neubie

as a homeowner, u have to tell him what u require to be done, in addition, pose him some issues that u think may not be doable and see what solution he has come up with. even in his initial quote to me, he will itemize individual works, eg, install 1 toilet bowl $85, hacking of kitchen floor tiles $200, etc, and will give a subtotal in each category. to have an accurate measurement, it's best a site visit is done and he whips out his measuring tape and clipboard and works out the actual dimensions. my experience with him is the items quoted on-site are mostly finalized and no more additional/hidden costs incurred. of cos u can still query him for more discounts la even if contract is signed, at a later stage in reno, shd u find some items unnecessary or u can source cheaper alternatives, u just tell him in advance to omit them, he will just gladly take out and not charged towards the final bill amount. to him, a signed contract is not cast into stone and no further amendments is allowed. so in a way there's still flexibility for me to make changes if required. of cos, if certain items not highlighted between u and him, and at a later stage u want it, then it's not fair to ask him to do for you FOC lor.... so got to be fair on that aspect.

tink throwing out their belongings is not against the law. u are merely exercising ur rights and counter-measures to a breach in tenancy agreement.

tink ur case is not here not there. taking legal action is only fattening the lawyer's wallets. unless the costs involved can recover, you will find it not worthwhile to do it. if locksmith come again, put another padlock until they give up.

wait till all have left the home for work, than add another chain and lock the gate? they will sure call u one.

If jobscope includes touching up (plastering) then is ok. Some paint quotes are purely painting n no touching up so will be cheaper.

love the low-sheen wenge color of your doors cos they are the same as mine!! :D but the door lockset which is the same as mine is a little flimsy, if u turn down the lever to open the door and release it with control, the handle doesn't go back to 3 or 9 o'clock position right? i tried using wd40 which helps a little, but still not so good...

we have an in-house expert on floorings, helps pple to make a better informed purchase....

the laminates should be able to cleaned with a well-wringed mop. they are built to last with normal floorcare products.... sweeping them (even using Kao Magiclean sheets) will simply push the dust from one area to another without picking them up wor...

that's what I thought so, cos at that time, i was real tired and burned out with so many quotes, this cheap, that exp, and all those items, almost wanted to sign with one ID then stumbled with Alan's offer who can match and lower the quotes plus additional works, then inked the deal. when that ID kapo asked why i din sign with him, i told him Alan's quotation and he told me there's no way he can match his offer, hence gave up.

Chemical cleaning of fcu at best is 60% clean, can't expect 90% clean even with regular cleaning.

never use personal loans, the interests accrued is very high. if u borrowing from bank, the 5% d/p must be done in cash, then the remaining 15% can be either cash or CPF. so u will save some cash component there and use it for somewhere else.... also some banks will subsidize legal fees which can oso be payable via CPF. tink stamp duty oso can use CPF. so the only cash component is COV + 5% + reno which may see some savings.... btw, decent locations are never cheap.

Using of white aluminum window grilles. the plastic corner used to cover the frame will yellow over time, as it is not UV-resistant. Not reno-related, but NEVER use alkaline batteries in low-drain devices such as wall clocks, remote controls. once they start leaking and corrode the terminals, it's almost gone case.

Some have requested my contractor's quotation thru PM.... so i intend to post here to save the hassle. <img src="http://www.renotalk.com/forum/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="" border="0" alt="wink.gif" /> only the workscope and grand total is given; no itemized costing will be given, cos too much hassle (the individual items won't add up to the final amount anyway <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="" border="0" alt="biggrin.gif" /> ). pricings are for reference only and serve as guidelines so dun go haggle with ur contractor/ID to match the offer <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="" border="0" alt="biggrin.gif" /> Edit: I have received quite some PMs asking the individual contacts of my carpenter/licensed electrician, while I understand there *might* be some savings if one were to go direct to the subcon (bypassing the main con), the fact that Alan has a team of long-trusted subcons imply they won't do such moonlighting work. their schedule is tightly packed and managed by Alan, so no free time to do sidelines..... Even if they do, they will notify him that of such cases and Alan takes over the negotiation. <!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec--><b>HACKING WORKS </b> Hack off existing wall at kitchen Dismantle off existing kitchen cabinet and bar counter cabinet Hack off existing kitchen floor tiles Hack off existing kitchen wall tiles Hack off existing 02 toilet floor tiles Hack off existing 02 bedroom and living hall area Hack off existing 02 bedroom wooden door frame Clear all debris off site Whole house chemical washing Construction materials haulage <b>WET WORKS</b> To supply & lay 300mm x 300mm homogeneous floor tiles for kitchen floor c/w waterproofing To supply & lay 300mm x 600mm ceramic wall tiles for kitchen area up to ceiling To supply & lay 300mm x 300mm homogeneous floor tiles for 02 toilet floor c/w waterproofing To construct 50mm concrete base for cabinet To top-up foam with cement for existing kitchen floor area to level up living hall To supply & lay 600mm x 600mm polish homogeneous floor tiles for 02 bedroom and living hall area with skirting To construct 63mm hollow block low wall with ceramic wall tiles To supply & install new stainless steel bin chute hopper <b>PLUMBING WORKS</b> To supply labour to install 01 nos. of toilet bowl To supply labour to install 01 nos. of washing basin with connect with mixer To supply labour to install 01 nos. of instant heater To supply labour to connect sink and mixer tap To supply & change existing pipe to stainless steel pipe for whole unit <b>ALUMINUM/WINDOW WORKS</b> To supply & install low panel sliding window and top panel with adjustable louver window for living hall To supply & install low panel sliding window and top panel with adjustable louver for bedroom 2 To supply & install wrought iron grilles for living hall and bedroom 2 c/w lock To supply & install 02 set of alum pvc bi-fold door for 02 toilet To supply & install 01 set of wrought iron main gate c/w lock set <b>GLASS WORKS</b> To supply & install 01 fixed panel 10mm tampered glass and 02 sliding door for kitchen entrance up to ceiling height <b>WOODEN DOORS</b> To supply & install new 02 set of wooden door frame for 02 bedroom To supply & install 02 set of veneer wooden door for 02 bedroom c/w lock To supply & install 01 set of solid nyatoh main door c/w lock <b>ELECTRICAL WORKS</b> Whole unit re-wiring including new MCB box and PG power supply testing. 32 lighting points + 3 scv + 2 tel pt + 12 x 2way 13A + 2 x 1way 13A + 1 x 15A + 1 x 20A + 6 x 3gang lightswitch + 1 x 1gang lightswitch + 4 x Cat5e <b>PAINTING WORKS</b> Whole unit paint with ICI/NIPPON emulsion paint including all pvc piping/door frame/new backyard room <b>CARPENTRY WORKS</b> Supply & install laminated solid plywood casement door below sink/stove support c/w 04 nos. of drawer/shelving/08 nos. of doors with soft-closing hinges Supply & install laminated solid plywood storage cabinet 1ft to seal off ceiling drainage pipe Supply & install laminated solid plywood top cabinet c/w dishtray and ABS trimming (5ft) Supply & install solid surface worktop Construct rotating TV console Design & construct full-height storage cabinet + shoe cabinet <b>AIR-CON WORKS</b> Panasonic inverter system 3 (with electronic eye eco-sensor) incl s/s bracket and 2 trips (pipe/wiring installation + compressor on first trip and installation of FCU on second trip) using class 0 insulation <b>CEILING WORKS</b> To lower down the white board support wall between living and kitchen in order to install a/c fan coil (pelmet) To supply & install L-box design for living hall area + 02 bedroom + false ceiling on dining area To seal off existing gas piping with white board up to ceiling height <b>NETT TOTAL: $26,000 </b><!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> Contact Alan @ 98892008

then i tink u dun need anything higher than 30k btu.

part of the reason why opennet is only aggressively promoted by M1 while Sinktel and StarFuk are not actively pushing, is M1 has little market share in fixed BB and they want this additional revenue. Sinktel and StarFuk on the other hand, have their own broadband, ie, max-on-line and mio/singnet, so they fear their investment dumped into the existing infrastructure will become white elephant should they aggressively promote fibre NGBN. that's why the response now is still lukewarm....

assuming u have budget for a 30,000 BTU compressor. based on my example, you can achieve cooling with the following combinations: 12k (LR) + 9k (MBR) + 9k (CR1) = 30,000 -----> optimal cooling efficiency 9k (MBR) + 9k (CR1) + 9k (CR2) = 27,000 -----> optimal cooling efficiency 12k (LR) + 9k (MBR) + 9k (CR1) + 9k (CR2) = 39,000 -----> poor cooling efficiency as u exceeded the compressor capacity its really wasteful to dimension too big size compressor to cool all rooms, as how often do u do that?

setting to fan mode of the aircon does not turn on the compressor, but will suck in more dust as u would open ur windows/doors for air circulation. this translates to more frequent cleaning. in this aspect, a floorstanding fan is much easier to clean compared to cleaning the FCU. depending on usage and type of compressor used, it may or may not lead to power savings. if ur a/c is those fixed-speed non-inverter type, there may be a bigger capacity and smaller capacity compressor. the bigger one can cool bigger rooms or can be split into 2 smaller rooms while the smaller one cools only one room. if ur aircon is configured such that u use 2 compressors to cool 2 rooms, then of cos u will expect higher bills. however, if u are cooling 2 rooms with one compressor, u will save some. usually inverter (DC variable-speed) models have a large compressor that connects to all the FCUs. so depending on the preset temperature, u save more when the temperature is set just 3 deg below ambient temp compared to 9 deg below ambient..... frankly speaking, if u install aircon, even inverter ones, you will have to pay more for power liao... as the saying goes, 要享受要接受.... haaaaa

if ur individual FCU BTU add up dun exceed 28k, then shd be able to turn on, avoid turning on all if the sum of BTU exceeds the compressor, as the compressor will work 100% all the time. very siong.

can, provided ur outdoor compressor can support.

first, determine ur usage, ie, how are u going to use the rooms. eg, are u intending to cool all rooms at a time? if so, u need a very powderful outdoor compressor (which will be $$$$$) to simultaneously cool all. if u are using to cool all three bedrooms at the same time, and not using the living room, then may opt for a smaller BTU aircon. once u done that, measure the floor area of ur rooms to determine the BTU required. for most rooms, a 9000 BTU cooling capacity will be more than enuf, factoring in other heat-generating things like human traffic, computers, etc. the BTU online calculator tells ur requirements the only consideration is ur living room which will be (much) larger than ur bedrooms. some contractors will tell u a 9000 BTU still will be sufficient to cool the room (to maximise their profit margins), but the question being, how fast it will cool to your desired temperature? in most cases, under-dimensioning an aircon FCU will not lead to savings in power, as the poor FCU is underpowered & cannot deliver the cooling capacity, and most of the time running continuously, compared to a 15,000 BTU which will cut-out once temperature is reached. hence for a living room, a min of 12,000 or 15,000 BTU is required for it to work efficiently. so u add up all the individual BTUs, determine ur usage pattern, 9k (for MBR) + 9k (for common room 1) + 9k (for CR 2) + 12k (for living room) = 39,000 BTU 9k (for MBR) + 9k (for common room 1) + 9k (for CR 2) = 27,000 BTU (assume living room is off) 9k (for MBR) + 9k (for common room 1) + 12k (for LR) = 30,000 BTU (assume CR2 is off) . . . round up to the total BTU to the nearest BTU offered by the manufacturer.

very vague description. how big/long is the solid surface top? SS top is charged at $70+ pfr onwards.

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can change cushion covers?

with the rainy season coming ( i just came back to see my acryllic-lined WI gate wet with rainsplashes ).... i tink there will be more accelerated cases of rusting of WI doors....

Another case of good things no cheap, cheap things no good. Penny wise pound foolish. The price reflects on material and processing used... Done properly, hot dipped galvanized iron will last for a long time, even with full exposure to sun n (acid) rain…Any supplier can give lifetime warranty, but if their company chup lup after a while also no use. Even if they honor warranty think of the inconveniences imposed. To save some money for this is simply not worth the emotional stress.