House Renovation - designers or ala-carte?

[MMM]

blessed777:

Im also planning to change my kitchen countertop, any recommendation for material that easy to maintain, long lasting but no too expensive and where to buy thanks.

Kitchen top to us is actually a long term consideration. Since it is build in, it's not likely for us to change the countertop that regularly. We opt for black galaxy marble. Wanted the peace of mind in case the maid forgets and put some hot stuff on the countertop. It maybe alittle more expensive but if you think long term, it's a safer solution.

We paid around S$5k+ for a long L shape kitchen cabinet (top and bottom). Around 2mtr by 1 mtr length. Our main con quoted us around 6k+. So by going direct, we got it 1k cheaper.

[Belle2011]

Anybody has this experience of having a built in electric stove in a new condo but decided to replace by a gas stove?

If there is no gas pipe, then is it still possible to order gas cylinder?

[MMM]

Would like to share some notes on painting.


During xmas holiday last year, we decided to repaint the car porch and balcony of our 3.5 years old house. We bought sealant to patch up some holes created by the weather. Then we just started painting. We roped in the kids to help for those easy to paint area. While dh and me took the dififcult part which required standing high on the stairs, etc…

I downloaded the DIY paint guide from Nippon Paint and there we go. We did it. I suppose if you can do painting in art and craft, you should be able to a fairly decent job.

After this, I feel confident that we can do our own room painting in the future. What we cannot do are those hard to reach external walls or high ceiling at stairways which we require experts to do it as I don’t think we can climb outside the house. Our frontage looks new after the paint job and this saves us thousands since we DIY. Doing so, also encourages us to do such minor "renovation" from time to time to upkeep the house.

[blessed777]

hquek:

hi blessed777,


if it's patterned/dark, should be harder to see the stains/mark. Mine is solid surface (non Corian, some cheap brand) - the sink is also the same material. Not sure what happened but there is a big ugly yellow stain in the sink. It's been many years and slowly slowly the stain is thinning (still can see but not as ugly). For lighter colours, if coffee/coloured drinks are spilt, best to wipe it immediately.

I think solid surface can withstand heat. My mum's house also the same (solid surface) and she does heavy cooking. No troubles there. Sorry, it was silestone I was referring to - typo error originally.

FYI, can use bleach solution to reduce staining. but I'm not sure what the dilution rate is. And for light scratches/stains, one can engage contractors to polish the surface but their success will depend on how deep the stain/scratch is. I have not tried this and won't do it becos I fear the dust that will be created more.

FYI (2), understand that Corian is better solid surface material compared with cheaper ones in the market.

Thanks for the info Hquek

I read in http://www.reefwheel.com/care.htm abt maintaining solid surface : Do not set hot pan or skillets directly on your counter top. Use a heat resistant pad or Trivet between your hot pans and the counter top. The same applies to Toaster Ovens, Crock-pots, electric frying pans, etc..
which make me a bit concern, coz we are using toaster oven daily.. but rarely place hot pan on countertop, most of the time just leave them on the stove. It is also stated on that website that dark color may required more maintenance, but did not explain further..

Silestone quiet tempting but need to consider the $$ Do u know the estimated price range of solid surface and silestone for countertop size abt 200cm x 60cm. If we are to buy them is the installation included.

[blessed777]

Thanks MMM


Those r also my consideration, if only $$ is not a concern.. coz i'm also thinking of changing flooring.. never done renovation before, is $.5k for countertop only ? (not including the cabinet) and what does it mean with top & bottom, thanks.

[blessed777]

MMM:

Would like to share some notes on painting.


During xmas holiday last year, we decided to repaint the car porch and balcony of our 3.5 years old house. We bought sealant to patch up some holes created by the weather. Then we just started painting. We roped in the kids to help for those easy to paint area. While dh and me took the dififcult part which required standing high on the stairs, etc...

I downloaded the DIY paint guide from Nippon Paint and there we go. We did it. I suppose if you can do painting in art and craft, you should be able to a fairly decent job.

After this, I feel confident that we can do our own room painting in the future. What we cannot do are those hard to reach external walls or high ceiling at stairways which we require experts to do it as I don't think we can climb outside the house. Our frontage looks new after the paint job and this saves us thousands since we DIY. Doing so, also encourages us to do such minor \"renovation\" from time to time to upkeep the house.

This is encouraging, will consider DIY next time

[hquek]

Hi blessed777,


Sorry I can’t recall the price range. But I know that silestone is very very expensive compared with the other options and only available from 1 place. usually, you will have to get your contractor to quote based on the material you want. the companies selling these will only cut out the material using the model your contractor drew. No need to be shy, I usually get mine to quote different materials and then I compare to see what I want.

Even for solid surface, the price varies with pattern and brand.

[Funz]

Just out of curiosity. How often do you re-paint your house? I remember when we were younger, my parents will repaint the house like bi-yearly and, naturally, we get roped in as free labour.


On that note as well, how often do you renovate your place? We may have to do some reno at our place since the kids will need their own rooms soon. We are just wondering, should we redo all the rooms and toilets as well as the living room or just the kids’ rooms and toilets. Tempted to redo the whole house, but given the limited space in the kitchen, think no point doing kitchen this time round.

[MMM]

blessed777:

Thanks MMM


Those r also my consideration, if only $$ is not a concern.. coz i'm also thinking of changing flooring.. never done renovation before, is $.5k for countertop only ? (not including the cabinet) and what does it mean with top & bottom, thanks.

Hi,

It is 5.5k for entire kitchen cabinet including black galaxy marble top. We also had build in top hung cabinet as well as cabinets below and a full size at the size.

Since you are changing flooring, etc..., maybe should consider getting a reliable contractor.

[MMM]

Funz:

Just out of curiosity. How often do you re-paint your house? I remember when we were younger, my parents will repaint the house like bi-yearly and, naturally, we get roped in as free labour.


On that note as well, how often do you renovate your place? We may have to do some reno at our place since the kids will need their own rooms soon. We are just wondering, should we redo all the rooms and toilets as well as the living room or just the kids' rooms and toilets. Tempted to redo the whole house, but given the limited space in the kitchen, think no point doing kitchen this time round.

Renovation is a major ops. Usually we just do it before we move it and it is supposed to last us for years to come. We stayed in the last place for like 11 years before moving to current. No renovation/ repainting throughout. Painting is not difficult but moving furniture is.... The issue is also if you redo the whole house, must pack and store the stuff somewhere... After it's done, you still need to unpack... don't sound like fun.

But we do have some relatives/ friends who are into house moving. Eg. some sold their property banking on dropping property price so they can buy again.

In our case, our house is 3.5 years. We did major renovation before moving in but observed the outdoor area paint is washed down by weather and bird \"bombs\". But the key as to why we are painting is.... due to some communication issues, my very clever maid thought that my fil asked her to touch up the house paint when we were away for holidays.... Imagine our shock when we came back... patchy paints in car porch and storeroom :yikes: So it seems like we got no choice but to do up the entire car porch. Otherwise it will look awful for CNY. My dh's original thought is to paint the entire house every 10 years.

For my girls' room, i put those those wall decal. It is supposed to be paint friendly. However, I observed that over time, the paint will come down with the decal no matter how gentle we are. Right now their room is still very princess theme. I think I will do the painting (maybe this year Dec hols?) when we remove the decal.

We also like to keep to classic themes that won't go out of fashion. We also like to go for movable furnitures. So that we can change and who knows if we move again... we can move it along. We engaged a designer for the 1st house and alot of build in stuff. We cannot move anything when we moved. But we choose classic wood themes so till now when we look at it, it still look ok. It is currrently tenanted to a amercian couple who loves our house.