give it a leather-like texture. Bonded leather upholstery is durable and its manufacturing process is more environmentally-friendly than leather production. Bycast leather is a split leather with a layer of polyurethane applied to the surface and then embossed. Bycast was originally made for the shoe industry and recently was adopted by the furniture industry. The original formula created by Bayer was strong, but expensive. Most of the Bycast used today is very strong and durable product. The result is a slightly stiffer product that is cheaper than top grain leather but has a much more consistent texture and is easier to clean and maintain. Faux Leather It is man made leather, and is durable because of the synthetic materials used. Polyurethane is washable, can be dry-cleaned and allows some air to flow through.PVC pleather in contrast does not "breathe" and is difficult to clean.
  6. The blue bits are mosaic. From my recent visit to tile shops along Balestier, mosaic is being less popular these days so they are beginning to stock less and also less variety. Most of what is available are those acrylic/glass types (i.e. looks like glass but has designs on the bottom face). Also the PSF cost of mosaic will be higher than tiles. I'm not sure if the Designer/Contractor/Iddy Tiler would charge more especially if the area considered is small. Cobalt blue mosaic pieces will look like the picture or turn out nicer since cobalt blue is traditional a very rich colored piece. One suggestion is to choose those tiles that mimic the look of a mosaic piece. These might achieve the same effect but at a cheaper cost.
  7. Word of caution though, unless your WIW is fully enclosed, you may get dust on the shelves and clothes easily. Also the clothes being near a source of moisture may attract mildew and mold...
  8. I second that. Broad categories would be: Pre-Reno ContractorsDesigners During Reno TilesDoors and WindowsAir-ConLighting and FixturesKitchen and Bathroom Post-Reno Furniture and BeddingAppliances
  9. I believe L-Box is actually refers to the narrow strip of plaster false ceiling that hugs the edge of the ceilings. The "L" references the shape of the plaster. Recessed downlights are commonly installed and somehow the two became synonymous. Cove lighting refers to creating an indirect light source by bouncing the light off the ceiling to give softer lighting as opposed to the harsh lighting from direct lights. Can be used as accent lighting or as a softer main light.
  10. This is the take from the aircon guy whom I'm engaging to install my aircon. From his experience, the compressors and circuit boards for inverter aircons spoils more easily than non-inverters. The reason he gave was that the very feature of inverter aircons make it work harder than non-inverter compressors. As a result, inverter aircon compressor and circuit boards will likely work twice as hard as non-inverters, if not more. He added that he is not dissuading me from getting inverter aircons, but just that he has seen a lot more failures with invertor aircons. He says it is a gamble, if you are lucky to get a "good" unit, it won't spoil so easily, but more likely than not the opposite is the case. So on top of the long period before you recoup the extra spent on inverter aircons, you might also have to contend with the high maintenance cost after the parts warranty runs out.
  11. I'm shopping around for Hood, Hob and Oven too. Read from some previous posts that Rinnai burners have a tendency to rust, is that true? Between Tempered Glass and S/S, for the former while it is easier to clean by just wiping, you also need to be careful not to drop pots or pans onto it. The angle of drop, especially if it is the edge of the base can crack the glass. However I was informed that because there are no "lips" at the edges of tempered glass hobs, you'll get run outs if you spill soup or oil onto it. For S/S there is peace of mind that it wont crack, at worst you get a dent on the surface. Cleaning will be a bit more of a hassle especially for oil which takes a little more effort to clean off from S/S. Most S/S hobs will have the "lip" to contain any spills.
  12. A question to all the homeowners who have rugs in their livingroom. Are the rugs easy to maintain? Do they collect dust in our climate?
  13. I am also considering these anti-stain tiles. One thing that I remembered when I snoop snoop around for floor tiles, is that there is a caution against using acid wash for these tiles. Did the patches happen before or after the acid wash?
  14. Okay finally got the pre-reno pictures up.
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