mrsyap

yes, very sturdy when I first installed it. The stuff were all very heavy too so we didn't really doubt it. I won't say it's super lousy lah, since all are still in working condition today, can still work if you don't really keep harping on the thought that it's cheap and from taobao. lol. except for the pull out kitchen tap, everything lasted well. No leakage or issues. But of course if you see the chrome peeling off it's quite disturbing and tells you alot about the quality...

been 3 yrs plus since i moved in. Hope I'm sharing something useful - my taobao bathroom fittings/kitchen sink/tap has started to fall apart haha. Not sure what I bought are authentic or not, so i won't comment on authenticity versus the lasting power. One thing for sure, super cheap coz made in China. Kohler Rainshowers sets - piped handles on the hand shower starting to loosen. Could probably work if i change the pipes. No leaks but nothing fantastic about the quality. Chrome has started to tarnish. Bought like $70 per full set of rainshower, dirt cheap! Kohler Bathroom sinks/taps - the taps started to tarnish - beyond what polishing can remedy. It's the chrome peeling off. Water pressure became so small and one hot water mixer stopped working. Sinks do not have the right flow angle so some parts have 'ponding' issues. very minor but still, made me very doubtful of the QC. Maybe these are rejected Kohler products? Bidet sprays - Use everyday but still working very well. But piped handles rusty. Sellena sink - supposedly very good grade stainless steel. but rusty after a few use. Scrub every now and then to remove the rust. Utmost regret coz this is undermount sink. Too cheapo to afford a kraus sink back then. Didn't find this sink very well made too. Taobao Kohler kitchen tap - first pull-out tap, spoilt within 6 mths. pull out part went loose. Second Arino kitchen tap (from Jalan Besar) - spoilt within 1 year. I conclude pull out taps are a waste of money unless you buy brands like hansgrohe because these are the real deal. I've seen people review after a year saying their hansgrohe or real Kohler one as good as new. I'm going to replace all the bathroom fittings by end 2016 since it's been some time since we've lived here and finances are a bit looser now. Kitchen sink/tap will be replaced with blanco granite top mount sink - kind of digging the black granite look like instead of stainless steel. We take it as a chance to revamp the entire look and feel and to go shopping for home decor once more to update our home. Hope this taobao fittings review will help you guys out there. Absolutely encourage you guys to get decent bathroom fittings. Even Thailand made Grohe are better. Just to add on about the wood tiles - yes, very cold, not warm or nice to step on. But I had tiles all my life I prefer it this way. I don't like the idea of mould growing below my feet below the laminate/vinyl flooring because those are waterproof, yes, but they are not mould proof. I also do not like to take extra care to mop/clean the floor. I knocked over my mopping pail once and just have to mop it up. I also have a kid now so also no worries about food/drinks spillage. Real wood flooring is very nice but makes me anxious...if that makes sense. haha.

your house so nicely done up! Just curious, how much is the damage for the rug? i'm using kompactop too! in the lightest shade for my kitchen table top. It's durable - can withstand heat and water and gives a cozy feel.

Wooo I'm sure u will be gentle. I didn't think it was that fragile (or we were that rough haha) but since now I do know it, we bought the swivel kind with exposed pipes rather than pull out ones. Initially I wasn't convinced pull out ones won't last when people say the more moving parts the higher possibility of it spoiling.

actually can't compare them to SG coz SG Kohler are from authorised distributors, guaranteed authentic if you get it here and cost in the range of high hundreds to thousands. I have only used the real thing at hotels. TB price Kohler taps and sinks at below S$100 usually. And no vouch for authenticity if anyone here is particular about it. I received them with authenticity booklets, in dust bag and Kohler boxes but I just throw all away coz there is no point for me to keep. I believe China warranty are not recognised here anyway. I wouldn't bother fixing it if it really spoils one day down the road coz I would just get a replacement from Jalan Besar. Honestly, I don't even know if the authenticity booklets are real haha....I didn't examine them. Installation for taps/sinks have no problems. Plumber did not raise anything unusual and installed as per norm. Glad it turned out all to be better than expected and taps and sinks were heavy as ****. Plumber uncle says weight tells a lot about the quality of the taps. Not sure how true lah.

hello everyone, I'm back to just give my thanks and contribute back to this thread since i bought lots of stuff for my home back in Apr. Let me try and remember what i got. Toilet: Kohler taps Kohler sinks Kohler rainshowers Towel racks Hand towel rings Shower racks (for shampoo/shower foam) Toilet roll holders Kitchen: Sellena sink Kohler pull out mixer tap All pendants lightings for the entire house I got them from taobao except LED lights and light bulbs which i bought locally. TIPS: I didn't choose the cheapest to buy. I buy from sellers with very high crown ratings in taobao or TMALL. I buy if i read reviews that the products are excellent in quality, pictures are reasonable and prices are not too ridiculously cheap that imply those are fakes or inferior. I can't provide any links to the stuff i bought as I think they are all purged out from my tb account already, I can't find them anymore. sorry! My review after using them for about 4 months: All the lightings and sanitary fittings are able to install without any problems at all. Hope this will lift all your worries if you are wondering about the compatibility between these china stuff and our sg homes. The sanitary fittings were all very good, to my SURPRISE. No rusting, feel extremely heavy to touch and nice shiny flawless finish. All pendant lights are of great quality too and my electricians had no issue installing them. I see the exact lights selling at Jalan Besar at exorbitant prices, I don't think I can ever bear to buy from them coz it's like 200% mark up. Lights from Jalan Besar and taobao are the same replicas of famous designers and i don't really care. I also threw away all the free cheap light bulbs the sellers sent with the lights as those aren't energy saving or LED. All the Kohler stuff are working GREAT except for the kitchen pull out mixer tap. Now, this tap was not exactly dirt cheap - like S$70 but so much cheaper than SG. But I would say it's a combi of poor quality and as well as rough use on my end. This is the only product without review that I got from an isolated seller coz it was an exchange for some items i bought from this seller (i bought wrong items and seller is so nice about it). The inner pipe ruptured somehow due to us yanking it out roughly daily for about 3 months plus as we like to rinse the corners of the kitchen sink clean of grease every time we do the dishes. Water didn't burst out or anything, but water flow became increasingly small so we noticed something amiss. Eventually we got a nice Arino replacement kitchen tap from GR Link Marketing at Jalan Besar which has an external swivel pipe to allow us to rinse the entire sink. Damage was $180 and pretty sure this solid piece can take our abuse for a long time coz the metal pipe is really thick this time and no more pull out pipe. Warning to people who are considering to buy pull out kitchen mixers - pull out is a bad idea. Jalan Besar uncle also advised against it. So if you are like me, rough usage and like to rinse the sink clean, please get something like this Arino T8000A tap.

yeah totally agree should change out all the sanitary fittings, that is one thing that i think should nv resuse previous owners'. just that i have this perception that teck whye flats are really old...judging from my parents' 2 previous flats in teck whye. now i'm @ CCK but across the road from teck whye only. lol your new sanitary fittings look great! i'm thinking to get hansgrohe or grohe stuffs coz the cheap rainshowers i have doesn't feel shiok...where did u get yr hansgrohe from? I see the special buy tags! share share pls i'm moving next weekend...before the 7th month comes

wow your mbr looks gigantic! looking forward to see the real photos! Btw, i think your kitchen fittings and toilet doesn't look too shabby, quite new. previous owner reno before? i've lived in the teck whye/cck estate for the longest time but moving to BP liao. nice to see a neighbour here! hehe!

Wow got such a thing. Like that don't do extra lock seens unsafe. Get from him also like very weird, like he's out to make money from u by doing that. Hmmm so how did you handle in the end?

I'm really liking the pouf and also the rest of the knitted baskets from make room. Thanks for sharing!

Finally some updates. Carpentry came yday but there were some problems of gas pipe placement and water pipes painting so it couldn't be completely fixed yet. Kitchen is fully fitted with Blum runners, indeed a far cry from my toilet drawers which aren't fitted with Blum. Pending toilet cabinets and shoe cabinet to be fixed. The carpentry is truly beautiful. Tried hard to spot but only spotted a few scratches, probably kena during installation. but it was awesome work, so impressed with the precision of it!

Edd, nice cosy white nest! I like white and clean reno! Heehee

Haha actually I don't know leh. But I see my taps so many stains and my mirror in bathroom full of water stains too, I used toothpaste and it looks as good as new. No scratches found leh.

Always waiting to see new photos of yr place! Haha. Any pics of the living area?

V nice photo! Professional photos r indeed different...haha. I see the pink little round seat in the photo. What is it ah? I'm attracted by the color haha

Oh now I rem, my service yard walls have these metal skeletal thingy too when the workers hacked it.

Ladydr, i got curious so clicked on the link to see the light....here's the dimensions. http://img03.taobaocdn.com/imgextra/i3/852330671/T2PHu7XfJXXXXXXXXX_!!852330671.jpg

Hey, I bought bathroom square/round sinks and my bathroom taps from here cos she has package for that. V cheap I think slightly over 100 for one set! Haha. But to be honest I feel what she sold is not authentic though it's very heavy and very nice. How can it be so cheap right? Let me go dig the links later. But got to say he/she is a very friendly and helpful seller. I remind her many times I am shipping overseas and she pack alot of styrofoam inside.

Haha wow summersann....I didn't know this is possible! HDB held back the permit and my contractor just advised us to go ahead with the PE and then we just wanted to start reno quickly. But just really nice to save a couple of hundreds.

Seems like a popular qns isn't it? Haha...yes HDB said need PE endorsement, so contractor did as told.

not yet leh...soon soon. haha. only installing mid to end next week after carpentry is up. =)

Woooh thanks!!

This small cabinet is really nice! Can share the damage?

Day 33 All tile works completed, like finally. Should be looking fwd to keys handover by next weekend!

I use toothpaste to clean my taps and mirrors and they r shiny again! Darlie toothpaste lol