whoareyou

So we have chosen ID5 to do our renovations. I called to tell Eunice the good news. We met up later in the week to sign the papers as well as to finalise all lots of things - paint colours, wardrobe colours, kitchen cabinet colour, solid surface top or laminate, toilet door type/colour, electrical outlet position, light switch position, etc etc etc etc etc! It was certainly tiring and we ended about 2 hours later... and we were still not done! We still had to choose tiles. We called it a night and continue the following week. This is a never ending process right up to the last week of renovations. One other thing I mentioned was that our renovation loan ready and we won't be able to give her a cheque just now, but, about a week later. 3 Nov - On-line request for utilities. 7 Nov - Turned on utilities. Had to take the morning off to wait for the SP Services guy to come.

Choosing the ID. So far, we had met with 6 IDs. ID1 - from IMM (walk-in) ID2 - from IMM (walk-in) - did not return a quotation ID3 - slow responder ID4 - mandarin speaking contractor ID5 - contractor for my friend who is a developer ID6 - the contractor who met with the HDB officer My wife and I stopped and narrowed the list down. ID1 had a reasonable quotation. (consider) ID2 had no quote. (out) ID3 seemed slow in his response but had the lowest quotation. (consider) ID4 the 2nd lowest quote but was always late for appointments. (out) #will go into details below ID5 had a reasonable quoation and seemed quite prompt in his response. (consider) ID6 had the highest quotated prices. His personality also clashed with mine. (out) # I am a stickler for time. I hate being late and hate it when others are late without calling. I met him a total of 3 times. The first time was 15 mins late. We met him at his client's flat in AMK for him to show us his work. The 2nd time, he was about an hour late for our discussion. The 3rd time, he wanted to see the my new flat so that he can make exact measurements. I decided to do it during my lunch time. I rushed back to the flat at 12pm. He wasn't there, as expected. What I didn't expect was calling him 45mins later to find out that he was just leaving another renovation place. He said to give him 10 mins but instead took 30 mins. Furthermore, he did not seem apologetic at all. This really wastes my time. If this happens now, it will definitely happen later if I use him to do my renovations. The remaining three quotations were quite close so I had to decide on other factors. I checked the internet and all seemed not to have bad reports. ID1 wasn't a referral. It was in IMM and I didn't enjoy going back there. My friend who had a contractor there said she had to go back there 6 or 7 times during the renovation period. The reasons for meeting up with the contractor was to redisgn, choose colours, tiles, door handles, curtains, lights, confirm drawings etc etc. So, ID1 landed at the bottom of the pile. As for ID3, if he was slow in quotations, then his other work may be slow. He seemed hard to contact and there wasn't an assistant to answer my queries. For example, I wanted to check the price of balcony doors. It took him a week to get back to us. I was wary he didn't have a proper office. So this came in second place. ID5 was prompt in responding to our calls and extra quotations. The office was close to my in-laws place with easy parking. We could meet at night (about 8pm) for discussions. The ID firm was not a one-man show and yet not a big one such that my project would be considered peanuts. She was only late once. Even then, she smsed me before that to let me know. I appreciate that kind of communication. The only quirk was that I wanted to work with the boss, Allan, instead of his assistant, Eunice. But after a few discussions with her, I found her okay. And I could use the fact that if she didn't do a good job, I could 'complain' to somebody. So, ID5 was the winner. To be continued.

Just to clarify, the last ID that communicated with me in mandarin is ID4. ID5 is next on the list. He was recommended by another friend of mine. This friend is a developer. ID5 did 3 apartments for him and was satisfied. Interestingly enough, ID5 cold called my friend for the job. Also, for future reference, I will call ID5 boss 'Allan' and his assistant 'Eunice'. I met Allan at his office. This was some assurance that at least I can find him if he does not respond to my calls. He and his assistant, Eunice, was sitting with my wife during the planning and designing. She never said more than two words. I thought she was an understudy. His firm seemed to be a mix of interior designing and straight forward renovation work. He was pretty fast with his quotation - about less than a week. He emailed and said to get back to Eunice for any questions. I was surprised that his assistant was doing job and not him. After all, I was talking mainly to Allan and not Eunice. I was hesistant about this arrangement since I wouldn't know what my rapport would be like with Eunice. Another ID6 became part of the picture when I met my cousins for a birthday party. My aunty highly recommended this contractor. So, we met him at our new flat. He definitely knew his stuff - maybe just too much. Some ideas I mentioned, he put down frankly. He suggested some changes to our ideas and thought up some of his own. The most interesting experience with him was the incident I will tell next. I had called an HDB officer to look at the ceiling of our flat. It looked like it was leaking or seeping water. I made the appointment on a weekday morning. At the same time, I called ID6 to meet with me and the HDB officer to make sure the officer didn't hoodwink me. The exchange wasn't pleasant. Not a heated arguement but enough to leave a bad taste. The officer said that we should continue with the renovations first and then monitor the ceiling. His reason is that the flat is old and the ceiling could have just detiorated over the years. Furthermore, the water seepage could be coming from elsewhere like the walls of the flat. Generally, he didn't want to contact the upstairs owner until he was sure that there was a confirmed problem. ID6, however, had different ideas. He wanted the officer to do a coloured-water test on the upstairs flat before any renovations started and; that water seepage from the walls and not directly upstairs was ridiculous. Regardless of the outcome of the discussion, I realised that ID6 is more aggresive than me. He may be able to get the sub-con and workers to do a good job, but, I may not be able to handle him. I didn't really have a good rapport with him and in the long term, didn't think we would have a good working relationship. *okay. Will update on results next post.*

* Oh yes, it is free parking at IMM. So, there's always good and bad. Not too sure about the showrooms at IMM. I didn't use the one at IMM. Alright... on with the story. * For the sake of the story, I will refer to all contractors or interior designers and their firms as ID and ID firm. On that same day I went to IMM to look at the prelimary drawings of Interior Designer 1 (ID1), I also went to another shop, ID2, as a walk-in. ID 2 was the most disappointing. After waiting about for 15 mins, a person finally attended to me and my wife. So, we went about the whole planning thing and her last question was what's my budget? Just as I mentioned it, I could see her flinch. It was either very well (good for her) or too low. As I discovered a week later, it was apparently too low. Her quotation never came and we could not get in touch with her. On to another ID. This time, I stayed away from IMM. ID3 came over to my rented house instead. Our discussion was done in this house only. Actually, I was quite wary that he didn't have a proper office. He mentioned that it is a SOHO. He was a nice chap as well. He was recommended by a friend. We were considering his service, but, he took quite long with sending us his quotations (about 2 weeks). And whenever I tried to calling him to check on certain items, he was not in Singapore. Generally, if he is not prompt in small things, then, in the long term, I see delays happening. I must say that he quotation was the lowest amoung all the IDs we met. The next ID was a speak-mandarin-only, loud voice and with a 'can do' attitude contractor. He was recommended by my brother-in-law. I had trouble communicating with him. As he was a hands on person, paper planning was not him. He talked in feet when HDB drawings only showed mm. He couldn't orientate the drawing very well and his wife had to help him out with it. His favourite phrase was, "我可以帮你沈钱." (i.e. I can help you save money) and "我可以做 pattern." (i.e. I can do pattern - referring to floor tiles). Eventually, he sent us a one page quotation. Most of items were packaged together. We asked him to break it down and it took him two weeks to do it. Also, he didn't have email. Which could have helped us in comparing prices if it came in Excel format. * Ok. Done for now. To be continued. *

* I've been reading the topics here since I started renovating. Most of the stories here are unhappy. So, I thought it be good to write something positive from my experience. Hopefully, those going through reno-boot-camp will be know what to expect. The stories will be in parts. I will go into as much detail as possible. The summary is this. We bought the 5 room flat in August. Started renovations in mid-October 2006. Essentially, it ended in Jan 2007. We made full payment thereafter. However, there were small stuff to be corrected in the flat and so we decided to move in after Chinese New Year. We have moved in but there are boxes still everywhere. Any extra comments would be in asterix.* Started looking for a contractor to renovate. The seller of the flat requested an extension which we okayed since we haven't found a contractor yet. The initial search was slow. Weekends were the only available time to go. IMM was ****. It was packed with people. It took me 15 mins to find parking and then 15 mins to exit the parking. It is really not a place to be if you are in a rush. We went to our first ID firm as a walk-in. This girl waited on us and took us through the whole design. It was an hour later when we walked out. My wife was tired by then and I was simply amazed at the amount of plannning and thinking needed - anything from door handles to colour of toilet bowls. She told us that she'll show us the prelimary drawings one week later. IMM is really packed! Beware all those getting an ID from there. You'll have do go back there more often than expected. We went back the following week on a weeknight at 7pm. It was still packed! Another 15mins up the carpark. The first ID firm showed us the drawings and quotation. She was a nice girl with a nice tatoo. She asked us when we'd like to start the reno. I replied that I've still to check around and will inform her of my decision. She was nice and let us walk out without pressuring us to sign up. In fact, she agreed that we should compare prices. *Ok, am tired already thinking of the IMM driving and parking. Will continue tomorrow. *

Sorry to hear of your woes. I think you've highlighted what many people have missed when looking for a contractor. The contractor should be able to control their sub-contractors and their workers. I got my contractor to re-install the windows. She got a sub-contractor approved by the HDB to do the job. As they removed the old one, they literally sent concrete flying out the flat. It landed on the cars below and someone complained. It escalated to my contractor and then to me. She told me she'd settle it. Eventually, she told off her sub-contractor and made him answerable to HDB and any damages. Those who were directly under her, she made sure they cleaned up the mess outside the flat every evening. She delayed the installation of the toilet bowls till the last so that they won't mess it up. By the way, if there isn't a toilet bowl, they'll usually do it straight into the hole. Cigarette butts are a norm and if you hacked up your floor 20 years later, you'd probably see some fossils of them. But it was extremely inconsiderate of them to throw it into the washing machine! I laminated my living and bedroom floor, so hopefully, they removed them before it was laid. I must say that it feels lumpy at certain places. I did get the contractor through a friend. My friend is a developer and if the contractor didn't do a good job with my place, the contractor wouldn't have further business with my friend. Actually, my friend pre-warned me that the onus is on me to check prices and look around. And that our friendship should not be affected by what happens to the reno. Regards.

Hi bubblepearl, At the end of the day, T&Cs are just that. Just like those when you install a software on your computer. Only install if you trust them. Futhermore, if you do not like the phrases that is put in, you can always ask them to alter it and counter sign. It may take a while longer, though. Generally, if any contractors are facing a law suit, they would stop any work at the place concerned. Even if it is not in the contract, he/she can delay the whole project with excuses ranging from workers not free to weather is too bad. I believe, you should trust your instincts. If you do not feel comfortable with the person you are working with, then you should walk away, no matter how much 'lower' the price is compared to others. At the end of the day, it is a rapport. Think long term - during the renovation (whether he/she accomodates your requests for modifications), after the renovation (whether he/she is willing to rectify faults without hesitation), even longer term (whether you would recommend this person to your friends). One thing not mentioned most of the time is the after reno service. If the contractor has a good and honest profit margin, he/she is more willing to do stuff for you free of charge. This is interesting cause I asked my contractor to Paint the outside of the window ledge during the reno (it was an eye sore with the old paint and painting only covers the interior, not exterior.) She did it, naturally, and put it in the Additional work done invoice. Price - FOC. Also, when we call her, she's ready to answer or call back quickly - instead of trying to evade the calls. I read the T&C of my contract, and generally, it was not favourable to me. For example, 50% of monies to be paid when materials are delivered. To me, it is nonsense cause what the **** am I supposed to do with all this material without anyone to lay them? But it is a risk that I took believing that she will do a proper job. Also, contractors and contracting firms are two different entities. Just like a law firm, lawyers and law firms are seperate entities. There are good and bad contractors in the same firm. Just like in a law firm. Even if the firm is reputedly sound, any one contractor can be a black sheep. So, if a contractor leaves the firm in the middle of reno, it may be difficult for his colleague to pick it up unless they work together and have shared commission. Ok, hope it helps. Regards.