Lowyat.NET: Latest topics by CPN

Reno suppliers

CPN — Thu, 26 Dec 2013 12:28:34 +0800

A big THANK YOU to all previous posters who had so kindly shared information on their renovation journey.

I'm not going to share photos of my done up house, only places of where i purchased my stuff. I think taste is very subjective but most of the folks would benefit greatly on where to buy a certain item, an alternative place or where to get a better deal. If anyone got a better deal, feel free to post your comments.

Sanitary/plumbing fittings
1. Grundfos pump - Builders H/W offered the best price so far
2. Sorento - I thought Builders were the cheapest, but I was wrong. I think they can give you a good deal only when you buy more than a certain amount/quantity. I wanted to buy extra 2 towel rails but was too freaking lazy to travel to Kepong. I went over to Living Depot in Puchong Utama, they offer straight 40% off on all Sorento items. When I got back and compared the price, Builders had charge me a few ringgit more.
3. Johnson Suisse - I went to 2 places, Builders HW Kepong and HanLim in PJ. Both can offer the same discount but I prefer Builders as they offer you the discount upfront. In HanLim, you have to find the old boss or his son to get the best price.
4. Grohe - If you buy Grohe packages (shower + tap), you pretty much get the same price everywhere that sells Grohe. However, I needed extra standalone mixers and taps and went over to Flowline in SS15 Subang, they offer 40% upfront discount on all Grohe fixtures. No extra discount on Grohe packages. The good thing about Flowline also is they sometimes have stock overrun items which has a massive discount like 70%.
5. Shower area stainless steel baskets - Flowline SS15 carries Inda brand and was (still is) having 50-70% off.
6. Bathtub - Bina Warehouse PJ

Kitchen
1. HCE kitchen tap - Builders Kepong
2. Kitchen Cabinets & sink - Unity Kitchen Puchong branch. I was lucky to have Erny serving me and as everyone says, price and aftersales service equally important. Suffice to say, I'm a satisfied customer.
3. Fotile hood and oven - Builders HW Kepong.
4. Teka induction - Home Raccoulta Puchong

Lights/Fans/Exhaust fans
Downlights/Spotlights - I was lucky that Phillips had a warehouse sales and I got everything there at 40% off. Rainbow Lighting which is opposite of Puteri Mart in Bandar Puteri Puchong can only offer 10-15% off on normal price items.
Chandelier/Fans - Houses Lightings in Bukit Puchong. Very good price. Comparing with Top Ten near Tesco Puchong, it's less chaotic and the Sales guys are more helpful and won't disappear on you.
Exhaust Fans - I bought KDK ones from Top Ten Puchong as Houses Lightings seems to have only Airegard.

Paint
I chose to use Dulux and GST Hardware has the best price so far. GST Hardware is opposite of Giant Bandar Puteri Puchong. They have mixers so they can even mix 1 Liter cans if you want only 1 Liter.

Tiles
I chose Niro tiles and if you compare price between Niro PJ and Niro Puchong, Puchong branch can offer you 30% off. PJ salesman a bit "high end" and didn't want to entertain me when I asked for a discount. In the end, I chose to buy all my Niro tiles from Seng Mee Tiles in PJ. I had some issue with tiles and Seng Mee's staff negotiated with Niro to let me exchange the unopen tiles for another model. Their price is a little better too. I wanted 1x2 tiles but they only had 2x2. They offered me 'tile cutting' service for free. Something Niro can't offer if you want the tiles to be cut in a few days time. If you go to a shop like Seng Mee, all the tile brands are there and you can do a comparison. I heard they can offer the best price for Guocera because they are the authorised dealer. If you choose Seng Mee, look for this lady Ah Quek, her serive & attitude brings shame to most of the people in the hotel/service industry.

Mattress & Divan
I bought MyLatex mattress from HomeStar puchonng. I paid additional rm500+ for a divan without headboard. Solid and no creaks/doesn't move around.

Alarm
I chose Blugard. Paid 2k for concealed wiring + alarm + installation.

Hope you guys benefit from my experience. To all who are renovating, all the best!!!

where to buy Schluter (or alternative) for tiles?

CPN — Thu, 18 Jul 2013 16:06:05 +0800

anyone knows where i can buy these metal strips?
I think it's called "Schluter", but not too sure.
Tried googling "Schluter" in Malaysia but can't get any info.

I attach photo for what I'm looking for.
If anyone got info where I can buy this, please share with me. Thank you!!

[attachmentid=3541405]

Need piling?

CPN — Fri, 31 May 2013 14:52:26 +0800

hi all sifus here,

I'm planning for double storey extension (extend kitchen + 1st floor). Contractors say no need piling. RC slab, column and footing at 4 sides are enough. I would like to hear other sifus opinion please before I commit. Please advice me. Thanks in advance for the advice.

Appointing ID firm vs Contractor - need advise

CPN — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 11:11:08 +0800

hi all,

my house is double storey terrace 18 * 65, i'm planning to do full extension 2 storey (back area) and also extend out the porch area. This is my first reno experience, so apologize in advance if I am asking noob questions.
I read through forum posts and also asked my friends on their renovation experience. The contractors either did shoddy work, didn't turn up during last stage of completion,have to personally monitor them few hours a day or contractor refusing to rectify mistakes. I can see that a lot of forummers also faced the same problems and also am not sure how reliable are those posts recommending good contractors.

My question:
1. Are ID firms more reliable comparing to contractor? Since mine is double storey extension, I don't mind spending a bit more $ to ensure that the finished job is safe and constructed properly.
2. Does ID firm charge base on percentage of total reno cost or fixed amount?

Thanks in advance to those who answer.

Avon (IT position)

CPN — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 14:47:54 +0800

Been called for an interview recently for a programmer position. The surprising thing is the interviewer told me that this position is for their "global IT" team, which means not under Malaysia management.

Anyone have any info on this? I thought Avon is a local cosmetics company....is their offer credible? Has anyone work as their global IT team before? How is their management like?

Appreciate comments/input from all forum members out there. Thanks.