K's Reno Journey

[Kerio 2]

yippie!! no need for PE! me knocking down the same piece of wall as well!!

Yeah! My ID was telling me almost everyone would knock the wall down, which says a lot about the designers for this flat -..- I think after the HDB engineer checked our wall, the rest of the reno permits to hack this wall should be approved without any problems

i would like to knock down a similar piece of wall for unit at treelodge as well. let's hope it's hollow too

Is it the kitchen wall adjacent to the front door? I think it's probably hollow, but if you're the first to try to hack it, most likely the HDB engineer would want to take a look on the day of the hacking

[Kerio 2]

Wall hacked!

Went by yesterday to run Aron's installation manager through the apartment and got our ID down to discuss the locations and general technical details. One thing about PV's layout and the unfortunate beams all over the place means that there will be a lot of trunking seen throughout the place.

Air Con installation will be on Wednesday, so that piping and trunking can be installed before the false ceiling, feature walls and new skirtings can be put up.

ID won't be going by to supervise (although should be quite dependable since we got Aron's installers to do it for us); so wife and I will be taking PM leave to oversee things.

The uPVC pipe for the opennet installation is up, though it cuts diagonally across the ceiling (which will be concealed by the false ceiling) and dips down to beside the SCV point on one end, and beside the main door (near the hinges) on the other end. The Cat 6 wires won't be installed, since no one (including the electrician) seems to know how to do it. I'm half tempted to get an external electrician with the skills to do it for me. I do think it's rather unprofessionally done, to be honest.

[BlurRhino 0]

Wall hacked!

Went by yesterday to run Aron's installation manager through the apartment and got our ID down to discuss the locations and general technical details. One thing about PV's layout and the unfortunate beams all over the place means that there will be a lot of trunking seen throughout the place.

Air Con installation will be on Wednesday, so that piping and trunking can be installed before the false ceiling, feature walls and new skirtings can be put up.

ID won't be going by to supervise (although should be quite dependable since we got Aron's installers to do it for us); so wife and I will be taking PM leave to oversee things.

The uPVC pipe for the opennet installation is up, though it cuts diagonally across the ceiling (which will be concealed by the false ceiling) and dips down to beside the SCV point on one end, and beside the main door (near the hinges) on the other end. The Cat 6 wires won't be installed, since no one (including the electrician) seems to know how to do it. I'm half tempted to get an external electrician with the skills to do it for me. I do think it's rather unprofessionally done, to be honest.

hmm ya agreed i never see pipings done this way before lor.. but then again once false ceiling is up u will not see a thing la!

thought cat 6 wires are common kind of wires? your current electrician dun know?

[Kerio 2]

hmm ya agreed i never see pipings done this way before lor.. but then again once false ceiling is up u will not see a thing la!

thought cat 6 wires are common kind of wires? your current electrician dun know?

Yeah I thought so too! But I think remodelling's going to be a nightmare though -..-

Think he knows about cat 6 wires, but the pulling of cat 6 wires to the various rooms terminating in a rj45 faceplate etc; all those might be too cheem for him (and me). I think I roughly get how to do it, though I need expert advice. Think I'll go check out sim lim and find out before Reno continues. Alternatively, I could just stick to a wireless modem, which would suck. Sigh..

[scorpiogt 0]

hi, kerio

i'm at PV, too .... my layout is the opposite of yours ... should be getting keys in dec, so looking around for contractors/IDs ... heehee

thanks for sharing about your reno experience ... great to see all the photos, so i can imagine that for my place

[Kerio 2]

hi, kerio

i'm at PV, too .... my layout is the opposite of yours ... should be getting keys in dec, so looking around for contractors/IDs ... heehee

thanks for sharing about your reno experience ... great to see all the photos, so i can imagine that for my place

Heh,no worries:) it'd be good to look for an iD that comes recommended from the renotalk forums, it seems to be that reputable companies are now only reputable through word of mouth, not duration or size of operations. A good iD would really save you plenty of time and trouble!

[Kerio 2]

Air con installation Day!

MBR

MBR water outlet

Living Room

Study Room

16mm uPVC pipe.

Overall the holes were knocked quite neatly, and since they'll be covered by the false ceiling, it should not be too big a concern, though I'll be popping by over the weekend to confirm it's plastered properly. It wouldn't do to knock holes all over the new apartment, eh?

The installers will be coming by tomorrow, as the upgrade to a Class "0" armaflex wasn't communicated properly, so they brought the wrong insulation. The pipes are 16mm, as agreed. Will be checking the copper pipes as well this weekend! Also our very friendly neighbours are lending us a special tool to check for hollow tiles. It's a bit late for that (since rectification period is well over), but we'd rather get our ID to fix the bad tiles rather than have them pop out on us unceremoniously on some random day.

Actual unit will be installed after the painting is done, so we won't have to worry about the workers taking long naps at our expense (this sounds slightly inhumane, but I witnessed it once when renovation was going on in our current house - the workers switched on the air con for all the rooms and were sleeping when we went by for an impromptu inspection at around 3+. Best part of the story - the contractor was sleeping too.)

[Banned 1]

wow..what is the special tools that can check for hollow tiles?

[BlurRhino 0]

Air con installation Day!

Overall the holes were knocked quite neatly, and since they'll be covered by the false ceiling, it should not be too big a concern, though I'll be popping by over the weekend to confirm it's plastered properly. It wouldn't do to knock holes all over the new apartment, eh?

The installers will be coming by tomorrow, as the upgrade to a Class "0" armaflex wasn't communicated properly, so they brought the wrong insulation. The pipes are 16mm, as agreed. Will be checking the copper pipes as well this weekend! Also our very friendly neighbours are lending us a special tool to check for hollow tiles. It's a bit late for that (since rectification period is well over), but we'd rather get our ID to fix the bad tiles rather than have them pop out on us unceremoniously on some random day.

Actual unit will be installed after the painting is done, so we won't have to worry about the workers taking long naps at our expense (this sounds slightly inhumane, but I witnessed it once when renovation was going on in our current house - the workers switched on the air con for all the rooms and were sleeping when we went by for an impromptu inspection at around 3+. Best part of the story - the contractor was sleeping too.)

your air-con installers so flexible ah? willing to come another day to install main unit? thought usually it will be done on same day then they just cover with plastic bag

Edited October 19, 2010 by BlurRhino

[Kerio 2]

wow..what is the special tools that can check for hollow tiles?

Dunno, I haven't seen it yet All I know is that it comes with ball bearings hahaha..

your air-con installers so flexible ah? willing to come another day to install main unit? thought usually it will be done on same day then they just cover with plastic bag

I was quite surprised too! I thought the normal practice was to wrap with plastic bags too.. anyway, they counted only 2 trips in the invoice, not sure if they'll charge for the 3rd trip. Need to email Aron to check.

Ceiling works will be continuing next Tuesday, but ID still estimates work will be completed in 4 - 6 weeks, which is still ok

[Kerio 2]

Rather disappointed with our ID to date.

Reno started on the 28 Sep 2010, but to date, only these things have been done, in chronological order:

1) Kitchen wall hacked

2) Ceiling works completed (over a weekend; I know because I went down to check)

3) Walk in wardrobe walls constructed

4) Laminate flooring and platform done last week

Gas piping run and air-conditioning pipes installed (I arranged for the air con piping to be done and went down to supervise myself).

Bought lights, curtains and toilet fittings on Deepavali for a tune of $5,180 - which is above our budget by slightly more than 1k. We had cheaper sources, but we considered that our ID was earning commission from these places, and since the prices were more or less within range, we went for it. The problem is, curtains were not in the initial plan - we had a contact on hand that we intended to get after reno was done (when we'd saved enough), and of course, by going for the curtains, we soundly busted our budget.

After going over to take a look at the place yesterday, wife and I were rather disgusted at the rate of progress. We'd left the ID to do her work, thinking she'd follow the schedule properly, but besides the 4 items above, nothing else has been done. Our neighbour (who's reno is starting this week) mentioned that the house was always empty whenever she went by on weekdays to check her apartment. In essence, the house has been left empty for WEEKS, which is simply unacceptable considering we're paying $41k plus for services and reno of a 4 room apartment.

IDs should have better time management skills - that's the whole reason for hiring them. I could have easily gotten contractors for floor laminates, ceiling works, doors, kitchen carpentry and tiling, painting and toilet fittings and organised it myself if I had the time to do it. After organising and orchestrating my wedding from start to end (logistics, aesthetics, workflow, budget, timing etc); this wouldn't be too big a challenge.

Neighbour went by just now and saw the apartment was empty. AGAIN. Despite the fact that kitchen tiles are supposed to be in today and tiling work supposed to commence.

[Kerio 2]

2 points of clarification to be made here (since I realise I sound very harsh from the previous post):

1) Our ID did tell me she was busy with another project which was demanding an early handover. We can understand slight delays, but don't leave our apartment empty for an entire week or more. Our thinking is, if tilers are needed to do tiles at the other place, at least send carpenters to start on the WIW, day beds, feature walls and so on.

The reason we chose this ID company over the main competitor was because we heard that the main competitor ID would do one thing (e.g. Tiling for the kitchen), and only focus on that one thing throughout the week. We're sure other things can be done meanwhile. If you're doing ceiling works for instance, start on tiling in the kitchen. If you're doing tiling in the kitchen, start on flooring in the rooms. I'm sure multi-tasking is not all that difficult given the experience of most IDs. We chose Axtxend because of their promise to deliver in 6 weeks, and we've patiently accepted delays, but one week, two weeks, now another one week and that's one month delay already. Come on, ANYONE would be fed up.

2) We're quite pleased with the quality of work done so far - the laminate flooring was well done, and the skirtings were very neat. A few minor defects here and there (e.g. the WIW wall is slightly dented at the exterior top corner, some patching up of the walls), but other wise quality is pretty ok. The ID is responsive most of the time, but like we said, bad bad bad time management.

The other non-ID related gripe I have is that the air-con trunking is EVERYWHERE. Stupid architects for new HDB flats completely fail to address this problem. They should be made to live in the flats they design themselves.

[Banned 1]

Kerio, dun be upset.. Anyway mine is totally opps of yours.. They do too fast and end up deciding what is good for u and jus do.. So many rectifications cannot even re do liao.. So can only live with it.. I still feel as long as its done swee swee that is the more important thing..

[Kerio 2]

Thanks banned! I'm not really upset per se, just a bit disappointed.. I had expected at least some updates daily, or twice a week on the progress in the house, and not leave the house empty while the workers concentrate on another apartment. My mother also reminded me when we were looking for an ID to remind the ID to "do slowly, but carefully".

That means we can understand delays, but only if it is a result of taking pride in the work being done - to redo things that she feels are not done properly, or to take more time to craft certain parts of the feature wall - we'd not only welcome that, we'd highly recommend the ID to others because that shows the ID is responsible and pays attention to details. And if anyone says a complete renovation can't be done in 6 weeks, just refer to Extreme Home Makeover - they get it done in 1 week, and that includes building the house from scratch. Delays as a result of bad time management and not doing anything to the house over extended periods is just... wrong.

But like you (and my wife also) said, as long as done swee swee and manage to deliver within 1 to 2 weeks of the agreed date, we have no complaints. (After all, 6 weeks to 2 months to deliver is the industry norm) Which means that if our ID can handover on the 24th like she promised, all is forgiven, and we'll still recommend her to other people because like we said, the quality so far is quite alright. Plus, we REALLY don't want to turn nasty because of the delays. We just want this to be a relatively pleasant reno experience, and we really try our best not to get irritated whenever we get thrown off guard by certain points in the reno which were not highlighted earlier. This despite the fact that the missus and I are infamous for our tempers (my missus loses her temper easily; and like most men, I tend to remain mildly irritated until my breaking limit, at which point my temper explodes into incandescent fury).

Your experience is rather bad too! I think IDs should at least consult the owners before making any decisions - especially since the owner is going to be the one staying in the house. I know of several owners who demanded the IDs undo and redo certain parts of the renovation they were not consulted on!

[Banned 1]

Thanks banned! I'm not really upset per se, just a bit disappointed.. I had expected at least some updates daily, or twice a week on the progress in the house, and not leave the house empty while the workers concentrate on another apartment. My mother also reminded me when we were looking for an ID to remind the ID to "do slowly, but carefully".

That means we can understand delays, but only if it is a result of taking pride in the work being done - to redo things that she feels are not done properly, or to take more time to craft certain parts of the feature wall - we'd not only welcome that, we'd highly recommend the ID to others because that shows the ID is responsible and pays attention to details. And if anyone says a complete renovation can't be done in 6 weeks, just refer to Extreme Home Makeover - they get it done in 1 week, and that includes building the house from scratch. Delays as a result of bad time management and not doing anything to the house over extended periods is just... wrong.

But like you (and my wife also) said, as long as done swee swee and manage to deliver within 1 to 2 weeks of the agreed date, we have no complaints. (After all, 6 weeks to 2 months to deliver is the industry norm) Which means that if our ID can handover on the 24th like she promised, all is forgiven, and we'll still recommend her to other people because like we said, the quality so far is quite alright. Plus, we REALLY don't want to turn nasty because of the delays. We just want this to be a relatively pleasant reno experience, and we really try our best not to get irritated whenever we get thrown off guard by certain points in the reno which were not highlighted earlier. This despite the fact that the missus and I are infamous for our tempers (my missus loses her temper easily; and like most men, I tend to remain mildly irritated until my breaking limit, at which point my temper explodes into incandescent fury).

Your experience is rather bad too! I think IDs should at least consult the owners before making any decisions - especially since the owner is going to be the one staying in the house. I know of several owners who demanded the IDs undo and redo certain parts of the renovation they were not consulted on!

ya lor.. hmm.. i was very disappointed too.. maybe we are already very lucky to meet them liao.. We might have met worse contractor?

So my thinking now is jus to get over with it and live in happily lor.. dun waste ur time getting angry and upset over this lor..