Reno @my Simei 4a Resale Flat

[fencer 0]

For pointer, i'm not asking for rectifications that cost time or things that is not possible.

I need to live with windows that are not levelled. and possible flood my room and possible leaks from the rivets. cracked tile. uneven pipes.. all these for $38k price tag? and including things that i nd to clean up.. windows which is not smooth anymore.. paints from window frames.. and i have not include everything..

Simple things just rectify and hand over.. 1 week do 1 item? so end up no time and have to hand over already?

[samgalz 2]

For pointer, i'm not asking for rectifications that cost time or things that is not possible.

I need to live with windows that are not levelled. and possible flood my room and possible leaks from the rivets. cracked tile. uneven pipes.. all these for $38k price tag? and including things that i nd to clean up.. windows which is not smooth anymore.. paints from window frames.. and i have not include everything..

Simple things just rectify and hand over.. 1 week do 1 item? so end up no time and have to hand over already?

wow, all these sounds serious....am surprised to hear this abt Henry as I had always heard good reviews from the Henner club.

Probably u give him a blasting email and call him again. this time stress to him that do not put down the phone when u speak.

[ngunadi 2]

wow, all these sounds serious....am surprised to hear this abt Henry as I had always heard good reviews from the Henner club.

Probably u give him a blasting email and call him again. this time stress to him that do not put down the phone when u speak.

Probably he has done so but no avail.

Good luck for your reno bro ... hope you can settle all these issues swiftly.

[fencer 0]

wow, all these sounds serious....am surprised to hear this abt Henry as I had always heard good reviews from the Henner club.

Probably u give him a blasting email and call him again. this time stress to him that do not put down the phone when u speak.

I'm sure he knows the minimum standard level of service after so many years in this biz.

[fencer 0]

Probably he has done so but no avail.

Good luck for your reno bro ... hope you can settle all these issues swiftly.

Thanks bro.. But I have no confident in things being done swiftly anymore. What can be done, could have been done weeks ago..

[coldflamez 0]

wow, all these sounds serious....am surprised to hear this abt Henry as I had always heard good reviews from the Henner club.

Probably u give him a blasting email and call him again. this time stress to him that do not put down the phone when u speak.

Although Henry had been quite consistent in delivering good work, seems there were also some problems at times, especially when he was very busy.

See here for kiven78's experience. He had some problems also...

Fencer, hope you can complete the last leg of your reno smoothly... Just try to talk things out nicely with henry, i'm sure he also don't want his reputation to be spoiled.

[fencer 0]

Although Henry had been quite consistent in delivering good work, seems there were also some problems at times, especially when he was very busy.

See here for kiven78's experience. He had some problems also...

Fencer, hope you can complete the last leg of your reno smoothly... Just try to talk things out nicely with henry, i'm sure he also don't want his reputation to be spoiled.

Read through Kiven's blog.. Seems the same case where Henry would not admit is his worker's fault or his mis-comm to his workers. His good at 1 thing i'm sure.. lead the speaker away from what is being discussed abt..

4th painter guy came. Wonder y i need to talk to so many painters?? Did what he was told by Henry but not too happy bah..

Windows prob - same explaination as before. no leak now. all windows is the same. etc etc..

Solid top - after polish, the lines are even more obvious.. sigh.. 2morow come and polisg again..

dustbin protection film - asked the painter to remove in 30 secs time and use thinner to remove the sticky part, took 30 mins? 30 mins work, need my 3 weeks of reminding and finally done in 30 mins..

Summarizing my review soon so can "save" as much ppl as possible..

[fencer 0]

Thinking to write the schedule + things done etc.. but tink is too hard.. Haa.

i'll prepare a estimated schedule later for reference..

So tink i write what i tink is good and bad is easier. Also things to look out for..

[fencer 0]

The Good.

Electrician (Ah Liang)

- Good skill

- Polite

- Rewiring done in 2 phases.

1) Old wires removed.

2) New trunking+wires done before painting. 1 day.

3) After painting, comes all the switches, dowlights, PCB etc. 1 day.

Master Tiler

- Good skill

- Nice and down to earth

- Poilte

- Tiling for whole hse complete in 2 weeks time. Things done includes,

1) Toilet wall tiles

2) Water-proofing toilet floor

3) Toilet Floor tiles

4) kitchen wall tiles

5) Water-proof kitchen floor

6) Kitchen floor tiles

7) Living/Dining area floor tiles

8) skirting

9) Room Floor tiles

10) Skirting

11) Steps of the entrance

Carpenter

- Good Skill

- Polite

- Suggestive

- Discussion 1 hr, complete set up of master bedroom waredrobe and kitchen cabinet in 1.5 days + Clean up.

Person who did the False Ceiling / L-box

- No see but good skill. No hiccups.

Person (tink is tiler and assistant) who installed the door frame, dustbin

- No prob at all.

- Door frame is perpendicular to the ground, irregardless of the wall.

- Assistant helped to patch abit when i feedback how come the frame for guest rm is sticking out of the wall.

Edited May 5, 2010 by fencer

[pnokio 0]

Some info that might be useful to some of you..

1) Alot of the wall tiles's "white powder" had turned abit yellowish (Some seriously decolored). Was told is from the tiles itself.. Henry said bo bian.. is like that 1. So choose your tiles properly.. the tiler once said "China made" ones is very prone to this problem... Can't believe it! Before move in change color oledi.. sigh... bo bian loh.. if you see this, feedback asap for it to be repatched coz was told cannot patch anymore, the new powder cannot "hold" onto the old powder.

2) For old flats, if you choose to replace the windows, please know new windows is not as "thick" as the walls.. And guys putting up windows dun patch nice nice the walls to window parts 1 hor.. at least for my case lah.. mayb i special.. ahhaha.. Also, for me only, when raining, water do not flow out of the "vents". Water accumulate at the centre of the window.. only those reaching the vent at the side goes out.. coz old flat? Ha.. mayb is me.. feedback but was forgotten.

3) For old flats, new window grills will cover the new windows.. sui sui one.. but can see the bad patching skills outside of the grills/windows.. also.. MAJOR ADVICE.. ask contractor to remove all window grills well before painting, so can paint PROPERLY around the windows surrounding.. window guys come after painting mah.. and dun believe when some1 says sure can one.. the painters hv small brush, can paint the small gaps etc.. even corridor units, who will break in to steal paints, tiles? fyi. freaking grill guys punched holes into the windows to secure the grills. Caused 2 leaks which lasted for new days before it was patched up only with silicone. wonder how long it would last.. sigh...

4) After having Kitchen's windows replaced, tell contractor to tell everyone working near the area to cover the ledge of the windows with something before work. I had a bad time cleaning out all the bits and pieces of cements and dirt and paints from the window ledges.. now the windows do not open smoothly like new ones.. work done above the ledge, includes piping guys, grill installations, painting and patch work if any.. and dun believe that the cleaners got blower to blow the bits out..

5) Wood use for all doors and door frames is the same.. cheap wood.. is just the design. Most important abt this, they would bring in the doors, fix up 1st. After then paint the doors without removing it from the hinges. So know this, the top and bottom of the doors is not painted at all.. so for me, my main door wic is prone to kana rain.. hv to protect it myself with towels etc.. Also door frame, kana water would hv yellowish color come out.. cheap wood mah.. how to waterproof? just paint loh..

6) Have dowlight? plaster the walls.. at least the walls having dowlights.. HAhahah..

7) Last.. small prob lah.. electrician just applied silicon to seal the trunking. But that day the grill guys was working also.. so he drilled the walls.. end up the flakes got "caught" in the silicon.. today spend 1 hr to take out the whole row and apply again..

Rem you have the rights to tell the workers to be careful for certain things like cover the ledge when working above etc.. if not, feedback to contractor immed. Is your own responsibilty to do your own checks.. Ha.. of coz you nd to be there before they start to warn them..

Which i try to be there most of the times but no use coz dun know the consequence.. so i hope friends dun kana like me.. Hahah.. or i special again.. Hahha..

Hi Fencer,

U r really v strong! can tahan and accept all those but of course...bo pian lor...now m worried for my reno. Thank you for sharing - gonna make the xtra effort to pay them visits regularly once reno starts.

[Mickey M 0]

and last.. he put down the phone while i was stil speaking..

I hope u didn't use the F word on him.

[fencer 0]

Hi Fencer,

U r really v strong! can tahan and accept all those but of course...bo pian lor...now m worried for my reno. Thank you for sharing - gonna make the xtra effort to pay them visits regularly once reno starts.

the prob already lapsed for some time without fixing.. and contractor say bo bian.. what to do? unless i wan to prolong my taking over of hse..

No prob 1.. just make sure u know wat is next to come, keep tab and go check what is done etc.. anything wrong, call contractor immed.. if u notice is wrong, ask them to stop work 1st until u verify.

Rectify asap.. dun believe it would be rectified soon or in the future.. coz if too late to rectify, is your loss and savings for contractor. and of coz check if it was rectified.. Ha..

make effort now is better then later when u regret u didn't make enuf checks..

all the best to your reno huh..

[fencer 0]

I hope u didn't use the F word on him.

Nope. He was nicer when meeting but alot prob cannot be "solved" coz bo bian, is like that 1. All hsehold is the same..

[fencer 0]

The Bad And the Ugly. Part 1.

Guys who does hacking

- Almost hacked through master bedrm toilet walls when suppose to remove only the toilet frame.

- Hacking finished in 2 days + remove debris.

Guys who did Piping/Sink/Taps/Heaters/Towel bar/Toilet bowl/Bamboo holder in kitchen

- Rush job

- 2 set of toiletries seperated into 2 piles at 2 different location and still manage to fix wrongly (Coz they lump the remainer toiletries together after day 1). i asked specifically if the "toilet roll" holder's holes is the same and can be changed, end up they re-drill holes to put and patch the old ones.

- Misaligned mirror and sink for both toilet. Fixed after 3-4 wks of complain to Henry + help from Simon. Overheard remark after the fix. Fingerprints found on the frosted part of the mirror, cannot be removed.

- Crooked piping in kitchen to toilet. Used "force" to push it up at the joint area (wonder y is this joint in plain sight??). Guranteed to hv no leak by workers and contractors.

- Pipes not seating on the catch properly at various places

- Bamboo holder in kitchen moved 3 times dispite giving exact measurements. Initially Henry said 1001 reasons not to move it coz his hse also the same. The side to the wall is so close to the wall that if i hang clothes, it would be touching the wall, trunking and switch. Henry said no 1 would use the last section 1. after 2nd move, 1 holder is not straight. After 3rd move, Sui Sui.

- Piping guys twist my aircon drainage pipe for my aircon in master bedrm toilet out of the way to install the pipings. End up cracked the filling on the wall for the drainage pipe. Piping guys no patch when finish job. Patched only after i feedback+reminder and is fixed 2-3 weeks later.

- Good part is nothing collapsed or dropped.

Guys who replaced The windows

- No see but looks good immed after replacement.

- Master bedrm windows are tilted to the centre and to the back abit. Water would accumulate at centre. Feedbacked and reply is like that 1. Cannot see different mah.. my hse also like that. sure won't flood the room. The patched rivet now no leak liao mah. Quoted: is like car, car breakdown, pay for the broken part. Now if spoil anything, we pay loh.

- All "push"windows are no longer "smooth" after reno coz no care is taken when doing things on or near it. Feedback and reply is cleaners wld clean it (with blower and brush, can clean dried cement and pieces of dirt logged under?) Spend 3-4 hrs cleaning out all the pieces of dirts. All "push"windows are no longer "smooth" even after cleaning + add oil.

- Comes with a loose handle. Feedback but no fix so end up i bought screwdriver and DIY myself.

Guys who replaced The window Grills

- Done in 3 hrs.

- Aluminium have some marks on them oledi. Cannot be removed. Don't even wan to feedback on this.

- Guy put rivets into master bedrm windows to hold the grills in pl. Caused 5 days of leak which no effort is made to stop water from spreading on the floor. Rectified by putting silicion on the rivets. Reply is bo bian. No "Place" to hold the grill. and dun know would leak until it rains.. Now no leak so ok.

- When opening/closing, some of the window panel's handles are scratching on the grill. Probably placed too close.. Don't even wan to bother to feedback.

Guys who replaced The Doors (not door frames)

- Fast and furious

- Up in 3 hrs

Main Door

- Defects at 3 spots. Feedback to door guys, says wld be patched before protection coat. End up no patch. Feedback to henry, is like that 1. Cannot see mah. All doors sure got some defects.

- Viewer placed near to windows side. Coz centre got "bone". Feedback to henry, is like that 1. Can see all the corridor mah..

- Top and bottom of door is "unprotected". Asked before if it was covered coz wld kana when raining. Reply is yes. Later found it was not, reply is bo bian.. is like that 1.

Room/storerm doors

- Top and bottom of door is "unprotected". And would not be painted at all.

- 1 or 2 places, the "cut" for the hinges is bigger then the hingers. no filling done. Don't even wan to feedback. DIY.

- Standard door knobs looks like got small bits of rust.

End of Part 1 of the bad and the Ugly. Stay Tune for Part 2.

Edited May 6, 2010 by fencer

[gimz63251073 0]

Nope. He was nicer when meeting but alot prob cannot be "solved" coz bo bian, is like that 1. All hsehold is the same..

all hsehold the same? i am pretty sure he would not let his house have as many defects as you!

contractors know that as consumers we are at the losing end as we often hate to drag the reno process and thus would be willing to accept less than acceptable standard. Thats why at the end, we LL accept what they have...and console ourselves to move on...

we can only look on the bright side i guess....

btw, i was not able to steal knowledge on wall putty...electricial just apply using a plastic scrapper then use a cloth to clean...look so easy!