Bought Simmons Beauty Rest Backcare series from OG. $2541 below budget!

Floor plan

Here’s our floor plan

Fibaro Dimmer Test Aborted

Wanted to try out the installing the Fibaro dimmer yesterday. Unfortunately, after unscrewing the face plate of the switch, i noticed that all 3 wires are red!. It will be dangerous to proceed with the dimmer install without being able to differentiate between live and neutral wire.

Got to make a note to ensure the electrician color code the wires properly for my new house.

Fibaro Lab Test 1

Finally got my hands on Fibaro Home Center 2, motion sensor and dimmer module!

Here’s how the motion sensor looks like. It’s really small like the size of a ping pong ball. Beside’s being able to detect motion, it can also detect light level and temperature.

After booting up Fibaro Home Center 2, i was able to login into the web interface add the motion sensor to my device list. For my first test, i created a simple logic that sends an email message “Test” whenever the motion sensor is triggered. The detection was very accurate and the logic executes without any significant delay.

For the second round of test. I will be installing the dimmer module on my light switch and also create a logic to turn on the light whenever motion is detected. It will also be interesting to find out the false detection rate of the motion sensor and whether my dog will be able to trigger it.

Our first stop today was Hans Grohe official retailer at Mohammed Sultan Road. Our objective was to purchase 2x bathroom taps,  2x rain shower pipes and 1x kitchen tap.

We started off looking at the range of rain shower pipes. After checking with the sales consultant, he recommended 4 models suitable for HDB.

As I’ve seen multiple posts on renotalk forum where people have shared that rain shower water output is terrible for HDB, I took this opportunity to raised this concern with the consultant to seek his opinion. He brought us to a test area where he was able to demonstrate the water output using different pressure level. At pressure level of 1 to 1.5, which is the average pressure for HDB, the results were pretty good.

The following pictures shows the bathroom and kitchen taps we have purchased.

The total cost is $2040, which is $140 under budget!

Just came across a SG50 Hans Grohe promotion that is gonna end today! Gotta make my way down and check out the prices.

Home Automation Planning

I have decided to setup home automation using z-wave to control lighting and appliances. Let me provide you with a brief overview of how the system works.

The z-wave system consists of a controller and modules such as sensors, switches/dimmers. The controller acts like the brain of the automation system which sends and receives wireless signals from the modules connected to it. Customizable logic can be created to suit your needs for different scenarios. For example, if a z-wave switch connected to a light and a motion sensor module is installed, you can build a logic to turn on the light once motion is detected and if the time is 7.00 PM. All controller comes with an android and iPhone app which allows you to control your devices remotely through the internet using your mobile phone or tablet.

The two most popular z-wave controllers are Fibaro Home Center and Veera. Fibaro has a much better interface compared to Veera, which is one of the main reasons why i have selected Fibaro Home Center 2 as my main controller.

Here’s the planning for wall switches, power sockets and z-wave modules and the estimated cost,

This is the my initial budget for home renovation.

Went to HOC watches office at UBI plex 1 to purchase a Mondaine wall clock. Mondaine is the official clock used in all Swiss railway station.

This clock reminds us of the wonderful memories we had during our Switzerland trip. A great wall clock for our living room!

View from UBI Ples 1

Hello, this is where i will be documenting our first home renovation planning and progress!

Our new home will be located in Clementi ave 6. This is a bto project called Clementi Ridges which was launched around april 2012. The picture below shows the latest construction progress taken from the facebook group.