Home on Mondays: Condo Kitchen Renovation

One lesson I learned through the years of home ownership is to get your place readied before you move in. Our first home was a condo unit. We weren't able to ready it before we moved in because we already extended our rental. We had to cross out our rental expense because we had a mortgage to pay. So we moved in with just a fridge, haha.

It was hard because it was Christmas so all our orders for furniture were delayed. We slept on the floor for a long time. Our clothes were in boxes and it was a huge mess (yes, we made the same  mistake again). Eventually we got our furniture, but it took a long time to get everything organized. 

The old look. 

Since we realized we should have added built in cabinets in the bathrooms. The kitchen was useful, but we didn't have enough space to place our kitchen appliances. Our fridge was too big and the electric stove and oven took a gazillion years to heat up. The cabinet doors in the bedroom ate too much space. Our large bookshelf was an eyesore because it looked so cluttered. We knew it was time to upgrade.

Finally after 10 yeaars we had the unit updated. We removed everything in the unit. Got help from the Squeaky.ph angels to pack everything. We moved it to our new home. Thought I'd start with what we did to the kitchen. Here's how it looked before move in -

Just after we moved in -

The messy lived in kitchen just before we left -

Here's what we changed:

Electric range to induction stove but kept the rangehood exhaust

Oven to built in electric oven

Side by side fridge to a normal 2-door fridge

Small sink changed to a larger sink

Added a side pantry cabinet

Weird purple countertop changed to off-white

Cabinets were spruced up too (finally removed the plastic on the handles hahaha)

Our shiny new kitchen after the changes :)

Now I want to move back, haha. 

Renovation was made by Alab Design & Construction (website and FB). Thank you Alab team, Arch Wansi, May, Mang Jo, Tukoy, Allan, Alvin and Kuya Gary!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Home on Mondays: Practical Kitchen Add Ons

Renovations have resumed today. We're targeting to finish all indoor fixes by month end. I suspended unboxing the kitchen stuff today since the backsplash was partly installed. I took advantage of the opportunity to renovate the kitchen. I drew a plan on where I wanted to place everything. Here are some practical add ons I requested -

Cooking Utensil Drawer

My goal is to rid of clutter. Seeing all the cooking utensils crammed beside the stove is an eyesore. Saw the idea to put them in a drawer from Pinterest so that's what we did. I already had two Ikea utensil holders and we just re-used it. There are three slots for it, I just need to buy one more. I also started to decant some of my frequently used ingredients (oil, soy sauce and vinegar). Found the container* at Landers. The container was perfect since the liquid doesn't drip down after you pour.

Baking Pan Cabinet

Apparently I have quite a collection of baking pans (lol). I had pans here and in Singapore and it got quite gnarly to pull out what I needed when we stacked it inside a cabinet. Again saw a good solution on Pinterest and I'm glad the manongs indulged me. I excitedly put them in the other day when I finally got them out of the box. I can't wait to start baking again!

Graphicote Backsplash

The original tiles that came with the house looked okay, but they eventually started to stain. I couldn't get the stain out and Architect Wansi suggested to just change it. They gave me several options and I chose Graphicote since it's easier to clean and requires lower maintenance. The last apartment we stayed at in Singapore used Graphicote as backsplash and I never had any issues just wiping it. The supplier only installed half since the factory made a mistake with the size of the other side. 

Dish Drawers

Always wanted to have a dish drain cabinet like what we had in Singapore. Ideally though the cabinet should be on top of the sink. Since dishes can be quite heavy, I relented and agreed to place it as a drawer. It's where we keep frequently used dishes now after they dry. I still need to figure out how to dry dishes without it being an eyesore. I'm unable to visualize it for now since I'm still washing everything that's coming out of boxes. 

Spice Rack Drawer

I had two spice racks in the old kitchen. Retained one in the main kitchen and had the other one moved to our service kitchen. Just make sure not to install a spice rack beside an oven. I had some spices that became unusable because they hardened (whoops!). I'll use the one in the service kitchen for something else. 

Water Dispenser Cabinet

Putting the water dispenser in a cabinet was Arch. Wansi's idea. He said it was an eyesore to have the water dispenser out in the open. We agreed and now it has it's own house. We just need to have the plug repaired because the original electrician removed the ground in the plug (galeng noh?). Mang Jo will repair it soon so we can plug it again. 

You could see from the backsplash photo that the counter is currently a huge mess. I'm still figuring out how to properly store things and I'm also working on retiring items I don't need anymore. It's going to take awhile before I finish fixing the kitchen. 

*Masflex container, around PhP229+ if I remember correctly (it was on sale after Christmas)

**Ikea utensil holder, currently selling at PhP300 at Ikea. It was just half the price when I bought it a few years ago in SG. You can also buy a matching black bottom for it, can't find it though in the website.

Home on Mondays: How We Dealt with Broken Tiles

The saga of our home woes continue. About four months after we moved in, we noticed the kitchen tiles in front of the sink started to become loose. Few days later it broke. We immediately reported it since the house was still under warranty. Took a bit of time before it was inspected. 

We were told that it needed to be replaced. Few weeks passed and we were informed that the tiles were no longer available. The extra ones we had were already used to replace other tiles across the house. Months passed, no action was taken. We avoided stepping on the broken tile, but it was hard because it's right in front of the kitchen sink. Eventually, the tiles beside it loosened up and started to break. 

More than half a year passed and no action was taken by the contractor. They had promised to fix it, but nothing happened. The rest of the kitchen also started to deteriorate (termites + ceiling leak + electrical issues). For our safety we decided to get an architectural firm to help us. We eventually decided to renovate the kitchen because we didn't know if the stench was coming from the drain, the tile or elsewhere. 

Since the tile wasn't available anymore, we decided to re-tile. The foreman removed the broken tile to figure out what was wrong, plus it was unsafe to walk on. The plan was to save the tiles that will be removed so it can be used to fix other areas. Manong Efren and Kuya Gary carefully removed the tiles. They gave feedback that the tiles were not installed correctly that's why they loosened up. 

We thought the floor issue was just in the kitchen, but the tiles bordering the dining room also started popping up. The strange thing is the tiles by the front door also went up by itself. We couldn't open the front door after that. The workers also showed us that the tiles were curved already. The quality was really bad. 

Architect, the foreman and the project manager all breathed a sign of relief when we told them that we'll just change the flooring. The process to try to save the tiles was going to be harder, plus the tiles in the basement also started to pop up too. The tiles are also slippery and you could trip from the ones that popped up. Sadly, we'll likely have to re-tile also our basement since the tiles are progressively loosening up. 

The kitchen tiles have been replaced now, thanks to Mang Efren, Kuya Gary and Foreman Tukoy. The tiles architect chose are perfect for the kitchen since it's not slippery. It should also hopefully be easy to clean. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Home on Mondays: New Kitchen is Almost Done!

I stayed away from the kitchen when it was being renovated. They also covered it up while working on it, so I only saw updates through the photos Sweetie would send. Everyday Sweetie would have a timelapse of the work. It was fascinating to watch it being torn down, seeing the huge damage made by the termites and then seeing a new kitchen being built from ground up. 

Here's a before and after photo:

We're not done yet. There's a hole in the ceiling because the roof and electrical installation needs to be fixed. The top of the cabinets will be boarded up when the roof is fixed. I went through the cabinets and drawers and there are a few things that need to be tweaked to fit my needs. And, just confirmed our choice for the backsplash.

I'm really happy about our kitchen now. The remnants of what it went through is gone now. The team captured my needs and what I wanted. We chose to use wood laminate to make the look more timeless. White and grey squiggly lines countertop to make it look clean. And matte grey tiles for the floor (glad it's no longer slippery). 

The appliances are the same. Architect Wansi and his team decided to switch the refrigerator and pantry. The stove was moved closer to the sink. The ugly part of the exhaust is also now covered (no more eyesore!). The counter is also a bit longer now. If you notice though, the oven is gone! 

View from the other end.

Really grateful to Architect Wansi Oliveros and the whole Alab team for our beautiful kitchen. Thankful to Ms. Myna for introducing Architect Wansi to us. I'm excited to finish the priority works we've identified so we can have a beautiful and happy (and hopefully de-cluttered) Christmas!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Home on Mondays: We Ripped Up Our Kitchen

Our kitchen had a lot of issues from top to bottom. Floor tiles started breaking, then we discovered the termites, then the ceiling started leaking in several areas. The leak also affected the lights and the kitchen became too dark to do any cooking. The cabinets and drawers also smelled bad even though we kept it clean. We also couldn't remove stains on the countertop.

It was supposed to be a brand new kitchen when we bought the house. Damages were due to poor workmanship and bad materials. A friend who's a contractor advised me a few months ago to just do some touch-ups since things were still new. We decided to renovate after we found issues in the electrical installation and the damage from the termites. 

It took just two days for everything in the kitchen to be removed. The first thing the crew checked were the broken tiles. They told us that the tiles were not properly installed that's why they kept getting dislodged*. Unfortunately the same tiles are no longer available, so we decided to change the tiles (the tiles are slippery too). 

3 tiles adjacent to it are also broken.
There are other tiles across the house with the same issue.

When the cabinets were removed the workers commented that the material used was just like paper. They said it'll disintegrate once it gets wet. The plywood used for the countertops were not also treated. The cabinets that were removed and moved out soon developed orange mold (Aspergillosis). Imagine if that happened while it was still installed. 

I always thought the bad smell from the cabinets and drawers were due to bad drainage**. Partly it was due to that, but the bigger culprit was the area that the termites infested. We couldn't see it because it was behind the cabinet. It was a really bad infestation and the pest control company said it probably started before we moved in. 

The electrician warned us not to use the lights after heavy rainfall directed the leak to pass through the bulbs. We had been complaining about the leaks for many months, but it was always just a band-aid solution the former contractor did. Electrician also found other issues which is hazardous for us. 

I'm glad we decided to renovate the kitchen. I was getting sick also from the smell whenever I got a whiff of it. It is expensive to renovate, but the family's safety is our priority. All we wanted was to have a new home where we could build new happy memories. The journey though has been riddled with issues that could have been avoided. 

*This is a problem we're encountering across the house.

**Plumber did confirm that p-traps were not installed across the house.

#BeKind #StaySafe