An ongoing journey

Balcony Wood Deck
Open Wardrobe System ... Stucked ...
All Things German
Let there be light
Quartz and it does not mean a watch
Out with the old

Tuesday, November 04, 2014

All Ready ... Almost

Dining and TV feature wall is up.

Kitchen

Common bathroom

Master bathroom

We decided against boarding up the pipes. The estate was quite old and prone to leakage on the ceilings ... a pity.

Related Posts:
Going Digital

A Must Have

Balcony Wood Deck
Open Wardrobe System ... Stucked ...
All Things German
Let there be light
Quartz and it does not mean a watch
Out with the old

Sunday, November 02, 2014

Going digital

Going keyless. The fingerprint reader worked very well! Installation took about 2 hrs, including chiseling, drilling, etc.

In addition, it came with 2 RFID tags, 2 RFID cards and 5 spare keys for backup. All for $980 from MyDigitalLock. The Dorma door closer was another $100. Had to install that else the warranty would be void ... However, due to the low ceiling height, the door closer would hit upon the door upon closing ... hmm ...

Samsung P718:

A Must Have

Saturday, November 01, 2014

A Must Have

I knew I must have this. Despite all the various open wardrobe systems out there in the market, I didn't like any of them, they are more suited to walk-in-wardrobes.

I only like IKEA's. It's good enough to stand on its own. The drawers could even double up as a TV console!

It wasn't easy getting this up ... Firstly, when IKEA came, they can't drill into the false ceiling above because they don't have the appropriate wall plugs.

The next day, my contractor arrange for timber strips to be reinforced above. I had to again go down to IKEA Tampines to arrange for another installation date. Of course, I had to keep reassuring them any issues or damages arising from the installation to the dryboard, I'll take responsibility.

So there went another $35 for transport.

Finally, the IKEA guys came down once more. They still complained that they can't drill to the dryboard ... So I talk to their supervisor taking all responsibility. I must have this no matter what.

Finally, it's all installed and looking good! Problem solved!.

Related Posts:
Balcony wood deck
Open wardrobe system ... stucked ...
All things German
Let there be light
Quartz and it does not mean a watch
Out with the old

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Open wardrobe system ... stucked ...

We decided to get the Ikea Stolmen open wardrobe once more. I had always liked it and it served us well for 6 yrs previously. Our buyers for our previous home like it too. Sadly, Ikea is going to discontinue it in 2015.

Parts are limited at Ikea Alexandra and I had to go down to Ikea Tampines for it. However, due to the false ceiling and the beam at the top or the ceiling ... the Ikea installers couldn't install it today. They don't have the wall plugs for dryboard partitions ...

Gotta see what our id can do for us tomorrow.

At Ikea showroom.

The uneven side wall and false ceiling ...

Unfinished product ...

Saturday, October 25, 2014

All things German

After two months, I must say I most look forward to this ... the Hansgrohe rainshower! Made in Germany. I first had a feel of a rainshower at the Fairmont hotel. After that, I know that I MUST have it in my next home.

Raindance S240

Comes with a thermostatic bath mixer.

Pura Vida basin mixer. Nice! Made in Germany.

Grohe accessories. German brand but I think it's made in China now.

What other German brands do we have? I drive a VW ... although I cannot speak for the quality of the 7-speed DSG ...

Our baby bottles are NUK, a German brand too.

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Let there be light

Light at the kitchen utility area changed today. This was what we chose

Not this ...

All our lights were LED except for the living balcony area. I had to say LED lights were quite bright!

Related Posts:
Quartz and it does not mean a watch
Out with the old

Quartz and it does not mean a watch

The new kid in the block ... quartz has been getting quite popular in kitchen surface tops recently, more so than the solid surface. I've no idea what's quartz except is more scratch and heat resistant compared to solid surface.

Hob is mounted too.

Look from the dining area.

However, the sink looks small now that it's mounted :(

Don't even think about changing ... it's near impossible ...

I comfort myself that this time round, I have lots of counter-top space!

Monday, October 20, 2014

Out with the old

Finally the balcony railing is gone.

Installation in progress.

The completed work.

It's ridiculous how expensive things had become. This replacement cost $2,000 and the amount of metal looked lesser then its predecessor ...

That's why its called the "Good Old Times" ... maybe?

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Moving along nicely

Met up with the our ID to discuss some details. The cabinets are coming along nicely.

Cutting the hole for the kitchen sink.

An ID firm told me that they couldn't do solid veneer doors, only semi-core doors. We were fortunate that ours was able to do it for us. It cost an additional $130 per door but I really liked the solid feel. How do we verify it's indeed solid? I tried to lift it up and I could barely do it! I could lift the semi-core veneer door we did for the common bathroom with ease!

Our ID was very proud of the door, the frames and we agreed too!

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

The worst may be over but still must keep tabs

Most of my work is done. All the shipment has arrived. What's left is for the carpenters to install the cabinets, electricians to mount the lights, plumber to install the bathroom accessories.

Still, we were wise to go down each day to take a look. There was some oversight, like they left out the internal colour PVC in the master bathroom cabinet. A wrong model of light was delivered wrongly. All these need to be highlighted immediately, else it'll be too late by the time it's finished.

Light installed at balcony.

Start of the carpentry.

That trunking in the photo below is so ugly, it's where the original main DB cable is. Hope to do something about it.

Main door can't open fully ...

Saturday, October 04, 2014

Halfway through

Got this swivel TV mount from Homefix for $79. The TV would not be facing the bed.

This laundry rack hanger actually cost $35.90 ... bought from a neighbourhood shop ...

False ceiling is up.

Living room windows viewed from the balcony.

Friday, October 03, 2014

All for the savings

I never like going into Malaysia Johor Bahru. The long queues at the causeway is a turn off, so is the high crime rate over the other end ... However, I had to make an exception this time.

We went in to JB on a afternoon to buy KDK fans. Indeed, the savings were huge! 4 ceiling fans for about S$630. That would cost about S$1200 - $1500 in SG.

Monday, September 29, 2014

Mayhem

That about sums it all .. there were three groups of people. The aircon people from Gain City, the electricians and the tilers.

The tiles were still work in progress ...

.Aircon pipes - Upgraded the copper pipes to SWG-22.

Upgraded the insulation to 1/2" Armaflex Class 1. Additional $180 for Sys-3 unit and $120 for Sys-2, copper upgrade included.