Mrcontractor

Thanks for the feedback! I think electrical is one of the most sought after works. I will cover that in my next topic. Stay tuned!

definitely is not allowed in hdb rules. just make sure it will not cause danger will do. when next time you are selling your house, you have to reinstate back. or not i have customers who put casing just for show during selling. lol. if any case hdb do a sudden inspection, and they found out just don’t sabo the company can already. unless it is a big illegal modification like hacking/erecting of walls which are not approved or extension of toilet illegally, they usually will not penalise the owner. it all depends on the officer handling your case if caught. one more point to note. it will cause a bit of inconvenience if u need hdb to come for inspection when things like leakage from upstairs or any relevant hdb maintenance works.

hahaha. for sure they will ask the question. next time you should try telling them you are the contractor and you will be amazed by the kind of tone you will be receiving from them!

great! always call the officer if you need help from hdb side.

agree with you I have seen customers who are all in to FSM and do accordingly to FSM instructions. On the other hand I have customers from other religion who don’t even think about it at all. Everyone of them have their own beliefs and having a peace of mind. I have been through the very superstitious point of life where I almost go crazy. ask me if it works? I just can say 宁可信其有，不可信其无。 I believe most importantly in my life is my own self thoughts. waking up everyday with a positive mind will solve most of your problems. Look forward to everyday’s life and believe that all problems can be solved you will realise you are your own best FSM.

Dear all, would like to have feedbacks on the kind of topics which most of you will benefit from. I am trying to put my knowledge into words to allow others to benefit from it. feel free to let me know which are the areas needed. mrcontractor

usually it takes about 1 week or so. call the hdb officer and rush them. They don’t entertain ID but they listen to home owners. Sometimes there are delays if the officer require more information or need ID to amend the drawings or measurement.

I have done up some information for tips for reading. hope these will help those who are looking for contractor/ID Topic 4 How to prevent getting cheated and scammed by contractors/ID Recently I read about many of the scams and cheats in this industry. Why is that so? Because it is simple for them to open and close down companies without having the need of being sued. The amount for a customer to be cheated of during renovation scams hardly to be above hundred of thousands per person. Therefore, going through all the civil proceedings will waste even more money on the victim’s side and there is no guarantee that he/she may get back the amount. Then, the culprit goes off scott free! I feel the need of giving advices on prevention of getting into this kind of scenario. 1. Reviewing the contractor/ID’s reputation This might not be 100% accurate because there are some firms who advertise themselves. but for sure, those who advertise themselves but doesn’t deliver as promised will have their bad reviews coming by. Keep the minds open and even if you see bad reviews, do contact the home owner to get more facts. And on the other hand, you can get more info from the good ones as well. 2. Research on HDB and ACRA If you are renovating your Hdb, be very sure that the company is a licensed hdb contractor. most importantly, the contract which you are going to sign bear the letter head of the hub registered one instead of some other names. They will usually say that it is due to GST etc. Although there are those who are really sincere in business but just to be on the safe side. ACRA search is one of the important one as well, give it a search and screen through the company address and make sure it is valid. If at any point of time now you feel something is not right, I will suggest getting another contractor/ID. Because better to be safe than sorry. 3. Ask for showrooms/ reno in progress flats Do ask the contractor/ID if there are any REAL showrooms instead of those in the office etc. look for projects the company done before. and also current ones. where you can see that the company is really into business. If possible, ask for a timing where the owner is in to research more on the firm. I will recommend minimum 2 showroom flats to view and one of it have to be going to complete or just completed. when you are at on-going sites, be sure to find the renovation permit from HDB to double confirm their license as well 4. Be alert Be alert in the payment progress. Do not give much more than what you see in your house. there is no fix rule for this because different quotations works differently. If you stay alert, you will have better control of your money. even if the company winds down, you do not lose the maximum. Some might wonder why I did not recommend for checking on RADAC, CASE etc. Because no matter how many prizes, trophies or accreditation the company have, it only help to the minimal when there are problems arising. To prevent ourselves being a victim, we have to know if the company is a true and operating for legal profits through hardwork and sales. HDB licensed contractor will be a safer one because to become one, they will have to submit invoices of minimum $50k to support and also to be in the business for minimum of 1 year. HDB will then contact the various house owners for feedback before grant. The most important is that when you sign the contract, there should be no room for doubts. All questions should be cleared by then. of course sometimes we are so unlucky when all things seems to be alright and yet suddenly the company shut down. I have seen a few friends in this line whose business are good but due to some unforeseen factors, they are forced to close. but they are not cheaters or scammers, it is pure business failure. Feel free to ask if you have any questions! I might not be free everyday but i will try my best to reply. I hope all these tips will be useful for home owners and fellow forummers

first of all, your ID needs to be comfortable with it. some groups of sub con will not interact so much with each other. For e.g, the doors or windows with the air-con. But definitely, your schedule of works need to flow nicely and correctly. the sequencing must be correct. some Id who is helpful enough will be able to plan it out for u. There are some who needs to work closely with though. Examples, the tiler and the plumber, or the electrician and carpenter. Do up a detailed schedule and stretch out the days just in case there are any delays. you don’t want to be caught in a situation whereby the electrician delayed the works and the painter and carpenter will have to reschedule their installation days. Sub-cons have their scheduled worked out as well, if you delay, sometimes they are not able to come on the specific date you want. do not put any valuable things or items in your house unless you are there to supervise throughout the whole day. if anything goes missing or damage, no one will admit and you will have a headache with all the finger pointing games. Give yourself more than enough time for the project. Hope these helps!

most likely you will be looking at aluminium frame with acrylic. but acrylic can be easily scratched. got to maintain it very well.

hi, The install the ceiling fan, you will need to put reinforcement in the false ceiling where you want to put the ceiling fan. To change the whole house wiring without hacking the false ceiling, your con/id will need to access with a cut out hole to see if it will be possible. Cutting of a hole in the false ceiling is about 5-10mins simple job. if the wiring inside is too complex, you will then need to take down the false ceiling for rewiring. If it can be done, con/id will then patch back. Do compare the prices of with and without removing of false ceiling as well. some will charge exorbitant prices for just cutting and patching of the holes. I agree with colloncream which shouldnt exceed 800 for the whole house. Hope these helps

Getting direct to various sub con is possible, but of course with more coordinating works to do. If you are not doing a major overhaul with complex design, it can be done with some effort. First of all you will need to know the flow of the project, and do be there when a new work is starting to prevent conflicts between the sub-cons. You will need to arm yourself with some renovation knowledge (renotalk have plenty) and monitor the project closely. Be prepared to take some off from your work days if you are having office hours jobs. I worked with some customer who engaged me for a minority of works but outsource others to various sub cons. The bad experiences ones are always with sub cons which delayed the jobs. Get it all planned out and work closely, I am sure you will have a great sense of satisfaction!

Topic 3.2 Direct pricing and tips on Carpentry works Hi everyone, I managed to retrieve my account in renotalk! today, I am going to write about carpentry works Most of renovation projects consist of a major part in carpentry. Especially in residential properties. And it is the most crucial part of the project which plays a big part in your design and the overall look of the house. I have worked with many carpenters before and of course at times having a big headache on the workmanship issues. The most important thing in carpentry works is the quality and 2nd the workmanship. Let me give you a rough idea of how does the direct price looks like when contractor hire sub-cons to do it. Kitchen cabinet : $80-$100 per ft run Casement door wardrobe : $160-$180 per ft run Glass sliding door wardrobe : $200-$220 per ft run Tv console feature wall : $15 psf Tv console : $90-$100 per ft run Vanity cabinet: $90-$100 per ft run Full height cabinet : $250-$300 per ft run This can be use as a reference. However, there are many many different prices in the market for carpentry because of con/ID mark up and also the workmanship. I have personally used the cheapest and the most expensive ones as comparison. I cannot say that the most expensive ones gave me the best quality though and the cheapest doesn’t mean the lousiest as well. The easiest way to see the quality of wood is the weight of the doors. there are some who gave solid wood which was real heavy. But do take note that at times, solid wood will have warping issues. Since the carpentry works start off in the factory before it comes to your house, it is important to have QC once it start installation in your house. I will recommend home owners to take a look while they install just in case if any mistakes of placement. And the con/ID will be checking on the workmanship and finishes. Other than the quality of wood, I suggest getting better brands of laminate instead. Your con/ID will probably restrict you to specific range of laminates. There will always be a price list in the catalogue itself (some remove it though) and you can do a check accordingly if you want to know the price of it. Outsourcing in the carpentry works can be done very easily if the design is not so complex. that subjects to the con/ID will be comfortable with it as well. Most carpenter will be able to show u simple drawings. Do make sure you make an initial on the finalised drawings with measurements preferably and keep a copy for yourself. To prevent any conflicts or misunderstanding in between. As the dimensions of carpentry works is very important. The price in the con/ID market for carpentry is really WIDE. it can range even more if you are getting a premium one. My advice is that, Do ensure the quality of works is reasonable for the amount paid for. Carpenter industry is pretty hot right now due to the Bto especially. the price will probably go up in future when more and more carpenters are needed. I received many PMs for questions on renovation. But that was dated last year, sorry for the delay all! you are free to PM me or post here if you do have any questions. Have a good day everyone!

Hi Kooky, if say 850sqft then the cost should be much more lesser, based on the calculation posted above, you can try to calculate it out. to make it simpler, add all the cost together : $3+$1.50+ $0.50 = $5 and if your flooring is 850sqft it should be $4250. the markup depending on your comfort level. i would say at least a 50cents psf mark up for the contractor/ID. but it's up to both of your negotiation as well. Do take note that contractors/ID might reduce prices during low peak season and raise it when they have many jobs on hand. but of course there are too many kinds of business making, so depending on their pricing strategy as well. feel free to clarify if you have any questions=) Have a great CNY ahead!