monk8

hi peggylee, mstar, happytogether and om3n20, i dont think i should send you the quotation as it depends on the items that you are doing for your house. You could ask for the same guy as me for the ID firms but it will still end up different as what jaglim has said. perhaps you could list down the items you are thinking to do and I will list the total prices quoted and the things I'm doing for my house for you to compare.

if anyone has any queries on the 8 IDs that I have mentioned above, please feel free to ask. I will reply as honest as possible. Will post pics later after uploading them...

thanks...journey is not easy even after deciding on the ID firm to do the reno...searching for tiles and lights = headaches. may i know what you meant by "what house"??

thanks! my place will be at yck. will be putting up the before pics soon before they start hacking.

hey adidaem, which model is that you having? may i know how's the wind? is it quiet?

hey adidaem, which model is that you having? may i know how's the wind? is it quiet?

saw that malaysia selling haiku as well...is it cheaper to purchase there? besides amasco and crestar...any sleek design fans? i actually google and saw modern fan company and emerson have sleek designs but dont seem to see anyone in singapore selling it... any advise anyone?

hi Jerome, besides haiku fans, do you have any emerson or modern fan company ceiling fans? these 2 brands seem to have sleeker fans than KDK...but not as great looking as haiku.

hi bro, could you quote me a haiku Matrix composite white? any comment on the diff between a haiku and kdk?

the journey started with looking for an ID last year december. i started to do my research here in Renotalk and contacted a few IDs. meeting and juggling with 8 IDs quotations and designs is very tiring. after 2 months of meetings and discussing, finally chosen the ID for the renovation. I have made a list of the IDs I have met and some comments. 1) Ideal House - the reviews i read here are good so I picked S and text him for a quotation. S's responses/ follow-ups are very prompted and good thru out. He didnt give me much input in terms of designs since i already know what i want. 2) Inside Living - good reviews here as well. trying to get J but she's very busy and unable to take on more projects so I went to her colleague O. maybe i'm having high expectations from the good reviews but the response/ follow-up is bad. maybe O is really busy but if i cant get prompted response now, i am worried if i can get any when the reno starts. gave a couple of design points 3) Summit Design - mixed reviews here but go ahead and text K. responses/ follow-ups not too bad and gave a couple of design points as well. 4) Designer Guys - was recommended by a forum member. decided to give A a try since the forum member's home looks good in the blog. meet up once and follow-up is prompted but quotation is the highest among the 8. 5) Touchless - was recommended by a forum member as well. responses/ follow-ups from D are prompted and good. first meetup is at one of his on-going project - gets to see his workmanships. give practical advices and feedbacks. 6) A.Home.Story - good reviews here in Renotalk so gave W a text. responses/ follow-ups not too bad. gave excellent designs as per what the reviews had commented. really love his designs... 7) Earnest Interiors - good reviews as well so gave F a call. response/ follow-up is bad..given the good reviews. I waited rather long for first quotation. gave a couple of design points. 8) e Home Concept - was recommended by a forum member. responses/ follow-ups not too bad. All the above IDs I met are all friendly and didnt seem uninterested when they know my budget. it's really tough comparing and looking at all 8 IDs - you cant compared dollar to dollar as all are different in some ways. I went from 8 IDs to 4 then to 2 and finally 1. going from 4 IDs to 2 is tough and 2 to 1 is even harder as I like the final 2 IDs for different things. The ID that i have selected is Ideal House. though their quotation is not the cheapest, we picked them becos S is very prompted in terms of responses/ follow-ups during the whole period and it's a big plus. i believed this is important since you will need responses/follow-ups/ updates during the whole renovation period. with the selection out of the way, now i can finally look forward to the reno.

hi, have been reading a lot of t-blogs and learnt a lot as well. decided to start one as well to get some suggestions/ ideas and hopefully help others.

oh..i thought if they registered the company, run road already lower..dont know that registered with HDB would mean that as well.

just wondering....is it necessary for the ID firm to get registered to HDB? if a ID firm did not register, what does it indicate? is it "safe" to use one that has not registered?

hi gakuseisean, thanks for your reply. yes you are right that putting a clear glass top would protect the teak table well but it's a waste as it detract a little from the original look and feel of the table especially the one which i saw at scanteak... the Quartz table that i saw is very attractive and it's in white! and it has 3 different types of legs to choose from. I believed a couple of the forumers here might have bought it with the pine wood legs. from what i heard from the sale person selling the quartz table, he told me stainless steel is not rust resistant and over years will have little bumps over the surface..but it's not rust. unfortunately i end up with neither. I ended up with a marble top table which i saw at Air going on a sale...grab it right there... i know the cons of marble like not stain-proof but for a pure marble top with sleek design and at discounted price..a bit hard to resist...and Air products are so attractive but expensive(!!)

hi all, i'm stuck this situation and i need advices. most of dining areas are near or next to living room. would like to know - do we match the dining table to the living room TV console and sofa? or do we plan them separately?

hi, am starting to shop around for furnitures despite havent confirm any ID or contractor yet... just wondering what are your opinions....for a dining table...should i get a teak dining table or a quartz top with stainless steel legs dining table? any pros or cons? to me personally, i think teak dining table is very nice but was told that i might need to put a piece of glass on top to protect it from stains and scratches... Quartz top dining table is very nice as well...better than marble as stainproof and scratchproof.. but with stainless steel legs...would stainless steel rust?? or stain the floor if rust? any comments/ advices??

i'm currently asking quotations from a number of IDs - ideal house and summit design are both on my list. ideal house reponsed and give quotes on time while summit house not so on time. Design wise, i feel summit house is better. both the IDs are friendly. have not yet decide ....still looking around...and considering...

thanks! will drop him a text.

i see... may i know how's the contractor K's workmanship in term of carpentry, painting etc?

I know what i want to reno for my resale. Just that i only sent him my floorplan, told him the theme i want and will be changing the flooring, kitchen and bathrooms. I didnt even list down the list of actual things that i want to reno/add as he requested that we meet up to discuss the details instead...and then he added to prepare budget of around 60k-80k...i'm like ...... am wondering if he will be willing to follow up after the meetup if he knows my budget is 40+K instead...

is it normal for an ID to quote 60k-80k just by looking at the floorplan and we have yet to discuss what is needed for reno or have our first meetup? i'm overwhelmed by amount as my budget is around 40k...should i even go for the meetup appt?

so it's common not to lay tiles behind the cabinets... am scared of ants breeding in the holes etc...but then if lay tiles, the cost is a couple of thousands.. maybe dont lay tiles can save the money...

hi tanslee, please PM me as well. I have trying PM/ email a couple of contractors but none of them response...