Kobelala 8 Report post Posted May 19, 2017 5 hours ago, jojobaba said: Thank you! Takes a discerning eye to appreciate the pretty chandeliers hahahahhaha Yup my id is Kevin Yap from Ideal House Design, 81630609. Very reliable and responsible, worked with my insane timeline and delivered ahead of schedule, and very willing to touch up stuff, no extra top-ups and very easy going. Sounds good sis thanks a lot. U should show more pics of your lovely home here Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
izong 4 Report post Posted May 21, 2017 On 22/04/2017 at 0:14 PM, jojobaba said: Hokays time for sharing about my sanitary wares I got from xtwostore. I basically got 2x of all the bathroom accessories and mixers with the exception of the vanity mirror and rain shower. It's pretty straightforward buying from them, either can do an international order if you don't have your own forwarder, or sign up a .de account with them and choose self-pick up for those with own forwarder. I chose the latter and the prices are in Euros. If not, it'd be in pounds. My total bill from xtwostore came up to be €3.596,99 and the credit card charge was SGD$5400, so the exchange rate applied was 1.501. Mixer I chose my mixers/basin combination based on the Hansgrohe mixer/basin recommendation, found over here: http://www.hansgrohe.com.sg/12946.htm and I liked the Duravit Foster basin very much so I got the Metris 260. https://www.xtwostore.com/hansgrohe-metris-single-lever-basin-mixer-260-without-waste-set-for-wash-bowls-dn15.html Item #: 31184000 - Hansgrohe Metris - Single lever basin mixer 260 without waste set for washbowls Price: €312,06 for 2pcs, approx SGD$234 each. Basin https://www.xtwostore.com/duravit-foster-wash-bowl-495-x-350-mm-white.html Item #: 0335500000 - Duravit Foster - Wash bowl 495 x 350 mm white Price: €399,54 for 2pcs, approx SGD$300 each. WC (Requires 3 parts, the wash bowl + cistern + toilet seat/cover) + additional pipe (depends on WC rough-in of your toilet) Wash Bowl: https://www.xtwostore.com/duravit-me-by-starck-stand-wc-kombination-weiss.html Cistern: https://www.xtwostore.com/duravit-me-by-starck-spulkasten-fur-anschluss-unten-links.html Toilet Seat: https://www.xtwostore.com/duravit-me-by-starck-toilet-seat-with-soft-close-white-234389.html Vario Bend: For some reason the website removed this item! Item: #2170090000 - Duravit ME by Starck - Stand-Tiefspül-WC 650 x 370 mm Kombination weiß Item: #0938100005 - DuravitME by Starck - Spülkasten für Anschluss unten links Item: #0020190000 - DuravitME by Starck - Toilet seat with soft-close white Item: #8990250006 - Duravit - Vario-Anschlussbogen Price: €415,38 for 2pcs, approx SGD$312 each Price: €315,20 for 2pcs, approx SGD$237 each Price: €180,48 for 2pcs, approx SGD$135 each Price: €66,00 for 2pcs, approx SGD$50 each Each WC costed about SGD$734 in total including the extra $50 bend I got due to the rough-in of my toilet. Rainshower https://www.xtwostore.com/hansgrohe-raindance-select-360-showerpipe-dn15-53107.html Item #: 27112000 - Hansgrohe Raindance - Select 360 Showerpipe DN Price: €836,46 for 1pcs, approx SGD$1255. Bath Mixer https://www.xtwostore.com/hansgrohe-logis-exposed-single-lever-bath-mixer.html Item #: 71400000 - Hansgrohe Logis - Exposed single lever bath mixer Price: €60,02 for 1pc, approx SGD$90. Shower (Common Bathroom) https://www.xtwostore.com/hansgrohe-raindance-select-s-shower-combi-900-mm-white-chrome.html Item #: 27037400 - Hansgrohe Raindance Select S - Shower Combi 900 mm white / chrome Price: €256,95 for 1pc, approx SGD$385. Make-up Mirror https://www.xtwostore.com/steinberg-650-make-up-mirror.html Item #: 650 9200 - Steinberg 650 - Make-up mirror Price: €87,00 for 1pc, approx SGD$130. Hand Towel Ring https://www.xtwostore.com/steinberg-650-towel-ring.html Item #: 650 2500 - Steinberg 650 - Towel Ring Price: €53,46 for 2pc, approx SGD$40 each. Glass Holder https://www.xtwostore.com/steinberg-650-glass-holder-with-glass.html Item #: 650 2000 - Steinberg 650 - Glass holder with glass Price: €35,00 for 2pc, approx SGD$26 each. Soap Dispenser https://www.xtwostore.com/steinberg-450-soap-dispenser.html Item #: 450 8000 - Steinberg - Soap dispenser Price: €105,94 for 2pc, approx SGD$80 each. Toilet Roll Holder https://www.xtwostore.com/steinberg-650-paper-holder.html Item #: 650 2800 - Steinberg 650 - Paper Holder Price: €44,70 for 2pc, approx SGD$33 each. Towel Rack https://www.xtwostore.com/steinberg-650-towel-rack-117453.html Item #: 650 2750 - Steinberg 650 - Towel Rack Price: €193,42 for 2pc, approx SGD$145 each. Soap Holder https://www.xtwostore.com/steinberg-450-soap-dish-117163.html Item #: 450 2210 - Steinberg 450 - Soap dish Price: €72,90 for 2pc, approx SGD$55 each. All the costs stated above exclude shipping and GST. Unless you have a corporate forwarding account, I'd suggest just getting the rain showers and mixers, cos the WCs are very heavy and would cost a lot using xtwostore's shipping. Hope this helps, anyone looking to buy their sanitary wares from xtwostore! Just take note of the possibly long delivery time. wow... really like your Hansgrohe & Duravit. But it's going to cause a big hole! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jojobaba 0 Report post Posted May 22, 2017 On 19 May 2017 at 8:29 PM, Kobelala said: Sounds good sis thanks a lot. U should show more pics of your lovely home here Haha thanks for reading, I'd try to take more pics. Need a wide angle lens! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jojobaba 0 Report post Posted May 22, 2017 15 hours ago, izong said: wow... really like your Hansgrohe & Duravit. But it's going to cause a big hole! And yes a big hole indeed! Haha! My personal preference is to get durable and rust-free sanitary fittings cos changing them would be such a bother! I know both brands hold up really well, so I suppose it's worth it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mannequin 0 Report post Posted May 24, 2017 On 20/04/2017 at 10:31 PM, jojobaba said: So Mission Impossible commenced and as mentioned, we took over the unit 24th Feb but only could start renovation works on the 2nd March when the tenants moved out. As of 24 Feb, we had YET to confirm anything. Hahahaha! If not how to be mission impossible? Thankfully, God granted me wisdom to start planning way in advance, and since the OTP was granted back in December, I had about 2.5 months to plan and plan, I did. First, I had the required reno works itemized so I could get an exact quote. Our original budget was $30k (haha laughable I know, stop laughing la!) but the total reno bill came up to be about $49k (including sanitary wares & chandelier lights) eventually. My main appointed contractor's bill came up to be $32k, while my BLUM UrbanKitchen costed $7k, and Goodrich wallpaper costed $2k. Sanitary wares & mixers bought online costed me $6.5k and my chandeliers 1.3k, inclusive of delivery etc. Total reno damage was about $49k. Pretty respectable for a resale condo I should say. My furniture & electrical appliances costed a whopping 21k, no thanks to the 2+2+1 ME Starmex aircons which alone, costed us $6k. ZZZ. My sanitary wares & chandeliers deserve a post on their own so I'd share more as I go along. Many folks have shared their precious nuggets when appointing their ID/contractor so I shall just say, I totally relied on God to guide me (cos I'm a believer of my Lord Jesus Christ!) and after plying through thousands of reviews online, I shortlisted just 2 to email quotes. Both quotes came back pretty competitive so I invited them down to the unit for actual measurements and final quotes. I felt scratchy after meeting the first one (Holy Spirit not at peace, red flag!), who's a veteran and after discussing with my hubby, we both agreed to go with the other one, Kevin Yap of Ideal House ID. Totally the right choice made! Apart from our gut feel, the main reason we chose him was cos I simply could not find any negative online review on him at all. Which is rare cos most other established ID/contractors will have some bad reviews here and there. Too busy, poor workmanship, good workers left, attitude smelly, money face etc etc. So before we confirmed, we prayed about it and we felt at peace with our decision and signed with him within a week. He promised we could move in by end March and we did! But of course, as mentioned, I knew exactly what I wanted and I was extremely specific about how I wanted to achieve the look and feel, right down to the choice and brand of materials. So Kevin's main job, was simply to implement my ideas into reality. I can't and won't comment on his designing since I didn't involve him in it, and it'd be putting the cart before the horse if I did; I did ask for his opinion here and there, which was really helpful incl our choice of TV wall laminate & bathroom floor tiles. So very important pointer, for time-critical projects like mine, ie 1 month only to complete dirty works so I can move in with 2 young kiddos + 2 pets, is to know exactly what you need done in the reno, and have it itemized clearly. If you can't come up with that, you risk getting ripped off bad, cos it shows you don't know what you're doing and you may get incomplete quotations that contain hidden costs. And when you get quoted for the poorest quality materials, you either suck it up and resign to living in a sad-sad place or, top-up and break your bank to get the look and feel you want. I have a feeling the other quote may have been cheaper but he would have given me poorer quality stuff (i.e. lower range of laminates, poorer quality stuff in general) that would require extra top-ups, and cos I'm assuming the worst of him, I shall not disclose his identity cos it's all in my head and my assumptions are totally not fair to him lol. Thankfully, we chose Kevin cos before we signed, I tried to bargain and lower his quote (so typical ugly SGrean hard-up for few dollars pattern) but he said something I still remember and appreciate until today, "There are bound to be extra costs that come up during reno works and it's not my style to charge customers for such extras unless they are big expenses." Whoa. Respect much and true to his word, he did not charge me extra except for an additional cabinet I requested later on. Cos indeed, there are so MANY extra wu-ah-boh stuff that came up! Heng ah, never engage money-faced, money-grabbing contractors that would 斤斤计较 and totally annoy the living daylights out of me. Kevin just helps to change damaged stuff that were overlooked and even extra sai-kang which is none of his business; he's just sooooo frigging responsible and nice, if I had to give him a score, it'd be 110! And the litmus test for all recommendations is simple: After work is done and dusted, will I still engage him if I need reno works? The answer is a resounding YES YES YES! But, I have to say, the carpenter, Mr See, who worked on my Blum UrbanKitchen deserves 110 too, so my honest-to-goodness review is I will go back to Mr See for carpentry work. I'd explain more when we get to my kitchen. But overall project management goes to Kevin. Ok I got carried away. Let the pictures do the talking! Who likes before and after photos? Me me me! Here we go, hack hack hack! Living (We swapped the TV feature wall and sofa, cos I prefer a vast TV wall, instead of the original layout of using the shorter wall for the TV wall) Study Kitchen Mr See doing the measurements... MBR (after hacking off the headboard feature wall) After hacking off the mirrored wardrobe and platform MBR Bathroom (super stinko with all the exposed pipes yuck I can still remember the smell of sewage... ugh...) Common Bathroom All the hacking was done within 2 days. Tell me about cheaper, better, faster! And then, electrical works and laying of tiles began. There was 1 major hiccup during my renovation though, and that couldn't be helped. Remember my sanitary stuff, i.e. WC, shower, mixers, basins, were bought online? Yup, see, I would have ordered much earlier but I had to wait until they hacked off the existing WC before I could order, cos not all WCs can fit in all toilets. There's something called rough-in and I had to make sure my WC rough-in would fit in my bathroom toilets. Long story short, I placed my order the day Kevin informed me of the WC requirements and Germans being Germans, my order only arrived first week of April. Took almost a month. So we literally washed, bathed and sh*t in the maids toilet for about a week or so of moving in. Without heater! Tsk. I just kept reminding myself that in the olden days, people had to wash, bathe and sh*t in rivers, so I should not complain. Anyway so if you plan to buy your sanitary wares online like me, do it way in advance! Or book a staycation somewhere la. And why did I insist on buying online? Cos in SG, the WC I want costs $2.6k before discount, I got 2 for $1.5k. That's how I managed to fit my 2 bathrooms with only Hansgrohe, Duravit and Steinberg wares with just $6.3k all-inclusive. More on that later. Tiles We're pretty laid-back to be honest and unlike some others who can prowl several tile stores over and over, my hubby and I only took a Saturday afternoon 1-hour to select our tiles from Hafary. I already had in mind the color scheme and so I chose the designs based on that. We only had to choose the bathroom tiles so perhaps that made things much easier. Thankfully, Kevin offered to come confirm our selection of tiles on a separate day cos we had chosen some unsuitable ones. So we were really pleased with our final selection. I've always liked hotel bathrooms and I noticed how they differ from common home bathrooms. Hotel bathrooms tend to have almost no contrast in their color scheme. And so that's why we chose the tiles we chose, and the countertop we chose. Hubby initially floated contrasting tiles, "Won't be boring meh no contrast?" but I gave him a flat NO!!!!!!!! and he left that to me. Heng lor, our bathrooms really got hotel standard haha! Insert -shameless BHB emoticon- Some works-in-progress pictures before we move on to the final product. Tiling was done within the first week. We got a cheap bath tub from My Showroom at Ubi. I got my cheap Rubine kitchen sink there too. Carpentry and glass doors installed around week 3 or so. And then after like forever, our wares finally arrived at our doorstep and I could hear the angels sing... I was pretty worried about fixing them up, cos overseas purchases can sometimes totally screw up with our local connections. I read on this forum some people were having issues with their mixers and apparently, the mixers I got were fine. Praise the Lord! And very quickly, Kevin got the plumbers to install our junk. Rain shower up! Hallelujah! And the rest... So yes, after some waiting, here's a look at our final MBR bathroom. My photo taking skills are abysmal plus I have to avoid self-exposing (haha!) so please bear with the pics, OH promised to help me take spectacular pictures but aiyah, nvm la! Tadah! There's some imperfection with the grouting at the bath tub wall which Kevin will rectify in a while. The vanity area This is the WC I got, $1500 for 2 instead of $2.6k before discount locally. Duravit ME by Starck. My pretty big white throne. Absolutely loving the crystal chandelier from Taobao! Though I'm a lil worried about it rusting. Hmmm. Aiyah rust then say. My Hansgrohe Raindance Select 360 which easily costs around $2.8k before discount in SG. Got it around $1.2k. Overall, loving the Steinberg accessories, they're all brass base with chrome plating, very lux and apparently of better quality than Hansgrohe, but not that known that's why I stuck with Hansgrohe mixers and shower. Typical SGrean again! The tiles we got from Hafary. I was so pleased when Kevin said he's fine to do big glossy floor tiles for the vanity area, cos the other contractor said he won't do it, saying it'd be too slippery and water will pool due to the large tile size, i.e. cannot do slope to drain as effectively as smaller tiles. But then hor, vanity area shouldn't be wet isn't it? Anyway, hotel bathrooms are all glossy so we gotta stay true to style yo! And very glad we did. A closer look... Our wall tiles that offered no contrast whatsoever haha.. That's the plan hokays! We chose Italian non-slip floor tiles for the bath area and totally love the lux feel. Hokays. So shag to blog but will be back with more! Hi do you mind to share the width of your vanity TOP? I wanted to get the same basin but many advised not to as my MBR vanity width are around 18" not enough to put the mixer. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jojobaba 0 Report post Posted May 25, 2017 21 hours ago, Mannequin said: Hi do you mind to share the width of your vanity TOP? I wanted to get the same basin but many advised not to as my MBR vanity width are around 18" not enough to put the mixer. Hi! Sure, I measured the width and depth of my vanity for ur ref. Its depth is 41cm whereas the width is 100cm. My common bath vanity width is 80cm, same depth. I find that a deeper vanity would be much better with this mixer/sink combi. 45cm minumum depth would be just nice actually. My mixer over-extends slightly over the waste and gets in the way. Unless the sink is fitted over the edge, but not sure if that can work. Quite a noob mistake tbh. Hope this helps! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mannequin 0 Report post Posted May 26, 2017 On 25/05/2017 at 9:15 PM, jojobaba said: Hi! Sure, I measured the width and depth of my vanity for ur ref. Its depth is 41cm whereas the width is 100cm. My common bath vanity width is 80cm, same depth. I find that a deeper vanity would be much better with this mixer/sink combi. 45cm minumum depth would be just nice actually. My mixer over-extends slightly over the waste and gets in the way. Unless the sink is fitted over the edge, but not sure if that can work. Quite a noob mistake tbh. Hope this helps! Thank you so much for your detailed measurement. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
