blueocean

Mine had concealed piping and the carpenter just drilled into the wall when he wanted to mount something. I notice that the newer HDB flats that just TOP now mark all the hidden piping in the toilets. Anyway, i had given my contractor all the plans for the hidden service pipes before this happened but yet it still happened ! Anyway, they had to hack part of the tile to mend the pipe before plastering it back again. I cant be supervising and checking on all the workers all the time isnt it ? Hmm ... i wonder what is the general contractor for if he cant supervise the sub-contractors ? Another close shave was when we were installing the accessories and the guy wanted to drill the air-con remote control bracket. He almost wanted to drill through one of the hidden electrical ducts. Fortunately i was there and i said cannot drill there .... Many years ago, one of the carpenters drilled into a gas pipe in the kitchen. The gas leaked into the adjacent room. A teenager subsequently died whilst sleeping (gas poisoning). Anyway, if you notice, when you activate the City Gas account for the first time, you now have to pay for the City Gas to come to inspect your house to check that there are no leaks. There is a device called the pipe/metal detector (it costs only $45 from Homefix) but most tradesmen dont use it ... So that's why i always say, when doing renovations, always have to open eyes big big and cross both your fingers and toes

The principle of "caveat emptor" or "let the buyer beware" applies to both HDB and private properties. Once the strata title is passed on to the buyer on completion of the 2nd appointment, the buyer becomes the new legal owner. The new legal owner becomes responsible for any illegal structure. Although this is stated explicitly in HDB's OTP, the same legal principle underlies the sale of any private property too. eg if you buy a landed property or condo with a illegal roof structure and did not ask the previous owner to remove it, URA will require you to remove or demolish it at your own expense if they happen to conduct checks. Note that when you buy a resale property, the seller is not obliged to tell you every single defect but he cannot misrepresent or intentionally hide the defects. Having said all these, it still does not discharge the responsibility of the contractor for taking reasonable care and effort to ascertain that the door meets the requirements and cannot simply replace 1 to 1 as he has been contracted under a "design" and then "build" contract. The minimum standard would have been to advise the consumer, before commencement of the renovation, to check with HDB if the doors met the requirement of HDB regulations. Similarly, if the new additional electrical wiring that has been contracted to be done fails the HDB inspection (using form CS/5H), the contractor is also required to make good as he is also responsible for the electrical design. Most ID firms will not quote you with the electrical works although they would recommend someone that works with them. The consumer can choose either to pay to the ID firm or the electrician directly to save on GST. If you decide to pay directly to the electrician, it would have been deemed that you had separately sub-contracted the electrician and the main contractor will no longer be responsible for the electrical design but the electrician itself. But in a way, having a bill done up separately does help in resolving it through SCT because the contract value becomes smaller and can enforce a claim to the electrican directly Some consumers don't arrange the electrical inspection. But the problem arises when they sell the flat or if a electrical fire starts damaging yours +/- neighbour's property ... Of course the electrician would always cross their fingers that you dont arrange any inspection cos if any problem arises a few years later or when you sell the flat, they wont be around any more ... If however, the consumer had instead hired separate sub-contractors himself and therefore assumed the "design" responsibility for directing the ceiling, flooring, door works the consumer would then have been responsible himself to check with HDB regarding its regulations.

There are so many things that happened : 1. floor scratched, wall had paint scratched off 2. water pipe was punctured 3. wall mirrors had a shortfall in length 4. Painting was sub-standard with paint dripping over skirting, areas above door frames not painted etc 5. Electrician re-wire the place but only when i was calculating the load and told him circuit may overload then he say ... oh .. later he will change the breaker to a higher rating. 6. Contractor trespassing by bring clients into your apartment without telling you So everyday whilst the renovation was going on .... you never know what to expect

Does the window still leak ? But at least the major things are done up alreadie ... Anyway, can just slowly DIY the rest of the stuff after you move in ..... You still need to arrange for inspection of the new electrical wiring ?

Actually, the down side is fees for exam and time Sometimes agents run around, chauffeuring clients and end up with nothing in the pockets ... The best is still the agency boss or the agent with over-riding commission .... just collect only and see the agents run around

i only started looking at renotalk towards the end of my renovation ... should have look at it earlier. anyway, i am glad that my renovation was completed a few weeks ago and in the process of moving in ... it was a nerve wrecking experience though :0

i saw some plastic floor protectors at IKEA the other day ... but they were too big to fit between the floor space i had ... there was what i wanted to do initially but i'm also considering a rug now too. yeah ... shifting in of those stuff ... got to watch the delivery men very carefully ... risk of dirtying or damaging walls and flooring. The really professional ones will measure everything including turning radius before they start shifting the things ....

for re-build of house, it becomes even more complicated also as need to get a TOP certificate before you can move in ... if building inspectors are not happy, the renovation nightmare continues. I'm not sure if you have read about this temple that build some 4-5 storey building, TOP granted but unable to get CSC as the contractors/architects that did it didnt build to fire safety regulations ... fire doors etc So although the building is there .. its a white elephant if crane crash down on your master bedroom .. that sounds unlikely but if it really did, standard HDB insurance only covers the building itself and excludes the content and renovation cost then if want to go after the crane company for damages, also depends on whether it is big or small company ... and whether they are still financially solvent ... then got to file another civil suit ? scary thought ...... what are the remaining things you have to do before you can move in ?

yeah lor ... worried mah .. cos big fridge but small flat

That's true. Can also leverage on your existing clients. When you refer to expatriate, are you referring to expats from China, India ? Cos not many UK, USA, Australian buy private housing from Singapore though. Although the commissions are good for resale and new projects, it is not always easy to close one especially if you are on the buyer side. Rental is even harder to close if you dont have own listings.

Your master bathroom is really nice. The colour of the wall tiles and flooring gives it a warm feeling ! How are you going to put the glass panels up ?

[ hi pinktini, is yours parquet flooring ? do you know how to protect the roller chairs from damaging the parquet floor ... rugs ?

Hmm ... Your list excludes the curtains leh ... The curved master bedroom windows will require more expensive alum curtain tracks. Day and night curtains?

It also the same when you walk into a car showroom. The sales people will judge to see if you are a potential buyer or not ... Showrooms operate on a queue number system ... so if they serve a client who has no intention of buying ... they will miss their turn and may have to wait for another hour or more to get to serve another potential ... And also notice the distance between the reception counter to the "model of the condo" is put a few steps away to give the agent another chance to ask screening questions - "own stay or investment", "how long have you been looking around for houses" etc Usually when i walk into the showroom ... i normally say i have been here before and just take a brochure so that i dont have an agent shadowing me. I then flip to the last few pages to look at the specifications (types of flooring provided etc) and have a look at the model to appreciate the build up of the place. Then before i go, i pop back to the counter to ask for the rough pricing.

But taking CES as a standby ?

That's why doing renovation with someone is always a "leap of faith" and crossing fingers & toes. You can do all your homework (check references of contractor, do bankruptcy/credit/ litigation search, friends referral etc) but it is still a risk One can mitigate the risk with a good contract. I wonder if any insurer would do a homeowner renovation policy - to provide insurance cover for bad works, contractor absconding ... hahha => i think it is uninsurable or insurable with too high a premiium ! If doing renovation works for a flat is tough. Imagine ... rebuilding a house. Imagine all the possible things that can happen ! It would be a nightmare wouldnt it I have seen a case whereby the owner was re-building a house and one of the workers fell and died. The owner wanted to house to be demolished again and rebuild ... and it became complicated as the contractor was not obliged to do that

oh yeah .. i remember getting my fridge in ... i measured everything from doorway to kitchen .... then forget to measure the turning radius as fridge needs to negotiate a bend in the kitchen. Fortunately, they could unscrew the kitchen door ...

ohhh ...that's good ... have you though of adding a temperd glass top to your study table ? hmm ... are there going to be holes on the table to allow the cables to pass through ?

I think CASE or RADAC should start being more active in consumer education ... Or may have some regulations for contractors in using a standard renovation contract. Currently, developers are regulated by the Housing Developer Act and when you buy any developments ( > 4 units), they will always use the standard contract terms which cannot be changed without approval. Similarly, HDB has implemented the standard OTP forms for resale. Maybe should have a standard renovation contract that will protect the consumers and have fair contract terms for the contractors.

Hey Supersimon ... Are you a business representative of Henry's ID note or a related party ? Cos Henry's ACRA business address is in Woodlands ... And you are living in Woodlands too ? Coincidental ? You seem to know much more of what's going on leh ...

That is the thing about contractors. They will shun responsibility as soon as something happens. Doing business cannot work like that. It is not good business practice. Has doing business just become purely on extracting the most $$ out of consumers ? Business needs to be done fairly ! How is this different from real estate agents where once the consumer pays the commission and if something happens, you get no response from either the agent or the agency ? True, there may be consumers who are more ignorant and may not notice the defects but it doesnt mean that it is right ! Isnt it a "design and build" contract ? What this means is that the contractor is ultimately responsible for the overall design wor ... he owes a duty of care as a reasonably skilled contractor to advise consumers on the design (eg doors etc) One cannot shift the blame to the consumer cos he is already paying a big mark-up by engaging a general contractor ... Regarding the electrical work ... I doubt most consumers will check the credentials of their electricians. Most are not EMA certified. I always find it strange that HDB, SP Power all advocate that consumers should seek EMA certified electricians ... but they are a hard breed to find. So the electricians that do up your place has been working for many years in the line (hopefully he is not new !) .... and if a signature is required, they will get someone else to sign

I remembered having to change my furniture delivery dates many times because the renovation was dragging on and on .... How did you find your electrican ? How was the quote like ?

Hmm ... you are not doing re-tiling for your place ?

The pictures of your house looks very nice ! I like the mirrors and glass sliding doors ... Are you going to add any decals to the glass sliding door ? I always fear running into them when it is too clear ...

Taking the CEHA ?