finkfad 1 Report post Posted December 5, 2014 Hello friends of Renotalk!Since I started my search for a home, I've been reading through your blogs with great interest, and I've learnt quite a bit on renovations through your documented experiences.This search hasn't been fast nor easy, as I'm grappling with having to complete my Ph.D. (way overdue, and very little hair left to go on) and balancing that with work and family.The requirements that I had for an ideal place was not always the same as the Missus', but she knows how much of a stickler I am for details.We started searching since March, at the point where prices were starting to fall, and met many sellers who were still in cuckoo-land with regards to the valuation of their flats.What was even more surprising was that some people were actually willing to pay those prices that they were asking, so I bit my tongue and moved on.I had three basic requirements that I put to my agent:A place within 'walking distance' (whatever that means) to an MRT station. Some place close to the center of the island (which practically meant AMK / Bishan / TPY on our budget). A corner unit where only the front door is exposed, as I hate prying eyes, the lack of security and privacy, and also noisy neighbors. A unit that was preferably high-floor.As you might imagine, finding such a unit is not necessarily trivial, nor does it come cheap.So fast forward to September 2014, when we found such a unit, a 4NG in Ang Mo Kio. It is at the very top floor, and has no corridor. Right out of the lift, you come into a landing with only two doors on the left and right, so it probably doesn't get more private than this. It is also about a 400m walk to the MRT station, so that's alright.But good is not cheap, and cheap is not good. Behold the floor plan,As you probably see, the toilets are RIDICULOUSLY small. Those living or have lived in old flats will know what I mean.The water closet, shower area, and wash basin is basically in one and the same area. When you shower, EVERYTHING gets wet.This is my one major misgiving about the place. But otherwise, the flat fits perfectly to my list of requirements.To be continued. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
finkfad 1 Report post Posted December 5, 2014 I tend to sweat over the littlest details.When I was young, I hated it when my parents told me what I could and couldn't do to furnish my own bedroom, so I decided that when I found my own place, I won't let anyone dictate to me what I could or couldn't do (except for the Missus, since she's paying for half of it )First off, my one and greatest passion is technology. My job, my area of expertise, my Ph.D. is all on engineering communication systems. So what better place to tinker at than within my own home? Here's the kind of detail I sweat about ,Thinking about how to wire up the place actually gives me many, many sleepless nights. That's how into these things I am Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
finkfad 1 Report post Posted December 5, 2014 In case you haven't noticed, I like to tinker with the floor plan whenever I am bored, it lets me take my mind off my work and research, so before having met with any IDs, I liked to sketch out my ideas like this,I had no clue whether what I proposed is actually doable (knowing that HDB has a thousand and one regulations seemingly to make sure that you'd never have it your way). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
finkfad 1 Report post Posted December 5, 2014 Meanwhile, I actually have a research paper deadline to catch. I just wanted to completely forget about it for awhile ... I'll be back Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alcupon 0 Report post Posted December 5, 2014 In case you haven't noticed, I like to tinker with the floor plan whenever I am bored, it lets me take my mind off my work and research, so before having met with any IDs, I liked to sketch out my ideas like this,I had no clue whether what I proposed is actually doable (knowing that HDB has a thousand and one regulations seemingly to make sure that you'd never have it your way).almost have the same layout as mine. totally agree that the toilets are very small in size, for mine, i hacked away the toilet wall and have the 2 toilets joined together. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
finkfad 1 Report post Posted December 5, 2014 almost have the same layout as mine. totally agree that the toilets are very small in size, for mine, i hacked away the toilet wall and have the 2 toilets joined together. Oh, nice!May I know if you had problems with pipes?I am seriously considering combining the bathrooms, but I'm not sure how to handle this (see picture below).The pipe right smack in the middle of the bathroom ruined everything. The wall behind this pipe separates the two bathrooms. If I had a choice to remove the wall, I don't know what to do with the pipe. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
finkfad 1 Report post Posted December 5, 2014 The perils of living under the water tank,I seriously hope this would not be a recurring issue after my renovation. Any tips and tricks with regards to fixing this kinds of problems once and for all?I understand the seller has already called in the town council to help fix this, but I don't know the current state of it.Final inspection is on the coming Thursday. Fingers crossed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
finkfad 1 Report post Posted December 5, 2014 Sigh, I asked my ID if it was safe to buy floor traps from Taobao, and he said yes, so I bought five of these (he suggested four, plus one spare),Item: http://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=37925911925But now, from what I saw from other t-blogs, HDB doesn't allow these types of traps to be used as it will raise the floor of the toilet too high? Costs me almost S$100, argh Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Doris Chin 4 Report post Posted December 5, 2014 Hi and welcome to renotalk! Your wiring plan seems really great! I guess most of us forget about this aspect till the last minute! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
finkfad 1 Report post Posted December 5, 2014 Hi and welcome to renotalk! Your wiring plan seems really great! I guess most of us forget about this aspect till the last minute!I think it wouldn't matter to most people, LOLBut I'm a tech guy and a gadgets guy, so I do a mental tour around the house and think about what I want to put where, and what I want to use where Quite alot of those power points are going towards powering these, 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shibumi 1 Report post Posted December 5, 2014 Sigh, I asked my ID if it was safe to buy floor traps from Taobao, and he said yes, so I bought five of these (he suggested four, plus one spare),Item: http://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=37925911925But now, from what I saw from other t-blogs, HDB doesn't allow these types of traps to be used as it will raise the floor of the toilet too high? Costs me almost S$100, argh Do you know if the thickness of the "faceplates" of ones sold on 淘宝 is a match to the originals ones installed by HDB? Example: if the 淘宝 ones have thicker faceplates, after installation the floortrap will protrude from the floor & vice versa.I was contemplating these too, but concerned about thickness. I mean, size-wise I can determine, but thickness I can't unless I tear out my existing (HDB) ones, which is irreversible. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
finkfad 1 Report post Posted December 6, 2014 Do you know if the thickness of the "faceplates" of ones sold on 淘宝 is a match to the originals ones installed by HDB? Example: if the 淘宝 ones have thicker faceplates, after installation the floortrap will protrude from the floor & vice versa.I was contemplating these too, but concerned about thickness. I mean, size-wise I can determine, but thickness I can't unless I tear out my existing (HDB) ones, which is irreversible.I think the thickness is not standard unfortunately. Just asked my ID about it and his reply was that there is always a solution to everything and asks me not to worry, LOL.I tend to trust him though, he's the same ID as OceanEleven's.A little about him (Foo from Custombox):He's a really interesting guy who is not a yes-man (pretty important). He wouldn't agree to doing something if it is not worthwhile doing The feeling that I get is that you are choosing him as an ID, as much as he is choosing you to be a client.If you want a bland and plain renovation with very minimal design involved then you may not find him agreeing with you So far we've only been through the stage of planning the layout. One very different aspect about working with him is that he didn't want me to give him a laundry list of things which I specifically want in each room.He preferred to focus on what's generally important to us, e.g. preferences in terms of design, must not-haves, must haves, good-to-haves, etc.This is important, because I think he needs room for creativity and design. If you have a very specific idea of what you want then maybe you might be better off with a contractor than with him.With us, we wanted an ID to be opinionated, and tell us what would work and what would not. So he checks the list there.He also didn't want to jump into just giving a quotation, but he wanted to take a week or two to plan the space with our floorplan. That's important too, because you know he's putting in thoughts into design, not just doing a contractor's job.So far, we've not started with renovation, so I wouldn't say whether I'd recommend him or not. But all in all initial impressions were very positive, the best we've met so far, though to be honest we only met Kevin (the famous Mr. K), and another.Kevin was a really nice gentleman, but the Missus can't speak Chinese very well so she feels more at ease when talking to Foo. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
finkfad 1 Report post Posted December 6, 2014 Some items we've bought from Taobao so far. I can't give you much details how whether it works well, or with regards to its operation, because we only opened up the boxes for a brief inspection.1. Metal Pump Bottle [http://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=8542476604]Thoughts: Bought 2 of these. The finish is pretty good, but the quality of the screw-on part is rather bad. One of them can't be screwed-on fully. The internal capacity is also surprisingly small. Would not recommend anyone to buy.2. Wooden Hangers [http://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=37477686049]Thoughts: We bought 3 packs of 20 of these. But the wood finish on some of them are really so bad that we wouldn't be using them. Some seems to be varnished and some seems to be not. Those that are not properly varnished will destroy your clothes if they snag on the splinters and rough patches. So far it seems only 50% of these can be used. The rest, I don't know what to do with them. I will not risk hanging my clothes on those. Strongly recommended not to buy.3. Wooden Hangers With Clips [same link as above]Thoughts: These are alright. Build quality is a little poor but I think they are mostly usable.4. Flexible Kitchen Tap [http://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=38406898905]Thoughts: This thing is HEAVY. And the build quality is AWESOME. They packed it pretty well and you know they mean business when the tap comes properly packed and shipped in the box, and the tap kept inside a drawstring bag.5. CAT6 LAN Cables, 0.5 meters [http://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=25876188851]Thoughts: Remember I said I was a geek? Yes. Who doesn't need 30 of these?! They come individually packed. I have not had a chance to test them though, but they're cheap. Comes individually in sealed packs, and every jack has a protective cap on it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
finkfad 1 Report post Posted December 6, 2014 6. Meet My Singled Wang! [http://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=40157913097]Thoughts: Funny name, VERY thick steel, and the construction appears to be very solid.7. Drainer Tray For The Singled Wang [http://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=25888720802]Thoughts: The steel portion is well constructed but the wood portion needs a little bit more work. It certainly doesn't look well-varnished like in the picture.8. Soap Dispenser For My Singled Wang! [http://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=19256014616]Thoughts: AWESOME construction, VERY HEAVY, very solidly-built. Very happy with initial impressions. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
finkfad 1 Report post Posted December 6, 2014 9. Aggregated Clippers On A Hanger [http://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=15882752637]Thoughts: Well finished, if a little thin. Nothing to write home about, but pretty functional I'd say.10. Solid Steel Hangers [http://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=15882752637]Thoughts: We bought two models, one is the [ 4MM加粗款42CM ] model, which means "extra thickness", and the [ 普通款45CM(男士用) ] model, which means "normal thickness, for male-clothing". They are all solidly built and very well-constructed. And very heavy. Did I mention that the extra-thick model is very, very heavy? Every hanger hook as a protective plastic cap as well, in case you scrape yourself accidentally. Very satisfied with this after the debacle with the wooden hangers.11. Real Leather Computer Chair [http://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=19423534077]Thoughts: Its a little tricky with this one because I can't unpack it right now, and I only look at it cursorily inside the box. I'm also not sure how to test if its really made with "real" leather. But it looks pretty good in the box and I can't wait to sit on it already. Very huge though, the box itself is 0.48 cubic meters. And poorly packed too. It wasn't packed with styrofoam or anything, just the chair part thrown inside the box in its entirety (at least they wrapped it with thin wrapping material), and the bottom part detached and thrown into the box as well. I hope shipping didn't damage anything.12. 'Fake' Leather ChairThoughts: The missus bought this so I can't really say much about this for now. But as above, poorly packed (literally came in a 'L'-shaped box with all the components and base of the chair stuffed inside, together with the chair itself). REALLY hope shipping didn't damage it. But the material feels a little meh, and I hope it doesn't start peeling.That's it for my Taobao loot so far. Once I get everything into its normal course of use I can give you more updates. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
