jaykr

Hi retchlow, yup...yup... took a long time to decide, I think I met Alan in end of January till now. ;p Also, thank you for answering my questions and giving me the contact ehc... appreciate it. =) I hope you fully got all the answers for your cabinet. ;p

Thank you . Thank you. It is nice to belong to club that has a very interesting members with a wide variety of distinct taste h Wow! MK you are good, you have yet to get your keys and you already have bought your things etc....heh I only planned after I got my keys. ;p I got my flat from the Sales of Balance Flats. My queue was number 37 / 40. so limited choices....but got to make a choice! or else have to wait another few years!! =)

Here is the link to my other thread on research. I need to update that too. ;p http://www.renotalk.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=52381&st=0&p=745012entry745012

Hi Ment0S, Yup...Yup , I have a thread but have not updated for so long. I also have another thread that I started some time back on research . ;p Yup! Yup! my wifey also cannot stand the everything cannot do type... she was like aiyoh! Is this my house or his???? hehehehe I have shortlisted Alan after going through ID's and Contractors. my wifey likes him and was like saying, " I felt safe and calm , I know the renovation is going to go smooth with him"... wah.... say like that even before reno start. So hoping it goes smooth like how my wife dreams it will be. I find Alan easy to talk with and he seems to be pretty accommodating, so hope everything goes smooth. =) So you're nearly completed right? So is Alan as my wife imagines him to be?? ;p

Hi Mk, I have kinda of decided to get Alan to do my renovation. =) Alan told me he would only be able to start after 1st April, which is fine with me as I don't like to rush things and take it a step at a time. But I have planned most of what I wanted to do already during this time. It is now just decision making time based on budget and shopping time to buy all the things needed for the house. ;p Hopefully when we start, we should be able to get it done fast as I have already decided on everything unless the plans have to change because of some issues that comes during renovation. How about you? when are you starting or have you started already? hmm...need to go read your blog...the last I remember I think you were going to select tiles or something ya? ;P sorry short term memory...;p

Wow! I started this blog chat in January when I was getting the HDB to rectify all the issue in my flat. I didn't update up till now as I have not started on my renovation. I learned so much over this period of time from books, websites, Reno talk blogs and bloggers who have been kind enough to respond to my multiple round of questions . Thank you to all the people who took the time to answer my questions, appreciate it a lot. I also realized , that it is actually good to meet and talk to all the different contractors / ID's. When you talk to them face to face and show them your flat and ask for their opinion or tell them what you want to do... its good to see how they react , what they say etc... I encountered the following type of people : 1) Everything cannot do or not nice : " This one huh, alamak difficult to do lar.. do this way better, looks more nice I guarantee , why do like this??? do this way lar.... I try to save you money you know.... Why you want to build this? waste money lar don't do. etc...etc..etc.. " 2) Sure can do! - The person came to visit my place and took down all the items to be done and promised to give us the quotes in 1 weeks time and I followed up with the person 1 week later, the person said I wil give you tonight and that was it. I called again ( a couple of times) and the person never responded to the phone call. I then called the person 1 month later and he picked up the person and apologized and blamed it on the phone not working properly or his email got hacked etc.. He said, he wants to work on my project and will send me the phone in 3 days time and that was it. The person completely disappeared. You might wondering, why I kept going to this person after all this, it was because this person was a very famous person in Renotalk and had a very very good reputation. But I guess that might have changed? Anyway, encountered similar people with different levels of disappearance.. 3) Everything can do! - This person just agreed to everything we asked for. I even asked for some stupid things to see if he would agree and he agreed. It seems he was just there to take down what I wanted and then later after we sign contract say, this cannot do and that cannot do etc.. 4) Everything also must do! - This person was very interesting, the moment he stepped into the home, he was like wahhhh...so big huh.... and when we were telling him our requirements, he was like your broken marble , don't polish lar.. waste only, see here got borken, there got stain, polish also look bad lar, why polish,, break everything and do nice new flooring, would look very nice. When I insist on polishing, he was like ok lar, but I confirm won't look nice one. You don't blame me if the polishing don't look good ok.... Throughout the house he basically wanted us to break everything and rebuilt everything. He was more like listening to himself then us. His quotation came up to 100,000 plus for things we didn't ask. 5) Everything I do is ex!! - This person is very famous in Renotalk and in big demand. He came to the flat and quickly started taking down everything we wants without any comments or suggestions. He said not a problem to do anything, even for things most of the contractors / ID's said might have a problem or HDB don't allow . When his quotation came , we were pretty surprised as his price was double that of most people who quoted us. The reason given was that he uses all quality materials and all his sub con are all top rated people! I called and arrange meeting with a few more but they never followed up or didn't show interest when we told them to come to our place to look and then give quotation. They wanted us to go there and get a quotation. I felt it was best for them to view my flat and them give a quotation so never met them. All the contractors / ID mentioned above are contacts I got from reading the blog or I msg and ask them for the contact. I learned a lot about the pricing as well as how quotations can be given in so many formats. Example : Breaking the quotation into very small chunks and making it look as if there are so many things been done and thus the reason for the high cost. e.g. instead of quoting polishing for whole house and a price, they break into all the rooms, floors etc to make 1 item into 10 items. Wow! I am getting 10 items for that price!!! All right, will update more as I go along. My renovation is going to start soon as I have found the ID/Contractor that I am comfortable with. I will provide all the details of what I am going to do ,y my drawings etc... Hopefully it is helpful to others as well as for me to read at the end of my renovation journey. !! Please wish me good luck in my reno coming soon! =)

Not confirm yet. The quotation ding dong back and forth between me and Alan. He is kinda forgetful,;P so I have to add the items that are missing that I told him when he visited my place to see what I want to do. So waiting for quote again. How to share when not confirm right??? ;p

heh.... you're not the only one. ;p

Hi, Whose your contractor? Is it Alan? =)

Hi Mentos, Nice to see your house finished nicely. Wow! what a toilet.... Mosaic all the way! wahhh.... Hope it looks exactly like the picture!!

Hi, There are many brands selling many different technology and trying to say, theirs is the best. The question you got ask yourself when you compare the TV's is this: Can you see a major difference in quality or experience when you compare the tv running a show? If not or a only a slight one, why not get the cheaper one? You can even bring a copy of your favourite movie and ask them to play it for you and see, how you feel watching it in that t.v. However, if there is a major difference and you don't like the experience and prefer the more expensive one, then you should be buy that, because you will be watching that t.v. everyday. Just make sure you don't feel heart sick so spent so much money. However, make sure they have a good warranty. I got myself a LG 42 inch Plasma in 2010 for 560 and it is still going strong and the quality for me and my eyes is pretty good. Value for money . Just my two cents.

Hi Retchlow, You are finishing your reno and I am about to start finalizing the details and start on my reno.

Hi retchlow, Interesting, I am also on the third floor and would have to change my window to the top hung window due to my shower screen and ventilation fan installation. I went down to my flat and nearby flats and looked at all the windows that are top hung, as far as I can see, there doesn't seem to be anyone putting grills, but I think the ultimate decision is based on you and your comfort level. Also previously with the other type of windows, you didn't have grills too right? So my opinion is see how you feel, if you feel disturbed a lot, then put it so that you feel safe. =)

Hi are you using Blum or something like that? Thank you.

Hi, Is it motorized system or non motorized system? If it motorized and if it spoils, would be able to manually use the system? Also, do you know how much you would need to spent to repair the motor if it is spoilt? Thanx!

Hi, I agree with Norman, K seems to be good from the different blogs, but when I got K to give me a quotation for my EA, I had a heart - attack. ;p His pricing is pretty pricey for me but what I see is that majority of the people do not have complains I have read one or two bloggers that do, but the majority did not. I guess he is high demand so his pricing is also high. =)

Hi Nick, It is good to hear from both sides as with every other disagreement. I am sure, the others who have done renovation with you, would either support or disagree with you based on your explanation on how you work. Regards.

Wow. That is really bad workmanship. Is it Nick from RenoGuyz work? I am surprised they can just leave that patch of cement like that and the overlay coming out like that. Why didn't you ask him to fix it for you? Isn't it part of the overall hacking and tiling works?

Hi Hoaili, Thank you for replying so fast. Much appreciated. The "Cotto" is from Malaysia. Hope that helps to remind you? Does the carpenter and contractor speak english or Malay? I tried messaging you, but your message box is full...maybe can give me your email...hehehe Appreciate if you can give me their contacts as well. One last request, if you can message me, the quotation for carpentary as well as for tiling, hacking, etc... Thank a lot. I am trying to finalize and on limited budget as paid quite a bit for the house. Thanx!!!

Hi Hoali, Thank you for providing such a great blog. like it a lot. Can I find out from you, how is the quality of the Cotto tiles and bricks you got? Also, mind sharing what is the cost of carpentry? How much do they charge per feet for wardrobe ? Also, mind sharing the quality of the tiling work from your contractor? Thank you. Much appreciated. Regards, Jaykr.

Hi Rover, Good day to you. I tried msging you but your mailbox is full. Can you message me about your experience with your ID. I'm going to start my renovation soon and wanted to get your feedback. Can you message me instead of typing it in here? I would like to know the following: 1) What do you like or dislike about your ID? 2) Does he monitor the progress of your project and rectify the issues or you have to keep on finding the issues and getting them fixed? 3) What is the quality of work of the tiler? Were there many mistakes that have to rectified or you have to go personally to get inform how you want the work done? 4) What is the quality of the carpentry? Were there many mistakes etc? 5) Is the ID easy to contact or you have to chase everytime or most of the time? Appreciate any info you can provide . Please msg me the details. Thank you. Hi Rover, Good day to you.

Hi, Very nice looking kitchen cabinet! What counter top are you using?

More pics pls!

You can try these links http://connect.blum.com/files/brochure/BRO002_BasicPriceGuide_ZZ2

Hi Z3phy, I am also a 1st timer and have been spending a lot of time researching. 1. You might want to go to another thread / blog I have created where I have collected a lot of information on what are things that we need to know. For example, what material would be best for counter - top , whats the difference between the different materials etc.... Granite, solid top , quartz etc... has different qualities. Here is the link if you are interested My link I have decided to go with Quartz as my kitchen is used a lot of cooking, baking etc...etc the other materials don't seem to meet my needs, or have characteristics I don't like. Quartz - There is Iquartz which is cheaper then the rest like Caesarstone and Silestone etc.... but you need to look at the colors, size etc... and see which one fits you better. Also, some say the Iquartz is not as durable or is not tested for a lot of things, but you can go read on their website and the report they have and decide if you are interested in Iquarz. The other quartz brands seem to have very good marketing but also colors, etc... and also their reports are more detailed with tested for bacteria etc...etc... I think you need to look through all these and make a decision as you are spending a lot of money and you don't want to regret later on the choice of materials, etc... 2. Tiles - Most of the quotations I have seen so far include $3 as the maximum price but I read but cannot validate that the types of tiles you can get with 3 dollars is not as extensive or the choice is limited, so you might want to validate or if you are ok with the tile choice within 3 or if want to get more pricier ones how?. I am getting my own tiles. you might want to check with other forummers on this. 3. Carpentry - I was thinking it would be good to know what type of wood the carpenter would be using like solid plywood , ABS trimmings all around or certain areas, for all cabinets or only selected, how about the internal, or the back is it just a very simple thin plywood etc.... Its good to know this so that the outcome is what you imagined it to be and not what the carpentar imagined it to be. 4. No drawings - Its ok if there is no drawings from the contractor because its not in the total price, BUT you need to draw or get pictures to show how and what you want things to look like. If you don't do that, your imagination and the other parties ( contractor / carpentar, etc....) might be way off and can lead to all kinds of problem including you topping up money to change to what you really wanted. So one of you have to some sort of drawing to communicate and understand excatly what is expected. my 2 cents. hope it helps. =)