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Ks Toh

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Everything posted by Ks Toh

  1. Ks Toh
    Mosquitoes and Other Flying Insects My family complained that there are lots of mosquitoes flying into the home. I realised that they were mainly coming in from the toilet windows. So I did something. You can buy the net from FairPrice and mounting tape from anywhere (I bought online). After I did the above, my wife complained that the screen was non-removeable. So, I had to redo. I bought the frames online from ezbuy. DIY Magnetic Screen - https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_ADeCfz DIY Velco Screen - https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_9IuTCb
  2. Ks Toh
    Hi, exactly what snooze explained. WiFi is really for casual internet access. Even then, when you round a corner, the signal can drop. If you can, you should network cable to every room or location. I am on StarHub cable TV. For about a year now, StarHub has offered to switch me to fibre TV at higher speed but lower cost.. But I refused to take up the offer. Problem is that StarHub TV requires a dedicated network access from the TV box to the VeONT (fibre modem) i.e. cannot route through switch. This means if I use the hall network point for StarHub TV, I cannot use it for anything else! Currently, I am using this point for many purposes which I cannot do without: WiFi Access point, Smart TV, SoundBar, Apple TV, Network drive and IP Camera. The only solution is to lay another network cable from my VeONT to my hall. This is a NO NO to my wife as it means unsightly cabling all the way from utility room > kitchen > bomb shelter > cabinets > dining > pond > hall. I understand that if you subscribe to SingTel TV, you will not have this problem. Apparently, SIngTel uses VLAN tagging or some technology which allows both fibre TV and internet to be carried via the same network cable. The above is my simple explanation based on what I understand. I am not that technically knowledgeable. I read on HWZ there may be a solution but I do not understand it. Maybe someone who understands better can explain.
  3. Ks Toh
    I used to pay a gardener to come once every week, then every 2 weeks, then every month, then every few months. Now, my wife and I maintain ourselves. Maintenance means trimming away overgrown plants, replanting those that died and spraying pesticide. I use organic pesticide due to the fishes below my vertical garden.
  4. Ks Toh
    I use to wonder how to deal with the daily fur shedding but not anymore. I don't even notice it anymore. Not sure why but could be any of the following reasons:- 1. Mr GR is now 1 1/2 years old. Maybe they shed less after 1 year? 2. I now comb him every day after his walk. I think they helps a lot. 3. I put my robot vacuum to work every day. It is very good at picking up fur. 4. Maybe I am just used to it now. Until you mentioned, I did not even notice the fur in the pond. There is only some fur on the pond surface but no, there is no problem at all. I don't even bother to remove them. They just disappear somewhere after a while.
  5. Ks Toh
    Thank you for mentioning my house. Indeed, I am very happy with my vertical garden. It is still doing well after almost 4 years. As long as you do it right and maintain it well, you will be very happy with it. Of course, the $64m question is whether we can get it right. Apart from the fact that the vertical garden may not be suitable for the growing of herbs, you want to keep the vertical garden bushy and not keep harvesting the plants there for cooking! I supposed you already done your aircon. I did some write-up on it on my blog but the info may be outdated. Mitsubishi HE is not a parallel import. It is by another company in the Mitsubishi group. Everything is made in China these days, so that is not really relevant. I find Toshiba systems nice to look at but poor in built quality and performance.
  6. Ks Toh

    Check out my Blog!

  7. Ks Toh
    Hi, I noticed what looks like a vertical garden on the wall. Assuming it is, I would like to share with you my opinion as i have a vertical garden in my house (ground floor to level 3). First, the vertical garden needs sufficient sunlight or the plants will die. Based on the design above, there is insufficient sunlight. So, you need to install artificial lighting for the plants. Second, you need to provide for water in and drainage out at the bottom.
  8. Ks Toh
    Yes, if you are fixing the TP at the TV console area, for data points for other rooms, your contractor should also pull the cables from all the rooms to this TP location. Yes, you can lay all the cables first. Modem / router installation is simply putting the device there and plugging the wires into the modem / router. Since there will be several devices and many wires, you may want to locate the TP point within the console (hidden but with some ventilation) rather than exposed. You also need several power points. For the Opennet link from outside to your TV console area, you can ask your contractor to lay a normal wire or string first. Then when the Opennet contractor comes, he will just use the wire (or string) to pull in the fibre link. Otherwise, if the Opennet contractor comes after your TV console is already done up, the installation may not be neat. For all the cables coming from the rooms to the TV console area, you can install a patch panel (neater) or just leave the wires dangling (which is what I did - but messy). I believe I wrote about all these in great detail on my blog HERE. There is Network Cabling parts 1 and 2. If you don't find the information there, feel free to ask again. For your information, Opennet is now called NetLinkTrust.
  9. Ks Toh
    Hi I just saw your private message to me. My alkaline water system is different. Mine is totally above the counter, so I would not have the issue that you have. Details of my machine: I agree with you totally. This is unacceptable to me. How does the water get a soapy smell? It must be because some stuff from the detergent gets into the water. And if this can happen, I am sure some stuff from your insecticide can also get into it. Just that you are not aware. Maybe the amount is negligible to be harmful, but still it is a problem. We install this kind of system to make the water cleaner, not worse. If I were you, I will definitely (a) try to get a refund for this system (but this is probably near impossible) or (b) take up their offer to shift the filters to another dry location where you do not put anything else. I doubt they will put up the documentation that you requested. After you solve your problem, you can put up reviews. Maybe you can get more information here:
  10. Ks Toh
    Hi I just saw your private message to me. My alkaline water system is different. Mine is totally above the counter, so I would not have the issue that you have. Details of my machine: I agree with you totally. This is unacceptable to me. How does the water get a soapy smell? It must be because some stuff from the detergent gets into the water. And if this can happen, I am sure some stuff from your insecticide can also get into it. Just that you are not aware. Maybe the amount is negligible to be harmful, but still it is a problem. We install this kind of system to make the water cleaner, not worse. If I were you, I will definitely (a) try to get a refund for this system (but this is probably near impossible) or (b) take up their offer to shift the filters to another dry location where you do not put anything else. I doubt they will put up the documentation that you requested. After you solve your problem, you can put up reviews.
  11. Ks Toh
    Oh, if you have plans for the vertical garden in the future, make sure there is provision for: a) water drainage - at the bottom, there should be a pond (in my case, a koi pond) or some drainage b) a tap or water outlet - mine is at the bottom but i feel that it would have been better if at the top. c) power points - for artificial lighting if there is insufficient sunlight
  12. Ks Toh
    I love your slide and fireman's pole. Wish I could have rebuilt my house. The outdoor jacuzzi on my roof terrace is a white elephant that simply consumes water and electricity. My wife wants to get rid of it to make way for more seating area, for bbqs.
  13. Ks Toh
    For your blog title, do you mean "Natural Colours"? For a moment, I thought it will be all red and white.
  14. Ks Toh
    This kind of things I think nobody can prove true or not. It's up to the individual. If you don't believe, don't bother about it. If you believe, you should follow. Or if you are like me, which is basically no idea whether to believe or not, just follow what my contractor tells me. As long as you start renovations before the month (for 2016, it should be 3 to 31 August 2016), it should be fine. So, before 3rd August 2016, just take a hammer and whack away a few tiles, and you are good to go anytime after that.
  15. Ks Toh
    Parrot Flew into my House Two weeks ago, there was another intruder in my house. A flying animal a little longer than 2 feet. First, she decided to take a sip from my koi pond. Then she decided to make my vertical garden her home.
  16. Ks Toh
    Hi Apologies for the late reply as I have not been back to this forum for some time. I used Phlips LED strip lighting for the top of my dining cabinets. It is not bright enough for the place. It is more for ambience only. But for my rooms, I used T5 flourescent tubes as cove lights for either 3 or all 4 sides of the rooms and it is bright enough. But for study, you better have a study lamp in addition to the cove lights as that is for general lighting only.
  17. Ks Toh
    By "n" bracket, I mean something that can go up and over your beam so that there is total support. This is only possible if there is a gap between your beam and the polycarbonate roof, and provided you can find such a bracket. I am not sure if such a bracket exist. I am referring to something like this: Can you take a close up picture of the ceiling hook your purchased? Did you get the strongest type? The ring for mine is 2 inches in diameter. And the ring is solidly welded to the flat portion, not just spot welded in some places. I am not sure if expansion bolts work with a steel beam, so I agree with the welding solution. But why can't you weld the hook directly to the beam? Check out my blog! --> http://www.renotalk.com/forum/topic/62505-top-kew-drive/
  18. Ks Toh
    Don't worry. The steel of the ceiling hook I showed you (picture above) is thicker than the steel of the chains of your swing (which I saw above). Your swing chain will break first before this hook breaks. I use two of these hooks to secure my frangipani tree which is in danger of falling to one side. I thought I wrote something about this on my blog but I now I cannot find it. To my horror, I also realised that my Table of Contents (first page) has been truncated (not by me). Did this happen to anyone else? Anyway, this is how I secure my tree using the hooks. Untitled by ks_toh, on Flickr What you should be more concerned is whether your beam can support your swing and how you are going to secure this hook to the beam. Assuming the beam can support the weight of your swing, then the most important part is the securing part. If you can find a "n" steel bracket to go over the beam and bolt the hook to this "n" bracket, that will be strongest. Otherwise you will have to weld or bolt this hook to the beam. This may be the weakest link. If you look at the way your swing is hung at the shop, it uses a small hook with a single bolt. The hook I showed you is bigger and with two bolts. You will need two hooks i.e. 4 bolts. In my case, I use expansion bolts to secure my hook to the ceiling slab. You should be able to get ceiling hooks from any hardware store. I bought mine from Lida Hardware at Bedok Simpang, near my house. Check out my blog! --> http://www.renotalk.com/forum/topic/62505-top-kew-drive/
  19. Ks Toh
    I almost choked when I read that you are in the networking business. Here I am trying to give you advice. Anyway, what is your broadband plan? Are you serious about the 10 ft antenna? I find those "high gain" routers with longer antenna no difference from the normal ones.
  20. Ks Toh
    Hi kovan4us It's unfortunate you did not lay network cables to the rooms. I feel it is almost mandatory, and I wrote about it at length in my blog. Anyway, here are my comments to improve your network. 1. I feel your 2 year old Aztech router is no good. Seems like you are subscribed to at least 200 Mbps or higher broadband. But why is it that you are getting only 192 Mbps wired and 53 Mbps wireless next to the router? I am on 200 Mbps. I get 200 Mbps wired (both from main router as well as wired points far away) and 85 to 195 Mbps wireless (depending on traffic etc). I feel a change to one of the powerful multi-antenna Asus (or similar) wireless router will solve your problems. 2. Check your cables. You should be using either Cat 5e or Cat 6. If one of your cables is Cat 5 or below, the speed could be limited to 100 Mbps. 3. I personally feel HomePlugs are bad ideas, though I know of people who swear by them. As you discovered, they almost never perform at their rated speed. And their connection is also unreliable. 4. One other solution for you is to use a range extender, but in wired mode. Basically, you pull a Cat 6 cable from your main router in one corner of your hall, to this range extender in another corner of the hall, preferably at a different higher level. Although both are in the hall, the coverage is increased. 5. You can also check whether it is possible to convert your telephone cables into a network. They normally use network cables inside. You can read more in my blog, if you don't feel bored reading through everything.
  21. Ks Toh
    These days, I find sponsored adverts popping up on my Facebook feed. But one article caught my attention. Those of you who are considering between gas and electric water heaters may want to take a look. Gas v Electric Water Storage Heaters in Singapore I always use Electric Water Storage Heaters but had assumed that the running cost for gas heaters will be cheaper. However, according to this article, electric water storage heaters are actually cheaper to install, run and maintain, at least in Singapore. However, do note that this article is by a electric water heater maker, so it might be biased. The article also contains links to some other articles which have about the same conclusion.
  22. Ks Toh
    It prevents the shower water from flowing out. Definitely a good idea. No cons as far as I am aware, except that for some homes, this might not be possible. In such cases, the contractor may build a kerb. But a kerb is not so nice and you may trip over it.
  23. Ks Toh
    My wife says it is $900+. It's a replica. The original should be about 10 times this price! By the way, when you say "digital lock with webcam", I suppose you meant digital door viewer in place of the traditional peephole door viewer. Such devices are good to view and record (if your device has this function) activities outside your door. A webcam installed inside your house will not be able to view or record things outside your door, since the webcam cannot see through the door. However, a webcam installed inside your house will be able to view and record what is going on inside your house. Additionally, it has more functions e.g. ability to view on your mobile from outside the house. It's a "web" camera. On the other hand, I am not sure if the digital door viewers have web capabilities yet.
  24. Ks Toh
    Yes, I have. See here. I am not sure how big is your balcony. But swing chairs do take up a lot of space.
  25. Ks Toh
    Yes, I find it very useful to have web cameras and I have DIY installed a number of D-link web cameras all over my place. For such web cameras, you will need (a) a power supply and (b) internet connection. Whether the power point is inside or outside depends on where you want to site your camera. I suppose for non-landed, it is usually not possible to have the power point outside the flat. I provided more information on my blog. While visiting, don't forget to watch the videos captured by my webcams of intruders in the middle of the night.
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