GnM

check the cross section of the wood. Knock on the board and hear if it is hollow or not. Ikea has a great display of all the different kind of wood they use. Mostly chipped wood. So you can go there to see and learn to identify the chip wood by looking at their display. They even cross section it for you to see. heh heh... you are right about India granite. It also depends on what color granite you are seeking as well. India granite are darker in tones. China granite are lighter. I got a write up in my blog that may be useful.

no problem. Like I mentioned, he did a half hearted job when preparing our quotation. You are right, it is very general. Too general in fact. That is why we dropped them cos we are afraid later will have hidden costs that may amount to more than wat we originally intend cos these items are not in the quotation. all the best in your search. check out my blog if you need something to get you started.

hmm... can PM me the name? I dun want to write a review on a company I did not deal with before lest i give you a bias view before they even got a chance to do your home quotation.

May I ask, who are you dealing with in Homemaker? I am wondering if you are refering to the same fella who did our home

I got some quotes from them before and I must say I am not entirely impress with their attitude with regards to my unit. I leave in AMK and work in Tampines during the time when I was seeking quotations. Went down to their shop twice! Both times, we have to wait a good half hour to meet with their boss! Cos he forgot about our appointment. Then when we got the quotes, a lot of things we asked for were not included in the quote. We heard great reviews from some of the forummers here, but we beg to differ. They did a half hearted job doing our quotes. We were totally disappointed. Afraid of hidden costs, we decided to drop them off our list.

it is never too early to ask for quotations. I did my initial asking around the same day I submitted my application for my unit. Heh heh... that is like freaking 3 months before I got my keys. The more they are stuck up, the better for you. Cos you can immediately strike them off your shortlist! Save you a bunch of time and effort ding-donging around to get quotes with these people. I have written a few articles in my blog to start you off for your first few quotes. There on, once you get familiar with quotations, you have a better idea of what you want, it becomes easier to understand them. Try my blog to get you going. It is in my signature!

so, barnett, have you gotten a requote? Or did you go out and find some more contractors/ID for other quotes to compare with this ID you have in mind? Going thru this thread, there are lots of really good comments from the other forummers with regards to your quotation in the first post. I hope you are getting a good deal for your renovation. All the best!

I also had my fair share of contractors who refuses to give the quotes for us to bring home to study. I have visited over 50 contractors/ID and pore thru > 36 quotations before I finally settled for the one that did my home. As long as you are not happy with them, drop them from the list and go on to the next. You are the paying customer here... if you dun like what you are getting, go to the next contractor who is willing to give in to you. There is no such thing as verbal trust when it comes to shelling out a few thousand dollars of hard earned blood and sweat money. If it is not written down, you are most likely not gonna get it. If it is not in the quote, it is not likely to be done at no cost. Go around and search for a few more quotations before making any decision to settle for one. happy hunting!

Busy lah... got got... PM me yours, I add you This Jimmy fella seems familiar... looks like my friend's husband. Dunno is it the same guy or not The floor plan looks big. Give the link to the pic, mabbe can see if we can flex our space planning muscle or not

ai-doh! so small how to see? condo or HDB?

hmm... I am looking at your quote. It is not exactly cheap leh. You got very intricate designs or are you asking for all veneer for your carpentry? Even the painting works alone is expensive. I did my EA with more color choices at a cheaper price than what you are quoted. I am sure there is a lot of bargaining can be done to reduce the price further. At work now, cannot break down your quote in detail. Check out my blog. There are some tips on how to see if your quote is expensive or not. Do a search of the forum as well. Many of us has helped other owners to break down their quotes to something more measurable. It would be relevant to you as well. I will see if I got time tonite to go thru your quote or not

aiyoh... jek ark loh. What is the world coming to? This is all sweat and blood money you know. I really hope these people affected are able to get something in return for their losses. Which company is that? What is the name of this couple? Post it here for all to see so that no one else will fall victim to these despicable couple!

ha ha ha... ada duit suma boleh... ha ha ha... betul betul!

Thanks. I am hoping to keep up with the blog for more updates so that it can become a complete reference from start till end. Will be working on it every now and then. Hope to finish it by end of the year.

hmm... I am not sure about cream color for matt tiles. You can try Defu lane 10. There is another tile shop there. A subsidary of Hafary. I got all my tiles there. Look for a fella name Ian. Great help rendered when we were choosing our tiles. I think the range there is a little more for matt tiles. Price range is about $3.20-3.80 psf, depending on what color and brand you choose.

Arab street. Those stores selling Rattan should have. the other place is at Alexandra Road. Opposite Safra... behind Hong Liang that stretch of shops also got one store selling Rattan goods.

New Updates on my Blog the latest article is helpful to beginners. check it out!

ah-doh! translate to english leh

huh? why so long? Thomas Smith shirt is it? those shirts are like impossible to get a wrinkle free finish when ironing. After ironing one part, shift to another, the ironed part will get wrinkled again! Hate those shirts!

You actually like ironing?!? I just finished one big load of ironing for both me and my wife's clothes and I want to die liow. The hours of standing is really a pain. If not for the TV to distract me while ironing, I think I will go nuts! Man~~~ I miss those days where I wear only jeans and t-shirts to go to work. say, you like ironing so much, ever tot of making money out of it? After three weeks, I got mountains of clothes to iron! Anyways, chores are never easy to do. Especially when you are doing it yourself. Takes two frigging hours just to sweep and mop the floor. And by then, tired out liow. I keep telling myself, must break down the chores so smaller tasks and do during the week, but with long hours at work, it is really hard to want to do chores at the end of a work day. Luckily, I have a wife who is very helpful with the chores and we are able to work hand-in-hand to finish them during the weekends.

Did you take picture of the previous set? And the replacement set? If you do, then can sent the two copies to STORM for comparison and get some money back for your story! I am sure the company that sold it to you will contact you shortly with regards to the abovementioned matter and offer some sort of apology

duh... talking about main door leh, how to hack?

I guess a floor plan of your living room and bomb shelter and the direction of your home would be more useful in such a discussion. Or do you have picture of the places you plan to put your altar? what will the altar be facing in those position?

easy... when they are setting up the carpentry, before the laminates goes on, look at the cross-section of the wood used. If it is hollow, you will know. Knocking on the finished product will also be a clear indicator of whether the material used for your carpentry is hollow or not.

There is not much to look out for actually. Most of the material are the same... metal racks and wooden boards. The only difference between the companies are the type and thickness of the ply wood used for the boards. Prices are about the same as well. So as long as you are comfortable with the person you engage, it is good. If you really want to save some, you can always DIY. A little more effort though. Not worth the savings if you consider the time you need to put in to set up the racks