Somewhere Over The Rainbow In Jurong West~~

[Mickey M 0]

After almost 2 weeks of renovation, I finally understand why it is important to keep a close tab on the progress of the renovation. Despite reading so many t-Blogs, I brush off the idea of going to the house daily to keep track of the renovation progress although my wife would love to. Frankly, my working hrs do not allow me to do so but I have to change my mindset now.

Actually, things are progressing fine. But I am not very happy with my ID. In general, he made some changes without consulting us and that is a super no no. He might have his reasons but final decisions should be made by us and not him. Some examples:

1st incident: New kitchen tiles were overlay. Previously, it was decided that old tiles to be hacked follow by laying of new tiles. After looking at the flat, he feel that we can save some cost by overlaying becos the current kitchen area is not very huge. - My thought - We am fine with it. But shouldn't we be informed beforehand? We should have set things straight from here but we didn't because we like to believe that he is making decision in our point of view.

2nd incident: The kitchen tiles are not the same. If you see my tile selections, we chose the tile with many deep texture lines as the kitchen tiles. Some tile lines run diagonally. When I went to check on Wed, the kitchen floor was already done. The 'best' part is the lines are all running in different direction. For this, I admit we have to bear some responsibility here. We did not inspect the tiles when it was delivered. I know many inspect themselves but we put my trust on the ID to do that. Moreover, he used this particular tile design for his new design house. So he should know whether they are any issue with the tiles in the first place. We were also not there when the tiles were lay. As an ID, I believe this is part of his responsibility.duty to help us to check on all this. But we have to bear some responsility I guess. - I am easy-going but obviously my wifey is not happy abt it. Looking at it again, I am not so sure I can accept. Solution - Sunday when we meet him.

3rd incident: ID 'did' something to differentiate between the kitchen and living area. Again, this is more abt not telling us in advance and whether we like the idea or not. If I had said in the beginning that u can go ahead and do whatever u want, then if something end up not to ur likings, it is our fault.

4th incident: This concerns the round living room and again, not informing us the changes and whether we like it or not. Pardon me but I seriously don't think the practice is to build something and when the owners inspect on site and found something they don't like and not in the initial design, dismantle and redo it.

Sunday will be meeting ID. I guess I have to highlight to him clearly that we don't like his 'auto-pilot' style. In any case, regardless it is for the better of things, we need to be kept inform of such amendments/issues.

Pardon my English. Cos I am typing this in the midst of an meeting to kill time. To end, for all reno mates who haven't start their reno, please check on their reno progress everyday. U really can't trust anyone better than urself and ur love ones.

[coffee_o 1]

After almost 2 weeks of renovation, I finally understand why it is important to keep a close tab on the progress of the renovation. Despite reading so many t-Blogs, I brush off the idea of going to the house daily to keep track of the renovation progress although my wife would love to. Frankly, my working hrs do not allow me to do so but I have to change my mindset now.

Actually, things are progressing fine. But I am not very happy with my ID. In general, he made some changes without consulting us and that is a super no no. He might have his reasons but final decisions should be made by us and not him. Some examples:

1st incident: New kitchen tiles were overlay. Previously, it was decided that old tiles to be hacked follow by laying of new tiles. After looking at the flat, he feel that we can save some cost by overlaying becos the current kitchen area is not very huge. - My thought - We am fine with it. But shouldn't we be informed beforehand? We should have set things straight from here but we didn't because we like to believe that he is making decision in our point of view.

2nd incident: The kitchen tiles are not the same. If you see my tile selections, we chose the tile with many deep texture lines as the kitchen tiles. Some tile lines run diagonally. When I went to check on Wed, the kitchen floor was already done. The 'best' part is the lines are all running in different direction. For this, I admit we have to bear some responsibility here. We did not inspect the tiles when it was delivered. I know many inspect themselves but we put my trust on the ID to do that. Moreover, he used this particular tile design for his new design house. So he should know whether they are any issue with the tiles in the first place. We were also not there when the tiles were lay. As an ID, I believe this is part of his responsibility.duty to help us to check on all this. But we have to bear some responsility I guess. - I am easy-going but obviously my wifey is not happy abt it. Looking at it again, I am not so sure I can accept. Solution - Sunday when we meet him.

3rd incident: ID 'did' something to differentiate between the kitchen and living area. Again, this is more abt not telling us in advance and whether we like the idea or not. If I had said in the beginning that u can go ahead and do whatever u want, then if something end up not to ur likings, it is our fault.

4th incident: This concerns the round living room and again, not informing us the changes and whether we like it or not. Pardon me but I seriously don't think the practice is to build something and when the owners inspect on site and found something they don't like and not in the initial design, dismantle and redo it.

Sunday will be meeting ID. I guess I have to highlight to him clearly that we don't like his 'auto-pilot' style. In any case, regardless it is for the better of things, we need to be kept inform of such amendments/issues.

Pardon my English. Cos I am typing this in the midst of an meeting to kill time. To end, for all reno mates who haven't start their reno, please check on their reno progress everyday. U really can't trust anyone better than urself and ur love ones.

This i fully agree, perhaps on Sunday, you have to make it clear to your ID that b4 any decisions, consult either of you 1st

so far i've seen ID not consulting owners due to the fact that it might delay the HO but to me, if i'm the owner and if i'm slow in decision making which might delay the HO, I'm fine since at least i'm happy with how my house will look like

Wah bro dun disappoint us leh we're looking forward to your chio chio amphitheater style living area leh

tell your ID if he disappoint you hor, alot of ppl will know leh hahahaha

[Rasp 0]

After almost 2 weeks of renovation, I finally understand why it is important to keep a close tab on the progress of the renovation. Despite reading so many t-Blogs, I brush off the idea of going to the house daily to keep track of the renovation progress although my wife would love to. Frankly, my working hrs do not allow me to do so but I have to change my mindset now.

Actually, things are progressing fine. But I am not very happy with my ID. In general, he made some changes without consulting us and that is a super no no. He might have his reasons but final decisions should be made by us and not him. Some examples:

1st incident: New kitchen tiles were overlay. Previously, it was decided that old tiles to be hacked follow by laying of new tiles. After looking at the flat, he feel that we can save some cost by overlaying becos the current kitchen area is not very huge. - My thought - We am fine with it. But shouldn't we be informed beforehand? We should have set things straight from here but we didn't because we like to believe that he is making decision in our point of view.

2nd incident: The kitchen tiles are not the same. If you see my tile selections, we chose the tile with many deep texture lines as the kitchen tiles. Some tile lines run diagonally. When I went to check on Wed, the kitchen floor was already done. The 'best' part is the lines are all running in different direction. For this, I admit we have to bear some responsibility here. We did not inspect the tiles when it was delivered. I know many inspect themselves but we put my trust on the ID to do that. Moreover, he used this particular tile design for his new design house. So he should know whether they are any issue with the tiles in the first place. We were also not there when the tiles were lay. As an ID, I believe this is part of his responsibility.duty to help us to check on all this. But we have to bear some responsility I guess. - I am easy-going but obviously my wifey is not happy abt it. Looking at it again, I am not so sure I can accept. Solution - Sunday when we meet him.

3rd incident: ID 'did' something to differentiate between the kitchen and living area. Again, this is more abt not telling us in advance and whether we like the idea or not. If I had said in the beginning that u can go ahead and do whatever u want, then if something end up not to ur likings, it is our fault.

4th incident: This concerns the round living room and again, not informing us the changes and whether we like it or not. Pardon me but I seriously don't think the practice is to build something and when the owners inspect on site and found something they don't like and not in the initial design, dismantle and redo it.

Sunday will be meeting ID. I guess I have to highlight to him clearly that we don't like his 'auto-pilot' style. In any case, regardless it is for the better of things, we need to be kept inform of such amendments/issues.

Pardon my English. Cos I am typing this in the midst of an meeting to kill time. To end, for all reno mates who haven't start their reno, please check on their reno progress everyday. U really can't trust anyone better than urself and ur love ones.

Hi Mickey,

Cheer up! Its just the beginning of your reno, so still in time to put thing right.

Hope your reno will go smoothly from now onwards. Me also looking forward to your circular design.

[Mickey M 0]

This i fully agree, perhaps on Sunday, you have to make it clear to your ID that b4 any decisions, consult either of you 1st

so far i've seen ID not consulting owners due to the fact that it might delay the HO but to me, if i'm the owner and if i'm slow in decision making which might delay the HO, I'm fine since at least i'm happy with how my house will look like

Wah bro dun disappoint us leh we're looking forward to your chio chio amphitheater style living area leh

tell your ID if he disappoint you hor, alot of ppl will know leh hahahaha

how are u today, coffee bro?

i really typed alot of words in a matter of mins. lol. actually what he did might be really for the better of it - like Incident 3. But what if we don't like. In designs, more than often, it is a matter of preference. U just can't do what u like and without our approvals. we have told him previously that we are not rushing for it to be done. We waited for the economy to recover, obviously we can wait abit longer for it to be done. And he cannot don't ask because we are slow in decision making. the matter of fact is, if u don't ask, we will be pissed.

The living room is still round for sure but it is suppose to have 2 entrances/exits if u see the floorplan. But I see one entrance/exit in the physical state. He haven't give me a gd reason yet.

Tonight I am going again, will take some new pics and upload.

[Mickey M 0]

Hi Mickey,

Cheer up! Its just the beginning of your reno, so still in time to put thing right.

Hope your reno will go smoothly from now onwards. Me also looking forward to your circular design.

Thanks Rasp. I am quite easy-going but my wife will really be pissed off. If she is pissed off, then finance will be locked and I can't pay him. I told him before that my wife's approval is more impt than mine. He better please her more than me. Haha.

[ossify 1]

Thanks Rasp. I am quite easy-going but my wife will really be pissed off. If she is pissed off, then finance will be locked and I can't pay him. I told him before that my wife's approval is more impt than mine. He better please her more than me. Haha.

if you pay ID price, you better get ID quality

i pay DIY price, we get DIY quality

[Mickey M 0]

if you pay ID price, you better get ID quality

i pay DIY price, we get DIY quality

Usually for interior design firms, they always quote the ID fee as FOC, included in the cost. My one really have to pay. I am not saying he is no gd, he is nice and so forth, probably becos same age as me, easier to talk. He probably have some tricks up in his sleeves but he never share with us yet due to his busy schedule. But he really should tell us in advance. Price wise, he actually gave us a discount so that it is closer to the budget which we gave him. i asked around and ppl say he is exp. but as u said, we pay a higher price, we should get better treatment. talking abt price again, ***** is more exp than him but Arlene (working for *****) is a nice lady too - getting out of topic. Haha.

[ossify 1]

Usually for interior design firms, they always quote the ID fee as FOC, included in the cost. My one really have to pay. I am not saying he is no gd, he is nice and so forth, probably becos same age as me, easier to talk. He probably have some tricks up in his sleeves but he never share with us yet due to his busy schedule. But he really should tell us in advance. Price wise, he actually gave us a discount so that it is closer to the budget which we gave him. i asked around and ppl say he is exp. but as u said, we pay a higher price, we should get better treatment. talking abt price again, ***** is more exp than him but Arlene (working for *****) is a nice lady too - getting out of topic. Haha.

hehe, what i mean is that if he charges high price, he better give high quality work.

otherwise, it's like paying big money for average work

[Mickey M 0]

hehe, what i mean is that if he charges high price, he better give high quality work.

otherwise, it's like paying big money for average work

haha. i know what u mean la. typing more words make me feel better.

must focus on work now if not really don't know what time i can go back.

[ossify 1]

haha. i know what u mean la. typing more words make me feel better.

must focus on work now if not really don't know what time i can go back.

oh i know who's your ID already...

basically he charges you for his "creativity" while he gets contractors to do the work.

2nd guy i have met to do this.

1st guy i met who did this, wanted to charge me $4k before even giving me a quotation for my reno.

[coffee_o 1]

how are u today, coffee bro?

i really typed alot of words in a matter of mins. lol. actually what he did might be really for the better of it - like Incident 3. But what if we don't like. In designs, more than often, it is a matter of preference. U just can't do what u like and without our approvals. we have told him previously that we are not rushing for it to be done. We waited for the economy to recover, obviously we can wait abit longer for it to be done. And he cannot don't ask because we are slow in decision making. the matter of fact is, if u don't ask, we will be pissed.

The living room is still round for sure but it is suppose to have 2 entrances/exits if u see the floorplan. But I see one entrance/exit in the physical state. He haven't give me a gd reason yet.

Tonight I am going again, will take some new pics and upload.

Wah if you can type so many words in a matter of mins hor means your ang mo very gd leh hahahaha

Yes even if it's for the better i still believe that he should consult the owners cos like what you said it's a matter of preference mah moreover i believe if he asked you guys and gave you guys a good reason, i'm sure you guys would agree to his ideas right ? so i dun think he is no good just need to brush up his PR skills hahahaha

eh for the round living area hor i still think 2 exit better leh else everytime wants to go out have to walk 1 round hahahaha

[Mickey M 0]

oh i know who's your ID already...

basically he charges you for his "creativity" while he gets contractors to do the work.

2nd guy i have met to do this.

1st guy i met who did this, wanted to charge me $4k before even giving me a quotation for my reno.

Generally, everyone can be creative. But to be creative and yet be able to bring this "creativity" to life, not many can achieve this. For this, I have to credit Loyd. Cos we really been to many ID firms and to them, curves, circular and round shaped are designs which they avoid, reason is always hard to do and space planning is tougher as there will space wastage. The worst part is we tell them what we want, but they still give us the typical designs. The part which we don't like the most is these IDs don't listen to what we want. I don't know, probably most IDs graduated from the same institution, meaning they probably learnt the same kind of design concepts. If we want something different, they can't show it to us.

Looking at Loyd's portfolio, we knew he could come up something we will like because his strengths lie in his 'treatment' of sharp edges. We saw what we like at his design house. So, we waited 3 wks for his design and 3 wks for the quotation. I think for many, they would not have waited for that long..

I want to avoid having sharp edges as much as I can. Cos my wifey tends to 'knock here knock there'. To knock against sharp edge is definitely more painful. When u have young children at hm, round edges are also safer for them. And both of us love round shaped and curvy stuffs! Just like men are attracted to curvy women and curvy cars. And that includes me. Ha. Shouldn't the hm be more curvy too? The man will have one more curvy item to his curvy list - woman, car, hp, tv etc.... and hm! Hee. We are also 'kids'. Kids like round stuffs, especially cushy and rounded soft toys, so gd to hug! Ha.

Anyway, there is a price to "creativity" and I believe "creativity" should be rewarded. If not, "creativity" will die off. They will die of hunger.

Edited October 30, 2009 by Mickey M

[Mickey M 0]

Wah if you can type so many words in a matter of mins hor means your ang mo very gd leh hahahaha

Yes even if it's for the better i still believe that he should consult the owners cos like what you said it's a matter of preference mah moreover i believe if he asked you guys and gave you guys a good reason, i'm sure you guys would agree to his ideas right ? so i dun think he is no good just need to brush up his PR skills hahahaha

eh for the round living area hor i still think 2 exit better leh else everytime wants to go out have to walk 1 round hahahaha

Ha. No la, I just typed what my brain was thinking at that moment. Haha.

We see what his reason is first before deciding.

Off work! Finally.

[Mickey M 0]

Hi All,

Need some advice here. After reading up, still not very sure.

1. How do u define good tiling work?

2. May I know for the grout lines between tiles, is it suppose to be fill up with sealant or white cement or?

3. So eventually, between tiles and grout lines, how should it be like? Best if can provide pic!

Thanks thanks. Appreciate it.

[Mickey M 0]

Will try to upload some renovation pics soon. Schedule abit delay because unable to install air con this week. Gain City is only able to provide a slot on the 11 Nov. Anyway, I am in no rush. But if the house can be ready by Christmas, wifey and I will be very happy.

Had a gd talk and discussion with ID last weekend. Was a very fruitful one. Everyone is happy.

Last Sun we had to make many decisions on site also. Also saw a rough drawing for the kitchen are and dining table. And wifey is pretty happy cos the new dining table is what she prefer compare to the initial one. Sharp edge treatment applied to table! Design pretty much like those european kitchen designs. And the design finishes with ID's trademark, a rounded edge follow by a slant to the ground - err, my description not very clear maybe, ha. Maybe the pics will help. I also love the table... because it looks like a casino table to me! Haha.

View 1

View 2

The amendments to the designs are indeed better. Only bad point is we have to change the tiles in the round living room. And might not really be a bad thing cos wifey initially wanted to change but limited budget. Manage to cut some cost to change the floor tiles now. ID suggest quartz ($40+ for the cheaper ones, $80+ for the gd ones!). Wifey happy but pocket not happy. Haven't decide, will see how. But high chance not using.

Sun also went Soon Bee Huat to select a new tile for our 'outdoor garden'. Initial selected one out of stock at Hafary. Want to mention something also. The tiles for this area... ID gave it to us FREE!

And we also saw a tile (very shimmering) which is quite nice if we are not using quartz.

That's all for now!

Edited November 24, 2009 by Mickey M