gcdanilim

Hello, I just went through a year and 4 months of rebuilding my house, so I can empathise with you. What I learnt are: 1. Know what you want first - prioritise all your needs, categorise them, and list all of them out. 2. Have a budget - obviously, your budget must be realistic according to your needs. E.g. if you want marble flooring, you do not budge for laminated flooring etc. 3. Have a time schedule. I found out that having more time to ponder helps to achieve 1. fully. Looking back, if I didn't wait 6 months for the drawings to be finalised before the building started, my house would have been different from what it is now, and not 99% to my satisfaction. Depending on 2, you may want to engage someone, or work out the plan yourself. In any case, all 1, 2 and 3 are important, and 1 is something you cannot pass the buck. It is a question of someone working out with you your needs, or you work out your needs yourself. Then depending on 2, you engage someone to work out your needs, or you draw yourself. I had to engage someone yet design the house myself - not nice at all. Hope this helps, cheers.

Thanks for your listening ear! I tried to lodge a complaint to CASE but they have so many hurdles (and I kinda feel that I will never get a refund, so am reluctant to throw good money in after bad), hoping to "educate" the supplier that consumers nowadays are not passive. After some to-and-fro, I gave up as the process was too tedious. Even sometimes the professionals have to be watched. I had to sack my contractor's engineer and design the house myself. I am glad I did so as it is (almost) exactly what I want. After the rebuilding experience, I feel that I can give some tips to others who may be in a similar position, to save or shorten their agony. The "rip-off" feeling is really a lousy one.

The first impression of a newly built house is usually a positive one. Everything is new and shiny, and looks beautiful. Everyone likes a new house. After living in a new house for a while, the feeling may (usually) change. The master room basin is too small. The car porch is too small. It would have been great to have a maid's room on top of a guest room on the ground floor. Grouses like these are becoming common. Why do they surface after you move in and not before? The reason is largely due the layout being planned by someone who is not going to live in the house. Go to a contractor and he gives you a house within your budget, usually compromised to suit the contractor (and his planner) not you, the house owner. I spent one year and 4 months rebuilding my inter-terrace. It was originally 2-storey with a huge garden and I wanted to extend the 2-stories' built-in and add an attic. My mistake was to engage the contractor first, and his plan for the house using his own people (architects and engineers). They designed an attic which is 1/3 of the size it is today. I sacked the contractor's engineer (after giving him a chance with another engineer's professional opinion that it is possible to build the large attic which is now built). Instead of leaving it to the contractor, I sourced almost everything myself and to date, almost everything is the way I want it to be. The fly in the ointment is the "con" by Hong Soon (Jln Besar) concerning the long crystal mirror (see my other post). Redoing a house is a large project. It is worth the effort to spend time to know what you want, within your budget. You can always easily replace furniture and movables, but it is not so easily to redo the car porch or add another room. You need to find someone who will take the time and effort to cater for your needs and who designs for you with a passion. Such people are not easy to find.

I had a bad experience with this supplier Hong Soon at Jln Besar and feel a need to share it. My house was being rebuilt last May when I saw this mirror on display and sale at Hong Soon which I quite liked. It was longish and oval and actually had a smaller oval longish mirror mounted on a border which had smaller mirrors. The salesman Edward, said they were having a clearance sale and the mirror was a Grohe crystal mirror made in Germany. The price was $250. I told him that mirrors would tarnish/rust unless they are good quality ones and even then, these still would rust. He said the crystal mirror was a good quality one. I went away not very convinced. I was at another supplier, Multico, and chanced to ask about crystal mirror. The lady there Karen said $250 is a good price for a crystal mirror as it would be a good quality one. So I returned to Hong Soon and reiterated that my house was being built, etc. and I had to store and keeep the mirror at least till end of the year. He said no problem. The rebuilding took 3 months more and I moved in last month. My contractor hung up the mirror which at a glance looked nice, but next to immediately, one could see that the edges of the smaller mirrors (the border) were rusted. I called and spoke to Edward who said I had to bring it down before he could assist. When he saw the mirror, he first said that it was not a Grohe one, was on clearance and there was no guarantee. I showed him the invoice which did not say it was a clearance stock mirror. He then said when I bought it, it was already like that. I replied that he should not insult me by saying that I would pay $250 for a defective mirror. When I informed him I was a lawyer by training, he said he would keep the mirror for his management's decision. I was in Taiwan most of the following week but would have received the call which never came. 8 days later, I called him whereupon he said his management on a good faith basis would give me a credit to buy from their shop within the month (he agreed to go up to within the year upon my probing) up to $200 ($50 will be deduced as an admin fee). I asked why I was being penalised of $50. He said it was already a very good offer and I should take it. I rejected it and took back the mirror. A supplier who does not stand by his product and tries to penalise a customer does not act in good faith.