Electrician ShunXing at work.

A thoughtful gesture by him to install some temporary lights.

Some inconsiderate people dumped their debris below my block near my lift lobby. Town council called up my contractor to complain.... I din even do any floor hacking, can't be mine. Waiting for clarification with town council on monday.

Parquet re-varnished, looks as good as new.

Has been researching and getting quotes for my balcony folding panels. Anyone has done plantation louvers? Dun seems to be a popular option in singapore? But I like the cosy feeling.

My hb used to have it in his place....very very hard to maintain. Love the look but not the cleaning! Ouch!

I have been a follower of this wonderful forum for a long time, a quick check on my profile shows that I am a member since 2004! That was when I am renovating the current place that I am staying. Time flies and it has been 10 years, and it’s time for a mid-life upgrade. There are several challenges, thus I named the blog “Hopefully” as I am not sure if I will succeed. I will be hiring a contractor, thus I will be the “designer”.

Challenges:

1. Budget. After long discussion with CFO, the budget was set at $20k. With an upgrade to a system 4 air-con a cardinal requirement, effective balance is only 16k.
2. Coordination. As we will be staying in for the renovation, extra effort will be required for the coordination to minimize disruption and stress to the residents (wife, 3 schooling kids, helper)
3. Theme. After browsing through the tons of information in the t-blogs, I must say that I like the “Scandinavian” look. The challenge for me is how I can achieve this without making major changes to existing infra and within budget.

Scope of Work

1. L-Box & Plastering for 3 bedrooms
2. Vanishing of Parquet for 3 Bedrooms
3. Glass Partition to create new study room
4. Laminate floor for Study
5. Sliding door for Balcony
6. Lay wood decking for Balcony (6m x 1.5m)
7. Brick tile for TV wall
8. Shoe Cabinet
9. Cabinet for Master Toilet
10. New System 4 Aircon
11. Retrofit Oven and additional Kitchen Cabinets
12. New Wardrobe

The following is my floor plan just to get the ball rolling. It’s a 5A unit @ 136sqm. I had made some changes to the layout during the last reno by hacking away half the store room to create a new entrance to the kitchen.

Didn't know you have been a member since 2004 !

I have been around since 2006....itching to redo my place but hor....like waste of money...

Yes indeed, wasting quite a bit of money! Plus renovation cost have gone up so much, I did a lot with 30k 10 years ago.

Edited October 22, 201412 yr by Rosicky

Lights from Taobao arrived this afternoon, everything intact despite apparent rough handling by the forwarders.

Installation of my taobao lights completed on saturday, will be sharing some of the hits and misses of the purchased lights here. First off the line is the track lights.

1. Track Lights

Brand: 爱德朗

Link: http://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=38168786984

Build Quality: 2.5/5

Brightness: 4/5

Value: 3/5

Verdict: Miss

The build quality of the lights are OK, but the tracks are terrible. My electrician spend quite sometime to fix them up. Brightness is good and seems to meet the specification of 12W. However, there is slight variation in the tone of the light for 1-2 out of the 10 pieces but barely noticeable. Just to remind Taobao buyers is the size of these track lights, they are really huge, I kinda underestimated it. AT RMB38.80 a piece, I think it is quite reasonable in price. Overall, I would advice to give this a miss mainly due to the poor quality tracks.

Edited October 27, 201412 yr by Rosicky

2. Hanging Lights

Brand: 华夏通和灯饰

Link: http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=36692895536

Build Quality: 4/5

Brightness: 4/5

Value: 4/5

Verdict: Hit!

The quality of this hanging light is quite decent, the glass and the metal pieces are all well fabricated. Only the mounting mechanism looks a bit flimsy, and difficult to adjust the balance. Brightness from the edison bulbs is good, just hope it does not breakdown easily. At RMB299, I would think it is value for money for a light of this design and size.

Edited October 27, 201412 yr by Rosicky

3. Hanging Light for Balcony

Brand: 塔拉尔

Link: http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=37813988587

Build Quality: 4/5

Brightness: 4/5

Value: 4/5

Verdict: Hit!

Bought 2 of these for my balcony, but gotten the wrong size. I bought the 22cm version, which I feels looks a tad too small in my balcony. I think the effect will be better if I had gotten the 30cm version. Brightness no issue with the edison bulb. Build quality is decent as well. Again, need to be careful about sizes when buying online as it might give u the wrong impression. The 22cm version is at RMB68.31, which is pretty value for money.

That's all for today, will update the other lights later...

Edited October 27, 201412 yr by Rosicky

4. Down Lights

Brand: 帆朗

Link: http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=21401640179

Build Quality: 4/5

Brightness: 5/5

Value: 5/5

Verdict: Hit!

The best buy among my taobao orders. This light cost a mere RMB19 for a 12W 4-inch model. Build quality is good, and very bright! Highly recommended.

Wah appreciate the reviews on lightings! Getting them from taobao too ​

Btw care to share how much was the supreme laminates? I'm probably getting mine from woodculture - Berry Alloc since their riveria range appears to be more water resistant. But quite ex of coz..checking if there are other options.

Hi ma5quer, I am not sure of the exact price for my laminates. Reason being I was quoted for vinyl initially. Plus my floor area is very small at 80sqf, which is subjected to minimal charges.

Anyway, I did not go direct to supreme. My contractor charge me $580 for the vinyl, although I did laminate eventually. I did ask the supreme sales, the list price for my ac4 8mm exclusive range is abt $5.50psf.

Ah I see..Mine is for whole unit so looking at every cent! Thanks for sharing!

getting my parent's place ready for renov and I am looking at TB's LED! This looks like a good deal and thanks for sharing.

Which size and walt did u get in the end? I am not sure which size I should go for, if not I sure order first. lol.

am camping to see the final results!

4. Down Lights

Brand: 帆朗

Link: http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=21401640179

Build Quality: 4/5

Brightness: 5/5

Value: 5/5

Verdict: Hit!

The best buy among my taobao orders. This light cost a mere RMB19 for a 12W 4-inch model. Build quality is good, and very bright! Highly recommended.