Bengologist

Hahaha.. I'm meeting my carpenter and ID this weekend, hopefully I am not going change the colour of my kitchen cabinets too. Anyway I wish you a happy reno! Hope your carpenter is not going to have more sleepless nights after meeting you. Hahaha! Cheers!

Hey dapliew! Thanks for dropping by! I think my ID will not feel in that manner because everytime he give me a new VO for the new addition, I always bargain the cost with him. Always ask him to lower the price till he can't answer to the company. Hahaha.. Thanks for recommending Mega Discount Store. I didn't know about this this website or company at all till you mention it. I have just gone to the website to take a look while nervously wiping the sweat off my forehead. I was so rejoiced that the amount quoted in the website for the products I have purchased are higher than what I have paid. My "bro-in-law" prices are indeed good. Shall give them a big angbao when they married next time! Haha! I have already purchased 85% of the lightings in my house, with the exception of 3 bedroom ceiling lights and those T-5 for my cove-light in the living hall and LED strips for other misc lighting points. Thanks for the recommendation. I will probably drop by the shop one of these evening to take a look and perhaps purchase the remaining lighting sets. Oh! Thanks for the advice! I have been thinking of the renovation that I have forgotten about this. Maybe it's time to start sourcing for storage cabinets etc for my folks so that they will be impressed by my thoughtfulness. Hahahaha! Cheers!

Hahaha.. The last time I met up with him I was still asking him if the colour are suitable cause I feel like changing it to suit my furnitures. I think he nearly break out in cold sweats. I guess we're both problematic customers. Hahahaha!

Hahaha, maybe there's miscommunication between my ID and me or between him and his 3D artist about the furnitures, colours etc. Anyway he's going to amend the pictures at no additional cost and promise to give me within a few days. I have decided to throw the wardrobes back into the renovation plan after visiting my new neighbour's house just below mine. Their wardrobes are skillfully done, so this prompt me to have custom-made wardrobes instead of buying them off the shelves. I have just informed my ID to add in a shoe rack into the VO, guess he must be jumping mad at me for giving him so much work. Hahahahahahaha! !

Hmmm.. So how much did you pay in total for the sofa set?

13th May 2013 OMG OMG OMG! The 3D drawings for the kitchen and living room is finally out! These are the pictures:- 1) The 3D drawing for the kitchen - The depth of the kitchen is not exactly as deep as what the picture suggest, although the layout and colour are very close to what I have chosen. Kudos for the effort! 2) The 3D drawing for the living room - With the exception of the L-box and ceiling fan, the rest of the picture is totally different from the actual idea. Firstly, the chosen colours were reflected on the wrong walls. Secondly, the furnitures I had purchased are mostly black in colour. Lastly, I did not do any TV feature or console. Therefore I rejected the picture and requested for a revised copy so that I can have a clearer idea about how my proposed living hall will look like. As for the drawings for the bedrooms, my ID will only provide me in one week's time as I have made a sudden U-turn on my decision and requested him to install wardrobes in all three bedrooms (I'm such a terrible customer, hahahahahaha...)

You got from TB? Aren't the shipment gonna cost a bomb cause the sofa is pretty heavy and bulky. Hahaha.. I have to calm myself down and think of ways to settle my mom and sister before I can consider adopting a dog. Can't imagine facing their wrath daily for the adorable little creature. Ha!

Hi all, I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to Andy for the excellent services provided for the window grilles and sliding windows for my Punggol flat. With the exception of being slightly late for appointments due to his hectic schedule, everything went smoothly from our first meet-up till the installation of the grilles and windows till final payment. The workmanship is also top-notch. For pictures of the grilles, you guys/girls can go to my T-blog as per my sign-off. Cheers!

Hey Natalisha, Thanks for the "morse code"! Hahaha! Have an awesome day!

Why doesn't appear on certain days? His numbers banned by Renotalk? Hahahaha.. Anyway if numbers doesn't appear, would you mind typing out the numbers in alphabets instead? Sorry for the trouble. Thanks!

11th May 2013 I head down to Harvey Norman @ Parkway Parade on this warm Saturday afternoon to meet up with my sister's boyfriend who is working as a promoter there. Took a walk around the store and purchased a few electrical appliances at very good prices (of course, these prices are only available after I seek "special help" from my him ). Here are the loots (as for the damages, I guess it's a little inconvenient to share it here, apologies on that ) 1) Tecno 3 Burners Hob (Model: T-333TG) 2) Tecno Slim Hood (The one which I had purchased is not in this picture but pretty similar to these) 3) Samsung Blu-Ray Home Theater System (it's an old model but the sound effect is much powerful than the new ones) 4) Samsung Soundbar (It's a new model which comes along with a wireless subwoofer, with vacuum tube built-in and 3D Sound Plus & Crystal Amplifier Plus. The salesman highly recommended this and after a few rounds of testing, it's indeed excellent. My ears are in for a splendid audio experience! Wooohoooooooo! ) 5) Samsung full HD 3D 46" Smart LED TV (it's not available in the store, so I grab this picture from Harvey Norman's website).

On top of the window grilles, I also found some "evidence" that the workers are indeed working on my renovation (although they are still guilty for the slow renovation progress). 1) City-gas pipeline installed 2) A close-up on the gas valve and its rubber tube 3) Bags of sand and tiles on the floor for the construction of the base for the kitchen cabinets, washing machine, fridge and also the shower kerb in the toilets. 4) Cardboards laid for the floor (that's my beautiful mom in the background. Happy Mother's Day to her again! )

7th May 2013 - Window Grilles Installation Day! By now, everyone who has been reading or following this T-blog will realise that I have a habit of commemorating every installation in the house as it symbolise a milestone in the renovation process. The progress was much slower than what I have expected but nonetheless, I did not give too much pressure to my ID in meeting the deadline in fear of sub-standard work. However, I did reiterate my point to him that I would wish to move in before mid-June. Hahaha! For the window grilles, instead of giving the job to my ID, I had sought grille specialist on my own so as to save 3rd party transaction cost. After a week of searching via this forum and flyers, I met up with Andy from Home Aluminium Metal Work. He was a nice chap (with bad time management) who is in this industry since the tender age of 19 years old and started this company not long ago. His quote was comparably much lower than what I received from my ID and he reassured me umpteen time that the workmanship will be satisfactory, therefore I awarded the job to him. His worker went to install the grilles when I was busy churning out reports after reports in the office, so I only get to see the result after I visited my place in the late evening. These are the pictures:- 1) View of the grilles in the Living Room 2) View of the grilles for the Master Bedroom 3) One of the few casement grilles

Hmmm.. Stainless steel sink are more lasting and easier to maintain. Composite granite sink on the other hand requires more maintenance and are not able to withstand too heavy stuff (eg a big pot of soup/curry place on top of that may pressure it to crack slightly). However I have chosen the composite granite kitchen sink as it blends in well with my black granite cabinet top. Take that as consideration when you make your decision. Cheers!

Hey just4fun, thanks for dropping by again! Yup, I should have consulted my ID before the installation. I have called him when I purchase the air-con system and arrange for him to be there during the installation so that he can provide advice but he brush it off saying that it won't affect the renovation since I'm not doing any wardrobes in the room. Prior to the air-con installation, the Gain City technician had also gone through with me about the layout of the air-con cable trays and due to the fact that I cannot visualize how the final layout will look like, I gave the green light to him. I subsequently went out to take a walk around my neighbourhood and when I'm back, the air-con trunking has already been fixed up. I actually wanted them to make adjustment to the layout but the technicians are rushing back to Malaysia for the voting, so I told them it's okay to leave it like that. Hahaha... Guess I have no choice but to think of an idea with my ID to make it aesthetically appealing while keeping the trunking layout intact. Anyway thank so much for sharing the information with me. I won't be needing it but I'm hoping the others reading it will benefit from your wise words. I will update this T-blog soon. Thanks for following it.

Hey welcome to RT! I have also purchased lightings from taobao via Peeka and it's arriving in est. 4 days (soooo exicted). However I only bought a few, not as hardcore as you, hahahaha... You really have a big kitchen, I kinda envy that because my new BTO flat's kitchen is very very small. Anyway happy reno & have a fantastic week! Cheers!

Hey RnJ, you can try fortytwo.sg (previously known as beds.sg). I think the prices are very reasonable for sofa. As for the comfort level of the sofa, I guess you have to trust the users because there's no shop for you to test test the sofa. Hope I will be joining the puppytalk with you peeps in the future. Hope to get one puppy after I shift into my new place. Something similar to Z3phy's cute little white fluffy pup will be awesome! Ha!

Ha, the forum's also driving me crazy because I wanna post a lot of photos but only limit me to 5 pics per post. Anyway from the pictures, the current bathroom still looks pretty decent, it's really quite a waste to hack it away. However, if it's me, I will also hack it away because I would want the whole house to be a replica of my idea and not someone else's style and idea. Last but not least, welcome to renotalk! Happy reno! Cheers!

Hey there! Welcome to Renotalk! It's really essential to get a few more quotes to compare and see which ID firm offer you the best in terms of price, workmanship quality, services and how well you 'click' with the ID. In addition, do flip a few interior designing magazines or read more about it online (or on renotalk) so that you have a feel or idea about the theme you wanna have in your home and the layout of all the furnitures. I make the mistake of not having a good idea about the layout of my furnitures, so I made numerous changes to the original design which probably pisses off my ID (he didn't mention it but I guess he's boiling inside, hahahaha... ) If you have any queries, feel free to write it so that we can share our opinions too. Anyway happy reno! Cheers!

Are dogs really that troublesome? I seriously considering becoming a first-time dog owner after I shift to my new place. My mom and sister will hate me for that because they do not like animals. Hahaha!

Yeah thanks! Please keep me updated on this! Have a great week!

Wow! The brick wall looks awesome! I wish I can do something like that to my living room too! Are you intending to keep it this way or are you gonna cover it up and paint over it?

No worries. In fact I also agree with mrmerry, lighter colour scheme tend to make the kitchen look spacious and much generous in outlook. It also present a more uniform appearance. I have also chosen light colour for my kitchen cabinet, although my granite cabinet top is black in colour. The only concern I have is that since my parents cook often, the colour of the cabinet might turn yellowish in the long run. Therefore instead of getting a glossy one, I got one which is made of timber and have a slightly matte or "rough" surface (once again suggested by my ID) as the "oil" from the cooking will not stain the cabinet that easily. But in the end, it's really up to your own preference. I also have a headache when I went down to make the selection. Sat in the coffeeshop with him for nearly two hours just to choose the right material and colour. Happy reno!

Hi mrmerry, I have no much choice. The technician told me that in order to ensure that the air-con system can last for the next 10 years and doesn't rust within (he uses more technical terminology), I got to do it in that manner. However I really did not expect it to turn out this ugly. I have just consulted my ID last weekend and he proposed a feature wall to cover the trucking totally. But the issue is if there's any problem with the air-con piping, I have to remove the whole feature wall for piping repair work. I'm now in heavy discussion with him on how to create a solution to beautify the wall without compromising the trunking of the air-con pipes. Sigh...

Hi juxstapose, I have given them a call last time and was disappointed that they do not have any shop for people to try out their sofa or mattress. Hence, I took a risk and purchase them based on the reviews of the users. Hopefully the products are good. It's worth a try since the prices are really very attractive! I will leave a comment after my stuff arrived in June.