inthechouse

Hi everyone, took a while to finally unpack the remaining of the 20 boxes shifted over. Housework for a 4-rm flat is a killer! (If one has some injuries and no prior experience!) Still getting used to the master bathroom... coz we all have to adapt, right? Sometimes I dream of my second home of which the bathroom will be done properly... Anyway... Nothing new up update except for one powerpoint switch which pops back out on its own after it is switched off. The entire socket is also slowly detaching from the wall. Has anyone encountered this before? So far we've asked someone to drill a few screws into the bedroom walls for some poster frames. I'm not open to hammering nails into the wall due to the plastering. There's this long living room wall left to decorate. And it's really not easy to layout frames of various sizes in order to position them properly to mark the spots for screws to be drilled in. As they are quite big, I don't wish to take the chance with the 3M stickers. Wish me luck Lastly, some of you may remember that incident I had regarding the purchase of my TV. Looks like it's happening rather frequently in Singapore. Check out this news report by TODAY: http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/spike-shops-make-false-claims-draw-customers?singlepage=true

Thank you, Astarz. Apologies for the belated reply! Enjoy your cave too!

Hi both, as mentioned, he and his worker didn't do a very good job with the application of the "finishing". But if you're ok with exploring further with him, I'll share the contact. Meanwhile, to save costs, you may wanna consider buying over the "finishing" from me. I've got 3/4 of a tin left, because my 5.9m wall only required 1/4.

Thank you! Happy reno! Thanks! Yes, it was a bit of a nightmare. I say it again that clueless first-time homeowners shouldn't anyhow sign with contractors no matter how popular they may seem. They're not gonna give you practical advice which could then lead to you having to live with certain inconveniences for the next xx years. Do your research (on reno AND the contractor) then make an informed decision. Nobody wants to hear uncalled-for snarky remarks from their contractor every other day.

Thanks, Songz! Congrats on your key-collection and have lots of fun with your reno and furnishing! Take care!

Thank you, alfredt! All the best!

Hi everyone, just wanna update that we've just handed Alan the final cheque. Quite glad that this 4-month rollercoaster ride has come to an end. There were some disagreements before the final payment was made, but I shall not go into details. In case you're wondering, all requested rectification works have been completed - though not without some protests from Alan. Well, at least everything got done. Once again, we brought up the fact that we had to bring in and pay someone else to finish off the cement screed wall in the kitchen, but he countered to say that he can't do anything if the client has "higher expectations" than what his workers can deliver. The owner can feel free to pay for someone else to do it, but he won't absorb the cost. Let's just say he came to collect his final payment well prepared and armed with a host of "counter-arguments". But he was agreeable to some sort of a discount at the end. As for the drainage situation in the MBR loo, the tile guy and the glass guy who came at different times to do touch up both asked me 1) if the glass panel was added at the last minute (like an after thought) 2) why wasn't a hole created in the 90-deg corner of the aluminum frame for the water to pass through 3) why wasn't there an extra drainage hole created near the WC. Well guys, I WONDER WHY TOO! Told them that 1) the glass panel was ordered right from the start 2) it was Alan who didn't wanna do the extra drainage hole for us ... And was met with a wry smile from these guys. They must've found it familiar. So there's no reprieve. We'll just have to live with having to sweep out and mop up the water each time it "ponds" near the WC. The other solution is to wash the bathroom less frequently, like once a month, maybe. It's not that big an issue, if one were to compare this with everything else that's going on in the world... Other than that, no problem at all. So far so good, 1 month after move-in. Anyway, it's been a huge learning experience for us, and we hope this blog helps the newbies in some way, like how we've learnt so much from the other t-bloggers here. Good luck to everyone and may your reno be smooth and good!

Well, well. Look at the parting gift Alan's plumbing guys left for us. Over the weekend, we had called in Hupfarri to check on a loud, gurgling noise coming from 1 WC. He opened the covers and this is what we saw. No wonder there was so much crap being flushed out initially. This has got nothing to do with the noise, of course. He also said that the siliconing should have been done all across the length of the tank, rather than just in the middle. I told Alan about it, and he said there's no need to do it all the way. Then I said the Hupfarri people recommend that it gets done. So he had no choice but to say ok. Anyway, speaking of Hupfarri, we've been quite pleased with their after-sales service. Same goes for VYY Pte Ltd (Swingslide Door). That's about it.

Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately, Alan is insisting nothing can be done about it. And it's not like we know any better. The hole that his workers offered to drill seemed smaller than the last finger of a child. That's not gonna work. I see. Fingers crossed I won't need to call any of them. But good to know that the electrician was accommodating.

Closed an eye to several small things. As for the rest, everything should be fix-able, less the MRB situation. Certainly hope we don't find anything else along the way. It would definitely be easier for us to spot stuff if we were a tad bit savvier... Were they willing to do it for you for free?

Thanks to all for your encouragment and advice. Hi jayque, what if we pay him after everything have been rectified, but find more thereafter? Won't be surprised if we do...

So Alan came by unannounced over the weekend to check on whatever rectification was outstanding. We told him about the drainage situation of the MBR bathroom floor and he said something like, "it's like that if you don't do a high and low floor". We then said that it was him who did not want to do it for us. Guess what he replied? "Anyway do already also no use." Awesome, right? So we said, "That's not true, your guys did it for us in the CBR and everything's well and good in there." Then he said: "Do already very ugly coz the higher part will be too high". Now, are we all 8ft tall? In the CBR, the height difference is only 1 tile's thickness. Which is, what, 1cm? The conversation was now getting very ridiculous and we did not want to prolong the nonsense any further. It's sad because we are the ones who have to live with the inconvenience everyday for the rest for the time we live there. While they just collect their money and live happily ever after. We also told him that we had to get someone to touch up the cement wall which his people had failed to do. But he was unmoved, even after having seen the wall with his own eyes. Speaking of money, Alan asked for his last cheque asap. This, despite not having that "final inspection" that most people have. He just kept repeating that we should rest assured that if there are any problems, he will get someone to fix it, even if we've paid in full. Because they are "professional" - something which we've long started to doubt.

I censored it. HAH. From my recent experience, yes, I agree that there are a lot of dishonest merchants out there. And bad customer service is rampant! Yes, I remember yours. Boo!!

Saw this on my FB news feed this morning. Just thought I should share it, because it's not the first time I am reading about this local furniture company. "After 5 physical trips to Small Claims Tribunal court and CASE consumer association, i finally managed to get an 85% refund on the useless, defective office chairs that i bought from unscrupulous merchant L**h L**h!!"

Thanks, Songz. You're ever so encouraging. All the best to your reno!