Dropped by again today and bumped into Alan, who was liaising with the iQuartz folks.

As mentioned, this vanity counter top is a little too small for my liking. But I guess we could have the surface extended outwards by an inch to make up for it.

The hood is up (extraction capacity of 850m3/hr).

We also noticed that the door frames have finally been varnished. Great.

So what's left for the remaining 8-9 days?

- Second wash

- Kitchen and vanity counter surface

- Fixed tempered glass panel in master bathroom

- Sliding nyatoh door between 2 bedrooms

- Outstanding electrical work

- Outstanding plumbing work

- Touching up of grout lines

- Touching up of wall and ceiling paint

- Bathroom doors (outsourced)

- Curtains and blinds (outsourced)

- L-shaped storeroom rack (outsourced)

Dropped by again today and bumped into Alan, who was liaising with the iQuartz folks.

As mentioned, this vanity counter top is a little too small for my liking. But I guess we could have the surface extended outwards by an inch to make up for it.

The hood is up (extraction capacity of 850m3/hr).

We also noticed that the door frames have finally been varnished. Great.

So what's left for the remaining 8-9 days?

- Second wash

- Kitchen and vanity counter surface

- Fixed tempered glass panel in master bathroom

- Sliding nyatoh door between 2 bedrooms

- Outstanding electrical work

- Outstanding plumbing work

- Touching up of grout lines

- Touching up of wall and ceiling paint

- Bathroom doors (outsourced)

- Curtains and blinds (outsourced)

- L-shaped storeroom rack (outsourced)

It's coming to an end!

We've been asking Alan for the longest time about the black grout lines for our kitchen subway tiles. All he and his workers could say was that it would not be dark nor even, because that's the way it is. Weeks after the lines have dried, we realized that they've not only smudged, they could be rubbed off with a finger, resulting in a faint grey line. We asked Alan again, and he said there's nothing much they could do.

Until I found this pic online and showed it to him. Now he's saying they will "try" to improve on it. We shall wait and see.

i must say i like your kitchen pic better!

It's coming to an end!

Hi guojiawen, thanks for dropping by. Yes, ALMOST THERE. Phew. Zzz..

i must say i like your kitchen pic better!

Really? You don't like the bold lines? Actually, no matter what colour it is, they will just get darker as days go by.

same sentiments, i like your kitchen pic better too..

Hi guojiawen, thanks for dropping by. Yes, ALMOST THERE. Phew. Zzz..

Really? You don't like the bold lines? Actually, no matter what colour it is, they will just get darker as days go by.

Hi guojiawen, thanks for dropping by. Yes, ALMOST THERE. Phew. Zzz..

Really? You don't like the bold lines? Actually, no matter what colour it is, they will just get darker as days go by.

Hang in there and I'm sure we all look forward to seeing your beautiful home!

same sentiments, i like your kitchen pic better too..

Thanks, hojichalatte. Maybe i should post a close-up. LOL. All the best for your reno! It's actually quite fun if everybody's on the same page.

Hang in there and I'm sure we all look forward to seeing your beautiful home!

Good luck for your reno! Can't believe you contacted 15 companies! We spoke to 6 and we were already exhausted.

Ok, maybe I should ask this question. Anyone here used dark grout on light tiles? Is it normal for the lines to look smudged? Just curious.

Ok, maybe I should ask this question. Anyone here used dark grout on light tiles? Is it normal for the lines to look smudged? Just curious.

hello inthechouse, came by to check on your progress and am glad to see that things are coming along.

I too am of the opinion that your kitchen tiles look nicer, mainly because it looks more streamlined. The difference between yours and the internet picture is just the thickness of the grouting (correct me if I'm wrong). For grouting, I always feel that thinner is better.

As for the smudging, I think it depends on the extent. For our black grouting in the toilets for example, there are some areas where the width of the grouting is not 100% the same, which makes it look like there's some smudging. From what I can tell from your picture above, I believe it is within the tolerance - the tiler isn't going to get it 100% perfect I feel. So not to worry!

Your renos are coming along just fine

hello inthechouse, came by to check on your progress and am glad to see that things are coming along.

I too am of the opinion that your kitchen tiles look nicer, mainly because it looks more streamlined. The difference between yours and the internet picture is just the thickness of the grouting (correct me if I'm wrong). For grouting, I always feel that thinner is better.

As for the smudging, I think it depends on the extent. For our black grouting in the toilets for example, there are some areas where the width of the grouting is not 100% the same, which makes it look like there's some smudging. From what I can tell from your picture above, I believe it is within the tolerance - the tiler isn't going to get it 100% perfect I feel. So not to worry!

Your renos are coming along just fine

Thanks, vicx1234. Yes, I was inititally gunning for the thick, black lines kinda look. Or perhaps medium like this:

I gues paying a lot of attention to details is an occupational hazard for me. Heh. I'll most likely let it be.

hmmm yours looks about right actually, but maybe my eye not as sharp as yours

Just chiming in. The thinner grout line are more aesthetically pleasing!

The pic that you posted doesn't look professionally done. Heh

Man, the iQuartz colour we decided on is OOS. Now we have to pick again, and it's down to iZen and iGalaxy (grey vs black).

There's also a colour called Grey Tempesta, but it's not among iQuartz's catalogue. It's sort of an in-between.

based on your existing colour scheme, I would vote for iZen since iQuartz could be a bit overpowering.

+1 for iZen too.