zirhk3355

Yeah, was thinking about this too. Not forgetting the hot/warm air coming out from the compressor...

I think "pei-du mamas" (PDMMs) are allowed to work, but always check it out. Its your responsibility to use legal workers; if get caught you cannot say the agency introduce one, because you are the paymaster and the worker is found inside your house. Since the contact comes from an agency, ask for the original work permit and photocopy it. If any payment is made to the agency, tell them you want a tax invoice or receipt with detailed description of the services provided (best to indicate the PDMM's particulars as well). Don't worry about whether they give you fake documents and such; the objective is to prove that you had taken due efforts to check. However, if the PDMM got PR, then nothing to worry lah. You can pay her directly also no problem.

QP prices can ranges from few hundreds to few thousands! Really depends on your work if standard or not, need him/her to supervise on site or not, etc. BTW why call QP instead of directly just PE, is because QP can also be structural engineer, civil engineer, etc. Hence the overall term Qualified Person, which means this person is qualified to endorse that particular works. I hacked two walls and engaged a QP (I think is normal PE), cost about $400. Later I was caught for illegal hacking and need to do pressure grouting, engaged another QP (think this is a structural engineer), cost near to $3K+! On paper say QP to supervise at site, but even until payment date I also never see him before! Maybe it was because illegal works so I kana 'carrot' by the QP and contractor lor, I duno, but that's how easy the QP can earn money lor. Next time you know what you should let your children work as...hehe...

Oh sorry I didn't realise you are asking about grant too. I was talking about merely submitting the ROM certificate for fiance scheme, which 'by-right' is 3 mths AFTER taking possession of flat, and that I have seen many people defer for as long as possible. But for the grant I think its quite strict; you got to produce the cert ON OR BEFORE taking possession of the flat, because involved giving you money mah. What happens if some couples decided not to marry after buying the flat?? So I dun think there is deferment for that, ie you take grant first then submit later...? Better check on that in writing before you buy lor, if you strictly need the grant... My friend bought a new flat, so no issue because no grant at all.

Yes I remembered its the same - basically HDB issue for aircon is the voltage consumption (whether will trip or not) and those installing on a bracket outside the window ledge (whether will fall and hit people or not). Anything you put within your interior space should not be a problem. Alternatively you can write in to the branch office to play safe. Remember write in, don't call because they will just rabble off some rubbish verbally and not take responsibility for it.

If you have not sign/submit the OTP, then HDB defer your ROM submission for what?? You can safely submit your OTP lah, notwithstanding other issues, ROM cert late submission sure can approve one. I haven't seen a case where it is not approved, somemore yours is sept'08, not too far. My friend bought a resale unit in 2006 and till now she has not ROM-ed yet!

http://www.austscreen.com/

Useful for child's education mah! Eg Child accidentally walked into the glass wall: *Bong* "My girl, you see in life, there is more to meet than eye..."

According to the HDB website, I believe its allowed to be installed on the service balcony: http://www.hdb.gov.sg/fi10/fi10205p.nsf/WP...on?OpenDocument

Oei, dun keep 'boss' here and 'boss' there hor... Everyone same same ok...

Yah, erm, what basement? The only WMF I know at basement is at taka...is that what you referring to??

Woah, then anytime already man! How about dinner/kopi tonite?? Hey, think better go back to our neighbourhood thread to chat leh, this flat-owner very fierce one, sekali kana scolded for hijacking his t-blog...wahahaha...

Erm, I think you are supposed to click on the image for bigger view...??

Hey, I very nosy, care to share about the red granite of taka?? Ok it will be off-topic here, so can start another thread or pm me lah!

There are alot of venues with such 20-pax table today, alot of couples had done it before liao. You definitely can find a venue to have it. But its more impt to check if both sets of parents are okay with it, esp bride's family. For eg, during my wedding, my friend actually overheard from my wife's relatives that they find it absurd to have the bride's family sitting with groom's family; reason because they see it as my wife's whole family married into my family! Sometimes the groom's family will mind also, like my dad was abit concerned that tougues will wag; why?? Because its a form of 'respect' to give the bride's family one whole table; thus to ask them to sit on the same table with us will seemed abit 'niao'. Yeah sometimes these old folks are really sensitive about superstitions, but they are elderly members after all, got to take note of all these possible views lor...

Hey I am already staying here lah, any weekday evening or weekend you are around, just give me a call for kopi man! You got my number right??

I think most people would see it as the sales guy managed to neg with YOU to put down a deposit of $200. You see, no matter what happens you will at least buy a small appliance from them; or in other words they already confirmed a sale of $200 minimum, rather than you leave you the option of running away. Good sales tactic, mann! But whichever way, as long as you are comfortable with the shop, there's nothing with giving them your commitment lah; win-win situation mah. That's how a deal should be made, right? Happy buyer, happy seller!

Personal experience; bought a 40-inch Samsung R81 at more than $3K in Jun'07, think can siam the GST increase and save some money, but never expect my reno to screw up and only handover in Aug'07. A neighbour bought the same TV at $2K, delivered in almost the same period. You are right that electrical goods' prices can only go down, not up. So there is no harm at all to buy it closer to your reno handover date, regardless of whatever sales, promotion, IT shows or whatever; trust me, you will never lose out.

He had said so many times that he did not use an ID, yet you still ask?? But can't blame u lah - pics speak more than a thousand words, so when there are pics, people tend not to read the words...

Sorry to say this, but I have to say yes, you are expecting alittle too much from our neighbourhood IDs. People who are professional enough to qualify as a true-blue 'interior designer' (notwithstanding paper qualifications) would not charge the same way like your neighbourhood IDs. There would be a set of fees for the designs/drawings itself, which usually comes up to few tens of thousands. This is even before anything is done to your house yet! As such, most people would not pay for such price-tags, simply because the cost does not add-value/justify for our pigeon holes (and equally small pte homes); eg would you pay $120K to renovate your $300K+ HDB flat? Would you pay $400K to renovate your $1mil apt? Yes that is the kind of cost for such professional IDs. Furthermore, as the market could not accept such price-tags, the professional IDs had developed to such an extend that they might not want to spend the kind of energy on small projects anymore, not that they had became 'atas', but simply because its no longer cost-effective. The amount of work done for designing one small home is equivalent to a templated layout, but no prize for guessing which one can they charge more. Furthermore, they can charge for retro-fitting the template to each unit of a condo block, but for one small home, they can only charge once. Put yourself in the shoes of these professional IDs; would you want to spend time/manpower on one small home and charge a one-time $120K, or would you want to spend time to for a tender project of a big developer, charge $300K for the template, $50K for each retro-fitting to every unit in the project, and the potential of becoming famous with design awards, etc? Back to home renovation; that the project is after all our own home, thus it is inevitable for us to be a major input when comes to designing it. Trust me, you can have the most famous ID to do up your home, but there are definitely some things you do not like about it. Try going to showflats and showhouses during the weekends and you will know what I meant. So why spend that kind of money, when a simple contractor (okok, neighbourhood ID) would do the job? In brief: You do not have to lower your expectations of your dream home, esp when you have the budget for the quality materials and furnishings, but you should lower your expectations of the professionalism of the IDs.

Traditionally, there are two important tables in a chinese wedding, one "Bridal/Host" table and one "VIP" table. Think the name is self-explanatory; the entire banquet was traditionally hosted by the groom's parents and the bride's family are guests. As korea had said, the bride had married into the groom's family, so she becomes a part of the groom's family now and sits at the "Bridal/Host" table. Traditionally speaking, she is no longer a part of her own family anymore, which is why Chinese always say a married daughter is like thrown-out water, cannot get back anymore. But if the bride's family is respectable, then the groom's family will write a formal 8-fold invitation card (or something like that!!) to invite the bride's family to come for the banquet. Yes, you heard me right - its actually the prerogative of the groom's family to let the bride's family join in, and yes they cannot come if they are not invited. For eg those brides from poor family background, the groom's family might not want to let her family join in. Well, in today's context, there's no longer such autocracy; in fact sometimes (OKOK, MOST OF THE TIME NOW) the brides' family is more dominant than the groom's! They suddenly have God-given rights to demand for this and that, cuz some smart guy came up with the sob theory that the bride's family actually suffers when bringing up the daughter, so they deserved to be dorminant and demand for more dowry, gifts and such. For me, well I felt that a marriage is not just a matter between two persons, but between two families; it is also a time where two families become one. During the selection of wedding venues in 2004, only ritz-carlton have a 20-pax table, but I couldn't afford that, so I painstakingly coordinated with marriott to create a 18-pax one using crescent tables with a hole in the middle, where I put alot of potted plants inside. Think from then on mariott started to sell their banquets with this 'one-vip-table' option alongside with several other hotels as well...

I have to agree with you, but it seemed that this phenomenon of "poor service but selling quality products" is very much more prominent here in Singapore, ie service and product-quality are always on opposite scale. Why is that so?? Perhaps I am not well-travelled enough, but it does not happen to those countries that I had visited; esp Japan. Most of the time the merchants with really good products/food are also coupled with really good service as well. But its so different on our little island as I seemed to realise that in Singapore, the better one's product is, the lousier their service becomes. Is it because their products are so good that they became so busy, so cannot provide good service? Or is it really because of ego and arrogance?? Back to topic here, I do not doubt chunky monkey's words that the products is good because I knew she is not from the company, but why am I not surprised? In fact the first thing that comes to my mind when I saw the first post is that the product must be **** good, and true enough! BTW, anyone remembers the haughty bak kut teh seller at havelock rd, who refused to serve thaksin on a sunday because he is closed? Or have anyone been taunted by the incredibly-rude lady boss of Lana cakes at greenwood when you try to ask more about her signature chocolate fudge cake? Or perhaps the XO fish-head soup at holland dr, where the fat boss arrogantly proclaims to the media, "If you don't come here for fish head soup, where can you go??" Well politically incorrect he may be, but really, he serves a h*ll of a fish soup, doesn't he?? Well perhaps this is Singapore-style lor, ie good = arrogant, but this is really getting on the nerves of people like max383 and several others. Though its emotional, sometimes I do let my heart take over my head like max383 too, and boycott a good merchant just because s/he are arrogant. Well I am human too! But to max383, well I have to come to chunky monkey' defence when you really let your emotions get the better of you to proclaim that Rhoyxon's products are 'any special' and his prices to be too expensive. I am using Rhoyxon's products too, and thinks they are value for money. You just need to know how to deal with different kinds of people to get what you want. Adding on to what compassvale said: Walking away from bad service: 1 sec Enduring bad service to get what you want: 2 days Enjoy the product you want, or suffering without the product you want: A lifetime There are some good things in life that one just can't get no matter what they do; for everything else, there is endurance.

How can be tired to see the wonderful flat like yours?? Hmmz, so the perspectives are in, when are you going to let go the actual pics and let the forummers here drool like me...??

Very slow leh, kin leh, want to see!! !!

Reading his words at face value: "We don't sell electronics, only kitchen stuff. Browsing will not know the exact size and measurement." Perhaps he did not put it in a diplomatic way but what he said is not exactly wrong; he did not say you want to buy electronics, but just giving an example. Comparingly, its true that you can *browse* for electronics but not for kitchen stuff. In fact he might be trying to save your time by going straight to what you want, instead of *browsing* around aimlessly. Of course I wasn't there with you so I dun know his attitude, body language, etc. thus won't comment on that. In this case, I supposed there is a very thin line between good service and bad service; just a matter of perception.