K's Reno Journey

[froggy 0]

Hi kerio

so sorry to read about yr unpleasant experience with yr ID. Hope everything will turn out well from now - tell her about the powers of RT and maybe instil some fears which may become motivating factors to get things rectified and completed properly ..

[Kerio 2]

Went by during lunch to check on progress (and to ensure rectifications are done before carpentry goes up).

1) Kitchen cement base is rectified, though the tile jutting out is still there. Not sure if that will be fixed but wife will be deciding since I'm ok with it either way.

2) Paint stains on laminates in all rooms not fixed yet, but the guy was there when I dropped by. Actually, I really feel sorry for him - his original work was beautiful. The laminates were laid perfectly, everything was so smooth and flat with no warping, and to have to redo something already perfectly done because the painters decided they didn't want to be painters but abstract french artists (complete with swearing) in disguise was disappointing, not to mention really unfair to him. Anyway, ID has informed us the rectifications will carry on, so we will be dropping by to see probably every evening this and next week to confirm it's fixed.

3) BOTH toilet lights are not working now. Fan-tas-tic. Big hole in ceiling still there. ID has informed us this will be fixed, though she didn't exactly tell us when. If it's still not fixed by Friday, we'll remind her again. (sigh)

4) WIW gap not addressed yet. Perhaps it really is for slotting carpentry in. Will go check anyway.

5) Number lock not changed yet. Perhaps I'm being paranoid, so as long as nothing gets stolen, I'm relaxed. If it does, they can be sure I'll hold them fully responsible.

6) Floor protection has been laid by carpenters (yes, carpenters!! ), who seem highly efficient at what they do. Unfortunately, no floor protection in other rooms, like the one below:

Scritchy-Scratchy Workbench on my un-rectified laminates. Joy.

In addition, I was mooching around admiring the rather well made carpentry when I realised the cove lighting areas are dented.

Asked wife to consider if she still wanted to raise this to ID, considering rectifications might just delay handover further. I was telling her if she was willing to live with it, I would as well.

On a positive note, I realise we have A LOT of carpentry. (Weeeeeeeeeeeee)

And the carpenters, like I mentioned, are really hardworking - I was expecting to see crooked corners here and there and people sleeping around, but the carpentry was actually pretty good. They were shifting all our items up using the lift (imagine if we had stayed on the older estates! They'd have had to climb up stairs lugging all those things!), and all of them were perspiring like mad. I wanted to go to each one of them and shake their hands, but after this round of "life lessons", I think I'll wait for the carpentry to be fixed (this Friday) before offering my thanks.

Anyway. According to her email, carpentry was supposed to be installed on Monday, and was supposed to be finished within 3 days while solid surface and glass was being fabricated, and the ceiling (for the aircon) was supposed to be rectified last weekend. Looks like there're delays again since carpentry has started on a Tuesday, rectifications are needed for the laminates before carpentry can go up, and est completion for carpentry is Friday.

At least she's more responsive now, and starting to react more quickly to our requests (my wife's, anyway. She may have read my rather harsh posts, but it's not like I'm maligning her, because it's all true). Let's hope this trend continues until she delivers it to us next week.

Next week! Seems like so fast

[Kerio 2]

Hi kerio

so sorry to read about yr unpleasant experience with yr ID. Hope everything will turn out well from now - tell her about the powers of RT and maybe instil some fears which may become motivating factors to get things rectified and completed properly ..

Haha, thanks froggy! Actually, our testimonial of her hasn't exactly been glowing, so we're holding off until she completes the entire project to make a finalised assessment.

Though with only 1.5 weeks left, plenty of rectifications and plenty more to do, chances are something will pop up and we'll have to shake her up a little. What can I say? If she had conscientiously supervised the workers, pushed them to do their job (e.g. painters), managed time and projects properly, all these things would not have happened.

Maybe she was busy with another project. Maybe even her own married life. But that's certainly no excuse to screw up this project (and our lives) and still expect us to be nice and understanding, because we'll need to suffer the next 5 years (that's 60 months) paying off loans for all the things being done in the house now. I think if someone told me to pay $400 a month for 5 years, asking for perfection isn't that unreasonable.

[porkypork 0]

I completely agree porkypork! I'll probably be dropping by every other day henceforth to ensure the rectifications are done. In particular, I want to ensure the rectifications are done for my floor before they decide to lay the carpentry on top of the defects.

I got my air con from Imperial; I'll PM you the details

Got it..thanks!

[BlurRhino 0]

You mean all are yours?? u really have alot of carpentry works! I think the most important part of the reno is the carpentry works so if the carpenters are good, then its great!

Haha so got open house after handover??

[porkypork 0]

Haha, thanks froggy! Actually, our testimonial of her hasn't exactly been glowing, so we're holding off until she completes the entire project to make a finalised assessment.

Though with only 1.5 weeks left, plenty of rectifications and plenty more to do, chances are something will pop up and we'll have to shake her up a little. What can I say? If she had conscientiously supervised the workers, pushed them to do their job (e.g. painters), managed time and projects properly, all these things would not have happened.

Maybe she was busy with another project. Maybe even her own married life. But that's certainly no excuse to screw up this project (and our lives) and still expect us to be nice and understanding, because we'll need to suffer the next 5 years (that's 60 months) paying off loans for all the things being done in the house now. I think if someone told me to pay $400 a month for 5 years, asking for perfection isn't that unreasonable.

Well said Kerio... even if one didn't take loan and pay in cash... it is still hard earned money at stake... no less...

[Kerio 2]

You mean all are yours?? u really have alot of carpentry works! I think the most important part of the reno is the carpentry works so if the carpenters are good, then its great!

Haha so got open house after handover??

Yeah! XD Got kitchen cabinets also ma, and then WIW shelves, book shelves, 2x feature walls and bomb-shelter feature wall etc

Heh heh heh, we won't have an open house immediately (need to look for spots to do rectifications first), but you can always just PM me if you want to drop by to take a look on a weekend after its done We also want to regulate the flow of guests! After this fiasco, we just want to sit back, relax.. and grit our teeth at the dented cove lighting area.

Well said Kerio... even if one didn't take loan and pay in cash... it is still hard earned money at stake... no less...

Yes! Some IDs get angry when customers make angry demands for them to speed up, or fix errors, or buck up in general, but they fail to see that the stakes are much higher for us.

After they're done with one project, they simply move on to another; but their customers have to STAY in the house. And, we'll be staring at the errors every single day for 5 years and worse, PAYING for them.

Maybe they should ask themselves: Would they pay $42,000 for something defective? I dare them to say yes, and I'll do their houses for them, complete with bad cementing and tiling and scratchy laminates.

Edited December 8, 2010 by Kerio

[fifteenmay 40]

Went by during lunch to check on progress (and to ensure rectifications are done before carpentry goes up).

1) Kitchen cement base is rectified, though the tile jutting out is still there. Not sure if that will be fixed but wife will be deciding since I'm ok with it either way.

2) Paint stains on laminates in all rooms not fixed yet, but the guy was there when I dropped by. Actually, I really feel sorry for him - his original work was beautiful. The laminates were laid perfectly, everything was so smooth and flat with no warping, and to have to redo something already perfectly done because the painters decided they didn't want to be painters but abstract french artists (complete with swearing) in disguise was disappointing, not to mention really unfair to him. Anyway, ID has informed us the rectifications will carry on, so we will be dropping by to see probably every evening this and next week to confirm it's fixed.

3) BOTH toilet lights are not working now. Fan-tas-tic. Big hole in ceiling still there. ID has informed us this will be fixed, though she didn't exactly tell us when. If it's still not fixed by Friday, we'll remind her again. (sigh)

4) WIW gap not addressed yet. Perhaps it really is for slotting carpentry in. Will go check anyway.

5) Number lock not changed yet. Perhaps I'm being paranoid, so as long as nothing gets stolen, I'm relaxed. If it does, they can be sure I'll hold them fully responsible.

6) Floor protection has been laid by carpenters (yes, carpenters!! ), who seem highly efficient at what they do. Unfortunately, no floor protection in other rooms, like the one below:

Scritchy-Scratchy Workbench on my un-rectified laminates. Joy.

In addition, I was mooching around admiring the rather well made carpentry when I realised the cove lighting areas are dented.

Asked wife to consider if she still wanted to raise this to ID, considering rectifications might just delay handover further. I was telling her if she was willing to live with it, I would as well.

On a positive note, I realise we have A LOT of carpentry. (Weeeeeeeeeeeee)

And the carpenters, like I mentioned, are really hardworking - I was expecting to see crooked corners here and there and people sleeping around, but the carpentry was actually pretty good. They were shifting all our items up using the lift (imagine if we had stayed on the older estates! They'd have had to climb up stairs lugging all those things!), and all of them were perspiring like mad. I wanted to go to each one of them and shake their hands, but after this round of "life lessons", I think I'll wait for the carpentry to be fixed (this Friday) before offering my thanks.

Anyway. According to her email, carpentry was supposed to be installed on Monday, and was supposed to be finished within 3 days while solid surface and glass was being fabricated, and the ceiling (for the aircon) was supposed to be rectified last weekend. Looks like there're delays again since carpentry has started on a Tuesday, rectifications are needed for the laminates before carpentry can go up, and est completion for carpentry is Friday.

At least she's more responsive now, and starting to react more quickly to our requests (my wife's, anyway. She may have read my rather harsh posts, but it's not like I'm maligning her, because it's all true). Let's hope this trend continues until she delivers it to us next week.

Next week! Seems like so fast

Thats alot alot of carpentry!

[Kerio 2]

Just came back from the house to see how progress was (and to confirm rectifications were made).

Living room is stacked with carpentry, neatly arranged on protective lining.

The water stain is gone from one side, but the carpentry was obscuring the paint stains on the other side so we didn't see if it was gone.

The guest room has become a store room for the carpentry it seems.

Kitchen carpentry is up but the corner of the kitchen area was supposed to be open so we could have a swivelling tray inside. We told her this when we were discussing the kitchen cupboards, but apparently she forgot.

Carpentry is actually not of very good quality.

Besides this, there are several defects in the wood (including a crack in one), and most of the wood is held together with industrial staplers. I'm hoping that's only for security, though with their track record, I'm starting to have doubts.

Toilet is removed. The toilet light was working here, a pleasant surprise. However.

Shortly after my wife tried it, the light didn't work anymore. So both toilet lights are not working and the missing light is still missing, but electrician will be coming by again.

Wife was most definitely NOT OK with the dents and scratches in the cove lighting area - to be honest, anyone would be cheesed off looking at it. Holes, dents, scratches - you name it, they have it.

Plastering of the hacked wall will be done tomorrow.

ID had previously suggested we get the air con person to install anytime after today (Tues). Ceiling work is somehow postponed to tomorrow (Wed) without us being informed. If I had called the air con guy to come down tomorrow, and we had ended up having to pay one more trip for the air con people, would they reimburse us? I wonder.

Wife smsed ID to ask if carpentry was to be done on Friday and since 2 more rounds of painting were to be done, was 6 Dec (Next Mon) a good idea for the air con to be fixed. Since air conditioning units are usually installed after the FINAL coat of paint, we had to find out when the last coat would be up.

New proposal by ID: The air con installation date is now Thursday. Great, another postponing.

Wife then asked when the handover date would be, since we had arranged for most of the delivery to be done on 10 Dec (Next Fri), and the ID's response was that the delivery could continue, and that she'd "get things cleaned up. Glass may be slightly later. U may move in".

Ok, so let me get this straight.

1) We can arrange for delivery on the 10th, although glass works are outstanding. So that's not the official handover date? When is it then? January 2011? WHEN?? Everytime we ask her it's "Next week", "Next week". We've been "Next week"ed from Mid November to 24th November to 3 December to 10th December and now, apparently, KIVed. Great time management.

2) We can move in, but we'll somehow have to be around to ensure the glass works are done. Wife of course, asked how long would it take, when it'd be up, and if it'd be messy. Response is that measurements will be taken on Thurs and Fri, and it'd take a week to fabricate. My math isn't that fantastic, but I think that means Next Friday. Apparently not. Best part is, she included in her SMS that it's the peak period, timeline is very tough and jobs are very full.

I think that's the whole point of the time schedule. An ID uses the time schedule chart to allocate workers, locations, when to do what. Using that schedule, the ID can give the owner a better estimate of the completion date and not delay consistently. Plus, we started consulting with her in July, and signed with them in August. We got our keys on 16 September, and reno started proper on 28 Sep, after HDB's rectifications. One would think the schedule would have been followed more or less to the tee. Even barring unforseen incidences like HDB's further rectifications (an event I pointed out, that occured because she hadn't done what we had suggested she do very early on, which was to check for hollow tiles), work should have carried on swiftly. So now that it's hit the peak period, we take a back seat for other projects that have popped up meanwhile?

Who's fault is it that it's delayed, really? Would telling us these things make us more likely, or less likely to feel understanding?

If things get any worse, I will be following all my colleagues' advice by writing first to her boss, and if her boss takes her side or brushes me off, it'll be sent to CASE, outlining every single detail and extracting every SMS and email and exchange. I've had enough of this nonsense. Clearly she's not paying attention to time management and simply CANNOT deliver on her promises. Everytime she says something like "Wednesday tiling will be up", it actually means "Friday tiling will be up/starting". In the end, we are the ones to suffer. For two bloody months this circus has carried on, and I am no longer having any more of it.

But in any case, I think the most powerful testimonial of the company's work, integrity, timeliness and reliability can be found in the posts I've written, detailed chronicles of my experience with them. Ironically, the description of my t-blog (ramblings and much foaming at the mouth) has turned out to be true, after all.

As often quoted to me quite frequently in my Business Law lessons, a cautionary note to all potential customers:

Caveat Emptor.

Edited December 2, 2010 by Kerio

[Reiki 0]

Hi Kerio,

Indeed, it can be very frustrating when promises are not delivered and when responsibilities are not held with full conviction. I am full of empathy, for you and your wife, reading through your TBlog. The good thing is your spirit, Kerio - you are keeping your head up and trying to be positive about the whole thing.

Hopefully, the renovation will end soon and all those that was promised, and paid for, are not shortchanged.

[Kerio 2]

Hi Kerio,

Indeed, it can be very frustrating when promises are not delivered and when responsibilities are not held with full conviction. I am full of empathy, for you and your wife, reading through your TBlog. The good thing is your spirit, Kerio - you are keeping your head up and trying to be positive about the whole thing.

Hopefully, the renovation will end soon and all those that was promised, and paid for, are not shortchanged.

Thanks Reiki! Actually, I was already depressed enough, and now this nonsense from the ID. I think the only thing fuelling my spirits right now is my rage.

Currently drafting the email to her boss, but I'm still waiting to see if things improve by this week.

If she can't rectify and do checks on the quality of reno in the apartment for even the last 2 weeks, the very lengthy and detailed email WILL be sent out to her boss cc CASE.

I really don't want to start a fight right at the end of things, but if the final product is really unacceptable considering all the concessions we've made (in terms of not directly telling her boss and letting her delay works here and there and even lying to us about paint being done etc etc), I don't think I need to hold back anymore, since there's no way we can part on amicable terms.

If she's reading these posts, I think now would be a good time to get all the workers away from their other projects to work on our place just for a day or two, just so they can finish what they started PROPERLY. At least this way, we can part with a handshake and the testimonial that at least she pulled through in the final 2 weeks.

[Kerio 2]

This is a running tally (which will be updated once HO is done) of the shops we've gone to and our general review.

Final Tally of Reviews from Reno Experience:

Purchases:

Air con - Aron & Sam from Imperial Distributors: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Very good response time, highly efficient and conscientious workers. Installation site surveyour was very experienced and workers very on the ball. When they say 3pm they'll be there, they MEAN 3pm they'll be there.

Mega Discount @ Novena - RECOMMENDED. We were served by Henry Bong (haha, unique name right) and Patrick, and we got the bulk of our electronics like TV, washer, dryer, sound systems, fridge, hob, hood, oven from them. The people there are highly knowledgeable, and the prices are excellent. Although there will always be cheaper alternatives for certain items (e.g. Goh Ah Bee's Hobs) at certain times (one of the TVs we purchase consistently went at a lower price when being sold by Gain City, Harvey Norman, Best Denki etc during their "only 10 sets only" promotions), the overall savings you'll enjoy from them is really quite substantial. Arranging for delivery is also a breeze - one phonecall and it's done. 2 things of note are that first, one of their deliveries was postponed by 3 hours and the person didn't call me until I called him. Best to check delivery times, especially for new apartments - you don't want to sit at the front porch staring forlornly at debris while waiting for someone to come 3 hours later. Second, the variety they have is not large, though it should be adequate for most home owners. There's another outlet at Kallang Leisure Park, but I've not been there.

Serta @ IMM - RECOMMENDED. Some of the best mattresses available, Lowest price matching, good prices during discount seasons; and no extra charges for the worker to lug the mattress up 16 floors if the mattress doesn't fit in the lift. Friendly and accomodating sales people who don't push you around, and instalment plans for those new couples who've overspent on reno (like us). They even keep the mattresses your purchase for up to 3 years if your house isn't ready, and they match a lower price if there's one available throughout that period! Overall experience was extremely pleasant.

*** curtains - KIV. ID brought us to this one, but we felt the designer/salesperson was professional and gave sound advice. In addition, the prices were competitive with external parties, despite commission being given to the ID. If you approach them directly, prices might be cheaper. Quality TBC as they're not fixed up yet.

Lightings.com.sg - ID actually brought to another shop but we KNOW we got ripped off only because we'd been to Lightings.com.sg. Sales people at Lightings.com.sg were professional and knowledgeable, and not at all pushy. They made good suggestions and of course, their prices are very good. ID actually told us that just because it's cheap doesn't mean the quality is good when we mentioned Lightings.com, but apparently, the shop she sent us to also stinks, because both our toilet lights are not working and the consistent, worrying flickering before the lights come on are very much worse than the one in my room, which I actually bought from Home DIY. It could be an electrical fault, so I hold off my review until I hear the fat lady sing. But in any case, Lightings.com.sg is RECOMMENDED, at least just as a default choice if you're lazy to choose simply because the risk is lower.

*** Boutique & Poh Seng - ID brought us to *** Boutique; prices were pretty high, and we only managed to squeeeeze it down because we had pictures and prices from Poh Seng. Although we're certain Poh Seng would have been cheaper, we decided to go ahead with *** because we knew the ID would make some commission from the sale. On hindsight, we should have just gotten our items from Poh Seng. In terms of pricing, Poh Seng, GR Link come RECOMMENDED.

When visiting Jalan Besar area (where Poh Seng is), remember to go right beside the shop to check out GR-Link; some of the items are actually cheaper than Poh Seng's. Another lightings.com.sg shop can be found there too, as well as the shop where the little toilet ventilation fan can be found for a good price (Central Aluminium @ 30 Kelantan Road, #01-85)

Reno Firm - ArtXend Design: NO. NO NO NO NO. Read posts starting from day 1. If ID suddenly manages to pull herself together in the last 2 weeks (now 1.5 weeks), maybe I can still say something nice about them. For now, NO.

Edited December 2, 2010 by Kerio

[Kerio 2]

Updates!

As I mentioned previously, the carpenters doing the installing are extremely efficient. After the carpentry reached on Tuesday, work started on the kitchen cabinet yesterday and when I swung by during lunch time just now (Thursday), quite a lot had been done:

Bomb shelter feature wall! We love this, but there's that little gap on top, which I assume will be patched and covered with laminate. I will be going by when it's done to poke at it. If the inside is hollow, the laminate will simply fold in. Then I'll call the ID to get her to rectify.

Living Room Feature wall - This was really the feature that sold us on hiring her initially. You can't see it from here, but it has a leathery texture, which cost slightly more.

Kitchen cabinets - I had assumed the hood will be hidden, until my ID told my wife the hood is open view. RECTIFICATION TIME!!

Study Room Daybed. Not very happy with the big gap between wall and bed, but it's necessary for the electrical outlets, so bo pian. I have thought of some interesting ways to hide it though.

Bookshelf! When I saw this I was like "Dun dun Duuuuuun" cos it's really ominous and big. But considering I have packed at least 5 boxes full of books, I think this may not even be enough. The space left isn't that much though.. time to reconsider the room plan.

Edited December 2, 2010 by Kerio

[Kerio 2]

MBR Toilet. The original sink we chose couldn't fit (it's the same size as the Common Toilet sink, so Punggol Vista owners take note; the size for the sink for the MBR is smaller than the one in the common toilet), so ID selected a sink that was slightly protuding. I haven't seen it yet, but I think it should be ok.

Walk in wardrobe - I love it! Wife will too, I have no doubt.

2 points to complain about though -

1) the floor protection is still not up; but wife and I have decided that there's no need to remind her anymore - we'll just scrutinize the floor when we move in and get her to replace laminates and tiles that are damaged. We paid $180 and no protection was ever laid properly in the rooms! We're really sore about that. In contrast, our neighbour, who also paid $180, had this:

The ENTIRE FLOOR is covered with cardboard, and taped so that it doesn't shift. I'd GLADLY pay $180 for that. Ours, NO.

2) the Ceiling and plastering is not fixed, even though it's supposed to have been done yesterday. Sigh, I think it may really be possible that her workers are playing her out by intentionally ignoring her (would explain why the painters were swearing at their boss when they came by to do the job that was supposed to have been done a week ago).

[fifteenmay 40]

MBR Toilet. The original sink we chose couldn't fit (it's the same size as the Common Toilet sink, so Punggol Vista owners take note; the size for the sink for the MBR is smaller than the one in the common toilet), so ID selected a sink that was slightly protuding. I haven't seen it yet, but I think it should be ok.

Walk in wardrobe - I love it! Wife will too, I have no doubt.

2 points to complain about though -

1) the floor protection is still not up; but wife and I have decided that there's no need to remind her anymore - we'll just scrutinize the floor when we move in and get her to replace laminates and tiles that are damaged. We paid $180 and no protection was ever laid properly in the rooms! We're really sore about that. In contrast, our neighbour, who also paid $180, had this:

Hey carpentry looks good. Yr hse looks big.is it a 4 room? Where is the wiw at?in another room or in mbr?

The ENTIRE FLOOR is covered with cardboard, and taped so that it doesn't shift. I'd GLADLY pay $180 for that. Ours, NO.

2) the Ceiling and plastering is not fixed, even though it's supposed to have been done yesterday. Sigh, I think it may really be possible that her workers are playing her out by intentionally ignoring her (would explain why the painters were swearing at their boss when they came by to do the job that was supposed to have been done a week ago).