Thursday, June 1, 2023

Minor renovation works : Part 1 THE SELECTION in timeline *warning : novel post*

A warning. Do not read this unless you’re superbly bored in need for an aunty ranting post. This is a very long post as it will take me from the start to the end of the mini renovations. As stated in the headline, it’s a timeline so I do have time-stamped entry too. This post is mainly for my records, therefore I’m documenting everything down. 

27th Jan 
First contacted Jason

2nd Feb
Contacted him again

7th Feb
Came by and told him what works I need around the house

KITCHEN

1) change the surface top to something that is not easily stainable

2) change the bottom cabinets, as will need to accommodate the weight of the new surface top. Measurements to be the same, cabinet interior the same as all my organizers have been measured and sourced with great effort.

3) change sink and retractable sink tap

4) change to 2 stove hob, so maybe the top cabinet also need to change for that side as need to change to narrower hood. Should the top cabinets be uniformed in height or not? 

5) need to have glass panel back

6) use back our EXCEL hinges which I bought a lot like 70++ otherwise redundant. 


YARD

1) Plank on top of washing machine. Not fixed so I can remove it easily if unlucky and need to change washing machine again.

2) 2 - 3 planks to place stuffs. Depth must be deep enough for the laundry powder box 

3) last rod to have a metal rod below so I can hang clothes peg basket

Hubby at last minute asked me to check with them for quotes for works in the two toilets. I didn't .. coz to me it wasn't as important as the kitchen and laundry area.

************************************

Jason came back with the quote a week later. OMG! It's $9K+ (FOC sink). I didn't expect it was going to cost that much. At the same time I wasn't sure if it's inflation cost, I can't possibly compare with the price that we paid 10yrs ago. Though it's true that I love their work, the price also made me consider. Hubby instructed me to see if we can get better price from other contractors. With the recent huge amount of money spent on che-che's Dupixent and lil' one's (OMG! $5040 for 20 sessions) eye therapies... if we can save we’ll try to save $$ on the reno.   

Really have no idea who to look for. The algorithm has prompted more carpentry companies popping up in my FB. 

I found 2 more - HB and WA. WA’s quote is about 3K lesser than Jason's and I had to get the 3 items (sink, stove hob and hood) myself. After getting their quote, HB came back with the quote which is 4.3K cheaper than Jason's. So I didn't contact WA but asked HB if they can come down to the house to do a proper and more accurate measurement. 

On 6th Mar (Mon) she came by. I was shocked when she mentioned no plumbing charges, no labour installation charges etc.. and I had to prompt her a few times "how about this, how about that." She gave me the impression of a trainee out on her first solo job. Yes, the price inclusive of the 2 toilets sounds very cheap and good. It was a small increase of $413 for the kitchen and laundry works she previously quoted. No GST if I can confirm work this week. But somehow something at the back of my head tells me to check on this company. The poor review made me think twice on hiring them. Told hubby and he agreed I should look for contractors again. Anyway the one who suffer is me not him. 

On the same night, I messaged another 2 more companies. I think these are with IDs, so hopefully the price won't be that scary. The previous 3 companies are carpentry companies. ITS and TRC were the next 2 I selected based on reviews. It’s more of a hit and miss thing now. 

7th Mar (Tue)
After sending lil' one to school in the morning, I dropped by Leifheit to send the window vacumn for servicing and at the same time since I'm in the vicinity - get the packing boxes

yard area is already messy with the laundry room stuffs scattered on the floor. Soon the yard will be more messy once I stack up the boxes here. Will unpack the kitchen slowly, though I think I'm able to do so within 3hrs as we don't have that many cabinets and stuffs. Since I'm doing everything on solo, I'll need to pace myself. 


They came back to me the next day (which is today) and immediately the IDs messaged me on my work requests. Had to send so many photos and instructions over to them. ITS was very prompt with his replies.

8th Mar (Wed)
ITS messaged that the quote is ready. Asked if I prefer to meet the next day at home or in the office but since I already had tons of appointments made, I arranged to meet him on the 10th in the office. Pray hard for good news so I can have a closure here and move on to next step 

10th Mar (Fri)
2 mini boss tagged along while he went through the quote. 
I was quite shocked at the price initially - - hefty $12K but couldn’t do the comparison right infront of him but at home did a side by side comparison. Although this is an ID and I’m paying middleman fee, I’m surprised that his price is about $1.4K cheaper than Jason’s. (when I compared prices on works in the kitchen and laundry room) Maybe they’re giving me lousier quality stuffs? I couldn’t compare on toilet works as I didn’t ask J for a quotation on those.
Hubby shrugged his shoulder said I’ll decide. I kept stressing the $12K, he kept saying “can can. You make the decision.” Better don’t suddenly scold me! 

Anyway, at the office I was shown sintered stone which is more expensive than quartz (quartz : $ 120/ft ; sintered stone $210/ft) and I kindda like the matt texture. My efforts to keep the cost low is fruitless. It’s $90/ft pricier and so so easy to clean. 
[The thing abt my family is they are just so careless or should I say care less?! They leave things on top without checking if there’s any spillage on the bags. The liquid gets soaked into the solid surface and there you have it - another stain mark! Can’t be that blind not to notice it right? Well….it seems like they are blind.Worst! When it’s curry!!  Sigh…why they like that?] 
Tho it doesn’t stain and scratch easily, it’s the price that I feel so heartpained and will continue to keep reminding them  to keep the place dry and clean.  

He gave me another quote after that for sintered stone top, which is $2K more. 


13th Mar (Mon)
Messaged him to re-confirm the amount. I was so worried I calculated wrongly and asked if can waive toilet hacking and some discount. I opted out of the BOXX hinges which will set me back another $300+. Then of course they don’t give guarantee “if the hinges spoil etc..use BOXX just call us and we’ll replace for you FOC.” But what am I going to do with the 70++ EXCEL hinges I bought? Sell them? To who? 
Final cost $14+K. Kept asking hubby if price is ok, he left everything to me. So does it mean I can only buy Hermรฉs bag without consulting him ๐Ÿ˜ฌ? 
Confirmed contract will be given to him after that. 


15th Mar (Wed)
Terrence came by to collect cheque n signed contract at home

All the while the other company’s (TRC) staff didn’t get back to me after his first introductory message via WhatsApp. I might as well delete his contact immediately. 

19th - 24th Mar (Sun - Fri)
On annual leave ๐Ÿคฃ. 
Aunty go Phuket. Taking this as a break/re-charge (is this even enough?) and start packing. Wah…..the last time I did this packing was in 2015. I was 40yrs old, still have more energy than now tho I fell sick terribly. Fast forward 8yrs later, the body is simply so tired. 

27th Mar (Mon) 
Made the selection for the sintered stone (kitchen), quartz for 2 toilets and the cabinetry laminate. So difficult to choose. I’ve never made any choice in any of our cabinetry works before. Suddenly I’m thrown with thick heavy booklets of samples. Reminds me of the time we had to do our Punggol house selection. Where should I look? All I knew is I want white or anything light to make the house look big. I don’t like dark colours tho it can make a house look classy if the colour combination is nice. 

Sintered top and backsplash for K2 side 

Whitewood Elm - keeping everything white for the clean look. Hopefully the kitchen will look clutter free after that

PM-603 white quartz for both toilet tops. I know it’s boring but 
don’t have that clean look I want after looking at the other bigger slabs. They all look nice in the small sample. Not sure if I’m the first who thought of it but I requested to see the bigger slab of quartz. Afterall this renovation will last us many more years, so it has to be something pleasing and I don’t regret it the moment installation is done. T had to message the supplier to show me. Technically it’s better to go down personally to the stone factory to see it but it’s in ulu Singapore (if I searched the correct company) and …lazy?
Cabinet for outside toilet
Cabinet for master room toilet, a hint of grey to match the silly dark grey wall in the shower area. 
I asked for the brand for quartz so that I can check online slowly at home. It’s Royal Tron and I only found one in Singapore - Pyron International Pte Ltd. But it doesn’t show much of their catalogue or photos in their only FB page. There is LH Quartz, Bellus Group. As for sintered stone catalogue, I found one via Bellus Grouo which brought me to Gardenia Sintered Surface Slabs but I don’t find any matching serial number so it’s really difficult to compare the designs. Another challenge I feel for me as my kitchen top is small, if too much pattern or lines across the slab may make my kitchen look messy than classy. I hope I made the right choice. Sigh…. Really need to give it all out for reno works whether big or small. I confirmed with T my choices via WhatsApp in the night.

T told me they’ll need to hack the cabinets, do measurement, give them 2-3weeks for works in the factory then installation. What?!?! For about a month we have to brush our teeth in the shower area? No kitchen? Not that we cook every meal but it’s a hassle. I remember that Jason was able to hack then do installation the next day for our second reno works in Punggol. He helped me check and said can do the hacking and installation close to date, so an appointment date is set for the carpenter, glass and electrician to come by on the 4th (Tue) to do their measurements and check on the current electrical and glass installation. 

29th Mar (Wed) 
Cleared more cabinets. To think that my kitchen is small, yet it can hold so much. Perhaps coz I got the smaller (50cmx40cmx30cm) boxes to keep the items. I could have gotten bigger boxes but I’ll have problems lugging the heavy huge ass boxes to stack up in the yard. Must work smart when I’m doing all the work myself.

Cleared 5 cabinets on K2 side

Cleared 2 drawers on K1 side. The illustrated pink outline were cabinets I packed before the trip (can’t rmbr date) 
I didn’t pack the travel cooker into the box. Haha! I’m thinking if there will be any days we need to cook something while the stove is not up. Honestly food is the last thing we should worry about especially when we have foodcourt and BK right opposite us. 

K2 side - I didn’t keep sugar, sweetener in the box. As for this cabinet, technically it’s cleared but visually it’s not. I decided to put some of these pantry items into another box when I pack the sauce cabinet (K2 bottom), so I left it there first. 

Packing really helps me in organising the pantry too. The last time I checked the expiry dates was more than 8mths ago. I also haven’t been labelling the canned abalones for quite some. So took the opportunity to do it now, it will definitely make my job easier unpacking.



Sigh….. nice to have these magnets but now I have to remove them and keep them aside first. Actually I have the intention of doing a shadow box frame for these magnets to keep the fridge neat. 
I think they will need to move the fridge out also?? Oh my! I hope they don’t have to turn off electrical supply here. How about the food inside the fridge? Meanwhile Ketojiak keeps sending me new orders etc..so tempted to order but I can’t do it for now. I’m wanting my ketojunkie curry puffs. Argh! 
 
The mess! Ran out of boxes to put the laundry stuffs inside. And yes, it looks even more messy with the laundry rack stand. That’s coz I was trying to elevate the slippers and aqua shoes higher as I use the heater to dry them. 
The stand was finally removed about 2 days later. 

The pros of packing is that it’s a good time to sift out the unwanted items as well (I think I mentioned this many times before). I boxed up the bento stuffs which I’m going to put up for sale after everything is settled. I got rid of the chocolate fondue fountain which I only used twice. A few items too I’m donating to Salvation Army, which is still in the car boot ๐Ÿ˜‚. It’s really not a lot of items to be donated, so I guess I did somehow achieve my ‘try not to keep rubbish items’ mentality. Intend to consolidate the donated items and make one trip to drop off. 



30th Apr (Thu)
Bought 9 more boxes. In total 14 boxes, is it too much for such small jobs? So I do have a lot of rubbish ๐Ÿคญ
Anyway, will pace myself to pack the cabinets slowly. Hopefully can clear the toilets and at least the pots n pans cabinet. Lil’ one is starting school next week and I’ll be busy going in and out of the house, so unpacking will be much much slower. But somehow I’m glad the ‘easily kan-cheong’ me managed to start packing some cabinets way way in advance

1st April (Sat)
Woke up at 12.30pm. So tired from the week. School hols but still don’t get to enjoy myself, had to send lil’ one for her therapies. 
Packed outside toilet’s cabinet. Only packed the affected cabinet not the top. Only needed one box, I think the master toilet will require 2 boxes ๐Ÿ˜ฌ. Told lil’ one to fill up her Aveda shampoo and conditioner before I keep n seal up the box which will remain sealed until May. 
I’ll probably just use a tape to seal up the top cabinet opening to prevent dust from going in. Work smart not hard ๐Ÿ˜Š 

Left this insecticide and washing detergent container in here. I still need them, packing for reno doesn’t mean my housework is put to a standstill ๐Ÿ˜ for a month plus. I wish!! 

Will try to clear master room toilet’s cabinet and pots n pans cabinet tomorrow. 
What’s left after that : 
1) 2 drawers (cutleries, tea bags)
2) the most feared under sink cabinet ๐Ÿชณ ๐ŸฆŽ 
3) crockeries. Will be getting rid of some bowls. 

I’m glad none of the girls need any tuition help now. I wouldn’t know where to keep the mess. Ultimately, Kitchenaid and Thermomix would be left on dining table. There’s no way I can put them into boxes at all.  

2nd Apr (Sun)
Packed up master toilet cabinet, leaving only my needed Kiehls mask, wet tissues and black hair dye. My hair will turn white faster at this rate so I can’t keep this ๐Ÿ˜‚. 

I really want to sit down and stare at the walls n do nothing. I still have photos to clear in my phone. I need to get the Phuket vivavideo done. Why are the girls and the man so free? Ok, at least the man helped to vacumn the house, I tasked lil’ one to do the mopping. I just packed this cabinet and I wanted a rest. 
But before I can have any rest, I need to hang up the laundered bedsheets and wash the socks. 
Had my lunch, edited this entry at the same time, hang up socks, spin dry the handwashed floor mats. And then time to do the other cabinets in the kitchen. Sigh….which one should I choose? The most difficult one so I can suffer-first-enjoy-later. Did I mention earlier that my small kitchen will take me 3hrs to pack?? Crazy and overly ambitious of me ็ฎ—้ƒฝไผš็ฎ—้”™ ❌. It certainly took me longer than that. 
I’m glad I don’t have to cook all meals, family is absolutely glad they’re not my guinea pigs. So keeping the kitchen with the bare minimum a month before needs no further explanation. Meanwhile I’ve tagged all the Thermomix recipes I want to try and will do so with a new kitchen. In the meantime, will try to finish the proteins in the fridge. I’m glad I cooked my lemongrass chicken in bulk. All I need to do now, after a tiring packing task, is to warm it up in the oven. 

Time to start packing the kitchen after my still-not-enough rest. 

I have checklist on this door as well as on the doors to the pantry cabinets 

So loving this look. The minimalistic look. Only left 2 pots for the next one month use.
Will keep the airfryer and slow cooker in the condiments box

I kept this aside when I packed the bento cabinet. So silly!   Was wondering if we will need to cook anything. But why make life difficult for ourselves when Burger King and a foodcourt is just right opposite us? 

Boxes all stacked up. The yard is looking so messy. But thankfully I have a yard area. I can’t imagine the mess in the living room or maybe bedrooms if I need to put the boxes temporarily. I’m glad too no tutors come to our house now, so nobody sees the mess except us. 
K1 SIDE : Left with these 2 cabinets + 2 drawers + dish drawer rack. The drawers - really don’t have much to keep, can be done in less than half an hour. 

K2 SIDE : only left with this narrow sauce cabinet

I will let them know to come by in May for hacking or maybe end of April if schedule doesn’t clash with my classes. So I’ve spaced out my time well. I should need another 2 or 3 days to slowly pack the remaining cabinets. 

3rd Apr (Mon)
Lil’ one started her new term and HBL remains on Mondays. 
Spent the afternoon slowly packing the :

(1) crockeries, the rice cooker, crystals plates from Okinawa etc..

Personalised placemats - to keep or not? 

Left with these. Left some tea bags here, that drawer is now empty

(2) tea bags drawer. Seems like an easy job but had check expiry dates on some teabags. Most are not expired but there are some sachet drinks that che-che bought but didn’t drink.  *angry*

Kept a few tea bags for the man in the crockeries cabinet. Need to find another organization container now from Taobao

(3) cutleries

Left with these for the next month or so

(4) sauce drawer 
All cleared, except for soy sauce. Won’t be cooking anyway so no point keeping any sauces outside

Quite a feat today! Good planning on my part to finish majority of the packing this week. I’m only left with the kitchen top items. Next week onwards lil’ one will have her therapies so I don’t think I’m able to pack much. Most times I’m so pleased with myself; I thrive as a slave-driver. 

Ran out of boxes again ! 

4th Apr (Tue) 
The contractors came by to measure. Only the carpenter didn’t turn up, waited for him for hour plus then JJ and T said will have to re-arrange another day (and that they will be out of the country themselves for a week starting tomorrow) coz can’t reach him at all. 
Rushed out of the house after that. T messaged and asked if I’ll be home at 3.30 - 4.30pm when I was moving around. Dropped some items in Salvation Army which was taking up boot space for the last one or two weeks ๐Ÿคช , bought 5 more boxes (I think maybe 2 or 3 is enough but I wouldn’t want to make additional trip again), NTUC to get more Chlorox wipes n spray. 
Just when I thought I had perfectly timed myself with errands before picking lil’ one, she called me half an hour early to tell me she’s dismissed from school. What?!?!

Extra boxes

Tidied up yard a little. Will not open up any box to pack the loose items in, not until I’m packing the last cabinet (under sink) and dishrack. I have no place to stand when I’m hanging up the laundry now ๐Ÿ˜ฅ

5th Apr (Wed) 
Picked the hob and hood. Wanted Bosch but they don’t carry and … if I have money probably I’ll forgo the lousy brands and go for either Miele or Bosch but ah-nia no money so no choice but to choose what’s there. However I do have restricted choice as I’m only looking for stainless steel and a domino 2 stove hob (I learnt it’s called domino hob today. All the while I’ve been saying “2 stove vertical” ๐Ÿคญ) Topped up $300 for the hob and hood. 
Saw a silverish EF oven, but my Bosch is still working fine so I won’t change it yet.  
I didn’t like the sink (so small!) given and the lousy sink mixer. If I were to change to a 2-bowl and to an extendable sink mixer, I’ll need to top up $538. With that huge amount price difference I might as well forgo the cheapo sinks and go for the waterfall kind. 
Ran through the list in Shoppee and Taobao to compare. I still save S$80-100+ if I get it from Taobao direct. 

It was only today’s year old that I learnt two new things :
(a) convection oven have 3 glass panels. No wonder I’ve been trying to clean the glass with grease cleaner, cod, vinegar+baking soda, sodium percarbonate and whatever and I can’t remove that yellow ish tinge colour which I keep seeing. I will do the wash after the renovation. 
(b) now I finally know what ‘carbon filter’ people are talking about in the hood. Ehh….I haven’t been cleaning it all these years. All the while I thought cleaning it was just the wire mesh part only. Oh my! I’ll definitely do a better job in cleaning next time. And must remember to check the charcoal beads. 

 Feeling funny when I saw this 
 
Haha! A gold sink. Maybe that will make us look wealthy. 

On the way home after picking lil’ one up, T asked if the carpenter can come by tomorrow 11-12pm. But there’s no way I’m going to skip my Fight-Do now. I think during the 2-3 weeks of reno (as we only have Tue-Thu available for them to work), I may have to skip classes. Thus I better work my fats out whenever I can now.

Night time, was still looking around. Trying to compare prices. I realised one shop in Geylang (HSq) carries the sink. Another online shop has it too. Thought if I can slot in a time the next day to see and feel the real thing. If it’s not suitable then I’ll just get back the usual two bowls stainless and an extendable tap mixer. 

This is from the online shop. As if there's a promotion! Even with the discounted price, it's still 2.5 to 3 times more than from Taobao direct. It's not surprising that more and more people are giving online shops a miss now.  



6th Apr (Thu)
My initial plan was to pick lil’ one from school and rush home for the carpenter to drop by. Then leave lil’ one at home while I take a look at the waterfall sink in one shop in Geylang. 

However lil’ one was dismissed 15mins earlier, so I thought maybe it’s a good idea to drop by Geylang first coz I hate to leave the house again once I’m back home. 

Feels good though it’s thin. I think it will serve its function. Pretended and asked her the colour. So this is the steel gun and there's no other colour (which is not true). I don’t like the colour of steel gun so now I know I should stay clear of this colour. Hopefully with my F9 grade chinese I can understand what’s written in Taobao 

Staff said cannot undermount this sink  ๐Ÿง …. as far as I know the ones I saw said can. Of course ultimately it’s still up to me to do either top mount, ไป€ไนˆ mount and under mount. All except for Mt Rigi. 

Carpenter arrived at 1.40pm and told him what I wanted. When I asked he said it’s possible to shift the oven more to the left to make it a little more centralised. I just hope it’s not dangerous. 

7th Apr (Fri)
Didn’t do much today. 
Cleared the 3 compartment wooden rack and spice rack. Lots of my spices are BBF or expired 21 or 22. Tho I didn’t die from eating them, I think it’s better to have a good new start in a new kitchen. I have a few with expiry dates in 23, so I left them in their respective bottles. 
Washed both the bottles and the racks and air dry them. 

Still far from expiry date 

T WhatsApp-ed me the draft measurements from the carpenter and asked me to double check. HUH?!?! I never had to do this before in all our carpentry works. 

8th Apr (Sat) 
a) Cleared the spice rack and 3-container rack. 

Cleared leaving just these 2 gadgets. Will just bring them out nearer to reno n put it on dining table. 


b) Cleared undersink cabinet - my most feared cabinet.  The girls wanted to keep certain bento stuffs and cute Sanrio pouches. Haha! I’m making a big round with Sanrio. I got them for the young girls who will like Sanrio, then stopped using for a period of time, and now they want it again. Not for bento use but who cares?! As long as it’s of good use now. Will sell the Rilakkumma bento containers and a few items. Picked out a few items to be dropped in Salvation Army


So much better. If only I can keep it this way forever

c) cleared dishrack of the bottles and some cups, so it’s looking a little neater now.



9th Apr (Sun) 
Finally ALL CLEARED leaving only a few items behind. 
Crockeries n cutleries : microwavable bowls, 2 plates, 4 sets of cutleries, sifter, ladle
Pantry : some tea bags, instant noodles
๐Ÿฅ : left out a few cough & headache medicine for just in case. But … I didn’t expect che-che to suddenly have runny nose ๐Ÿคฆ๐Ÿป‍♀️. I kept them. So smart!! 
Renovation will not start so soon. But I’m glad this packing is done. 



Replied T I don’t understand where some numbers come from. Honestly I should be glad that I’m given a chance to vet through BUT does that mean that the responsibility lies with me if anything goes wrong? ่ฟ˜้’ฑๅˆๆ˜ฏๆˆ‘、ๅฆ‚ๆžœๅš้”™้ƒฝไธ่ƒฝ้€€ๆข。

10th Apr (Mon)
Had snippets of time so did some measurements but really I’m so confused with the numbers. How did the depth of the cabinets come to 500? I took pictures and showed him. 
I messaged T with a few things I’m not sure. He said he’ll meet the carpenter to do the measurements when he’s back. Something T mentioned to me puzzled me. He typed “apologies. He (carpenter) told me he go thru with you the measurements already”. HUH?! Carpenter didn't even go through with me. I replied that he only measured and left after that. All I did when he first came in, I told him what I wanted and then I left the measurements to him and sat in the living room fiddling with my phone. 

Anyway, this is not the time to point fingers and allegations at each other, I asked T to come down so that at least I have a witness with me about my requirements which is not difficult. 

I also suddenly realised that the hood I ordered will have a part jutting out from the cabinets. I scrolled thru some interior design companies works. Maybe this jutting out is the in thing now? It looks weird but yet the kitchen in those pictures are bigger and longer so it looks kind of spaced out and not so obvious. It will look untidy and feels it’s protruding out into the walkway when it’s done to my galley sized kitchen. Or perhaps I’ve been so used to seeing a flat surface hood all these years? 
Another problem I might face is that the protruding part will hinder my opening of the instant noodles compartment. The hood in Punggol house also protrudes out but there are handles on the cabinets doors which makes it easy for us to open them.
I don’t want to suffer for the rests of the years with works and looks that I’m not happy with or start regretting the moment it’s installed, so while nothing is done yet I will make sure it’s done correctly and right. Hmm…. I think I’m quite a demanding customer ☺️.

I messaged T and JJ about it and JJ said will ask T to get the catalogue and send it to me. 

Lesson learnt :- I learnt my current Bosch hood is called a telescopic hood. Looks nice but the backside super high which will compromise on the space inside. Oh well! Then I should lessen more items at home. 

11th Apr (Tue)
I cannot wait. I am impatient, I prefer to do things myself. Haha! So why did get an ID? I can’t be waiting for T to message Space, Space to get back to him, he forward catalogue to me. Like that will delay the time. Moreoever he’ll only arrive SIN on Thursday. I prefer to get an idea of what I’m getting so I can provide the measurements of the hood to them on Friday. Maybe this is what you’ll expect from a person who is meticulous? Some self praise here. 
Made a trip down to Wasser before picking lil’ one from school. I didn’t know it was Space’s off day but they got Alice to help me. There isn’t much choice for 60cm telescopic hood. Only have 2 - Teka TL6310 and Mayer MMTH60. Space will have to calculate and get back to me on the sum to top up before I make my choice.

12th April
Space messaged me. They don't have much choices so .. it'll be different brands lor. 


My final choice : - Teka TL 6310 hood, EF domino hob and the existing Bosch oven will be the star in the kitchen next time

T sent this pic to me in the evening. Looks very pleasing to the eyes but not very realistic on the size lor! If only the kitchen is really that long and wide . Cabinet size all stretch out. I like the covered dishrack tray but I can't have it as I need to hang the concave there.  


  

13th April
Made a transfer via Paynow for the difference and sent the specifications to the group chat.

14th April
11am - T and ah boy came by to measure again. 

Corrections 
> Corrected him on the drawing. He drew K1 top as 3 small cabinets - door opening was draw wrongly.
> He gave me deeper and slightly longer toilet cabinets. I don’t need so big. I will have problem opening the cabinet door in the common toilet. I did mention to him “must be the same as now” so many times. 
> he gave me a huge dishrack section, eating into the space of the top 2 cabinets above. OMG! 
> the last major mistake was when I asked him where the cabinets will be for the K2 side? Can you believe how low he calculated the cabinets? So low that the hood will hit my nose if I were to pull it out to use. How about tall hubby if he needs to use it? ็œŸ็š„ๆˆ‘็š„ๅคฉๅ•Š!

It’s a good thing I kept insisting that T has to come down coz at least now I have a witness that the measurements were really wrong, it has nothing to do with me not knowing how to use the measuring tape. 

15th April
Resent a new measurement 

Sent him these too to show what I wanted 



17th April 
Next cheque payment of $9k+

24th and 25th April 

26th Apr (Wed)
MA only requires application 3 working days prior to work but I sent in close to 2 wks earlier. Put the reno dates as from 9th to 26th May

My sink finally arrived. My first bulky purchase from Taobao. I shall just leave this here time being? 


love this shade of grey


but I don't like this drain. The photo misled me thinking it was the other one I wanted. Sobs. 

I wanted one with this attachment so I can put the mesh over it. I'm waiting for my mesh nets to arrive  


This is the sink I ordered

Ranting on other things. Hanging clothes struggle I face now. I can extend it all the way down coz Miss Shortie will hit her head on the poles 

just have to endure the eyesore. I wonder how some people can live in a house with so many plastic bags and boxes?   

Waterfall sink 
4th May (Thu)
Remembered too late that I’ve forgotten to place order for the insect trap for kitchen piping. Saw one that came with the drainer that I like. Ordered that but not sure if I can replace with that next time. If not, I think just using the insect trap is what I’m mainly after. 
Time to order other insect trap drainage thing


5th May (Fri)
Placed my order in Taobao for customised stand to put microwave. Will need to wait for the hob to be up to get a final measurement and customise another cover. I have the intention to use that stand for us to put any packed food, to prevent any staining on the surface top. 

6th May (Sat) 
Cleaned the top of the fridge and microwave. So dusty! Cleared the side of the fridge (those magnetic stuffs) 


Wow! This looks clean! I should be more diligent in my cleaning next time! I hardly clean this area coz the man stacked so many newspaper below to create a “stand” and I’m so afraid to find dead cockroach bodies. Usually I’d just wipe the uncovered front and sides only.

Also did abit of cleaning beneath the fridge. So fearful of dead cockroach corpse below. But….fortunately there were none. I’ll clean up again when the fridge is removed. 


7th May (Sun)

Cleared the last leftovers in the baking cabinet, medicine cabinet, below sink and the dishrack. Left the disposable gloves under coffee table - easy access if I need to do any cleaning while works is ongoing. 
Cleared the Thermomix and Kitchenaid. 
Brought out my Airfryer from the packed box, so I can warm up foodstuffs. 

Left these items on the dining table. 

Still left with some bowls, teabags, 2 pots, plastic bags container n washing detergent etc… will be done tomorrow night 

Wow! This was how clean my kitchen looked when we first moved in

Cleared the 2 toilets cabinets. I’ll put everything in master toilet into this tray and leave it on our study table, so we can reach out to the items easily when we need to brush our teeth. 
Ha! Shouldn’t I go and colour my hair now? stain the solid surface top. Don’t care since it’s going to be ripped apart. 

8th May (Mon)

A little excited that we’ll have a new kitchen soon! Not that excited over the toilets and laundry area coz they will look the same as before. Have to bear with lots of inconvenience for the next 3wks. 


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