Hello ... Jan 16 THIS YEAR

For most sinks it doesn't matter what is the make or size, a hole is a hole. I have never heard of charging extra based on the type of sink unless your sinks cost 20k or above.

I saw the guys cutting the holes for top mount and hob right at my house during renovation. It's not rocket science. Trust me there is not much polishing needed. Undermount is slightly trickier. Usually done in the factory with exact measurement of your sink.

This is more reasonable. Edge polishing shouldn't cost much and it shouldn't be much work if they are good at cutting the hole. Your first quote on edge polishing is bs

This post has been edited by blancpain4470: Feb 5 2020, 06:11 PM

This looks interesting. However at this price you can get Silestone or Caesarstone. They are better technically I'm terms of porosity. This one is 0.5 and Silestone is 0.05. That means water absorption (anti bacteria) and stain resistance the best of quartz still better. The marble look is interesting though

It all depends on you. I thought you were considering solid wood?? I would say in terms of resistance to moisture it would be solid wood, plywood, HDF, MDF and melamine in decreasing order. Price wise is obviously the other way.

Not many people go for solid wood because of price and harder to to make. Also it may crack as it is natural wood. Man made materials are far more consistent and even and easier to paint. If u can afford get the solid wood or ply wood. Although most people make do with melamine

Personally If I were you I would go solid wood for wet kitchen and HDF or plywood for dry. Wardrobes can be anything as long as good design because they are not close to water or moisture. But that's me.

In reality, HDF or plywood is probably good enough. You can save the money and spend on others. People that usually spend on solid wood are those that have huge budget where they don’t have to worry about trade off. If u can afford solid wood is the best.

Most of us mortals have to decide if the money should go to solid wood or better sinks, taps, lights, appliances etc. I was in that situation to decide if I want to demolish an entirely new melamine kitchen cabinet and build new ones. I decided to use it but changes most things (including to Silestone) except the carcass. I use the savings for others.

Renovation is expensive. If u were quoted 200k+ be prepared to spend 260k+

I was looking for a good carpenter to do my library, study and staircase shelves. Solid wood carpenters are a dying breed. The materials are expensive. One mistake the margin is gone. The smart ones open Signature Kitchen or Unity or independent plywood/melamine carpenters. This is where the money is.

The ones I dealt with are small carpenters. The price was reasonable but I really can't stand their poor response, "tidak apa" attitude. Delivery is always questionable.

There is one where I went to his shop far from my house. Agreed on the work. Wanted to bank in half as deposit. Asking for design and start work. Called and WhatsApp and never responded. These are the people you usually deal with.

May be with your 200k budget u can get better attention as money talks. To be honest 200k for cabinetry is very high-end. I spent 200k to fix my entire new house! But then I sourced everything myself and contractors do the work

Good luck and let me know if you find a good one. I am still looking but now considering plywood.

You are playing in a different league. Only thing I can say is Feruni is only ok. I prefer MML or Niro. Should go with marble 800x800mm for living

How big is your sink that warrant such concern? My granite sink was more than 800mm long and I still pay for that "gap" or hole. I am sure you can ask that piece of quartz back if you want but nobody does that.

Of course concrete plus tiles will be cheaper. You save on cabinet cost and tiles are definitely cheaper than quartz top. However, while tiles are tough quartz are tougher. In addition tiles now may come 2x2 and 4x2 so u will likely see grout lines. Some people may not like it.

Concrete will last forever but workmanship is important.

600x600 are decent priced now. If you want there are 4'x2' but those are more expensive. There are some really nice designs now including white with patterns. Pure white is classic nice but may be a bit boring? This is very individual though.

Get a good technical porcelain tiles. Best grade as they are more uniform and consistent. Otherwise your tiler kung Fu has to be good.

I think you need to have wider gap between your sink area and hob area to facilitate the movement to the door. From the diagram it looks small. Do not max counter space and sacrifice movement (or risk injury knocking against the counter).

As far as counter surfaces people nowadays don’t usually go for solid surfaces unless you want cheap. Solid surface is not as “hard” and it will sustain scratches. When you are talking about quartz, you are talking about quartz composite? Quartz composite can have quartz content from 65% to 95% (or higher). Lower quality cheap China imports may have lower quartz content and hence less durable. But quartz content is one factor, the other factors are the bonding resin and if anti bacterial materials is incorporated. You are not going to get much info on how good the bonding resin other than it is reflected in the price. Products such as Silestone or Caesarstone are two examples of high quality brands with published specs.

Not many people use natural stones such as marbles, quartz, etc. as counter surface. They are natural stones and hence more beautiful but maintenance is a bitch. But that’s an option.

As far as floor tiles are concerned, technical porcelain is the type you should use for kitchen floor. Ceramic tiles are just not good enough for high traffic/high use area such as kitchen. Wall tiles you can choose any type or design that you like but not floor tiles.

Lol. I can be the spokesperson for Silestone. Both my houses are using Silestone for wet and dry kitchen and laundry area. 😁

Cheap China quartz will have lower quartz content and thus will likely more susceptible to stains and scratches. I have not seen any scratch on my Silestone despite years of usage. High quality countertop you can prepare food directly on the surface (if you desire) due to well sealed surface and anti bacterial properties.

Another option is 2x2 or 2x4 porcelain tiles as counter materials. They are much cheaper if you don’t mind grout lines between tiles. Porcelain tiles are super tough too.

As per technical porcelain tiles. These are the “best” porcelain tiles in terms of temperature, moisture, stain, chemical resistance, impact tolerance. They are more dense and thus are very tough. You should use them in high traffic and or high moisture areas. Of course they are more expensive too!

Not advisable especially if you are using wood or melamine carcass. Ripping another quartz surface off the counter will likely damage the carcass.

One option is to go with any wood or melamine surface and replace it later with Silestone or similar when you have the budget. But normally people will just decide to go with cheaper China quartz and live with that. You just have to be more careful to prevent mild acid or super hot pots directly on the surface.

Go and look at some new porcelain tile designs. Some look like marble with beautiful grains! That’s for countertop. If u need only 48”. They have now 2x4 size which is perfect for you.

For kitchen floors, try to go for easy maintenance gray or dark gray colors. A Niro 2x2 when I bought it last year was about RM21.5 per piece for my backyard of 300 plus sqft. Niro technical porcelain is one of the best. MML is good too but expensive. Guocera, White Horse others depending on the product ranges.

This post has been edited by blancpain4470: Jan 6 2021, 06:19 PM