Hi guys!

My N'Dira townhouse in 16 Sierra has just received the CCC yesterday and I am now waiting for my bank to disburse the final payment to the developer before I can collect my keys, likely to be after Raya.

Just starting a log of my renovation journey with the optimistic aim of completing renovation by September 2018 and hopefully ready to move in by October 2018.

Brief Summary:
3 Storey Townhouse with Built-up Area of 2540sf
Corner Upper Unit
3 Bedrooms
3 Bedroom Bathrooms
1 Living Room Bathroom
Balcony
Home Alarm System
All-in Budget Inclusive of Furniture: RM150k

Budget may be tight but will try and achieve mid-high end finishing with this budget via the following:
1. Will not use a Main Contractor and instead manage all the individual sub-trades myself
2. Access to significantly cheaper furniture via connections with friends in furniture export industry
3. Purchases of appliances, etc online to minimise cost and maximise value
4. May DIY some items i.e. DIY feature wall using brick veneers to save some money

Have been using the empty showhouse since March 2018 to do my planning, measuring etc so that I can get a few things ready before the keys are officially handed over to me.

The following has been secured over the past few months prior to receiving the keys to my new home:
1. Kitchen cabinets (without countertop) and built-in cabinets for bedrooms by Legend Kitchen
2. 8mm laminate + vinyl flooring (for kitchen area) by Robina
3. Various kitchen appliances on sale i.e. hood, hob, oven by Bosch

Renovation Scope of Work:
1. Addition of power points
2. Minor hacking + plumbing to relocate sink in kitchen
3. Plaster ceiling
4. Wiring for lighting etc
5. Laminate + vinyl flooring
6. Kitchen cabinet + island
7. Built-in cabinets
8. Air-cond installation
9. Painting
10. Shower screen + mirrors
11. Feature wall

Simple ID is ongoing now by Legend Kitchen (only for areas that they are building in cabinets) based on measurements taken from the showhouse. Actual dimensions will be reconfirmed after getting my keys.

Upcoming Tasks:
1. Collect keys
2. Check for defects + rectification by developer
3. Confirm lights and additional electrical points as this will be one of the earlier activities
4. Confirm water heater
5. Confirm air-cond sizing, total 5 units required
6. Book marble top for kitchen counter + island as Legend Kitchen does not have marble as an option

Sorry a bit unstructured at the moment but will improve as I go along. Wish me luck!

Best to install a Solar Hot Water System instead of using individual Shower Heater. You will save more in the long run and if you take long hot shower, you will be guaranteed of continuous hot water.
Also do consider to install a (at least 1000L) spare S/S tank and water pump.
Do consider to upsize your A/C units.

This post has been edited by brutus: Jun 8 2018, 04:14 PM

Was thinking of getting electrical storage water heaters. Also considering a water pump but have to see if it fits into my budget...

A/C units I am planning to get all non-inverters with exception of maybe the master bedroom. Upsize as in intentionally choose a slightly higher HP unit than necessary?

you're positively sure to use marble as your table and island top? marble or granite top are porous in nature and may stain/have watermarks if you dont take care it correctly. Sometimes certain marble you cant put a hot plate due to the fragile characteristic of the stone.


cheers mate'
izwan
www.klarchid.blogpsot.com

Yeah we did a lot of extensive research before making this decision. We are prepared to live with the difficulties of a marble countertop.

Just realised today that I overlooked something for the renovation while researching water heaters.

Suspect that there is no hot water piping to the bedroom bathrooms so may have to hack and install piping and do some tiling sigh. Another unforeseen cost...

I'm also 1 of the owner (lower unit)
Nice sharing and will follow your log

This post has been edited by Mr. Najib Razak: Jun 9 2018, 11:01 PM

Solar Hot Water Storage offers the best energy consumption vs usage if it is allowed to install at your new home. I also piped it into my kitchen to utilize hot water to clean my plates since it is "free"... . Those long hot shower water after a long days' work is really satisfying without the fear of over paying TNB for it.
You will need to budget additional $$ for hot water piping system as most homes does not come with it.

For A/C you may install all pipings to be Inverter ready. The only install the unit where you will use it where budget is tight. Only install the unit later when budget allows. Eg, install all inverter ready pipings, then install the unit at Master Bedroom and Living Room area only. The rest of the rooms can be installed later when funds allow.

Yes, the upsize is choosing the next available HP unit.

This post has been edited by brutus: Jun 10 2018, 08:16 AM

Solar water heater will cost roughly about RM20k with installation included. That's pretty expensive I would say. Besides, we won't be spending a very long time in the shower anyway. If me, I will go for individual electric heater. RM1k can settle 3 bath rooms.

You must also look into your developer's supplied Distribution Board (DB). Most if not all are bundled with less than ideal components. The DB is the first thing I throw away when I start my renovations.

Just FYI, my DB now consists of 3 Earth Leakage Circuit Breakers (ELCB). 1 for power, 1 for lighting and another for my Solar Hot Water system.

Wow, where you got this quote?
The system itself is about 4-6K and piping for individual location depending on the piping used is between 1.0-1.5K.

Sure? If it's really cost that amount, then no harm installing it.

I was informed of RM20k when my friend installed his. Cost included everything so i thought roughly all solar water heater will cost around there.

You can check out SolarMate. The rest of the cost is depending on the shower rose set that you chose. Basic rain shower set starts from RM 600 to a few Ks per bathroom.
Usually the master bathroom set is the more elaborate design and the rest of the bathrooms will just be the basic sets.
Go check it out SolarMate

A good water pump like Grundfos cost around 2k to 3k with installation. I had mine since 2013 and it is still running well.

a. Hot Water

An alternative to solar water heater or instant hot water heater is a storage water heater.

68L is around RM900+ and can be used to pipe to the different toilets around the house (still need copper piping). Previously my instant water heater keeps dying (e.g. pump died, hot water getting less hot due to heater element) then decided to swap to a storage water heater. Best decision ever, should have done it in the beginning.

Brands such as Joven, HydroOne, SolarTech all carry this.

b. LAN cabling
If you are doing wiring, you might want to consider adding CAT6e LAN cabling from where your Unifi modem will be to other parts of the house. This is to futureproof when your Access Point can't reach the higher floors.

Thanks for all the tips guys.

Just bought a granite Elleci sink from @zheilwane at clearance price over the weekend so at least that is another item that is settled.

Another dilemma that I am having is whether or not to go with recessed eyeball LED downlights only (for nicer effect) vs combination of downlights + eyeballs.

Of course there will be pendants (i.e. for the island) and lamps here and there but for the ceiling lighting should I go for a pure eyeball arrangement or mix and match with downlights + eyeballs.

P.S. my theme will be Scandinavian

nice, appreciate if you can add some pictures, gluck for your renovation, just done mine 8months ago, many headache heartache but the result is satisfying

Hello Neighbour !
I bought the same, middle upper unit.
Can't wait to move in and start minor renovation.

For me, i will go for basic renovation. Im thinking to change the times to laminated flooring but still depend the costing.
I prefer MUJI / minimalist concept.

Anyway, all the best to your renovation journey and looking forward to your end result

any reason u chose granite sink over stainless steel?

Hello neighbour! When do you intend to move in?

Just like the look of it vs a stainless steel sink. Initially wanted to go for a farmhouse fireclay or copper sink but the cost was too high...

ASAP bro.. Hopefully it will have minimal defect and can start install fitting and reno soon

i see.
i am researching the pros and cons too. just worry about the durability

Congrats on your new home! Just a couple of things for your consideration:

1. Purchasing bulky appliances online - will they cover actual transportation and carrying in your home too? Also, some physical stores may have better deals than online too. And less risky for warranty-related matters too.

2. 8mm laminated flooring - for something like flooring which really is quite permanent and difficult to replace, maybe you can consider getting thicker 12mm versions. It may serve you better in the long run. Of course, that's not to say 8mms are not good. Just something for you to consider

Here's to a stress-free and smooth journey for you!

1. True, and noted. Will use discretion when purchasing. If its a reputable online shop then worth considering.

2. It is nice to have the higher end version of everything but I have to be disciplined to try and stick within the budget.

Nearly two weeks since the CCC was released but my bank has yet to make the final disbursement so I still cannot collect my keys.

Went to the home branch yesterday to speak to my banker and she has promised to expedite the process.

In the meantime, have decided to go for primarily eyeball downlights for the whole house. Philips casing + Philips MR16 bulb with built in driver.

The 1st draft 3D rendering has been completed for the kitchen and master bedroom. Optimising slightly before sharing it here.

Exciting times!

Any recommendation for wiring + plaster ceiling + minor hacking for wiring / relocate air-cond point / hot water piping contractors? Puchong area.

Did you survey the price of philips casing & bulb? How much per set?

Very cheap compared to market. I can get for around RM30 if you are interested.

Lazada selling casing for RM25, bulb for about RM17.

No la I got mine already. GU10 bulb...

Hello neighbour! word is, I heard that quality ratings for N'dira are the highest in IOI project development history - to their own surprise as well. BUT.. keeping fingers crossed until actual VP and own inspection.


source: i am one of the consultants for the developer.

Very nice sink. Had been using this brand sink for 10 years and still in pretty good condition

Wow good to hear neighbour!

Bank has disbursed the final payment and we will be collecting our keys on Thursday (assuming that I do not have any work emergencies)!

Once we get the keys, we will inspect our unit using the following guideline:

QLASSIC Quality Guide for Homeowners

Do update your post here! interested to follow the progress of your reno. Based on IOI's own assessment, Ndira achieved 85%. They usually hover around 80 plus-minus. but 85% is a first for them. I am not an expert, can't tell if its a good score or not.

Collected the keys on Thursday and spent some time over the weekend to roughly check for any major defects.

Generally the finishing was not too bad and all defects that we found were relatively minor. Will do a thorough check and list down the defects properly next weekend.

Quite pleased some of the fittings used; quite decent quality stuff i.e. tiles from Niro and power plugs from Schneider Electric.

Surprised with a few things though; mostly that many of the ceilings are plaster ceilings already and that there was a proper shower screen included in the master bedroom.

Met up with our kitchen cabinet contractor as well as a general contractor at the house on Saturday for some discussions and to get a preliminary quote from the general contractor.

Can't wait to start work!

Exciting time ahead!

Just submitted my defects form yesterday. Generally nothing major, but plenty of minor defects here and there.

However, there was one spot above the kitchen where I spotted a light watermark stain. Slightly worrying but it seemed dry though.

How can I get the defects team to look into this watermarked area properly instead of just painting it over?

Hi neighbour, I'm lower Type A unit intermediate.
Just collected my key last week and yet to do defect checking due no water supply yet.
Can see some dry water stain mark on downstair bathroom and upper floor 2nd bedroom bathroom ceiling.
Others not really go through yet as waiting for water supply to come in (being informed this week should have water already)

I have heard that the meters will be installed starting Wednesday...

Hi neighbour
I'm type a lower unit end lot as well
Going to collect my key this Sat
Overall apart from the water stain
Any other major defects/problems?

No major defects apart from the water stain. Generally the standard of finishing was respectable.

Some common issues we found:
1. Paint stains outside windows
2. Scratched / chipped / dented window frames
3. Dented / chipped doors
4. Minor hairline cracks on walls
5. Stained granite counter tops

If you really want, can overlook the above defects and start renovation immediately if you are not particular about these things.

The developer has acknowledged receipt of my defects this morning and will start work almost immediately.

So far didn't notice any major defect.

wow so responsive
thats great to hear haha

Water meter had been installed yday

Haha yea. Installed on Thursday. Went on Wednesday night but still nothing done.

Have submitted the defects form a week ago but no work has started yet. Have to be patient I guess?

Anyone have any idea what HP the current aircond piping points are specced for? I.e. what diameter pipes?

Forgot to measure this when I was there over the weekend.

Total 5 points:
1. Living
2. Dining
3. Master
4. Bedroom 2
5. Bedroom 3

I've submitted mine as well through the apps the day before yesterday
Somehow just now I checked the apps they said work in progress edi
Btw do u guys find in annoying/inconvenient to scan the card at the left hand side upon entering at the guard house?
Shouldn't the card reader at right?

Have had no problems when entering the guard house.

However, when exiting, it has always been very difficult to trigger the gate...

i terbalik
wonder any other owners face this issue as well when entering and exiting the guard house

Mine - one okay, another one frequently not detected.

Btw, when you guys plan to move in?

Next year cny

This post has been edited by Mr. Najib Razak: Jul 18 2018, 01:48 PM

Sept / Oct if possible...

Sigh. Submitted defects 2 weeks ago, but nothing has started yet.

Tks for the sharing info.
I took the key last week and found out that Upper unit does not come with Water Booster Pump. However for lower unit the pump was pre-installed by IOI.
I felt not fair and voiced to CRU. My upper unit also low water pressure.

Sent them an e-mail today; lets see how they respond:

Dear Sir,

Am still waiting for a response from your goodself pertaining to my queries in my e-mail from 2 weeks ago dated 9th July 2018.

Also, I visited my unit again over the weekend and have found that physical works for defects rectification have not commenced despite having submitted my defects complaint form over 2 weeks ago.

You are reminded that as per the Defect Liability Period Clause 29 Subclauses (1) & (2) in our Sale & Purchase Agreement, you have 30 days upon submission of my notice to repair and make good the defects for my unit. Some of the defects are major including denting of the staircase railings, staining of granite countertops as well as watermarks on the ceiling which I believe will take considerable time to repair.

Upon the expiry of the 30 day period, I shall serve notice of my intention to carry out the defects rectification on your behalf together with the associated costs of repairing the defects. If the repairs are not completed within 14 days of the notice of my intention to carry out defects rectification on your behalf, my contractor shall proceed immediately with the rectification works and I shall duly recover the associated costs of repairing the said defects from the 5% retention held under Item 5 of the Third Schedule as per the provisions in our Sale & Purchase Agreement.

I hope that you will start and complete the rectifications within the 30 day period so that we need not go through this process.

Many thanks and hope to hear from you soon.

Kind Regards,
Justin

It seems a tough negotiation with IOI. Hopefully I do not need to use this method when the time up.

Hi, can you help to inform the TOP management directly about the lacking of water booster pump for upper unit problem? Since you are the consultant to IOI, I assume you are the right person for better access to the TOP management.
We paid full price and only lower unit comes with booster pump and it it TOTALLY UNFAIR! Now upper unit faced very low water pressure, who should bear the responsibility?

Oh dear
Hope you don't need to use ur last resort
But anyway I didn't know that they need to complete those rectification work within 30 days
I've submitted mine last week
So far only 2 have been resolved (minor 1)
Maybe we owners should give them more pressure?
Any WhatsApp group for owners?

This post has been edited by Mr. Najib Razak: Jul 23 2018, 08:12 PM

1 more thing guys
My mum told me that she called up the mgmt office this morning
They informed her that we can install grill for our yard area (details can be found in the apps)
And they also said some residents had a meeting with the management this morning
Wonder any of you over here attended the meeting?

This post has been edited by Mr. Najib Razak: Jul 23 2018, 08:19 PM

Feel free to join the owner group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1091131540908857/

Had done my defect reports with total about 9 reports last Saturday (22 July).
All submitted through the IOI apps.
Will need to check again this weekend for the progress.

I had requested to join the group in Facebook and waiting for admins approval.

Received a call the very same day from IOI to answer all of my queries. They also promised to start the rectifications immediately so I dropped by today after work to have a look.

It was quite late by the time I arrived (almost 8pm) so there was limited light but was pleased to find that significant effort had been put in to expedite the defect rectification over the past 3 days.

Have been ordering some lighting recently and confirming some furniture. Hope to start proper renovation works in about 2 weeks!

This post has been edited by justintga: Jul 26 2018, 12:06 AM

Finally completed the rectification of the major defects. Did a joint inspection earlier this week and generally signed off on the rectification works with some minor comments. Just few very minor rectifications left to do which should take a few days and then renovation will start next week.

Over the past few weeks, have been:

1. Finalising kitchen & built-in cabinet designs (Legend Kitchen)
2. Sketching up lighting plans (myself)
3. Preparing light switch and power point plans (myself)
4. Purchasing lights + fans (various sources: eyeball, downlights, pendants, wall lights, T5, etc done; only pending 1 out of stock fan)
5. Purchasing brick veneer, grout and special cement render paint (sourced from Suzuka)
6. Shortlisting furniture (80% done - will mostly be buying from export manufacturers; only pending balance 20% mostly from IKEA)
7. Confirming contractor and negotiating rates

Upcoming works in the coming 2 weeks:
1. Pre-order electrical applicances to avoid paying SST
2. Pre-order air conds to avoid paying SST
3. Confirm laminate flooring (Robina) to avoid paying SST
4. Confirm curtains to avoid playing SST
5. Purchase subway tiles
6. Start purchasing wall mounted items i.e. toilet mirrors, wall racks, etc
7. Confirm IKEA list (will prices increase after introduction of SST?)
8. Check furniture spaceproofing and confirm final positions to finalise installation of lighting
9. Finalise kitchen & built-in cabinet designs (Legend Kitchen)

Does anyone know if IKEA prices will go up after introduction of SST? I'd prefer not to make any purchases now first if possible...

Renovation works will start officially on the 21st of August 2018. So excited!

Looks like you are all set for renovation next week! Good luck and do share here your experiences

Engaged Mr Yap as recommended by a few LYN forumers as my contractor for wiring, plumbing, plaster ceiling, painting, tiling, etc. He started work on the 21st of August 2018 as promised.

Hacking of existing kitchen tiles is ongoing. Will post pictures soon!

Have paid for most of my electrical appliances, flooring, curtains, subway tiles, etc to avoid paying SST.

Have also purchased bathroom fittings (Sorento), a pump (Teral) and a water heater (Hydro One) off LYN forumer zheilwane.

Am trying to confirm and pay for my air conds, IKEA furniture and marble countertop before the end of the month.

Will be dropping by Legend Kitchen this weekend too to confirm my cabinet order and for final discussions for the design.

Updates:

1. Started purchasing various elements for a smart home system
2. Updated wiring diagram to cater for smart home automation
3. Paid 90% deposit for marble countertop and pre-selected slabs (StoneAce)
4. Paid for airconds (opted for Hitachi inverters and non-inverters)
5. Discussed pre-final kitchen and built-in cabinet design and chose panel colours

Still figuring out the smart home system as I go along. Hopefully it turns out well. Main system will be anchored on Google Home + a few Google Home Minis with elements from Philips Hue and Broadlink. Home will only be partially "smart" as I did not allow for this in my initial budget. Want to cap spending on this item to under RM3000.

Choosing cabinet panel colours was really difficult as we had to rely on small sample panels to visualise how the end product will look. Hope it turns out well.

Have paid for the bulk of everything with the exception of furniture (IKEA + export manufacturers) plus the main renovation works. IKEA should be settled by this week; aiming to pay for my IKEA shopping list on Wednesday or Thursday.

May decide to share my full itemised budget sheet at the end of everything if anyone is interested but will provide a short summary of cost incurred to date in the coming posts.

This post has been edited by justintga: Aug 28 2018, 05:41 PM

Completed my IKEA shopping before the end of August and had the furniture delivered to my place. Unfortunately had to take the delivery of the IKEA furniture boxes which are now sitting in my storeroom while the renovation is ongoing as IKEA does not hold the order for you and will deliver a few days after payment.

The rest of the electrical appliances and furniture will only be delivered after the main renovation is complete and the flooring is in place.

Renovation started slowly as my contractor was still busy with his other projects but has picked up recently. Have been dropping by every 2 or 3 days to check on progress.

Current works:
1. Hacking for concealed wiring and new power points
2. Installation of brick veneer for living room feature wall
3. Installation of subway tiles for kitchen backsplash
4. Starting ceiling wiring for areas with plaster ceiling

Was quite happy with the subway tile installation but had some comments about the proposed method of creating the corners. My contractor proposed a PVC profile which looked quite thick and out of place. The white of the PVC profile also did not match the white of the subway tiles. I suggested to just lay the subway tiles as per usual and use white grout to "profile" the corners.

The laying of the brick veneer also started off too neatly with small gaps (<8mm) for the grout. Requested the contractor to widen the spacing and lay the brick veneer with a little less care for a more rugged and unpolished look.

The wiring has also just started. Hope to see some good progress next week. Monday and Tuesday are public holidays so I need to check if my contractor will be allowed to work. Have seen other contractors working on Sundays so perhaps they are not to strict with weekend / public holiday renovations given that not many families have moved in to date.

Checked with the guards and the developer on Sunday and was told that no renovation works are allowed on public holidays (i.e. today and tomorrow) so I informed my contractor accordingly.

Dropped by today during lunch to have a look and to my surprise, more than 6 houses were under renovation. Not sure if the guards turned a blind eye or were bribed haha

Anyway, some pictures of progress as promised:



Grouting works for brick veneer wall ongoing. Quite happy with the "roughness" of the wall.



Subway tile backsplash for kitchen. Only tiling up the exposed areas which will not be covered by the kitchen cabinets to save some cost. Hopefully the 90 degree corners look nice once completed!

This post has been edited by justintga: Sep 10 2018, 04:32 PM

Met my contractor at site today mostly to discuss positioning of the eyeball downlights and pendants as wiring works are about to start as well as the curtain pelmets for the rooms and halls. Quite happy with the contractor's performance and service so far.

Anyway, more importantly, PICTURES!:



Subway tile progress; pending white grouting. Really, really hope the corners turn out well.



Brick veneer wall and plaster ceiling progress for dining and living room.



Also tried out the eyeball light positions in the family area upstairs. Most of my recessed lighting will be Philips 5W eyeball lights in warm white. Quite happy with the effect and am quite surprised that the family area was decently lit up with only 4 nos 5W eyeballs (dropped by one night to take this picture). Also, am quite pleased with the lighting effect and "feel" of the eyeballs vs using regular downlights.

This post has been edited by justintga: Sep 16 2018, 10:09 PM

New issue just popped up sigh.

Apparently my main door cannot be modified by the laminate flooring contractor (need to trim bottom to allow clearance for laminate flooring). No issue with the other room doors.

Any idea how much this will cost?

Had 3 main options to resolve this:

Option 1 - Dismantle door and send out to be trimmed
Option 2 - Hack down and resurface
Option 3 - Use existing entrance tiles and start laminate flooring at stairs

Decided to go with the final and easiest of the 3 options. We will only start the laminate flooring at the staircase. The entrance is a heavy traffic area so it is probably a good idea to use the tiles anyway.

Work on the ceiling and curtain pelmets on the top floor have started. Had to modify the curtain pelmet plans slightly as we discovered that there were beams in a few places where we intended to have a recess for the curtains when we cut open the existing plaster ceiling. Instead of a recess, the curtain pelmet will now be coming down and covering the wall mounted curtain rails.

The contractor prepared a mock-up for us and our immediate reaction was that the pelmets looked too thin. The contractor agreed to re-do the pelmets with at least 50mm thickness. We wanted to avoid overly thick and bulky pelmets that looked like beams but the first mock-up really felt "cheap-looking". Pics below:



Study room pelmet; revised thicker version to be extended all the way to the left too instead of terminating right after the window



Upstairs living room pelmet

This post has been edited by justintga: Sep 24 2018, 12:28 AM

Some decent progress over the past few days. Very excited to see how everything is shaping up!



Subway tiling is almost complete; decided not to go with a PVC corner profile and just use grout instead to form the corners and we are quite pleased with the outcome



1st floor ceiling complete and starting base coat



Started 2nd floor ceiling

Target to move in by the end of October if we can make it

Latest progress:



Basecoat completed for 1st floor ceiling



Installation of pendants for kitchen island



1st coat of paint for entrance staircase up to 1st floor; went for a light grey on both sides of the staircase



2nd floor ceiling in progress



Modified thicker curtain pelmet, looking much more presentable now at ~50mm

This post has been edited by justintga: Sep 27 2018, 04:48 PM

As promised, rough breakdown of final anticipated cost is presented below. Total cost is approx. RM180,000 which is about 20% over my initial budget.

Kitchen Appliances - RM11,000
- Oven
- Hob
- Hood
- Kettle
- Toaster
- Espresso machine
- Fridge
- Microwave

General Appliances - RM16,000
- Washing machine
- TVs
- Soundbars
- Air-conds
- Iron
- Vacuum

Furniture, Decorative Items, Misc - RM33,000
- Italian leather sofa
- Fabric sofa
- Dining table & chairs
- Beds & mattresses
- Coffee tables
- Sideboards
- Mirrors
- Decorations
- Storage racks
- Shoe case
- Misc fittings

Kitchen Cabinet, Built-in Wardrobes - RM38,000
- Kitchen cabinet & island
- Built-in wardrobes for 3 rooms

Marble Countertop - RM10,000
- Marble slab inclusive of installation for main kitchen & island countertop

General Renovation - RM33,000
- Plaster ceiling
- Brick veneer feature wall
- Hacking existing kitchen tiling
- Installation of subway tiling in kitchen
- Installation of hot water piping, pump & heater
- Installation of bathroom mirrors
- Painting
- Wiring

Flooring - RM15,000
- Laminate flooring for main areas
- Vinyl flooring for kitchen

Curtains - RM7,000
- Main curtain with sheer layer for living, family area & 3 rooms

Lighting - RM8,000
- Eyeball lights as main lights
- Recessed downlights for porch, yard, toilets, etc
- Pendant lights

Smart Home System - RM3,000
- Google Home & compatible products
- Security cameras

M&E Fittings, Water Filters - RM6,000
- Kitchen sink & mixer
- Hot water mixers for bathrooms
- Water pump
- Water heater
- Water filter PoE & PoU

This post has been edited by justintga: Oct 1 2018, 03:37 PM

Had quite a number of things to attend to today including a wedding but decided to quickly drop by early in the morning at 8am to check on progress. Was extremely happy when I opened the main door and saw this:



Caught a glimpse of the living room pendant light installed!



Closer view ; looks bigger in real life (was using a wide-angle lens)



Living room wall painted dark grey



Continuation of dark grey living room wall up to the 2nd floor; really like the different shades of grey here

Months and months of planning finally starting to bear fruit! Hope to start laminate flooring installation sometime towards the end of next week!

This post has been edited by justintga: Sep 29 2018, 09:07 PM

Hey nice grey! Similar to my choice of color as well from jotun!

Am using Jotun paint too. Only using 4 colours in total for the whole interior of my house:

1. White
2. Pebblestone 1877 (dark grey)
3. Twilight 9904 (light grey)
4. Antique White 1016 (greyish beige)

The Pebblestone colour turned out perfect but the Twilight was a bit too light for our taste for some areas. Considering to change to a slightly darker (but still light) grey. Perhaps something like Bare 1391 but will have to decide soon. Examples below:



Upstairs living room wall painted with Twilight; here the light grey looks okay with the limited natural light (similar to the staircase picture from my previous post)



Here the right hand side wall of the study room has been painted with Twilight; there is a lot of natural light coming from the windows so the painted wall looks slightly washed out with minimal contrast with the surrounding white walls



The left hand side wall in the dining area / kitchen has also been painted with Twilight; a lot of natural light in this area so the light grey wall looks particularly pale

To repaint, or not to repaint. That is the question...

This post has been edited by justintga: Sep 30 2018, 01:34 PM

Hey almost the same choices as well. Havent decided on bare as it’s almost similar to existing white wall. But definitely pebble stone looks great.

option 4 - use vinyl for door swing section. This will be the cheapest option to go, just need to find vinyl that match with the laminate

pelmet should be minimally 6inch wide or else it will be too difficult for you to fit the curtain later

This post has been edited by ju146: Sep 30 2018, 09:15 PM

We have decided to just leave the paint as it is after viewing our house at night and live with the current shade of light grey.

Hi thanks for your suggestion. Will consider it when we have our final discussion with the installer tomorrow. Pelmets are at least 6 inches wide so should be no issues.

Progress updates:



T5 lighting and eyeball lights installed in the living area



2nd bedroom painted

Can't wait to actually start the laminate flooring installation tomorrow as I believe it will really change the look of the house!!!

This post has been edited by justintga: Oct 2 2018, 06:31 PM

Laminate flooring progress is going very well. Only Day 2 since they started and they are almost done! The laminate has been laid in all rooms and common areas and they are now working on the stairs and the skirting.

The laminate installation has really changed the look of the house and we are very happy that the colour we picked fits in very well with the grey and white Scandinavian theme of the house. We chose "Caloria Oak O125" from Robina.



A different view of the living room with laminate installed



Slight difference between the vinyl waterproof flooring for the kitchen on the left and the laminate flooring for the dining area on the right



Top floor landing with some of the skirting installed; we couldn't find a perfectly matching skirting for the laminate (as the laminate is from a new series) but the colours we picked for the laminate and skirting complement each other well. For reference, we picked "Almond" for the skirting.

The Robina salesman initially suggested a darker colour skirting and a shallower profile (70mm) but we are really happy we went for the lighter colour and higher profile (100mm). Suspect the flooring installation will be finished by tomorrow based on their current progress rates after which we will start installing air conds.



Have also just completed the installation of the centralised water heater which is installed in Bedroom 2 but also piped to the Master Bedroom.

This post has been edited by justintga: Oct 4 2018, 02:36 PM

3 days in and only one flight of stairs remaining for the laminate installation. Had some comments on the finishing in a few areas which they will touch up as well (mainly excess adhesive / sealant and misaligned / gaps in skirting for some small sections of the stairs).

One major issue was that they damaged the edge of the master bedroom door while trimming it to allow clearance for the 8mm laminate + profile. Have made an official complaint and they are looking into it now. Hope it gets resolved properly.



Laminate installation on first staircase



4 out of 5 air conds installed on Friday; one remaining in the master bedroom which needs relocation to be completed by Monday

Finalised the curtain measurements on Saturday and dropped by the Baagus HQ in Kepong to finalise our cloth selection.

The cabinet contractor will mobilise sometime this week. Moving in by the end of October looks increasingly unlikely due to the cabinet delay. Disappointing. Still need some time after the kitchen cabinets are completed to finish the marble countertop as well.

Disappointingly the cabinet contractor has yet to mobilise despite promising to start work last weekend. Their latest response is that they would start this weekend and only work on weekends and certain weekdays whenever they had a free slot. Very obvious that they are overloaded and unable to cope with the number of orders they have on hand. Looks like the earliest they will finish is mid November .

On a positive note, the laminate flooring installation is complete and we are fairly happy with the results. We had some comments on the finishing of the skirting in some sections but the installer came back on Monday to rectify everything to our satisfaction with exception of the damaged edge of the master bedroom door which has yet to be repaired. Hope this gets resolved soon.

The final air cond has been installed and the main contractor has been focusing on final touch-up works i.e. final coat of paint and making good the extra holes cut in the plaster ceiling.

And, pictures!:



Base coat and first coat of the cement render feature wall of the master bedroom; have asked my contractor to use a bigger trowel with "larger" strokes as the current trial pattern looks too "small"



Smart switches mostly installed; can't start proper configuration though until I get a proper internet connection



Only fan in the entire house installed in the 2nd living room; hope we don't regret this decision to go with mainly air conds...



Upstairs hallway

This post has been edited by justintga: Oct 18 2018, 12:16 AM

Have been talking a fair bit about the damaged master bedroom door by the laminate flooring installer so here is a picture:



This is after their first attempt at a repair; definitely unacceptable so I will speak to them again tomorrow morning

More areas have been touched-up so am including a few pictures to show the current progress below:



Completed touch-up works for the curtain pelmet and installation of chandelier and eyeball lights in the study room



Repositioned eyeball lights in living room after installation of air cond to "balance" placement of lights with the air cond, L-box and brick wall



Adjusted placement of switches to allow for space for placement for the pendant lights at intended positions above bedside tables in the second bedroom

This post has been edited by justintga: Oct 18 2018, 09:41 PM

what color is the led , is it the 4k ( natural yellow ) ?

btw we have the same design laminated floor it seems

i dont think u can fix that door.

that is not something u can use a wood filler to fill in and repaint back i think.

Most of my lights in the house are 3000K LED eyeball lights from Philips. Outside lighting i.e. porch, yard, balcony is 4000K. Don't have any cool white lighting (above 6000K) at all as we don't fancy white light at all

are you also an N'Dira owner? exactly same model no for the flooring?

This post has been edited by justintga: Oct 19 2018, 09:33 AM