I did not do a search on this company when i purchased my Rinnai Hood and Hob there. They've quite a bad review from Renotalk forum.
I bought my hood and hob from Asia Excel in early September, I specified my delivery on 1 October, later changed to 14 October but it was delivered only in November. Just one week before the delivery, the sales girl Serene called me to say that the hood I wanted was out of stock, and asked me whether I wanted to change to another hood, although I was angry, I did not pursue, I told her I would wait for the hood and told her to remind the agent (she said this was the agent fault and not her fault).
I can't remember how long had I waited and someone called me telling me that the hood was still out of stock, this time round I gave them a fuss as I couldn't believe after such a long time it was still out of stock, I told them they shouldn't sell it to me if it was out of stock, and the girl calling me asked me whether I want to change to another hood, again. I told her no, I just want this hood and I would wait for it as Serene told me the agent would order it again in a month time. The girl promised me she would fax the order to the agent again. But this time round, I lost my confidence in Excel and I got the number of the agent from them and I called the agent personally. As expected, when I called the agent, the aunty picked up the call told me she did not receive any fax from Excel, so I had to coordinate among them to make sure my Rinnai Hood and Hob can be delivered on time......
Lousy coordination, and you only got to know your item is out of stock just before the delivery time!

Although I purchased my Bosh washine machine and Sony blue-ray from Harvey Norman, I do not have good impression of their salesmen, and given a chance, I'll not choose Harvey Norman. Last weekend, I made my mistake by going to Harvey Norman thinking that it was Gain City! Anyway since I was there and I had limited time to purchase the items needed for my tenanted house, I decided to make my purchase there thinking that the price will not be different too much.
My requirement was pretty simple, I just want something cheap, because the items were for my tenant, a calculative owner like me would not spend too much on the items, and I told the salesman there frankly about my budget. I quickly settled my purchase of a Sumsung fridge at $449, a LG 6.5kg washing machine at $299, and a Techno Gas hob at $289. The salesman kept pushing another LG fridge to me, for which the design is obviously not as good as the Sumsung fridge, which I spent time to keep telling her why I didn't want it. She also told me that I need to pay $30 to the Techno Gas man to install the hob, fine.
My real fire started one day later when my tenant told me the hood is not working properly and I went back Harvey Norman to check whether I can add in one more hood. As I bought a Techno Gas hob from HN already, I thought by adding a Techno Gas hood I can save the installation cost or probably get a lower price, but this is not the case! I stand there waited 10 minutes like an idiot and the salesman told me my hood size is too big that Techno Gas has no matching hood for it, unless I consider Glass top hood!? I told him I want a cheap hood, and I'm ok with any brands, still, he searched and searched his catalog like I had given him a tough task! He then turned to me and said that only one hood from Electrolux can fit the measurement, and that costs $445, after discount will be $399, and I need to pay $35 for installation, she said this money is paid to the contractor and not HN. I was a bit unhappy as I can't believe Techno Gas has no hood (other than those higher range) that can meet my measurement. When I asked why do I need to pay for installation again as I had also bought a hob from HN, was it because they are different brands? She replied me that even if the hob and hood are same brand, I still need to pay for installation charge for both as they are two different things, she further gave me a stupid example that if you buy 2 water heaters, the installation charge will be doubled. Still, I gave in to say yes, as I did not want to spend time to argue on the small discount, she then told me that the size of the hood is just 2 cm more than the hole of my measurement, and lesser than my current hood, this make me worry and I can't take it anymore! I told her, I'm not buying anymore, I don't get cheaper price for adding one more purchase, and worst still I don't have choices over the hood! Why should I buy from HN then?! I'm glad that my mind was finally clear.
On the same day, I went to Courts in TPY centre. When I was there, I straight away told the salesman my measurement, and my budget, he immediately introduced a 3 burners UNO hood for $358. Uno is a brand under Techno Gas, I was surprised that Courts can find me one cheap hood that can match my measurement and yet HN cannot! The salesman told me no installation charge, just delivery charge of $30! He even told me if this hood cannot meet the measurement, I can upgrade to another Techno hood at no cost! Just pay for the price difference of $20! I regret for buying my other items from HN, as Courts showroom has plenty cheaper stuff and more varieties, each station they have a salesman who are promoting their items aggressively, unlike HN you get many uncles and anties with limited knowledge serving you there. If I were to buy my hob from Courts, I would have saved at least the $35 installation charge. I remember year ago I bought my items from Courts at 3 different dates, they did not charge me delivery fee for the subsequent purchases.
Xian! Money spent cannot be recovered, I just hope you do your research before committing the purchase, do not end up like me!

I bought my lights on the dining area from Johor Bahru Malaysia, it was cheap, only cost me RM418 (equivalent to around SGD180), you may click here and here to see the lights.
However, I do not have time to go in Malaysia again, thus I would have to source for another place selling cheap lights in Singapore, and then I found www.lightings.com.sg.
After a little sourcing and comparison, I do find lightings.com prices cheaper, and no bargaining is needed. The prices are fixed as per listed on the shop, no reservation and most people do cash and carry. There are some bad comments on the forum, but I find their service ok and satisfactory. Btw they do charge $18 for delivery.
Although their prices is cheap, the quality of the lights is so-so and some I would say inferior. Out of the lights I bought from them, my wall light in the toilet spoilt and was repaired once only after few months of using it. One of the down lights in my kitchen do blink on and off. However, all these are not a big issue to me, because I can easily repair it by changing the bulb. Anyway the quality of lights are quite depending on luck sometimes, doesn't mean you've spent big money and you'll get a light that will work fine forever.
Down lights, $24 per piece

I like this type of down lights, simple and nice, easy to clean.

How it looks on my living hall. By the way, I've 9 downlights in my living hall, which were controlled by 3 power switches. I can on just the 4 as shown in this picture, or the 2 on top of my piano, or the other 3 on the way to my rooms, you should plan your lights wiring in this way, to save up the energy consumption.

Ceiling light in my MBR, $70

Ceiling light in my common room, $40

Wall light in my MBR toilet, $48

How much do you need to revamp your toilet? It might cost you a bomb although it could be the smallest room in your house.
Here is the cost I spent on my master bedroom toilet:

The overview of my small toilet on the side with basin and mirror:

Storage mirror cabinet - $170
Wall mirror from IKEA - $19.90
Baron basin and toilet bowl (promotional price for buying these 2 together) - $330
Water tap - $55
Vanity cabinet with glass door - $600 approx (pls click here for my carpentry quotation)

A closer look on the basin:

I like this design, it is easy to clean and maintain. However, I should buy a bigger one as this is a bit smaller given the size of my vanity top. My advice to all is to measure your top before buying the basin.

A closer look on the tap:

If you think $55 for a water tap is expensive, you're wrong. Many toilet accessories sold in branded shops are chrome, not stainless steel, this water tap is stainless steel, and I paid for its design. Click here for my purchases from Royal Fanco.


This mirror cabinet is worth buying especially if you've a small toilet. I should have bought a bigger one since my wall can accommodate the size. You can keep your toiletries, perfumes, cosmetic items in the cabinet.

My vanity cabinet with swing glass doors:

My carpenter suggested a sliding door, but in order to save the cost, I chose to have this type of swing doors. So far I've no problem with it. You may click on the label of "carpentry" on the top left corner to see my other carpentry works.


Wall lights from lighting.com - $48


This is the toilet bowl I bought together with the basin at $330


Toilet paper holder - $18
Bidet - $12
Toilet bowl offset - $8 (you'll need this to fix the toilet bowl to the floor, measure the hole before going to purchase the toilet bowl as there're a few sizes of the toilet bowl, your contractor should advise you on this)


Double towel bar - $32
Toilet brush and holder - FOC from Royal Fanco


Crizto "i" hook - $22


Shower screen with stainless steel handle - $350
My husband wanted a clean look on the shower screen, thus it was designed without any holder at the top of the glass, but after moving in, I found it not secure as the shower screen is quite big and sometimes when we close the door too hard it would shake, thus I paid another $100 to get the glass factory to fix an iron bar at the top of the shower screen to hold it. You can see the iron bar from the reflection of the mirror cabinet.


Rain shower set (including handheld spray, on-off button etc) $159.50
I forgotten the price for the shampoo holderr, but I think is around $28

A closer look on the rain shower headset:

Frankly, I'm not a fan of rain shower, I shall blog about it in my next article.


Matt finished swing glass door - $500

Lastly, tiling for floor and wall - $2200
I like the colour and combination of my toilet tiles. But if given a choice again, I'll choose a darker colour for the floor, so that stains are not so easily spot.

If you sum up the above prices, the total is around $4600. This cost does not include the hacking cost (I spent $2900 to hack off all the tiles in my toilets, rooms and kitchen) and some miscellaneous items which I do not remember.

All the accessories are purchased from Royal Fanco unless I stated so.

All the iron stuff you see in my toilet are stainless steel, consider the material and the workmanship of it, I do not find my cost of $4600 expensive, especially this is my master bedroom toilet for which the size is bigger than the common toilet.

These are the companies specialising on Invisible Grille:
1) One curtain - Invisible Grille
Contact: David Phua 97222800 / 64451669
Website: www.invisiblegrille.com.sg
Address: 6001, Beach Road #19-06 Singapore 199589
Email: sales@invisiblegrille.com.sg

2) Legate Asia
Contact: Alvin Ng 9691-2925
Email: sales901@legate.com.sg
Website: www.legate.asia
Address: 7030 Ang Mo Kio Ave 5 #02-39 NorthStar @ AMK Singapore 569880
T: (65) 6242 1911
F: (65) 6846 1922

3) E Marketing & Home Services
Contact: Alvin Chia
Address: 61, Kaki Bukit Avenue 1, Shun Li Industrial Park,Singapore 417943
Email: sales@ehomeservices.com.sg
Website: www.ehomeservices.com.sg
T: (65) 8337 1277 ‎


I got Legate to visit my place and quoted me for my 2 bedrooms, but at the end I got David from InvisibleGrille to do my grille for the living hall.
Price quoted by Legate is $12 per sft, by David is $12.90 per sft (heard that price has increased), but Legate charge $120 for powder coated track while David did not charge this, so I find David's quote slightly cheaper and I let him do the job. In total, I paid $750 to do the grille for my living hall window, including transport and labour charge.

Generally, the service from David was good, he had even cleaned the floor and windows for me. He had also helped me patched the wall after the installation and helped me paint the affected area.

There're many points I want to blog about this, I'll separate them in different header for easier viewing but before that let's take a look of my grille:

Do you find it invisible?

Take a closer look


Why Invisible?
Like many, we do not want to install the conventional grille in our rooms that make us feel like imprisoned, I'm glad that there're others who share the same thinking as us and come up with this idea. However, I do not suggest Invisible Grille in your bedrooms, you'll know after reading my below comments.

Is it really invisible?
It is not really invisible, it looks like wires across your window. There's once my SIL commented are those for hanging clothes? Fainted.
Anyway, to me I find it look nicer than the conventional type, at least those 'wires' are slimmer than the conventional grille, and those friends who had myopia do find it invisible...hahah, em.

Is Invisible good?
No. It is definitely not as good as the conventional type. The wires can be cut by wire cutter, thus not suitable for window on corridor and I don't think is suitable for bedrooms too.
Once installed, it is permanent, unlike the iron grille where it can be opened. Thus cleaning could be a problem.
My two bedrooms are installed with the conventional grille, sometimes I do hang my children clothes there for drying purpose, but you can't hang anything on the invisible grille, it'll be loosen. The conventional grille looked more durable.
Besides, do note the gaps between the wires are very narrow, thus it'll be hard to open and close your windows, especially if you're short. For me, I'll need to use a clothe hanger to close the windows....

Costs
It is about twice the price of the conventional grille. Legate quoted me close to $700 for my 2 bedrooms, but at the end I decided to install the conventional type which costs me only around $400.

What should you do before installing the invisible grille?
Clean your windows. Ha, sound funny but mind you, once you've installed the grille, is really difficult to clean it.
Repair your windows if necessary, I did not checked my windows during the renovation, after moved in I realised one of the windows can be closed but cannot be locked, but is very difficult to repair it now as I've installed the invisible grille. Whenever there is strong wind and rain, I'll have to pray that the wind would not open my window and the rain will not get into my living hall, sad.

So, after seeing the above review, will I install the Invisible Grille if given a chance again? Yes, I'll still install the grille in my living hall, as I need it to protect my kids from falling off the windows but I do not want to see myself in the prison like locker. But, before the grille is installed, I'll probably repair my windows first.

In summary, the only advantage of Invisible grille over conventional grille is the cosmetic result, so if you're not so particular about this, why not install the conventional type? Anyway I don't find those in my bedrooms look ugly, you may see below picture or refer to my other posts:

My original doors are those natural wood colour laminated doors, which were quite a popular colour in the 90's, but an out of fashion colour and design now. We wanted to change the door, but to our horror, door seem to be an expensive item. Even the cheapest plastic door can cost you $200, even an bifold door for toilet can cost you close to $300. We definitely want to save cost on doors, especially when we have so many doors in the different rooms and toilets.....
My contractor helped me think of a brilliant method, we get the factory laminate the plywood door with Nyatoh wood. Paint it in dard brown colour, which costs me $200 per door, inclusive of the lock handle. We add $40 for the stainless steel bar, and this is how our door look like:


For my common toilet I did not put the stainless steal bar, save the $40 :)


We prefer this type of handle instead of those round type:


We get the contractor to paint the old door frame same colour as the door, so it matched up nicely.


The original door look like this, so ugly right?

The feature wall is designed by myself after copy here and there from magazines and renovation forums. So, you might have seen similar designs from somewhere. My requirement for the feature wall is again, simple, I don't like complicated designs which waste resources. Example, many times you see those feature walls designed by the ID are with spotlights, spotlights might create nice effect for photo taking, but I can assure you that you'll not on the lights most of the time. So I do away with all the spotlights, or reflection lights, instead, I use downlights on my ceiling which give me clear view and classy design.


My feature wall is full height around 76 sft. For the price please click here.

This is how the feature wall look in my hall, beside my piano. The 2 display shelves above my piano were given by the carpenter FOC.


A closer look on the lamination. I've paid more to get a thicker white gloss laminate as some commented in the forum that for glossy laminate, you can see the wave or curve easily especially if the laminate is too thin.


TV console with sliding door:


A closer look at the workmanship:


Do visit other pages on the carpentry works.