adidaem

No kidding... Why not just rent a chalet for 2 days? Cannot imagine sleeping in a tent...

Most welcome. Think better if I give a more detailed explanation. But not necessary if the contractor is honest to tell u where he laid the water and drainage pipes lar. Look at the kitchen layout and see if you can sport any kitchen island with a faucet - that may indicate hidden pipes to supply the water AND the waste water drainage for the free standing island. If no island, see if you can find the drainage hole for the kitchen... (standard location so use your kitchen drainage hole location for reference) if it's some distance away from the sink (which could be the case if the kitchen sink was relocated), visualise a straight line from the kitchen sink to the drainage hole and see if you can imagine where the drainage pipes will run - could the imaginary line bisect where your ceiling is leaking? I think a way to check is to run the water in the sink for a good 30 min or longer - if it's really a leakage, it could worsen your ceiling leakage sufficiently for you to make a better assessment. But don't do this without the owner's permission lar. I know I'll be **** upset if my neighbour does this without my permission. That's why, best to get the owner on your side. Contact him, talk to him nicely and convince him it's really in his best interest to make his contractor rectify shoddy work if that's what it really is. Good luck... 3 more weeks. Looking forward to the end huh? I know how it feels.

Don't judge based on appearances... best to check if the contractor laid any pipes in the floor...

Defelio: Found magnetic primer! Selfix at Vivocity basement (opposite Giant). It's quite pricey tho, $80++ for one bottle. It's just next to the chalkboard paint on the bottom-most shelf where the different types of paints are.

Do not use Pang Giap. I got them for my sliding balcony doors and they did such a cr*p job. Really poor workmanship. They wanted to leave one door unlockable from the inside and the other still has a slanted doorframe. And had the cheek to demand payment with a half baked job. Do your own research. Am sure I am not the only victim of their ****ty workmanship.

Actually... you may want to talk to the upstairs owner, and ask them to withhold the final payment until your ceiling problem is resolved. In the worst case scenario where the water proofing is really not done properly... the ceiling will show leakage in a few more weeks (or months) after this round of proposed plastering. But once the upstairs ID/contractor has received payment, why would they bother to fix your ceiling? It's possible if they are ethical or have a good relationship with your upstairs owner, but for a reno to have dragged for 10 months... I think the ID/contractors will just want the job to finish ASAP. I remember my contractor mentioning that there is some sort of injection into the floor that can be done for water leakage problem (instead of whacking and re-doing all the floor tiles, it may mean whacking and redoing one tile for the injection site I think?). It was something he said in passing when I asked about solutions for water leakage so I'm hazy about the details, but perhaps you can get your contractor to advise you? (Or maybe some experts who are reading this can help?)

Slightly over 2 months after moving in, and I've not fully unpacked. Ok, thought to get that confession out of the way... the thought that I need to unpack has been bugging me, but I'm just so lazy... so haven't really invited people over cos feel quite paiseh about the mess. That aside, I am still enjoying my place and doing little upgrades - one thing I've realised is that the 2 of us have far more books and cds and games than we knew before we moved in... so more storage solutions definitely need to be created. Those who completed your reno and have books/cds/dvd collections - did you face the same problem or did you plan for all your current AND future needs? Learning point if you are in the midst of reno. Luckily it's not something so major that a little project can't resolve... more on that in due course when it's firmer. The study room is also slowly being furnished. We got a chair (classic Emeco Navy chair ) and a mirror (Miniforms Eagle mirror ). Now we just need some more lighting and a table. Taking it slow for that room since there really isn't any hurry, but now that the year-end sales are upon us I guess we ought to take the chance to grab some good buys if we come across any. On that note, Space Furniture (showroom at Bencoolen Street) and Air Division (at Wilkie showroom) have some pieces on special discounts. I've also just re-potted two of my plants to bigger pots... including addition of soil, fertiliser and those brown round pebble-like stuff which I was told by the Far East Flora staff is good for drainage when used to line the pot bottom, and to keep the soil moist when sprinkled on top. Haven't killed any plants yet. (ok, so I've pretty low expectations of my gardening skills...) 2 are flourishing/healthy and 2 looks a bit down/brown. But I'm hoping this little 'intervention' will help them. And I realise that I'm also quite excited to celebrate my first christmas in the apartment. Not so much cos of our religious beliefs (I'm a free-thinker, no offense meant to any Christians) but cos I am excited to decorate the place for Christmas. Still undecided on the theme/look I am going for, but given the colours/theme in my place, I'm thinking of either white/silver colours. red/white or the traditional red/green colours. No gold, since my kitchen is mostly silver. No clear preferences either way... it kinda swings towards the colours used in the most recent inspiration pics I see - anyone has suggestions? For now, I'm heading towards red/white simply cos I think it pops better on the (green) christmas tree. Or red/green & white? Hmm... So we are going to look for a Christmas tree soon before my SO goes on business trip again. Read that I can find some of the old Concourse stalls at The Verge (ex-Tekka Mall) so that's where we'll head 1st. I do love the Christmas atrium fairs at Centrepoint and Paragon but I remember the prices are so that I think I'll spare myself the heartache. I feel a bit guilty for deciding on an artificial tree (not environmentally friendly)... but I'm not so much into the natural 'pine' smell or shedding twigs or (to be very honest) having to go thru the whole selection, transport and disposal process yearly. Thanks for following my rambling post if you are still reading. RT-ers love pics right? So here are my latest buys: Emeco Navy Chair (brushed aluminium finish): Miniforms Eagle mirror (white): And finally an alarm clock:

Hey, don't take me wrong. I'm not at all 'uncalm'. More 'bemused' than anything else. Enough to pique my interest to reply in the 1st place. Different people have different requirements and values. I believe people can use your renovation pics against other renovations to make their own assessment of what sort of renovation they want. Hey, I'm not the one trying to make money out of other people's renovations. Or having some business model. I believe I'm giving a valid point. Why don't you address the question of providing 'protection' against worst case scenarios? If your response using job search firms and Google search analogy is used in a scenario where unhappy customers complain to the press, good luck. Again, I'm not making money, nor do I have any intent to help you to make money. If you truly only have good intentions, then don't make it a profit seeking venture. If not, then I can only assume that it's not truly selfless. You say that but like I'd mentioned, I can't see how the last few posts are not self-promoting. Any ideas will benefit you right? Anyway, if you think your idea is sound, pls go ahead with your venture and ignore us naysayers. I still think this thread belongs to the 'Business Ad' category. ========================== Edit/update: People who are commenting don't 'hate' you I'm sure. Using 'hate' makes it sound so personal. Why take it so personally?

If you are not convinced scraping and plastering will resolve the problem/root cause, please don't accept the given solution - cos if you give in now and the problem recurs after you have completed reno and moved in... can you imagine the mess it'll create in your place? And I can't remember if you are planning any false ceiling? Perhaps ask your ID find some 'subject matter expert' to have a look - like to get a 2nd opinion? ************** Just wanted to let you know that I've been enjoying your regular updates and information sharing. I didn't go onsite as often during my reno so I find many of the stuff you've shared really interesting. Jiayou for the reno and your parents are lucky to have you supervise the reno!

I was planning on ignoring this thread, but since you asked for it... This sounds like a shameless promo thread to me. I have no qualms if this thread is in the advertising or services thread. But in the T-Blog thread? Seriously? Read the last few posts you have written and let us know how it's not a promo thread please. I don't buy this argument... the costs has to go somewhere... you don't expect the contractors to bear the cost right? They are businessmen, not running a charity, and if they are good/popular they can always get other clients without accepting a job that gives them lower profits. So the likelihood is that they will pass on the cost to the homeowner, or cut costs somewhere else. Even if I take the scenario where the ID/contractor is desperate enough to NOT pass on the cost... why are they that desperate for a job that gives them less profits? I dunno, too many questions, am just not convinced. Errrr... how do we know you will not get the money before hand? Take your word for it? Sure, you say it's the business model, but let's not forget... 1. If ID/contractor run away with the money... the homeowners suffer a tremendous monetary loss, not to mention delays in reno, inconvenience, etc. You just don't get the fees (which is of course much less than the homeowners $$$). Will you die? Don't think so. Let's not use exaggerated words. If you say that you will suffer reputational impact which will be a death blow to your fledgling business, I'll probably take that tho. 2. If I were to use a service like yours, I would want to be PROTECTED against a scenario like that and not just be told if the money is gone you will also die (which in that case, read #1 above again). I'm not sure how accurate 1st impressions from a video is... anyway chemistry requires two-way communication. Personally I wouldn't trust that I have 'chemistry' with a person from a video. ===================================== As Knownothing has mentioned so many points above (which I mostly agree with), I just want to question how many of us feel comfortable that the 3-way communication via an intermediary will work? Just reminds me too much of those team-building games where you start passing a message through a chain of people, and the last person will say something totally different. 'Chemistry' cannot be passed on anyway.

If in doubt, ask the Germans? The answer my SO got to his question of which is the better brand is 'Grohe', with an implied 'duh!' so he didn't ask why.

Have you tried the XZQT Pandan Crescent showroom? They may hv display models for 40% off if you are not fussy. If not try LifeStorey? They are having atrium sale till tomorrow.

Hey, and kitchen pics pls! Still waiting wor...

LOL, ya... bad habit. Also curious if any neighbours are selling their units. Good to know I am not the only one with this 'affliction'!

It's in my signature... so should be easy to find lar. Haha, cos now I can see them drying clothes in the balcony. Also cos I saw that they left the bamboo pole holder in the balcony during reno. Plus if they wanted to stack the dryer on the washer, they couldn't have built the wooden top. So I also conclude that they got a side washer even tho I haven't seen their washer. Amateur sleuth I am... hahahaha.

Haha, I was just going thru my posts to quote when I saw u answered urself. Anyway have a look at the pics to see if the size is ok. Looks fine to me. My table is 90 cm in width btw. Just make sure you get the right one. Mine is a small. I've seen the bigger one in real life and it's very much bigger. Yep, also think my WP blog is way easier to look for info. Do have a look at the WP blog cos most info can be found there.

Hurray, finally finished my before & after pics. Here's a preview: Click on links below to see more: Living & dining roomsKitchen, utility & study Stairs Toilets Bedrooms

Hmm, no problem with the TV or any auto on/off issue. I use weekdays mabbe 1-3 hrs, weekends pretty intensively (I run it in the background as white noise). I know they have a sleep function after certain hours of inactivity but that doesn't bother me. I did get extended 5 yr warranty but std warranty is 3 yr right? Sorry to hear about your problem. Hope the next set dun cause you any more inconvenience.

A variation from the typical Gen 2 layout, this is at Bt Panjang at 138 Petir Road: Via Propertyguru: http://www.propertyguru.com.sg/listing/hdb-for-sale-138-petir-road-7556570

At first I thought this is just a usual Gen 1 layout... Then I saw the kitchen and had to look again... not a usual EM layout for sure. At 116 Clementi (Sunset way) via: http://www.propertyguru.com.sg/listing/hdb-for-sale-116-clementi-street-13-7708517

Haha, considering that I did a tit for tat and went to their place. Consider it even lor. I'm more upset with stolen ideas since I didn't lose anything physical.

I read fom Home & Decor some time back about a condo unit that used metal frame (non-permanent structure) and glass. Very Manhattan loft feel. Need PE for that tho for safety reason. And yeah, HDB will not approve permanent structures that increase the floor space. It's clearly stated in the HDB renovation guidelines. Even for maisonettes where sometimes there are 'void' areas, HDB will usually not allow the 'void' to be covered up (tho I've heard of some exceptions where wardrobes are constructed to cover the 'void').

Hey Defelio, would like to PM you about something but your mailbox is full. Can you pls drop me a PM when you have cleared your mailbox? Thanks a bunch!

Defelio, that is a good thought. Those who are still renovating, do let your IDs and contractors know not to let people into your place and especially not to take photos!!! Haha, maybe I will do that when my SO is back. As for stealing ideas... haiz, some people are shameless. Ok, some pics as promised. They only whacked one of the 4 walls that we did, so of course the place isn't a replica. But the use of white carpentry and black toilets is enough to make me think that they copied more than the usual people. Just some of the more telling areas: They whacked the wall between the hall and kitchen: The stairs looks like mine during construction, but it's from the neighbours... MBR light switch in the same place.... Utility cabinet: tick. White carpentry: tick. Same location: tick. Only thing missing is that they don't have a dryer.

Thankfully not all the switches. Nvm lar... also cos HDB layout all the same right? I gave the long winded answer to your question a few posts above. But how did you find out that your carpenter let people in? And you have really sharp eyes! Yep, that's a Vivenne Tam HP netbook. I know! Not nice to be so ungreen. But I really haven't found any coffee cups that I love. Will update here if it works! But now I'm a Totts member so I get discounts at Totts anyway. I totally get what you mean about the heart is weak. I'm so lazy... gahhh... but sounds like more lovely pics when you are done right? Looking forward! I'll share some pics this weekend and you guys can judge. Am sure the place will look different lar. In the 1st place very few would knock down so many walls like us. They only whacked the kitchen-to-living room one. So their kitchen felt much more cramped. Not sure if I can snoop cos they seemed to have moved in... But thanks for your kind thoughts. *beam*