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wowach

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Posts posted by wowach

  4. Posted

    Hi,

    1 lighting pt refers to either 1 downlight pt, 1 ceiling light pt or 1 track light pt. Saying that you have a hanging lamp with 2 seperate light bulbs, usually it only need 1 lighting pts unless the light require 2 pts(which is rare). However, the electrician migght charge slightly higher than a ceiling/down light for installation. it should be about $5-10 more.

    Small light sources depending on whether you are using spotlight/downlight or tube aka cove lightings. if cove lightings, one tube is NOT equal to one pt. it is a looping pt so sometimes they charge as a lump sum instead of per pt based.

    As for full height cabinet. yes some market practice do charge like that. but of course usual cases it should be slightly cheaper than that. Eg. 100/ft run for top OR bottom. a full height might cost you somewhere around 250-280. Considering that, you actually save on the kitchen worktop cost. so it doesnt varies very far.

    Hope these helps!

    I see, certainly very helpful. Thank you.

    Another question, if you don't mind - my contractor quoted me a 2.80-3.80$ range for my tile selection, while another ID only gave me up to 2.80$ only. Is the selection severely limited due to the $1 buffer? I haven't had a chance to go view tiles, but both their total prices are very similar, hence I would like to find out if I should be concerned for this 2.80$ cap by the ID. I'm aiming for some textured tiles in my toilets, but normal tiles for my kitchen.

  6. Posted

    Very helpful Sir. Thank you!

    May I know what is the usual market practise for the below electrical items?

    - what is considered 1 lighting point? What if I have I have a hanging lamp that comes with 2 separate light bulbs? Same for those bar counter hanging light that comes with 3 separate hang modules. Considered 1 or multiple point? How about for small light sources like inside cabinets?

    - most kitchen cabinets run by per foot length, top and bottom. What if I would like to do a section that is from top to bottom, full height? Am I charge for 3 units (top/middle/bottom)?

  7. Posted

    I have just gotten my keys to my resale unit about a month ago. Have not shifted in, but the mails for the ex-owners is piling up. I have gotten my agent to ask their agents / exowners to come and pick up. But they are not concerned at all! I think they are just plain lazy.

    What do you guys do with such mails? They have stuff from telcos, hospitals, government letters etc. Are there any legal liabilities for new owners to action upon such stuff?

  11. Posted

    I have a resale flat that comes with existing lighting points and power points.

    1) Would like to find out if it is market practice to charge for simple adjustment of lighting point positions? For example if there are 4 existing light positions in the hall, but I want to move these 4 to different positions (same type of lights, say down lights), will I be charge as "4 new lighting points"?

    2) Are lighting points quoted regardless of the type of lights used? My contractor quoted me $40 but didn't say what lights can be used.

    Appreciate advice!

  17. Posted · Edited by wowach

    PS: Can someone teach me how to use Multiquote? I clicked 3 posts and then followed by "Reply" but it doesn't work.

    Just some points on the IDs/Contractors that I have spoken at more length so far:

    1) OrangeCube

    The ID was one that I met during the Expo show. She was quite pushy and was trying to get us to close deal on our very first visit. Not even a site visit. The price was above our budget initially, but she dropped the price quite substantially from the first quote on the very same day. The usual "cut GST for you" came. Not very comfortable with the ID. Don't really feel the sincerity.

    2) Mr. K

    Super popular these days. The price tag was also probably also reflective of his popularity. Way above our budget, even higher than IDs for very similar stuffs. He mentioned that he don't use cheaper materials, so I suppose he is mainly catered to the premium group.

    3) IDees Interior @ Vertex

    Young IDs. Introed by a colleague. Price point closer to my budget, but still not close enough. Also did the "Cut away GST for you" thing. For an ID, thus far its me saying what I need and want. Not much design suggestion from them. I think the "interior design" part will come in only during the 3D drawings, which I can really do without. But credit to them, they did help me think of some ideas to cut costs. Shortlisted.

    4) Ah Huat

    Recommended by eekenji. Turns out he is my mom's kampung friend. The site visit ended up to be a catch-up session between my mom and his wife. He is very proud of his experience and even invited me to view his works. I can feel his sincerity but end of the day its the works and costs that matter. I think there's quite a lot of air-talk in the industry where there are a lot IDs/contractors who promise the skies but delivery falls short. Will be receiving the quotation very soon. Hope its good.

    4) Alan

    Just made contact from him. First contractor that can SMS with me in English! Very prompt in his replies. No further discussion until next Wed.

    SIDENOTE: Where can I source for nice decor stuff in Bangkok? Going soon!

  18. Posted

    Sorry to hear about this bro ... I hate to say it, but real estate transactions and renovations seem to bring out the worst in people. You'll see all types of pattern, some which boggle the mind and make you wonder if there's any hope for mankind :P

    But let this be a lesson for your renovations. Never assume anything, always make sure all parties are on the same page, be very careful with the "give and take" because not everyone will extend the same courtesy to you, and always look out for your own interests. Because if the @#!@ hits the fan, you will find there's very little recourse for you. So prevention is better than cure!

    Point definitely taken. Will try to put down everything in black and white for my reno.

  19. Posted

    wowach, I also spent around 20k for non-reno items .. I also bought beds from beds.sg.

    Just try to keep track of what you have purchased with the budget you have .. For us, we managed to play within 18K for all the non-reno items including sink, tap those bathroom and kitchen accessories, electrical appliances, furnitures, decor stuffs, curtains, household stuffs etc.

    While for reno items, it's something we cannot control .. coz will depend on what the contractor quoted us, sigh. The only way to control the reno cost is either remove the item or replace with something else which might not be what we want :(

    Agreed with barcadibreezer, I bought most of my lightings and celing fans from JB .. have spent total around S$1.7k. But unfortunately, some of the lightings we like cannot be found in JB. So I ordered 2 lightings from taobao, still waiting for them to deliver to singapore ... the shipping fee already more than 100 bucks for about 40kg stuff. Overall, still cheaper than buying in Singapore :dribble:

    Totally understand the pain when you have to remove some item which you want from the start. :( I have already dropped my idea of platform in dining area. :(

    Will be dropping the Tampoi Lighting store a visit.

  20. Posted

    Hi,

    I just completed my Reno and did purchase some items from taobao, I'd like to share with u that lightings in JB is really as cheap as taobao, and good thing is u can test before u buy and exchange if there's any defect, as for taobao, u can't touch feel and try and long waiting time, if u pay for express delivery then the cost end up is higher than u purchase locally. I bought all my led down lights from JB and their decorative pendant lights (those replica designer lighting) are selling as cheap as below RM200. I bought my replica George Nelson pendant light at RM130 only. I source from taobao also the same price but haven't include shipping cost. Just my 2 cents of word cause I understand not everyone likes to travel to JB.

    Thank you! I will be definitely be dropping JB a visit!

  21. Posted

    for my budget planning, i added the budget for all the items i hope to get the carpenter to do as well, like tv console, kitchen cabinets etc... but i use the ikea planners to plan how much it would cost if i were to get ikea instead.. so that if the carpenter is able to match or beat ikea's price, then i get custom furniture, if not, i will settle for the ikea version..

    also means that you need to build your own furniture though, more trouble but if it saves money, i would rather..

    i highlight all the stuff that i'm unable to do myself, like hacking of walls, plumbing and electricals..

    and then lastly, i separate out the items into 2 categories, the "must get now" category and "can get later" category..

    you might want to check these websites for stuff

    taobao - for furnishing, lights, faucet, etc

    beds.sg - for beds, mattresses, sofa sets and dining sets

    ikea - for system wardrobe, kitchen cabinets, tv consoles, etc

    coolserve - for aircon, i only use this as a tentative price as i have not gone price hunting

    lion city - for other appliances, also using this price as a tentative only

    me and hubby restrict ourselves to nothing fancy.. no thousand dollar dining set, no hundreds of dollars pendant light, etc..

    especially since we are already splurging on the reno and so much things to buy, those that are built-in and we have no choice then go ahead and buy, those that can be easily replaced, like dining set and sofa, no harm getting a $120 set to warm your butt, next time got money then buy the thousand dollar one..

    Alisa, thanks so much for your suggestion. I agree Ikea is a good comparison point. They do have some hidden gems with very good materials. Besta, for instance. And of course the forever favorite Billy bookcases. Will need to find a fine balance between Ikea and custom carpentry.

    Thanks for a great list of reference. I would really love to try taobao, but kind of worried about the shipping and stuff. End of the day, its something I can see but not touch.

  23. Posted

    First unpleasant incident happened today.

    Went for my second appointment yesterday, and collected my keys from sellers. During the final inspection, seller said they "maybe" can move out by 30th. We were prepared to give them a few days extra to clear stuffs. Yesterday morning (on the day of second appointment), however, my agent told me they can pass me the keys today. Naturally I was glad because there will be no extension required.

    Lo and behold, today when we went to do the ong-lai and stuffs, we saw tons to stuffs still in the unit. And I really mean a lot - 4 cabinets, bicycle, ladder, trolley and lots of miscellaneous stuff. My mom was adamant that we had to clear all the stuffs before we do the Chinese rituals. End up we had to move the stuffs to the corridor, and it was no mean feat. The unit was really dirty and dusty. I called town council to see if they can help with the bulky, but they said need 3 days in advance and I risk being fined if I leave stuffs in the corridor.

    We had to call the agent up and get his counterpart to solve the problem. End up, the sellers idea was that they can pass us the keys during second appointment, and still access the unit to clear their stuffs. I was flabbergasted where that understanding came from. They left the door unlocked when i opened this morning - what if some illegal immigrants or druggies go into my house? The liability would be mine because the unit has been transferred.

    Ridiculous advise from their agent. Totally didn't do her job as a professional.

  24. Posted

    Lights make a huge difference to the feel of your house. If you are going to spend so much on your renovation, I highly suggest u increase your budget for lightings if you are buying them in Singapore. Or similarly, you can buy the same exact lightings from Malaysia at 1/3 of the price, this will easily reduce your spendings on lights at least by $1k.

    For myself, I opt for whole house LED downlights/bulbs/tubes/strips since it was within my budget when I purchased them in Malaysia instead of SG.

    I totally agree with lighting making a difference. Unfortunately I do have a strict budget to work with and I intend to get some stuff from taobao to cut the costs.

  25. Posted

    Wowach, you are right. That was done by the ppls from contractor Ah Huat, i.e. we didn't have good recommendation on him as for now. And he didn't like to have things in black and white as he not good in paper works. I not sure if this applied to all the contractors, he just same as others?

    Yesterday my husband went to site to chk and the kerbs are fixed .. finally.

    Good to hear. Did he charge in the end?

    You havePM by the way. ;)

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