My Modern Zen 2-Room 35sqm (Type 1) HDB BTO Apartment Renovation Journey

[blubugs 2]

On 11/12/2017 at 8:24 PM, ryanyth said:

GROHE Shower Head and Mixer
While the thing itself fitted nicely, I'm a little disappointed that Water pressure
from the GROHE Shower Head was just so-so only.
At first I was like "Oh dear...is it because my place water pressure is naturally low?"
(What ive read is that sometimes High floor water pressure is lower then lower floors)

Guess what?
I changed the GROHE Shower Head to HDB's default shower head and to my surprise,
the water pressure was MUCH BETTER!?!? What!?!?

This is the water pressure from the GROHE Shower Head
This is already set at maximum. Feels only so-so.



This is the water pressure from HDB’s Default Shower Head
Notice how much more stronger it is?

So Dear Readers, Lesson Learnt.
Don't just throw out HDB's default fittings, they may sometimes work better!!

I experienced this in my flat as well. An expensive shower head gives very weak water pressure while a cheap cheap shower head has proper water pressure.

This is why I am not keen to spend on expensive shower heads. In the end, I gave the expensive shower head to my sibling. 

[RyanYTH 87]

6 hours ago, blubugs said:

I experienced this in my flat as well. An expensive shower head gives very weak water pressure while a cheap cheap shower head has proper water pressure.

This is why I am not keen to spend on expensive shower heads. In the end, I gave the expensive shower head to my sibling. 

Hahaha ya. So surprising HDB default shower head worked so well. Heng I never throw it away

[andotang 18]

3 hours ago, ryanyth said:

Hahaha ya. So surprising HDB default shower head worked so well. Heng I never throw it away

Did you tested it with the heater on? I also had grohe and if the heater is not on, the water is weaker as some water from the hot pipe is not pumping out. Even when water heater is on, if water not hot, the pressure also weak, only if water in the heater is hot, the pressure is good on grohe.  But also depend on the mixer you have on how the hot and cold water is mixed. I can only say after using for sometime as i also experience weak water pressure that I found out heater must be on and water must be hot to give good pressure. Only for storage heater, not instant heater. also shower head also have option to turn, if set to rainshower, water is weaker as it try to simulate water droplet effect, have to set to normal spray to get better jet. mine also have a jet setting which spray something like your bidet spray. I am using the Euphoria 180 as attached below which have this problem.

People who visited my house have no idea how to turn on the water from this mixer at all, which I have no idea too initially,. Right knob, turn up or down to adjust water temperature. choosing all cold here will bring up water pressure if heater is off. Left knot turn up for rain shower and down for front tap, and lift the button at front tap to begin hand shower. The right knob is good as it fixed the water temperature at the way you wanted it everytime, unlike those 1 level type of mixer where you agar agar know where is your comfortable position.

Well the only complaint i have is it's so tough to keep those shine on stainless steel equipments, keep getting water mark, need to buy a lot of $2 magic spoonge from daiso.

 

Edited November 13, 2017 by andotang

[RyanYTH 87]

26 minutes ago, andotang said:

Did you tested it with the heater on? I also had grohe and if the heater is not on,
the water is weaker as some water from the hot pipe is not pumping out.

Ya tested with Heater already on. I remembered it was on for at least half hour.

Even when water heater is on, if water not hot, the pressure also weak,
only if water in the heater is hot, the pressure is good on grohe. 

Tested the water, of course not boiling, but sufficiently hot, still lose to HDB's default shower head.

But also depend on the mixer you have on how the hot and cold water is mixed.

I feel is also a physics issue also. My Grohe shower head is bigger than the HDB shower head,
so i'm guessing maybe that is also a factor? Maybe water need to travel longer, and thus the
water pressure is reduced? hahaha

I can only say after using for sometime as i also experience weak water pressure
that I found out heater must be on and water must be hot to give good pressure.

Only for storage heater, not instant heater. also shower head also have option to turn,
if set to rainshower, water is weaker as it try to simulate water droplet effect, have to
set to normal spray to get better jet. mine also have a jet setting which spray something
like your bidet spray. I am using the Euphoria 180 as attached below which have this problem.

Ya i also tried the different water settings on the Grohe Shower head.
One is so called "Air Technology" mix water with air. I don't like this one very kaopeh and noisy lol!! Somemore Water pressure also weak.
The other one is Rain, which i tested as shown in the pictures.
3rd one is the narrowest beam of water like hose like dat.

At first I also wanted to get Rainshower, but I decided that since my bathroom too small
to put bathtub, I personally feel Rainshower is like wasted lah. (Nowadays water tax also increased liao,
don't use rainshower is also save money lah ) For me is pretend my shower head is rainshower can already.

Interestingly, when I put my Grohe Shower head at the top most of that vertical shower bar,
the water pressure feeling is noticeably much stronger, and I would say a ... "Softer" feeling type of water?
Got a .... "Stand in Rain" kind of feel, very hard to describe.

HDB's default shower head ironically while water pressure is stronger, the feeling feels.....like very harsh like that.
Obviously gravity has a part to play also lah hehehe. But for now, i'm sticking with HDB's default shower head lah

Well the only complaint i have is it's so tough to keep those shine on
stainless steel equipments, keep getting water mark, need to buy a lot of $2 magic spoonge from daiso.

Does this also affect Grohe products? I thought people buy Grohe is because their so-called "Starlight" technology
make the shine last more longer right? The magic sponge u mentioned sounds interesting though. Mind sharing how it looks like?
What i've read is people using Autosol to maintain the shine? I'm not sure I'm that diligent to do that LOL!!

 

 

 

 

Edited November 13, 2017 by ryanyth

[jothm 0]

Maybe there are those flow re-stricter inside the shower head? I've read some where that it could be remove.

[RyanYTH 87]

13 minutes ago, jothm said:

Maybe there are those flow re-stricter inside the shower head? I've read some where that it could be remove.

Ya i also tested out dig out the rubber thingy, still lose to HDB shower head lol!!
of course i never dismantle the whole thing. just that little rubber ring.

One thing is for sure, Instant Heater water pressure CONFIRM lose to Storage Tank.
My friend using instant heater, using the exact same HDB shower head as mine,
and his water pressure is noticeably weaker.

So if anyone wants to have stronger water pressure, storage tank is definitely the way to go.

Edited November 14, 2017 by ryanyth

[Diluted 0]

Wow.. your house with the lighting all installed really brings it to another level! Nice and cosy!

Actually the switches look fine to me now. Doesnt seem very crooked as compared to your earlier posts. Mind sharing what’s still not acceptable there?

I went to Ikea to measure the curtains. The dimensions stated on the website is for one piece of the curtain. So one pair’s coversge will be twice the width. 

[RyanYTH 87]

37 minutes ago, Diluted said:

Wow.. your house with the lighting all installed really brings it to another level! Nice and cosy!

Actually the switches look fine to me now. Doesnt seem very crooked as compared to your earlier posts. Mind sharing what’s still not acceptable there?

I went to Ikea to measure the curtains. The dimensions stated on the website is for one piece of the curtain. So one pair’s coversge will be twice the width. 

Thanks very much! 

Switches are less crooked, but the water heater button has a noticeable gap when i turn it on.
Also the fan regulator and switches aren't aligned. Also a few little gaps that is not immediately noticeable on pictures.

Oh ok so curtain dimension is for 1 piece. Good to know thanks!

[RyanYTH 87]

Blog Entry Date: 14th November 2017 Sunday
Click Here to go back to Page 1 - Table of Contents

9th Week after Key Collection - Electrical Issues are ALL FINALLY RESOLVED

Yet another short, but important update.
As my renovation comes to a close, it looks like the updates are getting shorter and shorter lol.
Also good lah, I hope I don’t get anymore nasty surprises LOL.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

First up, remember that the Electricians couldn’t fit my downlight into my Dining Table because the Downlight was too thick? Turns out the way to resolve it, was to make a larger opening at the top and get the Carpenter do a box-up to hide the Electrical Components. Very Clever, because the dining table roof is high, it helps obscure this box-up, and I don’t spoil the overall look.

Here’s a Before and After Look
I specifically chose a Downlight with a Glass Border around it so there is a soft "layering" contrast between the wooden laminate and the black border. Also as you can see later, it helps with giving a nice reflective border when it is lighted up too.


Here’s how the top part looks like.
(It’ll be covered with the Box-Up later)


Here’s how it looks like lighted up.
I chose Cool White because I find the light more comfortable to my eyes.
Some people may choose Warm White instead to get a more “Romantic” cozy look.


Another view of the Dining Table Light illuminating the area

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Next up, the switches are all aligned properly and look much nicer now.
This issue had been bugging me for the longest time, and I’m glad that it is finally resolved!! Hooray!!!

Switches are finally properly aligned
(Just need Painters to do some touch-ups at the edges)

Fan Regulator also nicely aligned with the Light Switch
(Also need abit of touch-up at the edges by Painters later)


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And finally, the technical issue where Electricians couldn’t install the
LED Strips on the opposite side of my Kitchen is also resolved.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So yah it is a small update, but if you’ve been following this blog, you’ll know that all these
issues have been plaguing me since they occurred. (Especially those misaligned switches)
I’m really glad the Electricians managed to finally resolve all of them!!

All that is left with now are Glass Works, Final Touching Up by Painters and Chemical Washing,
which should be done before the end of the week. (Aircon will be next week I think, I’ll need to re-check with Jason on this)

Once again, thank you for visiting, and I’ll see you in the next Blog Entry!!

Click Here for the Next Blog Entry: 
9th Week after Key Collection – Chemical Washing Done. Everything is SO CLEAN!!

Click Here to go back to Page 1 - Table of Contents

 

Edited November 22, 2018 by ryanyth

[andotang 18]

Well the only complaint i have is it's so tough to keep those shine on
stainless steel equipments, keep getting water mark, need to buy a lot of $2 magic spoonge from daiso.

Does this also affect Grohe products? I thought people buy Grohe is because their so-called "Starlight" technology
make the shine last more longer right? The magic sponge u mentioned sounds interesting though. Mind sharing how it looks like?
What i've read is people using Autosol to maintain the shine? I'm not sure I'm that diligent to do that LOL!!

I know about this product from renotalk too. I just soak it with tap water and wipe my white ceramic sink and it will get rid of those particles stuck on the sink and make it shinning,  Wipe the glossy tap too.

No need any soap. I also use this on the shower screen glass and the wall tiles in the wet shower area, it will get rid of a lot of particles on the wall, you can feel those particles off the wall when you wipe it.

No idea what techonogy is this, but I am amazed. they call this melamine sponge and those from daiso is cheap at $2 many pieces, I saw the real melamine for i think $7 for just 1 piece and I wonder what will be the different.

 

[RyanYTH 87]

5 hours ago, andotang said:

Well the only complaint i have is it's so tough to keep those shine on
stainless steel equipments, keep getting water mark, need to buy a lot of $2 magic spoonge from daiso.

Does this also affect Grohe products? I thought people buy Grohe is because their so-called "Starlight" technology
make the shine last more longer right? The magic sponge u mentioned sounds interesting though. Mind sharing how it looks like?
What i've read is people using Autosol to maintain the shine? I'm not sure I'm that diligent to do that LOL!!

I know about this product from renotalk too. I just soak it with tap water and wipe my white ceramic sink and it will get rid of those particles stuck on the sink and make it shinning,  Wipe the glossy tap too.

No need any soap. I also use this on the shower screen glass and the wall tiles in the wet shower area, it will get rid of a lot of particles on the wall, you can feel those particles off the wall when you wipe it.

No idea what techonogy is this, but I am amazed. they call this melamine sponge and those from daiso is cheap at $2 many pieces, I saw the real melamine for i think $7 for just 1 piece and I wonder what will be the different.

 

LOL for a moment I thought you were displaying your comic collection
Thanks for the photo! Will go Daiso hunt for some

[mmoh 66]

melamine foam although is very good in cleaning, but I realised it spoil the smooth layer, if there is, eg. switches. It doesnt harm tiles though.

[RyanYTH 87]

1 minute ago, mmoh said:

melamine foam although is very good in cleaning, but I realised it spoil the smooth layer, if there is, eg. switches. It doesnt harm tiles though.

Good advice. Noted.

[CaseBlue 2]

I have tried two things to clean the stains both works for me... 

1) toothpaste, the one i used have whitening effect, it doesnt work on my teeth so i used it to clean the sink (amazing results)

2) baking soda 

[RyanYTH 87]

6 minutes ago, CaseBlue said:

I have tried two things to clean the stains both works for me... 

1) toothpaste, the one i used have whitening effect, it doesnt work on my teeth so i used it to clean the sink (amazing results)

2) baking soda 

Ya I've also heard of the amazing properties of baking soda. Heard its especially good for shoes.
Didn't know whitening toothpaste can be used too. Interesting.

Edited November 15, 2017 by ryanyth