koori 45 Report post Posted February 21, 2014 Also, yesterday, the paint team came down for what they called the "final, final touch up". I was not informed of this. So were they gonna do the "final, final touch up" without my presence? Nevermind. So the Ah Beng was a little better this time round. However, 1 of the 2 foreign workers was still indignant. He also blew his top when his supe was away. To which the other worker said to me: "Nevermind, you tell me, I do for you." I interpreted it as "ignore him".As for the paint marks all over the skirtings - presumably the result of NOT taping the lines prior to painting - nobody is taking it upon their shoulders to remove it. One team said it's the other's job. So we'll just have to do it ourselves. From my understanding, thinner should work yeah? I tried, but it wouldn't come out. Anyone's got any advice for me? The only thing that the paint team taped were the door hinges and knobs, and the powerpoints/sockets. It was freehand for everything else.Also, the plastering team had plastered all over the window frames. So that's gonna take some cleaning up too.Feel like paying a part-time cleaner to come do everything, coz it's ineffective for me to do it myself, since I am suffering from a chronic case of lateral and medial epicondylitis on my right arm due to years of tennis.That's pretty much how most of my skirtings look like.Is the skirting made of tile?Can try using a 'scrapper'...I hope I got the correct name....coz I always hear it called in Hokkien, no idea for the english name.My dad paints like this too...but note we scraped it off tiles. If your skirting isn't tile...better try on small un-noticeable area first...the scrapper is flat, but i dunno if it will scratch certain surfaces.Oh. found a link. It is called a 'paint scrapper'... hope this helps.http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-images-paint-scrapper-putty-knife-image17535654 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Songz 132 Report post Posted February 21, 2014 Is the skirting made of tile?Can try using a 'scrapper'...I hope I got the correct name....coz I always hear it called in Hokkien, no idea for the english name.My dad paints like this too...but note we scraped it off tiles. If your skirting isn't tile...better try on small un-noticeable area first...the scrapper is flat, but i dunno if it will scratch certain surfaces.Oh. found a link. It is called a 'paint scrapper'... hope this helps.http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-images-paint-scrapper-putty-knife-image17535654I also used paint scrapper in the past but its for tiles too.Not sure how well it will work on wood as I am afraid it may damage the wood. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
inthechouse 8 Report post Posted February 21, 2014 Hi koori and Songz, they are regular tiles which look like wood, so I guess it's ok to use a scrapper. Which was what I did yesterday, but a lot still won't come off. I'm so lousy at this! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
inthechouse 8 Report post Posted February 21, 2014 (edited) Eeks. Just saw a few posts about bad sofa-shopping experience on the Home Furnishing forum. We've ordered all our stuff (not a lot, overall) from super established companies in Singapore, so I hope there are not hiccups. In fact, so far we've rung them up a few times to change the delivery dates and all and the service has been pretty good. And these are mostly items that were on sale, mind you. Not atas. In some cases, we could even SMS the sales manager. Awesome. Will update after everything has arrived.http://www.renotalk.com/forum/topic/64311-bad-experience-with-online-furniture-shop-castlery/http://www.renotalk.com/forum/topic/41278-do-not-ever-buy-from-winter-international/http://www.renotalk.com/forum/topic/51760-beware-of-la-cafa-furniture-design-at-the-new-furniture-mall-at-toh-guan-road/ Edited February 21, 2014 by inthechouse Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
koori 45 Report post Posted February 21, 2014 Hi koori and Songz, they are regular tiles which look like wood, so I guess it's ok to use a scrapper. Which was what I did yesterday, but a lot still won't come off. I'm so lousy at this! totally fooled me. I tot it was wood....we lived with it ....coz every year dad brings out the paint to 'touch up' for new year...and the cycle repeats....not bothered to scrape liao. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
inthechouse 8 Report post Posted February 21, 2014 totally fooled me. I tot it was wood....we lived with it ....coz every year dad brings out the paint to 'touch up' for new year...and the cycle repeats....not bothered to scrape liao. Heh. These wood-like tiles are pretty popular with many friends here.That's the thing, Dad did everything for me too. And sometimes, the maid. No more of such luxury if one wishes to move out! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Songz 132 Report post Posted February 21, 2014 Ok i am starting to get freaked out as I cannot imagine myself doing this alone for the whole 3 room flat (+utility) ... Hahaha ~ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
inthechouse 8 Report post Posted February 21, 2014 (edited) Ok i am starting to get freaked out as I cannot imagine myself doing this alone for the whole 3 room flat (+utility) ... Hahaha ~Don't worry. If your painters do a neat job then it should be ok. Also, make sure the tiling team doesn't leave extra grout on your skirtings. That's what they did for mine - scrape clean their scrappers onto my skirtings, and I find hardened grout mix here and there. For those who are opting for plastering, make sure they don't plaster onto your window frames. It's not impossible to remove, of course. But all these take time and effort. Best avoided if you don't have people helping you. Edited February 21, 2014 by inthechouse Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Songz 132 Report post Posted February 21, 2014 Noted and thanks for the tips.Will take note when my Reno starts ... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
simplehuman 1 Report post Posted February 21, 2014 Hi inthehouse, with regards to the paint on your skirting, u may want to try rubbing it off with a piece of damp cloth. It works for me but not too sure for your tiles. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
inthechouse 8 Report post Posted February 23, 2014 Hi inthehouse, with regards to the paint on your skirting, u may want to try rubbing it off with a piece of damp cloth. It works for me but not too sure for your tiles.Hi simplehuman, thanks for your post. For some parts, it has worked, for others, something stronger is needed. Plus my arm is injured so I can't really apply much strength. Have decided to pay someone to do it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
inthechouse 8 Report post Posted February 23, 2014 (edited) Anyway, the meeting with Alan and his painters was meant to "touch up everything once and for all". But till this moment, the touch-ups have not been completed.On that afternoon, a glum looking Alan, his Ah Beng paint sub-con and 1 of the 2 Bangladeshi workers who had painted my walls showed up. Everything else aside, my main concern was the finishing of the cement screed wall. They opened a tin of something thick and pungent which they claimed over and over again that it was matte lacquer and not glossy. They then said they would "test" it on area for me to see. If I didn't like it, they would clean it off.So that "area" turned out to be a roller's width. It did not look matte to me. But the sub-con said it would dry and become matte. Yet, at the same time, he kept asking the worker to "put in more thinner". The worker was by now mixing a very strange concoction, with copious amount of thinner being poured in. It did not appear like they knew what they were doing. I asked why there were so many bubbles on the finishing, and the reply was that "they did not use enough thinner at first". WHAT???After 30 mins, I decided that I did not want it anymore. I simply wasn't convinced that they would do a proper job. So I requested for it to be cleaned away.All 3 of them, including the worker, were acting standoffish and indignant. I just had to leave the flat to get some fresh air and calm my nerves. There's just something about being polite all the time yet have that getting taken advantaged of. In return for your courtesy, you get sh*t attitude.The next day, I returned to check the wall, and saw a rectangle on the wall. They had not managed to clean it all off. I asked Alan, and he said "it's like that"... and "sure got 2 different colours". He said the same thing before, during the concoction party.Why did they test on such a big area then? And why did they apply something that wasn't mixed or prepared properly in the first place?Until I figure what I can do about this myself, or who I can pay to come fix it, I will have to live with this patch right smack in the middle of my kitchen wall.Friends, if you have any suggestions, please do share them here. I am pretty distressed over this. Overall, the painters have done a crap job. They are by far the worst team Alan uses. I am still waiting for them to fix the main door and storeroom door's paint job - which was done in a haphazard fashion. You can see the pix in my earlier post.Just wanna update that I have found someone to clean up and "finish off" my cement screed wall. It will cost me a small sum but it's better than being forced to accept it in its crappy state.1) It is so dusty and all the painters did while demo-ing the wrong lacquer application was to apply directly without first wiping it. I asked, and it appeared that the thought of wiping the surface before applying the finishing did not come to their mind at all. FYI, this wall's been sitting there like this since December.2) They can't be bothered to source for and mix a proper finishing for me.3) They filled the holes (drilled for cables and pipes) with cement rather than the same material as the wall. Someone here posted about this exact experience in his/her blog. And everyone - from Alan to the paint team - lied through their teeth to convince me "it's like that", "the colour tone will always be different". Well, it's not like that, and it's different because you used different materials. I've had 2 different sub-cons come in to take a look at it and they both told me the truth about the "different tones".4) All that extra grouting that had been slapped onto the skirting that Alan's workers had refused so adamantly to scrape off. (Yes, I know we ourselves are physically capable of scraping it off on our own. But why should we clean up the workers' careless and shoddy workmanship?) There's also black spots and marks all over the wall. Best of all, the workers left a dent in the wall while removing that rectangular patch (read my earlier posts).Nevermind. Let's see what this sub-con can do for me. I'm starting to truly feel excited about moving into my flat. Coz this guy also offered a few simple solutions for other parts of the flat that Alan and his workers had refused to rectify. Isn't this wonderful???? Stay tuned for updates! Edited February 23, 2014 by inthechouse Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
inthechouse 8 Report post Posted February 23, 2014 Other updates.. Went to pick up a few items at Ikea Alexandra because they are OOS at Tampines, and boy, was the experience a wayyy better one. Enough staff to attend to your needs, self-serve payment counters to cut Q time, items picked up/out for you, and plenty of taxis avaiable. Screw Ikea Tampines.And.. the long-awaited nyatoh sliding door has arrived. Judge for yourself if it's the correct door. To think that Alan wanted to have it varnished in this state. I don't know. Should I keep it? It's really not what I ordered, although Alan said his door supplier confirmed that it is Model CM 19B. Someone here had PM-ed me recently about a similar experience. The door he ordered via Alan turned out to be something very different. If you're newly signed on with Alan, I suggest you engage your own door supplier. Outsource it, please. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
claypot 46 Report post Posted February 23, 2014 Other updates.. Went to pick up a few items at Ikea Alexandra because they are OOS at Tampines, and boy, was the experience a wayyy better one. Enough staff to attend to your needs, self-serve payment counters to cut Q time, items picked up/out for you, and plenty of taxis avaiable. Screw Ikea Tampines.I went today to Ikea Tampines at 11:30am. Not crowded so the queue is short and enough staff to attend to me. For big items, i didn't have to pick-up but for "small items" the 40x160cm mirrors, i have to pick up which can be a bit troublesome since its long but its close to the cashier and the delivery/installation booth so not so bad. Went to Tampines because Alexandra is too far for me, and got free shuttle. Anyway, good that you gotten your stuff. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
inthechouse 8 Report post Posted February 23, 2014 I went today to Ikea Tampines at 11:30am. Not crowded so the queue is short and enough staff to attend to me. For big items, i didn't have to pick-up but for "small items" the 40x160cm mirrors, i have to pick up which can be a bit troublesome since its long but its close to the cashier and the delivery/installation booth so not so bad. Went to Tampines because Alexandra is too far for me, and got free shuttle. Anyway, good that you gotten your stuff. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
