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~!

Leveling The Kitchen

I arrived today to find the kitchen floor levelling in progress. Per HDB regulations, contractors have to use light weight blocks to fill up the floor before they can fill it up with cement. This helps to reduce the weight load on the structure.

When I returned again at night after sending Mama home, the cement screed was already complete. This is the beauty of coming regularly, you get to see what really goes on in a renovation, the before and after.

But I must say its a luxury that most people don't since they don't always work near to their home. I know we couldn't do the same with our first home.

The wall extension at the master bathroom is also completed. I'm finding the entrance a little narrow though. Or maybe its a visual thing since its all dark and muddy right now. Hopefully it will turn out looking like a five-star hotel bathroom!

Wet Works Starts ... Again

I'm certainly delighted that renovation works has started again. It's always exciting to see new things get done.

The first new thing that greeted me was the kitchen door where the tiler has 'make-good' the edges around the entrance.

In the short span of morning, the tilers have already hacked the original bathroom wall and have started on constructing the new extension walls.

When I returned again in the evening, they have already laid down the first layer of water proofing for the kitchen.

I'm glad I try to come everyday as I can catch a glimpse of what is really done in the renovation. These are things you will not be able to see once they lay on the rest of the cement and tiles.

Famous Muah Chee

There is only one you ever need to try. Hougang 6 Mile Muah Chee at HDB Hub Toa Payoh.

Finishing The Marble

With the permits approved it's all systems go. The marble team is back today to finish off the balcony and fill the grouting with beige coloured cement.

I was there during lunch and confirmed with the tiler that we had about 6-7 full slabs of marble left. I immediately called Alex to ask the team to use the remaining ones for the storeroom. No sense in letting the marbles go to waste. I doubt Mondo will entertain the return of a couple of pieces ... they are unlikely to be able to sell them.

When I returned later in the evening, it was all completed. It's all looking good. The next step would be to wait for Norman and Alex to organise the polishing and completing the marble skirting. I love how the place is coming together, especially the marble.

Back In The Game

Phew! HDB has finally approved all the remaining permits!

We have already stopped for about a week and a half. I was fearing the workers have gone on to commit to other projects and will not be available to continue. Thankfully Norman updated that Alex's marble tilers will be back tomorrow to finish up the rest of the marble flooring at the balcony. His workers will progressively come to finish the rest of the areas too.

If you are wondering why HDB is taking so long for permits, let me list down some of the renovation works we are doing which required approvals from the authorities.

1) Levelling the Balcony floor - This looks simple enough. The ex-owner had the place levelled too. I supposed if we hadn't hack the floor there wasn't any extra permits we need. But since we are changing to marble, it has to go through the process all over again.

2) Levelling the Kitchen floor - Most old HDB flats have a slight descent at the kitchen. You are unlikely to find this in the newer ones as they are now more elderly / wheelchair friendly. To maintain a smooth flow into the kitchen it made sense to level it. Plus if we have grandma coming over to stay it really helps .. she is after all close to 90.

3) Levelling the Common Bathroom - Again it helps that we can level the common bathroom. We don't have go down a sharp 5-6cm descent when we want to use the wash basin.

4) Hacking and Erecting Master Bathroom Extension - The master bathroom is simply too small to squeeze in a wash basin, especially when we are craving out a section for a shower screen. The best option was to move the wash basin out into the master bedroom while constructing extension walls to keep it enclosed.

I think most of the delays has to do with the weight consideration. 405 is after all a 36 year old flat, which may not have been made to withstand excessive weight loading. I get that ... except I didn't like that it took so long for the permits to be approved. Whatever we are doing isn't anything out of the ordinary. You are likely to find the same renovation details in other point blocks. Oh well, enough grumbling ... at least they approved it. 

Now to worry about how to solve the rejection on the kitchen exhaust ;-P

Flooding The Neighbours

When our HDB officer spoke with the upstairs neighbours a week and a half ago, the feedback she got from the wife is that she prefers to wait for the bathroom upgrading via the HDB Home Improvement Programme (HIP).

HIP has been announced for this cluster last August. The voting begins in Q1 2017 and renovations likely to commence only in early 2018. This means it will be another 2 years before the bathroom upgrading is done, assuming the vote is successful. Plus the bathroom upgrades are an add-on, not the essential items.

This makes the suggestion to wait till HIP sound completely ridiculous. Is she crazy? We can't tile the area as the cement is popping up and if we did, it would be a serious safety issue. And what were we supposed to do? Put a bucket there in the middle of the bathroom for 2 years to catch the drips? ...

Furthermore, she didn't believe her bathroom was leaking as it was dry when the HDB officer and plumber visited her unit. Because of that, HDB is flooding them today to test if the leak is truly coming from their place. Good! This lady needs to wake up!

When I arrived at our unit in the morning (I was late and gave them the number lock combination so they could come in), I was surprised to find 5 persons in the place. One of them was the HDB officer, the husband and wife of the upstairs neighbour were here and they brought another couple too. What is this? Were they trying to outnumber me? They must have thought there was no leak and simply dark patches in the ceiling and attempting to convince me. I look at the wife and she looks like those bossy loony office aunty. Yuck!

Anyways, the HDB officer updated me later that they first came into the unit to survey the leak. There was only a droplet on the ceiling and the drip was very slow (about a minute a drop). But after the flooding (above picture of my neighbour's flooded master bathroom), the dripping became quicker at 10-15 seconds a drop. It essentially confirms that they were the culprit. But because the flooding was for a standard 4 hours, we were to come back again at 1.30pm in the afternoon.

I took the time to run some errands like setting up the conservancy charges giro. When I was back at lunch, the dripping is still going on pretty rapidly. The wet parts on the cement has also extended downwards. Haiz I would think this definitely classifies as a major leak.

Thankfully the outcome was rather cordial. I was already dreading having to be firm with the neighbours should they come back with nonsensical suggestions, like waiting for HIP. I couldn't go barking on them since they are after all the upstairs neighbours and makes no sense in destroying any neighbourly relationship.

The HDB officer came back, but this time with only the husband in toll. And they immediately offered that they are going to apply for the Goodwill Repair Program (GRP) for the repairs. Meaning they are going to engage contractors to hack the bathroom, relay the waterproofing and tiles for both bathrooms. We would each need to fork out about $300 for the repairs.

Ok, not the most ideal situation but at least they are now willing to hack. I suppose they are out of options too since it was evident to everyone the ceiling was leaking. So no matter what they were going to have to hack to repair. Now the tough part for us is having to wait for the GRP which will take around one to one and half months. Then another couple of week to schedule the actual repairs.

We need to circle back with Norman to see how we can manage this. Maybe not work on that portion first? Sigh ...