Chunky Monkey

Are you referring to the ones above the counter top? The standard width of these wall hung cabinets have 300mm depths. Whereas those on the floor have standard 600mm depths. And the reason being that when you are working on the counter top, you will not bang your head on the wall hung cabinets. Or maybe you are referring to something else completely different????

Our outdoor patio area is finally really to be tiled. If you refer to some earlier pictures, you can see how the size of the void was downsized. Looking at this picture below, you can see what it finally looks like. Because of bad weather last week and also this week, it kind of slowed the workers down. But at every opportunity, the workers levelled the ground, and applied the water proofing. My main contractor said that the W1 waterproofing agent, used normally for bathrooms is not good enough. So he used a stronger one that is normally used for waterproofing swimming pools. Bravo! I look forward to the outdoor patio area to be fully tiled. I will most likely have to wait because it's been raining. What will probably happen first, is the installation of my platinum white coloured wrought iron grilles around the void. This door opening that you see is where my BestView doors will be installed. This is the BEFORE picture. Once the doors are installed later today, I will post the AFTER picture. We are also waiting for the installation of a uPVC window and swing door on the adjacent side of the kitchen. uPVC manufacturing takes a longer time and the whole frame has to be manufactured as one piece (unlike aluminium) and installed as such. But the boss of Fascina is very nice. He knows the urgency of this particular location because it's holding up my kitchen wall tiling, so he is trying his best to accomodate an urgent request. I am crossing my fingers the installation can be done next week. We've had a bit of challenge laying the long 90cm wood-grained ceramic tiles. Long tiles have a bad reputation of warping and it was very difficult for the tilers to lay the tiles in a layout that we originally wanted. I actually asked for the tiles to be cut into 60cm and 30cm sizes and have them laid out in a pattern using 30cm, 60cm and 90cm. But it turned out that the uneven lengths make it very obvious that the tiles are all not straight, and it showed up very badly even sides. My main contractor was very kind in laying them (with cement and all) for me to see, and it was disastrous. So we have no choice but to abolish Plan A. Plan B is to stagger the tiles by 15cm one way and lay them all using 90cm tiles. And this is the effect. This is our attic

There was something else that my main contractor did for me which I really appreciate. He does not want to have the concrete beam exposed (i.e. seeing the grey colour of the beam) when someone looks up at the tracks, so he secured a piece of white gypsum board over the concrete. And the Dorma tracks were fixed over it. I learnt something new in the process. I'd wanted the glass sliding door to be flushed with the kitchen wall on the opposite side but it's not possible. The reason is that each track holding onto a glass panel has a certain width, and the glass is clamped in the middle of this track. And as such, flushing the glass against the wall is not possible. But getting the track to be installed as close as possible to the edge of the concrete beam above, the glass will be indented by about 15 mm. Here is a photo to show that the glass will end about 15mm inwards, from the white tiles. See the black pen mark. PS: Sorry, I can't seem to rotate the picture above.

My peeve about glass partition installation is the visibility of the U channel. I find that many contractors can be rather indifferent to U channels being concealed versus U channels adhered to the wall with a bond/silicon gel. They simply have no idea how ugly it is. But because so many contractors are doing it, that it has become a norm, no one complains about it, and accept it as an industry practice. It so displeases me. As expected, I told the Dorma sales guy that I want to recess the U channel, and he sent his courier over with the U channel. And guess what, the U channel is not the right size. Secondly, when I asked him about the thickness of his tracks for 2 pieces of sliding glass panels, and he was not confident enough to provide me the information, and as such it was not straight forward in determining the "reference line". The Dorma sales guy assumed that I wanted to slide the 2 glass panels in front of the fixed panel. And therefore, told my main con to hack the groove on the wall as depicted in the photo. But we want the 2 glass panels to slide behind the fixed glass panel and in between the fridges and the fixed glass panel. So that the glass doors open into the kitchen. When you look at the picture, you can tell right away where the mistake was .... I now have to get my main con to hack another groove further on the left for the new U channel to be inserted. Because my main contractor no longer trusts the Dorma installer, he asked him to fix the ceiling track up first, and then let him gauge where the new U channel should be. Which you can see in the picture, that is marked out by pencil lines. Here's a picture of the Dorma tracks that are already installed on the concrete beam above. Very clearly in this picture too, that one is able to see the original U channel position is incorrect.

I haven't had the time to post the last few days ... but I am back now, and with more pictures. Frameless Glass Doors We were considering between Glasspoint (contact: Jasmine) and Dorma, and we decided to go ahead with Dorma. There are pros and cons in this decision. By comparison, Glasspoint was very fast in their response and they have done many, many more home installations than Dorma has. And these guys know what they are talking about. The track system that they are using is from Switzerland. I don't wish to offend other home owners, but I have no confidence in Taiwan made tracks. Both Glasspoint's and Dorma's tracks are telescopic tracks, with makes opening and closing much easier. Without telescopic tracks, each moveable piece of glass is slided piece by piece. Whereas with telescopic, there is a chain reaction when you move the first piece of glass. So movements are smoother and easier. Cost wise ~ Dorma is a bit more expensive. The service from Dorma is lacklustre. I suspect it's because they hardly do residential installations, and as such their response time is much slower than Glasspoint, and the sales guy who's attending to me, is quite clueless. And I shall tell you in a minute what I mean. Photos speak a thousand words.

I am still having difficulties with imageshack. So I am now trying photobucket. Here are some pictures taken over the week which I didn't manage to post. Tiler polishing the edges of the tiles to round them down. Tile skirting completed Workman extending both sides of the stairwell walls. Rectification work as mentioned above.

I go to Phoon Huat. http://phoonhuat.com/sto_loc.htm

Bathroom articles?

16 Nov 2007. I received the quotation from Fascina and almost fainted. Geez ... they are expensive. But you know what, Fascina's uPVC is still cheaper than BestView's aluminium. But admittedly I am not comparing like for like, because with the BestView installation is going to come with lami glass whereas the quotation from Fascina is with single glazed plain glass. I'd thought that there wouldn't be a need to visit the house as things like simply just chugging along, and not a whole great lot. But late afternoon, my main con called and said that I better go and check if the false ceiling cut outs are correct for the ceiling cassette aircons in the living room. I zoomed down. I was surprised to see that the concrete bases have been made in the kitchen. Hooray! Now there is more time for them to dry properly. I was also pleased to see that the U channel for my fixed glass panel has been recessed into the wall. My peeve about frameless glass panel installation is the U channel just glued onto the surface wall with silicon, which is so not pretty, and shows a complete disregard for proper co-ordinated installation. I had to leave fairly quickly to take my kids out for their evening activities and called DH to pop in from his office, to help guide our main con to lay the floor tiles in the attic. From my DH's description, our main con was cutting the tiles whilst he was on all fours laying them in the pattern that I want. Main con exclaimed that it's super 'lay chey' but nice, and he will go along with it. YEAH! I was told if we go back to the house by 1 pm tomorrow (today actually), the attic tiling would be finished! Another Yeah!

15 Nov 2007. We received confirmation from Classic Furniture (Tg Katong Complex) that the final site measurement is going to take place next Tuesday, 20th Nov. With that, the factory can go into production of my kitchen cabinets. I instructed my main con that he will have to make sure that the false ceiling in the kitchen is done by Monday, and that the concrete bases have to be in place as well. That will help in getting an accurate site measurement. DH is contemplating changing some of the balcony doors to uPVC sliding type. He loves the profile and value of uPVC so much that he makes me regret getting BestView aluminium ones for the kitchen. I am quite confident that even if we have a mixture of BestView aluminium doors and uPVC doors, the house will still look ok. Oh well ...

14th Nov 2007 Good news and bad news today. The good news are that the Decorille frames have been installed and I liked what I saw, and that the tile skirting is done beautifully. The tilers used a polisher to round away the sharp edges, so now I don't have to worry about these skirtings cutting or scratching my children. Thumbs up. I was just thinking that some contractors these days don't even spend the effort to round away the sharp edges and just plaster the wall. Thank goodness there are still these 'old guards' around who take pride in their work. The bad news is that the 2 support walls, where my top hung timber doors with glass are going to be installed, are too narrow (only 3") and the door installer cannot install the track that is 6" wide. And the surrounding floor has already been tiled. So, we will be needing some rectification works over the next few days. My main con will have to extend both walls out by 3", and replace a few of the floor tiles in that area. Only by so doing, can the door installer recess the top hung frame and flush it against the walls. I guess pictures would help to explain what I am describing her but I forgot to take pictures. DH and I spent a couple of hours guiding the tilers how to lay the kitchen floor tiles. We have in mind the layout we want, and when we tried it in the whole kitchen, the results is satisfactory. The tilers, however, cannot proceed with tiling just yet, as the cement bases have to be made first. Once the bases are done, I will go on site and guide them to lay the tiles piece by piece again. I don't mind spending time to help them. Because I know the result would be great.

I love the full height windows and balcony doors! Look forward to reading updates of your blog.

Called my main contractor in the evening and asked about his progress. He replied to say that the living room tiles are completed and that the skirting has also been put up. *I must remember to check the plastering above the tile skirting to see if there are smooth and even* I was also told that due to the good weather today, the workers have managed to level up the Patio ground and waterproofed it, and so tiling can commence in a day or two. (I pray for good weather again tomorrow, so as to allow the cement to dry better. Please, please, please) Decorille is scheduled to deliver and install the Aluminium frame for our Patio doors tomorrow morning. I am cancelling my gym PT lesson, so as to witness the installation. I hope I will like what I see. I am so looking forward to the tilers tiling the kitchen floor. I wonder when they can do this bit ... DH and I spent a few hours over the weekend tinkering how we would like the tiles layed. I hope the pattern we want can be done. *fingers crossed* More update tomorrow ....

Do check with your aircon supplier what he'd recommend and use that as a basis for comparison. What I have posted so far, are based on my personal experiences and the factors that go into my decision making process. Since in 1 - 2 years' time, you expect all 3 bedroom aircons to be switched on, then a System 3 is not recommended. If I were in your shoes, I will choose a single unit for my master bedroom. No sharing. Just dedicated for my own use. And then system 2 for bedroom 1 & bedroom 2, as they are relatively smaller rooms. You will just need one big unit for the living room. I think by now, you can see that I do not like to overload my compressors. And if you do the load balacing like I have recommended above, only 2 compressors will be running at night, with the occasional one running when you have a party. Will you be OK with that? I know some people think that they are conserving electricity by not working all compressors. But I have a counter opinion. I feel that if a compressor is overworked, the electricity consumption would actually be higher. I am not saying that this is THE only way of deciding on aircon arrangements. Some families are just happy to have System 2s and 3s and turn them all 24 x 7. The units just don't last so long. In 3 to 4 years, would need to change already. My aircons in my current house has lasted me 7 years and still going strong.

fishpond, I hope you check back this thread. I visited the Fascina showroom today and if you haven't, please go. I am taking my words back. uPVC doors are fab by comparison to aluminium. The aesthetics of uPVC frames are great ... and because the frame profile is broader, they look classier. I like the fact that uPVC windows and doors cut down the noise from outside and also keep loud music in. It's water tight and perfect for use as Patio doors. uPVC is expensive. About $25 psf. The low range of aluminium is $10 psf, medium being $20 psf, and so on. But the value add of uPVC features make it so pleasurable to have in the house. One of the best features of uPVC doors and windows is that they have multi-locking points. So it improves the home security. It's too late for me to change my sliding doors to uPVC but I may want to install uPVC casement doors for the back kitchen door.

13 Nov 2007 Nothing much has changed as it has been raining. And it's stalling some works. The workers were waiting for good weather, so that they can proceed with the waterproofing of the patio area. The good weather today was received with cheer. I didn't visit the house but I called my main contractor and spoke with him over the phone. He said there's so little going on, and said it would be better if I pop in tomorrow. And so I took the opportunity to have my mani/pedi done. Long overdue treatment indeed! There seems to be a technical glitch with ImageShack, and I cannot post some of the pictures I took on Saturday. Basically, with the new requirement of adding LAN wiring, my main contractor had to hack the channel on the wall as well as the cement floor in the Attic, to conceal the wiring. I am thankful that my main contractor is willing to accept this new requirement. Alot of contractors I know, would have given the homeowner a shelling for adding new requirements and 'spoiling' their progress. This contractor is not perfect, that is, he needs a lot of hand-holding (not literally, please) but he is very enthusiastic for an old guy in the trade. Thumbs up. I am retaining the floor and wall tiles for the children's bathroom, and have only changed the bathtub. I am impressed with the installation of a brand new bathtub without messing up my floor or wall tiles. My main contractor was so sweet ... he went to hunt for the closest matching tiles to wall the bathtub area and of course he couldn't. Those old tiles are at least 8 years old. So I told him to get glossy white tiles instead and his tiler did a beautiful job with installing the bathtub. I am very pleased.

Thank you, ms white for your well wishes.

Local guy.

The one who makes the most money is the guy right at the top. He lives in a 8 million dollar house in Katong.

I ordered a few Crestar ceiling fans for my house. Crestar was recommended to me when I was comparing brands of fans.

This info is to help homeowners have an additional contact to call and ask for quotations. I was held up in a traffic jam, and a van on my left had his own van painted and advertising rivets retrofitting. "Rivets Retrofitting" Call 9191 6259 I have no relationship with this fellow (in case some DUH person thinks I have) and I am purely putting this info here for forummers who are looking for someone to call. Make sure you ask all the questions and get your prices before you ask for a site visit. If your home is newly renovated, these contractors just might want to try their luck and ask for ridiculous prices. You'd be real silly if you don't bargain.

Hi, I am not sure I understand your descriptions. It's a little confusing. Outdoor unit? You mean the compressor? How much bigger is your master bedroom compared to the other 2 smaller bedrooms? If all 3 bedrooms will need airconditioning at night, then I would not recommend that you get a System 3, and stress one compressor. You should share the load of airconditioning 3 rooms with 2 compressors. And the next questions is which rooms to pair with dining and living. I guess the living room and dining room airconditioning would be only when you have parties, correct? Let me have more information on your usuage expectations and then I will comment again.

Robinsons - the designs are seasonal ... so see your luck. Takashimaya - I have bought very pretty one from there before. iwannagohome - worth checking out. Howard's Store - worth checking out too. Ikea - also worth checking out.

Yes, I still recommend a System 2. Your current needs may be only 1 bedroom with aircon switched on nightly. What about the future? Perhaps when the kids come along, or when another bedroom is to be occupied by parents or relatives? Just make sure you do not link both bedrooms to one compressor. It should be one bedroom to say living room, and the other bedroom with dining room. I always tell my friends to prepare for family expansion or needs expansion. It's best that we depend on natural ventilation but in the eventuality that you need airconditioning, it's better to have more than less.

Fridge - Fisher & Paykal. With freezer at the bottom.