Hi zihui, congrats! Your place is finally taking shape....eager to see how your final product. Cheers!

Hi potatoes! havn't chatted with you in ages - how's everything?

Thanks for stopping by! It's tiling day today so naturally, i'm bouncing! hahhahahha

Best to always buffer for the unexpected costs during reno. But you certainly have a great contractor on board! Looking forward to more photos babe! u gg to move b4 the wedding?

Best to always buffer for the unexpected costs during reno. But you certainly have a great contractor on board! Looking forward to more photos babe! u gg to move b4 the wedding?

It really depends - the contractor keeps saying that it can be done but we've repeatedly told him not to overstretch himself. we're not in THAT much of a hurry. Certainly don't want to sacrifice quality for speed.

JT's Daily Update (2nd Oct '13)

And today, the tiling has finally begun! They started with the MBR bathroom so without further ado, quick photo updates!

1) The tiler hard at work (looking quite fit while he's at it):

2) The bathroom wall is finally taking shape! Here's a close up of the selected wall tiles and how they look -

Pity I can't go down tonight to check it out but I've got a ton of errands to run.

Really looking forward to going down tomorrow evening - there should be even more done by then! *excited*

Been feeling extremely under the weather of late so decided to take a mini-break from the renovation process while I get back to speed with work and other items that require my immediate attention.

But we still found time to head down to the Takashimaya Anniversary sale over the weekend (Additional 10% for Taka members / Taka credit card holders? WOOT WOOT~~!) and setttled the purchase of our cookware!

Initially considered this WMF package -

But a quick check online turned up numerous reviews which said that if you're cooking over gas, the stainless steel handles get extremely hot and uncomfortable. This was something that was reluctantly confirmed by the Taka staff so we decided to skip this purchase. Instead, we got the following:

1) La Gourmet Thermal Cooker (my mother swears by this)

2) Happycall Ceramic pot & saucepan in PINK!

3) Tefal chinese wok & frying pan

On a sidenote - I spotted this ADORABLE table lamp but we didn't get it in the end *sad*

I was planning to get the pink happycall pots too! Super sweet!

I was planning to get the pink happycall pots too! Super sweet!

I know!

What's more if you factor in the price, this purchase was a no-brainer.

Taka is even providing us with free delivery of all the purchased items. Awesome!

JT's Daily Update (7th Oct '13)

And the tiling continues -

Master Bedroom Toilet:

Initially, we were planning on using mosaic tiles to further accentuate the design of the 2nd floor common toilet. However, JT has informed us that it'll end up looking too messy. Therefore, he sketched out a new idea for us and lay out the mosaic tiles in the MBR toilet instead. After quick consultations with the HTB (managed to catch hold of him before he boards a plane to Phnom Penh), we've decided to go with Jt's recommendations instead -

Close up of the mosaic tiles in question -

This is a mock up of what the MBR toilet's shower area will look like with the mosaic tiles laid -

Close up of the MBR shower area:

Edited October 7, 201313 yr by zihui

JT's Daily Updates cont'd:

In addition to the MBR toilet, tiling is taking place in other parts of the house as well. In contrast to the MBR toilet, we're having a simpler looking 2nd floor common toilet -

Close up of the selected wall tiles for the common toilet -

Tiling going on in the kitchen -

As well as the balcony -

As you can see from the selected tiles, we're going for base colors in general all over the place. Lots of black, white, shades of grey (preferably 40 different shades *wink*), cream and brown.

This morning, the nice Starhub technicians came down to the place to set up the modem and router. We now have WiFi in the house - something that the HTB cannot live without!!

Hi Zihui,

How much is the happycall pot in pink? Only for taka cardholder?

Hi Zihui,

How much is the happycall pot in pink? Only for taka cardholder?

Hi verre,

PM sent!

Hope the info helps!

JT's Daily Update (9th Oct '13):

It's been a generally busy couple of days. Yesterday, the electrical guy came over the run the electrical wiring, which is why you'll see wires dangling all over the entire house right now.

Tendrils of electrical wiring -

In addition to the electrical wiring being run, the scaffolding for the false ceiling is also up as well. Here's the scaffolding for the MBR -

In addition to that, the workers have put in place the tracks and the frame for the balcony's sliding door. However, the glass panels aren't installed as yet as JT is worried that one of the workers might break it by accident. Not sure if you can see it but the white frame is up -

Tilers have also started with the wall tiling. Here's a close up of the selected wall tiles for the balcony -

Wonder how long more it'll take for my TB purchases to finally arrive in Singapore... they've been shipped since the 27th of Sept which means in theory, the cargo should be arriving in Singapore by the end of this week or next week... ... The electrical guy keeps hounding me for the required lights for him to install

ur progress is better than me! haha.. i just submitted my tb list ytday ..talk about procrastinating~

ur progress is better than me! haha.. i just submitted my tb list ytday ..talk about procrastinating~

That's not true - I saw your photos and am happy to see the progress in your renovations!

But if you just submitted your TB list yesterday, that means it'll be almost 4-6 weeks before the items arrive.... did you go for express / economy delivery? Which shipping agent are you using? Personally I used Peeka (economy delivery).

Don't forget that after submitting your shopping list yesterday, they still need to query and clarify the exact items + description that you need to buy, collect the deposit from you, place the orders, inform you about the OOS items (especially if the items you bought are on timed sales) etc, wait for the items to arrive at their China collection centre, inspect the goods, re-pack them and then they can finally ship out. Shipment lead time from China to S'pore is approximately 2 weeks. I just logged into my Peeka account and checked my history - maybe we're notorious procrastinators but we initially submitted our shopping list to Peeka on the 8th of Sept. It took until the 27th of Sept for the items to be shipped out from China to S'pore... we're still waiting for the arrival. However it's our fault - not theirs. Many of the items that we bought required clarification (in terms of size, color, price etc) and some of the items we bought (particularly LED downlights) went OOS all the time.

That's not true - I saw your photos and am happy to see the progress in your renovations!

But if you just submitted your TB list yesterday, that means it'll be almost 4-6 weeks before the items arrive.... did you go for express / economy delivery? Which shipping agent are you using? Personally I used Peeka (economy delivery).

Don't forget that after submitting your shopping list yesterday, they still need to query and clarify the exact items + description that you need to buy, collect the deposit from you, place the orders, inform you about the OOS items (especially if the items you bought are on timed sales) etc, wait for the items to arrive at their China collection centre, inspect the goods, re-pack them and then they can finally ship out. Shipment lead time from China to S'pore is approximately 2 weeks. I just logged into my Peeka account and checked my history - maybe we're notorious procrastinators but we initially submitted our shopping list to Peeka on the 8th of Sept. It took until the 27th of Sept for the items to be shipped out from China to S'pore... we're still waiting for the arrival. However it's our fault - not theirs. Many of the items that we bought required clarification (in terms of size, color, price etc) and some of the items we bought (particularly LED downlights) went OOS all the time.

4-6 weeks?? Seriously? thought it will be delivered this week and can ship out next week. I m using www.ship2order.com coz it's Seb's friend and they waived off admin charges....Starting to panic now coz we ordered downlights, sink and shower system so will definitely delay the reno progress.. aiyaya ...