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Wow, that's a great buy! BTW, there were lots of doors for sale at $5 each when I dropped by yesterday (Alexandra branch). I'm wondering if I should buy the glossy white ones (179.5cm x 39.5cm) and use them as shelves.

Don't they usually cost more? Where did you get them for $8?

Do we qualify if we're gonna be at Henderson Crescent?

Ann, I hope that the folk who should have moved out ages ago move out asap and that everything proceeds smoothly for the reno. I know you're rushing and things are tight, but I think it's good that you take time to plan the location of lights and power points based on your needs. I made the mistake of not planning when I had my present place renovated 8 years ago. I realised too late (after moving in) that I had extra power points in unnecessary places and too few in places where I needed them. Worse still is the lighting. My wife's biggest complaint about the place is that is too dark and she has a tough time seeing what she's eating or seeing herself when she's looking in the mirror in the bathroom. So with the new place, we spent time planning and marking the spots (including labelling each spot clearly). Despite this, our electrician got some wrong. So I think your electrician's suggestion that everything is marked on the floor plan as well as the walls/ceilings AND for your ID to brief him is a good.

Hi Danny, sounds like your place and mine is at about the same stage of completion... and we're aiming to move around the same time too! Here's to a smooth week of completion.

Prep for Flooring Yesterday was the big clean-up. Well, not the final clean-up (that will come next weekend). But we figured we ought to sweep and mop the floors in preparation for the installation of the veneered flooring tomorrow. So we spent the afternoon moving everything (mainly purchases from Ikea) into the kitchen, then we swept and mopped the living room, bedroom, entertainment room and study floors. With new glass (changed from frosted to clear) and window grilles installed for our bedroom window a day earlier, the work that remains is: 1. Veneered flooring for living room, bedroom, entertainment room and study - Monday, December 14 2. Solid surface for kitchen and bathroom - Tuesday, December 15 3. Rest of plumbing work (installation of sink and tap, basin and mixer, rain shower) - Wednesday, December 16 4. Rest of electrical work (connection of induction hob and oven, installation of wall fan in kitchen, installation of four more lights) - Wednesday, December 16 5. Painting touch up and rectification of outstanding flaws - hopefully Thursday/Friday Which means we should be on target for handover on Saturday, December 19. I hope all goes well this week.

Hey Diana, 129 is down the road and 'round the corner from our place.

It's gonna be "Tundra Quartz" from LG Hi-Macs. http://www.stockportsolidsurface.co.uk/lg_himac_colours.html That's right. It's one of the key problems in trying to plan the layout for an HDB kitchen. And yes, Sam has been really good. We're really glad for that.

It used to look really dark. It might have been the dark frames and tinted glass the windows had before they were changed. Or perhaps a combination of that and the layout of the kitchen. The previous owners had a large refrigerator on the left that pretty much blocked whatever light was coming through the windows on the left half of the kitchen. I guess the white tiles and the colour of the cabinet laminate (we picked "high gloss chalk" cos it looked "whiter" than "high gloss white") also contribute to the overall bright feel.

Hey Mickey, thanx for the compliment. Looking at the layout of your whole flat, I guess it's quite obvious that you're willing to go for the "non-traditional" and try something different. I think your place is really gonna stand out. I'm looking forward to seeing the (overdue) pix.

Thanx, so do we.

*waiting for pictures too*

We were disappointed at first. But I've gotta say that the windows don't look half bad now that walls have been painted and we've had the window grilles changed to simple horizontal bars.

Four Weeks On - December 9 It's been four whole weeks since hacking began on November 12, and our living room and kitchen have come a long way in that time. What you see on the right is a part of the oven and larder unit. It's got a high gloss burgundy, which is reflecting what's on the other side.

The Kitchen continued Blum drawers are a standard 500mm deep. The problem we faced in having a drawer under the sink was that the position of the drainage pipe for the sink didn't leave the required 500mm. Andy was wondering if we could have a shorter drawer. Sam had a better idea. And instead of the fixed panel I'd wanted above that drawer, Sam suggested putting in a flip-down door that would allow plumbers access to the sink and pipes if necessary. Now that you've seen what's in the sink unit, here's a look at the drawers in one of our units. Two of the others are identical, while the unit with the hob looks similar, except without the inner drawer (the one at the top). And here's a peek at the oven and larder unit (high gloss burgundy) from the living room.

Day 28 - Kitchen Day Wednesday, December 9, was the day we'd been eagerly looking forward to from the moment renovation began. To be completely truthful, we had no idea when that day would be. But our main reason for sealing up the original entrances to the bathroom and toilet, combining two separate spaces into one, was so that we'd be able to have the kitchen we wanted - one with oven mounted at eye-level (and not under the counter), a tall larder unit, space for the refrigerator and washing machine and a decent amount of countertop workspace. We'd dreamt about it, drawn various layouts on paper and using software, and eventually planned the layout (with some advice from Caroline, a showroom specialist a the Blum Showroom), but Wednesday was the when we'd finally be able to see, literally, our plans come to fruition. I'd planned the units, decided which drawers to put in each unit and bought the necessary Blum hardware. I figured that it would be nice if our base cabinets had only two drawer fronts per unit, each of the same size. At the bottom of each unit, would be an S4 drawer that would be half the available height of the base cabinet. Above three of the units would be an S2, apparently the same size as the S4 drawer. However, when opened each would reveal an i3 inner drawer. The unit housing the hob would have an S3 drawer above the S4 drawer (and no inner drawer), while the unit housing the sink would have a fixed panel (covering the sink) above the S4 drawer. I went over the plan with Andy and, subsequently, during the measuring of the kitchen, Andy went over the plan with Sam, the carpenter, while I was present, so we could be sure we were all the one the same page. Sam took it all in and came up with a really good suggestion for the panel covering the sink (I'll post a picture) and a great solution that would overcome the problem of the position of the drainage pipe leaving too little space for a Blum drawer. The one thing we couldn't decide on during measurement was the positioning of the inner drawers in the larder unit. Andy suggested that we sort that out when Sam installs the cabinets. With all the dreaming and planning I'd put into it, I was keen on watching the whole process of the kitchen taking shape. So when Andy told me that Sam would install it on Wednesday, I wanted to know what time I should be there. Andy said that they would probably arrive at about 12pm and so I should be there by about 2pm. I made sure I was there at 12pm! But when I walked in, I saw that the carcasses for the cabinets were already in place! By the time I'd stopped drooling and remembered that I had a camera in my bag, Sam was working on the cut-out for the sink. And his assistant was working on the oven and larder unit. Since you've read this far, let me stop talking and just show you a few more pictures. Here's our sink - a Bravo 18181 (795mm) - that we bought at Adamas. Our larder unit (before the inner drawers were installed). And a close-up of the Blum 155-degree 0-protrusion hinges we're using for the door of the larder unit.

Praying for you too.

Day 27 By Tuesday evening, December 8, we had freshly-painted door frames to go with the new doors. And although we didn't change the gate, it looks a whole lot better after being painted. The colour is apparently called "leather". I've gotta run now... but I'll try to post pictures from Wednesday and Thursday (of the kitchen) when I'm back tonight.

Momentum Lost? I woke up on Monday, December 7, feeling a little glum. After the first two weeks of the renovation seemed to have lots of work packed in back-to-back and we'd notice significant progress each time we visited, things seemed to slow down a little in the third week. Worse still, with changes to the original schedule, I wasn't even sure what would happen in this, the fourth week. When I spoke with Andy a couple of days earlier, he wasn't sure when the painters would be back to complete what they weren't able to the week before (door frames, front door and railings) and while he was hoping that the carpenter would be able to begin installing the kitchen cabinets on Thursday or Friday, he wasn't sure if they'd be ready. I started to wonder if we'd really be able to move in before Christmas. Then Andy called and informed me that painters would be in the next day, following which the remaining two rooms and the living room would be acid washed. The window grilles and shower screen would be installed on Wednesday. But best of all, the carpenter would begin installing the kitchen and bathroom cabinets on Wednesday. I perked up, especially when I heard that they would probably need just ONE day to complete the work! Then, later in the morning, Steve from Opsh confirmed that they would go over on Thursday to install the pelmet and the bits on the side (is there a specific name for these?) and measure the space in preparation for the fabrication and installation of their pole-system wardrobe a couple of weeks later. Yes, so we'll have to live without the wardrobe for a few days. But in the space of a few hours on Monday morning, everything seems back on track for us to move in before Christmas.

Yes, that's what they do. But we didn't go with everything they suggested. For one, if we went completely with the organisation we'd have had to swap the position of our refrigerator and oven. But we can't go with that cos of a gas pipe. Their other suggestion was to have units of 90cm and 45cm wide (drawer front). But we planned ours with 80cm and 60cm units... mainly so that we can use Ikea drawer organisers/dividers instead of Blum's Orga line of products (which cost much more).

It's possible to visit on Saturday (11am to 3pm), but by appointment (although there were others who just dropped by when my wife and I were there). Email showroom.sg@blum.com or call 6547 1760 and ask for an appointment.

Hi nirvana, if you find out, please share the solution. I'm at my place now... and the kitchen cabinets are done... and I realise there is the same problem with some of the corners or places where different sheets of laminate join.

If I'm not wrong, the seller has to make sure the place is vacant - cleared of ppl and stuff - before the completion of the sale. You could bring it up during the second appointment. But I dunno if that would affect the completion. Or perhaps, as one of the others suggested, get your agent to talk to the seller. After all, you're paying your agent a commission and it's in his/her interest to make sure the transaction is completed without a hitch.

I was thinking, "yeah, that would work". But it would affect the old couple too... and it sounds like Ann doesn't mind them staying on?

Yay! I'm glad you're feeling better and enjoying the process.