watchthewaves

Looking for glass folding doors (from living room to the patio outside). I understand that those who use the track systems imported from overseas (eg, Germany) are more reliable, would last longer without giving problems. Anyone can recommend brands and/or makers? Thanks.

List price can be from $600+ to $2,000. I'm excluding their top end Neorest model with the built-in washer and the auto seat raiser. Didn't bother to find out how much. But of course no one buys at list price. Depending on how much you buy, the discount you get can vary.

I think your observation is more or less there. An earlier post mentioned STILE at Builders Shop. Last I saw, they have a slightly different range of tiles from the usual shops. Might cost a bit more too though. Another place that I've heard people mention but have not gone to is Rice (or Rice Fields) (http://www.rice-fields.com/index.html). Heard they have a rather unique selection of tiles but you have to be prepared to pay.

Can some kind soul please PM me the contact for the Jap roller blind system. Or any other reliable system. Reliability impt cos thinking of doing for my glass door, so will be quite big.

I hope you are not just looking at list price. You can always get discounts. Anyway, for these stuff, I prefer to pay a little more for quality stuff that lasts, rather than a couple of years later, tap leak or movement get stiff or chrome start to tarnish or peel. I'd say between Grohe, Hansgrohe and Toto, they are reliable. Searching for discussions here will reveal that some prefer G to HG and others prefer HG to G. My view? Can choose based on which design you like. Either one will serve you well. Both have some manufacturing in China. You can ask them if you prefer to stay away from the China ones. I think Toto is good value stuff too. But if you can't get over the association with public toilets, then don't get it lor. But what better test of reliability? Should also be less expensive than G or HG. Bravat - never heard of it, so sorry, no comment.

Unit cost, gas is cheaper than electricity. But because induction is much more efficient, the better efficiency outweighs the price difference. So in use, induction is cheaper. Bear in mind that induction cookers require you to use ferro-metallic pots and pans (ie, metal to which a magnet can stick to, so it excludes aluminium). Do you need to factor in the cost of buying these (as well as factor in the cost of pots and pans which you have that cannot be used in future)? For those who are into heavy Chinese cooking, one chief consideration could be the traditional wok. You'll either have to buy an expensive fancy concave shaped induction cooker, or give that up and get a flat based wok. Induction has a plus point in terms of safety too. Because it heats up the contents of the pot directly, when you remove the pot, the stove itself is much cooler (though it could still be hot) than a gas cooker. Its heat is from transfer from the food, as it does not generate heat itself.

Hi SBF, How much does it cost psf for bamboo decking? Thanks.

Have not used one, but would not consider one. In terms of efficiency, it's induction > gas > electric/vitro ceramic. I see no advantage that electric/vitro ceramic has. If it's the flat top, clean look that you like, consider induction. Just remember that you need to use ferro-metallic pots/pans.

2 to 3 months should be comfortable I suppose. Depends on how much time you have and how extensive you want to check around and negotiate. I suppose the easiest thing is first ask the existing bank if you re-finance with them, what can they give you. Take that as the starting point/benchmark to look around. Packages linked to SOR/SIBOR seem to be popular now.

Marble is porous. If somehow water gets under it and starts seeping up, you will see it affect the marble. You can find them at the usual flooring suppliers as well as some marble/granite specialists. Quite a number of names. Do a search on Renotalk and you should easily find them. List price should average about $14 to $17 psf. Can go much more expensive of course, depending on your taste and budget. Check that the price includes dry lay.

Actually, the basic laminated glass sheet which has 2 layers of glass and a layer of PVB in between is fairly common. Nowadays, I see many people with balconies and roof-top terraces using glass barrier instead of metal railing to give that "open" feeling. All these should be laminated glass. If you are just referring to heat rejection window film, like I posted previously, I wouldn't count on it for security purpose. For security purpose, if you want to prevent entry, you will need "security" grade glass. If you want to detect and scare off, then you need to install an alarm system.

Well, you monitored and its still like that. Suggest you inform them immediately and press them for a quick solution. If they don't know what's wrong, doesn't matter, ask for an exchange. And tell them that if the new fridge is still like that, you'll want a full refund. See what they say. Don't need to get nasty with them, but need to be firm. So long as operator error is excluded, the condition of the fridge is not acceptable.

The internals (bulb, driver, etc) I'm looking for Cree-based because I read that they are reliable and last. Open to non-Cree stuff too if I can be assured of the quality. Eg, I heard that for the lower quality stuff, the light output can diminish over a year or two. So your light may not have blown, but the output is lowered so you have to change anyway (eg, because improperly designed heatsinks don't take the heat away and this has an adverse effect). And this I understand may be the more common concern with LEDs, and not that they blow. Housing needs to be good quality to last. Don't need designer stuff.

Film harder to break through than tempered glass? The short answer is -- depends on the film. You need to be clear first about the characteristic of the different types of glass and film. I'm no expert; this is just my own understanding: Normal glass - breaks into big sharp pieces; danger of being cut by the broken pieces. Tempered glass - breaks into many small pieces; much blunter; reduces the danger of cuts; not much harder to break through than normal glass. Laminated glass - "laminate" simply means layers. So there are different types. The most basic one is 2 layers of glass with a layer of PVB (polyvinyl butyral) resin in between. When hit, the glass shatters but is held in place by the PVB layer. Hit it a bit more and you will punch through the glass. So like tempered glass, the objective here is more accident safety, and not security. For security, you need to get those laminated glass with sandwiched layers of resin and/or film applied on the surface, which are specially made for security - ie, prevent breaking through. Cost? Sorry, dunno, you have to go ask. For security purpose, please don't rely on tempered glass or film designed just for heat rejection or accident safety. You should look at the security films and security laminated glass, and do your cost comparison there.

Can try visiting Far East and talk to them. Not the flower place at Thomson, but the landscaping place at Hougang. http://www.fareastflora.com/corporate/locations.html

I presume your question on "safer" here is in relation to the glass not hurting people, as opposed to safe from break-in? Tempered glass won't break into sharp pieces. If you compare with normal glass with a heat rejection film, I suppose the question is how strong the film is. Because the normal glass is going to break into sharp pieces, then its left to the film to hold the sharp pieces in without the glass cutting through it (do you need to put the film on both sides?). Then, in the aftermath, when you are clearing up, you need to be more careful because you are still dealing with sharp glass pieces, unlike tempered glass. If you are talking about being safer from break-ins, consider laminated glass then.

Considering putting in place LED lighting for the home. Just starting research. Seems like Cree has a good reputation. Anyone can point me to where I can find Cree-based products in Singapore? Requirements: - downlights (lots of them) - bulbs (as replacement for existing lamps - E27, and the smaller one too - E11 or something like that?) - some wall lights - floodlights (preferably with motion sensor) Dimmables would be good. Going for functionality and quality more than design/aesthetics, so not looking to pay a premium for fantastic design. Am open to hearing of other non-Cree products too. Just want good, reliable stuff. Don't want to end up a year or so later, the lights dim out or gone, or parts rusting/paint flaking. Thanks.

Start talking to other banks and get offers from them too, so if really the first bank doesn't want to lend or changes the terms, you have fallbacks.

Well, whether to call or not just based on a company's name ... everyone has their own comfort level. Some may not be able to get over the company's name, so don't call. Others may want to find out more about their experience, and so contact them. My view is that for those homeowners that are interested in a central monitoring service, there are just a handful of such companies around only. So no harm contacting them all and getting proposals and quotes from all. That can only be good for the buyer, isn't it?

Interesting. I would think that anyone needing to bulletproof their house would also already be thinking of a 24/7 armed guard and escort service too.

sng28, Can share what are the pros and cons you see regarding top mount and undermount? Thanks.

Erection starts from scratch, but reconstruction doesn't. Reconstruction consists of major structoral works that go beyond the 50% for A&A (as pointed out by others above). Depending on your requirements and budget, the professionals you hire can advise on this as they will make the submission on your behalf. For new erections, apart from the bomb shelter requirement, all the current setbacks will apply too. For reconstruction, if there are existing structures within the setback area, you can keep them. Eg, if setback from the front is 7.5m, but existing structure has a 2nd level balcony within this 7.5m. For reconstruction, you can keep this balcony. For new erection, you cannot build a new balcony in this place. What you'll probably end up with is just the roof for your car porch. This is quite common. Go around estates and you'll see older buildings with balconies over the car porch, and newer buildings with a roof only over the car porch. Some don't see this as much of a loss because in place of the balcony that is accessible via the master bedroom only, they will build upwards - have a third storey and a roof terrace, which can be bigger than the original balcony, and can be accessed from a common area instead of through a bedroom. A new erection, in allowing a free hand in design, also allows you to raise your ceiling height. Some find this factor important too.

Each household has to decide on how much security they need. You can go from almost no cost to a 5 figure sum. These categories can help you evaluate your needs: - Deter - Detect - Detain Are you happy just to deter? If yes, get a basic set up which has a siren on your front wall and basic intrusion detection for the more easily accessible entry points. You hope that any potential burglar will see the siren box and decide not to take the chance. You are not comfortable just deterring? You can secure all access points. You can also secure against both forced entry as well as breaking of glass. You can also have layered detection - detection at access points and motion detection inside the house. You want to catch the fella? Put up CCTVs, engage a central monitoring service. Some don't just monitor and inform police, but they also come down. Response can be unarmed or armed too. Don't forget the tighter the security, the more inconvenient it can be for your daily activities. So some people simply lock up when they go out, and when you go for holiday, just tell your neighbour to keep an eye out for you. The solutions are varied. To each his own level of comfort.

Will it get approved? Dunno. You can: - Try contacting URA to talk to them. Maybe they can give you some guidance. - Contact an architect/builder to ask whether in their experience, they've encountered something like this before and what the chances are. Take note that those requirements apply not just to your land but the neighbouring semi-d that you want to detach from too.

If you try checking out, processing fee and shipping to Singapore will bring that to 381.57EUR = 657.79SGD. Plus GST = S$703.84 As for the $969 retail price, well, nobody buys at retail price, do they? It's not cheap, but comparing to what you can get in Europe, I don't think its really a rip off. To altis72, I'm not too familiar with these 2 models, but did you check the quality of the materials? Eg, the rainshower head - plastic or brass? Also country of manufacture could lead to cost difference too (whether or not this leads to quality difference)