MrandMrs

Ok, I have done the tests. All 3 do not immediately induce the sound. I'm quite certain that the sound is very random, and comes on regardless if the 3 is on or not. Could be my mind playing tricks but the frequency of the sound increases when water is being used. I climbed up and put my hands to the pipe (circled in red). I noticed that before the sound come out, the pipe would vibrate slightly with a soft gurgle. I'm 90% certain that the sound is coming from the pipe of the water tank or the water tank itself.

It is a 2 year old Ariston.. I called the contractor.. he say he can take down the water tank, and we can see if the noise is still there.

Ok will do thanks for the advice. Will report back..

Yes, but the noise also comes on when no water is being used at all as well.. Does this indicate that it is from other unit?

This is the difficult part. I can't! It happens on its own perodically, but I think it happens more frequently after the taps are used. It could be just my brain playing with me though. I don't know where the sound is coming from, it happens too quickly for me to follow the sound..

Thanks for the reply. I found a hand soap dispenser that can replace the kitchen spray..

Hi just did my reno, and to my dismay, the kitchen fridge is only 1 cm away from the oven. The contractor didn't give enough allowance. I called the fridge salesman and he said it is fine, but I can't help but feel worried. What are your thoughts on this? Should I bring war to the contractor or just live with it?

Hi all, need your expertise to this. My toilet is making a weird honking sound. The sound comes randomly. Sometimes once every minute/few minutes, sometimes loud/soft, sometimes when I on the taps/didn't turn it on. I just did my reno and retained the water tank. Before the reno, there was no such issue. The contractor doesn't have a clue what is wrong. I have uploaded a video to youtube. It is around the 6 - 7 second mark..

Hi all I need some advice on kitchen bidet spray. For the kitchen, I did an undermount sink with quartz countertop. I bought my sink and tap from taobao and it came with a free kitchen bidet spray. The contractor drilled 2 holes, 1 for the tap and another for the spray. Unfortunately, the bidet spray can't be secured as the quartz is too thick for the screw to be screwed on tightly. The groove is covered by the quartz so the screw can't be tighten.. I asked the contractor to make the quartz thinner underneath but he refused to.. Are there any shops in SG that sell a kitchen bidet spray? i don't need another tap..

Reserved for future post.

Reserved for future post.

Reserved for future post.

Reserved for future post.

Update: The reno was supposed to finish before christmas. Unfortunately, now we are nearing new year and it is not done yet. There are alot of minor problems that came up along the way. Main ones were: 1) There is a strange horn sound coming from the toilet every once in a while. ID says it is either the water tank or the neighbours' taps. Still unsolved. 2) We bought a sink from taobao, which came with a kitchen spray. After drilling a hole in the quartz, we realised it is too short to install as our sink is undermount. ID sourced a soap dispenser to replace it. We haven't tested it yet, but hopefully it will fit. 3) Minor issues with paint and carpentry work. ID says these will be rectified by 29 Dec. 4) The kitchen light cover broke. ID says when the workers opened the box, it was already broke. Spoke to taobao about it and we bought replacement covers. 5) The MBR toilet wall tile. One tile is sunken in as compared to the rest. ID says it is due to the cement that the tiler used. He volunteered to change it, but we opted not to as we didn't want to drag the reno longer. It is a minor issue that we can live with.

Sorry for the late response. A quick update so far.. We came back from the work trip and met with the contractor on the week of Deepavali. We inspected the work so far and point out some really terrible errors. 1. One of the toilet tiles was shorter than the rest, so there was a small gap. 2. The paint work was very bad. There were 4 numbers being engraved on the wall, and in some areas, you could still see the old paint job underneath the new paint. During the meetup, we also met with the carpenter who proceeded to take measurements of what we wanted. All seem well. Fast forward now, and nothing has happened since then! We called Shawn and his reply was always that he is very busy and he will try his best to push. After chasing him several times, we only received the detailed measurements of the carpentry work last night. Also, none of the errors that we pointed out have been fixed! I also found out that he has moved out of his old office. I'm really in a cold sweat right now, didn't expect such a worse turn of events.. Hopefully it will pick up soon.

Another problem.. I have to be on a 1 week work trip next week. My other half is joining me so both of us will not be in SG to oversee. Hope nothing goes wrong..

Edited on 9th October. We went to hafary and choose the tiles with Shawn. He was patient and to be honest, willing to give us more time to make a decision. After selection of tiles, we waited about another week before hacking started. We had not received the 3D images yet, but Shawn mentioned that it was better that he start hacking first, so when we had decided on the design, he could start on the rewiring/carpentry work immediately. However, we encountered numerous problems. Problem 1: Taobao We purchased some items from Taobao against Shawn's wishes. The problem was we bought a Prime membership to save on costs, but discovered that most of the shipment will only arrive in late October! That means that the renovation will probably be delayed. Shawn was not pleased. Problem 2: We wanted an undermount sink and basin. My friend advised me against it as if the sink and basin spoil or rust, it will be very expensive to replace it. Not really a problem but it makes me worry. Problem 3: Even though Shawn promised no smoking on premises, I found evidence of smoking in the house. To be honest, I'm ok if they smoke, but they did it after they promised not to, which kind of pissed me off. Problem 4: Measurements! To be honest, I feel Shawn should be providing more guidance here. We wanted to buy a toilet bowl, but was asked lots of questions by the shopkeeper on measurements. I asked Shawn, but his reply is always vague and sometimes confusing. In the end, we went down to the house and measured everything ourselves. Everything, from the width of the door (wanted to buy a doormat), to the size of the floor trap grating. At the back of my mind, I have this small fear that my measurements could be wrong. Despite all these problems, we were quite happy when we saw the tiles being laid. The quality was not bad too be honest; I half expected some tiles to be out but they were well done. Additionally, the tiles we chose at Hafary exceeded our expectations. They were recommended by Shawn, so some credit to him there

Edited on 27th Sep 2016. Selection of ID Today we chose our ID and we signed the deal. When I read my original post, I think we kind of sounded bias towards one particular ID and I don't think it will be a surprise to anyone who we chose. We chose ID 5 in the end. I was still uncertain about him, but today when I went to his office, there were like 4-5 people working in there. It gave me a sense of (false? hope not!) security that the company was legit. We had some ideas in mind that we wanted to implement, and I mentally prepared myself that he will charge us extra for these changes. The changes we had in mind were small, for eg, adding an extra drawer to the cupboards, adding some mirrors etc, and I was pleasantly surprised when the ID mentioned to us that he won't be charging us extra as these were small changes and it doesn't really add to his cost at all. We added some extra stuff (that needed to be charged like LED lighting) and removed some stuff (cove lights etc) and in the end my other half asked for a big discount, which we settled in between at $32K. I asked ID 5 if he was ok if I can reveal his company and name here and he said he was ok with it, it is free publicity for him instead and he is confident that he will be able to deliver. http://www.glamour-concept.com/ and the ID name is Shawn. He is quite friendly to talk to (looks can really be deceiving) and I like it when he keeps telling us that he is open to criticisms and to let him know of our concerns. I was also relieved when he mentioned himself without me asking that even though he is a smoker, he doesn't allow his workers smoking in the house and all food to be cleared immediately. Kind of relieved that we finalised the deal and looking forward for the selection of tiles/laminates etc and the reno to start! Shopping The last weekend we went on Taobao to search for cheap stuff to buy and we had a shortlist of lights, ceiling fans, clocks, bathroom and kitchen fixtures shortlisted. Unfortunately, Shawn was very against the idea of Taobao lights and and ceiling fans. He said if we insist, he still can install it for us, but with the caveat that if it spoils, the warranty that he is giving doesn't cover it. Kind of disappointed that he doesn't have any faith in Taobao items. My mother doesn't have faith either. If any readers have any reviews on Taobao items, please let me know.

Here are some photos that we "stole" off the internet. Kitchen: We liked the white clean look with light brown tones. Toilet: The other half loved a modern hotel feel to it.This picture is quite small, still sourcing for some ideas. Study Room: I think we found this in Renotalk, but can't remember where. Bedroom: Like the earth tones in this. And here is our floorplan.