mud3210

i heard the town council/hdb can help dismantle at no charge or a low cost.... is that true? can i knw which ID/contractor u r from? can pm me pls? thanks

has anyone been to their flats' showroom? Both seemed to have very limited showrooms *unsure* I was advise to see at least 3 showrooms by the same company, so that i can give a fairer gauge to their standard of carpentry and workmanship. Both companies give very similar pricing to my requirements, right down to the standard FOC stuffs.. and im unsure which one is better... is there anyone who has direct dealings with them b4, pls give comments. I have read all their related threads in this forum , even search googles, but not much info on these 2. thks.

Hi ppls, you can do a check on ur ID and contractors to see if they are HDB registered at: http://www.hdb.gov.sg//bn25/isos118p.nsf/L...ors&SerVal= Do any of you know the risks of engaging a non-registered company? Why are some companies not registered? (Is it becoz they only able to give customers better price if not registered???) ...wondering...

Does anyone has any recommandations? or know the costs? mine is a 4 room premium flat. Mirror at following areas: 2 bathrooms - size 5ft width x 4ft height each Living room - size 5.5ft x 8.5ft height Windows at following areas: Service Yard- aluminium frame, non-tinted sliding windows - 4 panels, 7.5ft width x 4.5ft height Service Yard- aluminium sliding window grille - 4 panels, 7.5ft width x 4.5ft height Master bedroom, 2 common rooms, Living room all want aluminium sliding window grille For the window contractor, i would prefer him to be under the HDB registered list of contractors: http://www.hdb.gov.sg//bn25/isos118p.nsf/W...ors&SerVal=

1) Kitchen cabinet per foot run is $90-95 using solid plywood depending which company u go to 2) Solid top for kitch can range from $70 3) granite top ard $100 4) Free installation of sink and tap, but u must buy it urself, and let the contractor know ur sink measurement. 5) running of kitchen sink inlet and outlet piping can be FOC, most company charge $50-100 but my ID charge me $250, and i still choose him coz all my other items for the hse he charge me cheaper than all other companies i requested quotes frm. 6) FREE stainless steel dish rack, can be single row or double, depending how much is ur carpentary for kitchen 7) FRee culinary tray 8) FREE 3 frosted glass panels with laminated frame (have to top up cash if u want aluminium frames) 9) free selected door handles for cabinets. that should be all~

how can we find out it is in-house and not sub out? we can only take wat they say wif a pinch of salt. yeah, can pm me tat company that lock ur bro out too? thks

Can i know who is ur ID? pls pm me thks.

whoa how u knw i am gal? u check on me ar ..lol.. we started in jan, but my fiance is in no hurry to move in, so we are just shopping ard for the best quotes. usually they will only give u the 3D drawings after u place deposit w them as i heard it is very time consuming to do the drawings. i don't know much abt workmanship, neither does my fiance!!! i only know the following: • the cabinets / tic tak door (when closed) gaps must be as fine as possible maybe ard 0.3cm and the edges are parellel and not slanted • and when u look sideways the surface is smoothe as possible • when u knock on the wood it doesnt sound hollow. • when u check the underneath of the shelves in the cabinets, it must also be laminated and not like rough with pieces of wood falling off • when u check the joints between the cupboards/cabinets and ABS trimmings are FINELY joined should be all, but better ask ur mom or dad to go with u to see a 2 or 3 showflats by the same company if u decide to engage them.. thats what i usually do. old ppl usually knw better, but dun tell them the price, coz they still live in the 70s era lol...

Just to share some of my experience on the ID/contractors i've been to, since beginning of 2008: Ideal Hse Young designer, inexperience, unable to give a rough quote even for the simplest thing. showflat's carpentry work is not bad look at all , but they wanted to charge me $1.2 K for a tempered glass casement door and 1K for applying permit for hacking wall.. the rest of the items priced in the quote feel somehow quite dubious after i noted those. A and D was recommanded by our friend coz their hse was using this one and workmanship was passable. but even b4 she recommand to us, we already went and we were served by this VERY ah beng young designer, in ard mid 20s, his drawings CMI, look like the design that my grandmother will like. quotation came back in a few days and was not of expected price for a very lousy design propasal . no matter hw good my frd say they are, we still scare scare... so decided to give this one a miss.. on top of that the quote is the HIGHEST I GOT till now ard 35K (now my quote only ard 12-13K, and im doing even more things!) City design at IMM served by this young looking malaysian gal in early-mid 20s. inexperience, unable to give a rough quote even for the simplest thing also. waited a few days for quote, came back with the 'floor-plan' drawing (those top view drawing) the space planning is RIDICULOUS! squeeze my sofa and dining table all at my living room, leaving my dining rm totally empty. (how wierd is that, u tell me.) Baroque me and my fiance stepped into this shop and not knowing who to approch, we walked over to the nearest guy sitting frm us. he didnt even greet us at all, he just sat there in an ah beng manner and and waived his finger to signal us to approach another person inside... (bad impression, he wasnt even doing any work and was just sitting there do nothing) we were then was served by this designer ard 30yo. quotation came back with 1hr and was not of acceptable price. Weiken served by this uncle 40-50 yo. never take down our requirements , but based on his 'super' memory. quote came back after 1 week with either A LOT missing items or items changed frm our original requirements.. even the most basic request has problem following liao, like tat hw caan lehh.. Hoe Bee TOOOOO pricey for a contractor. i tot contractor is suppose to be cheaper than ID since they dun give 3D computerisd drawings? but hoe bee has proven me wrong. his kitchen granite top joints need to take special note, not very well done. Summit Design 2 'consultants' have to come to serve me instead of one. i dun like it this way. makes me feel as if i have to be paying more nw since there are 2 ppl serving me. and why is the initial guy i approached not able to answer my simple questions at all and always giving me this 'i dunno' look and directing me to his colleague? this new guy even indirectly tell me if we want any discounts, they will give us the lower-class carpenters, coz they got many groups of carpenters serving ppl with different kinds of budget. quotation came back with 50% missing items that i initially asked for. even after the many missing items, total quote still exceed another company by 2 to 3K who quoted us EVERY SINGLE item we want. on top of that, there are a lot of flaws found in the carpentary work in their new showflat. Square Room viewed their showflat, workmanship is not bad (all except for the bombshelter feature wall carpentary not good), responsive on quotation, definately one of my shorlisted. Kitchen Space din manage to view their showflats, but their quote is one of my shorlisted, (you get the point) Jade Land (aka Souls Living) view showflat, carpentary standard for wardrobes is not passable, but kitchen is okay. quoted price is okay. Design Channel din want to proceed with them after getting the quotation, coz full of MISSING items, 50% of items i requested are not in quote. X-cel (/Excel design?) never manage to view showflat, quotation came more than 2 weeks late, did not list prices for 30% of my required stuff. other than that, the quote should also be one of my shortlisted (i never got to view the showflat tho. as he reverted a tad too late.) Seng cheong alum. & reno. contractor uncle contractor do not knw hw to email, can receive fax only Fine Supplies & Services reverted email and did not want to quote, cannot handle. Fuse Concept VERY LONG WINDED with no intention of emailing back with any quote, but keep asking u to go to his office instead. (this one got GST!) Intra Design reverted email nd did not want to quote, cannot handle. Home Guide design $ contracts female ID Reverted with the most ridiculous quote, price is higher than all the rest who reverted by 200%!! Jinsoon Design female rep. got communication problem, makes me feel like cannot listen to customer and want ppl to listen to her. we never bothered to proceed with them after the 1st conversation. Lego-house finnaly got back with a quote after almost 20 days, almost forgotten about them. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ID / Construstion companies that never bother to reply email for request for quotation: Red Dot Inter Design Midas Design & Contracts The ***** Inn-Place Design ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- some other good ones i will update when i can recall more information.. my latest one is the best so far, but, im not telling who he is untill i confirm him and my hse finish reno then i can give more accurate comments so he better do me a good job, or else... hehehe *laughs evily*

if u take a loan through any ID/contractors, they will earn comission from the bank. why dun u just approach the bank directly?

Wow, tatts a LOT of things... so the total they quote u hw much? for those items i never comment is i don't know and never bother to check coz im not doing it.. but u can check the standard rate basd on PER FOOT RUn, for all ur carpentary work. btw, ur quote didnt include the electrical costs yet? all those lightpoints and install lights costs. i have gotten myself a VERY good quote frm one of the contractors now and i am happy, all electrical, addition/extension wiring, casing and other "hidden costs" included, best is NO GST hehhe, will still most likely sign w him in 2 or 3 weeks, if nothing goes wrong. btw, things like the below mentioned should come FREE if u r doing carpentary work in those areas, so dun blur blur go and pay them for it: installation of hob and hod in kitchen 2 or 3 pcs of frosted/sandblasted glass cabinets (full top cabinet height) in selected wood laminated framing stainless steel dish rack run kitchen tap inlet/outlet water piping installation of kitchen sink (select : to mount on top of or underneath ur kitchen surface) run cold /hot water piping for storage tanK in bathroom (if necessary) installation of storage water tank / 2 sets of instant heater installation of all bathroom accessories including rod for shower curtains FREE 3D perspective drawings, site coordination and supervision. if u r doing a lot of carpentary work, they are likely to waive laying of protection sheet, even boxing of sewage pipes

most ID and contractor price not a lot of diff.. Hoe Bee charges almost same as ID, but it seems they are contractor and not ID firm :/ (BUT if u only wan to do kitchen cabinet, can try them, coz they are $95 pfr and inclusive of 2 or 3 frosted/sandblasted glass in wood laminate frame (so the price is rather reasonable), i think aluminium frame have to pay more. but the rest of his items in the quote are more ex than other companies... dun ask them to do granite top, i seen liao, the workmanship at the joints not-so-good) solid top is $70 pfr.. his granite is $100 pfr.. in fact, some ID i go to are cheaper than Ho bee. another contractor i went to is cheaper than hoe bee by ard 5K, but u have to knw wat u want fist b4 u go to him, coz he dun really give u ideas. i tot contractor can also do hacking mah... coz i am doing hacking.

i think ur quote is very EXPENSIVE, mine is much cheaper and i havnt even tried asking for discounts yet. but i believe they will likely give me discounts lah. my quotes are from a few ID / contractors, not all from 1 source... i just pick their cheapest price and list to u.

Hi all, Im also looking for an ID who can give me ard that price. in fact i alr drafted my own requirements in a detail quote... all i need is a good ID/contractor who can give me the right price, coz i am BERI SURE mine can be done in 10 to 11K.. keke shutiao06: can i knw hw is ur "octo-Haus ID+C" carpentry /workmanship?? jaCKY777, missyling, reds79, samluvbliss, Cheerie, lawrencejasmine : can pls pm me the IDs contacts that you've gotten? thanks

Candizhu: Haaa... so he quote u $20 cheaper than me for the floor ar.. but i still dun think their "a lot of work" for revarnishing my flooring is worth that price.. afterall, i can live with not having a shiny floor hehe, besides, i have a really tight budget.. cant afford to spend this kind of $$$ . ;on the otehr hand, if i got the money, i probably wont be gg to sign with justta contractor .liao. oter IDs also same price, some even cheaper than him. additional $600 i can buy a bigger plasma liao... why spend it on the floor leh? so, hw much was ur quote? (i noticed he tend to quote ppl ard 15K for premiums) btw, my next appt is with Impress21 and Summit Design heheh.. i'll see if their price is reasonable enough... will post here if got any furter comments (or complains hehee). Taa~

SmartFool: yeah i got 10 to 20 quotes, wat i did was pick out all the lowest price given for all items and merge all prices into 1 final quote for my own ref.. im considering proposing this lowest quoted price to my next contractor heehe Preeti : yeah, remember to ask him to give u the frosted glass FOC. i remembered him wanting to quote me $80++ per glass, but then i told him, other ppl's kitchen pfr is also $90-95 with FREE frosted glass. so his new quote to me is FOC lol! but still, his other items pricing all canot make it lah... e.g chemical washing also need for premium flat meh? i not doing any flooring wor... wat for i need the chemical washing? a few IDs have even told me it will be clean after we clean it 2 or 3 rounds, just the usual cleaning. And he quoted me revarnish parquet flooring for $600!! OMG! why do i even need tat? issit i look like a carrot to him ar BUT after u get his quotation, u more or less can learn to spec out ur own quote liao, coz all the "hidden" costs u never knew can exist is written down there... even the things they think u need BUT u know u won't need.

Hoe bee quoted me same price as a few popular ID (recommanded by the ppl in this forum) that i has visited.... their quote is definately not cheap for a contractor. wonder why the Hoo-Haa over them.. actually i was quite excited abt getting their quote, even thinking of engaging them, since so many ppl said they are good and cheap. really NOT cheap lor.. A LOT of the things we dun really need one he also include in... BUT BUT if i only doing kitchen cabinets, i seriously consider them, coz their price is only $95 pfr, INCLUSIVE of 2 or 3 frosted glass! (this is the 1 and ONLY chespest item i saw in their quote as compared to my other 10 quotes) i requested solid top, but he din quote me.. he quoted me somehting else i dun wan--- Granite! $100 pfr (could he be order too much granite liao, trying to get rid ar ?!? ) that's all folks... guess im just gg to hunt for another ID/contractor again.. grr, meanwhile, im outta this thread... talk more i may get wack by hoe bee fans lol

maybe thats their idea! to make u half sian, so u will call him less and hopefully they will get to retify less things ! doing 1 out of 3 things is to indirectly tell u : "don't think our work very simple, it's very time consuming one okay." hopefully i dun get tis kind of contractor also ... btw, can i knw which one u engage? (can pm me? tia!)

I heard that nowadays for the flourescent light (cove lighting) , we can install on our own very easily, meaning the electrician do up 1 for us, then we connect the rest ourselfs, connect the lights as if they are lego parts.. in that case, my cove lighting only need to ask the electrician do to 1 lah? the other ones on the other sides i can connect by myself lor? kekee

can i know the difference between lighting point and install lights? lets say i got a queen-size bed false ceiling with 4 downlights at each corner AND i wan the cove lighting effect as well. issit each down light and each florescent tube consider 1 lighting point?

I am wondering do we get to keep the "permits" that our contractor/ID applies for us, so tat next time when we sell hse, the hdb wont come and ask us for proof/show the permits. when my parents got their contractor to knock down the wall.. he never give them any proof/permits to keep.. only ask an Indian (that he claimed to be frm hdb) to come and check the hse to see if everything is okay. nw my mom is a bit worried if the contractor uncle got apply the necessary permits for us and if that is a real HDB staff who came down to check. if not, next time when we sell hse, hdb may ask us to re-build the whole wall again .

Hi,. for the windows, i knw the price is by either per-foot-run / per-sq-meter.. I remember my latest quote is ard S$6 for per sq meter and $10++ per foot run but then, i forgot which is for sliding window, and which is for the grille liao just wan to find out if my pricing is the cheapest heehee... btw, it's not fr Hoe Bee lah.... i am still waiting for his quotation hope he can give me a price better than this one! kekke For the applying permit frm HDB to do sliding windows, window grilles and false ceiling... many ID tell me got to pay $ to apply permit wor... now i nt veryt sure 1 of my contractor also gave me a quote for "providing labour to install Kitchen sink and run new sink inlet / outlet pipe - $200" can i know if this is too ex? is it even necessary? i tot since he is already doing my kitchen, this item should have been FOC... can someone advise plse...

Hi! ur hse seem to be the exact same model as mine, maybe it's same location.. would u be kind enough to email me ur quote Plse.... my email is mud3210@yahoo.com TIA~

Sorry i kaypoh here a bit (the market range frm my research): btw, would anyone knw hw much the usual contractors would charge for the below items: 1) sliding silver aluminium window 2) Silver window grille 3) HDB permit cost for installing the sliding window and grilles 4) have to apply permit to install a fasle ceiling? would u knw hw much it it? TIA~

Hi, just to double check: the S$300 u mentioned above is only for the PE endorsement right? the hacking and smoothening of teh wall is another cost quote to us by our contractor, isnt it.? i am going through the link u gave but cannot find the part that says we only have to pay S$263.55 to town council for the haaulage and debris removal.... Previously, one of the ID i approach (Ideal House) wanted to charge me ard $800 for haulage (becoz he says, i got knock down wall and do false ceiling and Lbox will cost more for haulage) and S$1000 for PE endorsement. eventually, i didnt use them... if my next contractor is gg to charge me more than $263.55, hw would u suggest i go abt telling them it's too ex? do u think i can apply the debris removal on my own? (and also for the apply to install window and grilles permit) TIA~