wowach

I guess its the initial stages.. where we tend to fit our expectations (and requirements) to our budget. After my own experience in looking for contractors, I think it should be fitting expectations to market prices instead. I believe in market equilibrium. If the market is averaging that kind of price, I doubt any one is able to offer any lower without eating too much into their margins. It's just the way they repackage their individual items to fit that final margin the industry is at. Choosing tiles tomorrow!

@northernlight23 PM Sent. Do note i reserve my final judgement on my contractor until the end of my renovation. But feel free to get a quote from him.

@retchlow and bleucheeze Thanks! Been watching ur blog with a keen eye. Looking gd for you guys. @makan To be honest, I bust my original 30k budget too... I am hitting closer to 40k.

Renovation finally starting in 1- 2 weeks time. Settled the finances today. Our final choice was Alan because (1) Good reputation in renotalk (2) Market price (3) Sincere and easy going, easy to talk to I see quite a few fellow-Alan renotalkers. Hope I have a smooth reno too.

Thanks much!

Thanks for your quick reply! I suppose the price does not include the track itself? 80/pc is pretty pricey. I see. Fabulous looking kitchen. I think you did achieve the look you want. Will also look at Howard too.

Love your bright and airy kitchen! I'm intending to do something like that without top cabinets too. May I know where did you get your kitchen track lights? How much did it cost you? Also any reasons why you tiled up only to half height for your kitchen wall? Lastly, where do you put your dish drainer? Normally people will have it at the top of the sink area, Pardon my long list of questions, happy new year to you and your family!

Hi Mangoo, I see you've used a great deal of track lights. How much does each of them cost? Do you have to get the track and lighting bulbs separately?

Wonder if you found a good place to buy this? Wanna buy this for my main bathroom too!

Beautiful kitchen top. I'm probably going to use kompactop as well. May I know how much did the company charge you the top plus labor? A contractor is charging me $110 per feet to be middle man. Also I see that the layer below the actual top is black in color? Is that the default color?

Thanks for the thread. So many things in taobao, really lost as to which is reliable. I hear Jomoo brand is pretty good for kitchen/bathroom accessories, but not sure which sellers to go for.

Just did my "dong tu" ceremony today. Even before contractor is confirmed. Just symbolic as today is a good day to "start" renovations according to Chinese Calendar. Anyone knows what is the market price to relocate storeroom entrance? Intend to shift my storeroom entrance from main living to kitchen side.

Brilliant buys! The console and bedside tables fits my theme as well, but I see that the seller doesn't flatpack and send them as 1 fully assembled unit? How much did they cost you in total? Awesome home.

Can share the price of the top left and bottom right tiles?

Turns out that its for both top AND bottom. Phew. $110 per feet then. I'm at the final stage of confirming my contractor. Will reveal once everything is settled. I didn't engage Ah Huat actually. Oh, what a coincidence! His workmanship and price is pretty ok actually. But I didn't have the chemistry and had other considerations, so we decided to drop him.

Congrats! Looking forward to mine. Dropped you a PM.

A contractor quoted me kitchen cabinet at $220 per feet. I thought that's pretty expensive. Comes with standard soft closing and ABS trimming. Does not include solid top. Am I being overcharged for this?

Hi Chian, wow really similar layout. I aim to complete my reno by end-Apr. Yup, I have that floorplanner account too.

Hi, thanks for that. Oh that sucks. Was thinking of getting most of track lights and taps/toilet accessories from taobao. Wonder if there are any spreadsheets around to calculate the final price? There's quite a mathematical formula to it and I'm afraid I might get it wrong and get shocked by the final price. Furthermore 65daigou requires a full listed payment before they order the stuff. Not very secure.

anyone knows how to search for track lights in taobao?

I think normal solid top also requires the same type of care. Immediate cleanup of coloured spills and no prolong heat. So I guess it's pretty much the same. That said, being a new product the risk is still there.

Yup my contractor will be. But just wondering about the base line prices for such tiles to set my expectations right. Guess ill just put a glass shelf and call it a day. Thanks

Apparently the cost is the same as the normal Samsung countertop. Unlikely to be real wood because of its natural permeability. Reckon it's some chemically strengthened material with wood life appearance. The risk is that's a new product in the market and not many knows its durability. Need to be careful with water and heat. Shoots I think I posted in the wrong section..

Any suggestion for the above? Does anyone knows how much does wood-alike tiles cost? My contractor is allowing me to choose up to 3.80$ tiles. Wonder if such tiles fall in range?

Thanks for the offer. My super efficient contractor managed to get the samples for me. He said its a very new product and he has never seen before. How's the finishing like? Seems like the bottom of the top is black? Can it be changed to white?