candijew

Altis72, you got a reply yet? Haven't been here for ages. I can only help for the clothes drying contact as this is about all I can contribute in this forum. ha!ha! Check www.ezziliving.com They give a very special rate if you mention you are from Renotalk. Contact Angie at 94527000.

Can someone recommend me a certified and reasonably priced electrician who does not mind doing small jobs?

Terrible experience with Elmark fans. Bought one and within a week had to change the entire fan once and the motor device the second time. After one year, the low speed became super low speed. So since the warranty is only for a year, this meant that changing the device would cost. To me, KDK fans, all types wall or ceiling, is the best. Pay more, its okay bec its trusted not to break down and is very durable. Can't believe Elmark continue to call themselves King of Fans...........

Got ours from Courts at Tampines in Nov 09, we paid about $1700 for a king-sized bed. The layer of memory foam was less than 5 inches so its not so warm but provided that lush feeling when you sleep. Courts has a very extensive range of mattresses and really no pressure to try out or buy. You can check them out, I am sure they have in other sizes too.

Totally agree, threadcount of bed sheets matter. Higher the thread count the "less warm" you will feel. Always get mine from Aussino during their sales which is like almost 50% off bec I am a member. So I will shop twice a year during their sales periods and stock up. Yoongf is right, try at least 360 and above.

Bought a semi-memory foam mattress......luxurious and so comfy.....that's way everyday look forward to coming home to sleep.......try memory foam, guarantee you won't regret!

Yep Rinoa, you could try ezziliving. Ha!ha! I also don't try trust dryers, I also have a sneaking feeling they shrink our clothes! My retractable hanger from ezziliving was bought more than 7 years ago and it's been serving us real well all this time. Yes, it's heavy but I think that makes it durable and lasting. However, bec of the way it is made, has to do with some hydraulic system I think, it's easy to push out and pull in. All this while, my puny domestic helper has been using it with no problem. My take is that this is a good system. Saw somewhere in the other sub-forums that that this company has installed for many condo projects so I think they are reliable. U can go check out their website for other models of hangers too if you still want to shop aroound for other types. Hope this helps.

I had a very reliable, experienced carpenter do some woodwork for me at my new place. My budget very tight, only about $4000 to do top kitchen cabinets, bedframe for MBR, shelvings for bedroom 2 and 3 and top study cabinets. Very happy with the service and workmanship. He even helped shore up the existing bottom kitchen cabinets bec when they were installing the new top cabinets for me the entire bottom section collapsed! Can you imagine! Apparently the previous owner's carpenter did a bad job and did not secure the bottom section properly. So there was a mini crisis and he and his men helped to tahan the bottom section and made sure they propped it up properly. Good thing they were so responsible bec the whole bottom section when it collapsed, almost ripped out the gas and water piping! If anyone is interested in the carpenter's contact, you can PM me. His name is Ah Wei and he is popular with other forummers too. Ivy, a regular forummer here, very kindly put me in touch with Ah Wei.

Hard to say which one is the best coz it depends on your needs and hence the model you are looking for. So maybe you should go visit each of them and compare products but based on the forum comments here, it looks like the Tame service is bad. For something that is so essential, you really want a product that works and esp when you need the aftersales service that is quick and trusted. Like Ene, mine also from EZ Living. Hope this helps and happy shopping!

Agree with foxstrike13. Depend on quality. I've been using the Hi-Dry system from EZ because it is made in Australia and it has lasted me through two house moves. The same system I have been using for the last 7 years. Only recently, they came to change the "hydraulic struts" (i think that's what it's called) that enables the system to retract. Very happy with it, bec it's easy to use and best of all, the laundry hangs neatly when you pull indoors. Say whatever you want, where it's made is the differentiating factor. After services sales also VERY important. Hope the infor helps.

Very expensive wor! My EA (140 sqm) painted whole house except ceiling was only $1200 but that was 5 years ago. However, I don't think the price has changed much.

Good idea and thanks for the tip blackcar! I'll post IF my DIY skills turn out well otherwise very lao kui leh........ On btw, there is a Daiso opening near my place in a week's time, it's located at Rivervale Mall in Sengkang. Will definitely go and look for the decals there and buy some if they are nice. If I do get, I'll post them here

Thanks blackcar for the instructions. Will try it when I move to my new place. By the way, I live near Rivervale Mall in Sengkang and there is a hardware shop that sells wall decals/stickers, they have a good range too. Prices from $10 to $20. I am thinking of buying but afraid I dunt have deft hands to stick them well..............hmmmmm...... Oh, just to clarify, when I said I do the drilling, I actually meant like drill the door hinges type of drilling!!! ha!ha! sekali you think I so "handyman".....NOT..........hope my DIYing will be as successful as yours!

Blackcar - you certainly walk the IKEA talk which is "You don't need to be rich to be clever!" You have such great deco ideas w/o having to buy a huge hole in the pocket. Love the decal DIY idea. I have a question on doing this. Sorry if the Q sounds silly but I'm NOT a DIY person and my husband is even worse with his hands. In fact, all the drilling I do....sigh..... Reading your instructions on sticking the decal....if I spray the wetting solution (which I presume is the soapy water?) onto the adhesive part of the decal, how come it still can stick? Also, what sort of soapy water to use?

Thanks a bunch for the quick reply Merryman! Alamak! sorry bro, didn't mean to insult your blog name!!! And thanks for another great tip about putting up some of the stuff I cannot bring along to the new place under the Garage Sub-Forum This is such a great forum! It rox with people like you! In fact, every 3 months, I gather stuff that I no longer use and pass them on to a Filipino family (they've got 5 kids!) who will come and collect the boxes and are willing to recycle the items. Of course, I only give them things that are usable, not junk! Like clothes that are still in good condition but my kids have outgrown them. This weekend, will drag my hubby go visit S&C!

Yes, yes, everything nego first. Agreed with my agent to give him 2% for selling my place then if I go thru him to buy another place, he gets 0.6% (he suggested. You might still be able to nego lower). I actually tried looking for place myself after I sold and thot I could save on buyer's agent fee but not possible, all the seller's agents wanted comm of 1%. Also the paperwork will not be easy to do myself since I'm doing a contra so in the end no choice, got to go back to my agent and use him to buy the next place. He agreed on the 0.6% so total 2%+0.6%=2.6% comm (selling and buying) which is close to $8k. That's quite a sum. So we tried to nego on the GST agent comm and initially, when we sold our place thru him, we were not aware of the GST which the agent claimed is company policy, so no choice, have to pay up. But now that we were aware, we told him to waive the GST for this new place that we were buying thru him. He agreed. I think it eventually boils down to how friendly the agent wants to be and retain a good reputation. Afterall, his reputation hinges on referrals so if he is accomodating within his means, I think he will realise that he will also benefit in the long run. Since I know he is trustworthy and reliable and willing to give and take, I would use him again the next time or recommend him to others. Also, this agent of mine worked very hard to market my EA, I think half the pple living in SK must have visited my house!

Appreciate your reply Red Devil and the helpful advice. Yea, we cook EVERYDAY, lunch and dinner bec I am a sucker for homecooked meals and since I quit my full-time job several months back, I make sure there are decent meals for the family. Also, I LOVE to cook SO kitchen needs to be adequately equipped. Ha!ha! your stack-the-books-on-the-floor idea very radical. Think if no $$$$, I'll ask my kids to do that. I'm a neataholic so books strewn all over the floor freaks me out! BUT like you say, if no $$$, then have to make do lor......hmmm.....u just gave me an idea, maybe just ask carpenter or go IKEA build simple shelving, not cupboard and just stack everything up first, make use of air space ya?

Thank YOU Merryman for responding. Many helpful pple in this forum, really makes me feel less loss Yes, $6K purely for carpentry or woodwork. I need top kitchen cabinets leh, bec I got alot of barang barang......I not young newly wed couple where my house can look like many of yours....macham showflat so nice. I got three teenaged children and I need lots of storage place to organise by stuff so my house dunt look like pigsty! I moved from landed to EA now to 5-room so you can imagine how much furniture and things I had to "buang" to downsize. But its a good exercise also, get rid of all the unused stuff Your tips sound good. Where is S&C? And yes, Ivy has been extremely helpful in trying to connect me with Uncle Soonperman and his henchman....so I am waiting with bated breath! I thnk if they call me, I better quickly go buy lottery!

Thanks Ivy for replying. I've PM you. Yep, I'm planning to retain the existing kitchen cabinets for the bottom and just build new ones for the top. Possible? Will they look horrendously mismatched? What to do? No budget leh so cannot be too fussy, I suppose. I tell my husband I tink we need at least $10k to $12k to do all we want, he already grumbling like mad.

Thanks Trevor for the tip. Yes, we've been to IKEA to research and it is one of our options if we are unable to get customisation for the budget we have. I just got the latest IKEA catalogue and the costings don't look very inexpensive either.............we're trying really hard not to have to apply for any kind of reno loan, just like how we have fully paid for our next abode thru our CPF. So absolutely no borrowed money whatsover.

To request for a change in HDB 1st appt date, you need to get all the relevant buyers and sellers to sign a letter requesting for a change in date, then submit to HDB. But must have VERY legitimate reasons for doing so. I also asked my agent to do but like all agents, they will not go this extra mile for you, so I did it myself but got the agent to get all the parties signed agreement. Very troublesome but if you have valid reasons for wanting to so, I think HDB will try to accomodate.

I asked Mrs Piglet for help to get Ah Soon's contact and she was really nice to pass me his number as well as some advice. Thanks Mrs Piglet! Now, my problem is I cannot reach Ah Soon! Is he like doing reno work for the 15,000 forummers in Renotalk?? That's way so hard to contact Also, what does "fly aeroplane" mean? Sorry, I am a real newb here What should I do? Try and try again or just go to someone else. Actually, my work very simple as I am on a shoe string budget, only want to do carpentry work like top kitchen cabinets, study table and shelves and simple wardrobes for $6k. I know....I know......that kind of budget how to have customised woodwork right??? Sigh.....but my budget very tight leh...... HELP!

Hey Makerina, You still searching for laundry system where the individual poles can be lowered one at a time? You might like to call the people at Ezzi Living as another renotalk forummer just bought such a system from them. I'm trying to dig up that post I saw but can't seem to find it now. I don't have the company contact but the lady boss Angeline's contact is 9452 7000. She's really helpful, I bought my retractable system from her 5 years ago and now that I am moving house, I asked if she could help me dismantle the system and re-install in my new place, and she said no problem. I just need to pay for re-installation. This helps me save $$ from buying a new system! Happy shopping!

Just noted this announcement from HDB today. "HDB Launches Punggol Residences Under The Build-To-Order System Please click to view http://www.hdb.gov.sg/fi10/fi10296p.nsf/Pr...02?OpenDocument The highest priced 5-room is $409,000. Last check on HDB's website, about 97 people have applied for the 5-room. There are some 154 units up for sale. Isn't this rather costly for a direct sale from HDB? Any views on whether it is worth applying? I can't imagine how the valuation can increase even after staying for 5 years when the HDB price is already $409,000. How does HDB justify pricing a 5-room in Punggol this high when the area is really not that developed as compared with Sengkang.