jaykr

Hi Macuser 77, For my E.A. that was the difference in cost between Mr. K and Alan. I was excited to get K's quoted and was shocked to see the the total cost. The difference was 40K. I was wondering why there is such a big gap, K said its because he uses quality materials and the quality of his workers. I felt 40K was too much ...and the quality and materials can't be that much of difference. Some of the ID's also came near to 30 - 35 K.

HI MK, Since I am traveling to U.S for two weeks, I actually told Alan to move my carpentry stuff until I am back. I want to be there when they do the carpentry especially for Kitchen cabinets. In the meanwhile they should finish all the other stuff so that the only thing left would be carpentry and the related items that go with the carpentry. So M.K any ideas what I should look out for in U.S. that I should be able to get cheaper there than in Singapore? I went to Howard's World Storage in Millenia Walk and already noted some things to buy but was wondering if I can get cheaper elsewhere as some of the items are pretty ex although very appeaing...;P Didn;t know U.S had Howard Storage, gotta check if the place I am going too has this. ;p I was thinking of getting Simple Human Auto Soap Dispenser.

Hi MK, Thank you for understand. ;p Phew! ;p If he did not keep to his promises, I agree it is a totally different affair. Getting him on Whats App? heheheh I know what you exactly mean. I always see him on Gmail chat but I don't think so he even checks or knows how to check? ;P In terms of your promise, tell him about your worries and ask him what if he is not able to deliver by that date? What then ? that's what I do. If he says he can deliver, then get in writing and tell him if he doesn't deliver would he willing to pay for the extended lease? be direct. I do what is basic. I call him and then leave him a SMS telling him to call me. He usually does call me back but not immediately. The only time he calls me back immediately is if there is an issue and he knows because his Sub con called him or he knows something new is happening. I kinda knew this from reading the other blogs as well as when I was negotiating the contract, he was not a easy person to get. gotta go...talk later.

First, let me put up a disclaimer that I am not defending Alan in any way as I don't benefit from it. However,I would like to suggest another way of looking at the same thing . Hope you don't mind and offend anyone else. 1. I think there is a mismatch of expectations between what you wanted and what Alan provides.I think your expectations were not to do so much of hand on work as you currently are doing. I think in this way, maybe an ID with a project manager or site supervisor would be a better match. Pardon me if I am wrong. If you have read the previous T-blogs who have engaged Alan, you would notice a common them on all them: a. The owner has been / have to be very engaged in the process. b. Alan does not talk much and give you updates every week etc.., He will call you when the next item is up to be done, and ask you to meet to sub con to tell what you want and how you want it to be done. c. He is very busy and very forgetful so you have to remind him and send him emails etc. d. If there is anything you don't like you can highlight to him and he would get it fixed for you ( if it is fixable at that time you highlighted) and at no extra charge to you so far all of the time for me and that seems to be common theme across other T-blogs too. e. He is way cheaper than most ID / contractor and especially Mr.K. ;p Based on the all these themes: It works very well for people who like to take charge of their own renovation and have the time to do it and want more things to be done for lower costs. It works very well for me as well, if you read my T-blog I have highlighted how engaged I am but that's me. I like the fact that I get to tell the tiler , electrician , carpenter etc on how I want my things to be done. I draw everything as well as photos to show exactly how things need to be done. I am like the project manager for my place and I like that. I chase everyone for everything including Alan. For my carpentry, I got the carpenter to go with me to Blum to see what I am talking about and show exactly what I wanted. They took the time to come with me and look at what I was referring too and took pictures and draw all the carpentry pictures etc there and we confirmed it there. 2. Next, in terms of schedule , Again the part about the owner being very engaged comes into play here. You have to take charge even before the start of the renovation and ask for a breakdown on how things will be done. How long will it take. to complete the renovation ? What about the delays? etc... The point been you have to be very hands on to talk to Alan and get this all sorted out. For me, I call Alan every week and whenever it is needed to know what is going to happen next, I tend go down to my place and tell the person exactly what I want and if in doubt or if I have disagreement with the respective sub contractor I will call Alan and tell him my issue and he will call and resolve it for me. If the windows are missing, I call and ask where is the window you promised as my tiling is getting delayed because of this etc..... Does Alan have issues? Yes! Certainly he has, he is very forgetful and you have to keep reminding him. However, I knew that even before I signed the contract with him, Most of the T-bloggers who have engaged him made it clear on that. So why did I go with Alan even though I know I would have to keep on reminding him and doing all the things? 1. Like what others say, he is a very easy person to talk too if you wants things changed. That is been the case for all the changes I have requested and all the changes at no extra cost. 2. My most important aspect cost! He was 10,000 - 25,000 dollars more cheaper than all the ID's and about 4 - 8000 cheaper than other contractors. He was roughly 40,000 dollars more cheaper than the infamous Mr. K. 3. The quality of work across most and not all T-bloggers is that he has done a good job although they all have complains. However, when I msg them , most of them said they would hire him again. I wrote this as I want to give an alternative view on how to look whats happening. Pardon me if I offend anyone with this response. Thank You.

Here are some updated photos of work done so far : Living Room / Hall : Cove lighting structure completed : Walkway cove lighting structure Foyer false ceiling with Lighting fixture : Kitchen gas piping and water piping / Concrete Sink Support tiled up.

There were a couple of hiccups but got it resolved =)

Hello! Welcome to Club Alanist as MK said earlier! Ah Meng is my view was very nice and helpful and helped a lot especially when I had so carry many craftbricks / Stones to carry to my place. ;p They all helped in carrying it! His work was very good for my place.

Hmmm.....It has been some time since I last updated my T-blog. Been super busy with work and the renovation. So many things to do and buy etc.... Finally got some free time today to update the progress. Lets see, we have completed the following : 1) hacking and tiling. 2) Removing of old box up of pvc pipes and replacing with new stainless steel pipes ( Hot and cold) 3) Removing of old Citygas gas pipes and replacing with new gas pipes from outside the house through the hall to the kitchen and then to Citygas water heater. 4) Installation of sink with concrete sink support. 5) Cement base for Kitchen cabinet. 6) Electrical work for entire house completed 7) Cove lighting for living room and walkway. 8) Boxing up water and gas pipes in all areas except kitchen 9) False ceiling in foyer area. Work currently going on : Painting of house Measurement of carpentry completed. Carpentry in construction. Here are some pictures of the work completed : Electrical works : Kitchen View from Foyer : Living Room / Hall : Removing old water and gas piping and box up and replacing with new. New stainless Steel piping at Master Bedroom Bathroom :

Hi Blue, No more pics of your other carpentry work? or the rest of your house? Moving in already wah!!.... me so so many things to finish up. Last Friday had meeting with Alan and Carpenter on my Kitchen Cabinet. They said cannot do and I check with one of the tech people if really cannot do, and they said should be able to do, so got them to talk to the carpenter and they said now can do ....... so kinda anxious on what is going to happen. Really spent quite a bit of money on my kitchen cabinet, hope it turns out the way I planned it.

Maybe you go can to Case and raise it up or go to Small Claims Tribunal.

Hi, Welcome to the wonderful world of renovation experience ( if this is your 1st time, like me. ;p ) After the whole renovation experience, you would be different person, skilled in my arts....;p

Hi Mario, PMed you already. hope it helps ! =)

I need to go measure actually, as it covers 3 half side walls and one full length wall. I know I bought 6 boxes initially and another 6 later as it was not enough. PMed you the contact .

Hi HappyBear, PM you Alan's contact. In terms of reno cost? my cost might not make sense to you as your requirements and my requirements could be different. Hope this helps!

HI, I keep on reading some people saying that the stove on top and the oven below is not a good layout as the heat from the oven will impact the stove and if it is a tampered glass stove it would crack and the surrounding cabinet will be impacted by the heat. However, I see a lot of people are actually doing that layout. Does anyone know of anyone who has that layout and has had problems such as tampered glass cracking and stove been impacted or cabinet been impacted? I am intending to do that same layout but it can pretty confusing . Thank You.

Hi Yaolong, Wow! your flat layout is exactly the same as mine!! What is the sqm for your flat? I am very surprised to see someone living just next to me! I am guessing you are staying at Blk 134 which has a great view of the hillside! Are you living at the top floor? That would be a fantastic view and greenery all around. I am guessing with that fresh morning air! Is your ceiling as low as mine? Its only like 8 ft 3 inches ans everyone in my family is tall, so wondering if it makes sense to install a fan. You did a lot of hacking....I only hacked off a doorway to make the bedroom 3 have an attached bathroom for my parents. If you have time, please read my blog and provide any feedback based on your experience. Thanx!!

Hi, All these are folks are from my main contractor Alan.

MK. Finally, everything is coming down to make way for the new! Congrats and hope your dream design home comes to live! =)

Hi Edmund, Sorry, don't remember the price for the bidet spray as I bought all of them together ( with the homefair discount) and bargained on the total price. I didn't buy the Sink from Sorento because they didn't have the type of sink I was looking for and I felt the price was way too expensive compared to the one I saw in Hafele. Actually, I felt the good quality sinks in Malaysia are way too expensive compared to ones in Singapore. I got my Hafele sink for 300 plus only. There were many companies in Malaysia selling sinks that has 1.2 thickness but they didn't have the condensation sealer as well as coating across the sink for the noise reduction. Without these, they were selling at the price of 500 - 600( Singapore Dollars) plus and you need to bargain to get the price lower. I felt Singapore has better quality sinks and price is more attractive .

Hi Yaolong, Thank you for the compliment. Much appreciated. Where do you stay? near Marsiling Drive or Road?

Hi Juxstapose, I got my stuff from Malaysia except for the Sink which I got from Hafele Singapore.

Hi Elvira, Will PM you the contact. In regards to the question, it really depends on a lot of factors, if you want to save time and effort on your part, I would suggest you just get Alan to get the tiles for you. However, if you have all the time in the world or something like that and you have done your research on tiles and know what type of tiles you want and all other details, that you can do that. If you don't have time to research and plan etc...... I would really suggest you ask Alan to get it for you , it would be much much easier on you. =) hope this help. Anything msg me.

Hi mishmish, I have actually been looking around for a long time, have also been poisoned by many to get the Grohe and other brands as well as looking at places like Ho kee etc..... I finally decided to buy all from one place as my cousin is also using the same brand for almost 5 years for his landed house in Malaysia and the quality is pretty good so I decided to buy it as it was on promotion and they gave good discounts.

HI Edmund, Yup, I bought most of my bathroom and kitchen stuff from Sorento. I actually bought them during the Home Fair event in J.B., they were on promotion and thus there was discount. I also further bargained with them on the price as I bought all the items for both my bathrooms and kitchen. My cousin knows one of the sales staff as he bought for his landed house in Malaysia all Sorento stuff too as well a lot of the hardware from the same store for many years. The sales staff told us not to get the Sorento Bidet spray but instead get the one I bought. She said the quality and durability is much better and it comes with a 5 yr warranty too. The stainless steel cabinet sink set was on display at the homefair by Fullshun and was on promotion also, that's where I saw it and bought it . Hope this helps. =)

Hi Edmund, Apologizes, I am not sure of the cost as my bills are still in my Cousins place in Malaysia. What I do know is that the price is the same as in Singapore but in Malaysian dollars , plus I bargained with them since I was buying quite a lot. I need to check on the code as I am not too sure. Let me go check and see if I can find the correct code.