Ideal House Id

[darrenelle 0]

it ranges from 47k - 57k... wahaha....

ok.. we are really looking into this matter.

We will work harder in reducing the cost.

[hobbes187 0]

it ranges from 47k - 57k... wahaha....

ok.. we are really looking into this matter.

We will work harder in reducing the cost.

Think I said this in Kajua's blog as well Maybe you can roughly share with us what you were quoted for and we can advise u if the quote is reasonable... You could have been quoted for a lot more things than what we did...

[jopp 0]

Think I said this in Kajua's blog as well Maybe you can roughly share with us what you were quoted for and we can advise u if the quote is reasonable... You could have been quoted for a lot more things than what we did...

hobbes187, same situation as darrenelle, we r being quoted ard 50k+ fm Ideal House oso. !!

Of cos, to be fair to them, this is just their initial quote...b4 any bargaining and adjusments.

Then again, we r just thinking...the initial quote is this high...how much lower can the quote be?

[hobbes187 0]

Think you need to look at how much u are doing. If a lot of capentry, hacking and tiling then the prices will expectedly be higher. I got my initial quote about 45k then slowly analyze, bargain and cut down.

[kajua 1]

hobbes187, same situation as darrenelle, we r being quoted ard 50k+ fm Ideal House oso.

Of cos, to be fair to them, this is just their initial quote...b4 any bargaining and adjusments.

Then again, we r just thinking...the initial quote is this high...how much lower can the quote be?

Think you need to get quote from a few ID/contractor and give them all the same requirements.

If all the ID/contractor quoted you about the same price range, I think you would know its a reasonable quote and also you would know if your budget is a reasonable one for your requirement. I think in darrenelle case, they got a few quotes all 47-54k, so for their requirement that would be the range.

For us when we first looked for an ID/Contractor, Intradesign quoted us 46k, GPlan told us for our requirement and flat size no 60k it cannot be done , then Earnest Design also told us no 40k no can do. But we keep asking others for quote (total about close to 10 quotes), the rest were all less then 40k but also higher then our initial estimated budget of 25k for the work. So we knew what was the reasonable budget for our reno and just worked on those who quote us within our range.

Make sure you get itemized quote if possible, that way you compare. We had a few ID who quoted us less then 30k, very close to 25k we were quite happy. But then when we broke down the quote and compare it item by item, we found quite a few items missing from these quotes. When we estimated the cost of the missing items, it also added up to 30-35k.

-Celest

[darrenelle 0]

Thank Hobbes187 and Kajua!

Unfortunately, I do not have the quotation with me now.

[jopp 0]

Think you need to get quote from a few ID/contractor and give them all the same requirements.

If all the ID/contractor quoted you about the same price range, I think you would know its a reasonable quote and also you would know if your budget is a reasonable one for your requirement. I think in darrenelle case, they got a few quotes all 47-54k, so for their requirement that would be the range.

For us when we first looked for an ID/Contractor, Intradesign quoted us 46k, GPlan told us for our requirement and flat size no 60k it cannot be done , then Earnest Design also told us no 40k no can do. But we keep asking others for quote (total about close to 10 quotes), the rest were all less then 40k but also higher then our initial estimated budget of 25k for the work. So we knew what was the reasonable budget for our reno and just worked on those who quote us within our range.

Make sure you get itemized quote if possible, that way you compare. We had a few ID who quoted us less then 30k, very close to 25k we were quite happy. But then when we broke down the quote and compare it item by item, we found quite a few items missing from these quotes. When we estimated the cost of the missing items, it also added up to 30-35k.

-Celest

yupz...we are waiting for quotes fm other IDs also. Then we'll do a comparison from there.

[jopp 0]

Think you need to look at how much u are doing. If a lot of capentry, hacking and tiling then the prices will expectedly be higher. I got my initial quote about 45k then slowly analyze, bargain and cut down.

Hmm...listed below r some of the key items:

Hacking

- Balcony

- Study room (1 wall as i'm still keeping the area...jus reducing the size)

- Kitchen/Service balcony (partial wall linking kitchen & svc balcony)

- MBR/Bedroom 2 (partial wall linking MBR & BR 2...for WIW)

Carpentry

- 4" ht platform

- 6ft TV console

- 6ft x full ht TV feature wall

- 12ft x full ht HS feature wall

- 4ft x full ht Shoe cabinet

- 11ft WIW

- 5ft feature wall for wardrobe entrance with swing panel door

- Vanity cabinet for MBR toilet, Solid surface top, wall to wall mirror panel

- Kitchen cabinets (additional from FOC ones), solid surface worktop

Tiling

- Living room/Dining room (part of package)

- All bedrooms (part of package - laminate)

- Overlay wall and floor tiles in both toilets

Others

- 11ftL x 7ft ht fixed tempered glass for study area

- 30ftL frame up beam structure at dining area

- Bi-fold door wif glass panels for kitchen entrance

- L-box and 32 PLC lights ****/dining room, MBR, WIW

- Shower screens for both toilets

- Change to solid doors for 3 bedrooms

Is this considered a lot of requirements?

[hobbes187 0]

I can see why yours is so much higher than ours!

Your requirements include so much capentry and expensive things like glass wall, glass doors etc... Glass is expensive so I only did a glass shower screen w/sliding dr. Gave up the idea of a glass study rm.

Just a tip, the more feature walls you have the more exp it will get. I didnt do any feature walls except the shelter one cos each of these easily cost about $2k... I plan to save money and buy some big nice abstract paintings to hang there, at least I can change if it gets old or I get sick of it

Hmm...listed below r some of the key items:

Hacking

- Balcony - I didnt do this

- Study room (1 wall as i'm still keeping the area...jus reducing the size)

- Kitchen/Service balcony (partial wall linking kitchen & svc balcony) - I didnt do this

- MBR/Bedroom 2 (partial wall linking MBR & BR 2...for WIW) - I didnt do this

- Additional thing I did was hack and retile both toilets and kitchen

Carpentry

- 4" ht platform - I didnt do this

- 6ft TV console

- 6ft x full ht TV feature wall - I didnt do this

- 12ft x full ht HS feature wall

- 4ft x full ht Shoe cabinet

- 11ft WIW - I didnt do this

- 5ft feature wall for wardrobe entrance with swing panel door - I didnt do this

- Vanity cabinet for MBR toilet, Solid surface top, wall to wall mirror panel

- Kitchen cabinets (additional from FOC ones), solid surface worktop

Tiling

- Living room/Dining room (part of package)

- All bedrooms (part of package - laminate)

- Overlay wall and floor tiles in both toilets

Others

- 11ftL x 7ft ht fixed tempered glass for study area - I didnt do this. Initially wanted to but gave up to save money to hack toilets

- 30ftL frame up beam structure at dining area - I didnt do this

- Bi-fold door wif glass panels for kitchen entrance - I didnt do this

- L-box and 32 PLC lights ****/dining room, MBR, WIW

- Shower screens for both toilets - Only one sliding glass screen in MBR

- Change to solid doors for 3 bedrooms - I didnt do this

Is this considered a lot of requirements?

[kajua 1]

Hmm...listed below r some of the key items:

Hacking

- Balcony

- Study room (1 wall as i'm still keeping the area...jus reducing the size)

- Kitchen/Service balcony (partial wall linking kitchen & svc balcony)

- MBR/Bedroom 2 (partial wall linking MBR & BR 2...for WIW)

Carpentry

- 4" ht platform

- 6ft TV console

- 6ft x full ht TV feature wall

- 12ft x full ht HS feature wall

- 4ft x full ht Shoe cabinet

- 11ft WIW

- 5ft feature wall for wardrobe entrance with swing panel door

- Vanity cabinet for MBR toilet, Solid surface top, wall to wall mirror panel

- Kitchen cabinets (additional from FOC ones), solid surface worktop

Tiling

- Living room/Dining room (part of package)

- All bedrooms (part of package - laminate)

- Overlay wall and floor tiles in both toilets

Others

- 11ftL x 7ft ht fixed tempered glass for study area

- 30ftL frame up beam structure at dining area

- Bi-fold door wif glass panels for kitchen entrance

- L-box and 32 PLC lights ****/dining room, MBR, WIW

- Shower screens for both toilets

- Change to solid doors for 3 bedrooms

Is this considered a lot of requirements?

!! !!

Its not a lot of requirement but I think its a expensive requirement.

Whoa you did more then 44ft of carpentry

The amount of glass work you are doing also alot. These 2 together with hacking are the more expensive portion of any reno. I just did 1 glass shower screen for my MBR toilet, it already cost me almost $500.

Now I think I know why your quote was so high You might want to cut down on the carpentry and the tempered glass stuff if you want to reduce cost.

All we did were the kitchen cabinet and 7ft wardrobe

But I must say with so much glass and custom built carpentry , I think it will look fabulous

-Celest

[hobbes187 0]

Thats why I say we cannot judge whether a quote is exp or cheap based only on the final price. The content is the most impt. So are u gng to do all these in the end?

So darenelle, is your amt of work similiar to jopp?

[jopp 0]

thanks so much, hobbes & kajua! ur honest opinions have definitely shed some light on my doubts on the quote. So it's reali my requirements. !!

noted ur advices on the use of glass panels ard the house...hmm...the glass for the study area is a mus cos if i keep the current pc of wall, it makes the dining area very gloomy lor. let me see which other item i can forgo to make this requirement possible then.

hobbes, u r rite man! every pc of feature wall quoted to me is EX lor. Esp the one at the HS wor - A frightening 2k plus!

okie okie...think i noe how to proceed fm here now!

thanks folks!

!!

[hobbes187 0]

Yours is an EA? Is it the same as my layout? You can see my t-blog for my layout.

I'm hacking the study area and comining it with my dining/living area. Then one of the rooms will be used as study instead. Initially wanted a glass study like yours but in the end decided to cut cost. Another reason why I gave up the glass study idea was to make the entire living/dining area more airy. With the glass, the wind will still be blocked.

[darrenelle 0]

Thats why I say we cannot judge whether a quote is exp or cheap based only on the final price. The content is the most impt. So are u gng to do all these in the end?

So darenelle, is your amt of work similiar to jopp?

After hearing comments on Jopp's quote, i am beginning to understand where the cost lies. Thanks Hobbes187 and kajua.

I remembered our quote including:-

2 glass sliding doors for the kitchen and mbr

2 shower screen for both bath rooms,

and intending to concealed our study room with full glass panel.

untill here u all must be

Featured wall for bombshelter and tv console

a mirror divider to seperate dining and foyer!

4ft platform at the balcony

Above are what i think that's going to cost a bomb.

Anyway, like i have mentioned, we will be amending our design.

most likely, our study room will be hacked to have a bigger cosy area cum study room. No doors, open concept.

only one mbr bath room with shower screen.

only 1 sliding door for kitchen

the mirror divider will go. it is most likely be replaced by string curtain or some other hanging panels..

that's about it.

[jopp 0]

Yours is an EA? Is it the same as my layout? You can see my t-blog for my layout.

I'm hacking the study area and comining it with my dining/living area. Then one of the rooms will be used as study instead. Initially wanted a glass study like yours but in the end decided to cut cost. Another reason why I gave up the glass study idea was to make the entire living/dining area more airy. With the glass, the wind will still be blocked.

yup mine is EA. it's almost the same layout as urs..except for the kitchen and svc balcony. Urs is tilted while mine is straight.

hmm...i can't afford to give up a room so will need to retain the study room, just making it smaller than current..and with glass wall.

anyway, i'm looking forward to more pics in ur blog!