.::. Renovation – Lets Start! .::.

It's amazing how this space has become somewhat a renovation blog with people e-mailing me about all sorts of renovation questions and contacts. Everyone is just interested in renovation. =(

It really started with my own excitement and passion in beautifying my own home since having my own home has been my dream for as long as I remember. I spent years day-dreaming of my own home, of how it would look like and what I would do in there. And when we finally got our own place, I spent all my free time looking at magazines, pinterest and reading forums and surfing the net to make the ‘most informed decision’. I had spreadsheets to compare different quotes and noting down market rates for all items, spreadsheets of many possible furniture and home-ware shops that I may like to visit, spreadsheets to track all costs and budgeting when to get what. I had plans for everything. Yes, it’s a work hazard – I’m an analyst.

I’ve started writing about my renovation journey when I got keys and started out. From choosing IDs/contractors right down to choosing materials and furniture – I look at the ups and downs and photos throughout the journey and feel really accomplished and somewhat incredible.

I started out knowing nothing about renovation too, but I knew exactly what I liked and wanted. I didn’t want an ID, I wanted someone who could make my vision a reality. IDs are great, if you do not know what you want and do not want to spend time thinking and researching – oh and if you’ve deep pockets. IDs are mostly a hazard when you already know what you want and do not give them a chance to display their design preferences or justify their prices. There are good IDs around who will work with you to improve on what you want, giving you great suggestions and space planning, but those IDs are way out of budget.

Where to start?

Renovation may seem like a daunting task with so much to do. Many start with getting IDs/contractors contacts and meet up with them. I myself have been to those Expo fairs and wasted spent so much time sitting with them and getting quotes. Most, like me, have a budget in mind, though most don’t necessarily know what’s the market rates nor have an idea what they want done.

I would say start looking at magazines, photos and visualize how you want your home to look like first. Think of your lifestyle, storage needs, whether or not you intend to have children, what styles/colors/designs/textures do you like. Think about living in it, the amount of maintenance and cleaning needed. Without thinking through these, it’s easy to be swayed by the IDs you meet. Some may suggest certain designs (some run-in-the-mill type) which may look nice but isn’t practical with children around and most would give you a contemporary modern look with black/whites or neutral colors.

Budgeting

Many ask, how much does renovation generally cost.  Honestly, there’s no such thing as ‘generally’ since there’s so many factors involved. Materials chosen makes a big difference to the final prices. That said, on very extremely general terms, renovating a 4 room flat that does not come with flooring and little carpentry work would cost a minimum of about 30k to make the place comfortable. Renovating a 5-room flat would probably cost at least about 40k. Resale flats would cost more, easily 10k more unless you’re going to keep the flooring and kitchen carpentry. And yes, prices differ a lot between different IDs and contractors, but this is probably the minimal amount you’ll have to fork out for a decent renovation. Electrical works can be substantial ($1k-$3k) too especially for resale flats that require rewiring. Surprisingly (to me), hacking does not cost as much as I imagined (from few hundreds to thousand or two for resale). Painting cost more than I thought, around $1.2-$1.8k. Haulage and cleaning comes up to another thousand or so.

The bulk of the cost would go into carpentry and flooring (or tiling). By cutting down on in-built carpentry and using cheaper alternatives such as laminates would bring down the cost. All materials used would cause a differential in prices – solid tops (korea or china?), soft-close hinges (Blum or Excel or China/India imported), flooring (homogenous tiles or laminates or marble?). And of course, the labor used makes a big difference to prices too – bangala or PRC or Malaysian or Singaporean makes a difference to the workmanship too.

IDs or Contractors?

I wrote about this here.

Timeline and expectations

This has to be communicated and aligned before signing on the dotted line and paying the downpayment. Ask as much questions as you like, clarify all your doubts, especially on materials used. What brands of laminates and hinges are included, what brands of solid tops and price ranges of tiles can be chosen. Some may realize that their choices are very limited only after it’s too late and expanding their choices involves additional costs or compromising on their expectations. Some companies import full-container loads of things like hinges and laminates and accessories from China/India and rename it under their own unheard-of- atas-european-sounding brand which may or may not be as good as commonly known brand names in the market with more stringent quality control (and probably higher cost that comes with quality). Try to include all your requirements in the quote as additional items usually cost more when added after the project starts and would end up being an excuse when there’re delays. Renovation usually takes about 8 weeks, discuss possible delays and consequences.

Word of caution.

If you care about your home and your hard-earned money and would like to avoid trouble, spend some time to do research online and in forums and ask around. Forums like Renotalk is very active and has a wealth of knowledge but be careful of businesses that pose as consumers to promote themselves and solicit for business. It’s good to get someone by referral, better even if you’ve seen their workmanship and know that they’re reliable. Ask to visit actual sites, talk to their customers when they’re not around or search for reviews online. Google their company name and director or ID names to check if there are any complaints. Communicate and discuss the timeline and expectations, preferably in black-and-white or some sort of proof to protect yourself. HDB license may or may not be of top priority as there’s no guarantee that those with license are good and going through complaints to HDB or CASE or other venues are cumbersome and time-consuming.

I would also suggest avoid getting friends or relatives to do renovation unless you are very sure of their workmanship and professionalism. I’ve known so many cases which end up badly (including my own). Friends/relatives may think that they’re doing you a favor without earning as much while you are unable to actually be straightforward when things are delayed or go wrong. You simply can’t hold them accountable when things are not up to expectations.  Some may trust friends too much and end up with sub-par work, delays and many add-ons to be paid.

Beware of freebies. Do not be swayed by free things like most Singaporeans do. Things like free air-con and accessories or vouchers are paid by you and ain’t actually free!

Lastly, follow your heart and make an informed choice.  Most of the time, price is not the only deciding factor (just like looks is not the only factor when you choose your spouse). There’s the ease of communication, working together and trust in the working relationship. If in doubt, do not take the risk unless you can take the worse-case-scenario.  If there are already delays and miscommunications even before starting, it may be good to re-evaluate your options or even forgo your deposit.

And even after choosing a seemingly reliable ID/contractor that you think you can trust, monitor and keep track of progress and visit your home often! Take pictures of the workmanship if rectifications are needed. Constantly remind and reaffirm things to be done and don’t assume that paying more for an ID can save you this trouble. IDs often have bad communication links with the actual workers who does the work and many end up with work that was not what they wanted. Till then, it may be too late or costly to change or go through the trouble to insist that your reluctant ID bear the cost.

After deciding on who to use for the renovation actually brings you to the start and not the end of the renovation.  There are still many choices to be made, many more things to learn, and it’s finally time to visualize and imagine your home.  It’s an exciting time, a huge project that will bring you so much satisfaction and a safe haven to retreat after a long day out.

I truly hope less people get cheated of their hard-earned money or endure horrible renovation and attitude. Please do your due diligence people and not regret when things go awry.

Good luck!