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edenstrauss

Vanity Drawers By Han Fong Aluminium Pte Ltd

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Hi folks,

The recess area below my windows are subject to weathering from the exterior part of the flat and water leakages during heavy downpour are inevitable.

As such, we had decided to opt for water-proof aluminium cabinet doors which are also known as vanity "drawers". Even though there obviously aren't any drawers behind those cabinet doors.

We have interviewed several aluminium contractors and had eventually narrowed down to Han Fong Aluminium. The reason being that when the boss, Mr Kang himself came down personally to take measurements and provide a quotation, we were pleasantly surprised when he told us very honestly that he would recommend wooden doors instead of his aluminium doors.

Additionally, he had demonstrated the depth of his knowledge with much credibility in his technical explanations. Both my hubby and myself were pretty confident that we got the right contractor to take up this assignment.

And now that Han Fong Aluminium Pte Ltd has completed the installation of these vanity "drawers", we are very happy to share on RT forum that we are glad that we found them as we were in very good hands! :D

 

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We didn't have a camera at hand when Han Fong's inhouse installers dropped by during the first trip.

So we only managed to take these photos when their staff came down for the second installation.

Here comes the photos...

The protective film of plastic had not been peeled off yet - so it doesn't show off any high glossy shine / sheen. It has the looks of the kitchen cabinet's concept in IKEA. It's just that their version is made of glass whereas ours is made of PVC :P Of the same/ almost similar colour tone.

We intend to do the "opening ceremony" after we are done with refurnishing our homes : better to protect it from any accidental scratches...

This is the finished product of a dual-panel cabinet door below the window for my spare bedroom:

cabinetwindow3.jpg

We were very surprised to see that they had used several types of silicon apart from drilling the aluminium frame to the concrete parts of the wall. And it came in several colours for camoflouging.

The installer also explained to us that it is anti-mouldy and even when it gets wet, we won't have any issues of seeing those blackish-greenish mould spots staining the silicon in the near future.

Edited by edenstrauss
 

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Balcony

The balcony is a real headache when we got several aluminium contractors to drop by.

Many didn't realise that there is a discrepancy in the height from the top of the concrete part (below the window) all the way down to the ceramic floor.

It was only when 1 of the contractors highlighted to us that the concrete structure flanking the recess area is uneven, that we realised what the implications would be. That contractor turned down our assignment straight on the spot. The reason given was it's difficult to install cabinet doors in the balcony as we would be unable to slide the doors after installation.

When Mr Kang from Han Fong Aluminium stepped in, he too noticed that the uneven height after taking measurement - the section on our left hand side is shorter in height. But he assured us that it could be done and that he might need to use an anchor to "hold" or balance up the frame (in the middle portion). And he told us that it wouldn't look so nice and he would try to see if we could avoid using the anchor.

This photo shows his installer fixing the frame and the sliding doors at my balcony and no anchor is required :)

img0130mz.jpg

The use of anti-mouldy silicon to cover the gaps between the frame and the concrete flanking the frame :

img0143h.jpg

Another type of silicon which is gray coloured with a different texture had also been used for the sides and bottom. For camoflouging.

The finished product at my balcony - which is very messy because we are in the midst of doing a minor face-lift for my flat so it's extremely cluttered with raw materials and our "garbage" :P

img0150kr.jpg

The plastic film that you noticed dangling down from one of the doors is the protective film. The original PVC has a very high shine, glossy surface. Just like glass.

A close-up shot of the finished product. The reflection seen on the panels are from the huge stack of "goodies" piled up at the balcony :P

img0149rw.jpg

Edited by edenstrauss
 

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Dining room

Our dining room had the same problem on structural discrepancies as the balcony.

But we were amazed at how he sawed the short trunkings (sorry not sure what terminology to use) manually with a saw and the artwork was seamless!

Applying cement to the gaps between the aluminium frame and the concrete walls at the sides:

img0146ro.jpg

img0147fn.jpg

Red carpet had been brought in by Han Fong Aluminium's staff to minimise the cement spluttering all over the place.

We were fascinated that the staff bothered to vacuum the aluminium dust from sawing during the first ocassion.

For this second trip down, he bothered to clean up the place where the excessive cement fell onto the floor or tracks:

img0152j.jpg

After taking his lunch, he used a grayish type of plaster to smoothen out the cemented areas on both left and right sides:

img0153pt.jpg

img0154bt.jpg

Edited by edenstrauss
 

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Dining Room (cont'd) :

The finished product after painting:

cabinetwindow1.jpg

Storage for my personal effects e.g. boxes of DVDs, knick-knacks, etc - no space is too small for optimising storage :P

img0077my.jpg

My storage motto: No wastage allowed down to even 1 inch.

Edited by edenstrauss
 

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Hi forgotten,

thanks for complimenting the cabinets below my windows :D

My flat is a 5-room in Pasir Ris at 126 sq feet.

But the kitchen & toilets are pretty small. We'll be installing our own kitchen cabinets from IKEA & would upload photos once they are up... Then u will be able to visualise how small our kitchen is :P

We don't really cook that often, or perhaps just once or twice a month only. So not an issue.

 

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Hi forgotten,

thanks for complimenting the cabinets below my windows :D

My flat is a 5-room in Pasir Ris at 126 sq feet.

But the kitchen & toilets are pretty small. We'll be installing our own kitchen cabinets from IKEA & would upload photos once they are up... Then u will be able to visualise how small our kitchen is :P

We don't really cook that often, or perhaps just once or twice a month only. So not an issue.

should be 126sqm instead of sqf rite? :)

But it's really huge !!!

 

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Hi forgotten,

thanks for complimenting the cabinets below my windows :D

My flat is a 5-room in Pasir Ris at 126 sq feet.

But the kitchen & toilets are pretty small. We'll be installing our own kitchen cabinets from IKEA & would upload photos once they are up... Then u will be able to visualise how small our kitchen is :P

We don't really cook that often, or perhaps just once or twice a month only. So not an issue.

The cabinet look very nice..good work:) Hope your Ikea kitchen turns out well.

 

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<!--quoteo(post=625623:date=Apr 3 2011, 11:06 PM:name=zanntan)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (zanntan @ Apr 3 2011, 11:06 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=625623"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->should be 126sqm instead of sqf rite? <img src="http://www.renotalk.com/forum/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile.gif" />

But it's really huge <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/excl.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="!!" border="0" alt="excl.gif" />!<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Paiseh leh... <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":P" border="0" alt="tongue.gif" />

Yes it should be 126 sqm.

In fact, many neighbours with such a flat layout took down this dining room (it's actually a study room) and it gives the illusion that it's really HUGE! And alot brighter than mine.

The photo below shows part of the night scenary taken from the left hand side of my dining room :

6318563870_852fdb233d.jpg

The right hand side shows part of a wafer fab building. When we first shifted in, there was no wafer fab but an empty plot of land. But perhaps it's better than constructing a high-rise condo. Not sure what happens to the empty plot of land just next to it ... when they construct another wafer fab, hope that it's not as high rise... otherwise, my flat wouldn't be windy anymore. haiz...

Edited by edenstrauss
 

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The cabinet look very nice..good work:) Hope your Ikea kitchen turns out well.

Thanks for the compliments & best wishes :)

I'll take photos & upload on this thread again once we peel off the plastic protective layer on the PVC - it'll look like bluish glass.

 

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Very nicely done! Did you think of putting any shelves inside? Coz the height seems quite significant.

Mind if I ask, what was the depth of your recess? And the cost of installing the sliding doors? Do they count psf? I have the recess in all my rooms, still wondering whats the best way to use them, or leave them empty for now as it makes the rooms look a bit bigger.

 

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Hi Soichiro

I decided not to install any shelves in there becox I'll be able to manipulate the limited spacing & stuff in all my barang-barang which r all odd-sized. So I rather just stack & pile up my boxes one on top of the other.

It all depends on the users too! Like some neighbours used that area for storing DVDs or even shoe boxes, then, maybe, it'll be feasible to install shelvings.

After installing the 2" tracks, I'm left with jux 10.5" depth for storage. As u could see from one of the photos, the space could accomodate to carton boxes for reems of A4 sized paper.

Not unlike the other aluminium contractors, Han Fong Aluminium also provides quotation based on measurements - it's customisation.

I only paid about $800 (incl 7% GST) for my common room, balcony and dining room. To us, it's really value for $ and very cheap given the quality. :good:

When the PVC starts aging (that would be maybe many years later), we'll be buying our own choice of formica designs from defu lane to paste them onto the PVC panels :D No issues in sliding those doors even with the formica pasted onto the PVC panels. :dancingqueen:

Have u thought about installing wooden doors instead of aluminium?

In our case, we haven't a choice becox we've got water seeping through the concrete walls below the windows when there is an extremely heavy rain.

Some people got wooden cabinets made directly below the window where the recess areas are... but if we were to do that, our flat will be infested with termites soon!

Edited by edenstrauss
 

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Hey thanks for the reply!

My recess will never get exposed to rain because it is sheltered outside. I just thought aluminium could be an easier, cleaner and cheaper way out. The quotes I got for sliding wooden cabinets were more expensive, $600-$900 per room. Thats why it is still left empty for now. lol.

For a wood cabinet carcass, need to allocate space for the back board and floor skirting as well, wastes space. Depth is around same as yours - 30cm. Actually having swing doors will require less of the depth being used for the slide track, but I have tables or wardrobes near the window sometimes, so the swing door would be blocked. >.<

Actually wanted to put books but aluminium door storing books will look weird! lol. Aluminium also didn't go very well with parquet flooring too I think.

One of my rooms showing the recess.

bedroom_wall1.jpg

Edited by Soichiro
 

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