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izong

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Posts posted by izong

  2. Posted

    3 hours ago, spooky said:

    Won't be able to visit my place till Thursday, so a small update from my ID.

    Floor tile overlay for MBR bathroom is done, it takes a longer time than usual to lay tiles diagonally because lots of pieces have to be cut at the edges of the area

    SObGfAI.jpg

    Kerb built at the toilet entrance to keep the water from flowing out

    7D0HG6S.jpg

    Only found out today that they 'buried' my aircon drainage pipe under the tile, with the outlet directly at the drain. Not sure if that's good news :unsure: but it looks nice aesthetically

    XRZGVUN.jpg

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    Kitchen subway tiles are up too, but without any grout yet

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    Cabinet base for the sink drainage

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    some very good progress here!!

  4. Posted

    I would like to share with all my experience this weekend... the salesman

    Went to HM last Expo sales and got my Fridge and Washing Machine but not without a small episode. In the end i want to believe i got a good deal because of the vouchers  :) 

    I went to U-gate 3 days sales today. got to know them at one of the Expo show, the salesman approached me and gave me a quote just by ask where is my place, i was quite impress but aren't ready to commit as i have yet to settle on my ID. He actually told me to take up the deal there as there's not GST at the fair. He remember me when i went over today and kept asking me whether he quoted me at the Expo. I wanted to compare the price so i didn't tell him he quoted me. Well, the quote today was much higher and even when he gave me the best price, it's still $400 more. I told him that and he say it's more expensive as he didn't see the floor plan. Then he shouldn't have offered me the deal at the Expo! I don't take the offer not because of the price it's how can i trust someone like that, will he tell me i need to top up more along the way etc...

    Any one else you will recommend me to replace my window?

  7. Posted

    On 04/06/2017 at 9:08 PM, Ecnalx said:

    As the topic suggests, we are going for a Smart Woody theme. "Smart" refers to Smart Home. I (Mr) am personally interested in tech stuff and have been using several smart devices in my room now. Smart devices that I have include Google Home, Google Wifi, Philip Hue lights, Samsung Smartthings. Using a combination of these allows us to automate my home and makes our life easier.

    For example, I can use voice command (Google Home) to control my lights (Philip Hue). I can use voice command to control my switches (Samsung Smartthings). I can use voice commands to ask Google Home to set alarms, ask questions, play music etc. Feels like I am 1% Tony Stark.

    Am writing more as requested by readers. Implementing a Smart Home is an expensive hobby. Be prepared to fork out at least hundreds of dollars before you can start to see the effects of a Smart Home. I will list down the various level of home automation in my personal opinion.

    For most home owners, you switch on the lights/electrical devices manually by pressing on a switch. The highest level of smartness are most likely controlling the power/channels of your TV/Fans/Home entertainment devices via a remote. Some people may use several mobile apps to control their electrical devices (eg lights, switches, aircon). Some may also install touch-based switches to control their electrical devices. However, I believe that this is not smart enough; at least not for me. Picking up a phone to control your other electronic devices (which is similar to Logitech Harmony series) is also a chore itself. Instead, I went for a more convenient and futuristic method, which is via voice control. I can now command most of my electrical devices by speaking. If you are interested in using voice command to control your electrical devices, read on.

     

    Voice Controlled Speaker 

    This is the brain of your Smart Home; they control the remaining smart devices based on your voice commands. There are 2 main Voice Controlled Speakers in the market today; Google Home vs Amazon Echo. <PS: for Apple fans, Apple will be releasing a Siri-enabled voice controlled speaker called HomePod in end 2017.>

    Google Home vs Amazon Echo

    There are plenty of articles on the web comparing these 2 voice controlled speakers. I shall not repeat them here. In summary, I chose Google Home as 1) I am using a Google account (android phone, gmail, drive, calendar, etc), 2) Better AI (backed by Google search engine), 3) Aesthetically pleasing (personal preference), 4) There are plans for Google Home 2 to double up as a router similar to Google Wifi. Note that both Google Home and Amazon Echo are not officially on sale in Singapore. They are however, sold via many of the online shopping websites.

    Setting up the Google Home is easy. 1) Plug in the power socket (you need to buy an adapter), 2) Download the Google Home app, 3) Using the app, connect Google Home to your wifi. That's it. Once done, you can now explore the functions of the Google Home. To give command to Google Home, always start with "Hey Google, ..." or "OK Google, ...". As at point of writing, you are unable to name your Google Home, which would be a nice and possible future feature. Here are some commands that I usually use:

    - Hey Google, what time is it? ... Google will tell me the time.

    - Hey Google, play eg 933 FM. ... Google will play the radio.H

    - Hey Google, what is 4 feet in meters? ... Google will do the conversion for me. Very useful, especially when renovations lengths are always in feet and inches.

    - Ok Google, set alarm at 5pm. ... Google will set an alarm

    - Ok Google, tell me a joke...

    - Hey Google, sing a lullaby...

    - If you are in the US, you can even make calls, order food, shop online via Google Home!

    Really nice features. Almost like a real personal assistant at your command. For more Google Home commands, visit https://madeby.google.com/home/features/#?filters=answers,entertainment,manage,plan,home,fun.

     

    Integration with Smart Devices

    Now, this is the part where things get more interesting. If the standalone Google Home amaze you, this is just the beginning. The next step of achieving a Smart Home, is to integrate other smart devices to your voice controlled speaker (so that you can control them using your voice). There are many smart devices in the market today; Smart lights, smart wifi, smart speakers, smart plugs, smart TVs, smart aircon, smart locks, smart security system, etc. All these smart devices can be integrated with your voice controlled speakers. For Google Home, there is a small but growing list of partners whom have direct integration (https://madeby.google.com/home/partners/). This meant that your commands need not be specific; Google Home can understand your command as long as the meaning remains the same.

     

    For example, Philips Hue is a partner of Google Home. For you to control the Philip Hue lights, you would need to purchase a Philips Hue Bridge, which acts as the brain that controls all the Philips Hue lights. Normally, the Bridge would be sold together with some Hue lights as a base to kick start your smart lights journey. The basic Bridge + 3 Hue bulbs has a RRP of $289. You can get at a cheaper price during the Philip Carnival Sale or online websites. In our new home, we will be using a combination of "normal" lights as well as "smart" lights. So I bought a Bridge, several E27 Bulbs, 1 Hue Go, and 4 Hue Lightstrips. I am currently using the Hue Go in my room.

    The basic commands for lights that you can control via voice are:

    - Hey Google, turn on/off lights.

    - OK Google, change XXX lights to YYY colour.

    - Hey Google, brighten/dim XXX lights to ZZ%.

     

     

     

     

    To be continued...

     

     

     

    I think there's lots i can learn from you, camping here bro!

  9. Posted

    29 minutes ago, spooky said:

    Hahaha. I'm also buying a lot of things from TB, won't say I have expensive taste lah. But because sanitary ware is something that comes into contact with water everyday and showers are supposed to be very enjoyable, I spent more on them.

    Reno starting next month is very soon! Saw your blog, resale projects are a lot more exciting :) all the best!

    i debating whether to get TB sanitary ware... for the same price i think i can get 5 sets. Should be quite easy to replace all those items myself??

  15. Posted · Edited by izong

    Finally after speaking to many i decided on my ID. I don't have any moodboard (too lazy and i also don't really know what i want) so i left it to the ID to advise. 

    I will share more on the selections but i guess a picture is worth a thousand words, so here's some of the pictures.

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    This aren't really what i had in mind but the ID managed to come up with a drawing board, so that's step 1 done i guess. Now waiting for the amendment to be done to the 3D drawings.

    Will also need to decide on the flooring etc...

    Due to cost, i'm sourcing for my own on the electrician and the replacement of all the windows but the ID say they will co-ordinate. Can trust them right to do that right? 

  18. Posted

    4 hours ago, Kobelala said:

    Gd luck with your overhaul.... can start to shortlist ID / contractors Liao... its quite time consuming talking to IDs / contractors.... 

    Thanks!!

    I started with that as the current owner kindly agreed that i can reno as soon as after the first appointment :) 

    Will soon be able to update on the part of searching for an ID.

  19. Posted

    4 hours ago, May_dream1 said:

    i still owe those reading my t-blog on my smart home idea. hahahahaha...... i better update that soon. :P

    your layout is nice rectangular.... very easy to make it interesting.... 

    reno have to consider budget for furnishing + electrical appliances..... so usually i will add both together cos you can add in an island then no need to buy a separate dining table. 

    electrical items would be those reno cannot incl like aircon, fridge, washing machine, stove, water heater, oven etc.

    for furnishing, if done by reno then will last longer but also means its perm and cannot move as you like to different position. but human are creature of habit, if that dining table is there, usually we will not move it anywhere else..... so no reason that i cannot be perm. consider all these before you starts reno.

    Thanks for the tips!!

    Yes, looking forward to your update cos i want a smart home too!!

  22. Posted

    Hello Friends and Forumers, like others, I have been lurking and hovering around all the wonderful t-blogs and asking all the seniors here for advice and tips...

    To mark my own renovation journey i'm starting very own t-blog! There will be no extravagant designs nor WOW effects, just a simple place i called HOME. 

    Here's the floor plan:

    FullSizeRender.jpg.c7f53b2869d5c8e4f160a3e544f44794.jpg

    My first appointment is a month away from now so this give me sometime to decide on the long list of items to b done for a new place. This is a 30 years old resale so i reckon i will need to overhaul the whole place.

    I'm setting the budget as below: 

    Budget for Renovation: $50-60K (was told it's going to be at least $50k for a resale)

    Budget for Furnishing and Electrical appliances: $20k

    Let's see if i can stay within this!

     

     

     

  24. Posted

    8 minutes ago, d3n said:

    Kindly note that my ID only does the carpentry works, vinyl flooring, hacking of kitchen wall, painting, plumbering works and general cleaning.

    The rest below is outsourced by me:

    - Cement screed by HDB (last batch to be eligible for free cement screed but we top up $950 to match the kitchen tiles height)

    - Electrical works

    - Aircon 

    - Bedroom barn doors

    - Toilet doors

    - Blinds

    - Window grilles

    - DIY painting for bedroom door frames + bomb shelter

    All in all after added those outsourced by me... the whole reno cost about $31k.

    :) mind sharing who did your Window grilles?

    and i remember your nick from another forum!! 

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