Jump to content
Find Professionals    Deals    Get Quotations   Portfolios

yc_mw

Members
  • Content Count

    91
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by yc_mw


  1. 6 hours ago, snoozee said:

    I would suggest to just paint the external as well since you are doing renovations now. exterior paint is not meant to last forever which is why you see normally HDB flats get a fresh coat every 5 or 6 years. also the only protection from exterior water seeping through the concrete/bricks is the exterior paint. so better to do a new coat of exterior paint as well.

    unfortunately if you want to do concealed lights, then the only way is to do a false ceiling. not sure if your 9 LED would be overkill or not unless you are getting those low wattage LED lights. you might be better off getting 4 slightly higher wattage LED lights and then configuring the light switch to have them turned on/off individually. do note that a "normal" fluorescent tube of 40W gives out about 3000 lumens of light. so you will need to work out how much brighter you want for the rooms and then calculate the wattage of the LED lights you want to get. the higher the wattage of the LED lights, the bigger they are. but if you want to add another light to the room without adding ceiling can always hack the ceiling and extend the existing wire to add on another light. but this is subjected to the existing loading of the breakers in the DB.

    since you redoing wiring, might as well add on network points for each room. pay TV are all using internet now so it is good to have at least one for each room. personally I don't believe in using mesh or network extenders unless there are really physical constraints. for my own house, I would be using enterprise grade wireless access points for my WIFI solution. this would eliminate the speed losses which are a common problem with mesh network and wifi extenders.

    for aircon, you need to check what is the existing type of gas that is being used for the units. some old aircon are using R22 gas which means the pipes can't be used for R410 aircon models. but I do know of at least 1 major aircon manufacturer which touts that its R410 aircon can be used on R22 pipings.

    HI Snoozee,

    Can I know what is this enterprise grade wireless access points? "I would be using enterprise grade wireless access points for my WIFI solution. this would eliminate the speed losses which are a common problem with mesh network and wifi extenders."

    I'm currently using mesh for my apt, and the speed loss is pretty horrid for a 1500sqft unit. So, I really need viable solutions. Appreciate your sharing as usual.


  2. On 3/2/2020 at 9:12 AM, snoozee said:

    are you doing a full rebuilt or A&A?

    if just A&A, would you be able to accept a lower ceiling height due to the ducted aircon? the ducts will have to be run below any existing beams and if the beams are already quite thick, you will lose more ceiling space. of cos if your house already has a 4m high ceiling, losing another 0.5m shouldn't be much of an issue.

    for my own house, we opted for ducted aircon for the living room as we didn't have much wall space to do wall mount and we have a double volume living room so ceiling cassette is out. but the ducting design was another challenge itself due to my ducting having to run under a beam and then needing to make the drop as low as possible and at the same time keeping the eventual box up as small as possible and aesthetically pleasing at the same time.

     

    Hi Snoozee,

    Thanks for sharing. I'm doing simple A&A. My place is  the old style split level IT. Am considering ducted as the 'wind' is suppose to be stronger and able to cool down the entire level faster. What's holding me back is the maintenance. Suppose to be more troublesome for routine maintenance & cleaning?

    Can you please share on the maintenance & cleaning costs or routines for your ducted aircons?

    Thanks Snoozee


  3. On 1/13/2020 at 9:07 AM, peachpeach said:

    dear experts, 

    the property we are interested in has an old style split level (4 steps to be exact) separating the the dining/kitchen and living area. 

    we are kinda bothered about it and want to remove it to have a more flushed out look. 

    can i check if anyone has done it before and what is a good gauge of cost?

    thanks

    Hi peachpeach,

    Can I know if u decided to flush out? My new place is the old style split level between living & dining too. But, we have decided to keep it. 

    Are you doing reno to the house or A&A?


  4. On 2/6/2020 at 5:52 PM, snoozee said:

    hope you did manage to get something in return for the owner being a PITA and the extended completion.

    Haizzz.. Well, we did agree to it and honestly, the owner wasn't that hard to talk to when we viewed the place. He's actually pretty nice to talk to. But, he just want to do things the 'legal & right' way.

    We actually agreed on 2 weeks rent-free upon completion as he asked for it and seeing that he's got plenty of stuff to move & we were worried that he couldn't manage so we kindly agree to it with the thinking that should he be able to move out in time, he'll surely hand over the keys upon completion... But, to our horror!! He had managed to move out everything in time (probably 1 month before completion, my estimate) but he refuses to hand over the key earlier (as in upon completion). Instead his yaya-papaya lawyer from D&N reiterate on this special condition that we had agreed upon... I tell u... I feel like murdering pple then..  

     

    So now just gotta wait for the 2 weeks to be up 


  5. 2 hours ago, snoozee said:

    have you engaged an architect and/or PE already? if yes, then send the set of draft plans to them and ask them which one to buy.

    if you have not engaged anyone, then just buy all. else after the time expiry, you need to pay BCA another $30 for plans search fees again.

    Yea, I've decided to buy everything too. 

    I have not decided on anyone yet as there was no floor plan then and previous owner wouldn't allow anyone other than buyer and family (max 4 pax) to enter the house. Totally a PITA. 

    Waiting for the keys and then we can enter the house for the contractors etc to head in and check the place.


  6. On 8/8/2019 at 2:46 PM, PWS said:

    I just bought an IT and just meet my lawyer to complete exercising the OTP.... I was told by the lawyer that buyer have the right to back out of the deal if there is illegal work done on the house...

    Hi PWS,

    I think Snoozee is right. Most if not all OTPs will have a clause that covers the 'illegal' works done unless u get ur lawyer to write in to exclude this clause but then again most sellers will not agree. So, will end up as a ding-dong game. Well, at least for me case, it's clearly stated that sellers accept no responsibility for any (if any) illegal works found. 


  7. Hi snoozee & petetherock,

    Seller is actually pretty nice guy. It's just that he's not comfortable to provide and there's no way he's gonna authorise anyone to buy the floor plan. No floorplan until completion which is buy in my name.

    He requested for long completion as he needs a lot of time for his moving out. I'm fine with it since I gotta rent a place anyway as my current unit needs to handover in Oct.

    I'm not considering a rebuild now mainly due to budget issue as house is solely in my name as spouse has another unit. So, in terms of loan wise, I don't think I'll be eligible for an additional reconstruction loan. So, we want to do some reno/ extension (hopefully within $150-$200K budget) as the living room and kitchen is small for my liking.

    I do not want to overstretch ourselves at this point of time by getting another loan. Am pretty comfortable with loan-free lives until this recent purchase. Gotta slog it out for the next 15-20years, i guess. ?

     

     


  8. Hi All,

     

    Need some advice from u peeps as this is my first landed purchase and seller is not open to applying for floor plan from BCA even after exercise of Option. Reason given was 1. No obligations to give (advice from lawyer), 2. Privacy issues.

    Has any of you guys here encounter similar issues before? I've never had such issues as been staying in condos and it's so common to just give the floor plan for the buyers to check it out first. Are landed owners all so anal bout floor plans? ?

    Also, any suggestions on how to overcome this issue as completion takes 28weeks, and without a floor plan, I'm at my wits end as to how to plan for reno/ extension etc.

    It's a 40yrs old IT and in almost original condition. But, am not considering Reconstruction now due to budget so we'll probably come to this in another 5-10yrs time. But, as of now. I'm pretty sure I want to extend the living and kitchen area. Flooring needs to be done as well as some build-ins. Without a floor plan, I cannot ask for quotes properly much less any designs. Oh yes.. Forgot to mention that measurements is not allowed too (Privacy issue).

    Appreciate any suggestions or solutions.


  9. Hi zihui,

    Can you provide the contacts of your wall decal person as I think you have pretty good experience with them now right? I can't seem to send you any new message, so, will appreciate if you can reply here or pm me. :)


  10. Hi Simon1974,

    I'm quite certain that the bank will pay the Contractor the Full Amount at 1 go. It is definitely not after the whole reno is done up neither is it paid progressively. I believe the loan amount will be disbursed once the paper documentations are all done up, submitted and approved.

    You can check with the respective banks if they do have progressive payment option. It's 8 yrs since I last took a reno loan, the T&C may have changed for all I know. :)

    Can you confirm that the bank will pay the contractor the full payment before the reno is done. I thought that the bank only pay after the work is done and we check and is happy with it. I was thinking of getting a reno loan and after reading this am a bit worry.

    Can please confirm. Thanks


  11. Hey guys, I recommend Alex from A&V Aluminium Contractor. They've their own factory for manufacturing, and before I started renovation for my house, I contact 3-4 direct contractors for Quotation, and Alex was the one that provides the best bang for bucks quotation.

    I have totally no regrets on giving him the job.

    Just for ref:

    1. Mine is a 5 room flat, change all windows (including toilet) plus grilles. All windows are white powder coated and grilles can be WPC too, depending on our final decision. Bear in mind that our flat has ultra big panels of windows (almost 10-15% bigger than the current BTO units), Oh ya, also add in the additional windows & grilles for my recess area

    2. All windows in the house will be Casement (was told by almost all window contractors that casement will be more expensive than sliding, only A&V told me that it's the same price since no diff in cost), except recess area will be sliding.

    Total cost for everything above is around 7.2K.


  12. Hi gkbt,

    I'm leaning in towards Cleansui whereas the Husband prefers 3M. Actually, we saw the Vesta set during the recent Taka sale, but, the sales staff was quite ignorant, and everything she says sounds so gimmicky, hence, I totally strike off those that claims alkaline water is good, and also those machines with plates and whatsoever. :)


  13. HI @rsplim,

    I think most reno contractors may have their preferred bankers to recommend.

    I think the only way you can get 2 loan is by applying at the same time, normally banks will not know if eventually you get the loan from both sides. However, do note that as loan amount will be disbursed directly to the Renovators, hence you have to get back the money from them, in a way at their mercy since the quoted amounted is fully paid off. No bargaining power, i feel.

    And in the event of any unfortunate errors in the final works, if the contractors turns out to be a baddie, hardly anything can be done since you have already fully paid off the bill.

    Do consider all aspects.

    I always tell my friends, got money can do got money way, no money can do no money way. Not necessary to have to succumb to the 'normal' way. Can always just get the bare essentials done up or purchased first and the rest can come slowly buy surely. :)

×