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Kellhound

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Posts posted by Kellhound


  1. Yes, mould will still grow even with extractor fan. Fan only works when you are inside (or typically when light is switched on). When you leave after showering, the toilet is still very damp and fan would have been turned off. It also depends on how good your natural ventilation and lighting is from your toilet doorway. Dark and damp is what mould loves. Be prepared for more regular bathroom cleaning. 


  2. On 3/5/2022 at 6:34 AM, Topline said:

    Is yours fanless? Do you mind sharing the model? Doing some research… Hikvision and HP seems like popular brands…. Also considering them for the switch.

    I’m thinking of using Unifi WAP and their Dream Machine seems to be a good router…

    CCTVs… probably Hikvision.

    I was speaking to a shop in Sim Lim that sells Hikvision products. Quite decent pricing but unfortunately they dun do installation but said they can recommend an installer after I buy their products. Anyone tried this route? Wondering how much these installers charge.

     

    My NVR is not fanless. I don't recommend fanless if one is using 3.5" hard drives for storage. Mine has 2 hard drives and is the 16-channel model. Heat is a major killer of electronics.

    I bought from Sxx Hxxx in Sim Lim but from their online shop in Lazada. I got my electrician to install the CCTVs but did the layout design/setup myself.


  3. On 2/27/2022 at 8:33 AM, Topline said:

    Hi, can I check if I want the ability to create separate wifi net work for guests and maybe my kids, I would have to get a managed switch? Unmanaged switch seems easier to manage but I do want these features. Any simple managed switch to recommend?

    Also, any quiet NVR to recommend? I’m still looking for an appropriate place to store my NVR… concerned about noise. I can potentially store it in the attic store… so noise will disturb less people but the heat from the roof is a concern then. No air con there.

    My Asus router allows me to set up wifi network for guests very easily from phone app. You can decide duration, 2.4GHz or 5GHz etc. 


  4. On 3/2/2022 at 1:27 PM, petetherock said:

    My mini server room is my storeroom under my stairs. 
    I use a fanless  24 point unmanned switch from d link. 
    I locate my router outside and loop it back to the switch from the OTP which is in the storeroom. 

    Wow, I have exactly the same setup in my storeroom under the stairs as you but my 24-port switch is TP-Link! I also located my main router in the living room for better wifi coverage and looped back to the storeroom. On hindsight, I would have preferred to locate the NVR in the upper floors and secure it somehow so burglars can't access and trash it so easily. It is also true  that it's challenging to hide the whole bunch of CAT6 cables.


  5. 2 hours ago, prodriver6 said:

    sharing my findings here... so city gas reached out to power gas (sibei confusing) and it turns our that the nearest gas pipe is 460m away from my unit.

    the cost to lay the pipes is 227K before GST... yes its not a typo... its $227,000

    induction cooker/lpg gas it is :)

    I installed both induction (dry kitchen) and gas (wet kitchen) cookers. I catered for 2 LPG cylinders (1 on standby) below my gas cooker.


  6. On 11/6/2021 at 10:03 AM, Topline said:

    How many routers do u need? Do u place one in each floor?

    Yes, I have one on each floor. To @snoozee's point. a single POE AP is very likely cheaper than a router. However, in my case, I already had 3 existing Asus Aimesh-compatible routers. In addition, I got another free one by recontracting with M1. Another pro tip is it's cheaper (around 20-25%) to buy Asus routers from Taobao. No warranty though and you need to switch the default Chinese firmware to English in the settings. I

     


  7. 7 hours ago, prodriver6 said:

    Quick update guys...

    After many months of wait, i finally have received Written Permission from URA and ST-01 from BCA to proceed with demolition. ST-02 is in process and we shouldn't expect any hiccups.

    There were some minor changes and additional considerations along the way - like relocating the position of bathtub/shower area to maximize ceiling height, trade of best position of IC manhole, but l suppose these are minor surprises that will occur during a rebuild journey. Am glad that we were not impacted by anything major, guess this was mitigated by the fact that Architect scrutinized things quite carefully.

    along the way, URA also requested for roof to be changed from metal to RC in view of the position of the HomeShelter, and thus piling plan needed to be recomputed, still in the process of electing a piling contractor but i have to say prices have almost doubled with time. my observation is that the piling industry is very narrow and the providers do talk amongst one another to ensure that they don't under-cut each other. For small scale landed micropile projects, i think at max no more than 10-vendors. Prices for the bigger boys can easily be 20%-30% more but they claim to come with newer equipment.

    a few of you have asked me about my architect and builder's contact:

    Architect: https://arjonathanlim.wixsite.com/home

    Design and Build: http://3ebuilder.com/

    To clarify, I did not engage an Ar and called a tender, the Ar was engaged by my builder but i was fortunate to have a very hands on Ar and he was involved every step of the way. In fact, i would say during the submission, planning and design stage, the Ar interaction with me was significantly much more than builder. But i can see comms with my builder increasing now that we are moving to demolition and build phase. 

     

     

    Finally, just a word of caution, the industry seems to be booming, everyone seems to be doing very well and having a lot of jobs, I can sense quotes are taking a while to come back, replies are slow in general and prices i out of roof. If wait time is possible, i think it may be better to sit out on this crazy period for a while. I really feel everyone has loads of business and i can sense everyone not being able to cope and buying time by doing things slowly, the sense of urgency is not there - i find myself doing a lot of chasing for people to come back.

     

    Yes, when I was sourcing for contractors back in May, I already found that many I contacted were not very interested/responsive and were passing me off to their friends. The more popular/established ones can afford to pick and choose their customers.


  8. 18 hours ago, snoozee said:

    A mesh network would not work well in multi storey houses unless you can get line of sight between the nodes and the main router. Wi-Fi signal strength drops when it needs to pass through concrete and along goes the performance. 
    It is still better to use multiple access points with dedicated wired back haul for multi storey houses

    I'm using multiple Asus routers which are all using ethernet backhaul. Aimesh is Asus'  mesh network system that turns their routers into APs.

    Screenshot 2021-11-06 003820.jpg


  9. 7 hours ago, Topline said:

    Hi, I’ve have been thinking of using Ubiquiti for my home wifi and cctvs but having done more reading, im increasingly concerned cos I’m not tech savvy. Right now I’m just using a plu and play mesh system. I can get a service provider to set up Ubiquiti but I’m afraid that if my wifi is down someday, I won’t know how to fix. I dunno things like port forwarding etc ...

    So the easiest way is to go back to mesh system. But I know since I’m doing up my house, I should get LAN cables up to the rooms and have WAP to get better wifi. Question is, is there an easier wifi system/ solution for me than Ubiquiti that allows me to take advantage of WAP?

    I'm using Asus AiMesh and it's pretty user-friendly and you have a great degree of control. I also have Ethernet ports in every bedroom and family area


  10. I was quite excited when I called up Admira and they told me they had a Traceless range at $68/sheet. When I went to the showroom, I found that the feel of the Traceless range is quite close to normal solid laminates albeit with anti-fingerprint properties . The closest equivalent in terms of feel to the Lamitak Protak range was their Xtreme range (which is also anti-fingerprint) which costs $112/sheet. 


  11. 9 hours ago, snoozee said:

    as long as you don't get those high gloss laminates, you won't see fingerprint markings. I'm using wood grained laminates from Jennings and Admira priced at about $60 per sheet and have no problems with fingerprints.

    I'm using matt black so fingerprints are still visible though not as bad as glossy. I tried the Lamitak Protak and it's very good in this regard. My contractor advised against Admira (not so good quality) and Jennings (old stocks left by other supplier) but I'll take that with a pinch of salt.

    Seems to be a number of bad Google reviews for Admira.....


  12. 7 hours ago, snoozee said:

    question is how is your swing door design? is is just a single panel door or part of a group of swing and fold sliding doors?

    if you are just having a single door, you should be able to use those push pull mortise locks provided there is the correct sized aluminum profiles in the market. take a korean brand digital door lock as example. the width from door edge to the other side of the lock edge is about 115mm while the depth of the mortise mechanism is about 104mm so you will need a piece of door frame which is of at least 120mm wide in order for the lock to be installed. i'm not sure if there are aluminum profiles which are of 120mm wide or bigger. if there is no such width of aluminum profile, then of cos the vendors will tell you can't be done since they can't fabricate something for it in the first place.

    now if what you have is a series of foldable doors, then the push pull mortise lock won't work at all since once the other panels are unlatched, the whole series of doors can be opened even if you have a mortise lock installed. even if you have a rim lock which has a retractable mechanism, it won't work as well. for this type of doors, you need those rim lock which the lock mechanism is actually latching/grabbing on to the base on the other side.

    OK I see your point regarding the depth of the mortise lockset affecting the width of the door profile.

    My swing door is part of a set of folding doors and serves as the main door aka traffic door. I understand what you're saying about the retractable bolt "loophole" but since the other folding panels can only be unlatched from the inside anyway, it shouldn't be too much of a security concern? 


  13.  

    No grilles and I can fabricate the door to try and match the lock specs.

    I wanted to fit the digital push-pull mortise lock types (lockset is embedded in door) but all the vendors said it was not possible. They said my only option was the rim lock types (lockset is attached externally to the frame)

    I'm just curious as to why the vendors are so reluctant if I can customize the aluminium frame to the lock specs


  14. 8 hours ago, Topline said:

    Your Hikvsion intercom comes only with one indoor monitor? Is the outdoor unit made of plastic? Weatherproof?

    Thinking of Dahua vs Hikvision .... you guys know which is better? Value and reliability...

    Also, any concern that they may not be compatible with other stuff like iPhones in the future after Trump banned them from ONVIF which is like som industry standards thingy (which I don’t understand)...

    Yes, weatherproof (IP65 rated) but you can also buy another rain shield (I bought from Taobao) as well. You can buy additional indoor monitors to function as intercom as well. I bought a second one.


  15. 5 hours ago, Topline said:

    Which model did you go for? Looking for options ...

     

    For my video intercom, see my post here 

    For side gate lock, I'm using CISA 1A731 electric lock (Thanks to AWS for the recommendation)

    CCTV cameras and NVR - I'm using a mixture of Hikvision 2MP and 4MP ColorVu cameras. I look more at the sensor size than the resolution. Sensor size affects video quality much more than resolution in low light situations. I use the 4MP cameras for key areas outside which tend to be in low light. They cost 2-3 times more than the 2MP ones and the sensor is much larger than even the 8MP cameras. I believe Dahua will have equivalents as well.

    If you are planning to DIY though, prepare to spend many hours troubleshooting and trial and error😂 It may be more worth it to just pay someone to do it just to maintain your own sanity!

     

    • Like 1

  16. 11 hours ago, Jsken said:

    Can advise with whom u got that done and what's the estimated cost?

    Mostly DIY for me. Just as an example, the sidegate electrical bolt lock plus power supply is around $200-300 but vendors wanted to charge me around $1000 for lock plus installation (excluding cabling). So I try to use my main contractor to do as much as possible as part of the overall contract e.g. such as cabling and DIY the rest.

     

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