"If you were to share 3 most important Renovation Lessons learnt in less than a minute, what would that be?"
This is by far the most popular question I alwayskennareceived. Well, WHAT would my answer be? They would be:
1. Plan for backup
2. Plan for extension
3. Lifestyle does matter
Plan for Backup
My kitchen light bulb burnt out a few weeks ago. However, I was in no hurry to replace them. The same applies for my bathroom lights, I always took a while to shop around for the replacement bulbs. Yup, I never ever had to grope in the dark; except when there are power trips or power failure at my block lar. You might wonder how is that even possible since the kitchen and bathroom are the most important and heavily utilized areas in any home.
What is your main and secondary source of light?
Well, I have not one but two source of lights installed for these places; one main and another secondary. However, a few of my friends and relatives thought that I was being too excessive and kiasu. But hey, at least I do not have to worry when the light bulb gave up on me right?
What is your main and secondary source of light?
Well, I have not one but two source of lights installed for these places; one main and another secondary. However, a few of my friends and relatives thought that I was being too excessive and kiasu. But hey, at least I do not have to worry when the light bulb gave up on me right?
Plan for Extension
I still remember vividly nearly a decade ago, the popular living room feature wall designs had cabinets designed around the TV. This meant that the carpentry works had to take into consideration the TV dimension prior fabrication. I decided not to adopt such a restrictive design because I was uncomfortable by the thought of having to be stuck with a punny 37” inch TV for the rest of my life (the largest our budget can afford back then)!
Fast forward to today, I am immensely glad that I never adopt such a restrictive design. Which means that I can always upgrade to a 80” TV any time. Yahoo! The same applies for the kitchen carpentry, additional allowance should be set aside for the kitchen appliances such as the washing machines and even refrigerators.
Lifestyle does Matter
Mr Diva was in charge of acquiring the water heater during our renovation back then. To cut the long story short, he ditched the ubiquitous instant heater and went for a storage heater instead. He did all his homework and picked one with a reputable brand that came with the best technical specifications, largest storage tank and was even proud of the fact that his choice came with a 5 year warranty.
Well obviously Mr Diva had somehow assumed that "bigger is always better". Well, there is nothing wrong in adopting such a this rule; it makes perfect sense that a large storage heater means larger amount of heated water is available for the entire family and in fact, his selection would have been excellent....except for one fatal flaw.
It takes a LONG FREAKING time for the water to be ready!
Having a large capacity storage heater means that it takes a longer time for the water to be heated up prior usage. A larger capacity means an even longer time! So imagine the extent of damage he has innocently inflicted upon the family.
Impact to our lifestyle is immerse; we always have to plan ahead and factor in the time needed for the water to be ready before getting ready for work, outings... you name it!
In short, having a storage heater is at odds with our hectic lifestyle as we do not have the luxury of setting aside additional time to prepare for work; the instant water heater would have been a better fit.
Dear can you turn on the heater for me? I want to snooze a while longer!
Mr Diva was in charge of acquiring the water heater during our renovation back then. To cut the long story short, he ditched the ubiquitous instant heater and went for a storage heater instead. He did all his homework and picked one with a reputable brand that came with the best technical specifications, largest storage tank and was even proud of the fact that his choice came with a 5 year warranty.
On hindsight, this is very typical of guys isn't it? They always hunt for the biggest, meanest looking machine they could get their hands on.
Well obviously Mr Diva had somehow assumed that "bigger is always better". Well, there is nothing wrong in adopting such a this rule; it makes perfect sense that a large storage heater means larger amount of heated water is available for the entire family and in fact, his selection would have been excellent....except for one fatal flaw.
It takes a LONG FREAKING time for the water to be ready!
Having a large capacity storage heater means that it takes a longer time for the water to be heated up prior usage. A larger capacity means an even longer time! So imagine the extent of damage he has innocently inflicted upon the family.
Impact to our lifestyle is immerse; we always have to plan ahead and factor in the time needed for the water to be ready before getting ready for work, outings... you name it!
In short, having a storage heater is at odds with our hectic lifestyle as we do not have the luxury of setting aside additional time to prepare for work; the instant water heater would have been a better fit.
Dear can you turn on the heater for me? I want to snooze a while longer!
What is the most agonizing part? Having to wake up 20 mins earlier just to turn on the storage heater! Darn I miss my instant heater!
Well, what some homeowners do to get around the wait is to make sure that the heater is turned on overnight. Although such a practice puts a significant dent in their pocket, at least they do not have to wait for the water to be ready.
Nonetheless, extend this principle to the types of furnishing you intend to install in your place. In short, is a high maintenance renovation really suitable for you?
Nonetheless, extend this principle to the types of furnishing you intend to install in your place. In short, is a high maintenance renovation really suitable for you?
Thats all I have to share today. So what are the 3 most important renovation lessons which you have learnt?
Do share with us too! :)
Have you read these renovation related posts?
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