mrbytez

Went browsing @ Courts & Gain City after looking at all the tiles. Looking at this LG Washer that features steam wash or the Samsung WD906U4SAGD (9/6KG Washer/Dryer). Love those Side by Side/ French door refrigerators to bits! Somehow really attracted to them... Haha.. but Auto Ice Maker is a MUST. LG GS-L5062PZ (Said to be assembled in Thailand) The Samsung RSH7UNSL (Made in Korea) looks much better and more stylish though. Look at the control display. You can choose from cubed or crushed ice... Interior is more spacious as well. However, there's a killer point. The samsung model requires plumbing, meaning you have to attach a hose for water supply to the back of the fridge for it to draw water to make ice and supply cold water. I hear that this kind of setup is much more troublesome, especially when it becomes faulty? Any feedback on this? I'm placing the fridge at the point where it used to be where the previous owners placed their washer, so tada, I do have water supply if I want to go ahead with this. Otherwise, I'll probably seal it off. An alternative choice will be the Hitachi French Door refrigerator. (Said to be assembled in Thailand) Any recommendations or feedbacks?

Some other interesting designs that I saw.. Was toying with the idea of topping up for these. Looks so nice... But might not match or fit in.. And the famous bricks.. No wonder people always have a hard time choosing laminates...

So, HDB permit was granted for hacking on 27,28,29! Contractor informed me that it was time to choose tiles for the kitchen flooring & wall. Went down to Soon Bee Huat (SBH) @ Toh Guan, wow... lots of tiles and a huge variety to choose from. First thing I asked for was tiles that looked closest to cement screed... So, yup. There were a few colour and design variations, hard to decide.. But narrowed down to these 3-4 tiles. Price was pretty ok at approx $3 psf. Living & Dining flooring will be cement screed, till budget allows in future, perhaps vinyl overlay for living area. Balcony flooring wise, perhaps artificial grass turf. Still deciding between the first 2 (AT-3604/AT-3605) for the flooring.. 1st is darker while 2nd looks more close to cement screed, however they say the 2nd has a greenish tinge to it. 3rd (AT-3602) will be for the wall. Also considering whether to use the big square tiles (60x60) for the flooring or the half sized rectangular tiling (30x60). Wall wise should be going with the half sized rectangular 30x60.

You have the mounted pics yet?

Meanwhile, bought the sink but forgot about the faucet (tap). Haha. Browsed a few online shops and catalogues, but design wise I don't really like those with the wire mesh springs for the pull out spray etc.. Saw a few fancy ones from Hansgrohe! But the faucet cost more than my sink. Hansgrohe Critterio M (Steel Optik) (US$422.81) So yeah... **** expensive so yeah. cannot afford this indulgence for now. lol... Go on to look at the same brand faucets to match instead.. Kraus. Kraus KPF-1622 (Satin Nickel) (US$148.99) Kraus KPF-2220SN (Satin Nickel) (US$160.99) Didn't know how to choose... so got my wife to random pick one. And of course, she picked the cheapest out of the lot. Hee.. so the Kraus KPF-1622 it is, in Satin Nickel option instead of the common chrome. Ordered via Amazon again. One good news to share is that, for those who are keen in Kraus sinks, Amazon has recently just dropped the price for their 30" 32" Kraus sinks from $299.95 to $239.95! US$60 savings! I got mine at US$299.95 though. Only noticed the price drop recently while I was browsing for faucets. Contacted the customer service via Amazon chat to point out the price drop. Haha, guess what? Before I went on further, the CSO asked me if I would like a refund for the price difference! Wow, awesome customer service! Haha, of course that would be great. So yeah, with the US$60 savings, I went to purchase the faucet via Amazon US as well. Was so tempted to go for the Hansgrohe faucet.. But the CSO also mentioned that although it's a beauty, the price tag is really . Hee... so order just placed, and will wait for the faucet to arrive. Meanwhile, HDB Permit for the renovation and hacking works have also been approved! But then because the applied dates for hacking was 21,22,23 which is today and the permit was only granted yesterday evening, the contractor mentioned that it was too "last minute notice" and he couldn't arrange workers at such short notice. So he'll request with HDB to get dates for next week instead.

Your balcony is the standard 1 floor balcony whereas the service balcony is 2 storey height ya? Ok pm you later. Hee, thanks.

That's for table top use right?

Lai leh see some photos of the stairs. lol. Kitchen is per original spec or did you remove any walls? 3rd Gen balcony is the service yard area right?

That aside, HDB just called to inform that the reno permit has just been approved. However, too last minute for the contractor.. They might only be able to start next week. Plans are to hack open the kitchen walls, existing flooring on the lower floor. Flooring for living and dining to be cement screed, kitchen area with tiles. And full electrical rewiring.

My unit balcony will be facing their "drop off porch" area. Luckily not that jialat like facing carpark or the residential blocks. Hopefully... lol. Just that my left and right will be flanked by the BTO residential blocks that will be up to 16 storeys high. Like right, when all the mansionette blocks in this estate up to around 11th storey or so max out. My corner maxes out at 8/9th and I'm at 6/7th. Their estimated completion is Q1/2017 lol, this BTO consists of 3 blocks of flats. Maybe got chance to park at their MSCP. haha. Where is yours?

For those who are keen in the Kraus sinks... I see that Amazon's pricing is now lowered further... For 30" and 32", it's at $239.96 on Amazon. Just to share... I got mine at $299.95 2 weeks ago. So now there's US$60 savings.

Random rant: Old resale flats have really uneven walls and ceilings which makes for real pain in the "neck" painting.

Lucky you. At least you get to choose the tiles of your choice for the HIP toilet... Mine was all done up already when I got the keys.. lol... 3 toilets all different colour. Also, can't get to choose position of anything in the toilet cos all already done up lol... have to kiv till who knows when liao. I wanted stair steps like yours, original design whereby the steps can be seen... but mine has concrete sidewall support..

Hi, haha no big updates so didn't check back. Missed your post. I've seen quite a few that cover up half height and then extend the living room outwards. But then, it won't have that "open" feel anymore... so... after much thought, decided to stay put and leave it "open" as it is first. After all, the empty plot of land in front of the balcony isn't empty anymore. There's a BTO project with construction ongoing... lol.. No more blue skies...

Not easy to go full out open concept based on my floor plan though, unless the first thing I'd like people to see when I open the door is the kitchen. lol... Somehow I hear that quite a lot of people are against that. Meanwhile, today was still scrapping away at peeling paintwork and then a chunk of the wall at the balcony decided to fall apart and fall to the ground . Lots of sand were used back then during construction, and the beams inside are now rusty, thus the sand couldn't stick together anymore somehow... Gonna try calling Town Council tomorrow to give it a check, hopefully they can do something, because it's like the house is starting to have bits falling apart...

Reserved for update 10

Reserved for update 9

Reserved for update 8

Lightings: Am pondering over using pendant lights for dining, and kitchen island area vs using track lights. Prefer pendant lights for dining area to introduce pops of colour. Living area will probably be lighted using LED downlight. MBR also LED downlight. Other 2 rooms not sure yet. Upper floor corridor perhaps a few track lights or wall scones, same goes for stairway area. Totally no clue how I should plan my lighting points properly. Ugh

Dining area. And you can see delivery of the 30" Kraus Sink! Ordered from Amazon US and delivered by DHL. Took about 1 week plus in all. Now that the sink has been settled, it's time to choose an induction hob for the frequent cooking. Reason why an induction hob is because this flat doesn't come with town gas, so if we were to choose a gas hob, we'll have to run them on gas cylinders. Never liked those. So yeah... Been looking in the market, seeing brands like Bosch, Electrolux, Brandt, Mayer.. 2 Hobs should suffice. So price range from $799 for Electrolux, Rinnai $899, $999 Bosch, $1,099~$1,199 Mayer (Latter price for Hybrid Hob, 1 Induction, 1 Radiant: Whereby it's said to be compatible with non-induction friendly cookware as well, as long as they have a flat base), $1,399 Brandt. Noteworthy was that Mayer has 5 Years warranty for their glass surface.. Looks good as well but noticed that the base is slightly raised up by a couple of mm with this silicon/foam layer... Wonder if this will trap dirt and grime after long term usage... Not yet made up my mind on my choice of hob as of yet though. Haha, thought this time I should play safe and seek the electrician's advice first. Because the Hybrid Hob from Mayer requires 15Amp while the rest requires only 13Amp. Have to do a little more research on the hobs too. Any recommendations from anyone?

The view from BR3. Not yet done up with painting as electrical and lightings yet to be laid. Ultra Grey. The white is the Matex Emulsion (Still thinking whether to go all grey or leave 1-2 walls to paint white. Thinking also to paint the window main frame in bright yellow for the colour burst and contrast. BR3 (Ultra Grey, but with sunlight) Camouflages the aircon unit. lol MBR, also in Ultra Grey. lol.. The yet to be removed "chandeliers" because they're too high up, waiting for contractors to do it. The wall behind the lights not yet completed painting so you see white patches still.

The current 70% reinstated balcony. LOTS of hard labour contributed by my dear uncle. Had to climb out of BR2 windows, walk on two planks placed above the balcony void to scrape off as much of the peeling paint as possible, and then apply sealer, patch holes and falling concrete. And so this is how bad the paintwork condition was, and how dangerous it was for my uncle. MBR Bathroom. Really small and hate the layout, any idea how I can do a dry/wet layout in future? The sink is just beside the showerhead A total of 3 toilets, and all 3 in different colour schemes. The common toilet on the lower floor is in blue. Common bathroom on upper floor. Looks more spacious somehow. Current view from BR2 & Balcony (The BTO construction).

Zzzzzz... Waiting for HDB approval for renovation permit to begin hacking of lower floor's floor tiles, kitchen walls and tiles. Initially decided to go with a close friend's ID recommendation but then last minute received quotation from my uncle's friend who's a contractor... Budget decided to go with the contractor. Renovation permit was already applied by ID, so have to submit cancellation and then wait for HDB to process cancellation before new permit approval can be requested.. Gain City came to install my LG Sys 3 Aircon system (Placed deposit during the Gain City Expo a while back, $3.3K for the system, top up $150 more for stainless steel bracket and another $180 for upgraded pipes. Free LG Air Purifier, $100 Mastercard, $240 Gain City Vouchers) for the 3 bedrooms. During installation of the LG Artcool Sys 3 Aircon, something bad happened, due to my own inexperience as well partly. The Gain City installers said it was better and recommended to install the trunking as close as possible to the wall and ceiling beams. However, there were existing electrical wiring and trunking at the beams. The original aircon trunking layout is like a maze running long and far... So decided to go for the shortest possible. The installers then mentioned I didn't have to stay and supervise because it will be really dusty and be like a battlefield. So I went back home for a short rest. After which, I received a call from the head installer that they are running the aircon piping and trunking, but there are existing electrical wiring and trunking in the way, so they request to cut them away, and that it is easy to run the electrical wirings later, so I agreed because I couldn't imagine the situation in my mind also. When they called to inform that the installation was complete, I headed back and based on my visual inspection, the workmanship looked good. The headache came 2 days later when my uncle who is also an electrician, came to look at my place as he intended to help me with the electrical wirings. He was very pissed and angry at how the aircon piping and trunking were laid when he saw the place. >.< He pointed out that the electrical wirings were snipped and trunking removed. The nightmare was that, because the mains DB Box is located on the lower floor in the storeroom, electrical wirings were laid and brought up to the upper floor via a hole drilled at the corner of the MBR. The aircon installers snipped the electrical wires right at the point where the wires popped out from the hole. AND the mains were still switched on, meaning electricity is still live and running, if anyone were to touch the wires, 100% electrocuted. Furthermore, it was only then that I realised the previous owners had concealed the electrical wirings from MBR to the toilets and other bedrooms in the wall. The installers also snipped away at the wires at those points, which then rendered the lighting and heater switches at the corridor upstairs useless. The existing wires were concealed and then cement was poured or applied into the holes, so existing wires can't be pulled out or replaced . The dug out hole for concealing the electrical wiring done by previous owner. The part where the electrical wires come up from the lower floor to MBR. (All snipped at the lowest point possible, by the aircon installers). The trunking you see is for the aircon water pipe. I then called the head installer and he told me it's not a problem as I can proceed to lay the electrical wiring inside the aircon trunking. I then thought, whew, so I'm saved... But then, my uncle again pointed out, as the aircon pipings are made of copper internals and then bent at the corners to fit, there won't be enough space to poke through, and I will have to drill some parts of the trunking so the wires can run through. PLUS, HDB might not approve of electrical wiring being laid in the same trunking as the aircon piping. URGH!! WtFish.... Anyway, still waiting for HDB permit.. We'll see how from then again. **** headache.... Ok, so weeks passed and due to work, I didn't have much time to spare but... We started work on scraping away at peeling paint in the balcony, kitchen ceiling, lower floor ceiling. Sealant was applied in the balcony, falling concrete was also patched and laid. Emulsion paint was painted over existing paintwork... Cracks were patched numerous times... Somehow the walls seem to be falling apart . All existing lightings removed, less the "chandelier" over the staircase as it's way too high up, have to wait for contractor to remove. Lower floor ceilings were repainted in white emulsion, false ceiling and L box bases were put up.. I also test painted the rooms in Nippon Paint Ultra Grey. WOW, were they really Ultra Grey haha. Cool and dark grey... Now I need to think of a really good lighting plan. Test painted dining area in Ice White, somehow didn't seem to be the kind of white that I wanted. Wait till it dries then I'll post up some photos of them. So far only 1 coat applied. Didn't dare to waste efforts in detailed painting as electrical still not yet laid, and flooring not yet hacked... Kraus sink arrived as of 12/01 which is today. Really huge! haha but looks really good as well. Can't wait! Now have to source for an induction hob and then the contractors will be able to plan dimensions of my kitchen properly.

A little on the unit: It's close to 30 years old, first owner all the way till it changed hands into mine. In quite a state that at a glance you'd know it requires a Huge Project Makeover. But after some ups and downs, found out that with the budget I had, this was an absolute MUST BUY! So yeah, already missed not once, not twice.. so.. cannot think anymore.. One huge bad point is that, the plot of land in front of the balcony area is now under going construction for a new BTO project. Sharing a few photos of the existing condition whereby most of the budget will go into the makeover of these areas first, so you should see the most, even though not that much, of a difference. This is the view of the living room and stairway plus balcony from the dining area (If you can spot the tortoise hiding under the living area floor tiles) meaning the floor tiles have a bulge and are popping upwards, but no cracks yet: The MBR: The Kitchen (Not the kitchen I'd want to have, even though I don't cook much): The Balcony (Apparently the peeling paint is such an eyesore, really cannot tahan): With the help of my 3 uncles, the painting of the whole place will now be DIY. Currently trying to scrape off all the peeling paint from walls, ceilings, etc... filling putty into the holes at the walls... And then using sealer for the ceilings and perhaps balcony as well. However, L box and cove lighting for the MBR and maybe for the living hall plus dining area as well, can be covered by my uncle as well! Weee, so happy to have so many talented uncles to help me out. Will be hacking away all of the floor tiles for the lower floor due to the tortoise hiding beneath the tiles at the living area. Budget restraints, so cement screed for the flooring. Kitchen cabinets, wall and floor tiles all to come down... Am thinking real hard whether or not to hack away all of the kitchen walls.. hearing quite a bit of objections. However, because we seldom cook, and I really hoped to get the open concept kitchen.. It's a tug of war in my head now. The kitchen and living area is really small though, due to the stairway, so the open concept kitchen with a island/ counter area may not turn out as I've envisioned and dreamt it to be.... So still have 1-2 days to decide whether I want all of the walls down, or just the walls facing the stairway down, and keep the wall facing the main door. Wanted to bring the storeroom down also, but due to practicality issues and the future need for a store, might decide to keep that.

Purchases &amp; Sign-Ups Made So Far: LG Artcool Mirror Black System 3 + Upgraded Insulation &amp; Pipes + Stainless Steel Bracket (12K BTU x 1, 9K BTU x 2) M1 1Gbps Fibre Broadband + Asus RT-AC87U Wireless Router Nippon Paint - Vinilex 5170 Oil Based Wall Sealer 5L x 3 Nippon Paint - Matex Emulsion Paint 34L x White Nippon Paint - Odourless Anti-Mould 1L x Ceiling White Nippon Paint - Odourless Easy Wash 5L x Ultra Grey, 6L x White Ice, 15L x Sail White, 1L x Mayan Yellow, 2L x Sweet Pink. Nippon Paint - Bodelac 9000 1L x Shadow, 1L x Mayan Yellow. Brushes &amp; Rollers (Many, lol) Turpentine, Thinner, Masking Tape. $2xx worth of electrical wires &amp; trunking. Kraus 30" Stainless Steel Sink Kraus KPF-1622 Kitchen Faucet (Satin Nickel) Eubiq SH1 Power Track 600mm x 1, 800mm x 1 Eubiq E-Genesis 1 Power Track 600mm x 1 Eubiq BS3 British Premium Adaptor (Titanium) x 9 (Comes with a package for each track with 3 each) LED Square Downlights 12W Tri-colour, Dimming x 8 LED Square Downlights 12W Warm White x 5 LED Square Downlights 12W Cool White x 6 LED Downlights Remote Control (For changing of colour and dimming) x 2 LED Light Panel Square 25W x 1 LED Light Panel Circle 25W x 3 LED Light Panel Square 18W x 1 Hitachi RW690FP3MSX~GBK Dyson DC74 Fluffy Vacuum Dyson AM07 Tower Fan (Black/Nickel) Grove Rainshower Icon x 2 Smeg SI5322B Induction Hob Smeg KSET61 Telescopic Hood