Gembo Home

That's it... at least here, that is.

2009-09-17T18:08:00.002+08:00

I have now decided that as there is no more foreseeable regular updates to the house, since construction is over more than a year go, I will no longer update this blog.

I will still keep this blog though, as it seems to be quite useful to friends of friends, who are keen to get ideas for home construction.

You can visit my family blog, G E M B O where I occasionally post stuffs about the house, as well as what that blog is about, Life around our family (mainly shared with families).

I hope this blog has been useful to some, if not all of you, and will continue to be useful for newer visitors.

Garden? Not yet but working on it

2009-09-08T23:06:00.007+08:00

The planters at the entrance... purple (Iman) and white (Muhammad) flowers.

Fir tree? They call it xmas tree at the nurseries

Purple plants creating borders for the drive way. We started planting these during the June 09 school holidays. It takes LOOOOTTTTSSSSS of patience :)

Vegetable patch slowly taking shape

New project, still thinking of what to plant here

Fuyio Home Opening @ 19.07.09

2009-07-23T06:35:00.004+08:00

My wife and I was invited to the opening of Fuyio Home recently. The owner is Henry Ling, the contractor who built our house.

From hearsay, i understand that Henry starts from the bottom, starting out as a plumber, than venture into carpentry, then into renovation, later into construction from the early 90s and now being the sole distributor of construction materials. A very busy man he is, his day always starts at 4 in the morning and finishes by 11 at night at worst.

I manage to speak to one of his suppliers, the Fujioh representative from Singapore, who said that he was taken aback by Henry's energy, driving from locations to locations in KB and Bandar, that it left them (reps from Fujioh n Golden Clay) exhausted. Yet Henry still plough on and on hahahah. I have seen him work!

And despite busy entertaining the crowd, Henry shared with me that the suppliers were previously pessimistic about Brunei market, but changed their mind when they saw the houses in Brunei with their own eyes. They see the potential, take the roof for example... in Brunei majority of the people still built individual house, so the demand for rood is still there. If you build 10 units apartment, the roof requirement is still only equivalent to 2 or 3 houses.

Anyway, you can visit Fuyioh at Menglait, Muhibbah complex if I am not mistaken, behind Le Apple bakery. If you are not familiar, it is not far from the road behind the Menglait Sports Complex (near the filling station).

Enjoy the pics below, but for more, please go to my Facebook.

Henry never missed out on Lion dance

That;s Henry. Strange to see him in suit heheh

Our house being used as one of the 'model'

Fujioh, one of the brands promoted by Fuyio Home. Fujio specialise in Kitchen hobs, hoods and kitchen stuffs

Congrats Henry. All the best to you.

Lost habitat

2009-05-08T06:34:00.005+08:00

The 2 acre plot of rectangular land behind my was recently cleared, apparently a local oil and gas support company will be constructing a three storey building on that land.

Coming home for lunch yesterday, I was surprised to see a unique grasshopper (will long antenaes) near my service door and looking at the fence adjacent to the cleared land, i saw scores of grasshoppers seeking refuge, after their natural habitat was destroyed. I feel sorry for them, but I can only offer some shade, although later that afternoon the missus told me that birds fed on them in the afternoon. Well, its the circle of life.

before the land was cleared

this is taken at noon yesterday, 2.5 days after they started

grasshoppers and other bugs, seeking refuge from the hot midday sun

one that rest on our sliding door

more grasshoppers

Unfortunate visitor

2009-04-01T10:22:00.004+08:00

Last couple of weekends we had an unfortunate visitor: a beautiful green bird - which I suspected is a Dove (please correct me if I am wrong).

I found it near our garage and thought it was dead as it was motionless with the eyes opened for the 30 seconds I observed it. However my maid saw the eyes blinked but couldn't even fight to break free when the maid held it in her hands. The maid immediately rushed the bird to the cat cage and let it rest in there, and fed it small pieces of fruits and rice. Immediately? Well we have two playful cats at home and they could have just 'played' with the unfortunate bird.

Alhamdulillah it recovered two days later and flew off to the trees behind our house.

Architect & Contractor contact details

2009-04-01T10:06:00.003+08:00

I have long promised this to my friends as well as the architect and contractor. Their contact details are shown in the box on the right.

To those who are familiar with Kuala Belait, my architect's office is on the top floor above Mum's bakery. Freddy is creative and love to capture your ideas and put it into perspective shot, so you can see how it's like when its completed. He is also very patient, especially as we had to take our time to finalise the drawings owing to the birth of our youngest child 'Aaeeshah. And lastly he has very good network with the government offices that allows us to have the drawings reviewed and approved at the earliest possible time.

As for Henry, to use his words roughly, his quotes are not cheap BUT it comes with quality materials and workmanship. I have to agree to that! We didn't approach other contractors for quotes, however we went to a couple of his previous constructions and were quite impressed. He invited us to his home to explain on the quote, line by line, telling us why the choice of tile and wood floorings are expensive, and options of the roofing materials as well as the window frames. He even have his own carpentry factory which allows him to ensure the quality of the furniture and fittings.

Tips: Before you call Henry, send him an SMS and tell him he is recommended by a friend (Pg Azmi). No, I do not get commission, but that's how he is. He will not answer the phone if he is not familiar with the number. We had to do the same when we first approached him. I am happy to say so far I have a couple of friends building their houses with Henry, due for completion by the end of this year. Good choice.

Long silence

2009-04-01T09:46:00.004+08:00

I have not updated this blog ever since the 6months review by the contractor, however I am very pleased to see that the blog still averaged 20+ hits a day. Thank you to dear readers/visitors and I hope you can find something useful in this blog.

From now on, as the house is already completed and we've moved in almost 11 months now, I will try to blog about home maintenance/upkeeps in general as well as the usual unsuspected 'visitors'. But please bear with me as I am still recovering from a serious illness, which I am grateful to Allah to be able to recover.

Mr G (Gembo)

A friend's house

2008-12-08T14:50:00.003+08:00

I was shopping at "Pasar Borong" in Sengkurong last Saturday, and saw this house. It's a friend's (and also nephew - dad's 3rd cousin's grandson) house, currently under construction and should be ready early next year.

It's a massive house, with very nice double stairs. See the construction here and their current travel (studying) Down Under here.

6 months on (well, 7 months). . .

2008-12-06T00:52:00.005+08:00

It has been almost 7 months since we moved in, and Henry Ling, the contractor came up to check out the house for any touching ups (part of his contract).... well, there were a few cracks here and there but it's just on the surface.

Apparently its usual especially in our case the house gets quite warm during the day and airconditioned in the evening, all the contracting and expanding resulted in the hairline cracks. As well as the wooden floors too, naturally it will contract slightly as it dries up, hence the contractor has to fill the gaps with special fillers - wooden colour - and you wouldn't notice it until you look very closely.

What else.... oh yes, we have three broken tiles, also related to contraction/expansion - see the photos below. The main door, custom made from solid wood also shrank by one cm (width wise) leaving a gap when the door is closed. The contractor has to add one cm additional wood at the base of the hinge close the gap. All else? Alhamdulillah, so far so good and long may it be.

How much does it costs us again (the touch ups/repairs)? Surprise surprise its all free! Including re-painting of all the interior walls! Even coming from work for the past couple of days reminded me of us just moving in back in May - the smell of fresh paint! Enjoy the photos below. And have a great weekend and Salam Aidil Adha.

the main door being worked on

walls at the second floor being re-plastered where the hairline cracks appeared

more plastering done... the family lounge...

and outside Iman's Room

Tiles near the garage cracked. Probably not enough cement during tiling last time round.

A wall tile cracked in the wet kitchen, as well as a couple of tiles under the bar. These guys did a great job, 'cos it just didn't show that they were replaced.

hairline cracks near the light switches were re-plastered

as well as at the big wall at the living room

the wooden floorings contracted over the 7 months, so the contractor filled the gaps, and applied the water-based coat, to give that shine. Nice.

Muhammad's room - if you can see carefully the plaster covering the cracks were like grafitti...

More Visitors...

2008-11-18T02:05:00.002+08:00

My friend Azlan from KL (in red tie - who look like Eric Roberts from Heroes), came to our office recently with his colleagues from UK.

A regular visitor to my blog, he finally had his wish granted to tour the completed Gembo Home after coming here in March. I hope to be able to host lunch or dinner the next time they come over.

Asha welcoming the guests

Group pics... sorry, no photos during the tour - the host was busy showing the guests around

Off they go, to catch the 6pm flight

Wet Wet Wet... not the band, but the weather

2008-10-26T22:52:00.008+08:00

Pics taken before 8 this morning. It has been raining every evening for a week now, and has rained non-stop since 10 last night until early morning. Our lawn now looks like a big pool, but Alhamdulillah as the rain stopped this morning, the water began to recede... about half the lawn is still covered with water but nonetheless it has receded.

The sky looked gloomy at 8 am and looked the same even at 6pm. It rained a bit at 8pm but only for a short while, and I hope it stays that way overnight. I pity those people in low lying areas - hope it will improve for u guys.

More visitor.... arachnovisitor

2008-10-26T22:48:00.002+08:00

Pic taken early this week... I hope it's not poisonous, but am not taking any chances and locked all the windows and doors heheh.

Hari Raya Final Preparations (delayed update hehe)

2008-10-07T20:41:00.003+08:00

A well travelled friend got us this seeds from his travel down under. We planted it a couple of days before Raya, and in a week it started to grow.

This is our flower planter near the entrance which, yes, we finally managed to plant something just a couple of days before Raya. Total spent... $30 for 5 pots of plants and 7 bags of black soil. Efforts? Priceless heheheh

Our three kids 'helped'

Another shot of the planter, with the three different coloured flowers - pink, white and blue. ~~Oh, don't ask what flowers are they, cos we have no idea heheh~~ The flowers are Petunia (thanks Cuz Zulida). I'll probably (probably!) plant some more as borders to the driveway as I love to see the flowers bloom EVERY DAY

There they are again

The 'lampu cucul' in place

close up of the lampu cucul

Muhammad waiting for his uncle to play firecrackers

another close up

Another Special visitor

2008-10-07T06:30:00.002+08:00

This visitor came on the first day raya, to our master bath room . . . .

Green Thumb? First plants at our home

2008-09-18T07:51:00.006+08:00

Consulting Ms Puteh - where should we plant the palm trees?

So, here it should be

Mula mula, korek lubang pakai scoop . . .

Lapas atu, masuk kan palm tree dalam lobang . . .

. . . kemudian, timbus tia

House during the day (almost)

2008-08-29T23:42:00.001+08:00

To friends who actually asked for this, sorry I really thought I had published the pic of our home during the day. Well, here goes.

More pics of our home

2008-08-24T14:18:00.009+08:00

The pantry... storage space for dry foods ... and junk foods heheh

The stairs... specially posted for F.H.A. aka Bondimac - hope this will give you some idea for your home renovation

Another shot of the stairs, with my model Asha

Our guest room - that door leads to the ensuite shower/toilet. This is also my day room - where I do my prayers during lunch time (sometimes too lazy to go upstairs heheh)

Sample of the curtains outside the guest room.

Dining Room shot

Another dining room shot

We bought the table and chairs from different vendors. The chair is from Thomson Furniture (from where we got the Living Room sofa)

The shoe cabinet built in next to the main door... now you see it...

... Now you don't

Muhammad's Room

and his shower/toilet

Our master suite - this pic shows the big window

and the other side

the Master walk in closet

the Master bath - showing the bath tub and wash basin

... and the other side showing the 'business' seat and shower

current magazines to do 'business'

the family lounge . . . it could've been a void, but later we've decided to close it to make an additional family area - for group praying (Solat Jemaah) and to read Quran with family

some of the books that I have... I love Jeffrey Archer's novels.

View of the main entrance... again

planter box at the main entrance... Yes, Still empty. Inda apa, Raya 8 minggu ++ lagi, so we still have time,

and this is where I try my hands at cooking... missus said I spoilt her for all the chix pies that she's ever enjoyed... hehehe

More visitors... Homo Sapiens (heheh Human Kind)

2008-08-24T14:08:00.004+08:00

More visitors to our home... no, not snakes, but friends from work.

Kolin, wife Sue and son Joshua, dropped by to get some ideas for their proposed home. Spent a good couple of hours - hopefully the land issues can be sorted soon!

Tom Anthoni (Belgian, Risks Engineer with Marsh UK) and Haji Shahrildin (GM Takaful BIBD), with whom I've spend the whole of last week surveying BSP main operations.

Random . . . . bad weather

2008-08-24T11:45:00.001+08:00

I haven't downloaded my memory card for weeks. Here's one that I found interesting - shot at the end of July.

Special Visitors . . . . scaly visitors

2008-08-10T18:43:00.003+08:00

We have three special visitors of the scaly kind in 2 weeks: a couple of snakes and a monitor lizard!

The first snake was a baby python which I suspected was attracted to the number of frogs during the weeklong heavy downpour. I had to call my father in law to catch the snake and move it somewhere else.

The second was a monitor lizard, and I guess it came from the swampy area behind our house.

The third snake, is the size of a thumb and 3 feet long. Its got red stripes along its back and when I wiki'ed it, believe it was a ribbon snake.

3 months today - 09.08.08

2008-08-10T08:47:00.002+08:00

It is now 3 months since we moved in our new home. So far so good, Alhamdulillah.

So, what next? Hari Raya Aidil Fitri (Eid Mubarak) is less than 2 months away, and we probably need to sort out the 'lampu cucul' - lights decoration (normally lit on during functions, and during hari raya); new carpets (we currently only have one); hang the 'Al-Quran verses on the walls, and yeah, order Hari Raya biscuits. Now that I have my own oven, I can probably try to bake my own biscuits, to complement my cheese cake heheh.

Anyway, more updates with the photos soon.

CIliqueen & Sis Gina, see, updated kan heheheh

Pics of our house . . . Pt 2: Living Room

2008-08-09T21:59:00.003+08:00

This is our living room, and we just got delivery of the sofa less than 2 weeks ago. Got it from Thomson Furniture in Beribi (quite a good selection there, from Singapore, Malaysia, US & Italy).

Pics of our house . . . Pt 1: Family Room

2008-08-09T21:43:00.004+08:00

To dear friends, sorry for the belated postings of the photos... I'll do it in stages, alright.

Part 1 is the Family Room, where Gembo, Mrs G & kids gather to watch cartoons (sigh) and also movies in the weekend (Wall.E and Hancock today!).

Now u see it . . . .

. . . . Now u don't.

The other side of the wood partition

Special Visitor

2008-07-22T19:24:00.002+08:00

Haji Salleh, now the MD for Brunei LNG is also a family friend for my wife's family. Being an avid photographer, he joined us for the night outing last weekend including the light dinner my wife and I prepared for the shooters at our new home.

Another night shot

2008-07-10T22:42:00.002+08:00

The earlier shot was taken handheld whilst this one is taken using a tripod (30" exposure at f/22).

Our flag

2008-07-09T00:00:00.004+08:00

To celebrate His Majesty The Sultan of Brunei's birthday (15 July), the public are asked to raise the Brunei flag for a month from the 1st of July. The Cheterias (Brunei Nobles) and Pengirans are asked to raise their personal flags... which is why mine's slightly different.

Our home at night

2008-07-08T23:50:00.003+08:00

Friends have been asking for photo updates. Sorry buddies, here's one I just took tonight before it started to rain. InsyaAllah there'll be more, beginning this Saturday.

Main Entrance Chandelier

2008-06-18T23:01:00.003+08:00

My wife and I fell in love at this chandelier the moment we laid eyes on it - Its so unique and beautiful. It now adorns our main entrance.

Espeed - Finally!

2008-06-12T12:41:00.002+08:00

Yes, finally I have e-speed. InsyaAllah will be able to update about the 1st month we stayed in this house . . . . what's hot and what's not heheh, the usual tiny little things when you moved in.

Thanks for the best wishes and I look forward to your continued visits!

Wassalam & best regards
Azmi Gembo

We've moved in - Finally, Alhamdulillah

2008-05-14T12:59:00.003+08:00

Friends,
Just to let you all know I've moved in - YES, moved in on Friday, 9th May. No new pics to post yet - cos:

1. Busy unpacking
2. Currently will be spending 7 days at BLNG
3. No E-Speed
4. Still saddened by the death of my guard cat... Puteh.

Anyway, thanks for dropping by... InsyaAllah if E-Speed is up & running, and I got time, then I'll make sure to upload new pics and more stories.

Wassalam & All the best
Gembo @ Pg Hj Azmi Razak & Family

Let there be LIGHT!

2008-05-07T01:25:00.008+08:00

Alhamdulillah, we finally have the electricity connected to the house. Prior to the thanksgiving prayer/dinner tonight at our current home for a special event, I went with my family and sister to check out the lights at our new home. Enjoy the pics below - not clear due to low light and my intentional flashless photography.

the 'discolight' crystal chandelier, at the entrance foyer

photo taken almost at the same angle, however showing the downlights instead

one of the four wall lights at the entrance and patio pillars

dining room energy saving downlights. the chandelier is still not connected, as we need to install the dimmer switch

the three bar lights

another view of the downlights at the entrance foyer

the angled downlights at the family room

this wet kitchen shot is lit only by the emergency light. its very bright, isn't it?

Muhammad & Iman enjoyed the light under the stairs landing

master bedroom

Iman's built in display cabinet

Iman really enjoyed her room

Muhammad's room, showing the downlights over the window bench

Muhammad's built in display cabinet

Updates @ 05 May - almost there!

2008-05-05T21:49:00.010+08:00

Almost there! All we need now is electricity - well, not just that but with electricity, my contractor would be able to test all the electrical connections, lights, aircons, configure the alarm, install the autogate, and the TV guy can configure my TV & Astro.

All these waiting is like watching the kettle to boil, or for the flower to bloom, or for the hen to lay her eggs, or for Homer Simpson to slim down heheh . . ok, ok focus! For the past week or so I have left office at 4.30 pm (that is early), hoping to be able to catch the workers at the house and ensure everything is in order. A bit stressful at times, yes!

I am hoping to be able to move in by this Friday, HOPING! If they can get the electricity in by Wednesday or Thursday, I will immediately invite the local Imam, who led the blessing during the of the foundation laying back in June 07, to bless the moving in. But why Friday, why not Saturday or Sunday? Well, there is no 'bad' day in the islamic calendar although there are the preferred days i.e. Monday, Thursday and Friday... and I chose the Friday as it is followed immediately by the weekend - we can spend the long three days to move stuffs in - good thing the house is only 1 minute drive from where we are currently staying.

Anyway, enjoy the pics below. I have to thank my dear friend Mohd Husini aka Kantalensa for lending me his 10-22mm Canon Lens - I used it to capture ALL the pictures below. Without it, I will not be able to get the wide angle shots. Thanks bro!

As always, please drop your comments in the chat box!

The usual opener - front view of our house

the electric meter box

reflection of the house from our Pajero chrome side mirror

the family room. We'll get delivery of the TV hopefully by Friday.

the pantry - completed today! the space on the right will be the fridge.

the wet kitchen, completed last Saturday. All it needs now is the cooker.

the other side of the wet kitchen.... almost done, except for the aluminium mesh at the cabinet doors

the laundry room, missing just the washing machine.

view of the dry kitchen, showing the bar table, built in cabinets and to the left, the family lounge. That brown cabinet will house the AV Amp, Astro, CD & DVD players... no Bluray this year I supposed - budget constraint

another view of the dry kitchen - the bar table, the cabinets along the corridor on the left

the powder room

the maid's bathroom . . . tiles in their favourite colour - pink!

the maid's room. the left cabinet door was intentionally made narrower to store the ironing board

ikea cabinet door handles. quite reasonable at $8 for 6.

view of the dining room from the entrance to the living room

view of the family room from the entrance to the living room

built in shoe cabinets, to the left of the main entrance door

same thing, but to the right of the main door. The top shelve houses the electric distribution box and also TV aerial distribution/booster.

view from the entrance - to the left is the stairs, in the middle is the partition separating the family room and to the right is the entrance to the living room.

guest bedroom ensuite bathroom

Guest bedroom

view of the entrance foyer taken from the guest bedroom door. only a few paint cans left.

Iman/Izzan's bedroom.

Iman/Izzan's bathroom

Muhammad's Room

Muhammad's Room from another angle

close up view of Muhammad's built in display cabinet

Family lounge, viewed from the entrance to master suite

master bedroom, viewed from the door

the master walk in closet

master bathroom

view of the 'lawn' from master suite's window

view from the family lounge window

view of the compound behind the house. All cleared of the debris from construction etc

Updates @ 28 - 30 April

2008-04-30T20:06:00.008+08:00

Sorry guys, almost a week without updates. Well, here goes.

We've been pushing hard to get the OP (Occupational Permit) for the house - that should allow us to get electricity connected to the house, and with that, my family and I will begin to move in. Close friends (particular a fellow legal-DRMer) knows too well how eager I am about moving in - he's been hearing my updates EVERYDAY!

Tentatively, the official "Du'a Selamat" or thanksgiving prayer will be on Friday 23 May. Tentatively, I stress. It all depends on the OP.

It better be though, now that Man Utd has secured their tickets to the Champions League finals, I can watch the game at our new home. Serial & Amirio, u r both invited.

Enough talk, now enjoy the pics.

The house as it was on Tuesday, 29 April.

the last section of the driveway to be completed.

Puteh, our guard cat heheh... I am cool, cat!

and ready to pounce on wandering strangers and cats

Aaeeshah pretending to shower in Muhammad's shower

but not tall enough to hold the door handle

good signs - the workers makeshift kitchen and toilet have been removed, and the ground levelled

the sliding door between entrance foyer & living room, now with the glass inserts

and view from the other side

laundry room cabinets

the wet kitchen built in cabinets, all done, including the handles

another angle, showing the built in cabinet as well as the sliding door. The fridge will be located where the wooden ladder is

this pic was taken yesterday - the handles have already been installed today

cabinet under the master bath sink

master suite walk in closet with the handles from ikea

master suite walk in closet, top shelves with polished cute little handle

Muhammad's built in closet, with the same handle as the master suite.

this wall in family room was re-plastered - requested by Henry himself as he was not happy with the quality. the same goes to the walls at the staircase

this is the guest room - the window was intentionally shifted to the left as a cupboard will be placed on the right.

the pantry - almost done. they promised to finish in 2 days time. Notice that we used the ikea drawer units.

the maid's build in cabinet - installed today.

the feature wall in the dining room. The wall socket in the centre of the wall will be hidden behind our LCD TV.

closer picture of the chandelier (dining room) under the covers

closer look of the light under the stairs landing

astro and tv aerial spaghetti in the electrical distribution box

the air-con compressors have now been bolted to the supports. peace of mind for me (and the electrician whom i have been bugging everyday for a week to get it done!)

the ground has been levelled, and cleared of the stones, rubbish etc

Updates @ 24 April

2008-04-24T22:12:00.007+08:00

I have been very busy with work lately, just too tired to upload... work which will delay the official house opening ceremony - at least by a week. Which means I am trying to unofficially move in the house before that 'work' begins, once the electricity have been connected.

I am just so excited about moving in - I am just so sorry for my family, as the timing of the work is so coincidentally wrong - these two are big things for me - the work is a major deliverable for 2008 and the house, well, what can I say, a major deliverable, a major tick in the box for me and my family. Anyway, if things goes to plan, electricity should be connected on the 1st May, I will take leave from 2nd till 7th May to move stuffs and family, and on the 8th back to work to finalise the 'work' in the office, that needs my full commitment until 20th May.

Back to the house then, practically, structurely the house is already done. What's left are what I see as small punch list items, which should be done within the next 7 days.

Lights - all done except 2 emergency lights.
Doors & handles - all done except the small door at the garage (irrelevant at the moment, but there is a phase 2 in a couple of years, which make that small door more relevant).
Windows - all done except changing the handle to locking handles
Aircon & Fans - all installed.
Alarm - all installed.
Toilet & baths - outstanding are tap mixers, towel racks and tissue holder
Cabinets - TV cabinets and Maid's built in closet due by end next week
Gates - all done except the gate opener. equipment already at the house and only requires installing (once electricity is connected)

Enjoy the pics below:

The alarm system have been installed. We'll test it once we get the electricity in

custom made main door handles, made of stainless steel

Aircon compressors already installed

The entrance foyer chandelier

Dining room chandelier . . . without the shades

Dining room chandelier . . . with the shades

Master bedroom have been polished. . . it will be polished again once we have moved our stuffs in

This is the family lounge floor

Whilst this is Iman/Izzan's room

We've got extra dark grey tiles, and decided to just cover the clothesline area

driveway is 95% done. We need another 195 grey tiles which should arrive Friday

Updates @ 19 April

2008-04-19T17:29:00.007+08:00

I just got back from Miri today, and got myself a couple of ventilation fans and more importantly, have my own time with my wife, out for quiet (and fulfilling!) lunch . Oh yes, I also burnt a $1.1k hole in my pocket for an AV Amp to complement my KEF3005s...

The intention was to get myself the ONKYO TS-XR605... well, a quiet lunch with the Mrs was the main intention (sorry Darling heheh), but secondary is the AV Amp, however this shop has just sold out their last set yesterday! So instead, I have to fork out for another RM200 for the new model: TS-XR606. About the shop itself, it is King Sound @ Pelita Commercial Centre (behind Grand Palace Hotel). They specialised mainly in high end system, those that appears in UK magazines like What Hi Fi & Hi FI Choice.... the owner., Mr Vincent is well versed in all this Hi Fi thingy, and very friendly. Get in touch with him 6013 837 2777 for your hi-fi needs.

Anyway, back to the house. Today there were about 12 workers doing the tile works (inside - some touch up as the carpenter manage to break one tile; and outside - the driveway), carpentry (dry & wet kitchen), painting (the woodworks incl. stairs handrails) & cornice (of the completed corridor cabinets). Well, enjoy the pics below:

Wet kitchen cabinet almost done. It just need 4 more doors.

We bought the IKEA Rationell drawer set in Singapore, and asked the contractor to build it into our wet kitchen set... it works like the Blum set in Signature Kitchen, but a lot cheaper (I think I said it in my last post)

This is the dry kitchen lower cabinet/drawer . . . .

. . . and the dry kitchen top cabinet/shelves

. . . and the whole thing... looks neat

the aluminium borders . . . I like!

workers plastering the cornice

the dining room washing basin installed with the tile border

a third coat of paint on the handrail. . . it shouldn't be glossy, but I'll check again tomorrow

another angle to it

Iman/Izzan's walk in closet done - oh well, almost done, handles are outstanding

Iman/Izzan's built in cabinet/bench almost done: outstanding are the cushions, lights and handles

Muhammad's dressing table

Muhammad's walk in closet

Muhammad's built in cabinet/bench

Master suite walk in closet

. . . another angle to it

bolts holding the stairs handrail.... it makes the handrail sturdy

the top part of the handrail bolts

The driveway main tiles almost done. Only the borders are outstanding.

view of the driveway tiles from the master suite

close up view of the living room pendant lights

close up of the light under the stairs landing

'Puteh' flirting with me heheh

the clothesline area

Updates @ 18 April

2008-04-19T06:10:00.007+08:00

After work today, armed with just my camera phone, i dropped by the office and saw more development - see below:

the bar table had already been covered with wood

doors for the wall cabinet @ dry kitchen has also been installed. With the aluminium border, it looks like Signature Kitchen but for free (included in Henry's quotation)

cabinet door under the wet kitchen sink had also been installed.

the sliding door between the dry and wet kitchen installed. this is the wet kitchen side.

... and this is the dry kitchen side

clothesline stands was also installed

as promised yesterday, pics of the main gate installed on Thursday.
close up of the gate

like i said before, i love the details of the gate design...

I know many friends / colleagues of mine are planning to build a house. If you are interested to see Henry's workmanship or how his team works, you are welcomed to come (at your own risks) - Be very careful, as there are many nails, sharp/heavy objects & dangerous tools laying around. Take care & have a good weekend.

1000 visitors

2008-04-17T22:07:00.002+08:00

Alhamdulillah, my site has achieved 1000 visitors in less than a month since I started 'counting'. Keep on coming friends, and I'll try to update as frequent as possible.

Good nite all!

Updates @ 17 April

2008-04-17T20:20:00.006+08:00

Went to the house 3 times today: after picking up the kids from school (at noon); on the way to the office after lunch (Henry Ling was there) and the third, on my home from work. Lots of thing got done today.

See the pics below - couple of pics that I missed out are the main gate and gate side-door which have been installed today.

main door have been painted, just as we specified - non-glossy

as has been the stairs handrail. it still feels kinda rough though, so i guess they will sand it and give another coat of paint again.

the difference in colour tone is obvious here. Had to talk to the contractor when I see them tomorrow.

built in cabinets in the master bedroom have their doors installed. I love the darkwood tone.

the wet kitchen cabinet installed today. notice the hole at the top, for the kitchen hood

top cabinet for the dry kitchen was also installed today.

the sliding door separating the entrance foyer and the living room: dark wood tone on one side (entrance foyer side) . . . .

. . . . and this is the living room side

the security alarm was also installed.

Updates @ 16 April

2008-04-16T18:32:00.006+08:00

2 weeks into April - what have they done? See below:

Stairs handrail installed and sanded, prepared for the coatings

This part of the handrail was painstakingly sculptured from a big block of wood!

view from the top of the stairs

Muhammad walking down the stairs clutching his prized Gameboy

Aaeeshah is still recovering from her coughing, but do not want to be left behind

view from inside the family room - the panel on the left is slidable (if there is such a word)

Iman's built in display cabinet cum bench

Family lounge's bench and hidden storage space

storage space outside the common bathroom outside Muhammad's room

Iman's sink. Now just needing towel rail and mirror.

likewise for the common bath @ Muhammad's bathroom

remember in my past posting that they painted the 'leaves' green? They have now painted in gold/black

we didn't have this in mind when we specified the design, but I love the result.

Wall lights for the front entrance and dining room foyer

Our 'bar' light

In three weeks time, this wall will have a lovely LCD HD TV hehehahahhohoh, can't wait to watch Man Utd beat Liverpool in the Champions League final.... Asri/Paul/Natasha if you are reading this, you are invited!

The driveway tile progressing well despite the sudden heavy downpour at lunch time

Our camera-shy future-pet is angry?? well, she was just yawning and I took the shot at the perfect timing... cats have sixth sense perhaps??

Footsteps... somebody was wearing ESPRIT slippers...

Updates @ 11/12/13/14 April

2008-04-14T18:16:00.008+08:00

After 3 days of no internet, I present to you the pics taken over the past 3 days. Over the weekend including Sunday, there were at least 5 people working on the house, from electrical to furniture to tiling.

Looks like the housewarming will be delayed slightly, as we'll only likely getting the electricity approval by the end of April. And it means I can't celebrate my birthday there :-(

Well, enjoy the pics below.

the progress of driveway tiling as of 6pm today... I guess they were asked to work overtime

the main gate entrance lights.... I can't wait for it to be lit up :-)

another angle to it

the entrance light was also installed last Saturday

Muhammad's built in cabinet. On the left is his study table.

the partition wall between the entrance foyer and the family room.

the sliding door separating the dining room and the corridor leading to the dry kitchen

another angle to it

another angle of the partition between entrance foyer & family room

the wood surrounding the entrance to the living room

tempered glass ready to be installed, in the master bathroom

workers installing the tempered glass in master bathroom

the tempered glass door already installed in the common bathroom (next to Muhammad's room)

the tempered glasses and door as it was today

this sign supposedly confirms that the glass is tempered. The glasses were brought in from Singapore

pendant lights for the living room

simple wall light for the stairs landing

another angle of the wall light

mirror lights for toilets & baths

cute pendant light for the space under the stairs landing

electric fans have already been installed today; the above is in the garage

...and this one is at the patio

whilst this one, Yuragi fan, is in the master bedroom

the box for the Yuragi fan.... supposedly relaxing. lets hope I can sleep tight when this fan is switched on heheh

this five bladed version is reserved for the kids rooms as well as the guest room

Updates @ 09 April 08

2008-04-09T21:19:00.007+08:00

My dad called me this morning whilst I was at work, that my gate had been delivered. I was so eager to see it and had our chance after picking up the kids at noon. The photos can be seen below. It will be installed once the tiles near the entrance have been completed.

The contractor had also started to install the driveway tiles and I reckon it'll take 4 to 5 days to complete. TIPS: Use homogenous tiles for this purpose, as the colour is uniformed throughout the thickness of the tile - so that if the tile is chipped, it will not be that obvious.

What else happen today? Oh yes, I got a visit by Your Greatness, Head of OGDC and a fellow blogger who has also recently completed his mansion... he arrived in his Poochie, 911 cabriolet.

There was also a special announcement at the office today - suffice to say that the special announcement allows my wife and I some breathing space, and able to stretch our expenses a bit.

Anyway, enough ramblings and on to the pics.

The usual pics as my post opener

taken exactly from the front of the house

and from a different angle again

Astro and TV aerial have been installed

This shot was taken yesterday after Maghrib (sunset)... I love the golden red reflection on Muhammad's room windows

pattern of tiles on our drive way

and another angle to it

from the higher angle

they managed to cover about a sixth of the driveway

another angle to it

arrival of Poochie and Your Greatness

after days of rain, there is no sign of the rusty water from a neighbour's shed roof staining our fence

the main gate delivered today

close up of the design

the two smaller gates: one for access to my brother's bungalow and the other for access from the driveway.

Updates @ 06 & 07 April 08

2008-04-07T22:49:00.007+08:00

Busy busy weekend and Monday... I have been to Bandar daily since Saturday.

Saturday - choosing the driveway tiles, pay the aircons, buy the ventilation fans
Sunday - attend my bro-in-law's niece's wedding, and continued with more shopping for the kitchen's loose items
Monday - purely work, meeting at PU. Was car-sick the whole trip, being driven in the rather boatlike Ford Transit

Back to the house... enjoy the picstory below...

This shot was taken on Sunday morning. There was a heavy downpour on Friday evening and it looks like the contractor did a good job with modifying the neighbour's store room roofing - previously the water running of the roof left unsightly rusty stain on our fencing wall

water tank finally installed

as is the wall lights at the perimeter fencing

the stainless steel stairs handrail is now in place. they will install the wooden handle in the coming week.

same thing from a different angle

powder room bowl & sink have been installed. whats left here is the tap and bidet, and yes the mirror and its mirror light + ventilation fan (a must!)

this is Muhammad's bowl. His toilet has a long way to go - mirror, mirror light, sink bowl, tap/mixer, glass door, ventilation fan

Yours truly throne for relaxation... there will of course be a glass door

the dry kitchen sink with granite

sample of our emergency light. we have 9 installed at strategic location. Gembo & Gembo Jrs hates the dark

SiMusang or the Fox heheh, one of the pair of stray kittens raised by the Indonesians. We may take them as ours

clearer shot of the iron fencing

close up showed the green colour that I, no, We didn't like. Hopefully they'll have it changed by this coming week

Updates @ 4 April

2008-04-04T21:44:00.004+08:00

What have the contractors been up to?

well, we dropped by before work this morning to confirm which toilet bowls and sinks go to which bathroom... but they'll work on it tomorrow
The metal/iron sections of our perimeter fencing have been installed
Air-cons have been delivered yesterday and installed by this afternoon
Our stainless steel stairs railings and main door handles had also been delivered today - they're likely to be installed tomorrow
Perimeter fencing lights have been partially installed
cabinets for the kids rooms have been completed & delivered, but not installed yet (Henry has his own furniture factory, so we had our closets and cabinets custom built, as with all the doors)
The water tank and water heater support is also ready - waiting for final coat of paint and the stainless steel tank to be installed
Ball is in our court though for the driveway and main entrance floor - another long drive to Bandar again to choose the tiles, and hope to have it done by midweek next week

Anyway, enjoy the pics below. Sorry I had to use cameraphone as I left my proper camera at home. Have a good weekend all. Wassalamualaikum.

metal fencing installed. contractor painted the leaves in green when we wanted black/gold - they'd rectify it soon (they say it should be easy)

view from a distance

Air-con in its place

stairs railing - to be installed tomorrow

the perimeter fencing lighting base already installed.

support for water tank and water heater

black clouds when we reached the house @ 5.30.... by 7pm, the heavens opened with heavy torrential rain for a good half hour, and continued with slight drizzle

02 April 2008 Updates

2008-04-02T20:39:00.006+08:00

Crucial final 4 weeks to completion. Please enjoy picstory below:

The usual - I open with the pic from the front

the driveway as seen from Family lounge

.. and as seen from the master bedroom

master bedroom walk in closet

the grain formica of the walk in closet

yeay... toilet bowls have been delivered!

and master bath installed. next will be the water mixer.

door handles have been installed too

driveway border being decorated with the coloured pebbles

the main gate has already been plastered, and stone tiles installed

and the main doors have been installed. pretty heavy doors - solid wood for the border

view of the door from inside

Updates @ 27 March

2008-03-30T07:13:00.006+08:00

driveway completed

view of driveway and the house

view of the house from the junction

view of the driveway in the compound

Izzan Aaeeshah doing her rounds :)

Dining room washing corner

Wall lights enclosure

The main gate pillar

Suppliers

2008-03-24T07:53:00.004+08:00

I have been asked by a few friends where to get this and that, and here goes. I hope it will also be useful for you AMAR:

Architectural drawings - Fred C Design, a designer from KB. Main contact is Freddy Chew - Mobile no 673 8611220 or office no 673 3331185
Construction contractor - Henry Ling Company (HLC), a local contractor. Main contact is Henry Ling - mobile no 673 8710242 (if you need him to quote, please sms first before you call)
Tiles - We got it from Nordin Jaya (HLC's supplier)
T&B (toilet & bath) stuffs - also from Nordin Jaya
Windows - supplied by HLC from Singapore - but we specified the colour. Otherwise it will be in green colour (we asked for brown).
Wooden Doors - made by HLC at their furniture shop - again we specified the design, and colour.
PVC Doors - supplied by HLC, and sourced from a specialist shop in Bandar Seri Begawan - I forgot the name but its the only PVC shop in front of QAF Auto in Beribi. Again, we specified the design and glass colour.
Cabinets - made by HLC at their furniture shop - although for the pantry we bought our own IKEA inserts (Rationalle line) and asked the furniture boss to work around it.
Light Switches - supplied by HLC using the MK brand.
Lights - we bought ourselves 98% from Singapore - along Belestier Road. I've promised to the suppliers to put up their business cards in my blog and I'll do that within this week. Meanwhile, 2% is local - to be supplied by HLC for the Family lounge ceiling.
Curtains - we ordered in Miri at the Home Designer (located along the road behind Boulevard Supermarket). Contact person is Stella at 673 821112 0r 6012 8708386 (Malaysian number). Although based in Miri, she drives to Brunei twice a week and will measure your windows for a free quotation.

There. I hope it helps a bit. Please drop your comments for more info or email me at azmirazak@gmail.com if you need more detailed info. Have a good day.

Updates @ 20 March 08

2008-03-22T16:47:00.002+08:00

These pics were taken during the Maulidurasul public holiday (Thursday).

our driveway being prepared linking to my bro's existing driveway

view from the top of the proposed driveway

something that needs fixing. The water from a neighbour's shed stained our fence - have spoken to them and agreed for us to cut the roof slightly. However, I wasn't convinced that it'll solve the problem so may well invest on a PVC gutter to solve the problem.

our water tank support being constructed

next to the water tank will be the water heater.

Updates @ 19 March 08

2008-03-19T19:22:00.004+08:00

Updates? They're done now with getting more sand for the lawn - What's left now is to level it.

Ceilings have now been painted with the second coat - so that is done now. The walls will only be painted with second coat once we are ready to move in, as with the door I supposed.

New granites have been delivered (to replace two pieces contaminated with oil drops). Ah Guan had installed them in the dry kitchen (See pic below).

Driveway? Now that no truck is entering the compound, the foreman has prepared the layout of the driveway. Should be ready in less than 2 weeks I supposed - subject to weather of course!

Enjoy the pics then.

the lawn is clear now, rid of the staff toilets

they have prepared the driveway - 'packing' for the next step i.e. dig up the driveway, put in metal thingy and then, concrete.

the craftmanship put in to ensure the edges are very smooth

Another angle of the bench...

Sanding the edges of the ceiling design.

Granite finally installed at the dry kitchen

Updates @ 18 March 08

2008-03-18T19:53:00.005+08:00

On the way home from work today, dropped by the house to see what they're up to. Here's what happened:

The area near the entrance, "planter box?", already had those colourful pebbles nicely stuck to the borders.

The bench top is installed with the same tile as the ground floor main tiles.

close up of the bench

first encounter with a lizard....

and a dragonfly... both in Iman's room

emergency lights installed today

downlights at the family hall...

downlights in the master suite

and the triple light under the big window in master suite

finally, the doors to the master suite... the left leads straight to the room, whilst the right is the 'service' door - it leads to the walk in closet - to allow the maid to refresh the laundry.

Hope you enjoy the pics.

Updates @ 17 March

2008-03-18T06:20:00.004+08:00

Stopped by the house as usual after work, and saw that they have begun to install the doors (not all) and completed installing the lights (except wall and hanging types). They had also begun installing the granite tops in the bathrooms, again not all. Here are some pics, taken with my trusty new mobile phone:

granite in master bathroom

sample of the door - this is Muhammad's

This is Muhammad's bathroom granite....

.... and this is his sink/bowl

Updates @ 15 March 08

2008-03-16T00:23:00.004+08:00

Went to the house with the kids today, and only Aaeeshah was interested to venture in - Muhammad & Iman were distracted by the big lawn and the kato parked in the middle of the lawn.

Izzan Aaeeshah 'inspecting' the drawers... all seems to be fine huh?!

The lawn as viewed from the master bedroom. Kids love the clear area.

The lawn from a different angle, from the family lounge.

Iman & Aaeeshah's room: we've planned to make a bench on top of the middle 3 drawers. I can bet Aaeeshah will love to climb and jump off that, whilst Iman, being a 'princess' as she is, will love to simply lounge on that and reading her 'princess' books

Updates @ 12 March 08

2008-03-12T21:50:00.018+08:00

Its been 9 months and 2 weeks since we started piling the foundations of the house.... so, how is it getting along? well, look at the pics below. The house has been buzzing with workers since Monday, so here's more updates.

98% of the tiles have been installed. Whats left is at the entrance foyer.
Lights have partially been installed. Only half the ground floor have been installed.
PVC doors have been installed, and they are really heavy but sturdy!
Indoor doors are almost done - went to their factory yesterday in Seria to confirm the colours, and the doors have been sanded twice. Time for the first coat of paint and final coat will be put on once the doors have been installed.
Cabinets? Another 2 - 3 weeks. We've just agreed on the colours.
Main door? 2 - 3weeks.
water tank? 1 - 2 weeks. currently under construction.
main gates? 1 - 2 weeks. currently under construction in Miri.
Astro and aerial installation - await quotes from the installer.
lawn.... they've removed the staff quarters on Tuesday, and had begun to remove the old cement floors - the remains of an old workshop. So now they are levelling the lawn and maybe I have to think about grass.....
stuffs from Singapore? They arrived last Wednesday and was delivered to our place on Saturday. I got my KEF baby!

About our contractor: Henry Ling is now very much in demand... I got a couple of friends wanting his service and wouldn't mine paying a bit of a premium - you pay for quality. So if any of you out there need him to quote, just pass him the full detailed drawings and lets hope he is available. Currently he have 4 on-going clients in Pandan area alone, 1 in Sungai Teraban and 1 in Lumut. SMS him at 8710242 and follow up with a call. Good luck. And now, enjoy the pics!

As usual, I start with the full pic, although this is from a different angle, now the staff house is gone.

view from the family lounge

now you see it....

..... now you don't!

the cute kato levelling the land

the last of the wall tiles, done!

another angle showing the completed wall tiles. Notice the bar table, still bare...

and the granite piece...

and the finished match - bar table + granite

another granite piece

and its final location at the wet kitchen

windows at the family lounge, just above the main entrance

can't wait to move in!

Updates @ 29 Feb 08

2008-02-29T22:33:00.005+08:00

For a change, no front pics this time round. Can assure you there is no change outside, so much so that my colleagues thought that I've moved in! Exterior is almost done, save for another coat of paint and doors to be installed.

Sorry, there is no pics from Singapore trip, but I do get lots of stuffs: my speaker set, more lights, bar stools and some ikea stuffs (kitchen installation, rugs, kids duvet).... It was a worthwhile but very tiring shopping trip.... lucky we didn't bring the kids as it was hectic, and I don't know how they could keep up with our pace had they come along. However, at the end of the day, we missed the kids though - especially Aaeeshah (youngest), who had just learned to talk. It was like returning to an empty home.

Things left to be done:
1) Install doors
2) Intall sinks, toilet bowls & the sink mixer/taps.
3) Install lights
4) Install aircons
5) Install water tank, pump and heater
6) Install granite tops
7) Install Astro dish and TV aerial
8) construct driveway
9) levelling of our mini "Old Trafford"
10) finishing touches to the benches at the entrance and patio
11) Connecting the utilities - electric & phone cables, and gas and water connections
12) final coat of paints both inside and out
13) wall tiles for dry kitchen (came as a shock, I thought we already chose this! - meaning another long drive to Bandar)
14) installation of built in cabinets (all bedrooms + kitchens + laundry + pantry + garage)

I guess that's it. and we'll be ready to move in!

Anyway, enjoy the pics here

Iman & Aaeeshah's room, painted in pink

Pantry, painted in cream colour

family lounge, painted

another angle of family lounge

master bedroom

garage fully tiled by Friday 29/2

Muhammad wanted me to take this shot of his CROCS footprint... here's for you, son!

fence near the entrace - option 1 painting scheme

fence near the entrace - option 2 painting scheme

The rear fencing, more painting needed

heaps of sand ready to be levelled to the groud, once the staff house is brought down

more heaps of sand

Singapore Trip

2008-02-26T07:04:00.003+08:00

I just got back at 1am last night from a Singapore "Home Shopping" trip with my wife. We got LIGHTS, lots of IKEA stuffs and I got myself a Kef KHT3005. To Mr Boombastic, I got it dude :)

I have appointment at 8 am today with contractor, and then another trip to Miri. So, will try to update later.

Ciao!

Updates @ 22 Feb 08

2008-02-22T23:53:00.007+08:00

I mentioned in my previous blog (14 Feb) that we're bracing ourselves for another 6 weeks. I got assurance from the contractor on Wednesday that it should be ready by 31 March.

Well, since we are not currently staying at BSP housing, there is no rush for us to move in although I am already so excited to do so. Both my wife and I have decided to move in sometimes in April (mid/late), and I have indicated to my wife that I'd like to have my birthday at the new house :-) . . . . so it should be before May starts heheh

Anyway, I've got friends all over who are eager to see the updates. Been too swamped in work that I can only do this in the weekend... Regarding the weekend chores of choosing tiles etc, well in 8 hours time I'll be on a plane to SINGAPORE - for a long weekend break and find some stuffs for our house. One thing for certain, a set of KHT3005 for our family room... InsyaAllah.

Will post pics of our Singapore shopping (should be a big change compared to the previous drive to Bandar or Miri). Till then, Selamat Hari Kebangsaan Brunei ke 24 to my fellow Bruneians, and have a great long weekend! And Spurs will win the Carling Cup.

As usual, I start with the front of the house

The fence on the far end has got its first coat of weathershield paint. Another coat is due.

Another angle

And another angle

The living room has been painted, well partially.

The paint is actually a sample (this was our second sample, apparently the first one was a bit too yellowish!)

The dining room ceiling has been done.

Feature wall? Sandstone paint for us!

Our master bedroom, painted! I was so excited when I came to the room, no longer seeing the white undercoat.

Another angle

And yet another angle

This is Muhammad's room. He chose the blue paint himself. And look at that cornice - I love it.

The door frame - idea my wife got from watching AFC, where the chef cooks at his beautiful home. I had to really wait for the show to actually see the door frames.

Some area of the compound has been levelled

And lastly but of course not the least, our Muhammad. A very understanding boy. We told him no vacation again this year. He said OK. I offered to buy him Nintendo Wii to soften the blow of not travelling but he said he'll be happy to have a Gameboy. We love you Muhammad.

Updates @ 15 Feb 08

2008-02-16T07:01:00.008+08:00

Updates as of 15 Feb 08. Came back from work a bit late, hence pics are lit by camera flash. Had I arrived 1/2 hour earlier the pics could have been better, but I promised some friends with latest updates and never want to disappoint them, so here there are! enjoy.

BTW, as usual, today will be another busy trip to Bandar: curtains, aircons, furniture.... sigh, but it should be worth the while, for its for our new HOME!

View from from right front corner of the land

and view from the rear right corner

dome already installed

and the wooden deck in the living room, too

as well as the simple cornice at the powder room

Master Walk in Closet (on the right in the next picture)

Walk in closet from another angle

some areas of our lawn has been levelled

whilst some others are yet to be levelled

our 'guard dog' hahahah

putting the fears into intruders

smelling every threat...

and scarring the intruders with the serious look!

Updates?

2008-02-14T22:57:00.003+08:00

Post Chinese New Year, only the Filipino & Indonesian carpenters were around - so work so far since Monday was restricted to installing the dome at entrance + wooden ceiling inserts at our living room & dining room. Will post pictures over the weekend, insyaAllah.

We're bracing ourselves for the final 6 weeks!

Gong Xi Fa Chai

2008-02-07T07:52:00.000+08:00

To our contractor, Henry Ling & Architect, Freddy Chew, as well as to my chinese friends, fellow bloggers and blog visitors and your respective families, Happy Chinese New Year.

Gembo @ Pg Hj Azmi Razak & Family

PS: We went to Henry's Open House - pics are available here.

Finally - Updates!

2008-02-01T23:44:00.000+08:00

My blog has reached beyond the shores, Aisehmen hehe! Well, on Tuesday (29 Jan), I had visitors from KL and Singapore for a meeting. One of them, Azlan who with his wife are both my blog regulars, asked to see my home after our working lunch - after months of just looking at the blogs, he really wanted to take the chance to see the house in person.... the attraction of pictures, huh. I hope you enjoyed your visit Azlan, and next time round I hope I'll be able to serve you tea :-)

Anyway, updates!
- Floor tiles: All ground floor tiled except Dry Kitchen & Guestroom.
- Fencing: Main concrete structures all done. Plastering almost done, but they still need to do some design on the fence.
- Wooden floor: they have polished the floor during the week and also puttied (for lack of words) the gaps between the woods.
- Window: they have already installed the handles (today i think, cos I didn't see it yesterday)
- Ceilings: all covered, except for the entrance foyer where they'll install the dome.
- Doors: The PVC door frames for Family Room and Dining Room have been installed. Wooden doors? the design for the doors was only passed to Henry last Sunday, and he'll have his carpenters make a sample for our review before he make the others.
- Cornice: Only the master bedroom done so far.
- Cabinets: They've installed the cabinets in Master Suite & the girls' room walk-in-closet, and at Muhammad's room
- Mains: cable has been installed from main supply to the gate and to the house.

Phew! That's a lot of updates.... and now for the pics. To my friends who frequent my blog (including my HSE adviser - you know who you are), apologies for delay in updating. For GoKuQal, ada udah tu gambar kitchen. Enjoy the pics and enjoy your weekend!

Pics above and below proves that not much changes can be expected outside. Pic above taken on Monday, 28 Jan.

This pic was taken today (01 Feb).... see, not much change, right?

The rear fencing, which had just been painted with undercoat today

View from a corner.

View from the entrance steps. You can see the bar /island in the horizon as well as the gap in the ceiling waiting for the dome

Wet kitchen - shown is the sink. the space next to it is for the fridge

Wet kitchen - opposite to the sink. the gap is for the cooker

Another shot of the wet kitchen

This is the bar/island in the dry kitchen (shot taken from the pantry)

And this is a shot of the pantry (partly hidden by the stone covered wall)

Family room with the UPVC door frame

The living room - notice the tile has been fully laid

The view of the family room, from outside. Muhammad wanted me to take the shot with him in it.

The master suite ceiling finally done. Even the cornice was already installed.

Muhammad's closet installed, including himself!

And this is the girls walk in closet cabinets

The window handles already installed.

My ride seriously needs TLC. Notice the brakedust at the front wheels. Gotta to clean it soon - otherwise will take a long time to clean it off.

Latest Photo @ 21 Jan

2008-01-22T21:18:00.000+08:00

Updates?

The contractor has started to install the ground floor tiles, but nothing else. I've been told the contractor has urgent jobs to complete for his chinese clients, to get their houses ready for Chinese New Year. Hopefully things will pick up a week before CNY as that is when he promised to get moving again.

Well, enjoy these pics taken late afternoon on Monday.

No change to the exterior

Pic shows the fencing on the west side of the house. We simply extended (upwards) our neighbour's fence (with his consent of course)

View from the Master Suite Window, showing the gate/entrance to the house and my old but trusty ride.

View from the Family Lounge, showing the west side of the front lawn. Notice the concrete fencing to the north of the house has been fully erected - next thing to do is to plaster it smooth.

This is the view of the dining room from the patio entrance. We haven't yet decided on the cornice (see the ceiling).

An idea we got from a friend for the ceiling in our family room.

pic taken from the stairs, showing the ground floor tiles being laid.

Dry vs Wet Kitchen

2008-01-19T00:21:00.000+08:00

A friend, W, dropped by my site and asked me a question back in the office, regarding why the need for wet and dry kitchen. I told W that I'd respond on my blog, so here goes.

There is no hard and fast rule on this (not that I am aware of!) whether you should have a separate wet and dry kitchen, but in our case, the idea came from how we currently do our cooking at my in-laws, and even from where I grew up. There are always two section of the kitchen or two work-tops; one where you do the fish, cut up the chix etc, and one where you do the less nasty stuffs, e.g. sandwiches, fruits etc.

How we plan our kitchen is, the wet kitchen is where we'll normally do the 'dirty' jobs e.g. food preparation, cooking, frying where there's a fair element of fluids flying around i.e. water, oil, soups, gravies (hence maybe why it is called a wet kitchen)..... As such, the floor definitely have to be cleaned regularly so we have the wet kitchen next to the laundry area, so we can simply mop the area clean at the end of the day.

Dry kitchen meanwhile, is where we'll do the cleaner/drier stuffs e.g. baking stuffs, toast bread and it also doubles as small dining room for us, family of 5 at the bar-table which allows us to watch TV at the family room.

Maybe others can offer better explanation, but the above is how we design our house. All the oven and stoves are in the wet kitchen. Dry kitchen is where we plan to have our microwave and toaster, and my iMac and my KitchenAid (I am hinting to my Missus heheh).

So W, i hope the above answers your question.

Update @ 16 Jan 08

2008-01-17T00:34:00.000+08:00

I have received lots of request to update the blog... really sorry friends. I didn't realise you guys are keeping track..... Thank you for your continued visits to this blog.

Updates to date:

not much changes externally to the building itself, but construction of the perimeter concrete fencing has been progressing well.
internally the ceiling has all been covered with gypsum, and we are hoping the cornices will be installed within the next week or two, after which they will start to paint the interior walls.
Amah's and Guest bathroom wall & floor tiling have been completed, whilst powder room had its wall fully tiled and floor should be tiled in the next week
laundry room has been fully tiled
kitchens (wet & dry) concrete support had been constructed, including the bar table (not for drinking, mind you hehehe). tiling of these areas will be done within the next 2 weeks
Once all the toilets and kitchens tiling are done, then the whole of groundfloor floor will be tiled.
Granite! Had driven down to Miri to view (and chosen) the different granites for all the 5 main toilets/bathroom sink top plus the bar table, dry and wet kitchen tops as well as the laundry sink counters. Phew!

Finally, I will have a break this weekend - I don't need to drive up to Bandar or Miri looking for anything. I will have to discuss stuffs with the contractor though but now will be able to play with the kids, especially my youngest Izzan Aaeeshah who just turned 2 last Friday. Birthday party pics will be up on the other gembo blog soon.

Visitors? I have 4 groups of visitors recently, 2 are clients of Henry Ling whilst 2 are finalising their design. If you plan to have a look around, I would suggest that you get in touch with me (email to azmirazak@gmail.com) so I can give you a guided tour, and if possible, do it in the weekends.

Now, enjoy the pics below. Till the next update. To Is, I am also jeles with your bed, chandelier and the big island heheheh.

familiar angle, @ 16 Jan

from the other unfamiliar angle

full concrete fencing at the back, which is almost done

laundry has been fully tiled

closer view of the top of the concrete fencing

the house compound has slowly been cleared. notice the concrete pillars for the fencing (behind the contractors' quarters)

I love this mosaics! My wife chose this and it blends very well with the wall tile (in the powder room). And I love blue as well :-)

Happy New Year 2008

2008-01-02T16:42:00.000+08:00

These pics below were taken on 1st Jan 2008.... roughly 7 months since the foundation for the house was made. InsyaAllah in 3 months time, house will be ready... InsyaAllah (God-Willing!)

The house @ 01.01.08

The wood flooring on the upper floor had been completed- it'll be polished again, twice once we are ready to move in.

yours truly test driving the bath tub.... mmmm, bubbly heheheh

an additional scope, but a very important addition indeed for security and peace of mind

a view from master bedroom. . . . on 01.01.08 it was a beautiful rainbow

another additional scope, but at no additional cost. this is purely aesthetics.

Latest Pics

2007-12-28T06:09:00.000+08:00

Well... not latest, these pics were taken on the 17 Dec and only had the chance to upload. Mr Boombastic, apologies for spoiling your leave :-). I didn't realise you took your long awaited leave to view my blog heheheh

Current status?

- Concrete fences are being built on 2 sides (south & east sides)

- Existing neighbours fences are being repaired (north & west)

- wooden floors are almost done, only the family lounge requires polishing

- apron (floors surrounding the house) fully tiled

- built in cabinets have been delivered and to be installed once all paint jobs is done

- upper floor T&B all fully tiled (wall & floor)

- master T&B, bath tub has been installed

- have spent a total 8 hours in 2 curtain shops (5 hours in Miri shop where I manage to sleep on their display sofa heheh)

What next?

- select tiles for ground floor

- design the bar-table

- design the cabinets for kitchen & hallway

- book air-cons and kitchen hobs/ovens

Master T&B - on the left will be the loo & shower on the right

bathtub installed

Muhammad's T&B - fully tiled (he chose the tiles himself)

Iman & Izzan's T&B - Iman chose this tile and we pick the mosaic to complement. She loves it.

The contractor found this snake following an overnight shower.... I wonder what snake is this

the house as it was 2 weeks ago @ 17 Dec. Second layer of paint will be done closer to handover time

Update @ 5 Dec (Wednesday)

2007-12-09T07:23:00.001+08:00

The last month of December - lots of work KPI to meet (mine plus others), so there have been many meetings, many activities to attend, so the blog is the lowest of priorities BUT I'm still visiting my house every day after work, and taking pictures.

These pics were taken on Wednesday, 5h Dec. Window frames & glasses have been installed but not the locks & bathroom wall tiles has started to be installed.

nearly all the exterior walls have been painted. Another layer will be added when we are ready to move in

Another angle of the house. Notice the windows have been installed.

Tiles for (from left) Master bathroom, Muhd's bathroom and Iman/Izzan's bathroom. These tiles are laid on the floor for us to review and once ok with us, then they will put these tiles to the walls

And these are how they look like on Iman/Izzan's bathroom

The stairs have been covered with the teakwood. next step is to machine, sand and polish the wood

And the family lounge too has been completed. Before we left for Bandar yesterday (another tile-choosing-outing), we saw our Master bedroom floor has been completed.

Design....

2007-12-02T05:19:00.000+08:00

Did I mention in any of my postings, of somebody trying to get copies of our homeplans from our contractor? The contractor asked them to approach the owner i.e. my wife & I, but nobody did.

He told that person, "Itu olang banyak pikir, banyak keluar wang mau bikin ini design, lu sanang-sanang minta ka.... aiyaaaa" or translated to English, "The owner spent so much time and money to get this design and you want to take the easy way??!".

I guess this is true. Even if the person comes to see us, I wouldn't share. It took us more than a year, asked around for ideas, get ideas from hotels (especially the bathrooms), scour magazines, hours and hours and hours of discussion.

Another reason I wouldn't share is simply that different design applies to different needs and shape of your land... so I would rather give tips, rather than give away my design. See below:

Tips

The thing is, our plot of land is kind of rectangular and access road is from the corner of the plot. Make sure you take this into account from the start, where do you want the house, in particular the entrance to be angled to.
Needs? How many rooms? I have three kids so we have 4 bedrooms - although 1 is used for guest room for the next 10 or so years, until Iman and Izzan want their privacy (Iman is 4 and Izzan is coming to 2 years).
We need separate living rooms for family & living room. Living room is for us to entertain guests, and we need the privacy so it is an enclosed area i.e. need a door there.
We need the dining room linked to the living room. Main purpose of dining room is to entertain guests as well.
Further, growing up in my grandparents house, we often had visitors who need to use the washroom, and had to walk pass our kitchen and see all the unnecessary stuffs i.e. mess before they reach the toilet (in the bathroom), and in those days, bathroom is where we do our laundry.......... so for this house, we need a separate washroom near the dining / living rooms... and the architect told us this is called a "Powder room". I wonder why.
I need the dry kitchen to have a bar facing the TV in the family room, so we design as such.
And dry kitchen should be connected to the wet kitchen.
And how big do you need the kitchen to be? why wet & dry?
make sure the wet kitchen do not have direct access to the other living area - the smell of cooking can spoil the environment of these areas
Laundry should be close to the drying area.
Oh yes, we have a maid so another room for the maid.
Initially we plan for an atrium but the thought of troubles to replace lighting as well as maintenance (windows, ceiling cleaning), we created a playroom for kids at the top and ask for the entrance ceiling to be raised... at least we still have our own grand entrance.
And we need garage for our cars, so instead of a separate one, we have the garage as part of the house.
Walk in and built-in closets.
Power points & TV points.... and phone + LAN points. Keep these in mind.

I suppose the above should be of help to those people who wanted to start building... and good luck. I don't mind you come visit the site to get some ideas, but do let me know so I can give you a guided tour. Or you can wait until the house is completed in March, InsyaAllah.

Updates @ 29 Nov

2007-11-30T05:48:00.000+08:00

Not much progress on the outside

Seems not much progress from outside today, but when I got in, they have already covered about 30% of the stairs steps with wood... in 2 days time, it should be 100%, InsyaAllah.

They've also completed the 'skeleton' for our living room and dining room ceiling.... yet to decide whether it'll be covered in gypsum board or wood.... have to really think about the colour coordination. The thing is, we've already bought a beautiful chandelier for the dining room, and figured wooden ceiling would distract attention from the beauty of the chandelier - well i guess that's probably it then, gypsum board :-)

Anyway, I am already so iski (excited) about the windows - can't wait for the weekend... but I need to time myself well, this saturday I got to see my son Muhammad' s school principal, to get their signature to allow him to enter Ugama school, got to pay electric bills, phone, bmobile, astro, commitment to BSRC Photograph during the BSRC festival (Kanta, 1 hour can what? heheh) and probably bring my kids to OGDC for the thing at OGDC...... well, there goes another Saturday.

Well folks, enough of my ramblings and enjoy the photos...

Our patio and you can see the dining room inside

the 'skeleton' for our entrance ceiling

piping, drainage, cables to be hidden in the ceiling

You can see the bolts used to secure the timber to the concrete.

the timber steps after being covered with wood.

It'll be finished and painted with varnish to protect the wood

another view of the stairs

Updates @ 27 Nov

2007-11-27T22:40:00.000+08:00

Got a call from the contractor at noon to meet up at 5 today, to discuss changes to exterior colour... still the work demands held me back and I only reached there by 5.20. Luckily my wife and I drove separately today and she reached there exactly at 5 pm.

It is important to manage the relationship with your contractor, to ensure work are done smoothly, especially in our case following the delays in payment during milestone 1 & 2.

Anyway, updates?

All other windows to be installed either on Friday or Saturday.
The stairs have been installed, and will be covered with the wood flooring from Wednesday on (3 days work)
Flooring for the top floor will start next week.
Despite the progress, the contractor still maintained target completion date by March 2008. As we are not in a rush i.e. not staying in Shell housing, that was no problem.

So, the pictures are here as promised. Enjoy.

One coat done. Second coat by February / March when we are ready to move in.

Big glass window of the Master Suite

Big glass window of our Family Lounge

View from the rear of the house

My wife said every time we drove past the house, my face glowed with pride. I was just so happy that the house already showed exactly how we expected it to look like, and personally, I am fond of the big glass windows. For those familiar with KB area, there is this 2 storey house surrounded with palm trees, facing the new KB courthouse - it has got this big glass window...

and that is how my wife and I were inspired.

Yeaaayyyy... Windows! Walls Painted!

2007-11-27T06:12:00.000+08:00

Sorry folks.... not been able to update for the past week regularly.... Haven't actually been able to visit the house in daylight for the past 5 days - yesterday was just borderline, reached the house during call for Maghrib prayers, just when daylight ends.

Anyway, spent the weekend in Bandar and stayed over at my sister in laws place. We've now confirmed the tiles (walls & floors) and T&B stuffs for the upper floor, and also found a new furniture shop called Oregano next to Autowerke in Gadong... Looks like I found the place to buy my patio furniture.

Updates?

When I got back from Bandar on Sunday, it was getting dark and we made it a routine to drive past the house EVERY TIME we go out. Anyway, when we drove past that night, my son shouted, WINDOWS... so i stopped by and they have actually installed the BIG GLASS WINDOWS wooohooooo, I ran up the house with my wife and we both stood silent for a while admiring the view through the glass windows. I feel like a little boy again, waiting for the time to actually live in this house.

On Monday, just at it was getting dark again, I went to the house and as I approached, I shouted in delight to see that it has been painted... cool, just like we imagined its gonna be. Its not yet finished though, the second coat will be painted as soon as we are ready to move in. Till the next update with proper photos, please enjoy these pics taken from my trusty old mobile phone.

More photos

2007-11-19T22:35:00.000+08:00

Spent a good 1/2 hour after work at the house today, going around the house, into every room and looked at the ceilings being installed... and found that despite the sophistication of today, contractors still practice the old-fashioned (caveman) way.... see the pics below

We have three cars but garage for two.... mmm, the space on the left looks good for another garage.... sell one car or buy another, to make investment of garage for two worthwhile...

decision decision heheh

In my last blog, i mentioned about stuffs that comes in three.... this is one of those stuffs,

the three windows on the east side of the house

The ceiling design that comes in threes

captain caveman was here!

old fashioned way... this is the design of my living room ceiling

try to figure it out heheh

view of the west side of our house; i think this is the first time I showed photo from this side

another view of the house.... from the north? well, the front of the house.

Updates @ 17 Nov

2007-11-18T05:30:00.000+08:00

We spent almost the whole day today on the house! I hope this blog is kept permanent by blogspot so when my children grow up they can see these entries and understand that their parents have no intention to ignore them - instead their parents are struggling hard to ensure that our HOME is completed as soon as possible and close to, if not, PERFECT!

Well, the day started with a drive to Bandar to pay the lawyer fees (for the financing), dropped by Insurans TAIB to query about the Mortgage Insurance (and also got a copy of Brunei Report by Oxford Business Group but that's a different matter) and then we drove up to Kiarong Complex to check out tiles at Nordin Jaya.

Spent a good 2 hours at Nordin Jaya Kiarong from 11 to 1, found tiles for Muhammad's (4 options) & Iman's (2 option) bathrooms, and tiles - 5 options :) & bathtub for our master bathroom. why options? These options are a set of different wall tiles, floor tiles & wall border and we need to play around the $$ - get the best compromise of the options if you may - to ensure we meet the contractor set budget. If we exceed the contractor set budget, it means we have to pay more than the agreed construction cost... lets see if I can defer the flat screen TV .... or the AV system by another year....

Well, we moved on to Thomson Furniture in Beribi, spent a good 1/2 hour there looking for potential dining table but couldn't find the right one.

FOCUS! we need to get the tiles & bathroom stuffs first, so we moved on to Sengkurong's Nordin Jaya,.

There we found a very desirable bath tub for our master bath - we initially planned for a corner bath but it seems too small, so we had our eyes on a spacious long bath.... but it cost almost double our budgeted cost for a corner bath... so, cross out another flat screen TV.. tssk tssk

Well, here are some more pics as promised.

Our HOME as it was late yesterday.

View of the Family Lounge big window... I love this shot - will take a similar

shot once the house is completed.

View from a cornet of the house. Notice the concrete platforms,

intended to install the A/C compressor units.

View from the east side of the house... we accidentally have these theme of "threes"

- 3 windows at this side, 3 windows along the corridor and 3 rows of ceiling inserts

in our family lounge - and we love it.

Tips: we hide the A/C pipes into the wall and up the ceiling,

and to avoid condensation of the pipes, our contractor recommended

to separate the hot and cold pipes as you run the pipes in the ceiling.

No progress?.... there is, inside

2007-11-15T19:05:00.000+08:00

I've been very busy for the past 3 days at work, left office Monday at 6pm, Tuesday: committed to DRM footie, Wednesday with BSRC photography until 7 pm. Luckily I was able to leave at 5 this afternoon, so I took the chance to see our house with my dear wife.

From the outside, it looked as if there was no progress since Sunday but inside, actually there has been a lot done, i.e. ceiling for garage & maid's room and the bedrooms' floors were levelled. I am hoping that in a week or two they will be able to install the wooden flooring. I will update you with more pics by this weekend, InsyaAllah.

Corridor to the Master Suite being levelled - preparation for the wood flooring

same thing, this time showing more of the corridor and entrance to the master suite

Construction done.... now the details.

2007-11-12T19:54:00.000+08:00

The construction of the building structure has been completed for a few weeks now including laying of the roof tiles.

So for or the past 2 weeks, the contractor sent his Filipinos (ceiling design expert) and Chinese (carpentry specialist) to work on the ceiling/cornices design and the cabinets. To ensure things are done smoothly, work is restricted to the first floor. As of today (12 Nov), about 95% of the ceiling area has been covered with the gypsum boards.

As for the cabinets, we resort to ideas from magazines (and yes, IKEA catalogue) to ask the carpenter to design something for us to make full use of the walk in closet. We also specifically told him to use semi-gloss white spray painted color for the cabinets instead of the traditional fake pine colour (sorry Henry if you are reading this hehehe). We look forward to meet him this Saturday to see the revised proposal.

Oh yes, the exterior walls as well as the first floor interior walls have already been painted with undercoat. Looks nice though in white and makes the kids' room look bigger than before.

What next? Time to choose the bathroom kits... sinks, tubs, bowls and the tiles. So another busy Saturday as usual..... Till the next update.

Latest picture of the house

exterior ceiling has been completed!

ceiling at the stairs.... now, lights or no lights at the ceiling...

got till this weekend to think about

three slim windows lining the corridor to our master suite

Not much work over Eid

2007-10-16T18:49:00.000+08:00

**This post was due on 16 Oct but due to problem of uploading photos, it has been in the draft folder for the past 3 weeks.... and as usual, overlooked.**

Most of the construction workers building my house are muslim Indonesians, and their boss had kindly given them a 3 days off, from Saturday to Monday (day 1 to 3 of Hari Raya), and they only started working today (4th raya). The non-muslims however continued to work during the raya festivities (except Sunday, the usual day-off), so there is still progress albeit a slow one.

I went there at 6pm with my son to look around and to take some shots. Some of the work done were plastering of my kids rooms' walls as well as installing the wood panels for the external ceiling. Tips? You may want to include ceiling fans as it is a cheaper alternative to switching on aircon all the time.

Latest Photo of House

Our stairs

Our Master Bedroom

Our Family Room

Our House from the other side

Status @ 10 Oct

2007-10-11T04:44:00.000+08:00

Looking at my home pics folder, i realised that over the fasting month i've only took pictures of the house ONCE. Feeling guilty about it, i rushed to the site to snap a few pics, and here's one that compares well to the architects rendition.

Payment?
Manage to sort out the payment issue with the bank, and it seems like process problem alright... can't say much about that, except that i am so disappointed with the delays despite us being cooperative and giving them whatever letters, invoices, receipts for them to proceed with the payment, but Alhamdulillah (Praise Allah) the contractor never slowed down the construction and continued on with their work on schedule.

Budgeting?
When the contractor quote their price, you have to know that it does not include government charges (we still have no idea yet how much it is), aircons, aircon piping (average $300 per aircon unit), alarm (depends on numbers of doors/windows), lights & fans. You have to set aside budget for other necessities too like fridge, cooker/stove, microwave, TV(s), curtains... depends on number of windows and material/design... and for those home theater enthusiasts or those IT buffs, let your contractor know your needs (LAN points, speaker points, cable TV outlets etc) before they quote cos it'll cost more if they charge it as an additional job compared to being included in the outset.

Anyway, here are the pics:

morning pic of 13 Sept, still doing the roofs

afternoon pic of 13 Sept

doing the roof over our master suite

latest pic, status as of today (Wednesday, 10 Oct 07)

till the next update... to friends who cared to visit, Thank you .

I wish my Muslim friends Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri, from us Pg Hj Azmi Rizal, Hajah Rakayah, Ak Muhammad 'Abdurrahman, Dk Iman 'Aaliyah and Dk Izzan 'Aaeeshah...

i've got other photblogs at gembo and gembo-gembo

Latest Status? Roofed!

2007-10-09T23:15:00.000+08:00

Hi friends

Status to date? Alhamdulillah our house is 95% roofed. another 5% will be roofed in a month's time, InsyaAllah, awaiitng next shipment.

I've got pictures here of the developments in July & August, and the architects rendition of the completed house.... the architect is chinese, so his rendition is chinese style with red roof tiles, ours are black.... will snap some shots to be updated before raya.... really need to push my arse to do this updates.... i owe this to friends, with the intention to offer tips to ensure hassle free construction..

Talking about hassles.... Alhamdulillah, we have not got a single complain so far about our contractor, he's been patient despite the delays in payments.... I guess there is always a problem of being the first; in our case we were the first HOS customer of this bank - i hope they will be able to relook at their processes, to ensure contractors are paid when due.

I'll give some experience on budgeting in my next blog... lets hope soon Gembo! Enjoy the pics!

Architect's Rendition of our house when completed

how it looked like at week 1 in July. Remember, piling was done early June.

status @ week 3 July... all in order, Alhamdulillah ground floor beams completed

status @ week 2 August... first floor columns completed

status @ week 3 August... preparing the first floor beams

Quiet on the net, but work continues...

2007-07-05T23:37:00.000+08:00

Not been updating as often as i intended... but a quick update of what's happening

On 8th June, we laid down the foundation @ Tiang Seri for us Bruneians, where we invited the local imam to recite prayers as we took turns to pour concrete to the main column of the house. Ceremony was around 5.30 in the morning, just after the Subuh prayers are completed in the local mosque. Muhammad (my eldest son) and Iman (eldest daughter & my second child) didn't want to be left out despite the early hours.

By 10th June, all the columns have been completed, however there was a minor problem as the land under my proposed living and dining room were full of woods - courtesy of a furniture factory who rented the land from my mom more than 20 years ago. They simply buried the excess wood rather than disposing it properly. Our contractor had to dig out the woods and had to order more than 4 trips of sand to fill the void. The good news however is, despite the period the wood spent under the ground, there was no signs of termites.
Anyway, me & mrs flew out to KL for her course on 15 June (Friday), but we took a 2 days diversion on the weekend to Singapore, to look for lights - Blimey! You'd be spoilt for choice at Jalan Besar and Balestier Road to choose the lights - there are just so many choices, and the prices are very competitive. We didn't return empty handed and bought more than $5k worth of lights, and that represents about 95% of our lights. We still need to think about the other 5%....

Got back to Brunei on the 22 June and checked the development of the house. Apparently the wet weather slowed progress a bit, but in good days they sped up the work including weekends. Well, they were then preparing ground beams for the house.

BY 30 June, the ground beam were finally completed with cement and now, hopefully by 7 July the ground floors will be completed... till next update, i promise more photos.

Housing Loan

2007-06-03T23:43:00.000+08:00

Alhamdulillah, there is now more than one islamic financing option for the HOS (Home Ownership Scheme) loan provider for BSP. Well, for my non-muslim friends who are not concerned about interest i.e. non-muslims, then you'd have lots of option as HSBC, SCB and OUB are some of the banks which has HOS arrangement with BSP. And for those not in BSP, then you have a much bigger option.

Tips? Look for bank who offers subsidies, some up to $6k to cover for the initial expenses i.e. Mortgage Insurance, Valuation fees and Legal fees.... and of course, for the non-HOS, compare the interest rates of every banks (for HOS, you don't need to worry as BSP pays for much of the interest, i think you only need to pay 1.25%?)

Oh yes, as of yesterday (Saturday) afternoon, the builders are stil preparing the mould for the footing, and had to pump lots of rain water out of the footing hole, and also had to excavate the soil that fell in the hole due to the heavy rain in Friday nite. Met with the builder boss this afternoon and he is still confident that the foundation laying ceremony planned for this Friday will remain unchanged.... Yaawwwnnnnn, been a long weekend. good nite buddies and wassalamualaikum.

Piling Done

2007-05-30T19:46:00.000+08:00

Finally, the piling work has been done. hehheh, sorry, i was supposed to serialised this house construction, so it should have been the 'cari batu' or ensuring the land boundary and then clearing of the land and then levelling bla bla but yesterday, the piling works (64 piles of 9m) was finally completed.

The picture doesn't show much as the piles are buried 3 feet further into the ground.

What do you need to build your own house?

2007-05-28T06:01:00.000+08:00

There is no clear references (and if there are, then it is not well promoted) on how one can build a house. Well, common sense says that you need a land of your own, and design, and of course money. but how about processes if you have all?

I for one, was lucky in the sense that my mom left me a piece of land to build a house, and together with my wife, we have some savings so part 1 & 3 above are covered. We do have our own thoughts about how it'll look like but sought a professional architect to realise our thoughts to the design plan and get approval from authorities.

Once you got that, then it's time to choose your contractor - you have to ask around, look at current house constructions and ask the workers who their boss are. in our case, our architect has a list of contractors and he told us which contractors build the current constructions so we could see for ourself the quality of work. Just our luck, a friend of mind just had her house completed and we looked at the workmanship, and it was good. So we asked around and i think about more than 10 houses by the same contractor (some which was completed over 7 years ago) and they have no complaints with the contractor except for the price. We were also told that the contractor is very pro-active in helping us choosing material, and making necessary changes to the design. So, we decided to go along with him! Other contractors were cheaper but, from our queries (to the disgruntled owners of course) is that they had arguments with the owners and some owners had to drag the contractors to court (due to unreasonable delays) and quite funny but true, in one construction of a friend's house, halfway during the construction, the contractor decide to only communicate with the owner by SMS following an argument!

Anyway, enough for now and my next blog would then be, OUR HOUSE!