Dylanchua

Here's my living room and kitchen 3Ds. My wife and I couldn't agree on the choice of the ceiling fan. The design she chose was really bling with lots of chrome areas. Ronald kindly agreed to put in my choice of ceiling fan into the 3D so that my wife "gum wan" that I made the right choice. All tiling, plumbing and woodwork like partitions and false ceiling have been completed. Electrical work is undergoing rectification for shoddy workmanship. As this is my own sourced contractor, I had to take leave to rectify the situation myself. Yesterday the aircon trunking was up. The workmanship is again terrible, the placement was neither here nor there, not high near the ceiling but just right in the middle of nowhere and slanting like a Tamiya car race track. I guess nowadays there are no tradesmen in Singapore anymore. Just mostly inexperienced workers who takes no pride in their work. Again, this is my own source and I will have to go screw the boss myself.

For your suggestion of leveling up the balcony, the Blk 7XX unit that I viewed did that, and indeed the whole living area looks bigger. But I still preferred to keep the balcony. Anyway, at the stage of my reno, it's already too late to make any changes

Hi, I did think of hacking the study room. But I need it for my little home workshop, where I hand craft leather wallets. My current workspace is at the balcony where it's hot and dusty and at night I have to suffer mosquito bites. Having a dedicated room with aircon to work on my leather projects is like heaven to me.

Hi Wayne, the quotation clearly stated that we are not allowed to post it on public forums or media without their permission... It's understandable as due to varying scope of works (the devil is in the details), the quotation can be misconstrued... competitors will create fake accounts to come blast the quotation, etc.... But the general figure is in my posting... You can get a feel of its competitiveness.

Hi, I collected my keys in early June. Hanged on to it for a while, then went for a week holiday in Phuket, came back then decided on contractor. We started our reno mid June.. For electrical, I revamped the whole flat including DB box. I outsourced separately to an electrician who is doing contract work for my company. My facilities colleague intro to me. For aircon, I bought from a shop in Bedok who sells home appliances as well.

I'm at 9XX.... The one I mentioned that wanted 20K COV was at 7XX, opposite Gek Poh. 8XX I ruled out cos too near the expressway... 9XX looks quiet and deserted from the front, but actually if you walk from the rear, it is only 5-10mins away from the cluster of shops, supermarket, market that is around the City Harvest church.

Last Saturday, I went to Tampoi Lighting and bought 2 Fanco 56 inch ceiling fans with light and remote. 1 Alpha designer fan F430, 1 mini ceiling fan with light (can't recall the brand), 2 pendant lights, 1 Phillips hanging light with 3 pendants, 2 Alpha instant heater. Total about RM3500.

Roughly, my scope of works includes: - Hack whole house floor and wall tiles - Hack kitchen entrance walls - Hack wall between MBR and Bedroom 2 - Lay floor tiles for kitchen, 2 X toilets, living room, and balcony (waterproofing for kitchen and toilets) - Lay wall tiles for kitchen and 2 X toilets - Lay vinyl flooring for dining, bedrooms and store - All above include cement screeding - Constructing fridge, cabinet, washing machine bases - Adding width to kitchen left wall and toilet right walls - Cutting railing on balcony ledge and re-patching to slant - All stainless steel plumbing - Installation of all toilet accessories, WCs, wash basins, kitchen sink, washing machine water point, instant heater - Supply and install of 2 toilet KDK exhaust fan - Replace balcony sliding doors - Install balcony sliding windows - Replace whole house window grilles - Replace all bedroom and store doors with solid core veneer door - Replace 2 toilet doors - Replace main gate with galvanised wrought iron gate - 2 X shower screen - Whole house painting - Wallpaper on one living room wall - Cove light and L box **** room - False ceiling at dining room - False ceiling at MBR (partial) - Curtain pelmet for living room and all bedrooms - Sealing up of small windows at 3 bedrooms - Kitchen cabinet & island - Granite top That should be about all... These are just to give an idea of the work. The details like "labour to install cooker hob..." etc, I didn't write down cos it will be too long.

As mentioned before, I will talk about my ID selection. I've actually talked about it in another thread, so to save some effort, I'll cut and paste and edit if I have anything more to add. I started with submitting a request here and receiving 8-9 standard package quotations. Some firms were horrible, I can consider their quote for 2 days only, then when I call, the person no longer working! Anyway, I met with 3 companies, and their quote was pretty standard. They will take a package, and then add on whatever extra you require. This is good in the sense that it is easy to understand for the customer. But not so good as the unit rates of each costing is hidden in the package. Anything to add or delete later on, it becomes very grey. The range was from about 42K to 55K. Quite wide. While evaluating these quotations, there was a weekend when I went to Expo and look see look see. Ciseern had this fantastic package with free this free that and rebate on GST and all the frills. I nearly signed up, but was pulled back by my wife. On second thoughts, after dissecting the quote, they aren't any much cheaper than other firms. Lucky she stopped me. Then I was pulled into Unimax booth. Was talking to an ID when another more senior one bumped into the conversation. He started telling me to put a $500 deposit. I told him their package don't cover everything that I need, and I can't put a deposit on something which I dunno the cost. I explained that I have a low budget of $30K and though I don't need fancy carpentry (for furniture I intend to go the Ikea way rather than custom built), I will need some hacking of walls here and there. I say I rather u work out the quote, then I deposit. He assure me that they will definitely work within my budget, and later on say deposit $200 also no problem. With the deposit, they will work out the quote AND 3D drawings. So I gave them my hard earned $200. In the end, they were the LAST firm to quote, and that is after several reminders, and I was given 3 miserable drawings which looked liked it was drawn for another client, not specially for me. And their quote was a whopping $57K (all my other quotes were $7K to $16K less). Talk about working within my budget! I decided to forfeit my deposit and moved on. Anyway, along the way I was also actively searching on this forum and I saw 2 companies actively posting. Tiler Seng and ContractorPrice. ContractorPrice (Jason) is like guerilla marketing, responding to people's post and asking them to call or PM him, while Tiler Seng (Ronald) is a bonafide paid advertiser here. I met up with Jason once, and his quote was about $38K including electrical and aircon?? But it was based on scribbling figures on a blank A4. Later on I asked for an official quote, he never responded. Few days later, he can suddenly call and say who called me? Then when I identify myself, he will tell me wah forum alot of people looking for him, saying he take their money and run when actually he was in hospital couldn't return their calls, etc. Though I can't comment on the authenticity of what he is saying, I feel it was best to drop him. Then I met up with Ronald. His firm is Designer House. Designer House's quote was 6K more than the lowest quote (from the original 3 quotes i got). I was about to go with the lowest quote when I discovered several items inside Ronald's quote which is missing from the other firm, including 23ft of kitchen cabinet. After deducting the missing items and 23ft of kitchen cabinet (we will finalise the qty when we get to measure on site), Tiler Seng turned out to be the lowest quote. Besides price, he seemed knowledgeable, no-nonsense kind of guy. And his quote was all breakdown by unit prices, so I felt alot safe going with him. As I am writing this now, tiling works have already been completed and ceiling/partition works started. I sourced for electrician myself and they have also started to pull wiring. I usually inspect the flat after work when it is dark, so it is difficult to take in progress pics, but I will try my best in the weeks to come.

Here is my floor plan original vs planned. - Living room wall has been extended. - Kitchen wall hacked. - Hacked a doorway between MBR and Bedroom 2. - Construct a wall at bedroom 2 for walk in wardrobe.

Hi Kitty, I went through the 12 firms and finally selected Ronald from Designer House as the most price competitive as well as knowledgable ID. Though my budget didn't allow much "design" so to speak.. Colour coordination of tiles, wall painting, kitchen cabinet laminates, etc still requires a trained opinion. Contractors will just do what you ask for. Ronald is very close to contractor pricing yet can offer ID services, after all he has formal training in interior design. I'll share more in another post. Now getting ready for work. My company taking part in the car carnival at Expo today. Anyone keen in attractive servicing packages come look for me at booth A41!

Toilets

Hi all, my journey started with the search for a resale flat. Being on a tight budget (my Ordinary Account was **** low, but that's another long story), I went without a agent and searched primarily from PropertyGuru. First off, I applied for a HLE from HDB. Lesson Learnt 1 The HLE stated I was eligible for $450K (example figure only) loan. Plus my OA balance $100K (example figure only), I thought my budget is $550K. So I went searching for $550K and below flats. I started looking for renovated flats so that I need not spend too much on reno. Saw one I really like, but owner wanted 20K COV when the market was already down to 5K or zero. Then I saw another one which requires some reno, but at least I can accept the current living area flooring and kitchen cabinets. But we couldn't agree on price. And that was actually a good thing for me! Because later on I discovered that the eligible loan amount is based on my income and NOT my CPF contribution monthly. So if I had bought based on my max loan eligiblity, I would have to fork out CASH $400-$500 every month. This is my ignorance on calculating my house financing. After using DBS loan calculator, I finally discovered my actual budget is about 70K lower. Thus the search begins again... Lesson Learnt 2 Whenever I see a listing I like, I will take the address, and key into the search function and check for duplicate listings. I discovered that not all listings are actually agents representing the seller. Some companies have shared listings for newbies. One house, can be listed by up to 10 agents! When you call and make appointment for viewing, they will check if you are agent or buyer. Like me direct buyers, they will psycho you to let them represent you. If you insist you wish to deal direct with the agent representing the seller, they will lose interest and say will get their colleague to call but no one will call. Some listings, I check, only single listing. So ok, I call and make appt. But once they discover that you are direct buyer, on that day, TWO agents will turn up, and one of them will try to psycho you to let them represent you. If you really need their service, why not. But think again, the only real reason why a buyer needs a agent is to negotiate for best price on your behalf and yet (based on their market knowledge) not go too ridiculously low and lose the deal. But both agents being buddies, don't you think there is conflict of interest?? They always counter by telling me that I will need someone to handle the mountain of paperwork required. Please lah... this is Singapore, everything online. I found the paperwork sooooo easy... Finale I finally found a 5i flat, 25 years old in Jurong West. My wife had originally rule out any flats more than 15 years old as she didn't like the idea of buying something with only slightly more than half lease left. And the flat is in original condition as per 25 years ago when it was built. So you can imagine how retro the tiles and flooring are. Even the rubbish chute is sooo retro. But the old couple staying there was really nice people and somehow the vibe of the house felt good and even my wife was won over. She felt that if the couple can stay here so long, and be healthy at old age and raise 2 sons both in good professions now (they selling cos moving in with son), then this house is good. Plus the agent representing them is a honest no-nonsense kinda guy, and we liked dealing with him. He even encouraged us saying no worries on the paperwork, he say he can't outright help us as there is conflict of interest but if I encounter any doubts, he is more than willing to help on phone or sms. In the end, I could handle all myself just by reading up HDB's site. So we sealed the deal for $400K, zero COV, and the couple agreed to only $500 deposit and $500 when exercise option to purchase. Meaning minimum cash needed! Most sellers would insist on standard $1000 deposit and $4000 to exercise option. Here is some pics of the house. It has 4 bedrooms, 1302 sqft. Downside is I have to renovate the WHOLE house. My search my reno contractor in posting to come.... Living Room MBR Bedroom 2 Bedroom 3 Study Room Kitchen

How come I tried all sorts of ways also cannot post pic? I've uploaded my pics in the Gallery, then I tried pasting the link on the post, cannot. Tried using the link dialog box, after I paste the link, the OK still remains greyed out and I cannot click OK or close the dialog box... I'm trying to start a T-blog and this is getting really frustrating

Hi, pls quote for Mitsubishi Inverter System 4: 3 X 9000BTU + 1 X 24000 BTU include SS bracket to dylan.chua76@gmail.com

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Why PM?? Good reviews should be public. Bad reviews should also be public, the contractor can also have a chance to sound out his side of the story. Worst case if a competitor pose as house owner and start pming members that other firm cheat them etc, the other firm cannot defend thrmselves cos they were not privy to the PMs.

Hi Binz, yes 4 bedroom doors and one wrought iron gate. Only carpentry is kitchen cabinets and island, false ceilings and curtain pelmets. What I did was combine all the packages and quotes i received in an excel file and remove unwanted items and ask them to revise their quotes. When comparing, u will need to see the quantity for each item. For eg, by lump sum, kitchen cabinet, A may seem higher than B. But actually because A quote more length. When u divide by foot, then u will see who is cheaper. I'd strongly encourage you to get Tiler Seng for one of your quotes. For actual works, I can't say as I've not started. But he seems to get consistently good reviews here on reliability and workmanship. The other two lowest quotes (difference about 2K) were A2Z and Homestyle. But their way is use package then add on your additional requirements. So you gotta ensure those lump items in the package does include the full measurements required or u will need to top up. Andy (A2Z) and Eric (Homestyle) were pretty accommodating to my requests for quote and meet up. I wish I could give everyone business but I only have one house.

Hi Binzz, I won't post quotations as I feel everyone's requirements are different even though it may look the same. If I post, it may cause readers to mistook one firm for being either too ex or very cheap when the truth could be other wise. It's fun to look ard and discuss, so I encourage u to do that. But just to give u an idea, I'm redoing EVERYTHING. Including doors and window grilles and main gate. Only new windows are the balcony and balcony sliding doors will be changed to nyatoh wood frame. I'll also be hacking some walls and extending one wall. All in all, about 40-42k depending on the finalization during site measurement for those that cost by foot. This is exclude electrical work and aircon.

You wanna buy or you wanna make?

I've been receiving PMs from members introducing their ID (dunno self advert or not) and also from IDs themselves. I'd like to thank everyone for their response. I've already selected Designer House (Tiler Seng) for my renovation works. After comparing 12 quotations, I found their quotation most reasonable. I started with submitting a request here and receiving 8-9 standard package quotations. Then I finalised my requirements and 4-5 responded with amended ones. The rest couldn't be bothered to do anything else other than sending me packages. While evaluating these quotations, there was a weekend when I went to Expo and look see look see. Ciseern had this fantastic package with free this free that and rebate on GST and all the frills. I nearly signed up, but was pulled back by my wife. On second thoughts, after dissecting the quote, they aren't any much cheaper than other firms. Lucky she stopped me. Then I was pulled into Unimax booth. Was talking to an ID when another more senior one bumped into the conversation. He started telling me to put a $500 deposit. I told him their package don't cover everything that I need, and I can't put a deposit on something which I dunno the cost. I explained that I have a low budget of $30K and though I don't need fancy carpentry (for furniture I intend to go the Ikea way rather than custom built), I will need some hacking of walls here and there. I say I rather u work out the quote, then I deposit. He assure me that they will definitely work within my budget, and later on say deposit $200 also no problem. With the deposit, they will work out the quote AND 3D drawings. So I gave them my hard earned $200. In the end, they were the LAST firm to quote, and that is after several reminders, and I was given 3 miserable drawings which looked liked it was drawn for another client, not specially for me. And their quote was a whopping $57K (all my other quotes were $7K to $16K less). Talk about working within my budget! Anyway, I gave up on them and continued discussing with the last 4 firms on my shortlist. And then finally whittled down to 2. Designer House's quote was 6K more than the lowest quote. I was about to go with the lowest quote when I discovered several items inside Tiler Seng's quote which is missing from the other firm, including 23ft of kitchen cabinet. After deducting the missing items and 23ft of kitchen cabinet (we will finalise the qty when we get to measure on site), Tiler Seng turned out to be the lowest quote. I'll be inspecting the house on 24th and collecting keys in about 2 weeks time. Will be doing up my T-Blog as it goes along.

I have one in my current room. To save space, I did a 3 door sliding wardrobe and requested one of the doors to be a mirror. In this way, I need not have to separately allocate a space for a mirror. I don't have a separate cost for it as that time I was refurbishing my room preparing for marriage, and the contractor gave me a lump sum quote. I did a bedframe with backlight, dressing table with mirror, some cabinets above the window, minor electrical work and the 8 foot wardrobe at $3500.

It is ok for ID firms here to promote their services. But do it openly, and pay the forum advertising costs. Don't be so cheapo posing as a home owner!

I was at IMM to visit Hoe Kee a few weeks back. There was a shop 1-2 units beside them that sells some kind of modular kitchen cabinets that has stainless steel surface, etc. Very commercial kitchen look but quite stylish. I asked the sales lady, she said must get people to go your house measure then can quote. She didn't seem quite knowledgeable about it, but you can try go take a look...

Way too expensive.. I'm shortlisting my quotes down to 2 IDs and both are giving me $110-$120 per foot for kitchen cabinet. One of them is quite reputable here in the forum too. Solid surface price is always 2 digits only (per foot).. You can get yourself IQuartz or granite with $140 per ft and still have a lot of spare change for beer.