shatter-proof
felt-lined
tinted
weather-sealed
design : lourvre, sliding, casement
Showing posts with label window. Show all posts
Showing posts with label window. Show all posts
Toilet & Bathroom Windows
After several no-shows, the window contractor finally showed up this morning, Fri 14-Mar 08, to replace the windows in the toilet and bathroom.
Last Fri 7-Mar the ID and I went to a mirror & frame-maker at Kelantan Road to cut a hole in each of 2 pre-cut windows panes that the ID had brought with him.
BEFORE: Old iron windows in toilet and bathroom:
I was puzzled when I saw the two glass panes, both approximately of the same size, when the glass for the bathroom window should be much larger than the glass for the toilet window.
The frame-maker took a look at the panes, and immediately growled, "Laminated glass!#!!## This is gonna cost you."
He charged us $40 to cut the 2 holes which was settled by the ID, though I had made an attempt to pay the glass cutter. The ID said it would be absorbed into the window cost! Normal price for cutting similar holes ranges from $7 to $15 per pane.
AFTER: New windows installed:
HDB's approval for the toilet top hung casement windows required the contractor to use laminated safety glass, otherwise I would have used normal frosted glass which is easier, and thus cheaper, to cut.
When the fabricator realized the window pane for the bathroom window was incorrect, he redid the window pane. As a result, what was installed in the bathroom was a larger window pane without the cut hole for the ventilation fan. The ID will get the pane cut later.
Last Fri 7-Mar the ID and I went to a mirror & frame-maker at Kelantan Road to cut a hole in each of 2 pre-cut windows panes that the ID had brought with him.
BEFORE: Old iron windows in toilet and bathroom:
I was puzzled when I saw the two glass panes, both approximately of the same size, when the glass for the bathroom window should be much larger than the glass for the toilet window.
The frame-maker took a look at the panes, and immediately growled, "Laminated glass!#!!## This is gonna cost you."
He charged us $40 to cut the 2 holes which was settled by the ID, though I had made an attempt to pay the glass cutter. The ID said it would be absorbed into the window cost! Normal price for cutting similar holes ranges from $7 to $15 per pane.
AFTER: New windows installed:
HDB's approval for the toilet top hung casement windows required the contractor to use laminated safety glass, otherwise I would have used normal frosted glass which is easier, and thus cheaper, to cut.
When the fabricator realized the window pane for the bathroom window was incorrect, he redid the window pane. As a result, what was installed in the bathroom was a larger window pane without the cut hole for the ventilation fan. The ID will get the pane cut later.
Workmanship - Windows
If you intend to replace the windows in your bathroom and kitchen, you should do the replacement before you tile the wall in the toilet, shower or kitchen. Removal of the old window damages the wall around the window frame, hence the windows should be replaced before tiling the affected wall.
In my case we could not do that. The ID's regular window fabricator had already closed for the Lunar New Year's holidays in mid-Jan 08 when I signed the renovation contract on 14-Jan-08.
Sure, my ID could have gotten another windows fabricator. But he preferred using the regular fabricator because it did excellent work at a reasonable price.
Besides, I had wanted the windows in the toilet and bathroom changed to top-hung casement type, with ventilation fans installed. Given the fabricator's long experience in the industry, the ID was confident his regular fabricator would be able to get HDB's approval for the replacement. I grudgingly conceded.
Hence instead of the targeted completion date before LNY, completion has been delayed to this Sat, 22-Mar-08!
Work at my flat had practically stopped during the LNY holidays. Rather than wait for work to resume after LNY, I decided to call a paint contractor to plaster and paint the flat (refer to post dated Feb 11, 2008 - Nice Paint Job).
Close-ups of the good material quality:
Felt was used to give an excellent seal against dust and air draft:
As you can see from the photos, the quality of workmanship is very good: windows open easily and firmly and don't wobble or fit unevenly like those I saw in some flats.
More importantly, the rubber seal and felt around the window's edge both act in unison to effectively stop fine dust and smell from entering the flat interior.
Smell? Yes, before the windows were replaced we would sometimes get a stale smell wafting into the flat from the ageing Tek Kah market below, despite shutting the windows.
Now, we do not detect any smell with the new windows shut. We also notice the floor needs less frequent mopping than before. Tek Kah market is scheduled for a total makeover and upgrading, and hopefully should not smell at all in the future after the total cleanup.
Click link for Workmanship Series.
In my case we could not do that. The ID's regular window fabricator had already closed for the Lunar New Year's holidays in mid-Jan 08 when I signed the renovation contract on 14-Jan-08.
Sure, my ID could have gotten another windows fabricator. But he preferred using the regular fabricator because it did excellent work at a reasonable price.
Hence instead of the targeted completion date before LNY, completion has been delayed to this Sat, 22-Mar-08!
Work at my flat had practically stopped during the LNY holidays. Rather than wait for work to resume after LNY, I decided to call a paint contractor to plaster and paint the flat (refer to post dated Feb 11, 2008 - Nice Paint Job).
Close-ups of the good material quality:
Felt was used to give an excellent seal against dust and air draft:
As you can see from the photos, the quality of workmanship is very good: windows open easily and firmly and don't wobble or fit unevenly like those I saw in some flats.
Smell? Yes, before the windows were replaced we would sometimes get a stale smell wafting into the flat from the ageing Tek Kah market below, despite shutting the windows.
Now, we do not detect any smell with the new windows shut. We also notice the floor needs less frequent mopping than before. Tek Kah market is scheduled for a total makeover and upgrading, and hopefully should not smell at all in the future after the total cleanup.
Click link for Workmanship Series.
Workmanship - Floor and Walls
QUOTE
Good design cannot hide poor and slipshod workmanship. On the contrary, good workmanship will make a simple design truly outstanding.
UNQUOTE
Give me good workmanship over design any time, as I cannot tolerate poor quality of work.
It was indeed fortunate my ID has access to a pool of really skillful workers and tradesmen. I heaved a sigh of relief when the tilers
commenced their work. Despite having visited two project job sites and seen for myself the quality of work done, I still harbored some apprehension the workers assigned for my job may be a different group, one with not much experience perhaps.
ID ScrapBook
My fears were quickly laid to rest.
For the minute the tilers started their work, it was immediately apparent to me these workers, under Mr Yeau the team leader, took pride in their work. They wielded sharp knives to cut the tiles, taking
much time to measure and check lines are straight and level before they do the tiling. I also learnt the team allowed only experienced workers to do the tiling. There was a young man who had joined the team early in the year. And he was still learning on-the-job. His duties were to carry the tiles, soak them in water, clean the floor. And other menial jobs. But not do the tiling nor the measurement!
You can imagine my respect for these people shot up several notches! Had they not told me their training method I certainly would not have known. They could simply have allowed the trainee to tile the floor, and get on with the job in a slip-shod manner. But they did not, kudos to their professionalism and sense of pride in their work.
During the preparatory stage I learnt that my flat had several inherent defects: walls not straight, some in fact slanted at an angle, corner edges of walls did not square truly, requiring plastering to be carried out, and uneven floor level!
The following photos showed the good workmanship and professionalism of the tilers:
Beautifully tiled wall, with straight vertical edging, clean lines, and thin grouting:
Clean and not jagged abutment of the tile with the wood frame:
Even the tile behind the pipe was beautifully placed:
Cleanly cut hole for unhindered water flow in toilet floor. Also, notice the red thin plastic strip sticking out near the bottom between the tiles? That's how meticulous the tiler was to ensure thin and even grouting!
Very clean and neat tiling on the kitchen wall. See the thin strip of tile carefully and cleanly cut to fit nicely with the door frame?
Excellent joint-work where the living room granite floor meets the kitchen homogeneous tiles. The granite was rounded to remove sharp edges:
Even the cement slab for the kitchen cabinet was neatly tiled:
Graceful touch to granite flooring with additional piece to outside floor:
Living room granite floor before acid wash:
23-April-2010 - Re: Comment Box
Our apologies to Kenny for being unable to respond via the Comment Box. Seems Blogger is broken, as other bloggers have trouble with Comments on their blogs too.
We've put up an Announcement on the problem.
Meanwhile, Kenny, we have corrected the problem of the missing photos. The links to Imageshack, originally hosting our earlier renovation photos, don't seem to work.
We have now shifted the affected photos to Picasaweb.
Hope you enjoy the photos, Kenny!
Good design cannot hide poor and slipshod workmanship. On the contrary, good workmanship will make a simple design truly outstanding.
UNQUOTE
Give me good workmanship over design any time, as I cannot tolerate poor quality of work.
It was indeed fortunate my ID has access to a pool of really skillful workers and tradesmen. I heaved a sigh of relief when the tilers
ID ScrapBook
My fears were quickly laid to rest.
For the minute the tilers started their work, it was immediately apparent to me these workers, under Mr Yeau the team leader, took pride in their work. They wielded sharp knives to cut the tiles, taking
You can imagine my respect for these people shot up several notches! Had they not told me their training method I certainly would not have known. They could simply have allowed the trainee to tile the floor, and get on with the job in a slip-shod manner. But they did not, kudos to their professionalism and sense of pride in their work.
During the preparatory stage I learnt that my flat had several inherent defects: walls not straight, some in fact slanted at an angle, corner edges of walls did not square truly, requiring plastering to be carried out, and uneven floor level!
The following photos showed the good workmanship and professionalism of the tilers:
Beautifully tiled wall, with straight vertical edging, clean lines, and thin grouting:
Clean and not jagged abutment of the tile with the wood frame:
Even the tile behind the pipe was beautifully placed:
Cleanly cut hole for unhindered water flow in toilet floor. Also, notice the red thin plastic strip sticking out near the bottom between the tiles? That's how meticulous the tiler was to ensure thin and even grouting!
Very clean and neat tiling on the kitchen wall. See the thin strip of tile carefully and cleanly cut to fit nicely with the door frame?
Excellent joint-work where the living room granite floor meets the kitchen homogeneous tiles. The granite was rounded to remove sharp edges:
Even the cement slab for the kitchen cabinet was neatly tiled:
Graceful touch to granite flooring with additional piece to outside floor:
Living room granite floor before acid wash:
23-April-2010 - Re: Comment Box
Our apologies to Kenny for being unable to respond via the Comment Box. Seems Blogger is broken, as other bloggers have trouble with Comments on their blogs too.
We've put up an Announcement on the problem.
Meanwhile, Kenny, we have corrected the problem of the missing photos. The links to Imageshack, originally hosting our earlier renovation photos, don't seem to work.
We have now shifted the affected photos to Picasaweb.
Hope you enjoy the photos, Kenny!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
