wendily86

What is the point of having a dish drying rack that no one can reach?! This is my mum in the picture, see how difficult it is for her to put even a lid? Plus the measurement is wrong anyway. I have to mentioned that our ceiling height is higher than normal (since we live on the top floor), thus the gap between the top and bottom cabinet is also much wider. Nonetheless, we have mentioned to B that the dishrack has to be dropped to a lower height and he did noted it down. Why wasn't it done, your guess is as good as mine). And this This may not be apparent to us mere homo sapiens’ eyes but can't escape the sharp eyes of my cat. To point it up, there is a big gap between the end of the drawers to the wall. This cannot be true. So my husband checked with the carpenter, and he confirmed that yes, the drawers are in fact all 450mm instead of the original 500mm because the 500mm were OUT OF STOCK. Out of stock?? If you pay me for a 1 carat diamond then my diamond out of stock can I give you a 0.5 carat one instead?! Can?! Can?! If you tell me can then I accept your drawers. What reasoning is this? I want to throw the drawers at him can. This really make me want to lose my cool. Argh. What's more annoying is, after the carpenter told my husband that he will change the drawers for him, N say the drawers are correct as stated in the contract. THERE IS NOT A SINGLE WORD ABOUT THE DIMENSIONS IN THE CONTRACT! This was the flyer we received on the day 21st April, the day we sign the contract. Look at the part I box up in red. Tandem, 50kg, full extension. Right above the picture it was written clearly as 500mm. Unfortunately my husband took a picture of this flyer for the purpose of showing his friend and not for evidence's sake, so the lousy resolution. I'm not sure how clear it is to you but even at the blurriest state, there is no way I can read this as 450mm. My dear friends, my question to you is, if the contract did not state the dimensions of the drawers, is it wrong for us to assume that we would be given whatever that was mentioned in the flyer? I think the difference of 50mm is not big to most people here but to me, is more on the question of integrity and business ethics. You deliver what you promise. I do not expect you to over-deliver but I can't tolerate this. I do not mind paying more if I was told in advance. I might even have accepted the 50mm if they have asked us first. But to do it without consulting us, thinking that we probably wouldnt find out, is as good as fraud. I think up to this point we have been extremely tolerant of them, but this is really pressing all the wrong buttons with me. Wonder how many people have been 'cheated' in the same way, I will be finding a day to meet up with N and not lose my cool. Will update again. Thanks for reading my wall of text.

Apparently what we suspect is the draftman (or whatever you call the person who did the drawing) simply took N's measurement. Thank goodness my hubby had requested a copy of B's recorded measurement and counter-checked with the 2D drawing. I would have take things for granted, sign and let them go ahead with the measurements. *Sigh* Anyway, we requested for the carpenter B to come and measure again before we would want to sign on the drawings. And so here comes the times when our aeroplane were flew (no show) for several times. The first 2 times we would rush home to find ourselves waiting in vain. The worst thing is, there is not a single call to even inform us that he is not coming. The 3rd time we didnt even bother to go home and wait, we simply assumed that he is not coming. And true enough, he didnt come. Frustrated, I made my hubby call the N. He requested for the change of carpenter. And N told him that B is still keen to take up the job, it's just that he had some personal problems. (How many times does his 'personal problem' need to show up in our face? We can be understanding with your personal problem but the least you can do is to inform us if you are not coming?) Fine. So the next time, N came and brought B along. No apologies again. Anyway, they did the measurements fairly quickly and went off. Anyway, let's skip the wall of text and proceed to the installation. 3rd July It has been almost 2.5 months since we last decided to sign up the package. On some parts is due to the measurements debacle while on the other part I must admit we did delayed the progress by our choosing of laminates as well. So this was the day they are supposed to do up the carpentry. Then we were informed that one of their lorries were spoilt, so they can only fix the bar counter. Talk about mishaps. Okay, nevermind fine. So we had our bar counter (without solid top installed). 6th July Finally the installation of my kitchen cabinets. As you can see, my kitchen is tiny. We need all the space we can have. In fact, this kitchen looks perfect to me (I was aboard at the time, so I only get to see pictures) until..............

Good evening all! This is a ranting thread and at the same time, I hope some fellow home renovators can give their 2 cents. Having read about all the contractors from ****, I have never expected myself to meet one (FYI: I have never wrote any bad reviews before, this must really have pushed me to my limit for me to write this). Anyway, we received our keys from HDB last year Jan (to read the incomplete t-blog: http://www.renotalk.com/forum/topic/45921-a-new-beginning-at-treelodgepunggol/) but have not done up the kitchen yet. We've gone through a few contractors but did not commit until we saw this promotion on BLUM's facebook page: Looks like an absolute steal right? $4688 with BLUM system, throw in a 5ft wardrobe (to be fair, they were quite flexible in the sense they allowed us to convert this to a 5ft bar counter with solid top instead) and most of all, there'll be an ID (from a seemingly reputable company with a longish history) to oversee everything for us. Immediately after seeing this on facebook, we make our way down to Blum's showroom, after making a call to confirm the promotion. A guy named W picked up our call and confirmed the promotional details. That was on 21st Apr 2013. **I'm not showing the name of the company, but if you are dying to know, there's no stopping you from going into the Apr archives of Blum's website). So we make our way down. W wasn't free to entertain us. A lady N came to chat with us instead. And after going through the general designs of our kitchen and bar counter, we decided to sign up the promotion with them, pay only $80 deposit on the spot. Shortly after signing up the package, N came to our place to have a look and get a feel of the place plus do some rough estimates of the carpentary work. Not long after, we met up with her at her office after she came up with the 3D drawings. This part of the deal was the smoothest. I was all praises for her (PR skills). I thought I met the dream ID. She was all talks about how her carpenter is ready to measure the coming weekend and we should hurry up and choose the laminate. And gullible me was in awe of how efficient they can be. And I still remember chastising my husband saying he shouldn't take too long to choose the laminate. Also, that was also the day we are supposed to pay up the $2k upon receiving the 3D rendering. And we did, with much ebullience. As the measurements made by N are only rough estimate, the carpenter B has to come to our place to take the actual measurement. Look at the date. 17th May: she said the carpenter is able to come the next day at 2pm. 18th May: As my hubby is supposed to leave for his RT around 3pm, we were abit worried when he didn't appear at 2. So being kiasu, we text N at 2:08 to ask whether the carpenter is coming. She replied at 2:09 saying he can't make it. Within a span of one min?! Are you kidding me? Either she is just beside him (in which she can't be bothered to let us know that he'll be late) or she has forgotten to inform him. We believe it is the latter. Nevermind, we give her the benefit of doubt. So my husband decided that he can forgo his RT and wait, as in his reply. and she said she'll check. So we waited. And waited. And waited. Note the next time they have a conversation is on 13th June. You judge this yourself how would you have react. So we finally managed to meet the elusive carpenter. He was supposed to reach at 7pm. We waited. And waited. And waited. Until the waiting got too much, and my husband had to give N a call. Then he appear. At about 9pm. With no apologies. Face flushed. Breathe smells of alcohol. I decided not be be judgemental because he appeared to be considerably clearheaded and professional. We stayed calm and tried to be professional. We managed to verify some details of the laminate (when we found out that N has provided us some wrong information). He had quite a long discussion with my husband who even gave him another can of bottle before he left. Armed with the actual measurement, we were expecting to receive the 2D rendering (autoCAD) drawings from him to confirm the dimensions before they start work. And the renderings came back..............WRONG. This is the rendering corrected by my husband (highlighted in yellow are the parts that are wrong).

Hahaha...maybe cos she looks big and strong! That's why got mistaken. Cos usually males are more muscular while females are smaller in size~ Hahaha...big tummy? My 3 kits are starting to have flabby bellies already too...=p

Lol..ya she sometimes will come up w weird terms. But there are some truths in this phrase..lols

I bought it at Mega court..the one near TPE along with ikea giant. Hmm..think i also saw it at srg courts? They usually display it in black..maybe u can tk e picture and show them?

Hi Hera!! Wah...I love black cats! Hahaha..I have always wanted to get a black cat (with white paws)!!! Lucky you! It's a HE right? The face looks like a boy Miko Zhang, Antonio Zhang and Ah Bai say hi!!! (Our surnames are not Zhang..but they used to be really dirty when they were young, so I gave them the surname Zhang. )

Hi NeoBY, bought it at Courts. Was 149 but we had $50 voucher from Megatex, so we paid $99 for it. =) Yeah...I think pets see doctor more exp than us. Haiz...they are due for a visit to the vet soon for their neutering...dont feel like sending them there, know they cfm will be scared to death. But it's inevitable...=( Haha..my mum actually agrees with me..say i fan jian. I say i qian mao zai (owe cat's debts) she laff at me. =( Anyway, She's living with me now, and everyday they chase her around. So the moment she reaches home she'll rush to her room...she say everyday have to fight wits with them. lols~

Sorry the cat's name is maomao..my bad

Jo'en..haha..baby even more responsibilty leh! Haha..having been thru e period when i have to bottlefeed them every few hrs..stimulating them to pee and poo when they dont know how, watching them 24/7 to make sure they are ok (and fhat includes bringing them to work everyday).my goodness..haha..i can imagine it'll be for a baby!! But having said that, i think watching them grow is rewarding by itself! I was telling my mum how fan jian i am. I keep cats just to spend money on them, feed them, clear their sai and let them scratch. =\ Anyway, yup i recall a few forumers here have cats too. Got one i find her very cute..i think called miaomiao? Frm the Mariba house one..hehe..def need pointers frm them. I've kept cats since young but nv in an apartment.. Punggol family: i'm using iphone to read, cant see ur avatar now. Post them here!! Haha..

Oh..they only pee in the bathroom. And they do their pooing at their shared litterbox which I have to clear everyday otherwise it really stinks. Yup I'll try the catnip thing if they wont use the scratching post I'm getting for them.. Lemming for one selling for 50usd in Amazon! They are called Romeo (ah bai), Antonio and Miko!

No choice leh, they come as a package de. Initially I only wanted one..but now love them all too much and they like to stick together, so jus keep them all. The house has more than enough space for them to run anyway. Hahaha..so far the thing they target the most is my white footstool. Aiya..as good as gone le, so I just let them do it. Sourcing for a good scratch post in the meantime. Waste wise they keep to their litterbox and e floortrap in the bathroom.,so at least they are QUITE guai in that sense. But my place always reeked of their poo after they hv done their business. And their poo is >+*^^%%##^**%%^^^ smelly so i hv to clear everyday. Fan jian...hahaha..

So far that's all. We'll be starting with our open terrace first! Will update when we have started on something! Thanks! So in the end which unit did you chose? Actually the first time I lay on eyes on a loft unit was the Dawson one...but too exp le..=\ I love the high ceiling and windows too! Thanks! Proud owner yup but really wish to do it justice. =) Hi kunzzy, I bought it at the furniture shop on level 4 of Parkway Parade..I think is Aero furnishing? But the price I got it at is kind of exp..I saw the same piece at Hommage trading and Star Furniture...I think they selling it at $300++..but I'm not sure whether the material is the same..

Oh yeah, just remembered. I did buy something recently...muahahaha.. THIS! Osim uRelax and THIS! Osim uPhoria Actually it was for my mum cos she was complaining of leg pain...got poisoned at the Osim shop lah. But I guess anyone in the house can use them...so why not? =)

Hi ppl! Havent abandon the tblog but it's just that..to be honest, we havent done much to the place yet... *guilty* On top of our busy schedule plus couldnt come to an agreement on what we actually wanna do...there's a whole new dimension to our renovation woes.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . kittens!! She She He They were brought back to my place when they were 2-3weeks old. The security guard found them abandoned by their mum (or so he said) and when he showed them to me, they were already quite dehydrated and starved yet were refusing to drink from milk bottle. Anyway, cut the story short, I decided to adopt them. The first few weeks were hellish as they were dependent on me for everything...from in and out. I was so scared they couldnt survive Thank goodness for support from many people, we managed to get them pass the critical age and now they are big, healthy and tyrannical. hahaha...a bundle of joy in the house as they are now at the really playful age BUT it means they are also destroyers. *Sigh* Yup, so another dimension to my renovation woes is...furnishing and pieces around the house has got to be cat-proof. -.- Which means comfy leather sofas are out. Or I can buy cheap sofas for them to scratch but it is not a long term solution. Probably getting fabric sofas. And also, they jump everywhere and knock everything (in sight) over. Which means small display pieces are out too. *sigh*

Hahaha..tell ur wife nth to be jealous abt..we havent done any reno yet. Was so busy with work until there's no time to plan reno. Now have take the little ones into consideration. They're worse than little monkeys, knocking everything over..haiz..(but no regrets, really love them lots.become their slave le..haha) Ur maomao sure doesnt look 10! Still a v pretty girl (or boy)!!

Hi Mabari, just came across ur blog and I must say that ur place looks reallllllly cosy. Love it! I have 3 little maomaos at home too, and still having a headache w the furniture selection! Yeah..like basically everything revolves around the naughty ones. By the way, i saw a bookshelf in ur living room, doesnt maomao knock the things over?

Haha..yeah I noticed! So are u planning to hack e wall off and make it into a mega big room? Can be the entertainment room! Lols! Looks like a lovely unit and ur stairs is prob going to be the highlight of the house! Look fwd to see ur reno(im still planning mine) Hehe..

Haha..yup i also believe binka is the proud owner of a loft unit in treelodge. And having stayed there longer than mine, she'll def know much more abt the pros and cons than me. But i think expectations are different. Maybe i'm someone who is very particularly abt cleanliness, so i'll appreciate a place where i dont have to bother too much abt cleanliness and have bbqs w my frens. Anw yup heard from neighbours that the tiles are extremely difficult to clean and there are lots of stains. In relation to that, actually we are planning to do a wooden deck over e tiles. =) Having said that, i think it's a personal choice whether one wants to stay in a loft, pent house, soho etc. No matter what type of home u choose there are bound to have pros and cons. So since we have decided to choose this unit, why not think of how we can make use of this space positively instead of lamenting on the shortcomings of the unit? I think this is not being an ostrich but rather, trying to look forward. That's my $0.02. Maria: i like the machine! It's v quiet and the clothes came out relatively dry and less crumPled. Love the eco friendly function where it take long but saves more water (as claimed by e manufacturer) Rocksteady: it was a display set sold at 699 and we bargained it too 600 as it was xmas season. Haha..bought it at aero furnishing on lvl 5 of parkway parade.

Yapth: My unit is in Punggol. Ohh..how long was it since ur first appt? Shld be soon..keep checking the hdb website! All the best!! Elaine2611: Nope, not eligible also as we cant produce e marriage cert yet. Haha..

Hmm my first appt was on 8th dec and collected the keys on 5th jan. Less than a mth. Im pretty surprised but it also depends on whether keys are available i guess.

I wished I have such a large kitchen!!!! I also want a open concept kitchen. *sigh* Haha...will def take into consideration the design of the pic you posted. Looks clean and simple...the type of design I have in mind. =) Thank you! Do you have a picture of your long balcony fan. Oh we already bought our blinds, from my fiance's friend. Yup I also lazy to wash the curtains and we like blinds better too. =) Haha..what do you mean? You just had a new place too right? LOL~ No budget! >.< I have some pics but our place actually still v unfurnished. Our progress is very very very slow...sadly. I'll post more pictures soon but dont be too hopeful. Nothing has changed much. =p =)

Haha..seemed like most of the comments are towards the windows. Yup, actually it's quite hot in the afternoon. We've actually installed some blinds to ease up the glare from the sun. It gets really warm in the afternoon but actually towards the evening, the temperature really goes down. *cosy* We already have some solar films at home but havent got time to put them up. It's okay if it rains as the space is supposed to be open anyway. I think it makes the unit more special as I think not many unit would have a large open space. Anyway, how do you know we visit our unit every other day? Bedrooms definitely we'll install. Living room we're still considering. I think in future when it gets really hot (like in Apr), we'll probably rush to install them. Haha.. Which one did you saw? The one at Sapphire? I thought that was really nice too. No open terrace but they have a larger living room and more windows! haha... Other places with loft units? Hmm...the only other place I know of other than Sapphire and Treelodge is Dawson..which was the first time I see a picture of a loft unit..love at first sight. haha..=)

Interesting loft unit! I have a loft unit at Treelodge myself but the layout looks very different from yours. Hehe..it looks like you have quite a large living room~ good to play around with decor with! And I'm just curious, what is the "suggested study"? Any pictures of it? Looks like an empty space with a doorway.. I'm on a budget too...still checking e defects before we can start reno. have u found ur contractor?