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Hi, I'm getting keys to my 4RM BTO soon and collecting some quotations for my renovation. Among 2-3 IDs that i have met, i chanced upon this contractor through referrals in my office. Can anyone who done adequate research give an opinion if it's a good offer?

I started to look for ID since the beginning of Oct 2016, it was a tough especially I'm renovating partial of my house. To cut the story short, just want to share my encounters with some IDs and hope those who are looking for partial renovation can just avoid these IDs as they are totally not interested in small budget (not more than S$30k) 1) Everxxxxn (New co) - Simple and nice showroom which you get to see many material utilized in such a small space. Initial interaction is good. ID came to evaluate the work and dimension. Quotation received after 4 days. No portfolio as ID said he is still compiling. Only 4 to 5 messages exchange and we were pleased. We asked to view their current WIP in the same location which he mentioned. Initially he said ok. After we asked him to arrange, he stopped messaging and no respond thereafter. 2) Pxx Kxxxg - Very friendly and helpful uncle. He came to measure and give lots of advice which are really very practical especially some repair works done by my previous ID. His quote is reasonable. But as my spouse wanted more sleek design and needed more ID input, he wasn't that keen to go with PK. But I've seen their work with my friend and I must say the carpentry work is good. 3) U-xxxe - Saw their showroom and really impressed with their design and workmanship. Talked to Mr Wm for 1 hour. He sound keen to quote and all info was exchanged. After a week, nothing from him. And not expecting. 4) Mxxxx (Sxx Creation) - Spouse wanted to look at the materials, went there and was assigned an ID, most of the materials are quite common, perhaps 3-4 items was new to us. Halfway through the introduction of all the 6000 sq ft area. I'm already felt it's such a waste of time, as the focus should be on what we want then advertising for their suppliers. After a sit down talk using our layout. We realised ID didn't actually paying attention with what we want and kept asking the same questions and forgetting here and there. We constantly repeated ourselves. What put us off is that they required us to make a deposit of S$2k to process their quotation. And kept promoting some S$3k vouchers but refused to list the suppliers which this voucher can be used. We felt uncomfortable and insisted to leave. 3 hours spent just to realised that their carpentry work is really bad and apart from that, those sign with them just have to be careful that they use compressed wood as well. 5) Abxxxxxk - We had a good experience with the ID. Visited the showroom and immediately saw what we actually wanted. The ID came and likes our layout as it gives him lots of ideas and he mentioned that it will allow him to have full play to his professional knowledge. Unfortunately, his quote is sky rocket and what disappointed us was his 2D drawings. Nothing of what we wanted. After all the set back, we turn to Renotalk and found a very popular ID. I called him and he responded within a day despite his busy schedule. 6) Cxxxxx Bxx - He came and definitely we can tell his expertise is there despite his carpentry work is in JB. He gave some advise and to me sounds good because he emphasized on proportion and space planning which helps. I really look forward to his quote and even if its above my budget, I'm willing to stretch it as I believe all the positive review about him are genuine. He promised to give me a quote 4 days later, on the 5th day, I messaged him and hours later he responded that he was busy clearing back log and will give me the following day. But after a week, nothing from him. It's a let down cause at least, he should be professional enough to say he can't quote and not just MIA. We went back to source for ID in the web and found 7) All Axxxx Dxxxxx - Meet up at a residence showflat, nicely and impressively done. Wish my house is like that even it's smaller. Nice chat with the ID (boss). After understanding our requirements, he says he will quote. So we message him 3 days later, but he was in the hospital and without pushing away his responsibility, he frankly told us they are also having tight schedule and couldn't meet our deadline. But being a professional, he refered us to another ID company which he has checked that they have the time slot for us. I must say, such professionalism is hard to find in the Renovation industry nowadays especially he looks so much younger then No: 6. So we are now waiting for our quote again... So much time lost just because some IDs are not gutsy enough to tell us upfront that they can't quote unless its a $$$ amount of renovation.

Hi all, I've recently just booked my new 4-rm SBF flat and I'll be getting my keys soon. My flat does not comes with flooring for living room and 3 bedrooms. Only HDB default floor and wall tiles in kitchen and 2 toilets. I will be going for resilient vinyl flooring all living room and 3 BRs. Kitchen and toilet floor and wall I'm going for homogeneous tiles. I will be appealing for HDB cement screeding in order for me to lay the vinyl flooring. I will also plan to hack down partial of the kitchen wall and 1st bedroom wall. Can any laojiaos here provide me a checklist of the renovation process I should check or receive from renovation contractors? (not going for ID) Some people say flooring goes first, electricity goes first, wetwork/masonry works goes first, plumbing or aircon piping etc. But I am not too sure for my case. The renovation should involves the following, if I'm not wrong: 1) hacking of walls, 2) vinyl flooring installation / homo tiles overlaying, 3) aircon piping, 4) aluminium/glass work for hacked walls, 5) kitchen table top, 6) blinds, 7) electricity/lightings, 8) carpentry (kitchen cupboards, wardrobes etc) 9) painting (walls), 10) plumbing I'm not too sure which one should comes before/after each. Please feel free to add in to the checklist. For all your advices! Thanks.

Hello Good Day to Everyone! Gotten keys quite awhile back, finally can start on my humble home nest (after deciding & finalized of auspicious dates for reno ;p) Finding IDs wasn't a easy task (alot of hassle), went around seeing 5 IDs , tiring processing cos you need keep repeating same stuffs and your needs over and over again....... - First 2 IDs, spent quite some time with them and explaining what were the the needs and items, after all the long hours they still like in the lost which also made me in a very lost state too..... (met once only..) - 3rd and 4th IDs were not too bad, still able to grasp what were the requirements and could propose something interesting for consideration. BUT their quotes were way too high even though their ideas were quite outstanding..... (had 2 meetings...) - Last and 5th ID, initially didn't have much expectation... Gradually this finally and 5th ID really able to understand the needs and indeed addressed to the areas that was practical for my family! We had at least 3 meets up, to further discussed on the planning of my house layouts.... We had that kinda of special chemistry that those past 4 IDs couldn't get to and the last 5th ID could come out with even more impressive ideas and designs that really suit my family lifestyle ! After months of discussion with my family, we eventually selected the last and 5th ID - Wilson from DS 2000 Interior & Design Our family felt comfortable in having him to do up our new home as he really do understand and can achieve the kind of expectations from what we wanted for our new home! Let me try posting my floor plan

Hi All I would like to recommend my contractor. The name of the company is San Building Specialists. They have done excellent renovation job in my condo. The people are friendly and professional. also do very good cleanup afterwards. I m sharing the card.

Hi Masters! this is my first post on reno talk, and i would like to seek some advice from experience folks here. I just purchased a 4-room DBSS unit (resale, 94sqm), and i'm planning to do a full overhaul of the entire house. I have a 30-40k renovation budget to turn my hdb into a nordic scandinavian vibe home. I would like to make the following changes Full hacking a demolition - living room + kitchen + 3 bedrooms + 2 toilets. I think i need to take down nearly everything - tiles, carpentry work, false ceiling, etc. Full painting in every room Minor electrical work touch up; addeding a few power points. Living room - New floor tiles (Vinyl or homogeneous tile), shoe cabinet, TV wall mounting, new curtains, and possibly a featured wall, installation of hanging fan Bedroom (master) - New floor tiles (vinyl or wood-like tiles), built-in wardrobe Bedroom x2 - New floor tiles (vinyl or wood like), 1 study table in 1 of the room, 1 built in ward robe in 1 of the room. Toilets - New floor (granite or other matt/rought materials) and wall tiles (Granite, ceramic or homogeneous tiles), sink/toilet bowl/vanity counter purchase + installation, glass wall Kitchen - New floor tiles and wall tiles, cabinet (white modern looking), kitchen top (granite or marble), new sink and cooking hobs + installation. I don't think my budget allows me to engage an ID, hence i'm looking for a contractor to help me with my renovation work. Any good intro?

Indezign Homedecor had just completed a project which based at Penang, Malaysia. Company : Indezign Homedecor Property : Ideal house Location : Penang, Malaysia Type : Double StoreyTerrace (Residential) Concept : Modern Comtemporary, Scandinavian Contract sum : $120,000 Kindly contact Indezign Homedecor for further enquiries ! Contact : 83601588 (CW) Email : indezign_homedecor@outlook.com

I hired a pretty decent contractor with celebrity endorsement to my newly purchased house 31/2 years back.. I paid for almost 60k for the renovation work. 3 months after I stayed in my New house, I saw that my flooring tiles on the toilet are always wet even when no one is using the toilet. As my laminated flooring and my toilet tiles is just right next to each other, it resulted in my laminate floors been warped or swollen up causing a unpleasant bump and unpleasant smell.My contractor rectified by plastering my toilet tiles with cement and changing my laminated flooring 3x. Before they actually rectify it, I called an HDB inspection officer for his expertise inspection. I was told more than once (since i called on HDB to inspect more than once) that the cause is due to the embedded PVC joint being loose under my tiles and the solution is to hack away the common and also the master toilet flooring as chances are that the water has seeped through and might cause more severe and dangerous problem.As I delivered the msg to the Renovation Contractor boss, he actually raise his voice at me and told me to write a letter to say that if the joint is not loose then I would pay for the hacking. Seriously?Wow.. and that i should believe the contractor as they know more about renovation.. I was advise by a friend to file a CASE or stomp them or even sue them (my uncle is a lawyer so I'm not worried of the cost)I hesitated as I know it might cause their licence to be revoked and the livelihood of their employees to be affected.Now, they are putting up a higher curb to prevent the water from seeping out, instead of resolving the problem once and for all they are just patching it from the top. They left my place after placing the extra curb with cement all over my house, my stuffs, my clothes, practically everything i touch is dusty, My father is an asthmatic patient please.... on top of that I cannot use the shower for 24hrs.I am not confident that this time the problem will solved.. lets wait 2 weeks and see.I hope someone could give me an advise and what would you do if it was your home affected.

For BTO from HDB, do we start with carpentry work or electrical and plumbing?

I started this blog to document down the journey that we will be going through and when the renovation is complete, to read and relive the “I told you so” mistakes or the “that was wise” decisions. A little backstory on us: We got our keys in early 2014, but was not in Singapore at that point of time. We did very basic renovation (kitchen cabinets, toilet accessories and fridge/washing machine/aircon), signed a power of attorney to our mother, seeked approval from HDB and managed to rent out the flat. Fast forward 2 years+ later, we came back to Singapore and waited for the lease agreement to end. Disappointingly but I guess unsurprisingly, the house had deteriorated quite badly. The floors and countertops had huge marks and dents, the washing machine lid could be detached, and the aircon leaked like a sieve (I don’t think they did any servicing at all!) We decided to bite the bullet and spend some hard earned cash to redo the house. The requirements were simple: 1. To redo the kitchen cabinets but this time with a built in oven and a bigger fridge compartment. 2. To overlay the 2 bathroom tiles and replace the toilet bowls, basin and shower mixer. 3. To have a built in wardrobe in the Master Bedroom and the study. 4. Master Bedroom to be able to fit a King size bed 5. To have a study table in the study (captain obvious!) 6. To have a TV console and built in cabinets in the living room We didn’t have a theme in mind but we knew that we love the clean sleek modern look with a touch of earth tones to make the house cozy. The budget that we had in mind was at $25K. We set about checking in , Renotalk and asking friends for any recommendations. In the end, these were the IDs that we met. ID 1: One of our friend was an ID and we were very impressed with his house. We trusted him but his quotation was over what we wanted at $35K. In the end, we decided not to engage him, only because of the fact that we wanted to preserve our friendship. ID 2: A couple that we have been friends with for a long time recommended their ID. We liked their place and even asked if we could copy some of their designs and they graciously agreed. The ID had some chemistry with us and we liked him a lot. On the 2nd meetup, we went down to his office and he had a proper office with carpentry space and had workers that were all uniformed. Very impressive and with that setup, we knew he wouldn’t take our money and run. Additionally, the couple friends mentioned about several issues that they encountered, which the ID fixed it for them without a complaint. However, his quotation was at $50K! We tried to cut some stuff out and reduced it to $40K, but in the end we felt that we were compromising too much, hence we rejected him. ID 3: Referred via Renotalk. Their quotation was at $35K, similar to ID 1. The ID certainly knew his work as he recommended some ideas that were enlightening and fresh. I wanted to pursue him, but my other half didn’t like any of their past projects that they showed us. ID 4: Referred via Cromly. This ID was a total letdown. We invited him to the house, he came and when we started telling him of our expectations, he kept saying “can be discussed later, can be discussed later.” I was kind of pissed off at that point. Yes, he was the professional but shouldn’t he listen to our requirements as well? We told him our budget, he left in a hurry and we waited for a quote back. 1 week later, there was no reply and my other half dropped him a message. His reply was “I have many projects so find someone else.” Grrrrrr....... He sure must be doing very well to be able to choose his customers. ID 5: Referred via . Looks can be deceiving and I must admit that our first impression of him was he will take our money and run. However, he listened to our requests and was willing to look into them. His quotation was $30K, which had set some alarm bells ringing as it was lower than everybody else. After the 2nd meet up, we didn’t want to consider him due to the above factors, but he dropped a message 2 weeks later asking if we can meet up to go through the quotation and if we had any concerns he can address. My other half didn’t want to meet him at all, but I suggested we gave him a try. We prepared a list of 25 questions to asked him, some of which were personal and met up with him. He answered them all, some by throwing some smoke bombs which we immediately caught him but overall he addressed our concerns. We asked for several extra things and the quote increased to $32K. As of today, we still have not chosen any IDs yet. Still considering if we should see more? I have seen several reno blogs and they are usually filled with requests for PM of ID contacts. I won’t reveal the IDs that we declined but will reveal the ID that we chose. To be fair, the ID will only be revealed at the end of the blog once the renovation is complete. I want this to be as non-judgmental as possible and for our final review to be done after completion. Please don’t ask for PMs, I will do my best to answer any other questions

Hi all forumers, After my recent renovation, I am doing a retrospective thinking of my selection of the ID / contractors. In this world where certification qualification is as important as portfolio, I'm just wondering why there hasn't been any framework for renovation contractor to prove themselves. Through my selection process, abet a short one, I felt that I'm greatly restrained by what the IDs and contractors shows through their portfolio (usually, which is definitely bias towards the contractors/IDs themselves) and mainly their quote ($$$), but nothing of what their workers are knowledgable or capable of. To put it simply, I'm putting a blind bet on my current ID and its team of subcontractors (which I currently regreted a bit.) Looking at Building and Construction Authority as the leading agency in this work, there isn't a lack of definition in this area. But I feel that we as consumers aren't really knowledgeable about that and didn't insist that the workers should be train. This is weird as we insist that our accountants should be trained - ACCA or CPA or the likes and the IT staff should be qualified in some Microsoft certification or Cisco System certification, so why not the staff that will be working on our home; which we will live in the years to come. A look at the CoreTrade personel registration by BCA (quoted below), this seemed like a fair assessment and definitely someone with that assessment would be someone that I would trust working in the place that I would live in the years to come. By insisting on the qualifications and certification may probably drive up the costs of renovation work. But on the other hand, it will probably save us lots of time and headache to consider the right company to engage. That is definitely something I would pay for. To share my story, my renovation of my 4 room HDB that is about 95% done is almost good to live in, but the finishing touches by some of the trades just made me feel aggitated - grouting inconsistent or grouts dirty, ethernet jacks not tested, paints drips on unwanted places like window pane and toilet bowls, easily damaged powder coated locks. I feel all these can be avoided if the company is certified with good business process and well trained craftsman. The additional time that I spent not finding a company with these best business practice is costing me a lot of time and money to travel to and fro to supervise their work and to feedback the defects. Couple the above and with a use of a CASETrust contract (found here - https://www.casetrust.org.sg/Download), I'm quite sure it will facilitate everyone to have a good night sleep while dreaming of their new dreamhomes, instead of living to their worse nightmares of arguing with ID, which I'm currently doing.... >.< References https://www.bca.gov.sg/CoreTrade/registration_requirements.html

https://www.facebook.com/PaintingZ-workz-561592204032661/?pnref=story

We are in a hurry to move into our Condo once it's ready for key collection. Can we move in as soon as we got the key? are there things we need to do or watch out for before that? I think light will need fixing, what else and who can we get help to do these minimum stuff before moving in? i have spend last 5 months reading all kinds of blog, design ideas, and hours with IDs, contractors, it's just so tiring, and me and my husband just couldn't seems to agree on the ID, strangely we agree on 99% of what we like in the house but can't agree on ID.. lol. with the dates drawing near, i feel like just move in and do whatever minimum necessary, and then after we settle in, then decide whether to hack the wall, replace the kitchen, etc major work, which we couldn't decide on which ID to get the work done yet even though we already know what is to be done. Any advise will be really appreciated. I am really stuck now, drowned with so many choices and options.

Hi there ! As the title says I don't normally recommend services publicly, but I feel this firm I've dealt with could save some homes as it did mine My fiance found this guy (an interior designer) from his extended group of friends while out at the pubs one night (Not a great start to the story hah !), anyway we moved into our new condo about 5 months later. Did our rounds and got quotations from afew firms, thought we'd give our new "friend" a try as well. He gave us probably one of the best quotations out of those we'd already gotten. A main selling point for us was that this was a long-standing family business and it's being run by a son/dad combo, we're adamant that family businesses do very good work or else they wouldn't be around for that long. Other factors that led to our decision was his wide portfolio of projects, modern outlook and clean workmanship. We got to work, and although our friend wasn't free to meet for the most part, the employee he hooked us up with was extremely insightful and cautioned us on certain decisions, even showed us some of the current trendy layouts. We ended up realising our vision didn't feel as modern as the current trend so we took most from his portfolios haha. So all was well and his workmanship was excellent, the part that really threw me into recommending his services was that he took it upon himself and his firm's contractors to fix some minor existing problems in the condominium and when we asked him how much these fixes costed, he didn't change his quote and merely laughed it off saying "That's what full package means ! Don't worry about it". The least I could do to repay this good service is to share it with the community, to be fair he did say "if you have any friends who need, must say me okay ?". Would be very glad to share his contact and save some other people's homes too haha !

Anybody used www.findaguysg.com to get interior designers ? Saw a guy post about it saying they give cash rebates and discounts on interior design. I just dropped an enquiry on their website since it's free.

Anybody tried using www.findaguysg.com to find their interior designer yet ? I saw some guy posting about it saying they give good discounts and cash rebates for going through them. I just sent in an enquiry since it's free.

Renovation a room or space in your house? We want to help! Beach House Pictures is offering a very limited offer of Free Interior Design services and Free Labour/Contractors for all works - Potentially saving you thousands of dollars from your renovation. Interested? Email joe@beachhousepictures.com with a brief description of your renovation idea! Good Luck. Joe

Renovation a room or space in your house? We want to help! Beach House Pictures is offering a very limited offer of Free Interior Design services and Free Labour/Contractors for all works - Potentially saving you thousands of dollars from your renovation. Interested? Email joe@beachhousepictures.com with a brief description of your renovation idea! Good Luck. Joe

Renovation a room or space in your house? We want to help! Beach House Pictures is offering a very limited offer of Free Interior Design services and Free Labour/Contractors for all works - Potentially saving you thousands of dollars from your renovation. Interested? Email joe@beachhousepictures.com with a brief description of your renovation idea! Good Luck. Joe

Ataz Haus Pte Ltd a interior design firm build up from combining SgWallMart a soft-furnishing company and Omelil (aka SgFloorMart) a renovation contracting company. Below are some of our work. Contact us at 6100 0089 (Ryan/Ben) 21 Woodlands close #05-28, Primz Bizhub Singapore 737854 Do visit / like / share our facebook page https://facebook.com/atazhaus For more portfolio visit https://atazhaus.com

Hi everyone, I am here seeking professional advice. I just moved recently from New Zealand to involve in a major moving project. We have our MainCon and some potential direct-contact subcons. When it comes to cabling, it is a norm in NZ whichever party requests for open holes is responsible to close it, though the maincon helps to open the hole. Hence we rarely pen it down in a contract. I wonder if this practice is also accepted in S'pore. Should it be stated clearly in the contract? If there was no such clause in the contract, is there any leeway to discuss and share the responsibility? Thanks for your insight...

I have met up with a few IDs and contractors. However, I am still unsure on whether they have really quoted me everything. Mine is a BTO flat with paid flooring provided by HDB, I didn't get the doors though. What do I have to look out for in my below requirements? Kitchen Cabinets - Workmanship - Type of wood - Type of top material - Mechanism Kitchen sink, stove, hood, - Labour and installation Fridge / Washing machine base - Labour - If tiles are included or not Master Bedroom wardrobe - Workmanship - Type of wood - Mechanism Toilets - Labour to install bathroom accessories Shower screen - Labour to install Shower kerb and if tiles is included or not - Labour to install Shower screen - Type of shower screen - Mechanism Bedroom / Toilet Doors - Type of material - Mechanism Hacking of Walls - HDB Permit - Hacking charge - Tiling and patching of walls and floors - If tiles are included or not Service Yard Windows - Only sliding (I was told that only sliding is permitted by HDB) Window Grilles - Pattern - Powder-coated or not Painting - Brand - Type (Odorless or not) - Number of colors that can be selected Lightings - Labour and installation I was told that a part of the cabinet is better to be made of stone if intend to stay long in the house, in case of water leakage from below the sink. Is that true? That's all, I guess. Did I miss out anything? Do let me know if there should be any extra cost of anything. Thanks all for your advice.