A couple of people have asked about Matrix Concept and Alvin Aw. We just had our new home renovated by Alvin and his team. Since we benefitted from the wisdom of the forum, we thought we share some of our experience here. Alvin was recommended by our friends who had their HDB flat renovated by Alvin more than five years ago. As the flat was still in good condition, such as the cabinets and laminates were not chipped and the toilet fittings were in good shape. We decided to contact him to get a quote. It turned out that he understood what we were after and we did not seek out another ID thereafter. Alvin's philosophy is to produce a finish without spending a bomb. He is well aware of the budget constraints that clients may have so where possible, he also find ways to manage the costs. First, he has a very experienced carpentry crew that he manages so all cabinetry works are done in-house. His other contractors for wetworks, plumbing, windows grilles, electrical and aircon etc are also experienced. Many of them have worked with him for a long time so we thought it was a good sign of his experience and reputation within the industry. Second, his design is very lifestyle-centric so while there may be nice to have things, he will always check if that is what we will really use so that we don't end up with a place that has "white elephants". For instance, after looking at the need for additional storage, he reduced the size of the shower stall in our master toilet and created additional cupboard space. He also sets the cabinets in the kitchen and living area a few inches above the floor so that maintenance and cleaning is easy. Third, Alvin will do his best to create the best outcomes, even if it means additional work. We had an uneven wall at the back of the shelving we were building in the living room. As the work progressed, Alvin felt that by boxing up the two walls, it would create a better look. Even if it meant getting his crew to do extra work and at some inconvenience, for the sake of the final look, Alvin made the changes. Fourth, when he found that the old toilet doors were in good condition and could be salvaged and re-used with some new varnish, Alvin suggested that we need not order new doors and stick with the old. Fifth, we were impressed with his effort to not waste the clients' time. When he took us to shop for the tiles, he took the trouble to find matching kitchen tiles, even though the original plan was to replace the hacked areas with similar tiles. In the end, we decided to hack the entire kitchen floor for the complete look. Since the tiles were chosen, we did not have to make a second trip to the wholesaler to choose the tile. It is the attention to the little details that make the whole experience easier. Sixth, the suppliers he recommended for lightning and bathroom accessories had a good range to choose from so picking out items was quite straightforward. Alvin would also offer his advice on what kind of furnishings and furniture we could get so that the whole look of the flat would be consistent. Seventh, Alvin is responsive and will try to find a solution to the issues that crop up. In terms of his quotation and final cost, we are glad to report that there was no hidden costs. Everything was explained clearly upfront and if there was any variation, Alvin would remove and add it the items accordingly and some he charged us at cost from the suppliers. The electrical portion would only be a guesstimate at signing as we found that we had to go through a few changes before deciding where we want the sockets and how many, as this can only be finalised after you see the cabinets, shelving etc up. So do have some buffer in your budget for this. All in all, we were glad that our friends recommendation did not fail us. It was a good experience working with Alvin and his team, who did their best to get our place ready.
