Changing the chair fabric

Dining set  consisting of 1 table and 4 chair set was purchased back in 2009.

To cut the long story short, after 3 years of wear and tear, the "leather" started to disintegrate.

We contacted several contractors and found it difficult even to get a quotation. It was only until we found Cheong and Mun on renotalk before they sent someone to take a look and offered a price on the spot.

In the discussion, we found the following facts, posted here for your benefit:
1. The original material was made of PU synthetic leather ( aka polyurethane)
2. Accoding to the saleman, a more durable material would be PVC synthetic leather ( aka polyvinyl chloride) which should last for at least 5 years if it is properly cleaned with water and soft soap. It is also the most water-proof amoungst the 3.
3. The most comfy, but at nearly double the price is cow skin leather. It can last at least 5 years provided it does not get wet and will last even longer if regularly maintained with leather cream and oil.

See the difference here and there

Verdict:
1. With 2 yound children, we expect frequent fluid spillage.
2. Leather cream and maintanence would take a lot of quality time.
3. Probably more worthwhile to choose PVC now and if there is no desire to change the furniture, in 5 years time, to replace with cow leather. This is a time where we optimistically expect lesser "waterfall: incidents after the children are more grown up.

Will post an update when the skin change is done.

DIY- Home Repair: Cabinet knob

It has been 2 years and 9 months since we bought these cabinest for the kids from a neighbourhood furniture shop, S and C. Unfortunately the knob came loose a while back. Notice the swing door on the right in the photo below. Since the kids were too short to reach for the knob, we procastinated fixing it.

Recently, this issue re-surfaced after my wife reminded me that the kids are now old enough to access the knob. Took out my trusty DIY box and tried to force-screw the know tight. To cut the long story short, the ceramic knob broke.

We called the furniture shop to ask if we can purchase 1 knob. The boss was really helpful and tried to ask the factory for a free knob replacement. Unfortunately, it was not available. Instead, he receommended that we can get it direct from a shop in 5068 Ang Mo Kio Industrial Park 2, #01-1465. Cannot remember the name off the top of my head now.

There was a large variety of DIY parts available from taps, window hinges, pvc pipes etc. The first thing that came to my mind was "so this is were the renovation contractors buy their parts". Unfortunately, we were not able to find the exact design. My wife chose a ceramic knob with the closest design and paid S1.50 for it. We had nothing to complain about the price for 1 piece.

The fixing was simple and with a screw driver.

It was only after we replaced the broken knob before we realised for a uniform look, it was probably better to replace the other 4. Driving back to the industrial park a second time was too much of a hassle. But that is a consideration for you. Hope this blog helps!