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samsamwch

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Posts posted by samsamwch

  1. Posted

    Hi Ivylee,

    By right, the difference in cost is due to the design factor from the ID.

    Usual pricing shld be like this:

    Full height feature wall ard $120pfr,

    Tv console ard $120pfr,

    Kitchen Cabinet ard $120pfr ( Your contractor price seems abit low...)

    Box up pricing ard $200 depending on dimensions,

    Casement Wardrobe ard $220pfr

    This price i got from my renovator. If you need i can intro.

    Oh ya, also needa take note of the material and mechanism they give like soft closing hinges etc...

    Hope this helps.

    cheers,

    mikey ( no need headache, reno is a journey to your dream home ;)

    Hi, can u give me your carpenter contact?

  7. Posted

    Dear Renoseeker,

    More like other contenders fell along the way; the one that last the miles is the one still standing. The process (I could agree that it won't work in most cases) resulted in having someone I trust, know what I wanted, and someone who could stand me, LOL...

    Regarding quote, my thought is that one couldn't really compare quote from quote equitably. This or that cabinet quotes, comparing by per feet run, this or that is cheaper? But what kind of material is used for the structure? Quality of laminates? Workmanship (carpenter's skill). To me, difficult to compare just based on the quotes on paper.

    Also, there are various scenarios. Say you bought a condo apartment at $1 million, renovation cost at $100K, that's 10% of the investment sunk for the condo. Do you want to split hair to find a 'cheaper' quote, say at $80K? The difference is 2%. Yet the 2% difference could make a whole lot of difference to how the furnished condo would look?

    Just my two-cents worth.

    Cheers!

    I spoke to 8 IDs before coming to a decision. There is really a difference between a real ID and a regular contractor. I can give you the contact on one real ID and a regular contractor who says he is ID...meet them and you can immediately tell the difference. Both can provide 3D diagrams. Psf price for carpentry and mansory works are about the same. But the ideas and concepts are significantly different.

  11. Posted · Edited by samsamwch

    Im so happy for you , dont forget to upload photo ... can . God bless

    Ok, it status update time..

    Roof Terrace: 75% done.

    Cost: abt $35k

    Exterior designer did all sourcing and quote comparison for me. I pay him design fees, so far so good.

    Realised plants can cost a bomb and now very scared they die before I move in. But they are beautiful. Designer got specific plants that can attract small birds. Some twirlers to create a shield to get more privacy from neighbours. Checked today, some twirlers have flowered in purple, nice!

    Because of cost constraints, here is the final design:

    Living Area: 50% done. Cost abt $40k

    a. got marble slab for TV feature wall..realized only need to top up $500

    b. because of space constraint in MBR, designer will be constructing a study table cum TV wall (hidden TV, will only appear will a button is pressed)

    c. using Crestar ceilling fans, got it at $230 for 52" and $270 for 56", regulator at $35 and instalation at $40 per piece.

    d. downlights, ended up with 40+, realised that prices can be very different. Found KS Lightings, for 13W square glass downlight, only $16 per piece, big ones is $28 per piece. Balestier shops were selling double the price.

    e. didnt cater for changing all switches to designer switches..estimated cost is $1k

    f. checked out invisible grilles, didnt like it because must do horizontal lines otherwise must do from floor to ceiling, quite unsightly. Found cheap and good wrought iron grille guy, only $11 psf.

    g. kids chose their own room colours. Designer got headache from them.

    h. ordered storage bed, but will throw away head-board. My designer will construct a floor to ceiling bed-header. Dont know nice or not.

    i. Hand-itchy, when to choose stony tiles to tile up one side of balcony wall. Not visible to condo management, unless they take a helicopter

    Mover: Found back my previous mover, he gave me a discount and I referred another job to him. Quiet team, wouldnt smoke in my house. Wraps my items with plastic for at least 4 layers..This time, I am getting them to move my piano as well.

    Headache: how to dispose or give away my bulky items:

    a. fridge: working condition, got extra one because the apartment I bought came with fridge, I already have one myself

    b. washing machine

    c. Cellini TV feature console

    d. Study table, quite big, 1.5m long I think

    e. Bookshelves x 2

    f. Metal modular rack, 3 levels, 1.5m long, I think.

    g. Electone, as in organ. Old model but working condition.

    Outstanding item: buy curtains / blinds. Kids are allergic to dust mites, so, cannot use too much cloth curtains..

    Grand plan:

    Throw a bbq tea party and invite my exterior designer, interior design, mover and their family. Both my designers are conscious about cost savings opportunities and contribute to our BBQ fund. Happy that they work together quite well.

    Meanwhile: continue to pray...

  14. Posted

    personally i think it depends on your house also. if the area always exposed to harsh sunlight, then it will not last long. and of course the wallpaper should not be too near the humid places such as toilets etc.

    wallpaper is coming back! well it is a fashion. i dun think valuation will take into account the wallpaper at all. maybe flooring like marble or granite will make such an impact.

    Thanks for sharing your thoughts !

  17. Posted

    Always thought KdK and panasonic gives much more wind power than fanciful ones..maybe that was my bad experience. I just bought a place and want to install ceiling fan in living room and 3 bedrooms. Need good wind power fans. Can recommend me some?

    Also need to throw away 2 working condition heater tanks..sigh..I want to replace with instant heaters x 2. Do you supply and install? And destroy old..?

    Please email me samsamwch@hotmail.com

    Thanks bro

  18. Posted

    One small step for man and One giant step for renovation..

    Thanks to RT members' views, I have finally decided to separate Roof Terrace designer with Interior works.

    Engaged Roof Terrace designer. Will start work in 2 weeks time. Duration is 4 weeks.

    Still havent engage anyone for Interior works. This is a real headache. Met 6 IDs and only zoom down to 2. See D1 and D2 above. D2 is better than D1 in terms of design ideas. But D2 takes design as a priority over practically and cost... good but not-so-good, I think. Her concepts are "stylo" and luxurious but sometimes I find it embarrassing to tell her to watch my wallet. But to be fair, she got good rates with her carpentry and wetworks contractors. Headache..

    Maybe, I should engage freelance designer and ask the designer to PM and work with a main contractor appointed by me.. any views?

  19. Posted

    <!--quoteo(post=600292:date=Dec 30 2010, 05:06 PM:name=sc_nah)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (sc_nah @ Dec 30 2010, 05:06 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=600292"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Hi ,

    will be doing up my flat ... seems like quite a lot need to be done so looking interior designer to do space planning as well as theme suggestion . Our previous designer that we use for commercial no more in this line le so tinking if got good reccomendation also can reccomend to our company ...

    Anyone got any good ID that willing to just sell their drawing ? Most of them seems to adopt the " i'm willing to do up your place as consultant as well as renovation but if you just wana just buy the pic then we dun do "

    At the same time non is willing to provide at least 1 perscpective before we confirm, which makes me worry the part on not being able to change designer if design dun suit... haiz .... <img src="http://www.renotalk.com/forum/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":(" border="0" alt="sad.gif" />

    ANY reccomendation ??? / <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":P" border="0" alt="tongue.gif" /><!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

    You can check out the designer who did my house for me. Very helpful, easy going & not calculative. He's very flexible with his designer's fee.

    I strongly recommend, trust my words, it'll benefit you. End of the day, it's not just good designs you have to consider but most

    importantly their services. Recently CASE seen a rise in 25% of complaints.

    Thru my Ist house & my parent's house, I've experienced designers & contractors who are so irresponsible it makes my blood boil.

    Totally bad in delivery of the design. I ended up paying more for rectification work.

    That's why it's good to finally find a designer who's committed his work.

    What I like a about this forum is that good designers are recommended here so many can avoid designers like the ones I had who had ruined my house

    thru their bad services. I hope there are more who can share the good ones in this forum.

    You can email me your contacts and i can recommend him to you if you want.

    Chris, can you email me the designer contact? My email is samsamwch@hotmail.com. Thanks.

  22. Posted

    Congratulations on finally settled down with your ideal ID. I had a strange encounter with Kevin. He came to my place, took measurements, and emailed me a layout plan and quote. And that's it. He never follow up with me to advice me what's the next step... I am not sure if ideal house is ID or contractor. What's your experience?

  24. Posted

    A true designer alway get a reasonable fee for the design . I think he is a real designer .

    Can get the drawing and you can go to Thomson road there is a lot of florist there they also can do good landscape work .

    Thanks billi.

    I met 2 interesting Designer today. Lets call them D1 and D2.

    D1: Lady, chatted non stop with my wife..discussing from maid's room to terrace to lux bedroom even to cooking techniques.. Diploma in Interior Design. Gave many many ideas. But keep asking us to redo all wardrobes. Havent talk about commercial yet, but I know she will charge a design fees.

    D2: Lady, appointment at 1pm. Asked to move appt to 2pm in the morning. Arrived 220pm. Very well qualified. Masters in Architecture. Very good, high quality and luxurious ideas. Asked for 15k design fees and prefers just to do design only. If I want turnkey project, we will have to use her contractor..but still got to pay design fees.

    On the surface: D2 is more high class than D1. But D2 has an attitude.

    If D1$$ = D2$$, would you go for D1 or D2 ?

  25. Posted

    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. :P 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!

    Thanks for great advice.

    I recent met an Ang Mo landscape designer, new in Singapore, did four 3-D drawings for me and didnt ask for any money. Good concept and came up with practical ideas. His fee is 10% of total contractor sum and he is open to either he go source for contractors or I can source for contractors and he will project manage. Because he is new in Singapore, I think he dont have lobangs for contractors for him to "gravy" or worst, contractors will take him as "robert" and start chopping him and flow through to me..

    What do you think?

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