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Its really hard to have cheap and good in Sg becos almost everyone also wants the same thing but oh well, we still try our luck lah. We got our Anchorvale Horizon BTO flat keys in early April and after a full month of consulting 5 different IDs and contractors alike, we finally settled on our current contractor, Nick from Renoguyz. To be honest, initially we didn't even considered Nick for various reasons: 1) Too sloppy looking. Look as if he isn't serious. When we brought him to our house and told him the many things we wanted done in our house, he just looked around and went "hmm... hor...orh....orh..." without even taking any notes at all! *Another factor that WOWED us later is that despite not taking down any notes that day, within 24hrs Nick emailed us the quotation with all our comments in detail! This guy may look blur but he's actually very alert of what's going on around him!* 2) Too blunt and too honest. I die die wanted to have my dream of a bathtub in my MBR toilet. Nick kept putting me down and said difficulty such as aircon piping issues, height, etc etc.... to Nick, practically more important. So we went on to get quotations and consultations with 3 other contractors and ID. For the amount of work that we are planning to reno our flat: MBR wardrobe, bay side window, MBR toilet with cabinet shelving and bathtub, living room feature wall, false ceiling and kitchen cabinets. No flooring to be done as ours us the Premium scheme from HDB. We almost picked another contractor who had a good portfolio doing up for MBS until.... my hubby being the sharp one, spotted a quotation from Nick that the latter quoted us for quartz kitchen table top. The other contractor that we almost picked quoted the same cost as Nick, only that his quotation had solid surface table top instead. That means Nick's quotation is cheaper by 2k. 2k is alot for young couples like us as we have to factor in other miscellaneous costs from furnishings to electrical appliances and even our system 4 aircon. So that's when we decided to go ahead with Nick. No wonder he was recommended by one of my estate neighbor who have read good awesome reviews on Nick from Renoguyz. And being a kiasu lady, prior to my confirmation with Nick, I googled his company's name, his name and even his HP number to make sure I'm throwing my dollar at the right person. Guessed after all my initial impression of him is no less different from the other reviewers: sloppy, dazed and blur looking, blunt, but he gives cheap yet very good workmanship. So the whole reno loan process went on and after a few more time of meeting up with Nick we began to like him more. His top 优点 is Integrity. He has his reasons for being blunt which is giving the best work done for his customer. Like how I wanted so much to get chandelier lighting from taobao (cos many of my friends are using the same chandelier and it looks very nice. And cheap too.) for my dining table but Nick says no because the whole look won't fit our quasi Scandinavian-Modern Resort look. I didn't believed him at first and secretly went to Photoshop the 3D design with the mentioned chandelier and I was shocked by how good his visualization is. The chandelier indeed stood out like a sore thumb against the backdrop. Sometimes, lesser is always better. We started to like Nick even more. He rather say No to us than have the whole work end up crap looking. So much so that we ended up consulting him on the colors and types of matching furnishings to pair with the wall colors, cabinet laminates, the full length wall mirror, etc... Thats the good thing about Nick that my husband likes: brutally honest but it's for the good of the customer. Some customers may want their own designs/colors becos they look nice to the customers themselves but may actually not be nice at all becos of the clash. Nick is the sort that he tells us No means No. Yea, we kena lectured by him a few times cos we asked for some colors and designs that actually ended up looking ugly. We rather he be honest and give us the good workmanship than be a Yes man to whatever we wanted and end up look like crap house that is neither here nor there. Yes Man sales tactics never worked for us. I forgot to add too, for Nick's very low profit margin quotation (no wonder he charge so cheap cos he spoil market ), he gives a value added service as an ID (Nick had prior experience as an ID at D'Trenzo) without the ID cost. One ID we consulted quoted us 32k for less than what Nick offered at $24k despite the ID himself being the spouse of my husband's friend. I'll post pics of my 3D design flat in this post soon as my flat is still in the process of renovation. So far almost 2 weeks have past and my beloved bathtub and false ceiling is up. The carpentry is gonna happen this week and I'm too excited over it. I'm posting this up first as so far I'm very satisfied with what we've gotten. I will update more in this post as I go along over the next few weeks.

Hi guys any specific Taobao stores to recommend? Please share your links here. I've trouble selecting who to buy from. What volt did you buy for your house? I only know I should purchase 10 for my living room but no idea to get what volt. I saw lots of round shape one, but I prefer the square ones. I searched for LED 筒灯, is my translation correct?

Hi all I had the worst experience at Manhattan Collections. When to recee for new furniture and i liked their Victorian style furniture in April 2014. Had a discussion with their boss and decided on the following items: 1. 1 Dinning Table w 8 chairs (customised to simple ikea style table w their leather chairs) 2. 4-seater sofa 3. 2 bedside side table 4. 1 fabric arm chair w leg rest 5. 1 standing lamp She agreed on the amount and mentioned that everything was OK. Was told that they only need 2 months lead time to produce all of the above. So we paid in FULL w/o even bargaining with them to pay the remaining when the deliver the goods. They took 1 month just to send us the table drawing to ensure its the correct design. So patiently, my husband and i waited for 2 months. 2 months later, the lady boss say they need more time cos they can't deliver the goods. As they have delayed our shipment, they loaned us the dinning and sofa as we have already shifted to our new place. We waited for 1 more month (expected delivery: 3rd week of July 2014), the boss then called and assured us that on the shipping and arrival date cos the product comes from Indonesia. So we waited once again. On the shipment arrival date, my husband called them again to confirm the delivery date, cos they mentioned that delivery date can only take place 3 days after shipment arrives. And GUESS WHAT, the lady boss say, the goods were not here, and the best thing is, she say that THE FACTORY HAVE NOT PRODUCE OUR ITEMS AT ALL . After 3 months of waiting they told us that they did not produce anything? The excuse she gave was due to Hari Raya, but i ordered in April 2014. How can that be? The dinning and sofa made bulk of decor in a living room. They are totally not trustworthy at all. In the end, we made them return us the full amount in CASH, and we had to look for our furniture all over again. Please do re-consider if you are looking for Classic/Victorian furniture with them. Do be prepared for the long lead time and you may not even receive your goods at the end of the long wait. Their details below: http://www.manhattancollection.com.sg/ 116 Lavender Street #01-01 Pek Chuan Building Singapore 338730 Opening Hours: 11am to 8pm Daily Tel: 68363738 sms: 91399705

Hi everyone!! Finally decided to start a t-blog after reading so much from Renotalk for the past 2 months! We only started planning for our renovation after we got our key in June 2014. Didnt realise that it really takes a lot of time and effort to plan for a reno and I strongly advise anyone who have not started planning to start at least 2-3 months before the key collection. We started off by deciding on the theme for our house. We browsed through many home design pictures on the internet which are of modern minimalist, scandinavian, industrial theme etc. They all look nice but none of the pics made us feel like.. OK! This is it! .... Therefore, we spent quite some time deciding on our theme. There were many changes to our initial ideas, themes and concepts along the way before we finally settled on Greek(Santorini) inspired beach theme. WX (my fiance) and I both fell in love with Greece after we had our holiday there in Dec 2013. I have always love the beach, the sea, etc... and WX proposed to me on a beach in Green Island, Cairns... so we both feel that a Greek-inspired beach home has a special meaning for both of us. There are also other reasons for choosing this theme, such as WX likes blue and I like green, and since we will be living together, our place will comprise of blue-green (turquoise), which also fits in our Greek inspired beach theme. Also, I love to have wooden furniture in the house and so beach theme is a good choice for us! In short, when this idea of Greek inspired beach theme came to our mind, both of us got very excited and we knew that Ok! This is it! This is the theme that we are looking for.

Hello! Likewise, been a silent reader of RT and since "Ghost month" has ended thought to start my T-Blog and be diligent in updating it Showcasing my floor plan (tad dirty coz of the scribbles *lol*) Technically, my reno has kicked off but I have been quite shabby and slack in my Reno journey so items are delayed here and there. Another thing, It is definitely way costly to get an EM done so doing a budget size reno if I can - (struggling actually but I will pull through!!

Hi everyone, I just bought all the downlights, but realised I ordered cool white instead of day white, which, I think, is the norm. The more pure white colour, so to speak, Should I go and change them? They won't be installed for a couple of week. My main concern is the study area, I bought cool white LED T5 tubes. Will daylight white be less glaring? Thanks for the advise.

I think overlaying is probably a better option. Yep! Totally doesn't suit for Scandi theme. Then if paint the door need to change the gate too. I think I know you! Your nick very familiar

very interesting and exciting concept, eager to see how it all shape up eventually

A new garage door is one of the best remodeling investments that you can make in your home. According to Remodeling Magazine’s 2012-2013 Cost vs. Value Report, garage door replacement is the number two nationally ranked upscale remodeling project, recouping 75.2% of the cost when the home is sold. A garage door opening is the largest moving object in your home. Insulated doors will help to reduce the transfer of heat or cold air into your garage. Garage doors have evolved greatly in recent years. New doors provide greater insulation, innovative safety features and noise reduction elements. Not only does a new door enhance curb appeal and value, but delivers function and convenience. With today’s high energy costs, insulated garage door are just as valuable as insulation anywhere else in your home. The number of uninsulated garage doors sold continues to decline as consumers demand better energy efficiency for cost savings and comfort, which is more important than ever as more people use their garage as a workplace or social gathering spot, and not just storage. Since 1971, Door Pro America has been America’s source for the largest section of quality garage doors. The design and installation experts a Door Pro America help you select the product that fits your needs and your home. Since every Door Pro America garage door carries the Best Price Guarantee, lifetime warranties and free on-site estimates you can be confident in your purchase.

Haha yup! From woodlands meadow! I like the santorini beach theme, will follow ur to blog to see how it turns out. Wishing u smooth Reno ya!

Kitchen Sink from Tmall : Selena Been using for a while already, so far so good. Simplehuman SInk Caddy. Stainless Steel from Amazon. Bulid is good and sturdy, suction is firm on the stainless steel sink Kitchen Faucet from Taobao. It is pretty tall, approx. 70cm. Bulid is sturdy with a hefty feel. All in all sink plus faucet, slightly less than SGD300

HiHi fujioh is not too bad. My wife seldom cooks oily food so I can't really comment on the oily floor. Had been using for around 3 months now and my wife who's a frequent cook is pretty happy with the purchase.

Hi Jiawen, Ya, we hope he give us a gd quote too.. Still waiting for his quote.. He did say at the start tat it is important to build his company's 'Reputation', having good feel about him.. So hopefully he dun make me wait too long for my quote..

you can try this method, ask your worker to apply water proofing on the screed wall before the craftstone, you will definitely enjoy your shower every now & then

Hi all.. Im planning to mount my 40" led tv and a sound bar on the wall but the cables will be dangling all over the wall which will make it very ugly. Can someone recommend me a carpenter/reno that does not charge exorbitant price to design and install a wooden compartment base to the wall so that my led tv can be mounted on it with the cables hidden inside the wooden base?

Hi everyone. I just received my keys and have absolutely no idea where to go to for floorings. I need floorings for bedrooms and living room. My place is 92sqm, a fairly small 4 room flat so I suppose the price will not be too expensive. I kind of like the idea of laminated flooring or homogenous(they are the shiny looking ones like marble right?) I would appreciate if you guys could shed some light, really wonder how much that would cost me... And I heard some horror stories of contractors not delivering works on time. If you guys could genuinely recommend a couple of contractors, that would be very helpful. This is my first home, just hope it would be handled decently... Thank you in advance!

Hi all being new to the forum, would like to find out what is the main difference between these two? or they are in fact the same things? Cheers!

Hi, I'm looking for a carpenter to put together a 8 ft tv bench (standalone) with some drawers. Anyone has a good experience with a particular contractor? I'm concerned about the quality of the drawers and the veneer finishing. If you've any pictures (esp zoomed in to the finishing) that would be great. You can PM me their contact and any photos. Thanks in advance!

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Exercise your imagination/knowledge/experience. Cheap vs good concept. I tend to buy products/services with features that suit my needs. Don't pay 'extra features' that I don't use. I've learnt what is 'value for $'. A single food stall which sell multiple varieties, usually 多而不精, I avoid. Majority chases after 'branded' stuff for hope to become minority. 'value for $'? I buy stock when investors 'dump', keep and give when they want. Important: know what your exactly needs or wants.

Hi dan can pm me too..tks