googocat

great rierie! Thanks a million. Btw, my usually not so efficient contractor suddently became effecient and came to collect all my tiles yesterday. When i got home last evening, all tiles outside my house are gone.

Hi I only just saw your requests for pictures....need to go home tonight to take a picture of it. try to post the picture tonight. I not sure whether its the brand Star Bamboo but I had alot of problem with the supplier cos they keep delaying the installation schedule until my husband piss off and call to scold them. My balcony not very big...see pic http://i615.photobucket.com/albums/tt232/googocat/Layout.jpg As for discolouring issues, i guess all wood stuffs are bound to be subjected to some colour change as time goes by. There is no direct sunlight coming into my balcony but the person who installed my bamboo flooring told me that as you walk on it long enough, it becomes darker...

Hey guys I am really grateful to your for sparing your time to give me your precious advices. I guess I need to go home and have a good talk with my husband on this. Maybe we can reach an amicable settlement with the contractor. Who knows?

Yeah! Agree with merryman! But....do i really need them to change the pipes...cos i don welcome them...u know...somemore i already moved in... I just don want to pay..... i know i sound like a broken recorder...pls bear with me...

HUh...........sue me for non payment..... I think not worth for them to spend a few hundred dollars to issue demand letter just to recover $1K +......how how???

oh bummer.... I was pretty upset and frustrated with them and i just asked my husband to move the tiles outside. Hopefully they don suddenly become so efficient as to remove my tiles before i get home later... I will definitely keep the paint. As for the tools, they belong to the irritating painter who clogged my toilet bowl and vaccum cleaner...so i will discard them.. I better hurry up to read up the radac website cos they are comin to my hse this Saturday.......to talk abt the balance.....

Thanks for all the advices! As for the tiles, I will think about it again and see how many pieces i would like to retain for future uses (if necessary) considering the space area i have. I will also go check out the radac website for more information. I don actually wish to blow up the matter cos i already moved in and just want to move on. The only thing that i feel indifference about is i don wish to pay them the balance 10%. Any advice on not paying them? What can they do to me?????

Hi Thanks for confirming my understanding on the calculation part. I thought there was some mystery involved in the way the calculate the final balance payment. Do you think there would be any problem if i refuse to pay them the $1K plus considering the trouble and delay they have put me and my husband through for the last 3 months? Btw, un-used tiles in all sizes and paint and some tools have been left in my house. I have shifted the tiles outside and called the contractor to come clear them. The contractor said ok but no one came. Which means i have to manually remove them to the rubbish chute downstairs.... As for the piping, i doubt they will change for me. Even if they want to do it now, i do not welcome them into my house.

Hi all Not sure if anyone remembered me? A few weeks ago, I briefly shared my unpleasant renovation experience with my contractor. Finally, after 3 months of renovation work (and after many unpleasant encounters with my contractor's workers), me and my husband decided to move into our new house pending some other misc works to be done by the contractor. This was 2 weeks ago. We spend our last 2 weekends rectifying some of the paint jobs, checking all out telephone connection in each room (cos the Singtel ppl said that the electrician messed up my lines) and to complete some pending misc work in our house. Now I have new problems, firstly, the contractor has sent me a variation order and to me and my husband's horror, the balance payable is $4K+ . This is how they calculated our final payment. they listed out the deductions and additions in a separate excel spread sheet and then added the net amount into the balance 10% payable. The way i had calculated is just deduct directly from overall price quotation and then add those extra costs incurred to get my final balance, which is 1k+ only. Really appreciate if anyone can advise whether my calculation is correct. Secondly, the stainless steel piping in my house is starting to oxidise (brown brown spots developing). Is this normal? I checked with the contractor and he said that when their supplier supplied them with the stainless steel piping already oxidised. So i have no choice but to accept and he asked me to clean them myself. The question is does stainless steel piping so fast oxidise?

Hi I did bamboo flooring for my balcony instead of the usual platform style. The outcome is nice and comfortable under your feet. Its also easy to maintain. Just mop with clear water. I paid $900+ for it.

Hi Wonder if anyone out there bought IKEA's wooden table...those placed in the kitchen ones ...appreciate your feedback cos i intend to get one..

Hi categan Sorry to hear about your renovation problems. It sounds incredibly aweful. I can understand how you feel since me and my hubby are also currently renovating our hse and our ID is also giving us problem...and we also got a bit quarrelsome lately...coming 6 weeks liao. Hope you and your hubby's relationship will improve. Cheer up!

Hi all So glad that i found this thread on windows and grills. I levelled out my balcony and installed 4 sliding windows panel to the balcony window. I realized that when i hold on to the first window panel to slide the second panel, the meetinf point where i can lock these two panels in place does not meet one another. I asked my contractor why the window panel 'over-slides' and he says its normal.... Please advise whether this is true.

Hi You can try to Hong Liang. Their tel is 6278 3331. My sister bought most of her electronics from there. Call them to check quote. if want to buy, they will deliver within 3 days and you pay them cash.

I did not do it. It was done by the previous owner. Only certain areas did concealed wiring. But i must say that the previous owner must have spent a bomb on the reno cos the place was well planned and done-up.

Hi jaskel thats her style which i liked. I was very happy when i managed to purchase this flat. I totally agree with you that the new flats are getting smaller and smaller. I can't imagine next time how small the houses will be by the next generation. The study room is no longer there. The previous owner hacked the walls and now its my dining area. I am extremely pleased with the hugh living room and dining area space. I spoke to OUR lady contract just that day and she is very kind and has agreed to come down to my house this weekend to help me talk to my ID on improving my house. She also did mention the coconut husk feature wall for my dining area wall...but i don't dare to ask her for quote ...as you can see, its one piece of big wall i have there

Hi I am attaching my unit layout.

Hi jaskel Yes. I spoke to her on quotation. I am very impress with her service and recocmmendations. But for first time home buyers like us, the quotation was slightly on the high side. But if i ever have the budget in the future, will engage her.

Hi jaskel Ya...i feel sorry for myself too....i was quoted $23K.......!!!!!@#%&*** (pardon me) Btw, i like ur Blum kitchen system...i also have...but yours look nicer....i think i know your contractor. Spoke to her before.

Hi alan26 I did tell my ID to help me buy the blum tandem box for the bottom kitchen cabinets. For the top kitchen cabinets, I thought he will confirm again with me on the brands of hinges to use (as he told me previously that there are different brands so not necessarily get blum). But he did not and went ahead to install the cabinets with normal hinges. Last weekend when i went to check, i realise that my top kitchen cabinet doors don't have soft closing. Then i asked him for quotation and its been 1 week and he still hasn't gotten back to me. I think he also make mistakes in the design and positioning of my chimney hood. I will take pictures and post here. As for the handles, it comes back to the same thing that he never really advise us and check back with us again before proceeding. Thats why i feel that he is rather complacement. I chase then he move. Anyway, thanks for letting me know that corner beats are usually included in plastering work. I will take pics of the reno and post here asap.

Hi All I have been visiting this forum and reading on the members' suggestions, feedbacks, experiences and recommendations. On some occassions i would also post some comments. But most of the time, i would just read and gather some information to help me with my current reno works. Me & hubby just bought our first reasale hdb flat at Sembawang. We collected the keys on 30 Mar 09. Our ID is recommended by my mother-in-law. We felt that the price quoted to us by the ID was fairly reasonable and after comparing a few quotations, decided to engage them. The reno works started on 6 Apr 09 and nearing 6 weeks now, is still uncomplete. One of the reason for the delay was that my hubby was outstation for 2 weeks and had to wait for his return to confirm on major items. The whole reno works is starting to stress me out and i hope that maybe by sharing my reno works here, i would be able to get some valuable feedback and information from you guys. I don want to write too long in case your get tired of reading. In short, my reasle unit is a 5A model, 123 sq m, 15th floor and facing north. I engaged my ID to do the following major works:- 1. hack and re-tile my MBR and common toilets 2. hack and re-do kitchen floors, walls and cabinets 3. tic-tac bomb shelter door 4. level out balcony and install bamboo flooring for balcony 5. hack the wall between MBR and bedroom 2 and make good wall to create a small walk-in wardrobe 6. install window panels to my balcony As at today, except for the tiling works, most of my other reno works are half complete...i am extremely upset cos since engaging my ID, me and hubby have spent all our weekends running around Singapore buying furniture, electrical applicances, lightings, toilet and kitchen accessories, switches and now even kitchen cabinet handles and hinges...we really feel that our ID has been very unhelpful and complacement. Just yesterday after voicing my problems with him 2 weeks ago, he came back with a quoted of $380 for applying hybrid netting to my dining area wall (to repair wall cracks), installing corner beats to my balcony wall frame and replastering them. This amount is on top of $280 already paid to him to plaster the walls (including balcony wall frame) where there is hacking work done. I hope someone can advise me whether my ID should have in the first place provided me the corner beats when he was initially plastering the balcony wall frames. I am still trying to figure out on how to upload pictures. Sorry about that. Will try to upload my layout asap... In the meantime, would really appreciate your valuable information.

Hi blackcar May i know whether you signed up with Homeworkz and who is your contractor?

Hi kthc May i ask you some questions regarding renovation work. I believe you have more knowledge and experience in this area since this unit is your second buy. I am a first time buyer. I mentioned earlier that i was having problem with my renovation work. i just wanted to know....is it the norm that as home-owners, i am suppose to only comment on the renovation work after my contractor hand-over the unit to me and then from there, i go through the problems with him and then he do all the necessary rectification works???

Hi kthc Glad to know that u had gotten urself a good deal on this apartment. i fully understand the smallness in the size of the kitchen cos me and my hubby previously viewed this layout in Sembawang before. We also recently bought our flat in Sembawang. Our completion was on 30 Mar and our reno work is on the way....lots of problem...anyway just wished to quick share with you on the brands of WC, bathroom and kitchen accessories which me and my hubby bought.... WC - we bought Roca brand from Sim Siang Choon...comes with dual flush... Wash basins - Caroma brand form Sim Siang Choon - there was a promotion so we got it at a good price Rain shower for MBR - we got it from this shop call Spazio at Balestier...our contractor recommended it to us. The salesman there sold me a Noel brand Rain shower for $280. I think quite a good price. Common bath shower - Hansa brand from Sim Siang Choon. Kitchen sink - olivieri brand from Sim Siang Choon...always wanted a round kitchen sink Kitchen Tap - Teka I would also recommend Turbo hob, hood and oven...