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misfits

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  3. Posted

    Quotations

    Here are some of the items which we will be doing :

    Hacking works
    hack existing wall at Kitchen, Service Yard and Master Bedroom
    Cement works
    - cement skirting for cabinets , washing machine base and shower screen kerbs
    - hollow block for wash basin at Service Yard (Separate sink to wash some handwash clothings or bath my dogs apart from the kitchen sink for cooking etc. bottom will act as a area for my dogs to discharge themselves)
    - homogenous flooring 15X90 **** room
    - sit down concrete tiles at Master Bedroom's Toilet (for us to sit and bath or bath our dogs in the toilet at a higher level
    - glass mosiac tiles at Kitchen except cabinet area (backsplash for kitchen)
    - hollow block at Kitchen (Concrete for Kitchen Cabinets)
    - island hollow block countertop & 3ft top stainless rack for wine at Kitchen's walkway (hubby's island bar counter)
    - white brick wall **** room's 2 side (feature wall)
    Carpentry works
    - install low (17ft) ,upper (17ft) kitchen cabinets granite countertop (kitchen cabinets on both side)
    - install a unit tv cabinet **** room (floating tv console)
    - install a unit solid plywood frame at Kitchen (decorative frame for the entrace of the kitchen)
    - install a unit shoe cabinet **** room (full height shoe cabinet)
    - install a unit of laminate casement door for island area **** room (storage for hubby's island bar counter)
    - install a unit of without door wardrode at Master Bedroom
    - a unit of low cabinet at Master Bedroom's bay window
    Miscelleous
    - 10mm tempered glass showerscreen at Master Bedroom's toilet
    - 10mm tempered glass showerscreen at Common toilet
    - 2 pieces of door and door frame at Master Bedroom ( for the mini walk in wardrobe)
    - a unit of solid plywood door at 2 Toilets (changing hdb's toilet door)
    - a unit of light box and false ceiling **** room and Master Bedroom
    - install silding window at Kitchen (window at service yard)
    The damage will be about 40k. :wacko:

    Hi,

    can share your quote with Mr K? my email wongboonhwa@hotmail.com.

    Thanks.

  5. Posted

    We are really coming to the end of our renovation as chemical cleaning was done, with toilet doors and windows installed too. There's nothing much K could do till carpentry comes in, so that he can install lights and plumbing works.

    About my contractor, Mr K:

    Many people are asking me, how's K and his workmanship? I shall attempt to share my experience with him and try to include the questions I get from others.

    Honestly, I have no complaints. Working with him was a breeze for us and he didn't need any chasing. In fact, we worked faster than we could get our things ready and he's the one who keep calling us up.

    Pre-renovation

    We met up with him mid-May, after meeting with countless IDs and a few contractors. He was early for our appointment (I like that). He came with a measuring tape and a small notebook but never did open it nor wrote anything down. We went around the house and went through all the works we wanted to be done. It took about an hour and it was apparent that he was very experienced. He was quick and gave us some suggestions, told us what could and could not be done. He left and promised to give a rough quotation soon with a detailed quotation later, in about a week.

    We got a rough quotation within a few days. It wasn't that cheap, slightly above budget but reasonable. IDs quoted about 45-60k, some excluding electrical and hacking while his all-in quote was alot cheaper. We met up with him again about 2 weeks later and made some amendments to the works required in an attempt to cut cost but end up adding a few things too. Initial quote included carpentry which we later took out and let a relative do it instead. He was really understanding about it and we met up to finalize the contract again last week of May. He met us at our place and went through all the works again before signing the contract.

    Renovation Process

    We signed the contract on a Saturday, and got the permit by Wednesday. Renovations started officially on the following Monday. Meanwhile we have confirmed tiles (same wooden-grain tiles for the whole house). Hacking was done on Monday, with all sand and materials arriving in my house.

    I've been updating the progress almost daily initially, so it's apparent that things were pretty quick and smooth. All major works were completed by Week 4, painting in week 5, doors and windows up in week 6.

    Working style

    He's chinese/malay speaking. He's a contractor, not ID. He does give suggestions after you let him know what you want done, but don't expect him to do space planning and services which IDs provide. We had no 3D drawings (you can probably pay for it), and there was no written schedule. All I knew was that my renovation will take 6-8 weeks, starting with hacking and electrical. He updates progress with pictures through wadsapp whenever something is done. He also visits our site almost daily and is very responsive with wadsapp. We do ask him what will be done next often, and he lets us know what works follows.

    Workmanship

    I would say that the workmanship is generally pretty good. He works with a good network of sub-contractors and seemed close with them. My tiling were all done neatly, and some who visited our place commented that we have very neat flooring with small grouts (as requested). The only complaint is the edges and corners, which wasn't done as well. My husband checked the ceiling and floor corner of the mosaic and last piece weren't as straight. I was alright with that since it's an half-inch mosaic and I don't really go see the corners. Plastering, false-ceiling and other works were done nicely too.

    HDB License

    K's company is not HDB approved, and there are a few who were concerned about this. I did a quick check before signing the contract, but still went ahead with him despite knowing that he does not have a HDB license. My renovation permit is under the hacking contractor permit, whom he works with closely. I did ask him about it, but he felt that it was not necessary and troublesome. He said that he has done hundreds of homes and there were no problems. And if people don't trust them with their homes, it doesn't matter that he has a permit or not. Most of his jobs are all through word of mouth, no advertising and I guess he has enough projects to make a living. I'm not very sure what additional benefits does HDB Licensed contractors have, only heard about the waterproofing. I suppose that new flats do not even have to worry about this.

    Anyway, on hindsight, it obviously wasn't a problem since everything was done smoothly. And even HDB licensed contractors can have bad workmanship or drag your renovation, yet nothing much can be done. I hate it when I have to pay people to do things, yet have to keep chasing them. So, communication and being able to trust the contractor to do a good job to achieve our dream home took precedence over this. We felt that he's trustable, on-the-ball, and able to achieve the look we want. But for people who are worried, perhaps it's better to go to licensed firms.

    Overall, I'm pretty pleased with the whole renovation process, which was really smooth. It makes me really thankful when I hear/read horror stories about how contractors/IDs delay jobs or do a horrible job. :jawdrop: I don't think K is that cheap, but the price is really reasonable given that he delivers everything nicely on time without having to chase him at all.. :thumbs up:

    I can't say the same for my carpentry though. :furious: still, no confirmation about when carpentry can be up. it's been a month since we informed them to come take measurement for carpentry. :bangwall:

    Can you share Mr K's contact with me? wongboonhwa@hotmail.com

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