A Canvas To Our Imagination: Thoreau

[inthechouse 8]

Good morning. Here are the pix snapped yesterday evening. The reason I visited the site was because I found out that the doors were painted. Alan also said some plastering work was done (touch-up) but I believe they had left out the storeroom walls.

1) The doors. *shakes head*

Sent Alan these pix and he said they were not done yet. Hmm but I thought the painters said last Saturday that they would come down 1 last time? Anyway, Alan asked me to meet him and the painters onsite "once and for all" to touch up whatever I want. H.O.O.R.A.Y.

Btw, this really irked me. Why didn't they change this thingy?? Paid 40K to overhaul the entire flat and I would prefer not to have to live with this ancient thing. Asked Alan about it and he said they will "try" because "it may not fit". Maybe I have to visit some old skool hardware stores and try my luck there.

2) Floors. After the chemical wash, I asked Alan if there would be another. He said no. But his quoted clearly stated 2. Nevermind.

Yesterday, I spotted cigarette ash strewn all over the living room floor. Someone also took a shower in the common bathroom (bar of soap spotted) and left wet shoe prints all over the kitchen floor. Look, it's fine if you have to pee/poop/shower, but please don't make a mess of the place.

So I sent Alan these pix and he said they will do another wash.

I am not sure what Alan can do about this but his workers have been littering right outside my flat big time. Found so many cigarette butts and I had to pick them up and throw them into the bin. Feel a bit embarrassed towards the kindly neighbour next door.

[Songz 132]

So sorry to hear so much have happened.

Guess CNY is over and think he is more free and maybe the mood is better.

Hang in there and hope all the outstanding things can be rectify, then you can have your Home Sweet Home

Good luck

[inthechouse 8]

So sorry to hear so much have happened.

Guess CNY is over and think he is more free and maybe the mood is better.

Hang in there and hope all the outstanding things can be rectify, then you can have your Home Sweet Home

Good luck

Thank you. Can't wait for this to be over.

[mellenur 11]

The popular contractors seem to be very busy because they have taken on too many jobs than they can handle on their own. So with them, you don't have to be afraid of being conned (like having someone run off with your money), but you end up having to be very hands on and, dare I say, neglected.

super agree with this. yes they won't con you but you have to be very hands on. if possible every day must check their work so if anything needs correction, it will be fixed before it even goes wrong. but we both have to work! God knows how many times I almost break down because of this house matters. but I thank God for blessing me with a patient man my husband, who is also the chief designer. he made a scrapbook of all the pictures, technical drawings and not afraid to get his hands dirty. the only technical drawing i have of my kitchen plan is from him. he's literally the one who will hold me down if i ever feel like clawing at anyone. for e.g. last sunday, i was trying to describe to my contractor i want a sliding mirror over the storage shelves at my MBR vanity because we are extremely constrained for space so I sent my contractor pic below and his one-line reply was: You don't understand it. i wanted to reply, then bloody explain to me lah. it's not rocket science please.

dearie, i'm sorry you have to go through this process but the end is almost here. HURRAY!

Edited February 14, 2014 by mellenur

[inthechouse 8]

super agree with this. yes they won't con you but you have to be very hands on. if possible every day must check their work so if anything needs correction, it will be fixed before it even goes wrong. but we both have to work! God knows how many times I almost break down because of this house matters. but I thank God for blessing me with a patient man my husband, who is also the chief designer. he made a scrapbook of all the pictures, technical drawings and not afraid to get his hands dirty. the only technical drawing i have of my kitchen plan is from him. he's literally the one who will hold me down if i ever feel like clawing at anyone. for e.g. last sunday, i was trying to describe to my contractor i want a sliding mirror over the storage shelves at my MBR vanity because we are extremely constrained for space so I sent my contractor pic below and his one-line reply was: You don't understand it. i wanted to reply, then bloody explain to me lah. it's not rocket science please.

dearie, i'm sorry you have to go through this process but the end is almost here. HURRAY!

Yah lor. Why cannot just explain? Hope he's not being sexist.

Anyway, contractors are not the best people to email or Whatsapp with. At work were are so used to communicating everything in black and white. I realized that it's not the best to convey or discuss anything via text. If you must, do try and phrase it very, very simply. These days, we always throw in a disclaimer, such as, Hi, just checking only/ Hi, just asking only/ Hi, just informing you only. It works better than before. At least he has stopped being super defensive.

We can't change or control external factors but we can change ourselves. So we adjust our language and most importantly, our expectations. By the latter I mean expectations of how and when the other party replies (eg: short, standoffish replies sent hours or half a day later vs the generally well-worded prompt replies we are used to at work), NOT of how we want our renovation/flat to be completed. This we should never shortchange ourselves.

Anyway, lucky you have a patient and competent chief designer hubby! For us, we're all very, very green. We've learnt many things the hard way. Sometimes, the stress and frustrations got to us big time too. But moving forward, we have to take this as a learning experience. I swear I will make better decisions the next time round (strike Toto tonight then buy condo? LOL!)!

Assuming no hiccups with the minimal carpentry we've ordered, and the necessary touch-ups, most of the present grief comes from the furniture shopping. Pretty disappointed with the service of a few companies. Still deciding if I wanna write about it here. Afterall, it's a reno blog. Kinda tired too.

[inthechouse 8]

Byebye, beauty...

[inthechouse 8]

Well, well. Here's a photo of my broken power box cover.

Background: We outsourced the gate installation to a company I shall refer to as "P".

When we arrived onsite for the gate installation on Friday, the P workers had already started work. They were in a huge hurry, evidently, because they had called me to bring forward the appointment but I simply couldn't reach the site any earlier than the previously-agreed time.

Then I spotted the broken cover on the floor and asked them what happened. They simply said "some workers were here before them". But Alan was with me and he said no one came to do anything. It was strange that the P workers somehow knew the number lock's combo? Or was it possible for them to remove the gate when it was still chained and locked? I asked Alan again, and he said, "why would my men want to break your box?"

I am sure whoever who did it did not want to do it. Anyway, obviously nobody will own up to it. So the box is gonna sit exposed until I figure out who to call to have it fixed.

[inthechouse 8]

Anyway, the meeting with Alan and his painters was meant to "touch up everything once and for all". But till this moment, the touch-ups have not been completed.

On that afternoon, a glum looking Alan, his Ah Beng paint sub-con and 1 of the 2 Bangladeshi workers who had painted my walls showed up. Everything else aside, my main concern was the finishing of the cement screed wall. They opened a tin of something thick and pungent which they claimed over and over again that it was matte lacquer and not glossy. They then said they would "test" it on area for me to see. If I didn't like it, they would clean it off.

So that "area" turned out to be a roller's width. It did not look matte to me. But the sub-con said it would dry and become matte. Yet, at the same time, he kept asking the worker to "put in more thinner". The worker was by now mixing a very strange concoction, with copious amount of thinner being poured in. It did not appear like they knew what they were doing. I asked why there were so many bubbles on the finishing, and the reply was that "they did not use enough thinner at first". WHAT???

After 30 mins, I decided that I did not want it anymore. I simply wasn't convinced that they would do a proper job. So I requested for it to be cleaned away.

All 3 of them, including the worker, were acting standoffish and indignant. I just had to leave the flat to get some fresh air and calm my nerves. There's just something about being polite all the time yet have that getting taken advantaged of. In return for your courtesy, you get sh*t attitude.

The next day, I returned to check the wall, and saw a rectangle on the wall. They had not managed to clean it all off. I asked Alan, and he said "it's like that"... and "sure got 2 different colours". He said the same thing before, during the concoction party.

Why did they test on such a big area then? And why did they apply something that wasn't mixed or prepared properly in the first place?

Until I figure what I can do about this myself, or who I can pay to come fix it, I will have to live with this patch right smack in the middle of my kitchen wall.

Friends, if you have any suggestions, please do share them here. I am pretty distressed over this.

Overall, the painters have done a crap job. They are by far the worst team Alan uses. I am still waiting for them to fix the main door and storeroom door's paint job - which was done in a haphazard fashion. You can see the pix in my earlier post.

Edited February 16, 2014 by inthechouse

[Songz 132]

So sorry to hear that.

Was thinking that after CNY everything will be better from him.

I will suggest you paint that part of the wall totally if you do not want color difference.

Another suggestion is to engage another painter to do it or request Alan to appoint other painters.

[elin1029 23]

Isn't it terrible that the contractor isn't able to / wouldn't do anything about the poor painting job. Thought we pay them to coordinate and manage to meet our expectations. My painter did quite a good job or my expectation is low. If you're interested can pass you the contact, though it might be a bit pricey.

[inthechouse 8]

So sorry to hear that.

Was thinking that after CNY everything will be better from him.

I will suggest you paint that part of the wall totally if you do not want color difference.

Another suggestion is to engage another painter to do it or request Alan to appoint other painters.

Hi Songz, we are open to engaging someone else to come do the touch-ups, but we found out from some contacts in the biz that "nobody will entertain" such a small job. We also considered painting over that wall, but we would feel really short-changed, because it's not what we want. Maybe we'll decide after we've moved in. It's gonna be very busy 2 weeks ahead.

Isn't it terrible that the contractor isn't able to / wouldn't do anything about the poor painting job. Thought we pay them to coordinate and manage to meet our expectations. My painter did quite a good job or my expectation is low. If you're interested can pass you the contact, though it might be a bit pricey.

Hi elin1029, yes, it's like they're all in cahoots to just wrap up and flee. We were outnumbered and out-witted. I've lost count of the number of times Alan repeated that they are "not magic". We're not expecting magic? We're just hoping they take more pride in their work and do everything according to normal, not magical, standards. Like, you hacked off all the old tiles and skirtings, and you can't create a proper skirting? That's got nothing to do with magic.

Anyway, please do share your contact, thank you. I hope he won't find it too small a job to take on...

Edited February 17, 2014 by inthechouse

[inthechouse 8]

Interesting. Town Council said it's HDB's scope, and HDB said it's Town Council's. Let's see who first returns my call as promised.

[AnW 2]

It's totally appalling to have him bring in a sub con who doesnt know what he was doing and created more problems for you and later shrugging off all responsibility by just saying "it's like that" "cannot do anything". Totally unacceptable!

[inthechouse 8]

It's totally appalling to have him bring in a sub con who doesnt know what he was doing and created more problems for you and later shrugging off all responsibility by just saying "it's like that" "cannot do anything". Totally unacceptable!

Worst of all, that sub-con was plain rude. Close to being a bully. We gave them so many chances. They kept saying they would finish it once and for all, and each time, I applied for leave to go supervise. But until now, the doors, storeroom walls, skirtings and whatever else I've mentioned previously, have not been touched up.

After I left that day, the worker probably didn't do much, since Alan and the rude guy had already left. I think he just siliconed-up all the gaps in the electrical cable trunking and left. P.S: For this sealing up of gaps, I had to request and insist. It did not appear as though Alan would've had it done on his own accord. Because when I asked, he reacted in a "oh yah" sort of way.

Anyway, I witnessed Alan telling the rude guy where to touch up (after I pointed out to him yet again which areas required work), but the rude guy may not have told his worker. Or maybe he left out something. How many times do we need to go through this? I don't have much time left before move-in.

It's hilarious how the communication between 4 people took place - in a tiny flat of 92sqm. Me > Alan > Rude guy > Bangladeshi worker. We've all played that game whereby we've stood in a row and pass messages to one another, and the message gets lost along the way or at the end. Sure, I could've told the worker directly, like I had before. But he is now unwilling to follow my instructions, and instead, he just says "cannot" or "already do many times" or "it's the cement". And with the rude guy being rude, all I can do is tell Alan, right?

[inthechouse 8]

Time for quartz-shopping. I've reminded Alan many times about this, and he said was, since I wanted iQuartz, which is a company he has not worked with, he doesn't know how long they will take to measure and install. It could be up to 2 weeks. And since they can't measure until the cabinets are up (or so he says), we got a little worried.

When we last met, Alan brilliantly chucked this on my lap by saying, "you wanted iQuartz right? you're ordering it on your own right?" When the **** did I say that? If I am so capable of doing such things I would've ordered everything myself, and probably even be my own main con. So I said no, it's included in your quote, and you agreed to get it for me. I am only going to get samples. Then he said, "since you are going to get samples, why don't you ask them to come measure?" ???? Now it's MY job? And in any case, the tiny iQuartz outlet in Shaw Balestier is unmanned. Some of you would know that it's just a counter, some samples and a CCTV.

He then asked us to consider Evershine, which I believe is the company he used. But the price he quoted for this is higher than what he quoted for iQuartz right at the beginning when I ensured he was ok with using iQuartz before I signed on the dotted line.

Anyway, we decided to call iQuartz and ask if it's true that they may take up to 2 weeks to fabricate and install. The guy said 4-5 days, depending on stock availability. I conveyed that to Alan, and asked him to call this guy (name + number provided). Not sure if he did. I just texted Alan to ask for updates, and he has yet to reply. Time is ticking, dude.

Here's a screenshot from iQuartz's gallery. At first we wanted iPure, but a few friends have told me that white counter top, no matter of what material, is terribly tough to maintain. So we decided to get a white laminate (Lamitak) for the kitchen cabinets, and choose a grey or black counter top. The laminate part was easy, but the iQuartz options are a bit of a headache. All 3 highlighted above are nice (to us) and I can't decide!

Edited February 17, 2014 by inthechouse