Renovation is tough work - Part 1

Stop work order aside, the next step is to start looking at toilet accessories and aircon. Went to 3 different shops for bathroom stuff today.

1. Ho Kee at Genting Road
2. Wasser-bath (WB) at Balsetier
3. Universal Union (UU) at Geylang.

The selection at Ho Kee was quite limited, especially for Grohe stuff. My must have for the renovation this time round, a Grohe rainshower with thermostatic control. I found the cheapest at $888 before further discount. Interior Affairs was retailing at $1041 even after a 49% discount ... Pays to look around a bit more.

Saw this a Wasser-bath, same price as Universal Union. It had a problem ... it required conceal water piping ... We were doing exposed piping ... oh oh ...

Eyeing some of the other Grohe stuff

Prices were about quite near between WB and UU.

After this, I still had to go to Gain City to order the aircon.

Bedrooms (kids): 9,000 BTU each - MSY-GE10VA

Master bedroom : 12,000 BTU - MSY-GE13VA

Cost: $3,099

Bracket:$150

Extended 2 - 5 yr warranty: $99 (unlimited claims) - Promotion

Upgrade insulation and pipe: $180

Living Room: 24,000 BTU - MSY-GE26VA

Dining: 9,000 BTU - MSY-GE10VA

Cost: $2,649

Bracket: $150

Extended 2 - 5 yr warranty: $99 (unlimited claims) - Promotion

Upgrade insulation and pipe: $120

2 times installation: $85

Total: $6,631

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Rectification

Stop Work Order

Torn Down
New Home Original Layout

A is back to his usual self

The doctors at KKH had A did another blood test and the dengue results were negative, which was a relief. We had a very, very difficult time drawing blood from A. His veins were so hard to find, we had to wrap him in a large towel, and poke a needle at his foot. Even then, the doctor had to pull the needle in and out for the blood to finally flow ...

In the end, the doctors could only determine that it was a viral fever. I spent the nights with A at the hospital and CP took over during the day. Finally the fever seemed to be gone for good on Sat. His platelet count shows a good increase over the past 2 days and he is good to be discharged.

A was reluctant though, he probably thinks the hospital is like a hotel .... he loved the food and the kiddy car there ... Me, I'm just glad to be out of there. The couch is never a substitute for my comfy bed!




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A is sick

Rectification

The PE engaged his own contractor to repair the beam. Hopefully with this, the work can be allowed to proceed. The upper floor owner had even complained to the BCA ... hope to resole this asap.

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Stop Work Order
Torn Down
New Home Original Layout

Baby A's sick

Oh man, this is a first time I rather not have. A was admitted to hospital. He had been having a fever for the past 6 days and a very blocked nose. He couldn't sleep at night, woke up every 30 min. We couldn't sleep too ...

Today after a very difficult blood test in the morning ... the pd said that he could be having dengue fever and advised us to admit him to KK Hospital.

Look at him now having his dinner ... doesn't look sick at all ... :)

Work Stop Order

Today the management office called me. They informed me that the workers had damaged part of a structural beam and were ordered to stop the renovation works. I left it to the ID to take care of it. After all, we had the PE's approval before hacking works.

Well, my ID did mention that he will bear any costs incurred. Good to hear that. Let's hope everything will be settled without any problem. Anyway, it seems like the $1000 deposit will be forfeited ...

Torn down

The aftermath ...

 Looking towards the dining, the wall at the doorway was hacked down.

Where the kitchen used to be

The living halls and balcony

The washing area

New home original layout

The interior decor doesn't really sit well with us, thus the extreme makeover. However, we do like the space and breezy environment there.

Balcony

Living Hall 2

Living Hall 1

Common toilet

Master toilet

Kitchen

Utility room

Hacking started

Hacking started. Our id got the PE and management office's approval within a day. That's when we also made the 50% downpayment of $32,000 ...

Other costs:
Non-refundable fee of $321 for management office. Used for padding the lift and also an admin fee.
Refundable deposit of $1,000 to management office.
PE approval - $500

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Interior Designer confirmed

Interior Designer confirmed

After 2.5 mths of searching for an interior designer, we finally confirmed with one today. We went through quotations with Orange Cube, Living Gaia, Image Creative, +Space, Aspero Design and Obbio Concept. Some id that we approached expect us to give them the design or they are not willing to reveal too much in case we take their designs to other id firms.

Some observations of the various id that we encountered:

Ciseern - Practically at every furniture show at Expo. Most expensive of all. Their package is already $10,000 more than competitors. No followup from them ...

Rezt n Relax - Encountered a newbie ... asked a whole lot of questions only to followed up with us 1 month later. Ignored him ...

Orange Cube - Friendly guy, willing to listen. On the pricey end.

Living Gaia - Their package was quite a good deal but all the extra carpentry was on the pricey end. Package included changing all room doors, Sys-3 aircon, hood n hob, free upgrade to quartz surface. Quartz is getting more popular. Similar to solid surface but more resistant to scratches and heat.

+Space - Didn't followed up with us after the initial contact at Expo.

Aspero Design - Quite a good pricing but they couldn't give us the quotation in time. The id was previously from Square Room, which we had approached (but didn't use) for our previous renovation.

Image Creative - Very competitive pricing for an id firm. We visited one of their completed projects, which was the home of a famous footballer in Singapore. It's a HDB transformed into a condo-like feel. However, they are not forthcoming with any design for us.

Obbio Concept - Recommended by a friend who had his house done by this id. Previously from Art Trend, he had setup shop on his own. He was very forthcoming with designs for our renovations, done up the quotations and changes very quickly. We like his proposed design very much that we decided to give him the contract.

Water-resistant keyboard

Thought it looks quite cool. Washable, which is good because keyboards are probably one of the things that are teeming with bacteria ... Here's the Logitech K310.

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Energy Savers - Solar-powered keyboard and marathon mouse