BlueFly

Get a sink (1) that is large enough to hold your largest-sized wok (2) one with two bowls (3) slightly curved bottom so that debris will flow to the waste-hole easily (3) one that is easy to clean and maintain and finally, (4) parts that are easy to find and replace. Our previous Japan-made sink was constructed of stainless steel (easy to clean) and had a 5-inch waste hole with a s/s drainage basket that sat inside the waste-hole to collect kitchen waste (we wanted that, but found it tiresome to clean later, as mold and algae formed on the basket after a few days!!), and was large enough to bathe our baby in it !! What that sink needed repair (the outlet hose beneath the sink broke) we had a hard time finding a replacement hose that would fit the large waste hole of the drainage basket container. Our current sink is a black Blanco granite sink. Only downside is the flat bottom of the sink, as waste bits are left on the flat bottom and had to be hosed to the waste outlet to clean the sink properly -- a minor inconvenience. We think the the rigid plastic hose parts beneath the sink will probably last a long time (our guess only). Apart from that, we prefer the Blanco sink over ur previous stainless steel sink.

Our comment is only for the Rinnai inner flame hob -- been using it for the last 4-5 months, and found it a cinch to clean spillovers. Simply lift up the inner cup with yr two fingers and wipe away spills, etc. That is much easier and more convenient that with our previous hob with the normal outer flame burners. With the Rinnai model we don't need to remove the iron trivet to lift up the inner cup. As for spills on the hob top, simply wipe off with a wet soapy cloth. As for our experience, we've had burnt some meats while cooking (e.g. left unattended for a short while to pick up a call) coz we still were not used to the much faster and hotter cooking of the Rinnai. You also need to learn how to turn on the gas (missing in the instruction). But overall, give us this hob with the inner flame anytime!!

don't be fooled by names. contractors and ids are simply a label. these days anybody can call themselves ids or contractors, and there is no law against that, unlike doctors or lawyers, etc. hence many contractors now call themselves "ID"s and many ids are simply doing the work of contractors. some ids cannot design but can supervise well and some contractors can give u good drawings but do a poor job. b4 i did my reno, one of the leading contenders for my reno (he called himself an id) was someone who had no backgrd in reno or contractor!! he was a hdb technical officer, a poly grad. i had a good impression of him and wanted to give him the job, except at the last minute he was unable to respond in a timely manner. so whether id or contractor, impt u do backgrd checks first on their work and see if u like what u see, then proceed to negotiate prices with the guy u decide to employ -- be it contractor or id. cheers

Have you tried using pest companies? I am thinking of using pest companies (esp those not black-listed for price collusion) because many yrs ago (when I was renting) some pest companies came to fumigate my home once a yr as part of the regular condo maintenance contract. And the home was rid of common pests like cockroaches and ants. Worked well. Does anyone have any prior experience with pest companies? Pl share yr contacts and experience. btw, DDT has been banned as a pesticide (FAO, govts, etc) for many yrs already, though some places might still sell the stuff -- check with AVA. DDT does not break down easily and cows, birds, etc that eats vegetation / fruits etc sprayed with DDT accumulates the stuff internally, eventually passing the poison to humans via the food chain.

Built-in fridges used to be very popular some time back. Kitchen Culture at Alexandra Rd is one of the outfits that has built-ins. My own view is to proceed with caution, because built-ins limit your choices if you have to replace the fridge in future, and repairs can be quite bothersome. Moreover, some built-ins are custom-fitted to work properly i.e the fridge door replaces the cabinetry nicely/entirely but in others the fridge door is "screwed" or fixed to the door of the wood cabinet, which does not make for a smooth opening and closing of the fridge door. Because appliances fail and require replacements, my own approach has been to go for the most common sizes for suction hoods, cooker hobs and oven, because these are usually built-in. When the built-in appliance fails, I can replace easily, even if I have to get another brand -- provided the built-in was originally in a common or popular size.

Your ID / plumber will advise you if relocation is possible. If relocation of toilet bowls is possible, they will get HDB approval for you. Actually you can determine for yourself if relocation is possible -- simply see where the existing bowl connects to the sewage pipe and if the new location for the bowl makes it difficult or impossible to connect to the sewage pipe, then relocation is not possible. Altho the bowl may seemingly be relocated, ysour plumber cannot change the sewage pipe outlet location (on the floor) because that would affect the flat unit below your flat. In yr case, I think wall-mounted bowls are not possible unless your existing bowl is already wall-mounted.

I related my experience with the Rinnai RB-2CG on my blog. The more we use the inner flame burner hob, the more we like it, unlike our experience with our previous hob.

Don't simply accept what the sales person tell you -- usually they will say what the buyer wants to hear. Went to a few places and they all said the same thing -- lifetime guarantee on the tempered glass. I finally bought Rinnai hob witjh schott ceran glass, and as expected the sales lady assured me it came with lifetime warranty, provided breakage was not due to buyer's fault e.g. not dropping hard objects onto the glass, not placing hot pans onto it, etc. Fair enough, I thought. After the hob was delivered and installed, called Rinnai's factory because the supposedly lifetime warranty was nowhere mentioned in either the warranty card, sales invoice, d/o etc. And the Rinnai admin staff confirmed warranty for the hob was for 12 months only, that included the ceran glass top too. I wasn't too dismayed as I expected that. Lifetime warranty is such an onerous obligation that very few mfr'er wld offer it. I don't understand why some sales person should resort to such outright lies just to make a sale. Lesson? If any sales guy tell you the product comes with lifetime warranty on the tempered glass, ask him if he would write that down in black & white on the sales invoice (as it is unlikely to be mentioned in the warranty card). His reaction will tell you if he was telling you the truth. That said, I bought the Rinnai hob for its inner flame technology, easy-to-clean schott ceran glass, and compact trivets. All-in, my experience with the hob has been overwhelmingly positive and I wld still recommend the inner flame burner hob despite the lack of lifetime warranty on the glass top. Please note only certain Rinnai models have the inner flame burner.

..snip.. I like your windows. The window fabricators I spoke too doesn't provide this felt strip thing. I find this very cool as it makes sure that there will be no window gaps . Can PM me your window contact? Thanks ! Thanks, kunning. Unfortunately I don't hv the fabricator contact as they worked for my ID. Will however try to get the contact from the ID and pass it to you via pm. rgds

You've answered yr own question, isn't it? On a more serious note, I am unaware if there is any instrument that can detect poor or worn out insulation -- that's probably what we're most concerned with. Usually you simply inspect the electrical wiring with yr naked eyes, to see if the insulation is worn out or melted in some parts. If you want peace of mind, you could apply to Power Supply to test your wiring, which is free, according to the regulator, Energy Mkt Authority. Unfortunately I was told PS wants you to go thro a licensed electrician, who will charge you a fee. Seems to me like PS is avoiding responsibility, isn't it?

Saw this msg too late, i guess, hence my post may be irrelevant. but can't help to point out that conservation on the property puts a cap on the potential value of the land. Those who declare that conservation creates n preserves value cite those peranakan houses at Emerald Hill ($5 mio apiece) as an example. But that example is flawed -- have you considered what those properties would fetch if they were not under conservation, given the premium location and Orchard Rd location?? It's a double whammy loss, if I may say! The value of a property is usually in its location and land, and businesses are willing to pay ever higher prices consistent with the potential return of that location (which includes future zoning and plot ratio upgrade by the govt). Hence when I buy a FH shophouse, for example, I will pass if that property is under conservation status, and go for another across the road that is not under conservation. After all, if my shop business fails say after 15 yrs at that freehold location, i am pretty sure my land will help me get back my original investment plus a neat capital gain. So the property status gives me something to fall-back on. You only hv to think of the Farrer Court owners who got abt $2 mio each from their HDB/HUDB flats. My congrats to them. Capitaland was willing to pay that much because they hv done their calculations and estimated they will make a decent profit when that Farrer Court land is rebuilt and sold in future. Twenty yrs time, when the popn is projected to be 6.5 mio, one can imagine what land values wld be like. Conservation property prices wld go up too but the rise will be limited by the expected return businesses can get from that location whereas the non-conserved 2-storey FH shophouse across the road will fetch maybe 10 times the value of the conservation house, because maybe a shrewd developer found he cld build a 30-storey building on that land given the high plot ratio, pay that price, and still get a decent return on his investment. Owners there will hv a strong incentive to cash in on a collective sale, only if all agree as that area is not strata-titled. And why not, if i could get $10 mio for my property when i paid only say $1-2 mio now? Yes, the conservation house in theory should be worth $10 mio too -- given same land size and location as the one across the road -- but which business cld justify that cost as returns wld not cover operating / interest cost. Hence conservation puts a cap on the potential mkt value of the property. by the same token, if i hv $3 mio to invest, i wld put that money in a condo apt at The Sail or Marina Bay Residence rather than a fh SD at Seletar or East Coast, altho emotionally I wld lean towards the fh SD, but money-wise, i wld put my money on the Sail. that's because there's no more space for another condo at the bay, and those sites have a White Site status, meaning those 2 sites cld be redeveloped into hotels, shops or office buildings, adding further to its potential value. In short, when u buy or invest, much safer to consider not the current price but the future potential value of the site/location. self-interest thus dictates i wld not agree to hv my property gazetted for conservation status. Sure, i support conservation -- as long as it is other peoples' properties, hehehe. p.s btw, can you imagine what another 2 mio increase in population (from 4.5 mio currently) translates to? assuming a condo project size is 200 units, 2 mio ppl more means another 10,000 new condo projects!!! already 50 or so new condo projects to meet demand over the last 2-3 yrs have created so much rise in prices, i can't imagine what the 2 mio pop increase and new demand will do to land and condo prices. sure, not all will live in private condos, say only 10% of the 2 mio increase. That still translates to 2,000 new condos projects (note the distinction, not 200 apt units but condo developments) and where to get the land? Thus if the economy remains buoyant and the property mkt continues to grow, prices can only go up, sad to say. so thank you, but give me only non-conserved properties please, probably in the guillermard/geylang/katong/rochor/jln besar area, preferably fh too !

thanks, applefreak. sounds like my toilet window is like that -- to open, push and it will open out towards the top, except my aluminum guy called that type 'top-hung' casement window when they applied to the hdb for approval. some old houses have windows that are opened by pushing / pulling up or sliding the window pane vertically, sort of like a normal sliding window except the panel moves up and down. thot this was the 'cascading' type referred to?

hey, they still do -- cement is for the toilet bowl base so that the bowl sticks firmly to the floor and is not moveable. silicone in general is used to provide a water- and air-tight seal and shld not be used where joint strength is important. also, some special-purpose silicones also hv good bonding strength. actually i was referring to using silicone for the pan collar, not the toilet base. hope u didn't misread the post la.

Actually, much depends on the toilet bowl and the cement used. I had to re-install my toilet bowl when the first plumber did a bad job of installing. So my ID got another plumber for me. The second plumber team was able to "slice" through the white cement without damaging the bowl, although before they began they were quite worried and cautioned me on the possibility of damage to the bowl. Also, most plumbers do not apply silicone sealant to the pan collar, because most bowls are completely sealed, so no smell is detected after installation. Otherwise the toilet will stink because bad odor escapes from the unsealed pan collar into the toilet room, as in my case, reported on my blog. Suggest you ask yr plumber to apply silicone sealant in any case, even if your bowl is completely sealed. If the pan collar is not sealed with silicone, the toilet will still smell because the cement base develops tiny cracks after several years of wear and tear. Haven't you noticed old toilets stink sometimes?

Grills are not only to stop overactive kids from falling out but may help to prevent prevent accidental deaths to adults too. Forumers may recall that recently there was a news report of a guy who slept-walk and fell to his death because the window was without grills. According to the report, the brother-in-law had asked the deceased (flat owner) to install grills but his advice was not taken. Makes me wanna install grills too although I prefer my windows to be without them.

Electrical wiring has to meet standards. Since HDB is silent on the lifespan of electrical wiring in flats, I believe the lifespan of electrical wiring in our flats is a non-issue. Problems may arise if there is unauthorised wiring done by the owner. Examples include the use of electrical sockets or extensions without SISIR stamp (now Spring Singapore), such sockets have been known to melt and cause fire because of over-loading of the circuit.

Obviously you only pay for the gas you consume, but because of the monthly bill system, you pay every month. The subsequent bill amount is then adjusted when your gas meter is read. So what hihihi meant was that you get a monthly bill whether you use the gas or not. Using Citygas is definitely more expensive than using LPG. The tradeoff is the convenience and space-saving of Citygas. I switched to Citygas because I decided to install a clothes dryer that runs on towngas supplied by Citygas.

I am always wary of light shops that don't display pricing tags on their fixtures. I was nearly slaughtered by one such shop at Jln Besar, related on my blog. Finally I bought all my light fixtures from Lightcraft at Jln Sultan / North Bridge Road. They have a wide selection, displayed their prices prominently, including info such as socket and bulb type -- important for lighting design and layout. As the company serves the regional market too, their stocks are updated regularly and items are sold out relatively fast. They also have clearance items such as PLC and downlights that go for cheaper than shops at Balestier or Geylang. I was glad I checked them out, altho my ID had cautioned me the shop sells up-market items with prices to match.

I think forumers would like to know, as I am, whether you are a real estate agent or have anything to do with property transactions? TIA your reply.

A switch closes the circuit, turning on whatever device is connected to the circuit. If you on the light, the fan will be on, but you cld pull the cord to turn the fan off, provided the fan is connected to the switch by a separate parallel circuit. Most ppl connect in series, so no independent control of either device. That means: switch on -->light on (fan maybe on too depending on the cord) -->go in and pull fan cord to turn it off == too lay-che isn't it? Even then, if u only want the fan but not the light u need a cord switch attached to the light device to turn it off. If u want separate independent control, and dont want to add another switch, yr electrician cld fix a socket near the KDK fan, and connect the fan with a plug. If u don't want a socket u cld connect directly to the fan, as it can be operated by a line cord. That is neater than putting in another switch. i am no electrician, i am only applying logically what i learnt from school. why not ask yr electrician, as he may hv special devices that may do what u want?

If that is right then there is no need to license real estate agents and they don't need to sit for exams lah. Anybody can simply represent a real estate agency and close deals to earn the commission, and (alas) many do that in this hot market. It is hard to control, even harder to police... But that does not make it right as innocent ppl (sellers & buyers) get slaughtered. By your reasoning, any office boy working in a law firm should be able to practice law and advise clients, isn't it? [ Hey, don't laugh, that has happened, you know ! ] BTW, licensing does not weed out the black sheep. I had wanted to report my seller's agent (licensed) who had wanted to under-declare the transacted price. When I wanted to walk away from the purchase after I had signed the option (he said he wld under-declare after I had signed) the seller pleaded with me to close the deal when I wanted my cheque deposit back. I then asked my agent to deal directly with the seller and ignored the seller's agent. My impression was that the agent was trying to cheat the seller who was ignorant of the procedure, altho given the seller's ignorance it wld be difficult to get proof. But the bad taste still lingers, because the agent had picked on a seller who was in bad financial shape already. Don't they have any shred of decency in them? BTW, any agreement can be voided if it was made under duress or misrepresentation. There are loopholes in any agreement and a good lawyer can find enough to get the agreement voided. My 2 cents.

hi wishbone, sorry, but i think u misunderstood my post. my point was that u use sealer to seal the granite, so buying & applying sealer as suggested by angel to do "something abt it" will not solve her problem. patches in one area (presumably in a darker shade) demarcated by straight lines wld suggest the cutter used two granite slabs to cut and join together to produce a longer piece. i may be wrong, the shade may be natural, or man-made e.g. oil stain which is difficult to remove. areas that have lesser shine is also the result of the polishing process. if so yr dealer should try to rectify the issue for you. you paid good money for an expensive top and hv every right to demand satisfaction. i wanted indian black galaxy too for my worktop but dropped the idea as i wasn't assured i wld get what i paid for as there were too many variables that cld go wrong with the purchase. sorry i can't offer anything more constructive.

yes i agree with donut8. you don't hv to worry as agent is not authorised to transact property. however the best defence is offense -- threaten to make a written complaint to IRAS, ROC, HDB, etc and see what happens. if he does not back down then take action. if he threatens bodily harm file a police report. ppl who are shady n out to make a fast buck are cowards and don't like publicity... sometimes u need to hit back -- hard. i also assume u didn't sign any agreement with the agent on his commission, since u said he is not licensed. probably the agent's company is misrepresenting the facts to the lawyer, a serious offence too. suggest u get prospective seller to give u a letter saying the transaction was aborted mutually and not initiated by you -- to safeguard yr interest, in case you omitted to share other facts which may be relevant to the issue. good u hv decided to approach CASE. pl share what CASE thinks after u hv seen them.

Granite, being a natural stone is porous -- shown by changing to a darker shade when you pour water over the granite. The water is absorbed by the granite and the shade becomes darker. Will return back to original shade when granite has dried. Granite slab used for worktops must be sealed with a stone sealer, otherwise stains will be difficult to remove. The sealer is to seal the porosity of the granite slab. Granite worktop needs to be sealed once every 5-6 months to maintain its pristine condition. If the granite is already stained, applying sealer will not remove the stain, but seals the stain instead! Angel, your granite top supplier should be better able to advise you. If still under warranty maybe you should ask for replacement.

Yeoman: Sorry i just saw yr post now when i got admin email abt new post. think others also got same problem abt new post late. i believe yr fabricator use wired glass bec it is a safety issue. in my case my fabricator used laminated glass -- if the glass is shattered by someone throwing things from upper floors, there won't be any pieces dropping to the ground below, potentially hurting passers-by. wired glass also serve the same purpose. hence i think if u like the white pane u cld ask yr fabricator to use laminated glass. hdb shld also approve, as mine was approved. cheers