AWS

Just add on, it’s always good to get extra cable laid and then put/hide somewhere standby just in case need to use in the future. It will sometimes be almost impossible to hack the floor/wall to lay that extra cable in the future. Of course mostly can be done, it’s just the extent of the work done and the high cost involve. Why not just pay a small amount to lay that extra cable in the beginning. Likewise for Cat6 or Cat7 cables. And of course a proper and a little ‘kiasu’ planning is not a bad thing.

Do consider to get a good quality floor spring that matches the weight of the wooden door. Dorma is a good choice. Such pivot door discussed will only look nice with width of 1.5m and above. Factor in the height, the door can easily weigh >150kg.

Some issues may need to consider: The glass door may need to satisfy BCA’s tempered/laminated specifications. Privacy issues unless there is drawing day curtain or glass films with mirror reflectivity pasted on.

Just to add on the POE/CCTV configuration: A better way is to get a managed switch to power up all your devices, e.g. Security Gateway, Controller UI, Access Points, CCTV, Lan Ports etc. Use this managed switch to power up your CCTVs. Buy a NVR without POE capabilities to save cost. From the NVR User Interface, route the IP addresses from all CCTVs via the managed switch to the NVR. In this way, you can located the NVR any where in the house where there is a LAN point and need not be in the network cluster. You only need 1 Lan cable from the wall Lan port to link the NVR and you will be able to control all the CCTVs functions. Of course you will need a small monitor to view all the CCTVs real time video or view playbacks. A good start will be 4T bytes or even 8T to record 4K resolution and up to 30 days recordings. That also has to depend on the number of cameras you going to install.

Composite wood like panel will warp too. Look around at some mall/sports hub roof garden access, even parks that has use composite to fabricate a bench/long chair. They deteriorate quite quickly.

Just asking, did you engage your architect first and do all the necessary as adviced by the architect like topographical survey, soil test etc. Then proceed to engage a PE once the building plan is finalized? Because the PE will decide a few things that needs to done concerning the structure, eg piling. The builder will be a last stage process by calling a tender because by calling a tender, the design of the house would have been 95% finalized. Of course in the tender document, you can put certain items as PC sum. Meaning if you decide to exercise that certain item, you can ask the builder to do it and pay extra for that item. Example will be boundary wall finishing with SKK textured finishing or stone finishing etc. Toilet fittings or ironmongery can be under PC sum too. It all depends how you want to draft out the tender document with your architect before calling for tender.

Check water table if you can. Very important factor. I am not sure how the QP will design the 2 ventilation holes. Also dampness may be an issue. But if you do a ‘semi’ basement for car access, coupled with CD shelter, it may be a better option.

PM you to keep the thread clean and tidy.

Both model CISA locks, ie with or without the red unlock button are all rain proof. All material inside the cover are either stainless or galvanized alloy. No issues with rust. As an added protection, I self DIY and applied a coat of marine grease on all metal parts. Depending on how you going to electrically link up your lock to an intercom system or just purely a Push To Open button, you will need a power supply of 12VAC with at least 5A to trigger. Hope this helps.

Stones on external wall can be nice. Just look at those ‘high end’ commercial buildings/hotels, they are mostly clad in granites. Those European countries like Italy, France even has their buildings clad in travertine. Most important procedure for stone cladding is the proper treatment to be done before the stones are plastered on. Of course if you have the budget, go for suspended cladding. This method of cladding will prevent issues with efflorescence/staining. Just like wood strip cladding on underside of RC ledges, trellis for blocking sun ray etc, also more for aesthetic reasons. Different strokes for different folks. If you have the budget, go for it.

The red button on the lock serves as a unlock function for occupants to exit. If you buy the other model without the red button, you will either need a key to unlock from inside or configure your power supply to be interrupted by a wall PTO toggle switch inside your compound to unlock. Either way, if a burglar is able to reach your inside red button or PTO button, he’s already inside your compound. It makes no differences. In this situation, your CCTV will come into defence play. In the market, advance CCTV cams are able to let owners mark out an intrusion zone to trigger an alarm or warning. It all depends on how you want to configure. Talk to the CCTV seller your requirement. Marking out these zones can also give you false warning, for example, birds or bats flying pass the zone. You will need to configure or play around with the sensitivity. My intercom system is able to trigger to unlock the electric lock (with red button) via the touch screen monitor or through a app if I am outside the house, even overseas. All you need is 4G data for the app. Anyone who rings your door bell, the intercom will search your all over the world and your phone will ring and you can see who’s outside your gate.

Try Amazon. Change country to Germany with English language. Then change shipping address to Singapore. Try search CISA 1A731. It’s only under €100 including shipping. The bulk of the $800-$1000 mostly come under the labour. Labour cost is a killer in Singapore now. My builder installed for me FOC under the cost of the gate system. The lock body and striker needs welding to your metal gate frame to be strong. Coupled to the intercom and CCTV system, you can have great flexibility on persons entering and exiting your property, ie, when you have a parcel delivery or collection when no one is home. And with the WiFi model intercom system, you don’t need a key to enter. Just swipe unlock on the intercom app.

Just to add, illegal extensions has consequences if complain is lodged with URA due various issues. You will asked to dismantle the illegal extensions and it will be an expensive affair. Further to definition of GFA mentioned, complains can also be lodged against IRAS due to unpaid property tax on the illegal portion of GFA and there will be consequences too. Just be careful and prepared to spend extra money if forced to rectify.

Sorry, double posting. Sticky fingers.

On a side note, heard that now SCDF requires a water hydrant to be installed at 50 meters interval. If your estate has hydrants spaces at more than 50 meters, and just nice that you are doing a rebuild and your house is at distance more than 50 meters from the nearest fire hydrant, you may need to install one at your cost. The new hydrant can be on either side of the road, not necessary on the same side as the old hydrant. Estimated cost may be in region of $5k paid by new owner. IMHO, really like free public service.

You probably need an 12V AC electric lock to be link to an intercom system that can trigger the electric lock. The power of the intercom system is usually not powerful enough to trigger the electric lock but it can provide a signal. The signal will then trigger the electric lock which has its own power supply. The main wooden door can be modified to also fit an electric lock which will in turn link to the intercom system. There are electrical mortise lock in the European market, namely Italy. To do all these, you will have to plan way ahead the wire routing between the intercom and electric locks. Alternatively, if you don’t intend to install electric lock for your main door, you can hide and installed in a secured but accessible key holder with number code access. Inside will house your main door key. Once in a while, you can change the code for added safety.

You can try CISA Electric Lock combined with Aiphone WiFi Intercom system. You can even use the Aiphone App to unlock the electric lock while on 4G data(local or overseas). It’s keyless in the sense that 1. while inside the house, to go out, there is a unlock button on the electric lock to unlock. 2. while outside need to unlock the gate to enter, use the Aiphone App to unlock the gate. If there is a power outage, the electric lock will not open but remain lock (in case burglar trip gate post main breaker) In this situation, you need a key to unlock the lock.

Yes, homogeneous tiles popping can be a issue. Clobber stones may not be a bad idea as the size is smaller (usually 100 x100mm)compared to typical 300x600mm size granites. When there is framing due water issues, the smaller foot print of 100x100mm clobber stone may not show obvious framing issues. Just an advice, get the more rough textured surface tiles/stones to avoid slippery when wet. For granites, opt for flamed finish with one time brushing. It’s more comfortable to walk on when dry and not slippery when wet.

I think the plastic sheets are more for the purpose of termites treatment. The specialist will apply a product like Bayer Premise on the soil and then cover with plastic sheets and thereafter apply lean concrete. For the waterproofing membrane to be used before laying of stones, they will need to be specified in the tender/contract documents. Additional cost will apply. Proper treatment will be like wise to toilet floor treatment to prevent water seepage downwards to lower floor. Now, it’s to prevent water moisture from the water table from coming up through the gaps and pores of the stones. However if the water table is low enough, normally ways of laying most probably will not cause issues.

Yes, most likely framing. But it can also be after washing of the car porch and water needs to get out from underside. Another likely scenario is the ground water table is high or the reduced level of the car porch area is too low, causing the ground water coming out/evaporating out of the stone gaps. It’s good to take note of the gradient of terrain where the house sits on in both axis and also during excavation(if it’s a total rebuild) to check on the ground water level. If your back neighbor is at a higher level than you and you have a back yard retaining wall, considerations must be given to put a design to allow water to drain off the retaining wall. Else there may be some form of water seepage coming out of the retaining wall or back yard floor after a period of heavy rain. I have seen some houses using expensive marbles on the 1st level with high ground water level or low reduced level (they are co-related) and end up turning yellow or framing issues. Such a waste.

Try not to locate your NVR in the same network cluster. Reason being if there’s a break in, most likely the thieves will first target the NVR. With a switch, you can locate your NVR any where in the house where there is a LAN port located. You can even hide it in the ceiling too. You just need to bring the other cables (HDMI, USB, CAT6 patch cord) from the NVR to a your study table or shelves etc. The other route for secured NVR data is go for cloud hosting.

Ceiling mounted AP can look neat too. Ubiquiti is a good system. The controller’s UI is easy to configure. Don’t go WiFi 6 yet as it’s still very new. Their support from US is good too although you may bought the system locally through distributor.

I would recommend the following acid and brush and of course elbow grease for removing the efflorescence if you encounter.

Hi Kellhound Didn’t receive your PM. Maybe you can try again.

Yes, mostly happen during laying of tiles/stones. It’s common to hear of people complaining that the tile sounded hollow when using your knuckles knocking the top of tile or dropping a small marble ball on it? Same reasoning. There’s too much air gap. When combined with poor grouting material, rain water will seep in and need to get out. Workmanship is never great unless one is lucky to engage a builder that is willing to pay premium salary for good tiling workers. Indoor tiles hardly exposed to water unlike outdoor tiles. Good grout is made by Mapei. Google for it.