ossify 1 Report post Posted January 19, 2010 nice ID you have hope you didn't buy the PJ rainshower. they're OEM from China and yes, you can bargain at HN they matched my price from mustafa with free delivery and free vacuum cleaner. (mustafa didn't provide delivery nor vacuum cleaner). had to pay in cash/nets though Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fftw 1 Report post Posted January 19, 2010 Btw, this is the ceiling fan. Dennis is getting it for me at a cheaper price of $165 verses $180 from elsewhere along Veersamy road. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fftw 1 Report post Posted January 19, 2010 nice ID you have hope you didn't buy the PJ rainshower. they're OEM from China and yes, you can bargain at HN they matched my price from mustafa with free delivery and free vacuum cleaner. (mustafa didn't provide delivery nor vacuum cleaner). had to pay in cash/nets though I bought the Chrome rose. They did tell me its from China but also gave us the other more expensive option which is from Germany. We choose the China version instead. We are thinking that even if it doesn't last, its fine by us as we intend to change it to Hansgroph further down the road i.e. if the rain shower really works well for us. Its is afterall a HDB. Nevertheless, Thanks for your advise Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ossify 1 Report post Posted January 19, 2010 I bought the Chrome rose. They did tell me its from China but also gave us the other more expensive option which is from Germany. We choose the China version instead. We are thinking that even if it doesn't last, its fine by us as we intend to change it to Hansgroph further down the road i.e. if the rain shower really works well for us. Its is afterall a HDB. Nevertheless, Thanks for your advise i got my hansgrohe rain air shower at about $125 look out for their sales promotion, usually 25-30% discount off listed price. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fftw 1 Report post Posted January 19, 2010 (edited) Laminates from Lamitak I will be using White Glossy Laminates for my Living/Dining & Kitchen. As for the the Bedrooms & Bathrooms, I will select a laminate to match the doors. The colour of the doors are similar to Dark Brown - Wenga. The problem with white glossy laminates is that it tends to produce a wavy effect when you shine a direct light source on it. When I spoke to Dennis about it, he informed me that no matter how you do it, it will have a slight wavy effect. The important thing is that the laminate must be thick to reduce the effect. Finally when the carpenter came to my place to discuss the design of all the capentry in our new home, I ask him about it the wavy effect of the white glossy cabinets. The carpenter says no matter how & what you do, there will be a wavy effect, so better not choose glossy. Then there was a discussion among the three of us about what Dennis said, Dennis experiences, the carpenter experiences, etc. After much discussion, both the carpenter & Dennis agreed that a thick laminate will reduce the chances that the cabinets will create a wavy effect. So Dennis ask the carpenter to use laminates that are 1.8mm in thickness instead of the usual 1mm in thickness. Carpenter ask about the cost and Dennis says the increase is minimum. So its settled! I am getting a thicker laminate Btw, all laminates are the same. The difference is the thickness of the laminate. Majority of the laminates in the market is 1mm. The samples in the book are also 1mm. 1mm is more than sufficient for majority of the laminates except when it comes to glossy laminates. Most of the time, contractors will not advise you on such things as it means more cost for them. However, if you hired a decent contractor cum ID like I did, he will "fight" for you and ask the capenter to give 1.8mm glossy with no change in prices. Edited January 19, 2010 by fftw Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fftw 1 Report post Posted January 19, 2010 i got my hansgrohe rain air shower at about $125 look out for their sales promotion, usually 25-30% discount off listed price. We miss the sale My hubby & I can't decided whether to get a overhead rain head shower till we see our place. We decided to wait. Wrong move Does your Hansgrophe rain air shower works like an overhead rain shower? Our home already comes with a good quality hand held shower so we prefer an overhead rain shower. Do you remember how much it cost at the sale? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mummy Lynn 0 Report post Posted January 19, 2010 Hi fftw, thx for all the usefull info! I am your neighbour in blk 1E too! Just started my reno and the 1st thing is too hack away the kitchen wall! Was happy with the decision as its so small and dark. Same as you, i really on a tight budget and trying to get all the reno done within 20k... request for abt 20 quotes and the ID i using now is one of the lowest and quite highly rave abt in this forum... cheaper than contractors... Glad that you manage to get such a good and honest ID too! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
joseeng 0 Report post Posted January 19, 2010 (edited) which HN branch u went? i went to the one in Millenia Walk and found their staff to be quite friendly and knowledgeable in their products. Will definitely buy my appliances from them if the price difference is not tat much. any plans for your bay window? Edited January 19, 2010 by joseeng Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ossify 1 Report post Posted January 19, 2010 We miss the sale My hubby & I can't decided whether to get a overhead rain head shower till we see our place. We decided to wait. Wrong move Does your Hansgrophe rain air shower works like an overhead rain shower? Our home already comes with a good quality hand held shower so we prefer an overhead rain shower. Do you remember how much it cost at the sale? i haven't tried it yet, but from what i heard and saw at the demo, it's the same it costs $125 after discount. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lord vader 0 Report post Posted January 19, 2010 Hahaha! Actually, I went to 3 or 4 suppliers selling Blum and he was indeed the cheapest and also the one most willing to share and teach. The only other Blum supplier is along Upper Thomosn Road called Hong Li Hardware. You can try there is you like. There are 3 actually....the one in Upper Bt Timah, the one in Upper Thomson and the one I bought from...which is Viborg....they hv 2 branches, one in Kranji and another in Admiralty... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lord vader 0 Report post Posted January 19, 2010 Why Did I Buy from Harvey Norman There is a bulk purchase order that was being circulated in the forums for P@D owners. The prices are really reasonable and cheaper than the rest of the electrical appliances stores. However, they do not accept instalment plan so I was a little sian already. If given a chance, I will rather pay in interest free instalments rather than cash up front. Since HV was near my office, I decided to pop in to have a look. First off, I was checking out the washing machines, in particular Samsung. Along came a sales guy who started asking me why I wanted to buy Samsung and recommended Bosch since its a better brand. I told him I am not interested in European washking machines and prefer either Korean or Jap. He was put off by this and walked away, refusing to serve me. Fine! My MIL (from Australia) has a petite dish washer that I am very interested in. When I checked with Bosch in Australia, they inform me that they have one in Singapore. So off I went to dish washer section. I was served by a lady. When I ask detailed questions about the dish washer, she ask another colleage to help. Lo and behold, its the irritating salesman who only wish to sell Bosch washing machine. No wonder he says Bosch is better, he gets commission from selling Bosch! When he saw me, he wasn't really interested in entertaining my questions and gave me stupid answers, like "Its all in the Catalog, go read yourself." Pissed, off I went to the escalators, but the Sharp Steam Oven stop me in my tracks. I wanted to purchase a Brandt Steam oven but it can't grill whereas this Sharp oven is a steam oven but it can grill too! The oven was switched on, so I fiddled with the nobs and buttons. Hmmm... not user friendly at all Then I lay my eyes on the Panasonic Steam oven. Same features but its not turn on so I can fiddle around with the buttons to check if its user friendly. Someone ask if I needed help, yes I said and proceed to ask if she can help me plug in the oven. She said "NO!" and walked away... Then I spotted a "jolly" man walking towards. I stop him and ask for his help. He said he is from the fridge department so not sure if he can help me. When he found out that I needed him to plug in the oven for me. He immediately "Sure" and promptly looked around and ask his collegue if they know of any plus he can use to plug the oven. I played with the buttons and nobs, ask questions, etc. Questions he can't answer, he refer to the instructional manual. Finally PRICE. I told him that I am interested to buy but price is crucial. He gave me a great price and I told him I will think about it and will come back with my hubby. He smile and said "No problem." The next time I went there, he saw me and was as friendly as ever. My hubby ask heaps of questions on Fridges, washing machines, etc. All the time this guy was super duper friendly never once stop smiling. We are very lucky to be served by one of the nicest sales man there. He answered all our queries and concerns and never once pushed us to buy. We then asked him if he can better on the prices and he said that if I can give him a list of all the items we wanted to buy, he will try him best to match or better. So we informed him of the fridge, washing machine, television, dishwasher, steam oven, etc we wanted to buy and ask him to give us the best price. Even after he gave us the prices, we continued to shop around quite a fare bit and went back to Havery Norman to see him a few times with different products that we wanted to buy. All the time he served us, he never once complain He was extremely helpful and always try him best to serve us. Finally after investigating all the prices around, including the Bulk purchase prices from Gain City, the some of the prices he gave us matched the Bulk purchase prices and others with an average of less than $20 difference. Overall we are happy, so we decided to buy from him. The price is comparable to Gain city/Best Denki promotions and we can still pay by interest free instalment plan, so I thought why not However, I bought all of my stuff from Harvey Norman already! The best price is that the price is comparable to the Bulk purchase price and yet I can pay by the 48 months inyerest free installment! I use the price from the Bulk purchase as a target and also shopped at Best Denki. Then I went to Harvey Norman and shop around. I was very lucky to be served by one of the nicest sales man there the 1st time I went there. He answered all my queries and concerns and never once pushed me to buy. I asked him if he can better on the prices and he said that if I can give him a list of all the items I wanted to buy, he will try him best to match or better. So I informed him of the fridge, washing machine, television, dishwasher, steam oven, etc I wanted to buy and ask him to give me the best price. I shopped around quite a fare bit and went back to Havery Norman to see him a few times with different products I wanted to buy and all the time he served me, he never once complain He was extremely helpful and always try him best to serve me. Finally after investigating all the prices around, including the Bulk purchase price, the some of the prices he gave me match the Bulk purchase price and others with an average of few dollars difference. Overall I am happy, so I decided to buy from him. The price is comparable to Gain city and I can still pay by interest free instalment plan, so I thought why not. If anyone of you are interested, you may PM me and I will give you the sales guy's name. I had a great experience with a sales guy from HN Suntec....over a span of 4 weeks, I ended buying a fridge, hob, hood, oven from him. I went back to him because his service is good even though there is no guarantee I will buy anything or from him for that matter. He even helped me change the delivery dates, called suppliers of various brands to check on specific queries that i have that he cant answer. Too bad I dont hv anything else to buy from there for the time being.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lord vader 0 Report post Posted January 19, 2010 Its not approved? We have one in our bathroom now. We use it to dry our hair, my hubby use it to charge his shaver and shave. We have it next to the top mirror cabinet. Is it because its HDB which is why its not approved? My electrician didn't mentioned anything, he says if we want and insist, he will do it for us. long time back, they dont allow boxing up of pipes in the bathrooms. then for the newer flats, they start boxing up pipes...and now you can box up your pipes. it wont be long before they allow power points in the bathroom. but personally, i dont like the idea of power points in the bathroom. its a great risk. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lord vader 0 Report post Posted January 19, 2010 Through my reno research and speaking to friends who have hired Dennis, I have come to realised one must be realistic with what you want in your home in terms of materials and design, if you have a limited budget. Going for the cheapest contractor is not necessary good. I agree with you on this one....if they are cheap, they might cut corners, worse still if you cant see those corners that they cut. The most important thing is that you have a contractor with an eye for details and is meticulous. Also its important to know that your contractor needs to earn a living too. I agree with this too. They need to earn a living. I am fine with it. But if they are going to chop carrot me, they will be in for a hard time man.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
joseeng 0 Report post Posted January 19, 2010 There are 3 actually....the one in Upper Bt Timah, the one in Upper Thomson and the one I bought from...which is Viborg....they hv 2 branches, one in Kranji and another in Admiralty... between Viborg and Kiang Sing, any advice which one is better? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lord vader 0 Report post Posted January 19, 2010 between Viborg and Kiang Sing, any advice which one is better? its subjective....cost wise, they shld be getting more or less the same supplier discount from Blum. so it all depends on how much savings they pass on to you. also, your satisfaction on their service. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
