Speed45

Have u seen any writings on the wall ? O$P$ ? Any newly painted patch wall ? If nothing then most probably the ah long may be caught or the money already settled...

Hi shaunz, do u know y did ur friend paid 90% of the contract when theres still so many works left undone ? Just from this forum only, i see alot of homeowners who paid up 90% of contract while many works are still left undone faces a high chance of id/contractor running away before completion. Ur only solid case is the work overrun its due date, u can sue for compensation on outsourcing other contractor to finish the remaining works, lost of place to stay (renting other place to stay/hotel etc) but dont expect to get back the full amount... Unsafe finishing and living environment & poor workmanship - u need to take plenty of photos n send to BCA/Radac for evaluation. Dont expect much as those authorities at most will slap a fine n maybe demerit points. Theres too many loopholes around for the contractor to take advantage of n the worst case scenario is the contractor close shop n open another new one. Unfair and unclear contract terms n overcharged - your friend shouldnt have signed in the first place if he dont find it fair, really tough case on this... Good luck, hope to hear more from you...

If u prefer a one stop service, an id will be able to fulfill that but be prepared to pay more for that kind of service... An id usually will have contacts for furniture, lightings, bathroom accessories, curtains etc for referral... They may offer to help give ideas on what furnishing to choose to suit the design u selected.

comparing now to 10 yrs ago, cost of renovating a 3rm is not much difference but a 3 rm itself costs so much more... the amount of cov u guys paid are actually enough to pay for a comfortable budget to cover reno works. paying abit more to reno ur place is always a gd investment if u r planning to stay there...

congrats, hope u get a smooth renovation... do post pictures

For 50k budget, an id will consider it a tight budget if u have above average expectations... a contractor should be able to do it at a ok range for the same expectation considering the mark down. When it comes to renovation budget it is a limitless amount depending on your requirement n expectation... Happy renovating

ic, so is the base still wet ? have u tried to air-dry the area under the sink ?

Hi sunnyting, the first thing u should do is to keep the rooms well ventilated... If u have fans (not air-cons), keep it on throughout the day. The smell will disperse in about 1-2days. Do u mind revealing how much u paid for the painting works n ur home consist of how many rooms ? From there it will be easier to judge if its priced reasonably. No point re-painting as u mentioned u r in a hurry to move in. As for how to settle with ur id ? Tell him in a nice way that u are actually paying for that certain paint model but hes giving u something else thats cheaper. Most likely way out is for the id to give some discount from the painting works.

Could it be the smell of silicon ? Try leaving the cabinet door open for 24-48hrs to air dry the interior...

i think your nick suits him more... the rat This guy reminds me of my signature below... shady services comes from shady attitude contributing to shady accounts

I will definitely help u spread around his wrongdoings... After reading through ur posts, there were some warning signs to be concerned of... 1st, the id did not visit the job site. 2nd, the sub-cons were not aware what to do & its a clear sign the id is not coordinating properly with them. 3rd, not mentioned by ur post but i believe many items were not bought or ordered to site ? 4th, collecting too much payment before certain works were done. Btw, Why did u end up paying 95% of the contract when so many works were not done ? For a quotation of $46k, this id will be getting at least 10-20% profit after getting the job done. For this case, he made away with at least 50% profit by not completing the reno work. This is why rogue id/contractors prefer to earn money this way, less work more money. Home owners should avoid paying upfront too much incase the id/contractor gets tempted to run.

I wont consider this lock to be very cheap but rather priced competitively...Was the savings alot from the samsung brand u bought for your old house ? As for the new gate, i wont pay at all since its damaged by the worker...I think you r the kind one to accept $50 discount. At least should demand half-half as they r the one who damaged the gate. Unless the lock cannot fit at the initial stage of installation then recommending to change a new gate will be more appropriate. I guess ur nightmare starts with a product that has serious issues plus inexperience boss n worker. I guess i will vomit blood too... Plan to save some money but end up spending more n worst, mentally stressed. I dont mean to gloat on ur misfortune but it seems ridiculous to bring keys out while using a keyless lock because u fear on getting locked out by ur own lock. Seriously, i think u will go nuts first...

hello originalbread, just to share with u what i know abt ur toilet window... The wire mesh u see is actually meant to hold the glass incase falling object breaks it n yes its a safety requirement set by hdb. Dont worry about the window being translucent because its mosaic censored. Try close the window n look out, can u see anything ? Set the window at around 45 degree and u will be quite safe from preying eyes. Regarding slow progress, ... Moderate ur supervision because different renovation work takes time to settle, no point rushing the contractor where u may end up with an undesirable result.

Hi angrypapa, I feel your frustration after reading through ur posts... Seems like this product has serious flaws and the shop selling have inexperienced workers installing (maybe the boss too). Do u mind revealing how much u paid for it ?

For hacking of whole unit, the reasonable range should be around 2.3-2.8k (if can find lower, that will be even better, another saving)... I see, so u need alot of storage space for your biz... I was wondering if u would consider hacking away the storeroom n make ur mbr bigger and alter ur cbr door to face the living room, since U mentioned its cramp in ur mbr. Hard to sell in future ? If ur flat condition is gd , how will that turn off potential buyers to pay a gd price specially if they like retro n can save on reno. Unless the buyer looking to reno the whole place, they would prefer something else. Try this Ur theme . Before getting ideas from someone else, try to find out what really suits you and then it will be easier to work from there. Hope it helps.

expected they need to quote higher to cover back but still must be reasonable rates. The prices u mentioned are really sky high... Regarding id sounds like contractor, alot of them have experience as a contractor before and thus very easy to turn into id ... These kind of contractor turned ids are actually better because they should be more experienced plus they can have alot of ideas n recommendations. If u are not very particular on copying designs, by going through a few design books from bookstore or internet , u can get a few ideas that u like n get a contractor to do it at a fraction of a price from id firms... U can save alot n spend it on furnishings...

usually when the prices r marked up very high, it is partly because the quotation goes through alot of hands... i.e. the id, main-contractor, sub-contractor, maybe FL workers... imagine every "hand" mark up around 20%, the final quote will be seeing at around 60% increase. As for better workmanship & higher quality, how much difference can that differ ? If u comparing a lesser experienced vs a very experienced worker which is still unlikely to see such a huge difference in price. Maybe for higher quality materials to cost more but hacking uses only breaker n labour, still does not justify for that price difference. Another possibility will be their very high overheads.... Is the ID(i hope is id,really too much if its a contractor) from quotation B having a very big showroom ? employing alot of ppl inside ? big cars ?

Theres another thread regarding information on flooring... The threadstarter was complaining about the contractor earning too much from him and ends up he went to source everything himself...It was a close to $3k quotation and he saved about $500 for doing everything himself. Not sure how much time he spent but its definitely time consuming... Ends up the contractor did not do his house which im not sure is it considered lucky for the owner as u may not know if the contractor may do a shabby job in return. There was no reply from the threadstarter if he managed to find a tiler to do up his house. I hope everything goes smoothly for him...

55sqm = 592sqft x $2.80 = $1657 Estimated 10% discount, end up you will pay $1492 before gst... $165 savings. Id/contractor may get slightly more discount like 15% which is not alot. If u still have other items on your quotation, expensive items like hacking / carpentry etc , you should consider not asking for discount on tiles n get more leverage on those higher priced items. Comparing 2 scenarios, 1) u have 10 items on your quotation & u just bargained for the 2 or 3 most expensive item vs 2) u bargained for all of the 10 items... as a homeowner, of course u benefit all from the 2nd scenario but the id/contractor does not... Which businessman will want to do a losing deal ? You may end up not getting the best deal if the id/contractor does not wish to do ur house. As for scenario 1 , i feel its a win-win situation for both party. You save some while the id/contractor earn some... Imagine u can get a 10% discount on hacking n carpentry which will easily cost $5k and that is equal to $500 savings compared to $165 from the tiles.

Some things to note when engaging in these fl workers... Most of them are likely moonlighting which is illegal. Not sure if the person engaging the worker will get into any trouble, but for sure the worker will be deported back n his contractor will get fined. But if the worker is a illegal immigrant or overstayer, you will be liable for engaging them to work. Remember the case on underage prostitute ? Even the guys protested they were unaware she's underage, they were still charged eventually. Being ignorant doesn't help u get off the hook in this case also. Becareful when engaging fl workers.

theres tempered glass (depend on the thickness n height, may not be cheap but looks classy, can block out noise better) & also partition board (weak structure but cheap, does not block out noise effectively)

Hi angrybirds, feel sorry for your predicament... Do u mind sharing how you came to know this ID n end up signing the contract ? Anyone here who had a bad experience with this id, please feel free to share also. Im trying to understand how home owners get to know n how they got cheated by ids/contractors. I hope to see if theres any tell tale signs at the beginning whereby future homeowners can spot. The most common sign i know is the quotation is too cheap to be true... If u dont mind, can reveal your quotation ?

how cheap u want depends what u need n what u want... the cheapest way ? get a ceiling light... if u can spend slightly more, go for a simple L-box. You still can get a sleek look with enough clearance for a ceiling fan. false ceiling is more for dual purposes. beside downlights, false ceiling can do cover up like air-con trunking, uneven concrete ceiling, exposed wirings etc... unless u have a lot of cover up to do, L-box will be a better choice. Sometimes ppl wants to save costs at the beginning stage but end up spending more at the later stage. Do weigh the pros n cons before commiting.

hi there, getting track lights is something different, a change from the usual L-box / cove light u see in most homes... From the pictures u posted, just the bedroom alone, u will be using about 10 bulbs @ 50w each = 500w. Do u think the room will feel too hot for ur comfort ? Have u considered the power consumption ? Maybe led will be a better choice compared to a halogen bulb, but do consider if the led lights are enough to brighten the whole room as led light focus on a point.