strychnine

We're now into the 3rd week of our renovation and it has been both a nightmare and a dream. We encountered a couple of problems which caused for major headaches and anxiety attacks. Week 1 : HDB came to do cement screeding. Hacking of MBR wall to make way for wardrobe. Partial laying of bathroom tiles. Week 2 : Air-con specialist came to install the air-con and lay trunking. Bathroom tiles were completed Reno contractors started on feature wall Laminates specialist came to install laminates First problem occured on week 2. Initially we were pretty happy that the reno has been progressing well. We went up to check every two days and so far everything was going fine. We were excited to find out that the laying of laminates for the entire house were completed within only 2.5 days UNTIL we found out that the laminates were NOT the ones we chosen !! We selected dark wood for the living area and american teak for the bedrooms. Instead, we had oriental teak installed for the entire house !!! Called the ID and made so much of noise. ID did a check and realised that the laminates company delivered the wrong batches. Everything had to be dismantled and re-layed again. So basically, week 3 was spent on dismantling and relaying of the flooring. Such a waste of time! Even so, they still left out the rooms. We did a check again yesterday and found out that the 2nd laminates workmanship was not as good as the first. Gaps were bigger than the first and the level were higher than the norm. The main door literally scratches the floor when we opened/closed it. Informed the id, and he told that will get them to trim the door. Now my main worry...will they do it properly this time ? Having learned our lesson, we realise that its important that we check the materials before letting the contractors proceed with the work. Its definately not safe to rely 100% on the id , even if most of the time he's pretty reliable. Angst and frustruations aside, we were pretty happy with the rest of works. Here are some pics Balcony Tiles Bathroom Tiles Bathroom Tiles - Close Up Wrong Laminates The correct One (taken with h/p) Feature wall @ Living Area *************** SO BLUR ! Wanted publish a new post in the tblog but didnt realised i clicked on New Topic instead ! How embarassing..! So now i had unknowingly started 2 new topics ! Now waiting for the mods to delete them.. Sorry everyone ..

Love your living room ! So bright and airy... We had the same problem with the height of our floors. After the laminates people came to lay the boards in the living room, we realised that the floor was too high as the main door scratches the laminates when we opened/closed it. Complained to the id and he said that it could be uneven cement screeding by HDB. he also said that the laminates people should have checked and trim the main door. So now we have to call them back and do just that. -stry

Hi Lin, Just to check with you regarding haulage. Did you received a letter from JTC that you need to pay haulage? But didn't its already included in our renovation package? Thanks!

Love the colour of your living room walls.. May i know what colours are they ?

Hey NiVleK! Are you the same NiVleK from BOB? Your nick sounds familiar. My nick is ext3eleven in BOB. But my gamertag is Strymeek. So your reno going to complete soon? Got msn? -theMeek

Thanks ! Hee..PM-ed you. Its a massive damage to our wallet Its a new 'older' flat. 6years old but never been occupied cept for the 4rm units

Yeapss.. I believe they call these types 'flock wallpaper'.. Hey MLR, thanks You're not too far off...we spent close to a month chasing all these people that we did almost gave up

I created digital mood boards so we can have a better visual idea of how we want our rooms to look like. It encompasses the theme colours, tiles, even down to the furnishings. Of course, it ends up that I created multiple mood boards just for a room as my whims & fancies were ever-changing. Its generally down to these 2 themes though. Common Toilet Living Room Don’t really know if it will actually end up looking exactly like that or a regurgitated version of it. But I still want that Noguchi table. ..And I’ll be buying this wallpaper online as well.

We’re back! Sorry for the long hiatus. Work, preparation for the wedding followed by the chasing of HDB officers & bank officers took a huge chunk of our time and energy that we barely had any time to do anything else. Our defective bi-fold doors and shelter door have been replaced by HDB. Now currently waiting for the cement screeding and hacking of walls to start. By this week, reno should officially commence …finally ! These are the 3D concepts of our dining area where the bookshelf and tic tac feature will be. A huge portion of our reno $$$ goes to this so we have forewarned the ID that the design better be worth it ! 1st Draft *Rejected* We rejected the initial design as the colours and themes were nothing like the one we had in mind. We wanted dark flooring and white carpentry as we had wanted to use vivid hues and primary palettes on our furnishings. 2nd Draft The 2nd draft design was better although laminate colours will have to be changed. The one he presented to us was in bright neon (?!) green which was pretty yucks. So we requested for white frame (or what you call...carcass ?) with alternate coloured laminates on the shelvings. We have yet to decide on the colours of the shelvings though. Oh well, design first, colours later. Kitchen Glossy wood grained laminates on the bottom and white on the topThe black glass backsplash will be extended to cover the full area throughout the cabinet length. Realised that it’s a pretty commonly used laminate combo in RT … Wardrobe Nothing much to say here as its pretty basic. Dark wood grain laminates with white tempered glass at the centre portion.

Wah hobbes .. i love the Glimmer shot ! is this a hobby or are you a true professional cos really.... yah i remember when i first started, i was also going around on random photosprees with, like you said, tripods, multiple lens, external flash...the whole works.. ...and was also a frequent clubsnap forum lurker before renotalk haha..!!! now its almost never, partly cos the novelty has worn off and cos of time constraints. abit sad really.

Thanks MLR, L3x, Felix for the sound advices. Not really in the hurry la..but anxious thats all. Hee.. Im really hoping to have the reno completed by our wedding date in Aug. But if its not ready by then its ok la i guess, since we will be living in my parents place first but gosh, i din noe there's so much probs with hdb contractors !

Great choice of colours ! Esp the living room..Is it Natural Cane ? Ah and i see all your tiles are done ! It complements your wall colours cos it makes the house seem spacious...

I guess its true about not working weekends & PH I guess or you'll incur the wrath of the neighbours. Read some threads in forums where neighbours complained about the noise and all.. so i guess we really got no choice in this matter Won't be your fault if they anyhow lay also, just make them retile ! Must make sure you do the necessary QC after each job... Haiz..at least ur reno has started. I have yet to even catch a whiff of grout in my haus !

Oopsies... The pictures of the light switch and sand were taken at such a close range, I just assumed it was macro. Paiseh. Ahh Nikon. I'm a Canon 350D user. Very ol skool...Haha. However, its currently residing at home gathering dusts. - stry

Thanks for info, goh ! Yeah me thinking of tempered glass also..im not such a heavy cook so i guess its ok to use it instead of stainless steel ? but you right in the sense that its better to look for one that has a lifetime warranty.. i now have to go sourcing for one liao.. - stry

Wow love your macro shots. Which DSLR are you using ? Nikon or Canon ?

Very slow progress leh. Now chasing HDB like crazy.. Hows yours ?

A friend of mine bought a similar type of dining set but of diff brand for at least $2000++ Barang2 is known for its quality so u got a good bargain there indeed ! - stry

nice hood ! have always wanted a chimney hood esp with tempered glass but FH wants a slim one may i know whats the warranty like for electrolux hob ?

Hey L3X (dunno why I keep addressing Lin but not L3X, sorry ) But on our HDB login we were actually given a different TO number - some other guy who's in charge of my unit. This other guy was the one who came down, scrutinized the defects and promised to get back to us. Is it OK to call a diff TO ? - Stry

haha..at least they agreed to changing your tiles. Our hollow tiles were rejected - the HDB officer claiming that the hollowness is common, as long as its not cracked. (?!) Im quite worried about this as we will be overlaying new tiles on top of the existing ones in the toilets... So now they are only changing the bombshelter door and bi-folds. Even then, its taking so long ! - stry

Hey Felix, Yes please ! That would help so so much. Thanks ! - stry

OMG ! SO cute !!!!!!!! I love the white one.. is it a dwarf hamster ? I agree with Felix. It shifts yearly. But don't you think the view is fantastic...? As oppose to staring at another block of flat right across you.... ?

Hi Lin, Where is Poh Joo and Rayol Franco ? Btw, just to share with everyone... COURTS Ang Mo Kio is having an store opening sale. So for anyone who's looking to buy electronic appliances like kitchen blenders, fan etc...now's the chance..

whoa i saw the purchases on your blog.. how much did you spend in total for the hob, hood and oven ? where is teka, btw ? sale still on ? - stry