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Showing posts with label Home Improvement. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Home Improvement. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 9, 2020

Unboxing, first impressions, and updates! Condura No Frost Inverter Refrigerator CNF-201i


Heya! Here's an unboxing and first impressions review of our new ref, Condura CNF 201i No Frost Inverter Refrigerator.

We were very excited about this purchase because it's our first inverter ref and finally, we can say goodbye to the dreadful chore that's called defrosting!

This was not actually our first choice for an inverter ref, I was eyeing the LG GR-B202SQBB because it's the only one I could find online with dimensions that fit our kitchen perfectly. Unfortunately it was out of stock when we looked at Anson's so we sought help from the guys there to find me a 2 door inverter ref that's less than 58cm in depth. Et voila, we found a perfect match with Condura.

It didn't take long for us to decide on getting this particular model. Usually I'd look for online reviews first before jumping on a big purchase, but for one, the size is perfect, and most importantly - we were desperate to get rid of our old ref. So yeah, it took a week for it to get delivered but holey moley was it worth the wait.

Luckily we were able to sell our ref to a neighbor who agreed to take it on the day our new ref arrives. Had a bit of a problem securing a gate pass for them, I didn't know we even needed a gate pass just to move an appliance from one unit to another?! Urgh, condo rules.

Anyway...

What I like about it...
  • No frost inverter, yeah that's a given
  • Twist ice maker
  • Spacious freezer
  • 12 slot egg tray
  • It looks sleek and pretty
  • Size is just right for our home
  • Height is just right to allow a microwave on top
  • I don't have to worry about emptying the drain pan, if my assumption is right (also, I asked around), the drain pan automatically empties itself when it reaches a certain level. There's a metal sticking to it that heats up when the water reaches a certain point.

What I don't like, so far...

Ice maker's kinda hard to navigate because you have to tip it over a bit in order for it to snap in place on top of the ice box. And that angle causes water to drip on the bucket. Basta yon haha. Hassle. Anyway, what I do now is just place the ice tray on a different surface, not on top of the bucket so it doesn't spill. Okay naman haha.

UPDATE AFTER 1 YEAR! IT'S SEPTEMBER 2021 NOW

Energy consumption...

I actually made this blog post to collect updates on our energy consumption. To be honest I'm not really expecting our bill to lower significantly. After all, we got a bigger ref, inverter lang naman naiba. I also don't know what to compare exactly because we're replacing an old ref not adding a new one so it's hard to gauge the difference. So yeah. We'll see in a few months since kaka-deliver lang samin last August 22! :)

Okay! It's been a year with our Condura ref! Here's an update...




Our 1 year average with our old ref is 332.5kw/h per month.

On the other hand, our 1 year average with our new ref is 394.5kw/h per month.

That's quite a difference right? An average of 62 kw/hr is added to our monthly consumption, which is an additional 372 pesos/mo (for a rate of 6/kwh). Note that this only applies to us, the computation will be different case to case. Imagine if this is your first ref, obviously tataas talaga kuryente nyo hehe.

I've also highlighted the min and max consumption of the two years, which shows how they're not in the same range. Expected naman kasi nag-upgrade talaga kami.

Yes, tumaas talaga kuryente namin. Ngayon ko lang talaga narealize, I was wrong to compare our electricity bill before because the rate/kwh in our condo changes everytime, so I think the table above is a fairer comparison.

But of course, there are other factors to this. Mostly having to do with our wfh setup which gets upgraded all the time. One time I only have a laptop, now I have multiple monitors, ocassional test machines, add to that the many times we have to stock up food for 2 weeks because our gov't couldn't get their heads straight. As you know, packing the ref too much works up the compressor harder, eating more electricity.


But anyway...

Finally

Do I recommend it? YES

Am I happy with it? YES

Could I have bought something else? NO, I'm very happy with this purchase.In fact, it even landed me a digital ad with Condura itself akalain nyo yun hahaha

Watch here: https://youtu.be/cyvN6ofKjiM
Chika here: https://www.theblahger.com/2021/02/oh-shoot.html

Could I have bought something bigger? NO, because this is the perfect-sized ref for our small condo. YES I would love to get something bigger in the future when space isn't a problem anymore, I know there's a taller version of this, but right now we're using the top surface for our microwave and it's perfect

What else do you need to know? YES. Char haha overall my experience with the ref is positive still and it's been a year without any problems. I can't speak for everyone of course but as usual, do your own diligence parin when it comes to buying big appliances like this. Check out my Youtube review for the comments section because sari-sari din yung issues dun that I never encountered so I guess that's worth looking at. :)

Ang tyaga mo naman mag-record ng consumption? YES haha it's part of my kaartehan. I input our utility bills to a Google sheet and graph our consumption kasi wala lang isn't it nice to look at organized data haha

Ayun lang po! Hope this helps, thanks for reading! :)

Monday, August 3, 2020

[Stiles PH Review] DIY Installing 3D wall stickers on our kitchen


Can you believe our backsplash is only made of STICKERS?

Hi daw sabi ng tabingi naming outlets

Yep! I ordered a bunch of sticker tiles from Stiles PH to dress up our kitchen wall and I'm so happy about how it turned out! Here's a Youtube video on how I installed them. Note that I didn't do it correctly so please don't take my video as a how-to or a tutorial haha! It did turn out okay naman hehe!


So here in this blog I'm gonna review my overall experience using 3D sticker tiles by Stiles PH.

I waited a long time for the subway tile pattern to get restocked. I've always wanted to have subway tiles in my kitchen, so this is kindof a dream come true! Also, since we're just renting out this unit, we couldn't afford to do any major changes. 


Here's the previous state of our kitchen:


I cleared it up. Removed the stove, the hanging utensils and the dish rack. I also cleaned the wall with Kurin before starting the project.

And here's how it turned out, 4.5 grueling hours after:


I love it! As I said, I did a lot of mistakes on this one pero okay naman diba?! *umagree ka*

Haaaay! I hope our landlord never finds out, joke. I mean, adhesives are allowed but this is one heck of an adhesive lol and it's definitely gonna need repainting in case they decide to tear it out. Praying it doesn't kill our deposit whew.

Anyway.

How did you order and how much did it cost?
I ordered from Stiles PH through Shopee (watch out for promos and cashback)

You can also find them on Instagram and Facebook. Perfect for getting inspiration and seeing actual output and customer feedback:

This specific pattern, the subway white costs ₱148 per panel. All in all I ordered 18 pcs so I spent a total of ₱2,664  + shipping from Cebu.

How did you know how many stickers to get?
Stiles PH helped me with that. I measured the 2 sides of the wall I want to cover and sent it to them through Instagram.

Side 1: 24"L x 18"H
Side 2: 80"L x 24"H

And they responded with 18 tiles. 

Was it accurate?
Nearly! I only used 16.5 stiles. But I think it's only because I started at the wrong end of the wall which prolly messed up the numbers. 

How do the tiles look and feel like?
I was surprised to find that the tiles are actually embossed. I knew it wasn't foam, like those brick foams I see everywhere. I thought it was actually flat, and they just made it so good it looks convincingly 3D even if it's super flat. Turns out there's actually a level of 3D-ness to it hehe so that's really good!


The size of the panel is 12x12 inches. Which is bigger than their previous version, as I've read. I do hope they also offer something that's half the size for the remaining parts of the wall that don't measure up exactly. 1 panel has 6 rows of tiles, so it would be cool to have something that only has 3 rows at half the price. Or I can just cut through the gaps right? Haha.


The texture of the tile is super glossy. There's a rubbery smooth squeaky feel to it when you run your fingers on it. It's not super smooth to the touch lamuyon? Like it would be hard to wipe it with a kitchen towel but a breeze with a damp cloth. Ayon.

How was the installation?

Frkn exhausting. If they were only based in Manila I would've hired their own people to install it for me. As in. But oh well, they're Cebu-based so no choice but to DIY haha.

Installation looks pretty simple but it actually requires a lot of brain cells to get the measurements right. In short I never got any measurements right. Here are the challenges I encountered:
  • Peeling the sticker is hard. Super hard. Should've grown my nails longer for it.
  • Aligning the tiles is an acquired skill hahaha. And you can't get it wrong the first time because it would ruin EVERYTHING. Thank God my first tile was perfect! Perfectly placed at the wrong side of the wall nga lang aaarghh!!! Hahahuhu
  • Measuring uneven areas is a nightmare. The corner of the cupboard, the electrical outlets, the back of the rangehood. I got pretty much everything wrong. Not so wrong that I wasted a sticker panel, but my measurements are probably only 80% exact, leaving some ugly gaps here and there.
  • Make no mistake. Once it's on, it can never go off. At least not with a layer of paint coming along with it. The adhesive is super powerful.

Now on to my mistakes

I installed the first stile at the wrong edge of the wall, leaving me with this uneven gap to fill...

 
...which could've been mitigated had I only read the instruction manual COMPLETELY. In my defense, nobody reads manuals. I thought my overflowing amount of common sense is enough to deliver me from this suffering. Now look, I have a corner with an ugly overlap, and a folded sticker. Eeew. Good thing I have a dish rag to cover it hehe. So word of advice, READ THE MANUAL! Anything you'd gladly hire someone else to do for you is beyond your common sense. Also, just fckn read the manual.


I also made other mistakes like tile gaps...


... sticker overlaps...


... and wrong cutout measurements...


Uuuurggh, aaaaand I thought I'd make a good architect because I can draw straight lines lol jk. 

But I don't feel so bad about them because overall it still looked really good to me, and it didn't break the illusion at all.

There seems to be a wave though hmm

But see? It doesn't look so bad from afar. And it does the job of uhm backsplashing, so yeah. I'm good!

Finally
I like how it turned out, despite toiling almost 5 hours for it. Real subway tiles cost around ₱30-50 per piece so an 18 pc panel could easily run us at least ₱10k (plus labor, grout, snacks, and permit efforts). And these fake tiles cost around ₱3k only. So it's a really good deal. Also, it's not like real tiles are an option for us hahaha #RenterProblems.

Quality of the stiles are really good, better than expected. Customer support is good too, they're helpful and responsive. Shipping was okay, it arrived a little over a week but that's J&Ts fault lol. They packaged it nice and secure, with bubble wraps and a carton board for support. The tiles came individually wrapped.

There are tons of other 3D sticker tiles littered around Shopee but I doubt they're as good, or that they'd even come in one piece lol. I've read horror stories of the tiles arriving folded and distorted, with tears, or uneven colors. SodDon't bother. Just go for a quality local supplier like Stiles PH.

10 over 10 would recommend to those looking to refresh their kitchen but can't use real tiles!

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What do you think of this project? Is it a yaayy or a  waayy-ste? Char.