Well, well. Look at the parting gift Alan's plumbing guys left for us. Over the weekend, we had called in Hupfarri to check on a loud, gurgling noise coming from 1 WC. He opened the covers and this is what we saw. No wonder there was so much crap being flushed out initially. This has got nothing to do with the noise, of course.

He also said that the siliconing should have been done all across the length of the tank, rather than just in the middle.

I told Alan about it, and he said there's no need to do it all the way. Then I said the Hupfarri people recommend that it gets done. So he had no choice but to say ok.

Anyway, speaking of Hupfarri, we've been quite pleased with their after-sales service. Same goes for VYY Pte Ltd (Swingslide Door). That's about it.

Edited March 18, 201412 yr by inthechouse

Hi everyone, just wanna update that we've just handed Alan the final cheque. Quite glad that this 4-month rollercoaster ride has come to an end. There were some disagreements before the final payment was made, but I shall not go into details. In case you're wondering, all requested rectification works have been completed - though not without some protests from Alan. Well, at least everything got done.

Once again, we brought up the fact that we had to bring in and pay someone else to finish off the cement screed wall in the kitchen, but he countered to say that he can't do anything if the client has "higher expectations" than what his workers can deliver. The owner can feel free to pay for someone else to do it, but he won't absorb the cost. Let's just say he came to collect his final payment well prepared and armed with a host of "counter-arguments". But he was agreeable to some sort of a discount at the end.

As for the drainage situation in the MBR loo, the tile guy and the glass guy who came at different times to do touch up both asked me 1) if the glass panel was added at the last minute (like an after thought) 2) why wasn't a hole created in the 90-deg corner of the aluminum frame for the water to pass through 3) why wasn't there an extra drainage hole created near the WC. Well guys, I WONDER WHY TOO! Told them that 1) the glass panel was ordered right from the start 2) it was Alan who didn't wanna do the extra drainage hole for us ... And was met with a wry smile from these guys. They must've found it familiar.

So there's no reprieve. We'll just have to live with having to sweep out and mop up the water each time it "ponds" near the WC. The other solution is to wash the bathroom less frequently, like once a month, maybe. It's not that big an issue, if one were to compare this with everything else that's going on in the world...

Other than that, no problem at all. So far so good, 1 month after move-in.

Anyway, it's been a huge learning experience for us, and we hope this blog helps the newbies in some way, like how we've learnt so much from the other t-bloggers here. Good luck to everyone and may your reno be smooth and good!

congratulations on the end of renovation.

Now is the new beginning. enjoy the house and more importantly, enjoy and appreciate its occupants,i.e yourself and your family !

cheers

congratulations on the end of renovation.

Now is the new beginning. enjoy the house and more importantly, enjoy and appreciate its occupants,i.e yourself and your family !

cheers

Thank you, alfredt! All the best!

Hi everyone, just wanna update that we've just handed Alan the final cheque. Quite glad that this 4-month rollercoaster ride has come to an end. There were some disagreements before the final payment was made, but I shall not go into details. In case you're wondering, all requested rectification works have been completed - though not without some protests from Alan. Well, at least everything got done.

Once again, we brought up the fact that we had to bring in and pay someone else to finish off the cement screed wall in the kitchen, but he countered to say that he can't do anything if the client has "higher expectations" than what his workers can deliver. The owner can feel free to pay for someone else to do it, but he won't absorb the cost. Let's just say he came to collect his final payment well prepared and armed with a host of "counter-arguments". But he was agreeable to some sort of a discount at the end.

As for the drainage situation in the MBR loo, the tile guy and the glass guy who came at different times to do touch up both asked me 1) if the glass panel was added at the last minute (like an after thought) 2) why wasn't a hole created in the 90-deg corner of the aluminum frame for the water to pass through 3) why wasn't there an extra drainage hole created near the WC. Well guys, I WONDER WHY TOO! Told them that 1) the glass panel was ordered right from the start 2) it was Alan who didn't wanna do the extra drainage hole for us ... And was met with a wry smile from these guys. They must've found it familiar.

So there's no reprieve. We'll just have to live with having to sweep out and mop up the water each time it "ponds" near the WC. The other solution is to wash the bathroom less frequently, like once a month, maybe. It's not that big an issue, if one were to compare this with everything else that's going on in the world...

Other than that, no problem at all. So far so good, 1 month after move-in.

Anyway, it's been a huge learning experience for us, and we hope this blog helps the newbies in some way, like how we've learnt so much from the other t-bloggers here. Good luck to everyone and may your reno be smooth and good!

Glad that most rectification have been done and the issue with Alan have come to the end.

Hope you will be able to solve the outstanding issue with some other contractor or like you said, use it lesser.

Good luck and take good care...

Glad that most rectification have been done and the issue with Alan have come to the end.

Hope you will be able to solve the outstanding issue with some other contractor or like you said, use it lesser.

Good luck and take good care...

Thanks, Songz! Congrats on your key-collection and have lots of fun with your reno and furnishing! Take care!

Congrats on the end of your reno journey.

May it be a lovely home full of warmth and joy!

Congratulations too. Must have been tough going though all these.

Am glad i didnt take up Alan, lol

Hi, may I have the contact of the sub-con who rectified your cement screed wall? I have PMed you. Thank you!

Hi, may I have the contact of the sub-con who rectified your cement screed wall? I have PMed you. Thank you!

Same here pls!

Congrats on the end of your reno journey.

May it be a lovely home full of warmth and joy!

Thank you! Happy reno!

Congratulations too. Must have been tough going though all these.

Am glad i didnt take up Alan, lol

Thanks! Yes, it was a bit of a nightmare. I say it again that clueless first-time homeowners shouldn't anyhow sign with contractors no matter how popular they may seem. They're not gonna give you practical advice which could then lead to you having to live with certain inconveniences for the next xx years. Do your research (on reno AND the contractor) then make an informed decision.

Nobody wants to hear uncalled-for snarky remarks from their contractor every other day.

Hi, may I have the contact of the sub-con who rectified your cement screed wall? I have PMed you. Thank you!

Same here pls!

Hi both, as mentioned, he and his worker didn't do a very good job with the application of the "finishing". But if you're ok with exploring further with him, I'll share the contact. Meanwhile, to save costs, you may wanna consider buying over the "finishing" from me. I've got 3/4 of a tin left, because my 5.9m wall only required 1/4.

congrats on yr completion and now moving in. it is now time to enjoy the fruit of yr labour. well done!

congrats on yr completion and now moving in. it is now time to enjoy the fruit of yr labour. well done!

Thank you, Astarz. Apologies for the belated reply! Enjoy your cave too!

Hi everyone, took a while to finally unpack the remaining of the 20 boxes shifted over. Housework for a 4-rm flat is a killer! (If one has some injuries and no prior experience!) Still getting used to the master bathroom... coz we all have to adapt, right? Sometimes I dream of my second home of which the bathroom will be done properly... Anyway...

Nothing new up update except for one powerpoint switch which pops back out on its own after it is switched off. The entire socket is also slowly detaching from the wall. Has anyone encountered this before?

So far we've asked someone to drill a few screws into the bedroom walls for some poster frames. I'm not open to hammering nails into the wall due to the plastering. There's this long living room wall left to decorate. And it's really not easy to layout frames of various sizes in order to position them properly to mark the spots for screws to be drilled in. As they are quite big, I don't wish to take the chance with the 3M stickers. Wish me luck

Lastly, some of you may remember that incident I had regarding the purchase of my TV. Looks like it's happening rather frequently in Singapore. Check out this news report by TODAY: http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/spike-shops-make-false-claims-draw-customers?singlepage=true