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purecat

How Much Can We Save If We Hire A Contractor Instead Of An Id ?

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I was just trying my luck. Is ok. Since I confirm going direct to contractor. Maybe can use his old posting as a guideline.

Now is 2011, so I top up 20-30% on his price he obtained direct from tho co. For my own reference. LOL..

it would be better to get from people the contractors they are using now. Instead of comparing quotes at 2009 and 2011, compare current quotes between contractors.

20% to 30% is arbitary anyway... so i don't see much point in doing such comparisons.

The phrase ID is too loosely used. My fren complained that the big players like NorthW**, Chew Int, etc. The ID do not have very good ideas and are not willing to experiment on new ideas, instead ID spent time trying to convince them to accept ID's ideas... LOL.

 

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guys, this has been re-emphasised over and over again in many of the threads.

You need to know your reference prices to know whether u are getting a good deal or not. You have to know the Per unit prices for a standard grade of work. Eg. false ceiling is $2-2.5psf, tiling labour $2.5-3.5psf, carpentry sliding door warddrobe - $200-$220pf. These are for standard grade of materials and designs. Of course more complex designs/materials will be higher charge.

Going to a direct contractor doesnt mean one will get a lower price automatically. Every seller still wants to earn max profit, it's just that for the direct sub-con, he has a lower price cost to move down his price to, a general contractor needs to make the margin for coordinating the work. And don't assume contractors will definitely charge lesser than IDs. I've seen quotes from contractors which are significantly more than IDs which is ridiculous. Just calculate the per unit costs of all items and compare and the difference is so clear.

No contractor/ID/sub-con wants to sell themselves cheap, always trying to make more profit, the question is where's the cost price for each party? And also how much margin each party needs to make.

yes, good advice. May i suggest getting quotes from forumers who are doing reno now at tblogs. This is more time consuming, but if u want to save money, being passive and waiting for durians to drop is not going to help too much.

 

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Going direct contractors means you are totally responsible for the overall coordination,

you have to face the truth that contractors will only do their parts and you can't blame them

for Not being coorperative with work that are out of their work scope.

Inorder to make you understand more about the the problem you might face for hiring different contractor, these are the example:

Hacker will blamed the Tiler when there are choking drainage or the Tiler will blamed

the Hacker, how are you going to solve this problem?

Tiler will blamed the Plumber when there is a water seepage and the Plumber blamed the Hacker

and the Tiler, how are you going to handle this issue?

Plumber is going to damage the wall tiles and the Tiler refused to replace the Tiles, how

are you going to bring them back together?

Carpenter will damage the piping and Plumber is going to charge you a high labour,

you think you are smart enough to ask the Carpenter to compensate, but what happen is the Carpenter refused to pay for it just because you did not warned them with a detail drawing,

what do you think you can do to them?

Hiring a main-con means you are hiring their skill & experience in coordination work, when you are going direct, means yourself are a Main-con already, naturally you are entitled to have a cheaper

pricing as you are paying to yourself, but when there are any of the above situation happening in your job site, you might end up paying double unless you planned to play Rough

by not paying the contractor in full, ultimately you might face a worse circumstance than ever- by being threaten by the contractors for not paying them in full.

My most advise if you still insist to find your direct, you may try hiring a Carpentry company that is able to provide you with design, and hire an experienced contractor to

handle the overall wet work, that will help alot in saving your time & $$$ :good:

 

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Though I have a contractor for my reno, I found myself coordinating a lot of the works. it seems the workers didn't know what was required!

Doing self coordination can save you a lot of money but is time intensive. Both are related, time and money, if you have time go ahead and diy coordinating. Else you are paying for Someone else's time to coordinate for you.

For me, I get a main contractor who help me to coordinate with other sub-contractor, save me lots of money and time.

 

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hihi...do you have any tiler contacts to share??

You can try my tiler who is also my main contractor, do PM me if you want the contact.

His work is very good, i don't find his price expensive but some other friends I recommended compare other contractor and said ex. Frankly, workmanship for tiler is very important, Mr Tan is really someone you can trust his workmanship and coordination, he keep to his timing also, a very neat person, I shall post some of his work when I have time, thumbs up for him!

 

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Hi,

For saying this, think the contractors & ID will hate me.

Just did my reno for condo recently, most things DIY.

Maybe due to my job (I'm in sales) so I understand that all things are cheaper if go direct. The contractors & IDs will sublet the jobs out to 3rd party and thus need to mark up prices.

My direct contacts & reno jobs

1)I engaged direct co. to hack my condo kitchen & 2 toilets (floor & wall tiles, kitchen cabinet, removal of sanitary wares in toilets & removal of debris) - for only $2K

I heard from the boss that the cost is lower for HDB as condo is strict with the reno timing so it would take them more days to complete as compared to HDB thus the higher cost for condo. ** The boss is so sweet to help hack wardrobe & other shelvings all at no extra cost.

The quotes that I get from contractors & IDs for just hacking (Kitchen & toilet wall & floor tiles) & removal of debris is - $2,600 - $2,800

** See the savings for going direct??

2) bi-fold doors, classic doors & iron gate - better to get direct from co. Source for quotes yourself & bargain a good price. The contractors would have earned 20-30% commission from your sales. If go direct, you may probably get 10-20% savings yourself. These co. can't offer 30% discount to direct customers as their main source of biz still come from IDs & contractors. Can't afford to offend them.

3) People know people in this trade. I got the contact for tiling job from my hacker. The tiler did my kitchen & toilet floor & wall tiles & I'm satisfied with the job done. I even went on site to see his workmanship & confirmed the job on the spot. I bought my own tiles though. Again, contractors will get 20-30% commission bringing you to choose tiles & you won't enjoy savings. I bought the tiles myself & got a discount for going direct (though the discount is not as much as the co. gives to contractor, but it's still savings)

The tiler charged me tiling job by per sqm, whereas the contractor charge me a lump sum. I heard from my tiler HDB toilet & kitchen tiling job is only $2+/sqm. The lowest quote I got from contractor is $3.50/sqm but my tiler only charges me $2.30/sqm. See the mark up? These contractors also find these tilers to do the job for them. The contractor get your deposit but will not pay these hacker & tilers, carpenters, plumbers etc so soon. So these people like to work direct with us, customers. Get paid on time.

4) For hacking of kitchen cabinet, the quote for direct is only $200-$300, but look, your quote is $600. All these savings here & there can get you new cutains, or whatever you like to buy.

5) I also engaged a worker for painting job (contact from my tiler). His pay is on daily basis. But same rules - I supply the paint etc. It's still cheaper than getting contractor. And contractor also earn commission from paint co.

6) I also engaged a co. to do my false ceiling in toilets (contact from my tiler). He quoted me $550 for 2 toilet false ceilings. My lowest quote from contractor is $780.

Enough said. Source direct will give you so much savings! : )

Hi!

Can you PM me your contacts mentioned from the above? Thanks!

Starrypinky21@yahoo.com.sg

 

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I was quoted $14,000 by an ID on tiling for my 3rooms flat based on $3 psf 600X600 homogeneous tile. :curse:

Hacking, make good, haulage and construction of a wall using hollow block another $10,000. :curse:

White powder coat aluminum windows and grille $4,500. :curse:

Stupid technical designer with 20 years experience can suggest solid top for flooring. :jawdrop:

Also claimed a 3rooms flat must use 12 tons of sand for renovation. :bow:

I dont wish to reveal which ID company; I'm sure you know who you are if you visit RT. 8|

Edited by albertchng
 

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i can't decide between an ID and contractor! problem is i know what i want clearly so i dont need an ID to input ideas for me. on the other hand i really dont like to go on-site supervision myself. being self employed i do have flexible timing but i'm inexperienced afterall so even if i were to go there to look see i may not know what im doing right/wrong. anything in between? maybe like engage an ID who does not charge me for design work at the same time get him/her to liaise with the contractor lol

Edited by kaylinpickles
 

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Going direct contractors means you are totally responsible for the overall coordination,

you have to face the truth that contractors will only do their parts and you can't blame them

for Not being coorperative with work that are out of their work scope.

Inorder to make you understand more about the the problem you might face for hiring different contractor, these are the example:

Hacker will blamed the Tiler when there are choking drainage or the Tiler will blamed

the Hacker, how are you going to solve this problem?

Tiler will blamed the Plumber when there is a water seepage and the Plumber blamed the Hacker

and the Tiler, how are you going to handle this issue?

Plumber is going to damage the wall tiles and the Tiler refused to replace the Tiles, how

are you going to bring them back together?

Carpenter will damage the piping and Plumber is going to charge you a high labour,

you think you are smart enough to ask the Carpenter to compensate, but what happen is the Carpenter refused to pay for it just because you did not warned them with a detail drawing,

what do you think you can do to them?

Hiring a main-con means you are hiring their skill & experience in coordination work, when you are going direct, means yourself are a Main-con already, naturally you are entitled to have a cheaper

pricing as you are paying to yourself, but when there are any of the above situation happening in your job site, you might end up paying double unless you planned to play Rough

by not paying the contractor in full, ultimately you might face a worse circumstance than ever- by being threaten by the contractors for not paying them in full.

My most advise if you still insist to find your direct, you may try hiring a Carpentry company that is able to provide you with design, and hire an experienced contractor to

handle the overall wet work, that will help alot in saving your time & $$$ :good:

omg, well said! its abit like buying insurance actually. not saying all these things will definitely happen during the course of reno but sometimes gotta be cautious and realistic abit. i guess engaging someone to do the coordination work for me will give me a peace of mind.

Edited by kaylinpickles
 

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I engaged an ID firm for my reno of 4room flat 3yrs ago. The ID never even provide any design ideas to me, instead I've got to tell her what I want and provide her a drawing.

At the end of the day, I never see my ID there unless meeting up for payment.

I think I was there to do the coordinating work more then my ID.

Even the contractors are complaining that the ID is always nowhere to be found and never instruct them what to do. In the end I gave all the contractors my number and they call me directly if they have doubts and get the job done immediately instead of waiting for my ID.

Now that I'm selling my house and getting another one near my parents. I think I might as well go for direct contractors. Same headache anyway but at least can save on ID that does nothing.

So please, if you have any lobang of direct contractor please PM me their numbers.

Thanks.

 

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I engaged an ID firm for my reno of 4room flat 3yrs ago. The ID never even provide any design ideas to me, instead I've got to tell her what I want and provide her a drawing.

At the end of the day, I never see my ID there unless meeting up for payment.

I think I was there to do the coordinating work more then my ID.

Even the contractors are complaining that the ID is always nowhere to be found and never instruct them what to do. In the end I gave all the contractors my number and they call me directly if they have doubts and get the job done immediately instead of waiting for my ID.

Now that I'm selling my house and getting another one near my parents. I think I might as well go for direct contractors. Same headache anyway but at least can save on ID that does nothing.

So please, if you have any lobang of direct contractor please PM me their numbers.

Thanks.

Should tell us who is the ID and the ID firm so that the forumers can be warned. Thank you.

 

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my own experience...

ID firms quoted me between $70k and $80k for the SAME job that contractors quoted me between $45k and $55k

the same job i sourced out to different sub-con... the final cost was $40k

the money i saved i could install TWO system 2 inverter aircon, buy better toilet accessories, buy better lightings...

BUT i have to coordinate among the sub-con, supervise the jobs to ensure correct instructions...

if u wan designer's outlook (very subjective) and have plenty of cash to spare, get a ID

if u have ur own designs, some cash to spare n don't wan headache, get a contractor

if u wan total control, limited cash to spare n don't mind doing the coordinating (i quite enjoy this), get sub-con...

 

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Hi,

For saying this, think the contractors & ID will hate me.

Just did my reno for condo recently, most things DIY.

Maybe due to my job (I'm in sales) so I understand that all things are cheaper if go direct. The contractors & IDs will sublet the jobs out to 3rd party and thus need to mark up prices.

My direct contacts & reno jobs

1)I engaged direct co. to hack my condo kitchen & 2 toilets (floor & wall tiles, kitchen cabinet, removal of sanitary wares in toilets & removal of debris) - for only $2K

I heard from the boss that the cost is lower for HDB as condo is strict with the reno timing so it would take them more days to complete as compared to HDB thus the higher cost for condo. ** The boss is so sweet to help hack wardrobe & other shelvings all at no extra cost.

The quotes that I get from contractors & IDs for just hacking (Kitchen & toilet wall & floor tiles) & removal of debris is - $2,600 - $2,800

** See the savings for going direct??

2) bi-fold doors, classic doors & iron gate - better to get direct from co. Source for quotes yourself & bargain a good price. The contractors would have earned 20-30% commission from your sales. If go direct, you may probably get 10-20% savings yourself. These co. can't offer 30% discount to direct customers as their main source of biz still come from IDs & contractors. Can't afford to offend them.

3) People know people in this trade. I got the contact for tiling job from my hacker. The tiler did my kitchen & toilet floor & wall tiles & I'm satisfied with the job done. I even went on site to see his workmanship & confirmed the job on the spot. I bought my own tiles though. Again, contractors will get 20-30% commission bringing you to choose tiles & you won't enjoy savings. I bought the tiles myself & got a discount for going direct (though the discount is not as much as the co. gives to contractor, but it's still savings)

The tiler charged me tiling job by per sqm, whereas the contractor charge me a lump sum. I heard from my tiler HDB toilet & kitchen tiling job is only $2+/sqm. The lowest quote I got from contractor is $3.50/sqm but my tiler only charges me $2.30/sqm. See the mark up? These contractors also find these tilers to do the job for them. The contractor get your deposit but will not pay these hacker & tilers, carpenters, plumbers etc so soon. So these people like to work direct with us, customers. Get paid on time.

4) For hacking of kitchen cabinet, the quote for direct is only $200-$300, but look, your quote is $600. All these savings here & there can get you new cutains, or whatever you like to buy.

5) I also engaged a worker for painting job (contact from my tiler). His pay is on daily basis. But same rules - I supply the paint etc. It's still cheaper than getting contractor. And contractor also earn commission from paint co.

6) I also engaged a co. to do my false ceiling in toilets (contact from my tiler). He quoted me $550 for 2 toilet false ceilings. My lowest quote from contractor is $780.

Enough said. Source direct will give you so much savings! : )

Hi,

Can you share your tiler contacts please?

 

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