arowana

Hi Michelle, talk to more contractors/IDs. Talk to almost 10 at the start. It's not easy. But this is for you to get ideas and price references. Read the forum to see which IDs to stay away from.

rickoveron, that's cool man.. But i guess the challenge is in finding contacts for all those good direc sub-contractors. You definitely should have saved as you are now the main con yourself and yes, you definitely learn alot urself! Sorry what's Iron monger? How did you handle the electrician and false ceiling sub-contractors as 2 different parties? Some of these works can be handled individually but some works seem to be needed to be done together. Like the electrician and the false ceiling contractor who have to coordinate the installation of lighting points together. Tough man.. but i'm sure a great learning experience. Pls share more if possible!

Hi Bro, sorry to hear this. Such situations just make it difficult for us customers to trust this industry. Can you share with us more details on what has been done, what's left to done? What's the total ocntract size and how much have you paid already? I suppose you have paid all 100% already? that's why you are in this situation? Use Small Claims also to nail this company... Cheers.

hi.. this kind of 1-post account, not much credibility. This forum is full of 1-post accounts. If you want to vent something truthfully, provide more details, pictures etc. I'm surprised you joined for more than 3yrs didn't even contribute anything, 1st post is to scold someone.. hehe

anyone ordered from LED lightsworld.com? How long does the delivery take?

terry, what's the price for a typical LED strip of 5m or more?

interesting... looks good so far! sun hup is one of the popular contractors in this forum! On the fengshui issue, my personal opinion is unless you are a strict taoist, you shouldn't be following Fengshui. If you are just a free thinker, design and plan according to how you like it..

Some pple say Ikea stuff quality not good, can't last. But i think no company will have the right mind of offering a 10yr guarantee on wardrobe systems, 25yrs guarantee on kitchen if they are using crap materials/workmanship. I've a 5yrs old wardrobe, still looks as good as new. Making me think hard now whether to do Ikea or not...

actualyl if it's only standard feature wall, it shd definitely be less than 1k. I got that from a quote myself. (so this is from contractor and not negotiated yet.) If you go to direct carpenter you could be saving another 10% more?

based on that size, about 1-1.5k max.

sorry what's this? Is this an aircon company forum? Haha.. i don't think you are going to get any response, you are better off taking out your yellowpages book and find aircon companies to call..

Andros, you sound like a robotic advertiser.. HAAHAHA

yeah that's fine. But just note that you need to be around when they are doing the works so that you can check on them from time to time and make sure no damage to your other property...

hi there are so many threads about this. Pls don't start a new thread just to ask for contacts. There are contacts mentioned in some of the threads. Do try to make friends with the 'Search' button. Would help alot..

Yup this thread is interesting. Because doing more things through 1 main contractor ironically doesn't equate to more savings. It actually results in more areas where the main contractor can stuff 'more gravvy' for him to jiak you. And I think certain things can be done with direct sub-con, relatively problem free. Like Carpentry is a good example. Provided one has to use time and seat around and watch the carpentry build up the wood work sui sui for you without damaging your other property. So there's pros and cons of using main con or direct sub-con.

Another way to reduce thickness of the light box/false ceiling is to use LED lighting instead

hi guys.. pls do not create new threads when there are existing threads on the companies you want to talk about. Pls get friendly with the search button or just scroll down. The info you require should be there...

ask around... shd pay max max... 100/ft for india granite - black galaxy.

are you advertising? or is this for info?

You should read up on Home decor magazines to get an idea of how you want your place to be. Go online and search for pictures of how you want certain things to be. Be creative and use your imagination. You should have a basic theme in mind: modern zen, balinese, contemporary bold, victorian, country style, cement-metal bareness? So many designs. But most 'IDs' in singapore can only do Modern Zen cause it's the safest design and most Singaporeans like the same white color base look. Therefore don't be surprised if most IDs have experience in this design only. And don't be surprised if your house looks similar to other houses. Cause almost all are same theme. Next you should focus on what are the main color themes you like. Then proceed from there. Also think about what kind of elements do you like in your house. Do you like alot of wood or bare metal or rattan materials? Good IDs will be able to blend in all these ideas into image for you. The ID will definitely demand a small fee first before producing 3D drawings. It's usually less than 1k. Some might charge more. One ID demanded 2.5k for 3D drawings but I felt it's too pricey and as original as it can be, in HDB, because of small space, there's only so much u can do in a living room, bdroom, kitchen. For that 1k, you should be getting about 7-8drawings. But since yours is a penthouse and you need more drawings, be prepared to pay up to 1.5k maybe? Think it's fair. IDs will not make money in the designing process, it's all about the contracting work where they start adding in gravy in the itemised parts. You just need to roughly know what's the market price of the items on a per unit costs? Read around the forums, get more quotes to get a better idea of where the market price should be. Also know that there's always a difference in prices from main contractors and subcontractors. Main contractors will be charging 230/ft for wardrobe whereas if you go to the carpenter himself, he might only be charging 180-190/ft. What accounts for the difference? Gravvy for the main contractor. Generally at the end of the day, I feel the main design thought process will still come back to the owner, for 1k how much of a CREATIVE DESIGN process does one expect? That 1k really is only to pay for the 7-8colored 3D drawings. But it's a fun process for the owner. To take ownership of his place. Treat it as fun and it's very rewarding!

One advantage of buying such wardrobes from Ikea is there's 10yrs warranty for their BESTA wardrobes. Custom made don't have. Also, ikea can swipe credit card and earn rewards and points, rebates or even do installment free <5yrs payment plan. Custom made furniture doesn't have all of the above.

can anyone post the contacts here? Easier for all.. better than wasting bandwidth,, everyone asks the same thing.. 'can pm me contacts?' Can share contacts? Any lobang for contacts? hahah..

why not you take the prices for carpentry and calculate on a per foot run basis? Then things become clearer. Initial inspection, some prices seem good, some abit pricier.

bro, show us your floorplan and the size of your unit.. that's better right?

If you can find, that would be really good. From what I know.. Most painters are just straight cut painters. If you want a painter, you need to source for a painter who would be willing to do your place.. Another alternative is to use motifs and wallpaper