3Dyms

My tiling is done after these works cos I'm doing concealed piping (for aircon) and electricals for certain areas. Trying hard to minimize trunkings. For my aircon, my installers already came twice. The first time was to discuss with my contractor on the running of the piping and wirings. The second time, they came to install the pipes, wires & trunking only. The next time they come, then the fan coil and compressor will go up. I prefer the aircon to be done this way as we can minimize trunking errors and do rectification works early (if required).

Love your chest of drawers & TV console. Can share where you got these from? Looking for something like these for my bedrooms. Thanks.

So after my last update.... Things are moving at snail's pace now. Electrical wirings are in place, new windows all up, aircon trunking all run, but... tiling which started last week till now still not completed. Only the bathrooms are done. Still waiting for the living room, kitchen & study areas. Then yesterday, my contractor called and advised me not to do the cornice below the false ceiling. He said the ceiling height too low lah, not nice, difficult to do under the L-box. I hear already half sianz. In the end, decided to just opt out from installing the cornice. Save some $$$ and headaches too. Next week, hoping to see things move faster once tiling completed. So much more to be done - Still have the false ceiling, lightings, carpentry & sanitary wares to go in.

Hi MK, Yah.... I was surprised so fast. But happy also lah. Cos we rushing... need to shift in before the lunar 7th month. hahhaha.... ya lor. Really lots of windows for EM. The old window frames were dark brown aluminum and the glass was super tinted. Totally not my style lah. Prefer white powder coat. So changed everything.

Yippee..! Got my keys on Monday, demolition & hacking works started on Tuesday, windows & tiles delivered on Wednesday. Today windows are going up, tomorrow will be cement screed. Everything is proceeding really fast.

Reno applications to HDB usually takes about 2-weeks to approve. In cases (like mine), we need the reno to commence immediately after I have collected keys & settled completion (2nd Appt) with HDB. To expedite reno approval, my contractor submitted Reno application to HDB after my 1st Appt, but before 2nd Appt. As the house is still under the current owner, an indemnity form is required to be signed by both current owner and new owner. This form is submitted together with Reno application by your contractor. Without this indemnity form, I will need to wait till formal completion (2nd HDB Appt) is settled, then submit Reno application, waste 2-weeks waiting for approval, after approval obtained then can proceed with Reno. HTH's.

Hi Bro HappyAng, thanks. So excited to start the Reno. Just met up with my contractor and came home with 5 thick brochures. Decision time for our window grills, wrought iron gate, main door, bedroom doors, paint color, etc.

Congrats on your ROM.. Very creative way of using the craft bricks. Love love your cheerful yellow walls. Can't wait to see more pics of your unique home.

Thanks Makanology. The soundbar is also a 3D Blu Ray player. We reckon better to get that, so we do not need to buy separate pieces. Less clutter on the console. heheh.

Yah lor... my reno have not started yet, but I already wish for it to faster end. Can't wait to shift in to our new paradise. The soundbar, we managed to get it at a special price of $579 (retail: $699) cos we got the LED TV together.

LED TV & 3D BLU RAY SOUNDBAR It being the GSS period, we decided to 'hunt' down our perfect TV over the weekend. Looked at LG, Samsung, Sony & Sharp. Whilst browsing, the salesman (Harvey Norman) recommended a LG full LED TV - LG 55LM9600. We were able to compare it side by side with Samsung and Sharp (I think - see too many TV's till confused liaoz). As was advised by Ongcs, we compared the picture quality using default settings. I even got the salesman to show us a local TV program (they only have a pre-recorded one, no 'live' TV avail). To us, the picture quality appeared sharper and the contrast better on the full LED in comparison to the edge lit LED TV's. Especially for the dark and gloomy scenes. However, we were only looking at basic LED Tv's. Not SMART, not 3D, not wifi, etc. The salesman showed us some normal LED Tv's and the pricing was not much diff as this TV had an attractive clearance price tag cos it's a 2012 model. Much as my hub totally loved it, we decided to take a walk and do more comparisons. Went to Mega Discount and Best Denki.... and talked to more salesman. After a few more comparisons, even comparing it to current 2013 TV models, hub's still loved the LG full LED TV. At the end of the day, we decided to go with our hearts and what our eyes loved. The only other brand with full LED was Sony. But the price is like $5+K. Wow!! Totally out of our budget. Even this LG TV was abit out of our price bracket... but...., decided to stretch it cos the hubs just loves it. So back we went to Harvey Norman @ Centrepoint, met up with the friendly salesman (Elvin), negotiated the price and finally settled on not just the LG full LED TV, but also a LG Blu Ray soundbar - LG BB-4330A.

Now we continue on to Level 2 and the bathrooms (Level 1 & 2). Please be warn that the bathrooms pics are truly "eerrkks"! However, thankfully the parquet seems ok to be retained for the staircase and whole of level 2. But... now a design dilemma for the master bedroom for the odd corner. Certainly do not like that weird beam 'pointing' at the bed. Haiz, looks like need to spend $$$ to overcome this challenge.

After being MIA for awhile, I'm now back with exciting news..! I have collected my keys today! Finally.... after such a long drawn out wait since February. Renovations will start tomorrow and more photos will follow. When we did inspections today, found that we will need to do some additional works like plastering the whole house. The current wall conditions are terrible. There goes $2,900 just for plastering works. *sob-sob* But for now.... these are the pre-requisite "BEFORE" photos of our new home. Let's start off with Level 1.

OMG! You mean your MIL ownself pulled the grills off the windows herself without any help? She must be really strong siah. As for Pang Giap, pls do a search. Cos I remember reading quite a few negative reviews on their workmanship. Then when things go wrong, they refused to rectify. Maybe can try getting quotes from other window grill company too. *good luck*

Actually I din really do lots of research. I had gone to Best Denki to look for Air Purifiers but at the back of my mind, I was already thinking of getting Honeywell as my ex-company was using it and I felt that it worked really well. Whilst there, the salesman showed me various brands and types. Somehow, i just did not fancy the other brands. My main requirement for a HEPA filter also ruled out several models. Then this salesman was also more keen on recommending Honeywell. A quick goggle search on Honeywell turned up the info on accredition with the FDA, NEA, Hospitals, etc. So I just proceeded to get it. Don't care about it being bulky lor... So long as it works is most important.

Oh gosh... Before your aircon contractor commenced work, did you meet up with him to do site inspection and discuss on the running of the trunkings? Hopefully you can work something out before your carpentry goes in. Good luck!

You so lucky to still get the promo price. Totally agree... no need to spend extra $30 for the delivery. Better to spend that on a nice bottle of wine to kick back & relax with the massager. Ok... from now, I'll keep a lookout for GSS promo. Hopefully got option for me to trade in my old dinosaur. Me am 100% Nonya *blush* - but don't ask me to speak Malay (can only manage some basic stuffs) and I don't cook curry. Other things I can cook, but simply refused to cook curry cos I'm too lazy to grind the ingredients and fry the rempah till fragrant. Too much work involved.

Waahh....! This is **** nice lah. Love love it. The tiler is so smart to mix & match. Super initiative. Your Mr E is peranakan?

oohhh.... foot massager. I'm looking to upgrade my old dinosaur. So shiok to use this at the end of a hectic day - I always get a 'buzz' in my feet after using my dinosaur. Can share how much you go this for? Any freebies?

*hi-5* Yah... me don't like the bulky look of the Honeywell too. Would have preferred those slim line and super 'chio' looking ones. HEPA filter usually is good enough. But me is super KS mommy. So functionality won over aesthetics in my case.

I do not turn it on the whole day. It will be waste of electricity for the water to keep boiling on and off just to maintain a certain temperature when no one is using it. Not to mention, electrical tariffs are forever going up. Don't want to pay extra $$$ for nothing. For our family, 5-10 mins prior to bath time, the heater will be switched on. Once bath time is over, the heater is switched off. HTHs.

Exercising soon. Value 58xK COV 48k Yes indeed Wow!! 48K COV is really good! Congrats! Hah... the EM with the bomb shelter is super *****. So good to have a store. The older gen of EM all lack of storage space. However, can be a design challenge to accommodate the pillars which protrude out in the bedroom above too. If I had that design, will just enclose that small area with doors and have an instant WIW (courtesy from HDB).

HONEYWELL AIR PURIFIERS With the horrid weather these few days, my whole family has been taking turns to ge the flu bug. Once a cycle completes, another starts again. The recent haze and poor air quality does not help matters. My gals sinuses are back and we are taking turns to cough. So I started to do some shopping. I do not want those fancy types with negative ions or aromatherapy. I need something that really works. No hocus pocus, No bull. I decided to get a True Hepa Air Cleaner from Honeywell. They come in 3 retail sizes - Small, Medium and Large. The size is in relation to the coverage area you require it for 'air cleaning'. Some useful information about Honeywell Air Purifiers: 1) The Honeywell Enviracaire is the only air purifier available locally that meets the stringent performance standards set by the US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) Class II Medical Device category. Reg. #K872359 2) The Honeywell series meet the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) American National Standard ES-1. This means that Honeywell air purifiers have been certified acceptable for hospital patient care areas. 3) Honeywell is the only US air purifier that has been independently tested by Singapore’s standards body. The results showed that Honeywell effectively removed >99.6% of airborne bacteria, mould and yeast. 4) The Honeywell Enviracaire is listed by the National Environmental Agency (formerly Ministry of Environment) as being effective for protection against haze caused by forest fires.

TILES SELECTION Finally..... after 3 trips to Soon Bee Huat @ Toh Guan, we have finally confirmed our tile choices. It was really tiring and definitely no easy task having to look at huge variety of tiles, making our selection, making sure the colour matches whilst at the same time, yelling at 3 feisty and highly energetic kids to get their *** seated and not move! Our 1st and 2nd selection lasted a whopping 4-hours per session. Thank goodness our contractor was not with us or I'm sure he would have *fainted*. hahahah. Just selecting the wall tiles was enough to make us pant. By the time we got to the floor tiles, we were already 70% poofed out. To make things easier on ourselves, we decided to make it simple - 1 type of tile for living/dining area and another 1 type for all other 'wet' areas (aka Kitchen and Baths). Then... came the call from my contractor..... our initial mosaic selection for the Kitchen Backsplash was not available. So back we went to SBH to re-select. Unfortunately, the other mosaic designs that we like, all also no more stocks or stock levels not enough. *sob-sob* Too tired to look at anymore tiles. In the end, we just decided to use the tile throughout all the kitchen walls including the backsplash area. So here we go.... our selections. p/s: If you notice... our tiles are mainly white. So, we decided to select tiles with some 'textures' to give it more visual interests.

Wow!! Love your house Reno. Great selections and congrats on completion of your Reno journey and moving in. From the vintage lamps & Tom Dix lights, to your gorgeous tiles and on to your white kitchen. Lovely and so cosy! Hahaha.... That laundry room decal is ssoo cute too. I even love your new floor layout on level 1. So nice to be able to have a foyer area. Too bad I don't have a recess area, so not able to do that. Btw, how are your little gals adjusting to their new gorgeous bedroom. They must have been thrilled with the new bed.