Complain When You Need To

I see a lot of posts of homeowners on Home Buddies who ask if their contractor did the right thing. Oftentimes it's about tile work, stairs, windows, roof, walls etc. Most of those who comment say the work is unacceptable and should be fixed. I guess people ask because most of us are first time homeowners. It is indeed rare to go through building a house more than once (unless you're very rich!). 

Our supposedly simple renovations dragged on. We were told that the work would finish in just two weeks. It's been two months now and it's supposed to finally finish today. Well, it was supposed to be finished in early May. We found a couple of issues with the work mostly because the last set of workers hurriedly finished their task. 

We waited a few weeks before we allowed them to come. We had to get well and have the house disinfected even though the virus likely came from their group. The good thing about our contractor is they do back jobs if there are issues. Oftentimes though we had to wait since they quickly move on to other projects. 

Looks fine, but there were issues with the drawer and floor. 

The project would have finished in two weeks if they provided materials on time and if they did the work properly the first time. There are many horror stories with bad contractors. We've so far stuck it out with this one since they do get the job done with supervision. I think that's required anyway for any work that you have done. Among all the work they did for us the best one is the plumbing and the garden work. It was outsourced to another company (haha). 

I know a lot of us tend not to complain when you have work done. I learned to give proper feedback and complain after working for an international company for 15 years, haha. I don't bottle things inside anymore especially when I pay for it. Demand the worth of your hard earned money. Just a few more tweaks and we should be done.

#BeKind #StaySafe

 

What to Do With a Basement

My childhood home has a basement. Mom said it wasn't part of the original plan to have one. Tito Bert, the architect of our house, said that it was cheaper to put up walls than to cover it. Basements were also common during the era that our house was built (over 50 years ago). 

The basement was put to good use. We had several sets of relatives who lived with us. Miggy and I moved to the basement also and lived there for a few years. I had the opportunity then to fix it up a bit and it became my part of the house where I would entertain my guests since it had it's own living room. We stayed there until Miggy and I moved out to live with Sweetie. 

Basement birthday celebration, c 2008

The area was spacious. It's even bigger than some apartments we lived in. It was not without issues though since it would flood whenever the weather gets bad. Water either comes in from the toilet or when the creek overflows. I almost drowned during Typhoon Ondoy and was just rescued when the water suddenly gushed in. 

I'm now thinking about what to do with the basement. I've been consulting with Architect Wansi for a few years now to figure out how best to solve the flooding issue. He brought several engineers to look at it and the solution is for a house to be built on the property behind us. The house would effectively block the water from rushing down to the basement. 

c2008

Without a house though, the only solution is to build a firewall and properly waterproof it. We don't want to experience flooding again though, so we're really thinking about how best to use or not use the basement. Probably better to just leave it open and just have "abangs" for any future development. 

What would you do if you have a basement that's prone to flooding? 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Home on Mondays: Transformed a Bathroom to a Powder Room

Hope you all had an amazing Easter! We just stayed home for some peace and quiet. We spent some time reflecting and focused on exploring new things in the kitchen. We still have a long way to go before our home is truly organized, but I finally got to enjoy my craft room again. I spent the past week unboxing (again) and vacating my makeshift craft corner in our bedroom. I c

I could have used my craft room sooner, but I gave in to my wish to makeover the bathroom. Yes, the craft room has it's own bathroom. Our home has more bathrooms than bedrooms (seriously). The craft room bathroom though felt very awkward. 

Old bathroom fixtures looked like they were leftovers from another project IMHO.

When you open the door it closes off the shower area. You also have to close the door so you could use the sink without bumping into the door. The sink was too big and it made the toilet area cramped. I got bruises from the sink whenever I used the toilet (I have flat feet so I don't have good balance). The faucet was also not appropriate for the sink. Water would spill over and I had to install an extender for water to flow into the sink. The bathroom also made me feel like I was in a cave since the theme was very morose. I'm also not fond of round bathroom sinks since it's harder to clean. 

This is what I had changed for this indulgence (for my sanity):

Changed the door to a barn door (the original door made me feel like I'm in a hospital)

Removed the shower area to open up the space

Removed the sink and it's cabinet, moved it to the shower area. Also replaced the sink and faucet. We re-used the sink from the master's bathroom (the other one went to the family room bathroom).

Built a mirror cabinet

Installed shelves

Added an accent wall, originally planned to use tiles but since I couldn't find the one I wanted, I decided to try limewash paint

Repainted the other walls to white

Kept the toilet bowl, but had a bidet installed

Changed the lights

Re-tiled the floor

Removed the tissue holder because it kept nipping me

Drainage was also fixed since there was some water dripping from somewhere

Progress photos:

Small space = severely cramped bathroom

Pipes, drain and electrical re-work

Walls made smooth. You can gauge from the small ladder that the space is small. 

Primer

Cabinet installation

First attempt at limewash. It didn't look like limewash :')

Kuya Roel's limewash version before adding sealer.

Final look. Resort feelz.

A friend's gift broke the overwhelming "salmoness".

I just realized I didn't take any photos of the old bathroom except the one with the Hello Kitty rugs. It was a feeble attempt to make it look a bit happier, haha. I even installed a pink shower curtain, but the area just always felt heavy. The renovation was done in March, but I wasn't satisfied with the paint job. The things I flagged were finally tweaked last week. 

The limewash turned too "salmonee" because of the sealer. It was lighter before they added the sealer. I guess sealer is like varnish when you add it on paint. I decided to keep it as is since I could probably change it to another color in a few years. A friend gave me a nice poster which Sweetie installed for me last weekend. It was perfect for the wall and made the wall look less overwhelming. 

I'm happy about the makeover. It was a good decision to downgrade the bathroom to a powder room. I am able to move around freely and I have more storage. It's also easier to clean since the floor area is more open. The gloomy cave-like atmosphere is also gone, now replaced with a refreshing vibe. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Home on Mondays: Condo Renovation Tips

The best time to customize your condo unit is before you move in. We were first time home owners when we received our unit and we thought what came with the unit was enough for us. Well, we didn't really know what we wanted and just used bandaid solutions through the years. It made living in our unit a bit harder. 

We finally got around to renovating our unit after 10 years! It took so long because we lived in Singapore for awhile and contractors required the unit to be empty. Eventually got around to emptying it and by that time we had a good idea what we wanted to do.

Here are some tips for those intending to renovate or customize your unit:

1. Make a list of all the issues you want to be resolved, i.e. sink is too small, need more storage in the bathroom. Do this by room. We used this list to pick the brains of our architect for solutions to our problems, i.e. resolve heat issue in living room.
2. Have a general idea for a color scheme or theme that your architect can work on. We're not very visual people, so we ended up describing to our architect that we wanted the unit to feel like a vacation home. 
3. Have a budget and stick to it. Keep track of all payments and receipts. 
4. It's good to know a bit about construction materials so you can tell your architect/contractor if you have preferred materials. Add'l tip: don't use flat latex, always go at least for semi-gloss. 
5. Research! There's so much info you can find on practical design ideas on Pinterest which can be useful for you. It also helps to read and watch videos on home makeovers. 
6. Make a detailed list of what you agree to work on. Use this as a check-list and it is best to use the unit after the renovation so you can make sure it's livable. Your condo property management office will also probably send their engineer to check on the unit. We had some items fixed post-renovation, i.e. had to add holes in the oven cabinet and some electrical work had to be fixed. Also had to have some things tweaked and covered post-renovation. 
7. Make sure everything works, sockets, plumbing (no leaks!), any built-in items like your stove and oven. We had to have the aircon frame done again because they locked in the aircon unit and the cleaners had to destroy the frame to get it out. It was replaced with a velcro frame. 
8. Replace appliances/gadgets and furniture only if necessary. 
9. Salvage any materials if still useful.
10. Your contractor will probably do some cleaning, but it would be better to get professional cleaners to do a post-construction cleaning.

I covered in separate blog posts everything we had fixed in our condo unit. Here's a list in case you want to check out how we went about it:

• 
  Living Room
• Kitchen 
• Bedroom 1 & 2
• Common Bathroom
• Master's Bedroom
• Master's Bathroom

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Home on Mondays: Condo Masters Bathroom Makeover

One of the things I struggled with while living in a condo unit was the lack of storage in the bathroom. We were only able to add a rod for the shower curtain, towel holder and a shower caddy. We used makeshift cabinets to store extra toiletries. The toilet paper pack was perennially under the sick. The only nice thing we had was the laundry hamper which we got from Ikea. It looked messy even with the containers we used. 

I shared all my frustration to Arch. Wansi when we planned to renovate the unit. We originally only planned to add cabinets and keep the countertop. I really disliked the purple/magenta specked countertop. Through the years it started to fade and I disliked it even more. It came with the unit and I don't know why DMCI went for that ugly color. Anyway, since we were already renovating we decided to have it changed. We realized the new cabinets and mirrors wouldn't have looked good with the odd looking countertop*.

Here's what we changed in the masters bathroom:

Mirrors were lengthened to cover the wall end-to-end and added storage space behind it

Added lights under and on top of the mirror and changed the ceiling light

Changed the countertop

Kept the sink but changed the faucet

Added storage under the sink

Used dove gray paint for the cabinets

Re-painted the walls

Replaced the exhaust with a new one (the original one died after 8 years)

Original Bhagwan water heater still surprisingly working. We only changed the shower head last year. 

We were really happy with the makeover. We realized though we didn't allot any space for the laundry hamper. Managed to squeeze in a small one beside the trash can. Maybe next time we'll get a smaller one so it can go under the sink. 

*The countertop was really sturdy and is now probably installed in a new home. 

Creative Happy Tuesdays: Using Design Pegs for Your Home

I must admit, I'm not the best when it comes to design. I was stumped when Architect Wansi asked if we had an idea on what we wanted. Our response was a big, "Errrr". I turned to a friend for help and she gave me several ideas on where to get inspiration. Here's a list of what we looked at (it's also what I use when I look for inspiration for my quilt projects) -

1. Pinterest

I've been using Pinterest mainly for my craft projects. I was surprised to see a lot of home related pins too. Checked general pins first and then funneled it down to what interested us. 

2. Instagram 

When I started searching for home designs on Pinterest, of course, Instagram started showing stores selling furniture and furnishings. That's how I discovered limewash paint and turf grass.

Super cute girly bathroom for my craft room.

3. Netflix

Yup, there are a lot of shows you can watch on Netflix about home design/renovation/decluttering. There's Dream Home Makeover and Home Edit. We also like watching Tiny House Nation. Watched a few Marie Kondo episodes, but I'm not really fond of reading subtitles while watching (except for CLOY, lol). 

4. YouTube

There's a gazillion home renovations vids on YouTube. We used it mainly to understand what goes in your house since we're first time house owners. We usually watch Architect Oliver Austria, Architect Ed, Slater Young and we got ideas also from Mikey Bustos. There are a lot of local houses/rest houses featured on OG and Presello. We also watch foreign ones to understand concepts. That really helped us communicate better with Architect Wansi. 

5. Vacation photos and former homes we stayed at

Yes, vacation photos. We take photos of places we really like. Our bedroom's new look was inspired from our last vacation in Bohol. I think everyone can agree that your home should address your functional needs and make you feel good and happy. 

Old Fairmont Hotel in SG (c2015). The room was huge!

And, of course, there's Google for all the other questions you may have. We gathered up all our "wants" and collated it in a Google Photos album. It served as our peg board. 

We eventually ended up planning our rooms based on our needs. We went for a general "modern tropical home" look. We assigned our living room and dining room to be our "grown up" room. Colors are neutral, making it look light and airy. Decided on a classic kitchen look since my aim is to make it look uncluttered. This spilled over to the dirty kitchen now baking kitchen. The basement is where we hang out a lot, so we thought it should show our personalities more. In general though, save for Miggy's bedroom, we stuck to neutrals. We though we could just change accents whenever we feel like it. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Home on Mondays: The Mess Before Christmas

Just a few more days before Christmas and our house isn't ready yet. We were hoping to finish the flooring and cabinetry last week. Roof flashing to be installed and some electrical work to be done this week. The gantt chart wasn't followed because of many moving parts. 

Our beautiful new flooring is currently hidden under carton boxes and film. The installers said it's best to cover while works are being done to prevent scratching. We hope to uncover it before Christmas and hope we'll be able to have a proper Christmas meal. 

Electrical works still being done to address the 5-paged electrical audit recommendation. The major adjustments will be made in January since there are items that are being fabricated. We haven't been able to cook since we need to understand the capacity of the current installation. At least the areas which failed the Megger test have been addressed. More tests to be made to ensure our safety. 

We'll probably spend Friday and Saturday doing some cleaning. Not sure if we can still get some help to do cleaning since the dust has been intense. We'll get to where we want our home to be in good time. What's important is we're together to celebrate Jesus' birthday. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

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

Creative Happy Tuesdays: Mademoiselle vs. La Fleur? Craft Room Accent Wall

Aside from proper cabinets for my craft room, I was given the option to have an accent wall. Since it's my "cave" I thought a pink wall would be cute. I had my room painted pink way back and kinda miss it. Early last week I was asked to choose the shade of pink I wanted from a color palette. It was hard! I didn't want it to be too bright or too light. It's hard to choose because I need to make sure I don't get tired or annoyed by the color. 

From the many shades of pink I chose mademoiselle and la fleur. Mademoiselle was more vibrant and youthful. I have a shirt in the same shade. It also reminded me of my old room. La Fleur was a different shade of pink. It looks a bit peach depending on the lighting. It reminds me a bit of my 2022 planner and happy flowers. 

Mademoiselle vs. La Fleur

On Saturday, Sweetie informed me that the team had painted the two shades of pink on the wall. I had to make my choice. When I saw the wall I was immediately attracted to mademoiselle. It is a comforting shade of pink and reminded me of happy days. La fleur though was what I originally wanted. I thought it's more age appropriate and would signify a new chapter in my life. It also felt like a very stable shade of pink. 

I went out of the room after looking at it and pinged some friends for advise. Posted the options on my stream, but the result was 50-50. Everyone was torn about the choices too, haha. A friend took it a step further and explained to me what kind of accessories would match the room. Mademoiselle would match with silver colored accessories. La fleur would match with gold colored accessories. My pink bench though matches better with mademoiselle, but I could always make a cover for it. 

First coating

After thinking more about it, I finally decided on a shade. I chose la fleur since it looked more fresh, it's I think more appropriate for my age, if ever I add accessories, I'd prefer gold, and it won't make me crave for strawberry ice cream. 

Shiny new craft room
(the painter said he loves the color)

Over the next few days, the cabinets and paint job were finished. I just went down and the room is ready for me to move in. We'll have it cleaned first before I organize my sewing materials again.

Thank you Lord for the beautiful gift :)

#BeKind #StaySafe

My Heart Skipped!

It does every day, haha. It was different though yesterday. Sweetie went to our old unit to finally pull out all the boxes. We commissioned a company to do some touchups. They will just repaint, fix the floor, replace cabinet doors and fix the lighting fixtures. They started working on the unit last Wednesday. 

My heart skipped when Sweetie sent a photo of a door being repainted. From brown it's now white! We just approved the colors the architect showed us and gave him free hand on what to retouch. I didn't know they were going to change the color of the doors too haha. 

They're also changing the ugly floor in the bedrooms. Luckily the living room and bathroom floors are still okay and would just need re-grouting. It would have been harder and more expensive to change them since property management requires a bond to do heavier renovation work. 

The work should be finished by end of the month. This also means we should finish unboxing and reducing our things in our home by then because we'll be working on our house by then. We're finally working on our to-do list now. We prioritized Mom in the past few months. Need to pace myself though, was out for three days straight and by Thursday I had slight fever. 

I think the new medication my doctor gave is starting to work. The pain has lessened and I could breathe better. We're trying to figure out how to use the oxygen concentrator. My doctor said it will help alleviate the strain on my heart. The sad news is according to the 6-minute walk test, my walking capacity has been reduced by 33%. I still hope it'll improve so I can still make lakwatsa!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Saving My Childhood Home

Built over a half century ago, my childhood home has seen better days. Back in 2019 I had the structural integrity of the house checked since I noticed a lot of cracks across the house. Surprisingly the house was intact, but the lanai area where the garage used to be has started to crumble. The floors and walls showed evidence that the area was sinking. 

Plans to have it fixed were put on hold due to the pandemic and it was hard to coordinate offshore. When I first visited Mom when I got home I saw the house had deteriorated further. I immediately reached out to the architect who checked it for help. We finally got around to doing a second inspection today and he brought along his team. 

My childhood home is our family gem. I cannot imagine anyone else living in it. My Mom always tells me she wants me to live there again eventually. Our home was built with love. The architect was my Dad's brother, Tito Bert who's probably turning 100 years old this year. We hope we could still find the original plans of the house. It'll be a big help for the team who will fix it. 

The assessment today made me happy. The team said that our home was well maintained especially the bedroom wooden floors. A lot of work needs to be done to make it more livable and I gave the team two tall orders -- reduce the heat and solve the flooding issue. The heat part is easily solvable, but the issue of flooding will be harder to solve. It doesn't flood as much anymore, but fact is it still floods. 

I'm excited to see the plan to save my childhood home. Of course, my siblings would need to approve the plan as well. I promised my Mom we'll bring back the beauty and love for our home. 

#BeKind #StayHome #VoteWisely