SHARE with us your worst Reno nightmares!!

[Wesley Wong 0]

Please be aware of "K E J I C O  PTE LTD" or their subsidiary "K E J I C O CARPENTRY PTE LTD".

The entire project took almost a year to complete - over 7 months for renovation plus an additional 3 – 4 months to touch up/fix remaining issues after handing over keys. In summary here are my personal thoughts about this firm (‘K E J I CO   P T E  L T D") and their Interior Designers (ID): 

- Lack professionalism  
- Lack accountability and irresponsible  
- Lack internal communication  
- Poor workmanship (i.e. Carpentry)  
- Poor project and time management skills  
- Not proactive and overpromise on their services 

Interior designers involved:  
Derick Gwee (ID #1)  
Kenny Ler (ID #2 / Owner of K E J I C O)  
Arthur (Coordinator)  
Carson (Coordinator) 

Updated: 3 out of the 4 people listed above have left the business already. 

I will share my overall thoughts and experience based on the renovation timeline. You can be the judge and decide whether this ID suits you. 

January 2019:  
During the entire project, Derick Gwee, main designer overseeing the renovation. The whole process went smoothly until the actual renovation commenced. A role of an ID is to manage the renovation project and provide advice to the client. Ironically, Derick was reluctant to travel down for the initial measurement. In his own words, he felt that blueprint is accurate and his supplier(s) can work with it to fabricate based on my requirements. 

Since this our first home renovation, my wife and I were uncomfortable with such arrangement as any errors in measurement/requirement may delay the renovation. Many excuses were given to avoid making a trip down but after much convincing he showed up with his coordinator. 

In my opinion, we felt that there was zero initiative to help us with our renovation after collecting the initial deposit. For one instance, Derick did not offer to come down to Hafary for tile selection despite emphasizing that we have no prior experience in choosing the tiles. And to ensure efficiency I guess it was reasonable for them to book one trip down to advise us accordingly. On the actual appointment at Hafary, he was late for over an hour.. there was no sense of time management and if one is late it is only right to inform us as a courtesy. 

February – May 2019:  
After tiles were confirmed, Arthur was assigned to our project and was the main point of contact for the project. We liaise with him on our input and for updates to the project. 

At the start, I must admit that Arthur was proactive compared to Derick but along the way there were many miscommunications between him and their contractors. We were quite clear with our requirements and we reinforce it in Whatsapp Group Chat and go the extra mile to follow-up with them on the call to ensure they understood our inputs. Yet, countless issues occurred, and this could be prevented if they make an effort to go on site to check after each stage of the renovation. Instead they took the fast route and run through the requirements with contractors verbally on the phone. 

We decided to accommodate and do our due diligence instead of debating with them even though we paid for project management services (over 10% of the overall reno project). One thing to point out is that It was utterly shameful that they failed to do the most simplest task such; as sending us photo proof of the renovation (so we can track progress). We had no choice but to head down to the our unit on a weekly basis ensure the job was done properly and they were working according to the timeline. 

Despite being clear with our requirements on the both phone and Whatsapp, mistakes were still being made. See below for some examples: 

- Partition wall was built on the wrong area  
- Re-painting the walls because they used the wrong paint  
- Tiles were placed on the wrong side of the wall  
- Skirting was done even though we specifically told them it was not needed 

If they took the initiative to verify with us before proceeding with the work, they could minimize these issues. For instance, we could easily communicated via a call but unfortunately majority of the time Derick doesn’t pick up our call/ or uncontactable. 

May – June 2019:  
Arthur, Project Coordinator left the business early May and was passed back to Derick. We were frustrated given the changes in team and delays. He committed to hand over the keys by end of May but dragged all the way to June. It was the last straw for us and we gave them a hard deadline to finish up by Mid of July. 

July 2019:  
Despite working on a 5 months’ timeline, the job was rushed - there were number of areas that were incomplete and defectives everywhere (subpar work) in order to hand over the keys and collect final payment. For instance, poor workmanship of their full height cabinets, some of the laminates chipped, featured wall was damaged, uneven paint colors, uneven tiles in living room (they had to remove the tiles and lay it again). 

August – November 2019:  
After moving into our house, it took them almost 4 months to touch up the remaining areas. They wasted our morning either by arriving late or no show on appointment date (end up rescheduling again). Not sure what is the rationale but they could have arranged for all the defects to be fixed in 1 to 2 trips, but ended up split across multiple weekends and dragged on for over a couple of months. To a point Derick left the business and handed over to Kenny Ler, owner of ***. 

Since Kenny was the business owner, I thought we were in good hands now since he promised to rectify the remaining issues asap after all the inconvenience the firm have given us. However, too good to be true, yet again appointments were delayed or postponed. 

There was one time he did not show up and wasted our entire morning just by waiting for him. We tried calling him and the phone was off. It was unacceptable and irresponsible behavior, and No one should receive such treatment/services. 

Eventually the next day he picked up his call and offered to extend our warranty to 2 years. As of today, our kitchen cabinet hinge spoil due to poor workmanship. After collecting final payment, Kenny avoided all our calls and I even tired contacting them on their the company landline but the number is not working. I had no choice but to turn to another contractor to fix the kitchen cabinet even though by right is covered within the ID's warranty period. 

In a nutshell:
DO NOT jump the gun and sign the agreement. Get a few quotations and go with reputable interior design firm for a peace of mind. Do some background check by running through your friends or forums before committing to the ID firm. Hope you don’t fall into such trap and face with such bad experience.

Edited February 10, 2020 by Wesley Wong

[Shawn Khor 0]

Hey all,

 

Kindly beware of the ID company, DC Carpentry .

FB: https://www.facebook.com/dccarpentry.sg/

WS: https://www.dc-carpentry.com/

 

On end of 2018, after getting some quotes for our new BTO and at the same time, DC Carpentry was recommended by a neighbour of ours, we decided to go ahead with them.

Initially, we are pleased with Joe, one of the boss in DC Carpentry and handling our renovation project personally. We had a lot of great ID-client relationship. I will give 10/10 and will definitely recommend to any of my friends that are looking for an ID. 

Though the finishing, I believe it is not the best, but we also keep asking for discount and good price. Hence, we will give and take and not to ask for more as well.  Furthermore, there's a '1 year' warranty from DC Carpentry. 

The handover was done around May 2019. After moving in, we realize there is a small leakage on our master room toilet's bidet spray. It is really a small leak and we contacted Joe on 6th Nov 2019, but he didn't replied. Since it is really a small leak and somehow, it is not a daily stuff, we decided to close one eye. 

But on 4th Dec 2019, the screw that is attached to our kitchen hinge between our kitchen tray and the 'flap' came out, and we are unable to screw it back since the wood is damage. Also, take note that we usually open it to let our plates dry and hardly open and close it. To clarify further, I have attached an image for it. I was puzzled and surprise how fast the screw came off when we hardly use the mechanic. Also, it could be dangerous since it is not secured and could hurt anyone standing below the flap and use the sink. 

I have contacted Joe since then, no reply from him. It has been 2 months. There are a lot of nitty gritty I can complain about, but we decided to close 1 eye. We just want our the flap that is covering our kitchen tray to be fixed. 

I am disappointed with DC Carpentry despite trying to reach them via various channels. Including 1 of their colleague and FB message. But I still got no response. 

Sadly to say, I will not recommend DC Carpentry to anyone anymore. The after sales service is really bad. 

I've also posted a new topic on them with the similar content above. 

 

[randomchineseguy 1]

Also theres this story about a bad ID online. didn't name which but helpful to know what to look out for with your own experience.

"#1 Multiple and continuous errors in the quotations

There were errors in the quotations from the very start, which should have been a warning sign. We didn’t let it affect us because we figured they were busy, there were so many items on the list, it’s still a work in progress, blah blah blah.

Because this also meant we had to double, triple check the invoices. We simply couldn’t trust them to do a good job. And boy, we spotted so many mistakes. At one point, we pointed out SIX mistakes in one short invoice. The revised invoice had mistakes, too. Our final payment also had an item that was supposedly from another project.

For the record, I don’t think they were trying to cheat us of our money – they were just sloppy and unprofessional.

"

ya'll can read more here: 99.co/blog/singapore/my-bto-reno-was-stressful-learn-from-my-mistakes/

 

[randomchineseguy 1]

there are so many interior design companies now, so hard to know which one is reliable. even if their website looks legit, in the end they might provide rly bad service sigh. the communication between my ID and his contractor is sometimes... "laggy"? lol. not sure it's the ID fault for not updating or the contractor feels he need not follow.

[Haiza iza 0]

NW Interior

Very poor workmanship. I am one of the victim of NW Interior. They kept charging you more n more, adding on here n there. Renovation work took longer than expected. My worst nightmare! 

Edited February 5, 2020 by Haiza iza

[RenoEnthusiast2017 0]

Delet

Edited January 14, 2020 by RenoEnthusiast2017

[Nerol 0]

Contractor we regretably used: Mr Lai from Aik Seng Renovation Works

Dear all, sharing a very bad experience with renovation contractor and urge all to do more workhouse when selecting contractor. Hope this is useful to those looking for contractor.

I had engaged Aik Seng Renovation Works for my renovation and liased with the contractor who called himself Mr Lai and had initially thought of him as an old and experienced contractor as he constantly claimed to be doing good work by word of mouth.

However, the workmanship of the renovation was extremely poor as commented by all my friends and find him to be a very difficult person to work with.

All in all, I urge everyone to be very careful when choosing contractor and cross check with other’s reviews before making the same mistake.

Edited November 28, 2019 by Nerol
Retype

[gabrielss 0]

On 11/8/2018 at 2:43 PM, Firefly said:

My advice when choosing contractor which I learned the hard way. Google them to see if got bad reviews. Next check their physical office. If they do not have an office, raise red flag. How to look for them when there is dispute? The registered address in ACRA is only for service only. Think twice using a contractor who has no physical office. 

That's a pretty good advice. No one should have to go through all these bad experiences so must really do your research well before engaging anyone. Best is get your friend to intro if they are happy with their ID's services

[DeK 1]

JS Carpentry:

Wei Jie (project manager/designer) has been unresponsive. We hired JS to build a new kitchen. The team damaged our gas pipe during hacking, and we only found out through CityGas. Despite calling Wei Jie, he has been difficult to reach. The team of contractors (hackers, electrician, plumber) have not been punctual throughout the renovation. The hackers did not lay protective sheets and we're now delayed because of the damage done to our gas pipes. Irresponsible project manager and team of subcontractors. Wei Jie called back and told us to remove this feedback. Disappointing and stressful.

[Douglas 0]

Uniquerenotalk pte ltd 

Zacc lee. 

 

Please be aware of this company 

[Tiler Seng 57]

13 minutes ago, Silentnitestarz said:

Design Zest Pte Ltd (UEN 201700620C)

Designer’s Name: Rafale Chua

Date of Renovation: Jan 2019 till May 2019

We got to know Design Zest from renotalk. Mr Chua is the boss and also the ID of the company. He was persistent and sincere in following up with us in the beginning and upon signing contract with him, things turn out to be a nightmare.

Due to his bad planning, incapability to follow up closely with his contractors, our renovation took close to 4 months to complete instead of the original committed 8 weeks! He is wasting our time and money to be the one following up closely with contractors --> bad project management and he is always not on site!

What went wrong:

- Despite me sending him the dimension of my Bosch built in oven for my kitchen, he mistook it as electrolux oven and got the dimension all wrong and results in cutting the hole to slot in my oven to be WRONG. he and the carpenter insisted that all ovens are of STANDARD SIZE and refuse to listen to me even though i had shared the dimension to him for more than 3 times via whatsapp! No apologies from him at all for his though in the end he rectified the job for us

- We were told that one part of the kitchen wall cannot be hack and as it is a concrete wall. but after looking at our neighbour unit who has the same floor plan as us and was doing renovation at the same time, we realise that the wall is in fact hackable! Went through many rounds or argument before he willing to hack off that wall for us. this results in additional cost for hacking work!

- Insist that my washer is too big (in fact it was pretty standard size and dimension is also provided) and thus the kitchen table where the washer is at need to be leveled in order to fit the washer in properly. this results in uneven kitchen table height. one part of the table is higher than the rest of the kitchen table! he told me this is pretty common but i could not accept, and demand for a change to even out the height. 

- his tiler mess up my water piping and results in my washer pipe to choke and flooded my kitchen! He arrange for his plumber to come down to rectify but his plumber is always late and have to come down 3 times in order to resolve the issue. the workaround was to have a extension pipe routed from my sink (very UGLY!! and take up space in my kitchen cabinet)

- he has bad management of his contractors and never closely follow up with them. he was seldom on site and my husband need to be there to spot check his contractors on many occasions. there is once he mention his tiler will be there on monday to touch up my brick featured wall but did not turn up! he wasnt aware his tiler did not turn up till my husband told him! again, this delay our reno work. 

- The reno was completed on mid may, last payment of 5% was made on 21st May and till to date, he have not return our condo access card and warranty documents back to us! he took our gas stove to sell to his client (but client rejected as not suitable for their kitchen) and that stove is still with the client and not return back to us yet as well!!

Throughout the whole renovation process, he always have lots of excuses/reasoning when things does not turn out well/or got delayed. For example, tiler did not turn up as committed date is because his sister got cancer and affect his mood! WTH! 

He was suppose to return the stove, access card and docs back to us on multiple occasions but in the end didnt because 1) client celebrating hari raya, not at home. 2) client was back home late, couldnt get the stove from them in time 3) he met with an accident and thus couldnt return the items back to us! if there is a will, there is a way. I find it perplexed that this is not a one man show company, he has assistants and colleagues as well. if he couldnt made it, why cant he get someone else in his co to pass us the card and docs first? he can also mail us the items via registered mail or speedpost too! we always have to send him reminder messages but was ignored/delayed in responses a few times. 

this ID is a thumbs down and highly not recommended! please take note and engaged on your own risk!

Is good to lock his name online and let him findable at anytime to warn the rest of the home owner

[Silentnitestarz 0]

Design Zest Pte Ltd (UEN 201700620C)

Designer’s Name: Rafale Chua

Date of Renovation: Jan 2019 till May 2019

We got to know Design Zest from renotalk. Mr Chua is the boss and also the ID of the company. He was persistent and sincere in following up with us in the beginning and upon signing contract with him, things turn out to be a nightmare.

Due to his bad planning, incapability to follow up closely with his contractors, our renovation took close to 4 months to complete instead of the original committed 8 weeks! He is wasting our time and money to be the one following up closely with contractors --> bad project management and he is always not on site!

What went wrong:

- Despite me sending him the dimension of my Bosch built in oven for my kitchen, he mistook it as electrolux oven and got the dimension all wrong and results in cutting the hole to slot in my oven to be WRONG. he and the carpenter insisted that all ovens are of STANDARD SIZE and refuse to listen to me even though i had shared the dimension to him for more than 3 times via whatsapp! No apologies from him at all for his though in the end he rectified the job for us

- We were told that one part of the kitchen wall cannot be hack and as it is a concrete wall. but after looking at our neighbour unit who has the same floor plan as us and was doing renovation at the same time, we realise that the wall is in fact hackable! Went through many rounds or argument before he willing to hack off that wall for us. this results in additional cost for hacking work!

- Insist that my washer is too big (in fact it was pretty standard size and dimension is also provided) and thus the kitchen table where the washer is at need to be leveled in order to fit the washer in properly. this results in uneven kitchen table height. one part of the table is higher than the rest of the kitchen table! he told me this is pretty common but i could not accept, and demand for a change to even out the height. 

- his tiler mess up my water piping and results in my washer pipe to choke and flooded my kitchen! He arrange for his plumber to come down to rectify but his plumber is always late and have to come down 3 times in order to resolve the issue. the workaround was to have a extension pipe routed from my sink (very UGLY!! and take up space in my kitchen cabinet)

- he has bad management of his contractors and never closely follow up with them. he was seldom on site and my husband need to be there to spot check his contractors on many occasions. there is once he mention his tiler will be there on monday to touch up my brick featured wall but did not turn up! he wasnt aware his tiler did not turn up till my husband told him! again, this delay our reno work. 

- The reno was completed on mid may, last payment of 5% was made on 21st May and till to date, he have not return our condo access card and warranty documents back to us! he took our gas stove to sell to his client (but client rejected as not suitable for their kitchen) and that stove is still with the client and not return back to us yet as well!!

Throughout the whole renovation process, he always have lots of excuses/reasoning when things does not turn out well/or got delayed. For example, tiler did not turn up as committed date is because his sister got cancer and affect his mood! WTH! 

He was suppose to return the stove, access card and docs back to us on multiple occasions but in the end didnt because 1) client celebrating hari raya, not at home. 2) client was back home late, couldnt get the stove from them in time 3) he met with an accident and thus couldnt return the items back to us! if there is a will, there is a way. I find it perplexed that this is not a one man show company, he has assistants and colleagues as well. if he couldnt made it, why cant he get someone else in his co to pass us the card and docs first? he can also mail us the items via registered mail or speedpost too! we always have to send him reminder messages but was ignored/delayed in responses a few times. 

this ID is a thumbs down and highly not recommended! please take note and engaged on your own risk!

Edited June 9, 2019 by Silentnitestarz
typo error

[Preeya Tanabalan 0]

At wits end!

Edited May 6, 2019 by Preeya Tanabalan

[AnniKwan 0]

Had a horrendous experience with a marble/tile supplier by the name of Hup Kiong located at Defu Lane. Rejected a no. of tiles during dry lay but they still appeared at my house for tiling. Complained to my ID and subsequently went to Hup Kiong for another round of marble selection. When the marble tiles were eventually layed and paper covers removed, I realised more defective tiles were used. Even my toilet floor tiles were not spared. The sample looked good during selection but after installation the tiles are filled with tiny holes when light is shone. Too many crooks in renovation business!!

[Tiler Seng 57]

On ‎6‎/‎24‎/‎2018 at 7:27 PM, Dove Dark Choco said:

My worst nightmare with Blank Canvas Contractor Pte Ltd (UEN: 201525372N)...

A simple renovation which can take about 4-6 weeks to complete it took them 4mths to complete it!

Made a deal with this guy name Praveen & Vinith. 14th Feb collected 1st payment....hacking job done on 22nd Mar.. took them more than 1mth to start the major work...

8th Apr 2nd payment made...wiring & plumbing work is not even done...only waterproofing & tiling done...

After the 2nd payment made, they called telling me that the cashier order I gave them bounce...in the end it's actually their management mistake for not updating the banks their updated company name..

**** starts after the 2nd payment...job being delayed...we are getting updates from their contractor Hassan (claimed that he have more than 30yrs experience in the renovation industry)...NO FOLLOW UP & UPDATES from both Praveen & Vinith...

Wiring took them more than 6 weeks to complete it..and their contractor keep asking us money for the job done when he should be getting it from Blank Canvas...

We check the house every single week & most of the times, there's no workers or job done...

And the most wonderful part is, whenever we  bring in the furniture that we ordered, the contractor will be around doing their job causing lots of inconvenience to us...

When we moved in on the first week of June, the kitchen was not even complete...in other words...no kitchen cabinet...no cooker...

We have not choice but to eat out or order in... more unnecessary additional cost....

They promised to complete the renovation by  end of April but only complete it on 14th June with both water heaters is not working....

After the last check on 22nd June Evening, our water heaters still not working yet  Praveen kept pressing us to make the final payment...

Please do not engage renovation service from Blank Canvas Renovation Pte Ltd...they have the worst staff named Praveen (very unprofessional & rude & irresponsible), Vinith (MIA & unresponsive most of the times) & their 3rd party contractor Hassan (keep asking us money & delaying the reno works)

but initially why did you engaged them? did you see any other owner's feedback or are they approved HDB contractor?....casetrust etc???

appreciate you warning the rest, but this shouldn't be happening to you instead.