Cutting the Walls

I arrive at noon to find the flat empty and two indian workers sleeping outside at the stairwell. Alex's guys were supposed to be here to install the marble as I replied on the skirting option the night before but they were no where to be seen. So nothing has been done the whole morning.

What further ticked me off was there I practically waltzed through the unit without anyone noticing. I could remove the KDK fans in the kitchen, the extra mosaic tiles, the polishing machine etc without anyone stopping me. Why in the world is the door wide open .... and I literally mean wide open where you can see into the living room from the lift lobby.

If there wasn't gonna be any works, they should lock the unit. What if someone comes in and spoils the marble or the parquet ... who is going to be responsible for that? I was so irritated that I messaged Norman to complain about it. The indian guys were sent by Norman to cut the nails in the unit.

I returned later in the evening to find that they have used a cutting drill to snip off the ends of the nails. And .... wait for it .... they sent 2 workers and a supervisor to cut a grand total of 16 nails in the master bedroom. 16 .... And they could even miss one nail at the balcony. Amazing work rate ....

I don't know much about renovation but in using the cutting drill, they had left deep cut marks on the walls and ceiling. So who is supposed to mend these? Sigh ... never mind ... that's for Norman to worry.

Waaaahhhhh~ffles

W.E Cafe at Suntec City serves one of THE best waffles in Singapore. Crisp on the outside, so soft and fluffy on the inside. 

The Skirting Dilemma

Marble skirting arrived today. Edward wanted payment upfront but I refused. Why would anyone pay first when the goods have not arrive, especially for something as delicate as marble. If the marble breaks during delivery what then? Anyways I was adamant I wasn't paying a cent till it arrives and Alex's team works with it. There may be issues like the master bathroom feature tiles that we can't tell till you work with the tile.

Hmmm, the quantity delivered looks very little. I hope it's enough to cover all the areas. I purposely ask the Indian marble worker to lay the living and dining room first and leave the storeroom till the end. The store was an extra area we didn't account for with Edward so he might not have sent enough for that area. I hope the Indian understands what I'm talking about ... cos I'm sure I don't understand anything he is saying hahaaha.

As he is still polishing the edges of the wall I left him be. Right after I left I received a call from Alex saying that there is a problem with the skirting. If we wanted to tile per the flooring grout lines, it would leave a 3-4mm gap in between each tile. So he had asked his workers to paste a stretch of the skirting so I can see it in the evening and make an informed decision.

And a little later I receive a rare call from Edward. It seems Alex has complained about the tiles to Edward and so he was calling to explain why the tiles are leaving a gap. The tiles are actually not exactly 45cm in length ... they are 44.8cm. Crap .... that means each is going to leave at least 1mm on each side. And where the flooring grout line is, we will see a 3mm grout line. Grrrrhhh what the nonsense is this .... 

Edward even tried to argue that he has spend extra effort to cut the tiles, to which I immediately retorted by asking him why cut it in the first place if it involves more effort??!! Give me a 90cm skirting to match my flooring works is even better isn't it??!! The moment I asked it he couldn't give me an answer and offered to check and get back to me.

He returned a while later with a tall excuse that these days it is more popular to have 7mm skirting (aka you are trying to save material) and the 90cm skirting only comes in 2cm thickness (aka you are trying to save on wastage). So they have to cut the 90cm slabs to deliver 7mm thickness skirting. And the knife to cut will leave the skirting 2mm short of 45cm.

Bahhh a whole lot of excuses but nothing to help me solve this issue. Looks like we are gonna have to accept the thicker grout line or lay the skirting independently to the flooring grout. A choice of two evils .... sigh ... I need to sleep on this.

2nd Polish

Slow day with only the marble workers here to polish the 2nd layer. Also they are specifically shining the areas where the carpentry are going to go up and the perimeter of the living, dining and balcony area where the skirting are going to be installed.

We are saving the last polishing after the carpentry goes up so there won't be 'accidents' of scratches when the workers come in to fix up the rest of the areas.

It's always happy to see progress especially on the marble. It changes significantly with each polish. One notable works is the smoothening and edging of the entrance curb. At first I wanted to round the edge but the marble uncle smiled and commented that rounded edges are too old-school ... something he does back in the 80s. Hahaha.

'Unsolicited' Works

I like that certain spots are being made good and nicer. The best part is that we are not being charged extra for it ... well I supposed it is already incorporated into other work items.

I like that Norman took the initiative to have the works done without asking for compensation. I know it doesn't cost him much to get his existing workers to screed the spalling concrete ceiling in the two bathrooms.

Neither would it cost him much for the false ceiling workers to box up the drainage pipe in the balcony. After all, the false ceiling works is costing double what we paid for the ceiling works at 303.

That said I like the unsolicited effort to make the place prettier and safer. Now just hoping he continues this direction to make the renovation works all neat and perfect :-)

New Windows

We didn't originally plan to change out the windows. When we bought our current home we didn't change any either. But the glazed window panes at 405 are somewhat of an irritation. And it blocks out light into the apartment.

And to add onto the dislike, the windows and grills feel flimsy and their installation was pretty bad. It looks like "windows on a budget" category of installation.

So having seen the quality of the window works in the kitchen we decided to bite the bullet and replace the rest of the windows and grilles in the flat. This set us back a whopping $4,200.

They are here today to install the windows and I was lucky enough to come by during lunch to catch a once in a lifetime unblocked view from our flat. Once the windows and grilles go up it'll never look the same again.

Seeing this view reaffirms my belief that it is money well spent. Although we are not on a high floor but the view is unblocked for a good distance and the sea breeze is ever constant.

They had already finished when I return later in the evening. I suppose the view is still there but it's never quite the same when there is 2 panels on each side isn't it?

Laying The Teak Flooring

I cannot hold back the glee at seeing the teak flooring coming to shape. I will always remember the warmth and comfort of the parquet floor at Hillview. And I have a very slight regret never doing it in 303. But all's well now that we are laying wood in the bedrooms.

The laying of the teak strips seems easy enough. There was only one uncle doing the work and he was able to complete the master and one of the other bedrooms in a day.

When we arrived this evening all bedrooms were done including the skirting.  A simple two day effort for the laying. Now to let it sit a week for the teak to 'acclimatise' before further sanding and varnishing can commence. 

The feeling as we walked through the room is amazing. You can feel the glow emitting from the wood. The teak is also matching very well with the marble and homogenous tiles for the master bathroom.

Very satisfied with the shade of the teak and the installation. Naturally a couple of minor defects like uneven areas that need to be rectified but overall its turning out beautifully.

Timber Floor Arrives!

The most exciting thing to happen today has to be arrival of the parquet. They come in various sizes and shades of brown.

They are looking good and I can't wait for the tiling to start next Monday.

Besides the minor electrical works, the ceiling works folks were here to put up the false ceiling and box up.

It's important to watch the workmanship since these will all be hidden behind the finished ceiling once they are done.

Mediating A Squabble

I was called upon to resolve a minor dispute between Norman and Alex yesterday. It seems Norman had contacted Alex to mend the skirting area in the living room. Although Alex had sent a worker to do it last week, he did a crap job of it.

Now the issue lies in that Norman is getting his painter to paint 2 base coats first before the last coat goes on. And because the skirting are in such bad shape, there may not be solid walls in some sections for the paint. So if the area is only mend after the skirting goes up, his painter would have to come an extra time to touch up the area between the skirting and the part of the wall where he has not painted the first time.

Norman related his conversation with Alex to me. Alex had responded that they will mend the skirting area when they are installing the skirting. And to this Norman questioned Alex whether if he thinks the cement will dry in time for the marble skirting to be installed. It seems Norman didn't get a response to it. Norman added that he mentioned to Alex that "your convenience is making it inconvenient for me". Hmmm ... touchy.

So Norman called me to ask if I can contact Alex directly to get the mending done. This perplexed me for a while since I didn't expect to have to manage Norman and Alex. I was under the impression they can sort things out themselves. Anyways in the interest of getting the place done up right, I asked Norman for a quote if his guys were to do the mending before giving Alex a call. Norman's quote came up to an expensive $321 with GST. Sigh ....

Ok to Alex's credit, he was pretty easy about it. He explained that there were some communication issue with the worker and that's why the skirting areas were not mended as intended. And he immediately promised to send someone to work on it today. I was happy he came to it quickly and didn't delay the works.

I notified Norman the moment Alex confirm his guys were coming and instructed Norman to survey the works on the same day. If it's not as expected he had to tell me immediately. I'm after all a layman and wouldn't know any better what Norman wants. He has to be responsible on whether the works are done right or not. I cannot accept things being pushed around since we as homeowners would end up bearing the end results.

Since he hasn't mentioned anything when I went to check on the unit earlier I'm assuming it's all ok now. Phew ... please ... no more minor disputes between the two.

Tunneling The Aircon Pipes

I met with Norman's aircon supplier Jerry last week to finalise the placements for the aircon fan coils. We had discussed it previously, but that was before I noticed that there were a couple of neighbours who had their condenser unit placed at the balcony instead of the more common spot outside the master bedroom window.

The aircon team had just arrived before lunch and were hard at work drilling the holes for the pipes. 

I briefly inspected the thickness of the insulation and it wasn't as thick as I expected it to be. It looks to fall between the thickness of the original insulation we had at 303 and the one we changed to after suffering excessive dripping around the flat.

When I return again in the evening they were already done. It's a much shorter distance for the pipes to run now that the condenser is at the balcony. Also we avoid the headache of the pipes running across the master bed headboard area.

Building The Kitchen Base

Not much has gone on since last Friday. I arrive in the evening to find that the tilers are now building up the base for the kitchen and putting up the finishing touches on the cement.

My initial fear that the pathway in the kitchen would be very tight were alleviated once I saw the base. It looks a comfortable 1-1.5m between the washing machine base and the kitchen counter. 

The other progress is in the master bathroom. The tilers had put up a pole to prevent entry so I could only capture glimpses of the finished shower area by stretching out my hand for a shot. Looking forward to tomorrow when I can step into the bathroom to get a sense of the space.

After A Month Of Renovation

There isn't much to show after a month of renovation. I get it that we were delayed by the approvals but I see on average folks taking around one and half month to two months for elaborate renovation in the magazines. So it kinda frustrates me that progress has been slow so far.

Maybe the reason it has seem slow is that the renovation so far has been on the infrastructure, the masonry works which is not fancy.

I'm glad that is coming to an end and we would have more to see going forward. I like to say that the place is shaping up nicely though even if it is just the tiling.

Norman has planned for ceiling works and more electrical in the coming weeks. Hopefully I can have more exciting updates coming up!

First Polish

I walked in this afternoon to a surprising find. Alex's worker was in the midst of grinding the marble floor.

I wasn't in the know of the work plans so I was doubly excited to see progress on the flooring. The tilers are still at it too in the kitchen and master bathroom. But I couldn't go any further into the unit to survey the works.

Even as I returned in the evening, the polishing is still on-going. The grinding looks to completed, see the thinner grout lines? Now is the first polishing to smoothen the surface. Again I couldn't go deeper into the unit to check on the tiling progress. I'm gonna have to find that out tomorrow.

Poke-Madness

The world has gone Poke-mad. Stranger congregating at place at 10pm during the 7th Lunar month and all staring at their phones trying to catch monsters. Truly Crazy~

17 Months - Hogging The Master Bed

She may have outgrown her baby bed. She likes to get up in the middle of the night and insist on sleeping on ours. And when she does, we have to make space for her to roll about and get ourselves into awkward positions so we don't accidentally crush her when we roll about in our sleep.

Doing her "Cute-Cute"~!

Taking after Meimei *Love

Always a happy face during breakfast

Attempting to measure her height

Learning to make calls like Nyama

Strolling with Meimei

More 3Ds

Finally! Haiz ... getting 3Ds from Norman is like trying to wrangle a comfort toy from a baby. So hard to get for something that doesn't seem valuable to others but is everything to the person holding it.

Ok, so all designers have to draw a ceiling fan into the 3Ds. I think it helps to make the space look bigger and taller. But our actual place doesn't have one, even though I wanted it so much. The key focal for this 3D is the TV console and tall cabinet to the left.

At the moment we are KIV-ing the TV feature wall between the TV console and top-hung cabinets. We are being quoted $1,500 for what looks simply like two pieces of wood joined together to form a backing to mount the TV. The cost stumbles me ... how can something so simple cost so much? Maybe I'm missing something here but until I figured what it is, I'm pretty reluctant to spend that sort of cash on something so 'useless'.

This is a carpentry by the entrance to the flat. The right is a full height shoe cabinet with a shelf in the center. The left side of this is actually the entrance to the storeroom. Simple and classy design. I like the clean look and subtleness of the accent lines cutting through the white panels. Ironically, this is one carpentry which we may not always see since we typically keep our front door open. Which means it will cover over two thirds of the cupboard. Oh well ...

So we are building the same storage at 405 as we have now in 303. Again it's simply a outer frame with storage racks inside. Due to space constraint at the dining area we could only work with sliding doors. The initial design of the frame was just plain lines but we insisted on having mirror to expand the area. Norman was very reluctant to do it, citing weight issues for mirrors. I suppose we have to realistic that the sliding thread will need to be replaced in a few years.

We have decided not to install a dining light. It's very hard to get the lights in the center of the dining table. Plus if you look carefully, the dining lights are not in the middle of the downlights but rather, closer to the cupboard. That's because the right side is a walkway to the bedrooms so the table has to be closer to the cupboard. On the other hand the position of the downlights are aligned with the ones in the living/foyer area. So ... I think my OCD will kick in if we installed a dining light which is 'slanted' to one side of the room.

The last 3D we have this round is that of the master bedroom wardrobe. Now this is not the final design. Already Norman has provided 2 drawings for the wardrobe and both have been rejected. Imagine waking up everyday to this messy set of lines. We are looking for design inspirations online but have so far come up short. 

Interestingly, the 2 designs provided so far seems to be lifted from other wardrobe catalogues. So much for having a team of 7 designers ... and so what's with the hold-back on the 3Ds if you are copying designs from others. Bahhh ....

Top Hung Windows

I've never seen a HDB residential home with top-hung windows so I didn't know what to expect. All I had in mind was that they might be good for keeping the water out while still allowing some ventilation into the flat during rainy days.

As it turns out, I'm loving them. So much so that I suggested that we have top-hung windows on every set of windows in each room. Well, that idea got shot down pretty quick.

Meimei feedback that even though the top-hung window is open, wind may not be able to blow into the room. So it may actually be a hinderance to cooler rooms. And its not like we can keep it wide open during the rain, we would still have to close it tighter.

Ok, so only top-hungs in the kitchen. Fair enough, this room needs the most ventilation, especially with all the cooking. Plus if rain water comes in, it won't damage the homogenous flooring. I can't imagine the horror of seeing rain water soaking the parquet or marble. Ouchie~!