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Ks Toh

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Everything posted by Ks Toh

  1. Ks Toh
    Continuing with my koi pond story .... For many jobs, there are various alternatives. You need to do research and not rely on everything the ID or contractor says. Contractor 1 told me the solution is to dig a large hole in the ground and put the filtration tanks inside. He will then put chengai decking over it. This meant digging up almost the entire area where my outdoor patio now resides. In addition, as there was drain culvert and possibly sewerage pipes here, this meant diversion works for these stuff. Good idea as everything is hidden but I added up the digging, diversion and chengai and basically, it was going to cost a lot. I shelved the thought. Contractor 2 told me the solution is simply to partition the pond. He will use up one third to house the filtration chamber. No digging or diversion. But this meant that I lose one third of the ponds straightaway. No way. Contractor 3, from http://www.phytowaterarts.com/, proposed their "bio-filtration system" to me. I had no clear idea what it was but the solution was appealing to me. They would put their bio-filtration system at the base of the pond. In this way, there will be no ugly filtration chamber visible anyway. I chose them.
  2. Ks Toh
    Hi Harriete I forgot where exactly I bought the Hitronweb from but definitely I saw it on sale at the hardware store in Simpang Bedok next to Selegie Bean Curd. However, they did not sell the bulb refill. I found the bulb refill at Mustafa. I thought I saw the Hitronweb on sale there too but I am not too sure. Do note my point that this bulb is hard to find. There are also other types. I also have another cheaper normal type, where the lamp is just a simple single tube. For this type, you can find the refill easily. However, my helper tells me the Hitronweb is "more powerful". At HomeFix DIY and NTUC Fairprice, they sell the Pest-Stop brand.
  3. Ks Toh
    When I was young, my dad had an aquarium tank of fishes including a seahorse. I always wanted an aquarium in my house. A few times, I had a fish tank but I always had issues with the water filtration system, and had a hard time cleaning the tank and changing water. So, I was never really successful. In my new place, I was lucky to have not one but two ponds. One outside (in front of my main door), one inside the house (below the vertical garden). The original filtration system used was not too good. All the koi pond contractors that came to view said that considering the amount of water in the inside pond, that box was not big enough. I was told it should be at least 3 times that size! As for the outside pond, they told me the small black box was a joke. This is when I had to decide on various options.
  4. Ks Toh
    Hi Isaac PM you the contact. However, I cannot remember the cost. It will also not be accurate because I remembered he asked for higher price because (a) he claimed my area was big, and (b) I needed him and his workers to do the job urgently over the weekend (OT rate).
  5. Ks Toh
    Does anyone know where I can buy this window handle? It is different from the usual handle. The usual handle (which you can buy from any hardware store) is quite flat, with the screws about 4 cm (1 1/2 inch) apart. This handle is about 1.5 cm thick and has screw holes about 5 cm (2 inches) apart. In white: Usual handle In black: The handle I am looking for
  6. Ks Toh
    blusotong Just to let you know. I bought from Amazon, and they just arrived. Am gong to fix them later.
  7. Ks Toh
    Even now, I leave this Hitronweb "Electronic Insect Exterminator" switched on in my yard the whole night. Seems to work well. Unfortunately, I had a hard time looking for the replacement bulb. Could not find it anywhere. In the end, I found it at Mustafa!
  8. Ks Toh
    Mosquitoes can be a problem, especially during the renovation stage. I had to engage a pest controller to come fumigate the place every week or so. This is how he looked like. We were also advised to do termite prevention and we also engaged him to do it. He and his workers came to do some initial treatment and told us to call them again after carpentry is done. He did not communicate his requirements clearly to us. After we put up the carpentry by OPSH and called him, he said "why you never call us before putting up the carpentry? how to treat the back of the carpentry now?" The only workaround now is to drill holes in the carpentry to inject the chemicals, something we are extremely loathe to do. Not only might it damage the beautiful cabinets, it might also pose a health risk. Anyway, he is the only contractor left for us to settle accounts. I think we will just strike a compromise with him and pay him part of the contract sum.
  9. Ks Toh
    I am a sucker when it comes to the number of points (electrical, network, water, anything!). When the ID or contractor thinks I need one, I say 3. In the end, I like to think I was right most of the time! Those time I gave in to the ID or contractor's advice, I now regret. For the WC, I have 3 water outlets. 1 for WC, 1 for washlet, 1 for spare (or tap). I think most people have one or two. I think two should be the minimum. I thought I was clever but my wife is not too pleased that it looks a little messy. If you are getting a tap for your washing machine, you can consider this tap. You can connect the washing machine hose to the tap and yet have another tap for other use. But this tap will protrude out more, so it might not be suitable if you do not have sufficient space.
  10. Ks Toh
    We all have our share of complaints about the workers, and we sometimes take them for granted. But we must appreciate their work. It is often not easy. Sometimes, it is dangerous. You will only understand if you try to do the work yourself. For example, when I tried to fix the IP camera on the roof of my roof terrace, I found it a little terrifying perched on a ladder by the side of the roof. One wrong step and "uh oh". In fact, my neighbour saw me and shouted at me to be careful. But I am KS, so this is what I had .. (Please ignore my toned tummy) All this just to get my camera to have a good panaromic view from my roof terrace. You can see the planes taking off / landing at Changi Airport in the east, golf course at Tanah Merah, Bedok Camp, Costa Del Sol, Bayshore all the way to Bedok in the north.
  11. Ks Toh
    Hi creative_vitamin Unlike most of the rest who are posting on-the-fly, as they renovate, mine is "terbalik". I am posting only after all major renovations have been completed. So I am able to take my time to choose the photos etc. In fact, I keep editing the old posts and adding new pictures (as I find them) to make them clearer. I did engage an ID but as I mentioned in my first post The wet kitchen top and sides all using 60 x 60 Black Galaxy Granite. I suppose you can also use homogenous tiles. Correction: My wife just informed me that it is black homogenous tiles, not granite. Haha. Sotong me.
  12. Ks Toh
    Yes, granite not supposed to be scratched so easily. And if you are doing dry lay (and you paid for it), it means the tiles are new and taken straight out from the same crate, I am wondering why they are already scratched??? I think you better make full use of the dry lay to weed out those that are badly scratched and reject them. My own experience with dry lay has been a "waste of time", if you read my story in my blog. Hope yours is fruitful.
  13. Ks Toh
    Hi, no. I merely did extensive renovations.
  14. Ks Toh
    The owner of the shop himself told me the tap was not PUB Approved yet. For location of accessories, don't just point point. Use a masking tape and stick it at exact location and write on the tape toilet roll etc. Even that also can wrong sometimes. Once drilled, hard to change location.
  15. Ks Toh
    2 to 3 years back, I wanted to buy a similar water-fall tap but was told it is "not PUB approved" yet, probably because it dispenses too much water. I wonder if the position is still the same. I suppose you already have your answer to your question of whether can connect a hot/cold tap to a cold water only pipe. The answer is yes. Some plumbers connect the water supply to just one side (probably cold water) but I think it is better to use a T-joint to connect the waters supply to both sides so that whichever way you turn the tap, you can get water.
  16. Ks Toh
    For many of these shops, a commission is paid to the ID or brings you there, so they cannot give you the best price which you may be able to get if you buy from them direct. But the difference is normally not so much, cannot be double the price. Double price could simply be the shop is very expensive in the first place.
  17. Ks Toh
    Thanks. We tried to make it simple but nice and practical.
  18. Ks Toh
    After visiting many hardware stores, i finally found various adapters. First, a E27 to B22 (Bayonet mount) holder. Then a B22 plug to connect to my wire. Then a 2 pin holder to which the camera's 2 pin plug is plugged. The B22 plug was the most difficult to find. The piece I got was so old that I think the shop keeper must have been glad that someone finally bought it.
  19. Ks Toh
    Unfortunately, I believe most people would not have laid wires including network cable to their desired camera locations. Even in my case, I left out two locations, one to the ceiling of my roof terrace. I had to improvise. The nearest point I could find was a wall light (which I do not use). This has a standard E27 (Edison screw) bulb holder. But my D-Link camera came with a 2 pin plug. I suppose I could just cut the wire and somehow join the wire to the lamp holder but I wanted to do it in a neater way.
  20. Ks Toh
    It's very useful to have IP Video Cams installed in your house. You can view the images on your iPhone or smart phone from anywhere, anytime, as long as you have an internet connection. Most of them have night vision capability. Those PTZ types can also pan, tilt and zoom remotely at your command. Ideally, you should have laid a power and network wire to the desired location of the camera. Then you just fix your camera like this. For power, note that you do not need to lay AC power all the way to this point. You can simply lay twin wires from your power supply location to this camera location. The camera comes with a AC power adapter which converts the current to DC for the camera. You cut this camera wire into two, so you have one half of the wire with the AC power adapter and the other half of the wire with the plug that plugs to the camera. You plug the AC power adapter to your power socket, then join the wire to one end of the twin wire. At the other end of the twin wire, join the wire with the plug to the camera. In this way, the twin wire is carrying DC current, which I believe is safer. The distance from power socket to camera can be very far. In my case, it is very far.
  21. Ks Toh
    One of the things I like about OPSH wardrobes (actually any pole system wardrobe) is that you can squeeze out a little more space. Traditional carpentry wardrobes require the carpenter to construct a shell i.e. base, sides back, top, before putting in the shelves. All these take up some space. Perhaps an inch or more all round. For pole system, the walls are the sides. So you can utilise the entire space. For those with false ceiling, traditional cupboards typically will reach only the false ceiling. But for my wardrobes, my false ceiling will only reach the doors of the wardrobe. The internal of the wardrobe makes use of the entire space all the way up to the concrete ceiling. As you can see from my picture, there is a horizontal beam at the top of my wardrobe. Most contractors will probably build up to there. In my case, I always try to maximise the space.
  22. Ks Toh
    No, it does not.
  23. Ks Toh
    If auntie bought the flat when she was 25 years old, she must be at least 85 to 90 years old now?
  24. Ks Toh
    Hi Harriete My wife likes everything about the tiles. She adds "cool on the feet" too. There is no maintenance problem. Definitely no warping. It's not wood! You can find such tiles in many shops. Hafary has a wide range (from cheap to expensive). Soon Bee Huat along Changi Road has some too. You should go check them out and step on them to get a feel. In the end, we bought from Rice Fields. My wife says their tiles are the best, looks more real. But the price is higher. But you should check out their website at http://www.rice-fields.com/ecowood.html or go down to their showroom to take a look. You can look for May. There is no problem handling or installing the tiles. But bigger or longer tiles like the ones from Rice Fields, the tiler will charge more, as it is more difficult to lay. But tilers lay big tiles all the time, so there should be no problem.
  25. Ks Toh
    From your title, it appears that your theme is black and white. Not sure if you will find it useful, but if you look at my blog, you will find that my toilets are all black and white, my dry kitchen all white, and wet kitchen all black. Have fun!
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