RimBlock

Sharings always good We are shifting from the 900 series to the 100 series (in front of the OCBC building by Century Square). My younger son goes to Sparkle Tots in Blk 940 and my oldest goes to St Hildas and is just about to sit his PSLE. We wanted somewhere close to save moving the kids around too much. We looked around the 400 series and the 700 / 800 / 200 series of blocks but there were three units in the 100 series . I like the EM's as I am used to living in landed properties as the majority of properties in the UK are houses. My wife is understanding and so relented to us getting an EM (I thinks she secretly also likes them but shhh, don't let her know I told you). Forgot to add that the mirror started to develop round rust marks which usually indicates the back film is damaged and so moisture can get in rusting the thin metal coating that gives the mirror its reflective properties. We went and bought a new mirror and carefully pulled the one they put up off the wall. I then drilled and hung the new mirror. We learnt a few things to look out for during our experiences with a renovation and from reading here (I love to see other peoples renos ). God for inspiring new ideas . Right, I have just ordered my wifes secret office birthday cake which she reminded to to order for her birthday tomorrow . No I am not that bad I cannot remember. Her family birthday cake was ordered a few days ago. She also forgot my birthday and had to ask her sister to get and deliver as both her and I work around Suntec . For anyone who is interested, I had a photography thread here from when I was doing portrait photography as a hobby in the UK and a fitness thread here as I continue to work on loosing some extra weight I seem to have acquired whilst I have been living in Singapore (Singapore has been maybe a little too generous to me ). Caution: The second link contains...... nipples. Unfortunately they are only mine from my progress photos . RB

Master Toilet Kids Bedroom ....and no, our apartment does not look like this most the time. What with two kids running around (older one is coming to 12 and the youngest is coming to 3), are you kidding me that we could keep it like that . So what were we unhappy with ? The electrical trunking was stuck to the wall but was not filled so you can see the gap behind the trunking all through the apartment. The grouting between the tiles kept coming out. A couple of the mosaic tiles behind the shower are cracked The plumbers connected the hot water feed to the cold water kitchen tap (this was fixed) The plumbers broke a tile in the master bedroom toilet then just filled with concrete. The plumbers fitted the common toilet rain shower right next to the toilet door (this was moved but we ended up with a damaged tile). The colour of the gate and the window grills are different (partly our fault and a misunderstanding but surely the ID should have confirmed). A couple of the floor tiles had defects but were still laid anyway. Finish on the rubbish chute damaged by chemical wash. To be fair, the ID was very proactive getting the people back to try and fix issues but after three attempts to fix the grouting problem we gave up in the end. The renovation also took around a month more than quoted and I was living in the master bedroom sleeping on a old mattress on the floor as they were laying tiles in the living room. My wife and the our oldest were at my mother-in-laws. My wife was expecting our second. We moved in just after my wife gave birth so she had to spend her confinement period at her mothers which was probably better in order to let all the dust settle in our new place. Many lessons learnt. Now it is time to put them in to practice... RB

Common Toilet Master Bedroom more in the next post...

3. Too late to help (first renovation). As some of the more astute of you will notice, I have been a member here since 2008. This is because I came upon this sight whilst doing a renovation on our first property. unfortunately the advice here came too late to avoid some issues we had (none particularly major but annoying none the less). Firstly, this is where there is a bit of a culture clash . For renovations, in the UK, the guys would do a lot of the work. It is considered manly to be able to handle power tools and not kill yourself or anyone else. It does not matter what the quality of your skills are or what the finished article looks like, if you as a man made it then it affirms amongst your peers that you really are a true man. If the result is truly that bad, your wife will secretly get a builder or whomever around to fix it whist making sure you are out so as not to bruise your ego . When guys have their friends over, it is not unusual for them all to vanish in to the shed to check out the latest power tools. It is also not unheard of for there to be a hidden beer fridge and TV hence them staying outside whilst the ladies are doing their ladies things . In essence, most guys in the UK treat DIY like ladies in Singapore treat shopping . Hopefully from this you can see how ingrained in our culture DIY is. Now zoom in to the present with the Englishman in Singapore without power tools and being told by his wife that we have to give this guy in a suit tens of thousands of dollars to do all the manly stuff whilst we have to just sit by and watch . It also didn't help that my father was a builder / carpenter and so I have usually been roped in as cheap manual labour during these father / son bonding sessions. To be fair, I enjoyed it very much. We stumbled across a 3 room apartment on the ground floor in the 900 series of blocks in Tampines. After a quick view we decided to make an offer and it was accepted. We paid 200K val + 40K COV on top which was a very expensive COV for the time but the unit had a read door and courtyard and no need to wait for the lifts (this was before the LUP came to the 900 series). We excised our OTP and got our keys a few months later. Now came the juggling with the landlord of our rented place and getting the place renovated. The apartment was in original condition including the rockwall finishing. Whilst waiting for the keys we found ourselves at Expo and happened across one of the many renovation fairs. We were seduced by the dark side. Shiny show flats, smiling ID's and pretty sales girls (although I obviously didn't see the pretty girls as I was walking around with my wife and so had my eyes shut all the time to make sure I didn't catch a glimpse of any pretty girls at all ). We signed up with an id firm and arranged to go down to see their quote at their showroom in Pasir Ris. He was very helpful and even managed to point us in the direction of where to get the best reno loans to be able to match his 30-35K reno bill . The original bill was 27K + electrical (around 4K) but we had to top up on most things like tiles to get something we wanted. When supplying our own sink and shower, nothing was taken off the bill even though they were part of the package we purchased. In the end we did most things with the apartment excluding; Didn't change the windows Didn't change the floor tiles in the bedrooms or the living room apart from where we moved the storeroom in to the kitchen. Floor plan (will upload when I get home when I get time) I only have the after pics as these were taken for our agent when we came to sell a couple of months ago. Living Room Kitchen more in the next post..

2. Where to begin. I always say that I am sure I was born in a soap opera due to the twists and turns my life has taken. See what you think I often travelled to the Singapore offices on business for a week or two and then took a break travelling around Thailand for a couple of weeks. Being a consultant the deal worked out well for my employer as I would pay the flights but get tax breaks as they would be under business expenses with the UK tax office and I would then get a local priced holiday paid for out of my own pocket. The only problem with this was finding things to do after the working day in Singapore on my own. Colleagues have their own life and after the first two visits it became harder to find people to go out and about with. Although I am British, I am not particularly interested in football or in drinking until I can no longer stand . On one of my trips I decided to get on-line and chat to a few people to see if I could find anyone willing to share dinner or a movie or anything really to avoid just sitting in the hotel after work watching tv. A few people responded and I met up with a couple. Little did I know that the second person I met up with would be my wife 8 months later . After a couple of evenings together I had to leave for my pre-booked holiday in Thailand. Fortune was with me though as I had only booked a couple of nights in the hotel in Bangkok as I wanted to see where this holiday took me so didn't want to have any hard and fast plans. I stayed there for two nights and then booked a return flight back to Singapore. I also managed to leave my ATM cards in a taxi so then had to cancel it and rely on my credit cards which were in the room safe but I could not withdraw cash on as I deliberately left the pin numbers at home in the UK. The cab drive found my wallet and my photography business card (I do a bit of photography as a hobby) with a local mobile number on it. He called as I was stepping out of the shower but only spoke Thai so I had to get dried, dressed one handed whilst keeping this poor taxi driver on the phone and down to reception. He drove back and dropped off my wallet. Nothing was missing (I don't keep cash in the wallet). I had already cancelled my ATM card so that was no good any more but there were a few other things in there which were important including the photo of the lady I had just met. Is my life starting to sound a bit like a soap opera plot yet ? . My parents were obviously taken aback but were very supportive as they have always been. Anyway, I flew back to Singapore, arranged with my boss to continue working there for another 3 weeks rather than being on holiday and spent the time with this lady and her son. Things went from good to even better and 4 or so months after I returned to the UK we got engaged. I returned for my birthday and the ROM and then had to return back to the UK for the time being. I had arranged to transfer to Singapore with the company I worked for but the catch was it would be on local Singaporean wages as a permanent member of staff (contractors pay is usually around double that of permanent staff members in the UK). I had to meet some other requirements for a EP etc and after having an interview by local Singapore HR I was given the offer. After tying up loose ends, paying up the tax and other paperwork, I arranged for the relocation company to collect all of my worldly possessions (not so much as I rented in the UK) and transport them by ship to Singapore. I travelled by air (Singapore Airlines) and it was one of the two times I splashed out and got a first class ticket. Fate was with me again as the plane developed a fault and so take off was delayed until 4am. What with all the stress of the move and everything else (leaving friends and family), I was glad I could rest in the first class lounge with food and comfy seats etc. My wife and her son met my on arrival. She had rented an apartment in Tampines (her family all live there) and moved in. It took a month for my things to arrive and strangely, the only box opened by Singapore customs was the one clearly containing books . Our two year rental plan fell apart as the Singapore property prices started to climb and after the first 12 months our land lord wished to sell. On investigation we found it was far cheaper to buy than to rent and so we started looking. As I was only on a EP I could not contribute towards a home loan but strangely my salary was taken in to account for the 8K ceiling. My wife is on a lowish wage and so we found we could only afford a 3 room in Tampines...

1. Who are we ?. So first a little introduction. I am British, who married to a wonderful Singaporean Chinese lady who had a son (now also adopted by me) 4 years ago and we also have another son. I tend to write a lot in any blogs I do so please bare with me as I also like posting a lot of pictures and links if I find anything of use to others. Although it is not a good photo of me and my wife will probably kill me, here is a family photo. Yes I am aware that my thick wavy hair and Singapore's humidity do not work so well together sometimes We are all nice, friendly and very approachable so if you see us walking around, feel free to say hello or if you would like to meet up for coffee etc then drop me a note. It would be nice to make more friends around Singapore. I am also always up for a good XBox session . You might want to mention the renotalk forums though as you may get a confused look otherwise . RB

Contents 1. Who are we. 2. Where to begin. 3. Too late to help (first renovation). 4. So where are we now (current renovation). :: More topics to be added with quick links as the thread grows

Thanks everyone. I really must start the blog. Guess there is not time like the present. RB

Just paid excise for OTP on a EM in Tampines. Val 572 + 55K COV (owner wanted between 70->80K). This was really stretching our budget. Seller pushing for 1K more. Me say ok, my wife say no way. I let my wife win this one . Facing Century Square, 5 mins to MRT / Tamp one / Stadium / Pool, top floor, clse to my mother-in-law in the 900 series, 5 mins from my youngests pre-school and my oldests secondary school (starting Jan). We also looked at another EM in the same series of blocks on the second floor but on Tamp Ave 5 so lots of road noise and door facing rubbish collection block but was val at 525 with 27K COV. We also saw an EM with a fantastic view, 18th floor corner unit but it was the same shape as wonderlees but it just felt smaller as it was squarish rather than rectangular. That one was around 475+50K COV Have been seeking reno quotes as we now have very little cash left so looking to only do a basic reno. Quotes ranging from 50K+ although one company has quoted 35K for complete renew of kitchen and all toilets, remove and relay Malaysian wood based laminate flooring throughout, replaster throughout (walls and ceilings), tv feature wall, frosted glass sliding door to replace utility room wall removed by previous owner. Only things missing are to replace stairs step with laminate, replace stairs handrail, replace balcony roof with glass roof, new grill and windows. Most of the missing things we will just do later. I will put up a reno blog soon . Chhers RB

We spoke to Home Success at Expo last weekend only by chance as we were leaving the show. They have a reno package advert up outside their very small booth which attracted out attention. We are upgrading to an EM and although have found a good unit with wonderful position, we are paying heavily for it and so have minimal funds for reno work. Initially we are looking at all laminate flooring (except wet areas), redo kitchen, downstairs wash room and two upstairs shower rooms. We have other wants but probably out of budget for the moment. Asked a number of ID firms (Image, RestnRelax, etc) and no-one came back to us with a quote, probably due to our low 20-30K budget. We spoke to a second person at RestnRelax (they all compete with each other) who told us that the kitchen, wash room and shower rooms 30-40K already. We are not asking for anything special in any of those rooms. Anyway... saw the Home Success reno package on the way out and as the promotion only mentioned up to EA we asked about an EM. Sat down with a lady there who took our wish list and on the spot started measuring and making suggestions. Other ID people just took the info and say 'we will give a quote'. I found her to be clear, direct and honest with no flowery talk. It was nice to to get comments, suggestions we had not thought about and rough on the spot ideas of costs for different things so we could mix and match to fit our budget. They were also fine with contra off the package and add something else in instead. Although above our initial budget, we both feel the quote they have given will be hard to beat and when it was mentioned we do not drive so it would be hard to get to their offices in West Singapore, the lady offered to come to our place in Tampines to discuss their full initial quote the following weekend. So far the impressions are very good and the lady we are dealing with certainly seems to have a lot more experience that the designers from the other places. We will see what they come up with. RB

Hi Darkfear and MarsBars27, I have been reading through your blog with interest and sadness. Interest over your choices, progress and Jasons speedy results but sadness over your issues with the credit company. A few thoughts which may or may not help. You have been reporting here about the problem since 27th July. You have also mentioned a number of times about going to the meet the minister session. Have you been ? I agree with your views that the person responsible for you having these problems should be punished but have you actually confirmed that the person in the photo is the person you think it is and more to the point, what about the other person in the photo ? Put it this way.... What if your good lady wife had gone for a company DnD and had a photo taken with someone there who she really didn't know. This other lady then scams a credit company by taking a loan before moving out of a property. The next owners look up the person facebook and find the picture from the DnD and post it up on the internet saying one of these person is a dirty bugger scammer and there is your wife's face for all to see. Now what if people start acting differently at work to your wife and no-one tells her why or about the photo posted. Don't get me wrong, I would have nothing to say if you knew which person it was and chopped the other out of the picture. I agree totally with what you are trying to do just don't agree with pulling the second person in the photo in to it. Personally, if the action you have taken has not seen any results with the credit company then I would register a complaint against the credit company with MAS (include references to ICA and the police reports). I would personally speak to the SPF officer in charge of the case and ask them what needs to happen for them to do anything about the harassment by the credit company. I would then speak to a lawyer and get a letter written to the credit company citing that the person who signed their loan agreement does not own or live at the address they are posting notices at. I would also include the case numbers from ICA, the SPF and MAS. Copies of this letter would also be forwarded to ICA, SPF and MAS (make sure they are cc'd on the letter to the Credit company). Make sure you give a deadline (one or two weeks) for the credit company to respond. List your next step as being to contact your local MP (as the SPF, ICA and MAS will be getting copies it may prompt them to further action). The lawyer you choose to do the letter for you will advise on any other information to include. This will cost you money to get done and I agree you should not have to pay for it but, unfortunately sometime the world does not go the way we think it should. If you refuse to spend any money then try drafting up a letter on your own but be aware, lawyers letter tend to carry more weight with all parties concerned. As for punishing the person who committed the fraud in the first place, you really need to think how far you are willing to take it, how much money you are willing to spend and what a successful conclusion would be for you. If you are serious about bringing them to justice, and remember it is the credit company they have defrauded not you, then hire a private investigator to track them down. If you are serious as long as it doesn't cost you any money then let the credit company know that you are willing to testify against the fraudster concerning their usage of your address when they were not the owner (or resident ?). Again, I agree with what you are trying to do with regards to the credit company and the person responsible for your troubles and I hope some of the above will help. Congrats on the reno progress and hope you have a wonderful time moving in and enjoying your new home . RB

Hi, Great blog. We have also just bought an EM in Tampines and would be very grateful if you could pass on your contractors details. Many thanks RB

Always happy to accept , but this just for fairly simple painting. If you pay for a good painter, this is the minimum you should expect. RB

Doing the painting yourself is hard work but if you take some time, do your research and get the right tools, it can be very rewarding, money saving and get you a bit fitter all at the same time. If you don't have smooth walls (i.e. textured effect like rock wall) but want smooth walls then you need to plaster the walls. My advice, if you need to plaster the whole set of walls and ceilings then get someone who knows what they are doing. Plastering is difficult unless you are experienced. Next, check the walls for any holes, scrapes, dents, cracks and use something like spackle (vinyl filler) or get a caulk gun and tube of white filler. The tube goes in the gun which is just a metal frame for the tube with a trigger that moves a plunger at the end of the tube to squeeze out the filler. You need to cut the tip of the filler tube and would usually do this at an angle so the end is flat against the wall as you move it along at 45 degrees. You can usually use a wet finger or cloth to remove the excess filler from cracks. You may need more than one layer depending on the size of the crack or hole. Let the first layer dry completely before moving to the second. Once the filling is completed and dried, sand down to make smooth with the wall. You can get sandpaper attached to foam blocks in places like home-fix which make this easier or get some sheets of sans paper and wrap one around a wooden block for a better grip. Choose file for a smooth finish but you may need a medium for the initial sanding depending on how good your filling was. Be prepared for lots of fine white dust from the sanding. Ok, so all the sanding is done, time to wash the walls. Use a mild soap to help remove the grease etc that may have built up on the walls. Use a sponge or a floor sponge (mop with a sponge bottom rather than a cloth bottom) and rinse the dirty water in a second bucket so you are cleaning with water that is as clean as possible. If you have just finished sanding then let the dust settle for a bit first. Maybe start washing with the first room you sanded if you are doing multiple rooms. Masking time. Get lots of masking tape. It is used to mask off areas you do not wish to paint on (door frames, windows, a wall with a different colour). You only need a strip of tape and do not need to mask the entire wall . Do not push too hard with the tape on the wall as when you remove the tape it may pull some paint off at the same time. Push just enough to get it to stick. Also it is better to use fresh masking tape rather than older tape you have been storing as the adhesive used on the tape seems to get stronger with age making it more likely to remove paint from whatever you stick it too. So on to painting. It is a good idea to put on an oil based sealer for any areas you may get leaks from (toilet / kitchen ceilings and all ceilings if you are a top floor unit). This will cover any water stains that are there already and will help prevent any new ones. Once the sealer is dry (give it a good 4 hours) you can start with a bottom layer. If you are painting on non white walls then you may wish to use a white emulsion layer to give a neutral starting colour. If you do not do this then the colour you paint may be affected by the underlying colour (light blue turning out darker if painted on a black wall etc). If you already have white walls then go ahead with your colours. For painting, always start top down, ceiling, walls, skirting and floor (as required). I prefer to start from close to the centre and work out towards the edges. If using a roller (most sensible choice) then fill the paint tray with a reasonable amount of paint (do not go over the edge of the flat part of the tray). Put the roller in the paint and then poll the roller on the flat part. This will push the paint in to the roller. Roll the roller in one direction on the flat part of the tray to make sure the whole roller is covered (back and forth rolling will miss some parts of the roller). You may need to dip in the paint and repeat the rolling two or three times to get the roller 'loaded' with paint the first time. The roller should look 'painted' evenly but not be dripping paint. I also roll the edges of the roller on the tray before painting as this is where some of the paint will be pushed to (the sides of the roller) and you may get drips. So your roller is loaded with paint and you are ready to start on the ceiling. Either use a pole attached to the roller or a stop ladder correctly (safely) set-up and slowly start rolling. It is not a speed race and the faster you roll, the more paint you will spray (unless you have a roller with a spray shield). Use slow steady strokes. When the rolling starts to get patchy, go back to the first 'roll' you did and re roll a little to spread it our as the first roll after you get more paint will be thicker. So get paint on roller, roll over an area and then re roll to even it out. Once the rolling you are doing is not really making a difference, re-load the roller with paint. Once the main area is done, you will need to use a brush for 'cutting in' (finishing the parts where the wall joins another coloured wall or door frame you have already masked off. Paint from the masked area to the centre of the wall and once you have done this for a few strokes, paint horizontally to smooth out the strokes. Cutting in is the more time consuming part if done right considering the area you are painting but this action will really show up if done badly. Remember, water based paint can usually be wiped off with a damp cloth if caught before it is dry. If it dries then you may need a scraper to take it off. Keep a damp rag handy. Goes without saying you should cover anything you don't want painted in paper or a painting cloth (floor, furniture, tv etc). Make sure you wash your rollers / brushes thoroughly after painting. Wash through with clean water until the water coming out is clear. You will need to really squeeze the roller to get the paint out. If there is still some wet paint in the roller or brushes it can 'taint' the next colour or it will dry and make the roller hard and useless. For opening paint tins, get a paint tin opener (home-fix do one very cheaply). It allows you to open the tins without damaging the lids so you can reseal them. Wipe the rim of the tin to remove excess paint before sealing the tin or the paint will make the lid stick and you may end up bending the tin lid trying to get it off again. If the tin lid does not seal fully the tin can rust (mine did) and the rust flakes will fall in to the paint making lumps. This is not so nice if you want to use the remaining paint for touch-up later. Write down the paint codes and make and store for later reference. This will help if you need to get some more for touch ups or refresh later. Not that paint colour does change over time due to exposure to sunlight and the environment. This means that the colour you get using your paint colour code may be slightly different to the colour on your walls and can mean you have to repaint an entire section in order to touch up an area. I had an area above the master bedroom window which had spalling concrete. Town council came and patched it after treating the rebar and I went and go some more paint to over paint the patch. The paint was slightly different in colour so I had to paint the entire section above the window. Due to shadow and lighting differences in the room. once that section was painted, it was hard to tell the colour was different to other sections in the same colour (i.e. under the window). Take some time, do some research and make some effort and the results you produce will generally be much better than the average house painters especially as you have pride in making your place look as good as possible whilst most painters are only doing it as a job. Wah, lots of typing... lucky my boss is in meetings today RB

Based on the pictures I would imagine the instructions to be; 1. Measure the size of the window / door and allow an overlap of 5-10cm in both height and width. Cut the decal to rough size. 2. Wash the window with window cleaner to remove dirt or grease. 3. Place the decal on the window starting from one corner and slowly working down. 4. Use the scraper to push any bubbles to the edge of the decal 5. Use a pin to prick and bubbles that cannot be moved and smooth the surface. 6. Use a straight edge (metal ruler or the like) and a craft / Stanley knife to trim the excess edge of the decal. Hope this helps. RB

Do people require a cable (3 core for pos, neg and earth) to be run from a CU RCB to each and every electrical socket (and presumabily each and every lighting switch) ?. No, this can't be the case. I must of missread. The massive increase in cost of doing this completely unnecessary action (like putting a solid gold stearing wheel in an old Singapore taxi) unless you are running a 30K+ HiFi, have audiophile hearing and wish to isolate the feeding sockets for the HiFi from any mains noise caused by other devices on the ring. Please can someone confirm that I have missread and that people are not recommending and installing single (3 core) cable for each socket rather than chaining then in a ring main (http://www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/ringmain.htm). Tapping as refered to here is the normal way of adding another socket to a ring main or creating a ring main from chaining two or more sockets together under one RCB (http://www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/Extendingringmain.htm). It is also worth noting that 'tapping' is what you are doing if you plug in an extantion cable to a wall socket although the wire in the cable is likely to be inferior to the wire used for mains wiring. Our rewiring just came in at around 4K for a 3 room after a rough quote of 2K+ (yeah it was apparently a very rough quote) but then we have 20+ double sockets, 3 TV points, 2 telephone point, 1 network cable run, oven, aircon and water storage heater cabling. We also got a LBox but got charged seperatly ffor the 14 lights and wiring for the lights and installation of the lights which was not made clear by the ID in his quote. Oh well RB