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sethho

A New Lair In The West

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Just as Seth & I thought the reno + touch-ups are finally over and we can eventually live in a clean and dust-free home without any more stress and headaches, the sliding door of the WIW malfunctioned and cracked at the corner last evening!!! :bangwall: The door got stucked and could not slide at all when it was fully opend and the lamination warped at the bottom corner :~

Honestly, I personally feel that the carpentry work really cannot make it :no: I am one who is very particular about workmanship and finishing of carpentry works and they far failed my expectation :(

1) The joint lines are pretty obvious, for some areas I can even see the wood behind the lamination! :bangwall: It would have been worse if I had not requested for ABS trimming for at least the exterior of all the carpentry works.

2) There are drilled holes here & there in the interior of the cabinets/drawers which are obviously "mistakes" during the installation. Altho the carpenter covered the holes with some white round stickers but these stickers just come off when you wipe the area :bangwall:

3) There are tiny chips & scratches that I have spotted and I even spotted a screw sticking out from one of the drawers and that screw serves no purpose in its position so when the contractor removed it, there is AGAIN another hole :bangwall:

And now, the WIW!!! Arrghhh.... :~ I mean, a warped limination within 2 weeks of completion is totally unacceptable! Not to mention the stucked sliding door :( I just hope the contractor can quickly do something to rectify that and the rectification work will not involve and sawing, drilling or anything that will create dust and dirt! I am really very sick & tired with the delay x 2 and I was already not very satisfied with the tiling work (grout lines are dirty & obvious plus dark patches here & here spotted) and now this...SIGH.... :~

 

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nice red..

but hugz for the delays/problems encountered.. :(

warped after 2 weeks? er.. sounds so...

perhaps, ask them to replace (though will real dusty) as compared to rectification.

get it re-done once and for all, instead of mending here and there ba ...

 

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Hey, bro sethho

Congrats on reno completion! I like the cosy dining area with the red colour theme! Very nice!! :thumbs up:

nice red..

but hugz for the delays/problems encountered.. :(

warped after 2 weeks? er.. sounds so...

perhaps, ask them to replace (though will real dusty) as compared to rectification.

get it re-done once and for all, instead of mending here and there ba ...

Thank you mae and footprint :D We just happen to like red, and being design noobs, we figure its a safe contrast with the boring white and black background.

Our contractor finally answered our call - he is trying to contact the carpentry sub-con for scheduling. I just hope they can remove the sliding door for repairs, as I am ready to blanket our bed, tv, drawers, etc. But I threw away the extra paint (we figured everything is over... :dunno: ), so they have to be extra careful as we cannot do anymore cover ups :bangwall:

 

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I will post the photos of the original unit on Monday before hacking starts.

For IDs/contractors, we visited 10 in total. In order of meeting up:

Roy Tan from IR Design

We had some difficulty finding his office because it is within a garage. We were pretty comfortable with him and he gave us very practical ideas. However, we decide to drop him ultimately because we are on a tight schedule and he came back with the 1st quote after more than a week.

William from Summit Design Studio

Pretty experience team lead that can visualize quickly what we require. He emailed us the 1st quote 4 days after our meet up. However, we were worried that the quality of work may drop since he was currently engaged in 9 other projects, while managing 5 team members with 3-4 projects each.

Johnny Lee from A&D Interior Decorations

Another 'lao jiao' ID who can advise us what can or cannot be done. He is very polite and customer focus like William. But the 1st quote was too generalized and he lump sub-totals for each category of work without showing the cost of each item. We are wary of hidden cost, so he was the first to drop even though he was the first to email us a quote.

Rick Fok from Ideal House

He score high in almost all aspect - comfort level, listening and understanding our need, patience and accommodation, etc. We were keen to engage him.... except due to over-budget, we had to drop him reluctantly :dunno: What we also like is his attitude when we inform him of our decision to go with another ID. He wish for a good reno journey and offer to advise us anytime again :thumbs up:

Xavier from Habitat Interior

Ok, he was late for our appointment, but he made it up by driving us to the next ID appointment. We had a feeling he may not be interested in our project, as he does reno mainly for condos. So I cannot really comment much.

Edmund from DX Interior

I had to travel all the way to Bedok Reservoir for the meet up. He did not seem to show much interest, so I did not expect to receive any quote... he has not email or contact me after our meet up so far

Merane from Inside Living

My wife and I like her attitude and attention to details. She even came back during both public holidays just to meet up with us. She is shortlisted within our top 3 IDs for consideration. We wished we have met her earlier so that we have more time to adjust some items to meet our budget. But comparing to the top 2 in our list (perhaps because of the time she spent on drawing out floor plan/lighting designs to the exact scale) we did not have time to look into the 3rd quote.

Andrew from Designer Guy

Due to conflict in schedule, we had only 10mins for a general discussion, before I pass on all the details to his apprentice for the 1st quote. 1st impression - very down to earth kind of guy who converse mainly in Mandarin. 2nd visit, with wife this time, we ended having a 3 hour discussion on Monday night zz He gets derailed at times, but with good info and examples. So we are still appreciative, even though it was really tiring. Due to his good attitude, "slow to warm up" comfort level and reasonable quote, he is shortlisted in our top 3 as well.

Alan Tan from Aian Furniture & Renovation Contractor

I shortlisted him immediately upon the first meet up. Another down to earth kind of guy, who is patient and works hard for his customers. His fame in RT and among house wives for quality workmanship is well known + his quote is very reasonable. 1st ID to offer Rewiring in his quote, that is not only lower than some sub-con, but also inclusive of gangs and decent design switches below $3k.

Jeskel from RT!!

Ok, I will leave this to my wife to comment. All I can say is, he is efficient in providing us a quote on the spot, at the end of our 2hrs discussion in the first meet up. I have to thank him here again for meeting up given such a short notice period. :D

Feel free to PM me if you need any of the the above ID/contractor's contact.

Hi, don't seem to see any pics of your house...btw can i have Alan's and Jeskel's contact. Thks!

All the best to your reno.

 

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Hi, don't seem to see any pics of your house...btw can i have Alan's and Jeskel's contact. Thks!

All the best to your reno.

oppss...now i see the pics...sorry new to this blog. not very familiar with it...nice decor

 

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Wah!!! Nice kitchen and dining! But why so many problems? Tell me earlier then I go talk to him.

May!! We miss you and everyone else after 1.5 months absence... :jawdrop:

Appreciate your 'reminder' to him....lol :dancingqueen:

Ya, Adeline is also going to speak with Andrew if anything happens. If the repair scratches our walls, lighting, floor or the shelves in the closet, Andrew will be responsible for them :furious:

Just the reminder of going through all the hassle of moving, cover up and clean up + risk of damages is irksome as I cannot imagine removing the sliding door (including fixing the sliding mechanism) will go that smoothly in the confined closet space.

oppss...now i see the pics...sorry new to this blog. not very familiar with it...nice decor

Thanks DOEL ~ you have to ask Adeline for Jaskel's contact, or you can contact him direct via RT as he frequents the forum as well.

Alan's contact is 9889 2008

 

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Living Room - typical HDB 3-rm layout ... the sofa is comfortable enough to sleep on, and the mirror + fan really brighten this area

IMAG0050.jpg

Wow, the living room really looking very spacious. Nice. Do enjoy the new house, sethho and wife! :yamseng:

And now, the WIW!!! Arrghhh.... :~ I mean, a warped limination within 2 weeks of completion is totally unacceptable! Not to mention the stucked sliding door :( I just hope the contractor can quickly do something to rectify that and the rectification work will not involve and sawing, drilling or anything that will create dust and dirt! I am really very sick & tired with the delay x 2 and I was already not very satisfied with the tiling work (grout lines are dirty & obvious plus dark patches here & here spotted) and now this...SIGH.... :~

Very likely, for a case of warped lamination, the carpenter might just 'iron'-out (and literally using a hot iron to do just that). It is better to be firm here - should the problem is really bad (and not just warping), you might want to consider for the whole panel to be replaced.

 

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oppss...now i see the pics...sorry new to this blog. not very familiar with it...nice decor

Hi DOEL, thanks for your compliment...me so happy :dancingqueen:

Jason aka Jaskel's mobile number is 83222858 :)

 

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Wah!!! Nice kitchen and dining! But why so many problems? Tell me earlier then I go talk to him.

Hi May-jie! Thanks for the compliments; to receive one from you is a real bonus woh...hehe :sport-smiley-018::yeah:

We don't wish to go running to Andrew whenever there is a problem cos he had made it clear at initial stage that he is now in-charge of sales and we should liaise directly with the project supervisor, Daren, for all reno-related matters :unsure: So Seth & I very "guai" (i.e. good boy good girl LOL :P) and only approached Daren for all problems UNLESS things/follow ups are not done even after "haunting" Daren a few times :P

Ya, Adeline is also going to speak with Andrew if anything happens. If the repair scratches our walls, lighting, floor or the shelves in the closet, Andrew will be responsible for them :furious:

I have called and spoken to Daren this morning to remind him with "warning", "threats", "deh-ism", "pleads" and whatever way I can to drill in his mind to remind and make 10000000000% sure that his carpenter DOES NOT SCRATCH OR DAMAGE ANYTHING (the wall, floor tiles, WiW shelves, bed & frame, light, switches, door, TV console etc etc etc) during the repair/replacement otherwise I will hold him/Andrew responsible 8|

Wow, the living room really looking very spacious. Nice. Do enjoy the new house, sethho and wife! :yamseng:

Very likely, for a case of warped lamination, the carpenter might just 'iron'-out (and literally using a hot iron to do just that). It is better to be firm here - should the problem is really bad (and not just warping), you might want to consider for the whole panel to be replaced.

Thanks Reiki :yamseng: Yah, Seth & I want to keep the house with minimum furnishings as much as possible cos that will give us more space + less cleaning :P

Honestly, I also can't imagine how the carpenter can rectify the faulty & broken door besides replacing it...just hope whatever they do, fix the problem in the most effective, efficient and hassle-free way...can really cry when I think of having to do the major spring cleaning all over again :help::~

 

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Don't call me "jie" leh.... You sure I am older than u?? Haha... If Darren give problems then go to Andrew. He will try to get it done for u. A few times I go to him cos I can't stand Darren.

Well let's see what happen this time round. :)

 

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I have called and spoken to Daren this morning to remind him with "warning", "threats", "deh-ism", "pleads" and whatever way I can to drill in his mind to remind and make 10000000000% sure that his carpenter DOES NOT SCRATCH OR DAMAGE ANYTHING (the wall, floor tiles, WiW shelves, bed & frame, light, switches, door, TV console etc etc etc) during the repair/replacement otherwise I will hold him/Andrew responsible 8|

Honestly, I also can't imagine how the carpenter can rectify the faulty & broken door besides replacing it...just hope whatever they do, fix the problem in the most effective, efficient and hassle-free way...can really cry when I think of having to do the major spring cleaning all over again :help::~

Wow! Poor thing... When I read your story (and that of others on Renotalk who've had to deal with similarly shoddy work), I feel very relieved that the contractor I used 9 years ago to renovate my flat did a good job. In all the years I've lived here, nothing has broken off, peeled away, fallen apart or discoloured. Just pure luck... *sayang, sayang*

 

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Ok, the carpenters and Andrew + 2 of his protegee just left....

The fault lies with the unaligned bottom track - the catch at the end when the door is fully opened. After they release the door from the catch, I requested for them to move the stopper so the door can never slide to the end. I do not mind if it is not flushed, as long as I do not face the same problem :bangwall:

IMAG0072.jpg

Also because the end of the groove is too thin (for the metal guide embedded on the floor to align the track), it tore after 3 weeks, which explains the warping of the laminate. For that, they made a trip down to a hardware store for super glue.

IMAG0071.jpg

Andrew was very apologetic and I actually feel bad because he mobilized so many just to address one problem. So I would say though his sub-con's workmanship is just average, hihe makes up with high customer service.

I must thank sis May and of course my lovely wife for their constant 'reminders' to highlight the gravity of the fault for such quick response...lol :good:

 

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Andrew was very apologetic and I actually feel bad because he mobilized so many just to address one problem. So I would say though his sub-con's workmanship is just average, hihe makes up with high customer service.

I must thank sis May and of course my lovely wife for their constant 'reminders' to highlight the gravity of the fault for such quick response...lol :good:

i told him off, saying that why he didn't make sure your flat was done nicely and on time? Really makes me wary to intro anyone to him anymore.

So he feel bad about it cos he said you were very nice to him as well. He keep on telling me how nice you are that is why he quickly want to settle the problem for you. Hope there won't be more issues...

 

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Woo.. I see that you like RED alot. :lol:

And I like your dining area very much - the red lamp goes perfectly well with the red dining chairs :thumbs up:

Ok, this is 3 weeks after I have moved in and Adeline joined me after the 2nd week.

I was too busy painting, waxing, polishing, dusting and moving stuff around to take any pics, so I can only show the end result :dunno:

We are 95% complete - lacking only a chair for my study room and some storage solution from HSW.

I will only get the sofa bed and small wardrobe cabinet for the study/guest room after all my stuff is properly organized.

Here we go...

Dining Area - we need to change to energy saving light bulb due to noticeable heat from conventional tungsten

IMAG0055.jpg

 

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