summersann

Oh really? I thought it was just this firm! Then how do other renotalkers share their 3D drawings on their t-blogs while the renovation is ongoing?

Haha! Thanks!! hope you won't find it too boring. There won't be much action for a while, still waiting for first appt this week, no idea when 2nd appt will be. And the IDs we're probably engaging don't allow the taking home of sketches and plans until after the renovation (copyright issues. Their designs apparently got stolen before)

Oh. When was your first appointment? It takes that long eh?

Same here! We had some quotations that were 40k (which we clearly avoided because the ID clearly has no clue what we meant), and one that was 62k. But that one left out quite a bit of work, so would have amounted to about the same eventually with electrical and what not. It came down to the 86k or the 98k. 86k doesn't include plumbing, aircon installation, electrical rewiring, and was minimal on storage. 98k went all the way with storage, includes electrical, plumbing and installations. We picked the one who inspired us most with their designs and who was willing to scale down the works to meet our budget. Have you started on your renovation? Hope it goes well!!

Oh we're patching and varnishing because we want to retain the staircase's current railing. It's very vintage, just what we need for the look. Most IDs have informed us that the railing may be damaged if we hack the stairs. Plastering is already included in the quote under false ceiling works To be fair, with the current quotation, we are doing a lot. - Hacking 4 walls (at least) - creating new "alcoves" (1 at the entrance for the shoe area, 1 at the service yard area, 1 in the bedroom upstairs for the enlarged bathroom, 1 in the new master bedroom upstairs for a dry vanity) - quartz for the kitchen - a lot of storage ideas, i.e. pull-out drawers, cabinets (kitchen, under stairs, bedrooms, toilets) - glass panel for new master bedroom wall - full electrical rewiring, air-con installation, plumbing installation - wood-deck for balcony, full length powder-coated aluminum framed with glass panel bi-fold doors Of course, strictly going by numbers, the quote is still high. We need to work on what we can sacrifice to bring the numbers down. A lot of the items are higher than market rate. That might be the way this firm is getting their "design fee". They didn't charge us a design fee upfront, as compared to the other firms we met who charged us design fees upwards of 3k, but didn't give much ideas that we would expect given the "design fee". If we want to hire them, we can't obsess over each line and must remind ourselves of that point. That said, constructive suggestions on how to reduce the quotation by opting for other works in place of the current big-ticket ones are very welcomed!!

Good tips written for all to share! Should I copy and paste your other words of wisdom in our messages here for the rest of renotalk? Plenty of good information! you're a lifesaver for all noobs like me.

Thanks!

We're quite noob at this. Which part of the polishing works is expensive? It's probably either the making good of strip between 2 bedrooms or staircase?

The breakdown: Painting Works Paint whole unit using ICI/Nippon emulsion paint with ceiling with matex Using Odorless Series ICI gloss paint for PVC sewage pipes ICI gloss paint for main doorframe and gate No color limitation $3,200 Sealer $600 Polishing Works Polish parquet flooring @ Master Bedroom $200 Make good of damaged parquet @ Master Bedroom $250 Supply, install & varnish parquet flooring @ Hacked Wall Area of Bedroom 1 & 2 $1,150 Supply, install & varnish parquet flooring @ staircase (small planks) $3,120 I think it's because the designer included the supplying of parquet to patch up the affected areas after hacking? Not sure about the painting works though. Opinions welcomed!

Here's the break-down of the carpentry work in the quotation mentioned. Foyer Supply and install low shoe cabinet (8ft) in selected laminated finish, internal carcass in colored/woodgrain PVC finish $1,400 Staircase Supply and install Tall Cabinet with deep drawers (6ft) in selected laminated finish, internal carcass in white PVC finish $1,800 Kitchen Supply and install bottom cabinet (13ft) in selected laminated finish, internal carcass in colored/woodgrain PVC finish $2,405 Supply and install Quartz Top (13ft) @ Kitchen cabinet $2,080 Supply and install wooden support for counter in selected laminate finish $550 [we're probably changing this part of the design] Supply and install Quartz @ Custom-made counter & low wall $3,800 [we're probably changing this part of the design] Supply and install full-height microwave/oven cabinet (5ft) in selected laminated finish, internal carcass in colored/woodgrain PVC finish $1,450 Master Bedroom Supply and install full-height double-sided finish sliding wardrobe (7ft) in selected laminated finish, internal carcass in colored/woodgrain PVC finish $2,940 Bedroom 1 & 2 Supply and install full-height sliding wardrobe (21ft) in selected laminated finish, internal carcass in colored/woodgrain PVC finish $7,350 $[this wardrobe is humongous and we'll probably change it. The designer factored in space for us to store our bags, the only designer who thought about that! impressed ] Supply and install suspended writing plank in selected laminated finish $693 [we're probably changing this part of the design] Supply and install double sliding door in selected laminated finish $1,250 Supply and install double-sliding door track $200 Supply and install wall-hung cabinet (10ft) in selected laminated finish, internal carcass in colored/woodgrain PVC finish @ Dry Vanity Area $1,850 [we're probably changing this part of the design] Supply and install solid surface top (10ft) with wooden support @ Dry Vanity Area $1,300 [we're probably changing this part of the design] Master Toilet Supply and install wall-hung cabinet (5ft) in selected laminated finish, internal carcass in colored/woodgrain PVC finish $925 [we're probably changing this part of the design] Supply and install solid surface vanity (7ft) $700 Supply and install bi-fold door in selected laminated finish $980 Supply and install bi-fold door track $120 Common Toilet 2 Supply and install solid surface vanity $250

You're right, it does get frustrating. Like when designers overlook what you specifically mention as a 'must', or overlook major things in their quotation but include those ideas in their layout, or create mood boards that don't appeal to you at all (despite having spent 1-2hours talking about your preferences). The list goes on. 10 seems to be the number! We met 10 as well. I PM-ed you regarding who we will (most probably) be signing with. Trying not to say it openly until we officially decide after HDB 1st appointment

The boy and I actually deliberated over the contractor vs ID issue for quite a while! Ultimately, we decided that we needed someone with a design eye to help put our ideas together (we have A LOT of ideas) and make it coherent. Otherwise, I think the house will come out looking like a mish-mash of everything, very "chak pa lang". Also, we don't want to have to coordinate everything cuz we're doing an overhaul and this is our first renovation, so we're very noob, hahaha The carpentry IS crazy right! Glad you agree. The boy doesn't see that point! I'm going to try very hard to take out whatever I can do without, because I want the freedom to style my place with loose pieces. I'll type out the detailed quote for carpentry when I get home! Meeting another designer tonight (we seriously need to stop meeting new designers, but it's very addictive to speak to different designers to see their ideas). Thanks for giving your opinion! Keep them coming!

Oh the quote is actually quite detailed. But it's SO long (11-paged quotation) that I decided to just show the whole sum of each area of work The staircase, electrical rewiring and aircon installation (but not including purchase of aircon unit) are included in the quote. Can't imagine the sum if they weren't already included! Most of the other IDs we approached didn't include rewiring and installation prices, and their quotes were already 85-90k!

YES! Totally agree with you. We constantly check with the IDs about each area of the house, coming close to nagging I'd rather have the "worst case scenario" number first and know what to expect, then omit whatever I can sacrifice.

We found the place we're getting without a buying agent. Some selling agents weren't keen to entertain us, but we managed to view a handful of places without a buying agent. The selling agents always bring a partner and try to get the other agent to act as our buying agent. We had to repeat "we're not paying commission" a few times.

No choice, the place we have is pretty much original condition. Except for the 2nd floor's parquet and the 3 toilets, everything else is getting hacked. Heart pain

I totally understand what you mean. The other ID we're still waiting on, her quotation doesn't include any of the things you mentioned either. Plus, she forgot to add in some additional changes to the original floorplan (which means more $$). Don't even dare to think about it now And VO. I'm praying there isn't any/much. Are you renovating an EM too?

Shall post the quotation we've gotten from the 1 of the final 2 IDs still in the running (we have a current preference, but final confirmation shall be on Thursday!). Still waiting for the other ID to send us the final quotation. Demolition & Construction Works - $6,742 Wet Works - $17,385 Painting Works - $3,800 False Ceiling & Fibrous Plasterboard Wall Works - $7,760 Glass Works - $3,606 Window Works - $3,938 Door Works - $5,460 Polishing Works - $4,720 Flooring Works - $4,600 Carpentry Works - $32, 043 ( we're aiming to cut down quite a bit from this) Plumbing and Piping Works - $2,188 Electrical Works - $5,089 Miscellaneous - $720 Any opinions welcomed!

Ah, etsy. Got to love etsy! keep them pictures coming!

Aiming to create an area resembling this for the shoes and some bags/outerwear. The living room should ideally turn out like this! Kitchen should look somewhat like this, but perhaps experimenting with some colors! Trying to incorporate some sort of a study area into the bedroom. Looking at pictures of interiors always helps to calm the anxious soul

I love bunting flags! Mind sharing where you got yours from? Love your ideas so far! Post more pictures

Love louvre doors! Good luck on your reno!

you have a humongous balcony!

After weeks of deliberating and waiting, it's finally November! Time for the first appointment this week, settle on one designer (think we have more or less decided on one!), and get down to designing the place Still sourcing for ideas on how to incorporate our shoe area into the design. The boy and I have the habit of leaving often-worn shoes out in the open, which doesn't seem to work well if we were to just include a shoe cabinet under the window at the kitchen area (because then we'd see the shoes lying around when we're in the kitchen). Most IDs overlooked this. Only 1 ID remembered that it was important for us to have a space for shoes to be tucked under somewhere, yet not become an eye sore because of our open concept for the 1st floor. It's been slightly frustrating, realizing that many IDs just go for the big picture, but forget about the details that make a huge difference to everyday life. Any ideas welcomed!

Love the color in your master toilet! Very rich color. The door's looking good too! Great that your renovation is coming along now