hcbing

Wah...this one very stylo...pose for magazine ah?

Hehe...Desmond from Asia Excel joked that they call the Rinnai inner flame burners "煮炒炉" (zhi char stove). Haha.

I came across L-sofas with a selection of micro-fiber fabric at Courts, AMK. Just a thought Good luck!

The way I see it, you'll have to decide on the pros and cons between the two choices once you've worked out the main deciding factor(s). From what I could tell above, you're considering on a few things but with one in particular aka how much it's gonna cost ya. You'll have 3 costs comparisons to work out on. 1. Price difference between a non-inverter and inverter models (depends on the brand you're interested in) - deciding on the price difference and whether it's justifiable is a one-time thing. You'll have to be able to accept this should you decide that which provides the most benefit for your household i.e. usage pattern, electricity costs, maintenance. 2. Installation costs (one-time) for an inverter model which would probably include hacking, installation, new pipings and painting/plastering - again this is also a one-time thing, but I guess you already know it's gonna cost ya. You could probably get a few quotes to compare and haggle it off with your current ID. 3. Maintenance costs on the long run between the two. - The refrigerant issue should be of minimal impact to you at least for the next 5 years or so. But things change. You might wanna consider if it's gonna be tough getting the refrigerant replaced should it deplete in the near future. Additionally, I'm guessing the costs of R410 is gonna go down in the long run as more and more inverter models are sold locally. Just my two cents Worth a thought.

Hi lewpoh, PM sent. When you're planning to reno? Cheers!

haha...lao da's response number 1!

Hi zinedane, have pm-ed you. Cheers!

You recommended so many to Henry too...ask Henry to hold lucky draw ah! hehehe...

I've heard the very same thing (generally) when I ask around some friends/colleagues who have installed system-4. Personally I think it's still dependent on the BTU volume choices for each units and of course of the compressor...but I believe this is quite true. Headache now...

Wow! I didn't know we can do all those rendering just from Google Sketchup alone?! Hey thirdrockdweller, mind giving some pointers and links to resources on how to come up with such a nice 3D plan?

Wow...V-sign "spray-painted" on the Bedroom 3 door. Good luck with your reno journey!

Hahaha...a lot of photos taken but haven't had the time to resize 'em and upload. To be continued...

Hey Simon, yeah have been busy comparing quotes, bringing contractors (after narrowing down to three) on site for measurements and then compare the finalized quotes again. Well, requesting permission to enter Henner camp! Just dropped by Henry's place tonight and signed! Pity him ah, he still had to go project site around 9pm when we left. Will start sometime during the 2nd week of April 2010. Hopefully HO by end of May 2010. Henry said approximately between 6-8 weeks now. Cheers!

Haha..Simon, your name's been mentioned in front of Henry countless times by now. Just noticed the other day that Henry's new place is just next door to Shanghai Tong Lee! Wonder if I could get Henry to "ketuk" a nice package of Blum fittings for me

Basically it represents the energy efficiency rating. You could refer to this : Energy Label

You can always check online firsthand using shownearby or streedirectory for the nearby amenities, schools etc provided the agent tells you which unit you're gonna view next. However, based on my experience most agents wouldn't normally do so until the very day of the viewing itself. If you find that your agent hasn't been exactly truthful with the location profiling, then it wouldn't hurt to engage another agent. Good luck!

Hi purecat, Just dropped by Allan's place today. Saw the spray-coated samples as well. Pretty good if one is thinking of saving the costs of replacing wall tiles. Are you gonna go for that? Allan said your reno's starting soon! Have fun!

Thanks for all the advice, guys! Really great to hear from actual experience hehe More or less have narrowed down to 3 quotes on hand now. CHeers!

Got a question here that I'd like to hear some comments on. Say you've requested a total of 10 initial quotes from various IDs and contractors of similar pricing. Before you guys start to narrow down to a few, do you guys meet up with each and everyone of them for a chat and listen to their proposals? Say you've narrowed down to 3. Would you ask all 3 of them to go onsite for measurements? I'd imagine having all 3 onsite for measurements would probably give me a better finalized quote. Would you start to ask for discounts on the 3 finalized quotes at this point? Once the 3 chosen ones come back with their finalized discounted quotes/offer, only then would you choose the one? Hope someone could advise from experience

Yeah, the desk for the study room pic looks good. It depends really, on your own needs. My wife would probably be okay with 45cm but I need more leg room!

Hi htng, I've got the same plans in mind for my reno. I'd opted for 60cm depth built-in study desk similar to the ones that you'd see for those office cubicles. Yes, I'd agree that it might be a bit of a challenge closing 'em windows especially if yours are of the "push-out-pull-in" types. Cheers!

Hi purecat, Just heard of this ID from my colleague. I know you didn't opt for this ID in the end, but perhaps you could give an opinion or comments on this ID, if any? I'm waiting for a quote from them for now. Oh btw, I contacted Allan/Primeworks too and mentioned you as referral. Thanks!

Good point! Guess I'll need to factor that in when it comes to discussing on the number of coats required. Thanks guys!

The backsplash are normally of glass materials? I'm wondering if it could withstand the heat from cooking and the hobs. Anyone could advise what type of material to choose for backsplash? Thanks!

Hehe...okay okay. Thanks!