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    House Renovation - designers or ala-carte?

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Domestic Help
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    • K Offline
      kiasubox
      last edited by

      peapot:
      Kiasubox, your hse is actually quite nice especially since its design by yourself. Simple but nice. Although can't see the whole house but from certain photos, it looks simple and nice. Did your neighbour drop by to view?

      Ha, I think my neighbours do peep at my house especially I don't close my main door.
      I don't like to use ID coz they charge a mark up, many of my costs are direct from factory, I save here and there and I find my design more practical as I know what I want and how i use them.
      I've visited many friends who's house designed by ID, look nice if without any furniture or things, but after probably a month of staying, you'll see many designs become 'white elephant', e.g. cove lights on ceiling never on, coz too heat, reflection lights on feature wall never on, only on once for photo taking. You'll know what i mean if you seen it before.
      Btw thanks for your compliment 🙂

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      • JGMumJ Offline
        JGMum
        last edited by

        Hi,

        Not sure if this is the place to post this question. We are currently renovating our place, and are changing out all the toilet fittings (toilet bowls, sinks, shower, etc.). We bought the fittings from this shop in Balestier called Ideal Bathroom, and the salesperson promised free delivery for the items purchased. When their operations team in charge of delivery realised that they have to walk up 2 flights of stairs for delivery (no lift), they said that they cannot deliver unless buyer helps to move the items up the stairs. Can they refuse delivery because there is no lift? I feel a little cheated because we bought close to $8,000 worth of fittings, and now they expect us, the buyer to move the items up the stairs?!? I am not sure, is this industry practice? Our previous place came with new toilet fittings, so we never faced this problem before.

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        • starlight1968sgS Offline
          starlight1968sg
          last edited by

          Hello,

          I need some advice on renovation matters.
          For flooring in living/dining, kitchen and balcony, which type is the most durable: granite, marble or porcelain tiles?
          For flooring in bedrooms, which type is the most durable:
          granite or marble tiles, or timber?
          For flooring in bathrooms, which type is the most durable:
          granite, marble or porcelain tiles?
          Thanks.

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          • tankeeT Offline
            tankee
            last edited by

            for kitchen, avoid marble. If wet or oily, can be very dangerous


            for bedroom, timber is usually preferred for those who on aircon. When get out of bed at night or early morning, the timber floor will not be cold to the feet, but marble floor may send a chill up the spine.

            others depend on your budget.

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            • JGMumJ Offline
              JGMum
              last edited by

              starlight1968sg:
              Hello,

              I need some advice on renovation matters.
              For flooring in living/dining, kitchen and balcony, which type is the most durable: granite, marble or porcelain tiles?
              For flooring in bedrooms, which type is the most durable:
              granite or marble tiles, or timber?
              For flooring in bathrooms, which type is the most durable:
              granite, marble or porcelain tiles?
              Thanks.
              IMHO, for living/dining, marble looks really nice, but is hard to maintain (carbonated soft drinks, wine, vinegar leave stains and blur the marble surface). Granite is more hardy, but you need a really skilled tile-laying contractor, because unlike marble, any uneven joints cannot be \"polished away\". Marble, you can polish every couple of years to regain shine, but not granite. Homogeneous tiles are the easiest to maintain, but after a while, the adjoining grooves turn \"black\" with dirt.
              For bedroom, I would choose timber too.
              For bathrooms, I would not choose marble on the floor, because it is really difficult to maintain with the water-rich environment - the shine disappears very quickly, and the marble \"blurs\" fairly easily too. Marble on the bathroom walls, on the other hand, is ok (based on my mum's experience).

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              • H Offline
                hquek
                last edited by

                For kitchen and bathroom, remember non slip is king. I got beautiful marble looking ceramic tiles Long time ago. But these can be slippery, so quite regret.


                For choice of flooring, it all boils down to budget. And there are certainly various grades of marble or granite to choose from.

                On the groove colour, I faintly recollect that some contractors may be able to mix colour so the groove is not white. Not sure if this option still available

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                • B Offline
                  Belle2011
                  last edited by

                  For stove, would a gas type be more economical than an electric stove?

                  Thank-you.

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                  • H Offline
                    hquek
                    last edited by

                    Depends on your cooking style. If there is slow cooking stuff like double boiling soup, I hear that electric stove can result in scary bills.


                    I didn’t calculate but think that generally electric type will be more ex to use. I use gas heater instead of electric. DH insists its cheaper.

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                    • DesertWindD Offline
                      DesertWind
                      last edited by

                      My colleague recently renovated her flat and put in electric stove instead of the traditional gas stove. She said she regret since now the electricity bill has gone sky high. Electricity is definitely not cheap remember hor!

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                      • B Offline
                        Belle2011
                        last edited by

                        DesertWind:
                        My colleague recently renovated her flat and put in electric stove instead of the traditional gas stove. She said she regret since now the electricity bill has gone sky high. Electricity is definitely not cheap remember hor!

                        Oh dear, my newly bought condo unit also comes with an electric stove.

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