Hi all,

Need some advice. Getting my BTO in June but as my wife is pregnant, I wouldn't have a lot of time to supervise the renovation.

In such a case, would a ID be worth the price premium over a contractor? will not have much custom made stuff other than kitchen top and maybe build in wardrobes.

TIA!

Hi,

If you are not looking to conduct fancy design for the entire house, a contractor may be what you need. Note that this is because if you hire a designer, he/she will not need to do extensive designer work and can simply pass the whole project to a contractor instead. You may as well skip the designer (and the mark-ups) and approach the contractor directly. An experienced contractor will be able to hire a freelance designer (at a discounted price) to do up the 3D perspective for the more special area (build in wardrobes) if needed.

I hope this helps =)

For 1st home, I will choose ID.. Cos you only need to liase with one person. That person not only is your designer, also your coordinator and planner. A good ID will even advise you on functional issues.

My ID provide a clear timeline on what job to be done when to maximum workflow, help me to coordinate with electricians and air con guy (money is not charge to him, I pay the electrician and air con guy seperately), he also help to supervise the renovation and send update pictures when we're both busy at work. This provide peace of mind, less stressful cos no need to keep guessing whether those guys got do their work or not.

When we go up to do inspection during our free-time, and we realise something is done wrongly or have functional issue, we just snap a pic, send to our ID and he will coordinate and have those issues rectified for us.. Though on and off I still need to remind him a few things (can't blame them cos they have other on-going projects and cannot remember every single thing), I prefer to liase with just 1 person, less messy and confusing.

You can ask for quotation from both contractor and ID, who knows maybe the price don't differ that much?

Good luck on your coming renovation and Congratulation to your wife pregnancy!