Gearing up for a Reno - Resale EA

[arpanbagchi 0]

Hi Folks,

I am new to blogging on renotalk but have been following quite a few of the blogs over the last couple of months. There's certainly a wealth of knowledge out here and I'd like to tap into it now and hopefully, contribute as well in the future.

I just purchased a resale EA and now in the planning stage of renovation. I have read up and spoken too to a number of friends on ID vs contractor - personally, I am gravitating towards a contractor as I am pretty sure of how I want to design the place.

I was wondering if other fellow bloggers have used the services of a contractor in the past and one that they would recommend. This is for a full hdb reno and will include hacking, tiling, toilets and carpentry.

Will be great if you could share any pointers!

[fifteenmay 40]

looking forward to more updates!

[arpanbagchi 0]

Team - now that I am thru with the 1st appointment and have a confirmed date for the handover of keys, it is about time that I start gearing up for shaping this place up to our taste. For background, we are a family of 3 (4th on the way!) and have a helper. I am looking to keep this simple yet tasteful - couple of other quirks (I am very picky...) are that I like large/open spaces and have a preference for well-lit units. This unit (IMHO) is definitely great in terms of daylight (we visited it on a sunny day, on a very cloudy day as well as one evening before we took the OTP). 

Over the last week, I have now seen a couple of IDs to gather some thoughts and couple that have come across as legit are Rezt & Relax and ***. I have my doubts about Rezt & Relax based on some of the blog posts that I have seen - as for ***, the boss at the expo this weekend was really hands on and immediately took the floor plan to start laying out what could be done and also offered a high-level estimate. That said, he did seem keen to get that $1000 deposit to lock me in for the design (I was able to evade that). However, I am torn between getting an ID vs a contractor (70% weight towards contractor) and therefore, will get quotes from both sides to compare. A fair bit of hacking will be involved as well as re-tiling some parts of the house. 

Meanwhile, could any of you share any feedback that you have pertaining to the two IDs - Rezt & Relax and *** Interior Designs ? Will keep updating this blog as I go along. March is the month for planning and April-May-June is when the hammer meets the wall!

Cheers!

Edited February 20, 2017 by arpanbagchi

[arpanbagchi 0]

Didn't realize that the blog automatically hides the ID names - the second one I am looking for feedback on is Veg***as .... the '*' in between the name are to mask such that it dosent automatically get taken off.

Edited February 20, 2017 by arpanbagchi

[fifteenmay 40]

nice floor plan!

[ilkl 6]

You should read duomaxwell's t-blog http://www.renotalk.com/forum/topic/71527-llpls-new-house-punggol-waterway-brooks/

His ID, BT is from R&R and I actually met him after getting the contact from duomaxwell. I liked BT very much and think he is very reliable and would've signed with him. But husband decided to go for our current ID who was from R&R and interestingly the senior of BT.

Worth to talk to BT, imo.

[OceanEleven 203]

ID and contractors are pretty much in a grey area nowadays. A contractor donned in shirt and pants can be an ID but an ID may not be a contractor.

The diff is that contractors may be more hands on, likely more on site and able to visualize space, angles and technical aspect of things.

Our floor plan looks fairly similar as yours and I went with an ID who looks like a contractor and never look back. Key point is talk to more people, have a feel what is on the table, have a sense of the person who are you working with.

I never really like to sign on during some exhibition, let alone paying up $1k as retainer/designer fee. If needed, I rather take my biz elsewhere then.

Like you, I am very picky as well as keen eyes for the details. My EA reno took 6 months and enjoy every moment of it. So knowing what you want is a good start, getting what you want in the most economical manner is the next challenge.

Have a fun reno journey. 

[lifeissimple 3]

suggest you to talk to more people to understand the price they quote you. do it in a excel sheet and compare den nego with ur prefer ID/contractor. you may want to take note if they holds hdb licenses, all those are critical when you start facing problems with them during the renovation.

 we spoke to a few contractors too, their differences is about a few k (less than 4k). but when we visit those houses they did renovation for, we actually see some differences in terms of quality. To us, personally is quite bad. so you might want to request to visit some before you sign up with them.

do also ask where their carpentry are from. if it is in Malaysia, it might take some time for it to be complete and deliver.