OceanEleven

Didnt want to hi jack this thread. I wrote about the LG Roboking in my blog. Post 852 http://www.renotalk.com/forum/topic/63586-back-to-the-west/page-22

LG Roboking I can only comment on LG Roboking. I did some homework before I commit. Compare what was in the market then, then finally decided on LG. Reason, mainly the cost. Performance wise, it is actually on par or even better than some of those in the market. LG is definitely more pocket friendly, got it during a Qoo10 sale at less than $600, more like approx.. 560. The renowned iRobot Roomba series are going at more than $1k local. Newer models are $1.5k. That is an absurd amount to pay for a vacuum, especially after if you compare with prices in Amazon. If you want a first-hand feel on local prices, go to http://www.autovacstore.com/ . Anyway, LG does the job for me, small to medium crumbs are sucked up effortlessly while bigger pieces will prove to be a challenge. As all vacuums, underneath has some brushes, in this case, a roller brush that ran almost the length of the machine. So after time, hair will get entangle and require manual remover. Not a pleasing job I must say. Generally it moves over all sorts of flooring, vinyl, tiles, laminates etc. All not a problem but rugs and carpets may not work so well. Especially if they are thin and flimsy type, the vacuum will “roll and push” then get stuck. It also does not handle the kerb well. Any height of 1 cm, will see the fella struggle to roll over. If it manage to roll “on top”, it will have no problem continuing on. This mainly applies to the kerb between kitchen and living room Maintenance is easy, the simple clean after use, try not let the hair in the brush to build up, it may jam the roller brush, and indirectly may spoiler the mechanisms inside. There a “box” inside the vacuum to collect the “goodies”, detached it and empty it. No bags and the box can be wash and air dry, ready to use again. Buying from Qoo10 is in Korean language, even the control, remote, voice etc. However English manual is easily downloaded from the internet, anyway, once you set it. You will let it be and run by itself. You wont fancy yourself meddling with the settings every time you wanna use it. It comes with a docking station and it will automatically return back to dock when low on battery, unless it “wander” too far to go back, or you place it in another area. Eg, you wanna clean the MBR only, so you will carry it to MBR, close the door and let it run. Overall to me, is a good buy, saves time. Let the fella run while I do other house work.

Get a few more things from Amazon to quality for the free shipping. Bought from Amazon no less than 10 times already. A couple items from Simple Human and OXO are worth considering. Happy shopping.

Aircon Compressors Finally it rained last night. Quickly hook up the hose and spray wash the fins. I would say the result is satisfactory. The blowers are cooler with same the settings.

If you wash when raining, downstairs cant complain, as it is raining, the logic and common sense is that the windows are all closed. As mentioned, wash only when raining, so passerby either wet by me or the rain.

I would say the base is heavy enough but the really good part is the LOOK. Tearing needs a little "technique" though. Cant explain in words but hands on you will know what I meant.

Pros and cons, all drawers are easily accessible, slide out and viola, all in sight. However drawers generally reduces the length, breadth, width and height. Ie “eaten” by the drawer itself. So sometimes you may find that the item to be store is just that 1cm more, else it would be a perfect fit. Next come the issues of runners (the sliding open/close) for drawers, if all go for Blum, cost may be a hindrance but to do a mixture of Blum and non Blum, in the long run one may forget which Blum is and which is not, resulting in just use whatsoever. Best solution is to have a mixture of drawers and cabinets. Also do consider the handles, if handles are available, the tendencies to use it as a hanger is here. The one in the picture is also a hazard as well. Imagine one is standing near and move quickly along it, one may get a bruise or an abrasion when hit the handles. ID will charge more for Blum, they will buy for the carpenters to install, or carpenters will buy themselves. Do note that if you supply hinges and runners, doesn’t mean carpentry will refund you the difference from the total work. I supplied Blum to the carpenters, ID is kind enough to offer a discount on the carpentry. Blum is got is not from Blum directly but another source who offer a much more competitive price.

No need to convince, just ask him to help to hang the bamboo out everytime, especially when doing bedsheets and curtain. Also ask him who is doing the laundry as well. Given the haze seems to be an annual event nowadays, hanging out seems to be collecting more particles too. Bill is in the $180 range, I dont wash daily, approx. twice a week. You are acually looking at more gas cost, if you are using gas dryer. Gas is cheaper than electricity. However if you are using electric dryer, then you may want to reconsider again. Any electrical appliances use for generating heat or cooling, such as kettle, fridge, aircon, oven generally consume lots of electricity. Given your space in living, plus oipen kitchen, even a 25K BTU blower will take some time to properly to cool down the space. I have 2 blowers in my living room, one is a 18K and one 25K, I like it cool, fast & furious. Kitchen to look huge and spacious, walls has to go, then top cabinets is impossible. For me, I value storage than overall look. Especially moving from a previous unit to a current one. Most young couples enjoy the luxuries of just bring their lugguages and move in. For us, is near impossible. When I pack my kitchen, I almost fainted on the spot. Rice cooker, blender, steamboat, air fryer, toaster, pancake maker, small oven, coffe maker and all the pots and pans and etc etc. Then comes all the zap ba lang teapot set, coffee cup set, dinning set, tupperware......

I bought this LG bot to help out, very useful for under the bed area but not so smart with kerbs though. Can really see the difference when emptying the bin inside. Also the old school of pail and mop every 3 days. You will be surprise by the dust over just 3 days. And yup, take moping as a form of exercise.

Aircon Compressors A little DIY project. During aircon servicing, I was told that my compressors are very dirty. Couple with the haze and dust, the cooling fins are kinda clogged with dust and etc. Despite having a aircon ledge, not advisable to step out onto it. Hence devised a simply DIY plan to do a simple cleaning. Bought the water hose, spray gun, adapter, and clip tie all below $30. . The idea is to connect to the bidet and hose the cooling fins down. Hopefully will aid in functioning of compressors. So now all set and good to go. All I need is for the sky to rain.

Can consider doing 1 x drawer at the below cabinet. Comes in hand for utensils. No need to "squat & dig".

If living room is air conditioned, better dont do open concept. Cooking fumes spill over and cooling area increased. Open concept means less walls, less cabinet. From your post, you cook a lot, With lots of cooking apparatus as well. Planning for storage may be challenging. If budget allow, then go for carpentry. At least you get a uniform theme and also full height wardrobe compere to off the shelf. Off the shelf type often leaves sapce at the top, a wastage and a magnet for dust. Anything chuck into that space is unsightly as well. Anyway, if dont do carpentry now, chances of doing it later are pretty slim. Laziness and taking the easy way out is human nature. Me included. Do you plan to have a dryer? I used to be against having a dryer, considering cost etc. Prefer the "bamboo" dry style. At the new place, I was being demanded for a dryer, so gave in and never look back. Nowadays, simply wash, spin dry then gas heater dry. No more bamboos, hanging of clothes, collecting after dry etc etc. Time saved use for other things. I got gas dryer and water heater package. A happy end user.

Changing is permitted but not changing the main pipes for the WC. What is done here, is moving the WC and adding pipes, which is doable. Renovator is either green or simply doesnt want to do this job. Yours is a resale, Ahyong81's also a resale, cant see why not permitted.

Carpentry always comes in last. After flooring, painting, electrical, false ceiling, piping (water & aircon) etc However the discussion and planning should start as early as 8 weeks before handover date. The first week to discuss layout, design, laminate color. Also take some time down to site and do some simple measuring. Some horizontal beams and piping are not shown on floor plan, so on site is a must. Just to share my opinion on 3D drawings. Why I dont like 3D drawings. Mainly they dont reflect things I want and time wasting. Often I see 3D drawings adding unnecessary features which I dont have or will not have.Commonly seen is the vase of flowers on the WC, pebbles under the toilet vanity, paintings, stools/chairs you will never buy and the list goes on.Sometimes, if one look hard enough, the 3D drawing's view is from an almost impossible angle. ie looking in "into" house.Or the viewer must be standing in the walls to have such a view. I have heard many cases that starting of work had been delayed due to waiting for 3D, amending of 3D.Had a friend who insisted on 3D drawing to the dot and 2 months after signing the contract, still pending final 3D drawings.Needless to say, the kopi sessions we had, circled around his bitching of the whole saga. So for me, a clean simple 3D is sufficed. I just need a good look at the layout, the shape and design.The same set of carpentry with different laminate will offer different look and feel, however the shape and size will remain the same.Likewise for washrooms. A WC is a WC, most are oval, or a little oblong but never trapezium or octagon.Some has shower screens and vanity top and mirror, so in general all things are the same with not much of a variation. Nonetheless, there are folks who prefer to have a better idea of the general look, feeling more comfy to know what is coming.By all means please do so and request for 3D drawings. Different folks, different strokes.

Nah, am an employEE. Just that work allows me to be more flexible. Big installation must be there, else once up, nitemare to change again. For carpentry, actually nothing much to see until 90% complete. That is the time to check for scratches, dents, missing holes, peeling lamintes etc. Also to look out that space cater for fridge is sufficient.

Go read up on Ahyong81's blog. He shifted his WC position, requires a little planing and of course more cost. Some boxing up is required, might make the shower area a little narrower though.

Supervision is much needed for the reno. Fine details and certain decision is better for owner to make and be on site to visualise. I was there abt 80% of the time during the 6 months and almost like a full day event for me. Certain work like HERF overlaying, it is better for owner to do the cleaning, removing all debris big and small to ensure a smooth overlay. The HERF installers will just simply sweep part by part on the place they are laying onto. Might have a miss spot here and there. Also due to time constraints, they might work late into the evening, even when there is little lighting around, adding chances of missing a small debri. This could result a bump or lump where rectification means tearing up the affected area, starting from nearest wall.

Bigger does not means more. Mainly subject to means of usage. Like a car, yes a 2 liter consumes more petrol but if one driving an Altis but covers 150km min a day VS a 2L 50km a day, still the 2L will spend much lesser in cost for petrol. Well said.

As mentioned, this is a never ending discussion. Coming from first hand experience, using gas heater, staying mid -high floor, distance between heater and rainshower approx. 10m and the shower head is 8 inch OD, the water supply is strong and hot for usage. Just to note also, my rain shower is not those conventional "set" rain shower, it is a rain shower head with seperate pipeline run.

LOL, understood, my understanding is that dont "walk under" so taller is fine for me. Just feel that top area is kinda wasted, any deco there is not easily noticeable and the flat top is the perfect bed for dust. Also more space wont go wasted, for more new members will need more shoe slots too.

Why dont do a full height cabinet instead? One less place to collect dust and and more space to keep shoes?

I think not a bad deal. Just make sure the door and gate can fit the digital locks properly. Also is the fire rated door 1 pc or 2pcs type? Fit your exsiting place?

This is a never ending discussion. Some say high floor plays a part, some say low floor is the crucial factor. But give the new building, I think storage or gas makes no difference. Storage heater itself has no pump, so will not increase the presure in any sense. End of the day, it is the source that makes the difference.

You can choose LG instead of Roomba. Am using one for one year plus already. Bought at about SGD600. Air fryer dont have to go for XL, unless cater for many pax or specifically want the color. Else the normal size is good enough. Lighting, if all buy local for the whole house, including downlight etc. 1.4k maybe a bit tight. Subject to what lighting you choose. Fancy designer look type may set you back about $300 up per light. However, TB offers more and better option. Will you consider gas heater? If yes, maybe can go for the gas heater and dryer package. Overall cheaper in the long run than using all electricity.

Just to share personal experience and other's as well. Have a water dispenser fridge as well. However the dispenser gave way just a little over a year hence no warranty. Went back to maker, quote $80 per trip to inspect ONLY. Repair or not, still pay. And in my case, likely motor spoil, estimated cost $180 min. So adds up to be about 1/5 of the cost of the fridge. Happened to a few of my friends as well, though difference brand. After this, I swear to stay clear all those with water dispenser, ice maker etc. But the same fridge is into the 13th year now.