yaolong

bear in mind although different contractors might b cheaper but u have to do a lot of coordination works...

Actually the 'massive $4k' for rewiring is the cheapest quote. I got a friend who did less but was charged more... Haha

seller is making things difficult for u... if i m faced with the same siutation, i will get it done legally... i will get a lawyer to resolve the matters n claim all damages (if any) from the seller... but this cost $ i will not agree to spilt the costs of recitication with the seller... any under-table agreement (in your case to grant extension) will b voided if seller refuses to rectify the modifications... i will communicate this to the seller

lightings i got from lighting.com.sg Lights for master bedroom Lights for Living Hall Downlights

I learnt the hard way but with good advices from my different contractors, i managed it quite ok now... the sequence that was proposed by my different contractors 1. demolition work - removal of existing cornices, L-box, built-in cupboards, kitchen cabinets, floor tiles, hacking, etc 2. electrician - removal of wiring and to leave temp supply for contractors 3. haulage 4. tiling (at the same time can change windows and grills) 5. electrician - rewiring 6. air-con (if u wanna hide the piping in false ceiling) 7. put up L-box, cornices, false ceiling 8. kitchen cabinets 9. Plumbing - running of pipes 10. electrician - putting up lights, downlights 11. painting 12. chemical wash this list might not be accurate... just a guide and it might be wrong too... haha... any experts care to comment and guide us along?

of coz don't mind... it is about $4k+ as for the arrogant ID, the company shares the surname with a popular DJ of YES933 and the DJ is famous for his crossdressing as an auntie... i agree that almost all big companies marked up their prices sky high... i take for examples the following: - polishing of my flooring ID quotes $2600 Contractor quotes $2000 My contractor quotes $1200 L-box ID quotes $1300 Contractor quotes $999 My contractor quotes $988 Painting - I have 9 colours and the ceiling is not white ID quotes me $2300 Contractor quotes me $2000 My contractor quotes me $1800 like a chinese saying 'before you buy, you must compare three shops.' this is the result of my comparison... i don't mind if the ID charges me design fees but keep the prices reasonable... however not only IDs charge a premium, they over-charge everything... of coz this is a supply and demand market, there are rich people who wanna pay for a peace of mind and designer's feel in their house... i have a very interesting story to share... I have two friends but they don't know each other. Both happened to get a flat around SK area and quite near to each other. I was invited to their housewarming respectively. Friend A boasted about the premium he gladly paid to have a house designed by a famous ID firm. Frankly, his house was really nicely done. Anyone with cash will gladly pay for it. I then went to Friend B's housewarming... Guess what... Friend B's house is EXACTLY the same design as Friend A's house... to the finest details... even the lights, bathroom accessories and the furnitures are the same... except for some colours... I was shocked... so i asked Friend B whether he copied any designs from magazines... he said no and his ID designed for him n he loves it so he decided to do the house exactly what the designer proposed... i asked again the name of the ID firm... BINGO! same as Friend A... until today, i still keep the thing a secret... anyway i was wondering whether the designer used the same template for the houses in SK... so SK forumers, if u happened to see ur ID in the vicinity, better check out his new project... the next house might look just like yours...

Initially wanted to get a big storage water heater but the piping from master toilet to common toilet needs to run through the kitchen and service balcony. Ugly sight since we r not doing false ceiling so got two heaters instead. Ya I agree alex's pricing on the windows, grills, shower screens and doors are reasonably cheap. Most importantly, service is so far so good. Instantly knows the problem when I related to him the seller's problem with the rain 'seeping into the balcony' during rainy days and got my contractor to rectify it. Now waiting for installations.

I know the shops along Balestier selling cheaper.

Can PM me the details of the number plate? very nice and like to do one too

Thanks! Glad to hear I got it cheap. I think those you saw have at least three toilets and that's the reason why the COV is so high. I recalled I saw somewhere of a floor plan of a jumbo at Blk 8xx but the unit has too many 'black' walls meaning can't hack and this made the unit really small. No point paying a high price for a unit that looks big on floor plan but in actual fact, quite small.

common toilet water heater master toilet storage tank heater have to use this coz contractor warned me if i used normal water heater, i won't have enough water pressure... clothes and towel hanger for both toilets my rain shower for master toilet

went shopping for bathroom accessories and these are what we bought... my kitchen sink common toilet sink my wc i chose this coz the flushing system is low enough for my two kids to reach and I can teach them to flush after use... master toilet sink

Some fellow forumers asked me what my electrician did for my house... i did the following balcony 1 new lighting point 1 installation of light 1 double 13a socket maid's room 1 new lighting point 1 installation of light 1 double 13a socket Living Hall 6 new lighting point (downlight) 1 new lighting point (ceiling) 3 new lighting point (cove light) 10 installation of light Study Room 1 new lighting point 1 installation of light 1 double 13a socket 1 new SCV point 1 new LAN point (Cat 6) Dining Hall 8 new lighting point (downlight) 1 new lighting point (ceiling) 2 new 13a socket 9 installation of light Bedroom 3 1 new lighting point 1 installation of light 2 double 13a socket 1 new SCV point 1 new 15a socket (aircon) Service Balcony 1 double 13a socket Common toilet 1 new lighting point 1 installation of light 1 new water heater point Kitchen 2 new lighting point 2 installation of light 4 new double 13a socket 1 new single 13a socket 1 new hood point Living Hall (TV area) 10 new lighting point (downlight) 1 new lighting point (ceiling 2-way) 11 installation of light 3 new double 13a socket 1 new SCV point 1 new LAN point (Cat 6) Bedroom 2 1 new lighting point 1 installation of light 2 double 13a socket 1 new SCV point 1 new LAN point (Cat 6) Master Bedroom 2 new lighting point (ceiling) 1 new lighting point (cabinet) 3 installation of light 5 double 13a socket 1 new SCV point 1 new 15a socket (aircon) 1 new LAN point (Cat 6) Master toilet 1 new lighting point 1 installation of light 1 new water heater point Miscellanous 1 new 18-way DB box Earth bonding (Water pipe)

Thanks!

No coz I have a big family and the rooms are just nice to accommodate everyone. I 'transform' the study room into my kids' playroom and my mini 'server' room. :lol

Cleanup after the hacking My tiles are here too

Let the hacking begins! The workers came up on 20 Sept to remove the old built-in wardrobes in the rooms and the kitchen cabinets. They also did the hacking of the tiles in the balcony, toilets, kitchen and the service balcony. Exremely messy!

Work started on 16 Sept 10am The hammer I have to openly thank Sebastian, the electrician. Not only he understood my limited budget and gave me a very very very good price (in my opinion), he did something extra. To cut the story short, i didn't know that i have to get my contractor to take down the cornices so that he can 'tear' down the wiring hidden in the cornices. I was surprised when Sebastian said he will do it but he won't do the haulage. I agreed and left my house in his good hand. I returned after 2 hours later and saw the house in a mess. I actually got my family on standby to do the clean up after Sebastian and his workers left. To my surprise when i returned about 4 hours later, the house is locked up and the place is CLEAN!! Sebastian and his workers packed the debris into gunny sacks and put them nicely at the balcony. He also took great care to ensure my broken marble flooring is not damaged or scratched. Sebastian, thank you! Removing the wiring

Yes the flooring is marble, i think they call that 'broken marble'

I have talked to several IDs firms both at IMM and those exhibitions at Expo... quotations ranging from $65k to $80k and that is before the rewiring costs, purchase of air-con, bathroom accessories and lightings as I have limited budget, i actually asked them to reduce prices... 1 ID told me if i have no money, don't buy jumbo and waste his/her time doing the sale talk... i was shocked... lucky i didn't engage him/her... (don't ask me name coz i won't reveal. why? i believe in letting people 'tan jiak' but if u need to know, he/she is not in IMM but near IMM...) some ID did not get back to me after hearing my limited budget... next step, search forum for contractors... and a few got back to me... came to my house for measurements and quotation came back fast... range between $38k to $50k (before the rewiring costs, purchase of air-con, bathroom accessories and lightings) actually shortlisted one contractor and ready to engage him... after calculating the total costs... hmm... talked/bitched to a few colleagues about the 'high' cost of renovating... then i was informed by them that they actually engaged the same contractors for renovating their house... went up to their places to look at the workmanship... nice... and the best part is cheap!! i also have total control of who to engage to do the rewiring, windows installer and woodworks... Verdict Masonary, Plumbing, Tiling, Painting, L-box done by Ting Ting, Homemaster Interior Design & Furnishing Electricity and Rewiring done by Sebastian, JAE Electrical and Renovation Air-con done by Aron, Imperial Distributors Pte Ltd Windows, grills, shower screens and all doors done by Alex, City Aluminium & Contractors Kitchen cabinets, TV console and feature wall, Built-in wardrobe done by Mr Ng, Peng Design and Wood Works Designs of my house done by myself everything inclusive of bathroom accessories and lightings... only $55k My house layout after renovation 1) hacked the wall between the kitchen and the dining hall to have an open concept kitchen. 2) hacked away the glass sliding between the dining hall and the service balcony to have an unblocked view of the service balcony. 3) hacked away the glass sliding door at the study room, make a hollow block wall and a new door. 4) hacked away the ugly floor tiles (colour) at the balcony and the maid's room and have new tiles. 5) hacked away the floor tiles at the service balcony and have new tiles. 6) 'flushed' up the area from the dining hall to the half of the service balcony with broken marbles flooring. 7) redo both the toilets. 8) redo the kitchen. 9) change all windows (including toilet louvre windows), window grills, bedrooms' doors, bi-fold door for common toilet, glass door for master bedroom toilet, two glass shower screens, main door and grills. 10) new air-con 11) rewiring and LAN6 cabling for master bedroom, bedroom 2, study room and Living Hall. 12) kitchen cabinets with granite top, wardrobes for bedroom 3 and master bedroom, TV console and feature wall, box up of all pipes in toilets.

House with lots of windows = windy? airy? bright? I think I got the package... Windy, Airy and Bright... BUT changing windows is going to eat up my budget... and I need to have grills coz I have two small kids at home... Blocked view... My balcony windows My Living Hall windows

Kitchen Living Hall Wife is surfing renotalk to get ideas and recommendations on contractors...

My balcony View from the main door The door at the end of the balcony is the entrance to the maid's room Side Hall and Dining Hall Closer view of the Dining Hall Another view of the Side Hall

my personal opinion and this does not represent the views of any moderators, IDs, contractors and whoever... IDs Expensive contractors... sorry... they are not contractors but middlemen or project coordinators... BUT some are experienced project coordinators and they can really give good advices on space designs and some can really offer an excellent concept of the house that THEY want it to be... you are in control of some but still not in total control... Main contractors Mid range pricing... if u have a lot of woodworks, it is best to look for a main con who specialized in woodworks so u sure get good quotes on woodwork and it is best that the main con has his own factory... however, they also look for sub-con to do the wetworks, electricity wiring, windows and hacking etc... some main con has no idea of designs or whatsoever, so u have to tell them what u wanna do... u r in control of the designs but not in control of the pricing... to a certain extent... Individual contractors Low range pricing... u have to source for several quotes for contractors who do the same thing e.g 3-4 quotes from contractors who do cornices or L-box, 3-4 quotes from contractors who do woodworks... then u compare quotes and get the best price... BUT remember cheapest doesn't mean best... the better way is to ask fellow forumers about their experiences with the contractors... i read n read n come to my own conclusion for the selection of the best contractors for the jobs... am i in total control? frankly, also to a certain extent... prices? yes i am in control... design? yes i am in control... quality? no i am not... work schedule? yes i am in control but still if one contractor delays his work, the schedule will go haywire...

why don't u try alex? my personal experience... nice guy... offers good advices... his blog <removed> and u can find his contact number there...