inthechouse

StarHub's coming on Thursday so I need my TV set by then though. Oh well. See how. Tomorrow's my one and only packing day. Followed by a long list of appointments onsite on Thursday. Then it's D-Day!

You know those atrium fairs that Mega Discount always holds in Kallang Leisure Park or United Square? If you're planning to buy a TV from there... B E W A R E! Whether or not your new place is ready, make sure you get it delivered asap. Have it sent to your parents' home or whatever, if need be. It is clear that they just keep selling, keep collecting deposits, and not honouring the deal when it's finally due for delivery, coz they've run out of stock. You can expect a load of c**k and bull story from the manager/owner to make you think it's not a mistake/miscalculation on their part, and he may very well end off the conversation with "top up or refund lor!" Do a Google search. I'm pretty sure mine's not an isolated case.

Yeah I guess. But we were really hoping for the "uneven surfaced" door. I think it's probably varnished by now (things happen at a rapid pace and often without me knowing) so I guess we'll keep it. Yes, in fact I am planning to recommend him to my friend and colleagues, but not before his work for me is completed. Don't wanna anyhow recommend yet. Must be pleased with the results first. But so far, he's proven to be very prompt, knowledgeable and hands-on.

A photo of part of my cement screed wall that my independent sub-con had patched up yesterday. He also fixed the pipe holes which Alan's workers had stuffed with cement, resulting in 2 big black patches. He used a similar coloured plaster material, or "shi gao". All this took just 15 mins. And the best part is, my sub-con scraped off the protruding bit of wall bracket at the edge of the wall, and patched it nicely. For weeks, Alan did not have these fixed. Since I am moving in real soon, I just had to get someone else to do it. Once it's dry, he will sand the patches down to a similar shade. Finally, he will apply a layer of sealant to my preference. I think this guy knows what he's doing. He's given me a lot of advice and tips regarding all sorts of things in my flat. Wish I had met him earlier. He's a main contractor but he also does most of the manual work himself.

One only gets smarter about these things towards the end when everything is almost done! Haha. Oh well, it's a learning experience. Better still, life experience. Yes, thank goodness for that door salesman. I shall feel better about paying the remaining $400 (50%). Praying that they do a better job for my MBR door coz it would be installed after I've moved in! Imagine the potential mess if they were to misfire again... Yes, I intend to give 707 a call. Thanks! Well for the boxing up, I would advise the homeowner to be present. Alan did not give specific instructions, so the workers were briefed and supervised entirely by me. Just saying that if they had gone ahead to box up and for some reason I didn't like it, it would delay my move-in date should I need them to redo it. So, bottomline: Always, always be on site to supervise if your contractor can't.

Ok other updates... Look what's living beneath my bathroom floor trap? (Don't know why the pic can't be rotated) Alan came by late in the afternoon and I told him about this, after which he proceeded to squat over it and dug all the sh*t out with his bare hands. Didn't expect this. Appreciate his efforts. Then the "boxing" team came by to fix the curved wall. And they used a cute lil' thing to measure the alighment of the vertical lines. This duo was nice to speak to and deal with. The electrician (I think he's the boss of the elderly team) came by to adjust all the lights and switches. He's also nice and easy to deal with. Thumbs up. The wall is much better now. I told Alan that this could've been done so earlier, so I can save the grief over 2 mths+, but he said he "had to think first, it's not so easy to come up with the solution". But nevermind, I am telling y'all now! If cementing can't save your original, defected wall, ask for boxing + plastering! Then there was this duo who came by to get the kitchen sink and vanity sink connected. They also helped me fix up all the bathroom and kitchen accessories - basically anything that needed to be drilled into the wall/tiles. Also nice and easy to deal with. So we're almost there! It's just the paint team which needs to come by again (exluding the touch-up promised by VYY/Swingslide Door). God, I really dread seeing them again. Will update about my cement screed wall when it's ready. What else? Oh yeah, my 707 Princeton water heater is producing very pathetic pressure. The pressure for everything else in the flat is fine. Even the cheaper Mistral unit in the other bathroom offers better pressure. Not sure what I can do about it. Two different teams of workers told me it can't be helped. The store I got the unit from advised me to call 707 directly to ask if they can send someone down to check. Zzz.

Try laminated plywood door? It's slightly cheaper. But not "cheap" like classic door. Trust me, I will have to chop off my arm soon too. But there's really no alternative, and I don't want a classic hinged door there. Considered bifold too, but if wooden, it's not much cheaper.

I would like to warn all fellow sotongs about such things. Today, the team from VYY/Swing Slide Door came by to install one bathroom door. As I was occupied with Alan's subcons when they were done, the foreign worker just said to me that they were done and that they were leaving. The Chinese uncle was already nowhere to be seen. After all the recent drama with everything, of course I had to check the door and walls first before I let him leave right? So I told him, "wait, please come with me to check." The door itself is fine. They even stuck a sticker near the lock to advice your guests how to open/close the door properly (since everybody is so used to handling bifolds). But guess what I found? A hole in my wall and bits of cement on the floor. To think that they didn't even bother informing me about it. But that's not the best part yeah. What did they fill the hole with? SEALANT. Hah. Best. And it wasn't even evenly spread. So I asked the worker to even it out. I know it's probably not his fault so I said ok, you can leave now. Next thing I did was to call the salesman immediately. Despite having a million other things to attend to. This young salesman is pretty ok and enthu. I asked him to come by to take a look and he did, a few hours later. He apologized profusely, and said that the uncle must have drilled the hole sideways rather than straight. OMG. Anyway, mistakes happen, nobody's perfect, but they should've informed me right? And whats' with the sealant? He said they should have used cement or plaster or whatever. Wasn't really listening cos I was physically and mentally drained already. Anyway, to cut the story short, the salesman assured me that he will get his company's contractor to come fix it. But not before asking me if my contractor can do it. -.-

There isn't a frame where this door sits. It's newly hacked doorway and for sliding doors, all you need is a top track. But if you have an existing door frame, I don't see why you can't still use a sliding door, so long as there is space above for the tracks. There are no hinges involved.

Been following the Home Furnishing forum since we started our furniture hunt proper. Strange customer service recovery, this one. http://www.renotalk.com/forum/topic/64311-bad-experience-with-online-furniture-shop-castlery/ Oh, and, ugh, guess what? The Smart/HD TV we bought at Mega Discount is no longer available. Paid a deposit in Dec during their LG sale promo, was assured endleslly by their sales guy that we WILL get a set, even if our delivery date is much later (Feb). He also said that if we don't, they will replace our order a same or better model at no charge. So 2 weeks ago we went to settle the remaining payment, and nobody told us anything. Today, 3 days to the delivery date, they called to say that the set (LG 47" 6620) is no longer availble as they are all "recalled" due to lack of some compulsory HD tuner which the "Singapore government" orders to be compulsory. What does that even mean? So the solution? They will offer a higher end model (7400) at $300 extra. Wait a min. A quick Google search shows that the difference between these 2 models are minimal, and we don't even need the better specs. Sigh. #sian #isawthiscoming #siaoliao

Had my gate installed by Pang Giap 2 weeks ago. Customer service/sales service by Nicholas was great. But the installation team was in such a big hurry they started before I arrived, and that's like 15 mins before our agreed timing. Then I noticed my power box broken into pieces. They said some workers came before them. But I was with my contractor and he said none of his workers came that day. Fed back to Nicholas and he was prompt in following up with me on this. Obviously the workers (and the real culprit) will never own up to it. Good thing my town council had it replacedd very quickly. P.S: If your gate is close to the parapet like mine, it would be advisable to top up just a wee bit more to have your gate galvanized. PG charged me $60 for it.

Alan's door supplier came down personally to explain to me that the door is correct. LOL. He said there is no "ao tu bu ping" surface - the local factories that supply doors to him do not do such doors. He + Alan both assured me (at different times) that they will clean up the lines before varnishing. I am really tempted to request for it to be switched to one without lines. But what would happen to this piece of tree? *tree-hugger* Hi bert7332, do check with the door suppliers/factories. You may be able to get a cheaper price if you go direct/outsource it? I highly recommend that you do. Woah you meant they took a long a few different doors? Or did they have a catalogue with wood blocks for you to choose? Yes, we should've been informed clearly from the start. I mean, like I said, it took so many ding dong back and forth, PLUS a visit from the door supplier himself, for me to find out the catalogue is truly not accurate? And that they don't supply the "uneven surface" door I was looking for? Hilarious. Eh the grout thing, good if you yourself or you have someone to scrape it all off. I can't and don't, so I have to pay someone to do it (along with scrubbing off all the extra plastering on my window frames, thanks to the trigger-happy plastering team).

Hi PTopaz, I was quoted $900. Apparently the sliding tracks are costly. But if you think about it, a normal hinged nyatoh door plus frame may also cost around the same. Hi Songz, thanks, will definitely post the end results here. As for the door, we're still mulling over it. The machine-carved lines are really unsightly. If it can't look the same as the catalogue, at least a plain one will look neater than this. I'm just afraid they proceed to varnish it with all that chipped bits in the lines. We'll never know until it's done. Anyway... FINAL WEEK! Can't wait for everything to be over!

Not sure why that catalogue photo disappeared but here it is again:

Other updates.. Went to pick up a few items at Ikea Alexandra because they are OOS at Tampines, and boy, was the experience a wayyy better one. Enough staff to attend to your needs, self-serve payment counters to cut Q time, items picked up/out for you, and plenty of taxis avaiable. Screw Ikea Tampines. And.. the long-awaited nyatoh sliding door has arrived. Judge for yourself if it's the correct door. To think that Alan wanted to have it varnished in this state. I don't know. Should I keep it? It's really not what I ordered, although Alan said his door supplier confirmed that it is Model CM 19B. Someone here had PM-ed me recently about a similar experience. The door he ordered via Alan turned out to be something very different. If you're newly signed on with Alan, I suggest you engage your own door supplier. Outsource it, please.

Just wanna update that I have found someone to clean up and "finish off" my cement screed wall. It will cost me a small sum but it's better than being forced to accept it in its crappy state. 1) It is so dusty and all the painters did while demo-ing the wrong lacquer application was to apply directly without first wiping it. I asked, and it appeared that the thought of wiping the surface before applying the finishing did not come to their mind at all. FYI, this wall's been sitting there like this since December. 2) They can't be bothered to source for and mix a proper finishing for me. 3) They filled the holes (drilled for cables and pipes) with cement rather than the same material as the wall. Someone here posted about this exact experience in his/her blog. And everyone - from Alan to the paint team - lied through their teeth to convince me "it's like that", "the colour tone will always be different". Well, it's not like that, and it's different because you used different materials. I've had 2 different sub-cons come in to take a look at it and they both told me the truth about the "different tones". 4) All that extra grouting that had been slapped onto the skirting that Alan's workers had refused so adamantly to scrape off. (Yes, I know we ourselves are physically capable of scraping it off on our own. But why should we clean up the workers' careless and shoddy workmanship?) There's also black spots and marks all over the wall. Best of all, the workers left a dent in the wall while removing that rectangular patch (read my earlier posts). Nevermind. Let's see what this sub-con can do for me. I'm starting to truly feel excited about moving into my flat. Coz this guy also offered a few simple solutions for other parts of the flat that Alan and his workers had refused to rectify. Isn't this wonderful???? Stay tuned for updates!

Hi simplehuman, thanks for your post. For some parts, it has worked, for others, something stronger is needed. Plus my arm is injured so I can't really apply much strength. Have decided to pay someone to do it.

Don't worry. If your painters do a neat job then it should be ok. Also, make sure the tiling team doesn't leave extra grout on your skirtings. That's what they did for mine - scrape clean their scrappers onto my skirtings, and I find hardened grout mix here and there. For those who are opting for plastering, make sure they don't plaster onto your window frames. It's not impossible to remove, of course. But all these take time and effort. Best avoided if you don't have people helping you.

Your unit is in a way better condition than mine before my reno began. I also believe in the less maintenance required, the better. No time, no time!

Heh. These wood-like tiles are pretty popular with many friends here. That's the thing, Dad did everything for me too. And sometimes, the maid. No more of such luxury if one wishes to move out!

Eeks. Just saw a few posts about bad sofa-shopping experience on the Home Furnishing forum. We've ordered all our stuff (not a lot, overall) from super established companies in Singapore, so I hope there are not hiccups. In fact, so far we've rung them up a few times to change the delivery dates and all and the service has been pretty good. And these are mostly items that were on sale, mind you. Not atas. In some cases, we could even SMS the sales manager. Awesome. Will update after everything has arrived. http://www.renotalk.com/forum/topic/64311-bad-experience-with-online-furniture-shop-castlery/ http://www.renotalk.com/forum/topic/41278-do-not-ever-buy-from-winter-international/ http://www.renotalk.com/forum/topic/51760-beware-of-la-cafa-furniture-design-at-the-new-furniture-mall-at-toh-guan-road/

Hi koori and Songz, they are regular tiles which look like wood, so I guess it's ok to use a scrapper. Which was what I did yesterday, but a lot still won't come off. I'm so lousy at this!

Nice! Especially the wall colour in the bathroom. It really goes well with the subway tiles and everything else.

That's what the lady who was Q-ing behind me said too! Ugh. But I live rather close to the Tampines store ($8 by cab off-peak). Sigh. We're missing legs and drawers. Didn't wanna return so soon but guess we don't have a choice. Gotta be smart about this upcoming visit: Do all our research online, visit the store when it's not crowded, and take all the time in the world to locate and pickup the items.