We are currently sourcing for a good and reliable contractor or ID for our renovations, and there's really so much to learn and research about. How am I supposed to find the most reliable and reasonably priced contractor? I've heard so many horror stories in forums, and I'm really paranoid about this renovation process.
We went to the interior fair at Expo 2 weeks back. It's my first time at such a fair, and it was pretty quiet.
Apart from a few furniture and mattress booth, most of them seem to be interior designer firms. There were also flooring booth, such as laminate and bamboo. I'm pretty impressed with the bamboo flooring, I like how it looks and feel - very sturdy and durable. I personally dislike laminate, I don't like how it feels when you step on them and the main reason why so many Singaporeans use them is due to its cheap price and perhaps variety of patterns.
We spoke to 4 interior designers, of which only one actually followed up.
Personally, I've a very specific style that I like, namely Scandinavian. I love the warm wood flooring and bright white kitchen which feels very cosy. I love textures and the loft-like feel using brick walls. I dislike most of the done-up houses here, which feels impersonal to me. It's difficult to explain, but I can totally visualize what I want and the ID's job is to make that come alive for me.
The first ID we spoke to was from ONE Design Werkz. She was very friendly and suggested some options in the space planning in our room. The master bedroom was a challenge since it's difficult to fit in a wardrobe and a king size bed plus side tables. Overall, she was really sincere and experienced. It feels like you can really trust her to follow up and monitor your whole renovation process. She also showed us some 3D drawings and actual photos of her projects. She also updates her clients of the renovation progress through photos using wadsapp. Design wise, I still feel that she didn't fully get the Scandinavian feel I wanted, but was willing to listen and accommodate my wants. However, getting a 3D drawing from her would require 1.5k deposit and we didn't get her to follow up with a quotation. The estimated cost was about 40k-50k.
The second ID was from XXX. I was reluctant to sit down and discuss, because he was an ah-beng uncle who smells like cigarettes. He was telling us the package and free Samsung aircon if we sign up at the fair. Then after showing us his basic packages (reading from the paper), he saw that the free gift is actually LG aircon instead. I promptly thanked him and left without showing him my floor plan. If he can't even get the brand of free gift right, how am I supposed to trust him with my renovations? He's going to tell me that I chose black instead of white.
The third ID we spoke to was from Dyel. She showed us the basic packages and jotted down what we wanted with our floor plan. She also chatted with us and showed us some pictures to understand what we wanted. However, it felt like she was really inexperienced and was going through the motion. She promised to come up with a plan and get back to us, but we only heard from her after about 2 weeks. As I was busy and did not reply her, she did not actually follow up since then. It's been another 2 weeks or so, and we've decided not to waste her time and ours.
The 4th ID we spoke to was from Rezt and Relax. We were actually attracted by the showroom, which was pretty nicely done up and had a textured faux brick wall. We did sit down to talk to one 'ID' who was young and friendly, with a strong malaysian accent. While we shared our ideas with him, he kept making pretty negative comments which really did annoy me. He really didn't get or know about the Scandinavian theme at all, and insisted that a faux brick-wall looked like a real brick wall. Even real brick walls can look very different with different spacing and grouting! Then he kept questioning me and said that my ideas were 'weird'. I was really exasperated seriously! He even asked if I wanted all white with wood because of Fengshui. He promised to work on our design while I urged him to do some research about Scandinavian designs.
A few days after the fair, it was Rezt and Relax who followed up with us. We made an appointment during the weekend and went down to their office. It turned out the the ID is actually another guy, and the guy we met at Expo was only the coordinator. The ID was a Chinese PRC who was really nice and did seem to understand what we wanted. We did some space planning and discussed our needs with him. He also shared some ideas and pictures of other houses. He even offered to show us the finished products of some of his customers, and promised services such as choosing of tiles and furniture with us. We went back again a week later for a detailed quote, which came up to 50k, excluding electrical and flooring for the rooms. It was an exorbitant sum really! I compared his quote with the 'market rate' research I have done, it was double for most items. Laying of tiles (up to $3.20psf) cost about $12.50psf, kitchen cabinets were $170pf, toilet's vanity cost $390pf for mirror cabinet and vanity.
Having said that, they promised quality and lifetime warranty for their carpentry work. We were actually pretty happy and comfortable with their attitude and service, something which was important to me. I've read so many horror renovation stories and having a reliable ID who coordinates and monitors all the work with wadsapp progress updates sound really great.
However, price is really a big factor this time round. I can't afford to pay for quality and service at that price. I suppose there must be other firms with good service and lower price out there, but it's really time-consuming and tiring to source for good and reliable IDs. It was so tiring sharing my design idea again and again!
Although we haven't finalized the quotations and ID selection, we will be trying to keep within a budget of 30k and sacrifice some details if needed. I'm really excited and nervous about the impending renovations. My dream home is really going to come to life! Part of me is worried that it will not turn out to be what I want it to be, and I'm really worried about hiccups and monitoring the renovations.
We went to the interior fair at Expo 2 weeks back. It's my first time at such a fair, and it was pretty quiet.
Apart from a few furniture and mattress booth, most of them seem to be interior designer firms. There were also flooring booth, such as laminate and bamboo. I'm pretty impressed with the bamboo flooring, I like how it looks and feel - very sturdy and durable. I personally dislike laminate, I don't like how it feels when you step on them and the main reason why so many Singaporeans use them is due to its cheap price and perhaps variety of patterns.
We spoke to 4 interior designers, of which only one actually followed up.
Personally, I've a very specific style that I like, namely Scandinavian. I love the warm wood flooring and bright white kitchen which feels very cosy. I love textures and the loft-like feel using brick walls. I dislike most of the done-up houses here, which feels impersonal to me. It's difficult to explain, but I can totally visualize what I want and the ID's job is to make that come alive for me.
The first ID we spoke to was from ONE Design Werkz. She was very friendly and suggested some options in the space planning in our room. The master bedroom was a challenge since it's difficult to fit in a wardrobe and a king size bed plus side tables. Overall, she was really sincere and experienced. It feels like you can really trust her to follow up and monitor your whole renovation process. She also showed us some 3D drawings and actual photos of her projects. She also updates her clients of the renovation progress through photos using wadsapp. Design wise, I still feel that she didn't fully get the Scandinavian feel I wanted, but was willing to listen and accommodate my wants. However, getting a 3D drawing from her would require 1.5k deposit and we didn't get her to follow up with a quotation. The estimated cost was about 40k-50k.
The second ID was from XXX. I was reluctant to sit down and discuss, because he was an ah-beng uncle who smells like cigarettes. He was telling us the package and free Samsung aircon if we sign up at the fair. Then after showing us his basic packages (reading from the paper), he saw that the free gift is actually LG aircon instead. I promptly thanked him and left without showing him my floor plan. If he can't even get the brand of free gift right, how am I supposed to trust him with my renovations? He's going to tell me that I chose black instead of white.
The third ID we spoke to was from Dyel. She showed us the basic packages and jotted down what we wanted with our floor plan. She also chatted with us and showed us some pictures to understand what we wanted. However, it felt like she was really inexperienced and was going through the motion. She promised to come up with a plan and get back to us, but we only heard from her after about 2 weeks. As I was busy and did not reply her, she did not actually follow up since then. It's been another 2 weeks or so, and we've decided not to waste her time and ours.
The 4th ID we spoke to was from Rezt and Relax. We were actually attracted by the showroom, which was pretty nicely done up and had a textured faux brick wall. We did sit down to talk to one 'ID' who was young and friendly, with a strong malaysian accent. While we shared our ideas with him, he kept making pretty negative comments which really did annoy me. He really didn't get or know about the Scandinavian theme at all, and insisted that a faux brick-wall looked like a real brick wall. Even real brick walls can look very different with different spacing and grouting! Then he kept questioning me and said that my ideas were 'weird'. I was really exasperated seriously! He even asked if I wanted all white with wood because of Fengshui. He promised to work on our design while I urged him to do some research about Scandinavian designs.
A few days after the fair, it was Rezt and Relax who followed up with us. We made an appointment during the weekend and went down to their office. It turned out the the ID is actually another guy, and the guy we met at Expo was only the coordinator. The ID was a Chinese PRC who was really nice and did seem to understand what we wanted. We did some space planning and discussed our needs with him. He also shared some ideas and pictures of other houses. He even offered to show us the finished products of some of his customers, and promised services such as choosing of tiles and furniture with us. We went back again a week later for a detailed quote, which came up to 50k, excluding electrical and flooring for the rooms. It was an exorbitant sum really! I compared his quote with the 'market rate' research I have done, it was double for most items. Laying of tiles (up to $3.20psf) cost about $12.50psf, kitchen cabinets were $170pf, toilet's vanity cost $390pf for mirror cabinet and vanity.
Having said that, they promised quality and lifetime warranty for their carpentry work. We were actually pretty happy and comfortable with their attitude and service, something which was important to me. I've read so many horror renovation stories and having a reliable ID who coordinates and monitors all the work with wadsapp progress updates sound really great.
However, price is really a big factor this time round. I can't afford to pay for quality and service at that price. I suppose there must be other firms with good service and lower price out there, but it's really time-consuming and tiring to source for good and reliable IDs. It was so tiring sharing my design idea again and again!
Although we haven't finalized the quotations and ID selection, we will be trying to keep within a budget of 30k and sacrifice some details if needed. I'm really excited and nervous about the impending renovations. My dream home is really going to come to life! Part of me is worried that it will not turn out to be what I want it to be, and I'm really worried about hiccups and monitoring the renovations.
Hi there, tks for sharing your home n Reno experience via ur blog posts. I'm a new home owner to be clueless at how n where to start. Should one wait till keys are collected and obtain a to-scale floor plan before seeing an ID? we're now doing research (come up with look n feel n colours, theme, etc), unsure if we shld see ID first as flat wun be ready till next year (and we got no floor plan that is to scale). Wonder if u could advise? Tks!
ReplyDeleteis urs a BTO? the floor plan is quite accurate and similar these days..anyway it's not necessary to meet IDs before getting keys..might be better to look for inspiration pictures with your partner or family to decide on a theme and do some research on prices and materials used first..
ReplyDeletegood luck!
Tks for your advice! i will go research on the price and material. Have a rough idea on what we want...hack one wall to combine with next room to have a built-in /walk-in wardrobe cum multipurpose space. bedframe with storage. a built-in whole wall book shelf. the feature piece (sofa) in the hall.
ReplyDeletewe dun have the overall look though as I am guessing the ID is supposed to help us with that?
yup..an ID can help you with that, but keep in mind that nothing is free and you'll have to pay a design fee..that is why contractors are cheaper and more value for money if you already have an idea of what you want..like a certain style or color theme..
ReplyDeleteTks! Great posts
ReplyDeleteFeel that and what appears to me as being "am kind of cheated like that" badly by ONE Design Werkz pte Ltd located at 69 Frankel Avenue. Anyone looking for Id guy, pls do not even care to go to this company, the boss by the GARRY is in my own opinion and view full of "words not matching to promises like that".. Before they hand over the job they issue me a 3years warranty card and told me they will take care of defect and any issue on workmanship, so i believe and issue them full payment.. and that's how my nightmare starts.. after eight months i started to discover some defect here and there.. but after asking them to rectified.. i could not even believed my own ear.. the boss GARRY answer is YOU CAN CALL THE CONTRACTOR YOURSELF TO SETTLE YOUR PROBLEM.. all my drawers when fully extended it can come will different length, some different could be as much as 1-1/2".. he can tell me that's is due to wear and tear.. my jaw drop.. when i call my contractor that guys told me they have stop doing their jobs.. and am stuck here.. ONE DESIGN WERKS charges is very very expensive too.. and the reason i go ahead with them is because of the 3years warranty.. and i always believe when we pay peanut we get peanut, but am wrong.. i pay 999 pure gold price and i get peanuts.. can anyone advise me.. tks.
ReplyDelete