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i went to try the height of the kitchen hob at my Mr's place... looks abit tall for me... this is how the kitchen cabinet will look like when I reduce the kitchen cabinet for the hob portion.. when the hob portion is lowered down, it doesn't look as nice right!dilemma dilemma alternatively, we are considering to put an aerobic step at the hob portion if we built the cabinet at standard height... haha... am i too exaggerating ???

Thanks bykaraanne for your sharing!

hi all, I have a question to ask... did anyone make the kitchen hob lower than the rest of the kitchen cabinet? usually we will see people making the kitchen bottom cabinet of the same height... but I am 153cm, my mom asked me to make the cooking area lower so that i would not feel so tired cooking... but it wouldn't look nice... any advice?

btw i did not hand carry it back, i brought everything back by car... the stuff alone is enough to occupy the boot and backseat totally...

Hi, Ks Toh is right! we have to pay 7% tax... From what I know from the website, if we make a return trip within 48 hours, there will be a $150 GST relief... and if we leave SG more than 48 hours, the tax relief is $600... the tampoi staff told me that they can issue a "fake" receipt which costs lesser, but once get caught, the fine is 10x... i just went to but the fans and lights ... this is what i bought... - 2 Sensa 5 (KDK) - 2 V touch junior (KDK) - 1 elmark swivel fan - 1 improvised elmark fan - 4 18watt led lights - 26 Philips 9w/11w led downlights and this costs less than RM5200 (SGD 1734)... because i went in alone and came back within 48 hours... my tax relief is $150, 1 paid $109 tax for the fans and lightings... still very worth it.. but note... if I am not wrong, if we get the fans and lights from anywhere except SG, it is not covered by insurance.... it is still very worth it to get the fans and lightings there... Hope this helps:)

meanwhile.... we are still waiting for plastering works to start tmr and it will only be done by next fri ... only when plastering work is done, then the other work such as electrical work and plumbing can be done... in case you do not know why we plaster the wall... it is because the previous owner had rockstone wall which looks like this... and we are quite disturbed by the roughness of the wall.. so we decided to plaster smooth the wallssss... so those who are looking for resale houses... you need to also examine the wall of the house... this plastering alone costs $2.5k to $3.5K depending on size of house... so have to consider probably... we only learnt our lesson after we bought the house ... material to be used for plastering... protective layer laid... all ready for plastering and the rest of the reno works.. Moving on... 2 super bad news for me... the first one is the time needed to do plastering.... i had previous arranged the aircon person to come on the 15 Dec for 1st installation.. but plastering work can only be done by 18 Dec... so the aircon installation is postponed to 22Dec... next... Amcon forwarder told me my goods are still trapped in China custom... I thought that I will be able to receive the shipment by this week as i asked for it to be sent out on the 23Nov... now everything is still in China sian max! my sink is in that shipment and I needed the sink to build the concrete support! so now I can only wait! because Amcon isn't sure when the shipment can be released from the custom side! pray hard that the shipment can be release asap.. like now... haha... because of the delay in the above 2... i think my reno work will delay... hopefully everything can still be done before CNY... praying very hard now... meanwhile... i end the post with the view from my house.. my Mr and I consider this a good view as it is far from the opposite block..

H all, sorry for the wait... my reno progress has been slow recently... so nothing much to update until now... haha... FIRST... the mistakes in last post have been rectified.. 1. fridge area reduced to 80cm, 2. base of kitchen cabinet reduced... and tiled up.. NEXT, cement screed wall for kitchen done... probably the sealen hasn't been applied yet... we decided to use concrete screed to save some $$ for kitchen wall tiles... we thought that since we are using glass backsplash with hood together with normal cooking... and that our cooking area is near the window... we need not worry too much about oil stain on the wall of the kitchen.. so hence we decided to use concrete screed instead... haha.... my Mr and I both like the finishing of the concrete screed wall... happy with it TBC...

last week, we went for a short getaway to bandung for 5 days .. so we leave the reno totally to our id... haha... we were told that cement screeding, waterproofing and tiling will take about 3 weeks... so meanwhile we really chill during our hols as there are nothing much to see.. so when we touched down last Sunday, we put down our luggages and then we chiong to our new place to see see look look... haha... to our surprise, the tiling works is about 80% to 90% done.. most of the area are tiled up except the skirtings, the floor tiles for the 2 toilets and wall tiles for masterbed room toilet.. the tiles used for living room, dining area, cozy corner, kitchen and walkway... as you can see... there are random striations on the tiles... the wall tiles for common toilet is up the wall between service balcony and kitchen is hacked... making the whole place looks brighter and more airy.. the cement based for the kitchen bottom cabinets are laid... like many bloggers have said... must go down to the site to see see look look so that you can rectify any mistakes or miscommunication asap... so we spotted 2, and we clarified w the id.. the first one... is the size of the fridge... by default, the id will leave a 90cm space... but we don't need such a big space for fridge... after measuring the fridges at our parents' home, we decided to leave a 80cm space... because we are a small family, we don't need such a huge fridge ... bigger fridge means we will store more junk and also consume more electricity.. also, even if we have new family members, the existing space can allow us to fit in a 450 litres fridge.. which is more than enough.. And we don't want such a big space for a small fridge, then we will have a big lobang at the sides for the fridge... the lobang will look ugly and worst of all, not space efficient and collect dust only... so we told the id to reduce this space and the 10cm will go to the kitchen cabinet... Note: decide of the fridge size you want and tell the ID how much space to leave for your fridge... at the same time, allow 10cm to 15cm gap for further fridge expansion.. haha the next one is the concrete screed laid for the kitchen base... we wanted the kitchen cabinet to stop at the pipe area... then leave the area after the pipe to the window of the service balcony empty.. but the workers laid the concrete all the way to the window area... already inform the id and he quickly admitted it's his mistake, will rectify it for us after the tiling, the workers will plaster the wall (make smooth the wall) as the previous owner had rockstone ... i am still waiting for my amcon shipment.. my sink is there and it will only arrive next week... i will need to order my vanity set from taobao soon as shipment takes quite a while... i will go and see see look look my new house today again... will update soon..

Some updates on the house... this week has been quite a constructive week for us... we bought the following items: 1.Tecno hob and hood from Hoe Kee, we went to the main show room to look at the items they have.. including toilet bowls and vanity set... however in the end, we bought the toilet bowls from another shop.. we asked the salesperson which is better, Tecno or Fujioh.. she said the suction for Fujioh is stronger... but Tecno is good enough for normal household cooking... the bundle set purchase is only $668... on Tecno official website, the package deal costs $768... so we save $100 here T22TG, but in brushed silver colour TH968T 2. 2 Baron toilet bowls at $408 ($195 each plus 2 plastic holders/adaptors.. ) we did the butt test as many bloggers suggested we basically sit on many toilet bowls to see which one has more feel many people will usu go to Balestier area to find their vanity sets and toilet bowls... but you can drop by Jalan Besar area.. the price there are quite competitive and definitely, there are a wide range of variety and products to choose from... you can buy vanity sets, heaters, rainshower sets.. the best is that most of the bosses tend the stores themselves, so you can go directly to them and ask for the best price 3. Daikin system 3 - 3MKS71/ FTKS25X2 + FTKS35 (9+9+12 BTU) 3 ticks energy efficiency my colleagues recommended this person to me... they used his service 2 to 3 years ago and they are happy with him... so I'm more keen to engage him too... this person is very prompt and friendly... I successfully bargain for a better price .. I think reno project is really fun... esp when you have the time to spare and go and find the items you need for the house... although it is quite a tiring process and that there are lots of new info to learn, but every decisions we make will determine the practicality and functioning of the house... if we get ID, we might not need to go through this fun and tedious process as ID will probably decide many things for you.. we are enjoying this reno project.. and we hope you will enjoy yours too

we did quite a bit of things this weekend 1. went to Tampoi lightings - price is indeed good, about much cheaper than SG - we plan to get all our LED down lights (Philips - 9w and 11w), ceiling lights (for store, bathrooms), 3 KDK fans and 2 Elmark fans (improvised version - added lights to the fans) and 2 instant heaters - we have not bought any as we do not drive... we probably need 2 trips to bring back all the stuff.. - we will update again when we bought the stuff (the shop does not allow photography) 2. went to meet ID to discuss - to finalise electrical and lighting plans - change of sliding window to casement window (master bedroom) - change of veneer solid doors to classic door (budget consideration and that we don't really need a solid door) - ask about timeline for reno... as all of us know.. from now till next feb, there are lot of holidays... and the reno sector will rest for 1 month during the CNY period... we hope the reno can be completed before CNY... so we don't need to wait for the 1 month long reno hols...haha... so below is the proposed timeline - 1st to 3rd week - lay tiles - 4th week - plaster wall (the previous owner had rockstone wall...) - 5th - 7th week - aircon installation, electrical work, plumbing and built-in - 8th -10th week - painting, lay vinyl floor, install lights, fan and doors 3. went to see see look look sofa - we like the cellini L-shaped Ross sofa... selling at $1199.. cheaper than many of the sofas we have seen and it's so far the only sofa both of us like... but it's a little huge for us... the sofa is 2.9m long... we are still KIV-ing it... haha...

We went to the house to take a look after the debris were cleared... living room cozy corner and living room dining room and cozy corner kitchen just gotten approval from hdb to hack this wall kitchen and dining area the walk way to bedrooms... dunno why the previous owner made the false ceiling so low... the whole house looks so much better with the false ceiling removed... but there are 2 "lobangs" on the ceilings of the walkway.. maybe will install 2 decor lightings here.. masterbed room.. raised ceilings and the hidden window

Thank you i think the previous owner sealed it because of feng shui loh!! haha...

Hi all, Hacking work has started... but I'm still waiting for hdb's approval to hack down a wall... to sidetrack abit.. I do not know if anyone feels the same as my Mr and me... we transferred about 50% of the reno cost to our id before the start of the reno... but because during then, we are still waiting for permit to hack the floor...so we do feel a bit of insecure.. it is not that we don't trust our id or what... but you know.. when you paid quite a huge sum of $$, you do expect to see something done right??? haha... or maybe we are too noob for reno alr... haha... so when the id msg us and told us that hacking work can start, we were overwhelmed by excitement... it is like... finally everything can fall into place le... haha... so.. the whole place looks like a war zone now.. Day 1 the master bedroom toilet fast forward to Day 3 still look like war zone but actually I am very looking forward to see the raised ceiling in the mbr and the 传说中的window... that is the hidden window behind the wardrobe.... today.. i finally get to see it!! haha... happy with what i saw i think the raised ceiling is more than 30cm tall loh!! the workers will clear the debris tomorrow... slowly feeling like a house owner le ..

Hi Luxexplorer, bigger house means spend more money for the house and on reno.. hahaha... and also more housework to do ... today the hacking starts and the team removed quite a bit of the built in cabinets... so looking forward to see the progress each day... haha... all the best to your reno journey and enjoy! hahah...

Yeah! the hacking will start tomorrow.. .. still waiting for permit to hack the wall... hope it will be approved soon... hahaha... our proposed layout for the house... bedroom 2 will be the study room and bedroom 3 will be the guestroom.... as for the existing dining area (empty space on the right of the bedroom 3), it will be converted to our cozy/relax corner... as my Mr knows how to draw sketches using software.... this is look our kitchen will look like we will construct a glass door, bottom kitchen cabinet with glass on top of it... we are waiting for permit to hack the wall between the kitchen and service balcony... pushing the sink inwards to the service balcony area...

last but not least.... my big big master bed room... hahaha the 16 feet built in wardrobe! don't get too envy ah... and there is a big window (see the bigger window in the pic below) sealed up by the wardrobe... we will hack the wardrobe and open up this hidden window to make the room looks brighter... last but not least... back to the living room again... we will do a total reno... pocket burnt reno work has not yet started as reno permit is still under processing... hopefully we can start work asap so stay tuned for updates...

i have fixed the technical issue part... hahaha.. time to upload pic again... let me show off my huge living room and dining area.. haha.. the kitchen looking out from the kitchen.. the existing dining area is supposingly the study room.. the very headache toilet layout which i have shared earlier the almost identical twins... haha... the 2 common rooms