Bluesummerayz

90% liao.

My brother came home and told me he will still be collecting the huat kueh he ordered in seng kang tomorrow, because he pre-ordered a big one, and the auntie specially have it done for him ... i wish everyone would just keep their word and the world would be a better place ... ?

Today started off well even though it rained heavily in the northeast. Had our breakfast, went around scouting for bai bai stuff for tomorrow and went to the house afterwards. Saw that the workers are already there with the carcass of the wardrobe, and not long after, the ID appeared with her hubby, the tiler. Seems to be 'on the ball'. The reno with the drillings and knockings and bangings, the plumbing guy with the drilling and the knockings and the plumbings and the tubings etc very noisy and dusty.. all these taking place with my brand new furniture, sofa, bed, mattresses (heng these are covered), table, chairs, kitchen, water feature etc... wood shavings everywhere, cut plastic tubes, screws etc threw on the floor... Was puzzled why the 'planks' didn't have the mirror design (for my wardrobe) and even checked with the ID if it will be 'stick on' and will protrude out or not.. she replied yes will stick on and no, wont protrude one.. then the ID went off with her hubby after spending some time ard the house. My brother went off to scout around for the elusive Huat Kueh needed for tomorrow.. rode to chong pang, dont have, rode back to seng kang, pre-order, tomorrow self collect at 11am. Past 5pm and I couldn't stand the noise anymore and went to causeway point and bought cat foods, kitty snacks, kitty bed in anticipation of bringing them home on wed. Ard 6 plus, a casual chat with one of the worker caused a volcanic eruption. Apparently, TODAY only the carcass of the carpentry will be installed. No doors, nothing. Even the mirror on the dining area will only have the wooden carcass. Everything else, install on Thurs. Immediately called ID to clarify and she could still tell me as if its a matter of fact! How many times must I repeat myself how important is TOMORROW????? I lost my temper and sanity there and then! I told her (shouted) I want all the doors to be installed today! Why wasn't I told this would be the state of the reno for the day? What is this? She said she would check with the factory to see if they can finish the doors today or not, but the answer was no. Then she said something abt the workers going to the site tomorrow morning .. that really snapped my sanity into half.. Just told her in the morning that tomorrow movers will be arriving at the house to drop off all my stuff I put up at the storage facility, and from 1 to 3pm, shifu and monk will conduct ceremony and prayers, so no outsiders are allowed in the house! WAH LAU EH! Next she asked me to consider changing the material of the wardrobe, instead of the black mirrored pieces on the doors, to do glossy black laminate COZ IT WILL BE FASTER! I never thought I could get myself so worked up but that hit a raw nerve. I told her I am not about to compromise and change designs! WTF.! At this stage, I demanded to talk to her boss. She said will check with him (WTF??) I said I want him to meet me at the site, and she to come with him as well, and I will show them the state of my reno and let them tell me if this is MOVE IN CONDITION?? STill the boss didnt call, but she did and she asked me abt something else, and I said why isnt Jason calling me? She said he was busy with something.. I raised my voice again and said I want to speak to him! Jason called prob 15 mins after that and apologised and explained. End result still the same, carpentry not ready coz confirmation late, fabrication will be late. I repeated to him that it was late because the drawings were late, dont put the blame on me and told him while I have no choice but to wait until Thursday for things to complete, I don't appreciate this kind of irresponsible manner of the ID. You would think important things like doors not going to be installed, mirror not going to be ready would be alerted to the owner but NO. Can you imagine if I had left the house much earlier, and came back in the morning with the movers, how much more trouble and stress and upset I would be, not to mention with the shifu? He surely would say House not ready, how to move in? Also my furniture all in liao, and they are drilling, cutting knocking, dust on everything, who is going to clean up this mess? I had to clean the toilet and the kitchen myself earlier. Jason later called me back after checking with the factory and the workers on site and told me that tonight they will do all the carcass and thurdays will up all the doors, and complete the rest of everything on thursday too. He also said he has arranged for cleaners to come ard 8pm to clean up the house for me. I raised my concern that it was already so late and I need to be considerate to my neighbours too.. He said they will try to finish everything tonite so that they wont need to disturb the house until thursdays, and they will immediately stop all work the minute neighbours complain... Do I really have any choice at this stage? I just hope my neighbours wont hate me. :( I feel so sorry for the workers on site because my face was so fierce and my voice was so loud and angry, even when I told the uncles I was not upset at them because it was not their fault, I don't think they believed me. Did call my shifu to see if we can still move in, true enough, he objected. He said since cannot change movers, old stuff still move in no choice but people cannot live there yet. Will choose another date to 'move in' The following smses are a ripple effect on this event: me to friend with cat phobia who wanted to visit house on wed morning before my cats moved in wed nite: date cancel. reno delayed. Thurs then they can finish. me to boss because I took 4 days leave from mon to thurs: Cindy, I will cancel 2 days leave and going to work wed and thurs. my reno delayed, but tom still need to move my things out from storage so i will still take my leave. very mad and stress today, lost my sanity and temper with the reno company today. me to cat lady who is boarding my cats at her facility: Hi Phyllis, my reno got delayed so I need your help to house my cats for at least another week of june. is it possible? i will pay for the boarding fees of course. me to friend who booked holiday with her mom (mom's 1st holiday) after I confirmed that I will be in woodlands this tues and agreed to help her feed her horde of 5 cats while she is gone: my reno got delayed. cant move in yet. any way to get any one nearby to feed your cats? because I wont be able to to move in this week. friend: So sorry to hear. Ummmm.. would u mind still coming to feed them, we reimburse ur taxi fares? me: ok since I already promised. me to friend who has agreed to drove me with 2 cages to bring the cats home: mei, dun need your help this wed. reno delayed, cant move in this week. damned f-u-c-k-e-d u-p. friend: w-t-f! cb la! me to ID: Sophia, i want some form of compensation from outlook. because of this, the price i have to pay is high through no fault of mine. time, money, mental health. this reno has pushed me to edge. i would call you but this has made me out of control and i would just end up shouting. i cannot move in , rental for people and animals incurred, have to arrange one more time and money to hire mover to move things from fernvale to woodlands, have to take some more leave again,both myself and my brother, even that depends on approval, move in date have to check with master again and that also depends on his schedule,wasted all the time and money getting things ready for the move in so its not really funny to find out how much inconvenience this has caused. dont even know where to put all the things. all these grief, frustration and anger and stress are unnecessary if proper planning is done. i asked for schedule but never got one. although jason spoke and explained, the outcome still the same, delays. ID: Hi Ivy, wad form of compensation u required? me: monetary compensation. if you were me, can you swallow down this situation? No more reply after that. Can you believe still can ask me what form of compensation? Do u expect me to reply 'a SORRY card'? :furious:I am so mad that I am almost driven to tears when talking to them... I wish none of this will happen to anyone..! Why play with our lives? Very fun izzit?

service line should have more people like him !

Wahahahahaha I like your style

wahahahahahha thanks for your tip!

Wellllll ID said by 5pm tomorrow (est) will have them up... we shall see .....

hehehe tell you the truth, right now i can't even rem the brand i bought mind is completely blank after today's water feature adventure, and maybe i inhaled a little too much paint and thinner at the house

hehehehehe : ))))

ohhh u must really observe how the water will flow, dont want water sprinkler water feature

Ya, they put price $388, $488 on some designs, and when i liked one and asked for pricing, those prices are only the spouts lo.... add the stones (priced high man), fibre tank, pump .. $$$$$ Yes can ala carte one.. U can buy just one or two, but I like the trio design DO RE MI ma The components are reasonably priced, the stones are cheap, fibre tank ok, expensive item is the spouts depending what type of designs.. The round bowl is fixed and secured with modeling clay. Got that free by one of the workers who helped with the stones selection (must be careful coz some chipped, some abit stained)

definitely cheaper than far east flora... when we asked for quotes on a even simpler design.. they add add add.. it came up to 990!

Thank you thank you! all thanks to my bro.. and his friend who drove to meet us and help with the loot.. d-a-m-n stones so heavy to carry home.. all in (fibre tank, stones, spouts, pump, and dunno whats under the water) $650 after discount. PS: everything DIY .. went to nature co at Joan Road, near far east flora there.. they dont even do delivery ..

My DIY water feature to share : )

Reno Progress Update Someone actually painted the storeroom door Spent some time erasing the paint stains using thinner while my bro worked on the water feature.. felt so giddy from the smell of thinner and paint in the air.. wooohoooooo did i hallucinate? Msged my ID and she replied wardrobe carpentry will be installed tomorrow est completion 5pm, have to go afterwards to see for myself and clean up to prepare for Tues move. And to buy stuff instructed by our FSM.. huat kueh, pineapple etc..huat ahhhhhh

Our very own D-I-Y Water Feature Went shopping at Nature Co for a D-I-Y water feature, started raining midway, heng ah got shelter and we already done viewing all the displays outside Selected all the components we required but they were out of stock on the spot lights, so have to get them at the fish shop or something. Net price $650 i think, thats after 10% discount.. we got free floaters and pebbles (think we took too little la) Lugged the whole lot in bits and pieces all the way to woodlands, good thing my brother enlisted his friend to help. Really hard work carry the lava stones (of coz I exert the least amount of labour, but maximum mental and moral support ) My brother took a few hours to complete everything, and here's the results : From the top Side view Floaters up close - so cute haha Neighbours 2 dropped by unexpectedly, one from our floor just a unit away, she popped by a second time asking if need to tabao food for us? The other one accidentally threw a wooden block 2 floors down and landed infront of our unit haha gave me a scare man.. think he went down to look for it and met my brother who's on his way up to investigate the source of this UFO object. Later I invited him to our house to have a look, and uncle Foo (haha) said must go have kopi next block one of these days I can see that this neighbourhood is very friendly, most families stayed for a long time already, some stayed from the time they bought the flat until now .. seems like everyone know each other, I like it

Of Curtain Rods and Curtains Bought ready made curtains yesterday, and the rods will be installed later in the afternoon. Not very satisfied with my purchase, last night had a night mare about those curtains chasing after me One of the weirdest dreams I ever had... they were all out of their packaging and sheets of curtains just running after me.. crazy mind I have..

Fabulous Blog! Refreshing commentaries and those cartoons... most deffo thumbs up!

Salam Hafiizh! Thank you for dropping by and appreciate your time to write me. Yes the reno is major (I was in denial when I bought the flat thinking I won't be doing much on it), Well I am not about to give them any excuse that the progress in my reno project was due to my tardy payment, I have already paid up to 90%, what needs to be paid will be paid, its just a matter of time. The ID also paiseh, said the rest hold until finish reno. I am going to do just that and pay only after all settled. Been too nice already lah.

Windows Installation by Tay Boon Tat Renovate Contractors I had all my window panes and grilles changed and engaged Tay Boon Tat to do that job. I requested my ID to quote me on this, and on the side I went to rummage through renotalk and found a post which the guy chose Tay Boon Tat but their rates are reasonable. So I contacted them myself and got a quote. Indeed their prices are lower than what my ID quoted me, even can give me a discount after I confirmed on the grilles designs and type of windows. The sales guy involved in this project was Andrew Lim and he was very polite and knowledgeable. He took the time to go on site to check out the windows, pointed out areas which require some attention and decision, came to my house to show me the designs, came to my office to collect the 50% payment when I told him I wasn't able to meet at the site. Throughout the installation process, he kept me updated constantly without my prompting, which I really appreciate. Most of the windows were replaced in the house, except for the common toilet lourve window, the lourve window in the kitchen/service balcony area. There was also a fixed window at the service balcony, and he was patient and understanding enough to wait until the hdb grilles outside the window gets painted before sending his guy to install the window yesterday. Paid him the balance only after that. In case you need his services or quotes, you can reach him at 9380 9187. Again I am not related to him or the company and bear in mind I only did 2 comparisons of quotes. To me, his service attitude and sense of ownership came in tops. If you been reading my blogs, you will agree with me on this point! I am so glad I changed those windows, tinted green. Subtle changes but to me, made a whole lot of difference! Here are the windows pics in original vs newly installed condition in some of the rooms that I took earlier:

Hahahahaha Hi Tuasbird! And thank you for your kind words! Fingers and toes crossed, everything will be alright! One must always look on the bright side, and sometimes Big Heart must mixed with a good dose of sterness and wrath, h-e-l-l hath no fury like a woman scorned (hmmm can this be applied in this reno project? hehehe) ps: why is h-e-l-l a bad word? it actually got masked with ****

Wahahahaha smart move la I bought mine at Star Furniture. Had the frame, mattress, free pillows, mattress protector, and 1 time use of mattress cleaning voucher valid for 1 year. I got the sales lady to call supplier, got some free bolsters complete set liao.. hahahaha

Now to the renos... Workers for today - The painter was already there when we arrived around 9am - 2 workers were busy fixing up the kitchen door and storeroom door - Good attitude Painter - Painter is quite bo chap initially coz he just put all his gear on my new tiles without newspaper, when I asked him need newspapers, he said don't need - Later I really cannot tahan liao, and spread the newspaper FOR HIM, and asked my brother to MOVE to stuff all onto the newspaper.. basket I need to move in next Tues, still anyhow leave paint stains on my floor, macam i so free to clean up over and over again - Later he was more careful after I explained to him about my move and he was so shocked that my carpentry was not up yet (he thought I didn't do any) - He left specks of paint on the laminated floor, the homogenous tiles zzz.. even bathroon tiles also have paint (thought was done by another painter some days back) - Called ID and she said will get the painter to clean up - Painter never clean up lor... - Painter received call from his boss, and told to drop everything and go down to Seng Kang to paint. Apparently this customer was giving problems to everyone, and even quarreled with the assigned ID to the point the boss stepped into the picture and oversee the project . Wah.. like this also can?? - Painter said his boss will come by later to finish up the painting, esp the store room - 7PM no one came, msged ID. Told her how can his boss pulled him out of my house to go service another client while he had not finish painting my house?? ID said the guy got problem, will make sure the painting is done tomorrow. - Anyway, those specks of paint, and smudges on some areas which were not meant to be there... we went to buy thinner and will clean them up.. wait for them... hmmmmm dunno 'wait long long also never will happen'? - Before we left from the place, my bro and I were washing our feet in the common toilet and were arguing about the shower head holder placement, then as we were rotating the holder, our fingers got smudged by black paint.. so gross de la... later we found out the pipes on top were paint glossy black and dripped down and landed on the holder.. zzz Door fixers - Isn't it strange to put a round knob on a storeroom? Thats what mine has.. - I asked the worker to change this to the lever kind, he said oh like dat ah.. can... exchange the kitchen door knob with the store room door knob - I repeated and gestured to the indian worker and he finally got what I meant. But he said he didn't have an extra lever to fix it for me - So I msged ID and she said will change the knob - Side track abit, my fridge is next to the storeroom and if not careful, the knob will hit into the fridge... requsted ID to install limiter on the door to restrict the degree of the door when opened (no reply from her, so maybe cannot? no time?) so we bandage the fridge up just in case something really freaky will happen.. wanna see? scroll down haha Backsplash Guy Oh today special appearance by the backsplash guy. Good thing I was there, because he intended to take measurements on the gap which the original tiles were exposed and just 'add on' the extra strip of tempered glass. He said coz 'very difficult to cut' and 'originally the hood was lower right? Now you changed to a slimmer one thats why the gap becomes even wider' .. what a load of BS.. I bought the same dimension of the slim hood loh.. just so I can fit that into the allowed space above the cupboard.. I insisted dimensions the same, and also told him his suggestion on the strip will make the backsplash ugly (and stupid but I held my tongue) and explained to him if he was able to cut the glass in some corners, i cannot understand what is so difficult to continue cutting the shape out again. He speechless loh, and said must check back with ID. See for yourself, the gap so big still can say 'difficult to cut' and 'cut a rectangular pc and install it... After he left, I found out another problem due to the backsplash. My counter top is stainless steel, and there are brackets all around. The workers didn't sealed the brackets in when they were sealing the glass with silicone.. I would have thought some sense would be applied when doing this kind of work right.. ? Here's the end result:- So I msged ID and told her cannot like do this way, and she replied she will fabricate a new piece for me and also will get the worker to fix that bracket problem. My ID All in all, I feel she has redeemed herself today, and more 'on the ball' even though she never appear at the house. Don't get me wrong, she is really a nice girl, and accordingly to the painter, she was the more experienced one among the lot in Outlook. But you know how it is with renovations, you just want things to be done right, on time. I am never a picky person, little minute imperfections I can accept. Today I just spotted a chip on the homogenous tiles, but I am not going to request to change the whole freaking tile like what happened at the sengkang project. The painter said they are 'bu shi ren' and they quarrelled with their ID, demanded to change the entrance tile because of some imperfections (i dunno scratched, dented, chipped or what but painter said don't look carefully, can't tell one). In the end, they had to redo 2 slabs. He went there in one of the mornings to paint their house only to see them cleaning and washing the floors and was sent away and told to come back only in the afternoon. Today, he had to rush down to paint strips (one colour 4 inch, next colour 2 inch something like that) on the walls for them. To me, honestly, they have every right to decide what needed to be done, esp since they paid for the services in the reno and they are just trying to get what they are paid for. Nothing wrong with that. I am not as particular, glaring things yes i will stick to my guns like the (stupid) gap of the backsplash. Anyway when the painter made those comments, I held my tongue again, not going to commit suicide and argue with the painter who is painting my house right? I really hope my ID will come through with the wardrobe installation on Monday.. otherwise I will really be disappointed in her..

Spent the whole of sat at the flat , cleaning, scrubbing, waiting for furnitures and electrical appliances, keeping a close eye on the painter and the guys who were fixing up the storeroom door and kitchen door (more abt the reno later) I am soooo happy that all the deliveries promised arrived today (well except for a coffee table whom Hommage boss called yesterday and told me the workers broke the glass and can only deliver end of the month). I've ordered from quite a few companies and all in all, I am satisfied with all of their service attitude and delivery times. All called a few days before to confirm (only one called on the day) Not affiliated with any of them, I like to give praise when credit is due... So thought I give them a mention for being such a trooper! Hommage - Ordered dining table and chairs, coffee table, TV console - Received call from them to confirm the delivery and explained to me that there will be 2 deliveries coz different suppliers - Eric the boss called personally to inform broken coffee table, which I appreciate the personal touch. When I placed the order with him earlier, I had some concerns over the chairs scrapping the new floor tiles, and he assured me that he would instruct the factory to sand the bottom smooth and put rubber guard on them. I thought he had forgotten, but during the call, he affirmed that once more. This is called good customer service and having a heart when doing business, not just "take money and the rest don't care". - TV console was the 1st to arrive, though there were some imperfections (inside drawer got a bit of dent, which later the worker use a marker to cover it, and also the interior 'paint' in one drawer were a little faded or something) .. but the condition is still acceptable. - Dining table and chairs were delivered by 2 different workers who spent quite a long time assembling the white table and finally after putting the black tempered glass on top, its finished and looked so nice. There was a little discolouration on one of the table legs, but still acceptable in my standards. Chairs arrived in perfect condition. - All in all, good experience given the fact I bought S$2k worth of items from basically catalogue shopping. Will buy from him again most definitely. Courts - Ordered from the Tampines branch (the one next the Ikea) and was served by this nice lady who went around with me choosing items haha I thought it was very helpful of her. - Bought 1 office chair (they called presidential chair hahaha), a customised 1 seater sofa for the bedroom, a new series white dresser and bedside table - I spent quite a long time choosing the fabric for the sofa, and was very pleased that she (and later another colleague) not only helped to bring the fabric swatch, but also gave suggestions and advice (e.g oh this fabric is rough, if you wear shorts and sit on you, you might not be comfortable..) I thought this was a value added service, they were not just there to close a sale, but they put their hearts to make sure I got the right stuff. - Anyway, today only my dresser and bedside table and the office chair arrived because the sofa needs time to customise. Both came differently as well because the dresser and bedside table were from silent night and they have their own delivery guys. - Happy with the sales staff, delivery cum installation team. Thumbs up! Star Furniture - This is the place which I ordered all my bed frames and mattresses. - Went to the AMK North Star branch and was served by a very nice lady, very patient when we couldn't make up our minds about the customisation of the head boards. Actually my brother was having problem choosing his and I actually told my brother to go for his smoke break and come back later to have a fresh perspective. Eventually chose all 3 sets. - Got her to call the supplier to throw in freebies - Delivery team came within the promised time slot, very pro, and the quality is excellent. Mondi Gallery - Went to the Furniture Mall at Beach Road and served by Darren - He was very attentive, spent a long time with me looking over at the fabric swatches, all in all, very good experience. Not sure if it was because I went on a weekday, but it was a smooth sales. - I remembered walking out feeling very happy (then again, most gals would be euphoric especially spending $$) - Ordered the Gobi sofa set and they came on time as well. - Simply loved it! *spam - Called before hand and Richard answered the call. At first, he was abit grouchy but quickly warmed up during the call - Got the prices for the washer and fridge I want but he told me prices are lower if I enquire at the shop in person. Something about 'can't tell you prices over the phone, its not right...' - So I went down to their office, and the prices were really lower haha - Ordered my fridge and washer, and the KDK fan, they only accept cash, didn't know about that, good thing ATM is around nearby. - Experience was good overall, went on a rainy day, not many customers, in fact I only 'waited' 5 mins coz I told the guy I was looking for Richard. He came out and serve me hahaha - I gave specific instructions on 2 delivery dates, fan first (so contractor can install it), then today will be the washer and fridge - On the fan delivery date, my given (and they agreed) time was from 11am to 1pm (something like that), but Richard called at 9am asking if the guy could deliver it NOW coz that day there were a number of Jurong deliveries and they wanted to drop off my fan at woodlands before heading off to Jurong. Long story short, I was quite stressed out coz he was calling me, the delivery guy was calling me, and I was working in the office rushing for an urgent report.. They were early with their delivery, and yet somehow I was hounded because no workers were there to open the door. Hello? my reno workers all special breed one, don't start work so early de la... - Today delivery was smooth, Richard called before hand at the assigned time slot, things were delivered, though I asked the guy if the washer water hose can be routed another direction, he said cannot.. basket.. after they left, I was not satisfied with the placing of the washer and I tilted the washer while my brother unclamped the bottom and re-route and hose to the opposite direction. CAN BE DONE! Having a brother is cool.

Meow Meooooooooooooooooooow Meooooooow! Hiiiii to you too and thank you for the compliments I will be fetching them home next wednesday, by hook or by crook!