Living in Tips: Rain, Windows and Doors

Here's 2 CRUCIAL tips:

• DO NOT open the bay windows when it rains, and when you're out of your flat and it looks like it's going to rain.
• DO NOT leave the backyard door open when there are strong winds either.

We left the windows opened one day, went out, it rained, came back, and found a nice big puddle of water on the bay ledges, floor, along with soaked walls, everything on the ledges soaked etc... There are no shelter for our units from rain. It will come right into the flat if you leave the windows open.

As for the door, the higher you are the stronger the winds, and sometimes the door (including some of the inside ones if you leave both backyard and balcony open) will slam. We've had our backyard glass door's pane smashed when it slammed in one day. We've also notice that if we leave our bathroom window open (for circulation), and close the bathroom sliding door, during strong winds the doors will rattle.

Keeping us awake. And grumpy the following morning. Makes you wonder why the architect never designed canopies to prevent the rain from entering. Must be aesthetically so-yesterday's style... :(

Tags: viz@holland, viz holland, viz @ holland, singapore, condo, queensway, holland

Viz Newbies - Moving In

For residents or tenants who are moving into Viz the first time, some useful tips:

Moving In:

1. When moving in, warn your movers that they may need a smaller van/truck that can enter the condo car park, especially if you're staying in Blks B onwards. What usually happens is - your belongings are moved into a big truck, and that is parked outside the condo premises (usually illegally, right at the bus stop curb). They then transfer the belongings into a smaller truck/van which goes into the car park area and then offloads at the Blk lobby.
2. You'll need to alert the Management Office, who will want 2 deposits from you (cheques, which they will retain until the move is completed). One is to cover against lift damages, and another against premises damages. You'll also need to fill out complicated forms stating when the move is, how long it will be, how long you'll be using the lift for, etc.
3. You may want to take note of the size of the lift too, in case you have large items that can't fit into it, and needs to be carried up via the stairwell.
4. The guards are very strict about ensuring that moves are done within 9 to 5, to minimise disturbances to other residents. That's not a bad thing but that means you may have to get most boxes into the flat first, and then unpack later on.
5. Washing Machine: This is important as it took us a long time and a lot of hassle with the project site office. The AC wall socket and the tap for the washing machine, typically located at the backyard, are NOT standard connections for most conventional machines. The wall socket is the old round-shaped 3 pin socket (like this here), and the tap has a narrower circumference that will not fit the standard washing machine fill (inlet) hose. You need to either change your machine electric plug to the 3 round pin type, or get your landlord/developer to change the socket to the standard rectangle-shaped socket. For the tap, you need a "increaser double male hex nipple" (I'm not kidding about the nipple part). An example can be found here. We went searching various Homefix shops without much luck, and eventually found it in a hardware shop in the Holland Village Shopping Centre. You need to measure the circumference of the tap and the hose to make sure you have the right size. Remember to get plumber's tape (or thread seal tape, here) to seal the connections.
   

Tags: viz @ holland, viz holland, viz@holland, singapore, queensway, condo, holland