Some Questions On Renovation

[Pr15on 0]

Hi all,

Newcomer here. Wish to renovate my house. Wanna ask some question on renovation.

1) Whats the difference between a contractor and ID?

2) Izzit better to engage those that have HDB and RADAC licence? Y? What if it oni got 1 licence?

3) Is there really $0 supply labour?

Thanks

[Yang Guo 7]

3) Is there really $0 supply labour?

yup there is, provided that you sign a certain amount of reno package from them, they will usually provide you $0 supply labour. Eg. Installation of water heater, installation of sink etc

[jaCKY777 0]

Hi all,

Newcomer here. Wish to renovate my house. Wanna ask some question on renovation.

1) Whats the difference between a contractor and ID?

- contractor is e main contractor, site coordinator.

- contractor does wat e client wans.

- contractor charges lower prices.

- ID is e designer, main site coordinator.

- ID propose designs according 2 client's requirements.

- ID charges much higher. Its e so-called designer fees.

- designers' fees varies frm abt 10% of contractors' price onwards.

2) Izzit better to engage those that have HDB and RADAC licence? Y? What if it oni got 1 licence?

- hdb only issue license 2 co. registration holder who pass e 'test'.

- e 'test' includes topic like wat can or canot b done in hdb flat.

- although e ID/contractor is hdb licensed, e sub-con (tiler, plumber etc) they ngage may not b really dat skillful or rather certified worker.

- RADAC is e reno industry 'watchdog'. It is a non-profit , pte entity.

- reno co pay a annual fee 2 join radac subject 2 qualification.

- nowadays, RADAC anot, not really e important.

- most importantly is 2 choose a reno co thru recomendation.

3) Is there really $0 supply labour?

- nothing is free in dis world.

Thanks

[Pr15on 0]

Thanks for ur advise.

I understand it is better to engage thru recommendation. But so far, my frens and my sis all tell me not to engage theirs. All say no good. I have been researching in this forum for good one. I have filtered out some but this forum is just too big. Even haven finish reading the 1st page.

Btw, I wish to find out more on how to go about looking for contractor or ID. So ican have some preparation.

Izzit true there are sure to be extra charge? I mean I give the budget of let say 20K. At the end of reno, maybe add up to 25K?

Then if I wan to change tiles for the whole flat, they have to remove the old one 1st, then put on the new one. Or just overlay on top.

How do they do the breakdown of price? I tell them wat I want and they make it?

[jaCKY777 0]

Thanks for ur advise.

I understand it is better to engage thru recommendation. But so far, my frens and my sis all tell me not to engage theirs. All say no good. I have been researching in this forum for good one. I have filtered out some but this forum is just too big. Even haven finish reading the 1st page.

Btw, I wish to find out more on how to go about looking for contractor or ID. So ican have some preparation.

Izzit true there are sure to be extra charge? I mean I give the budget of let say 20K. At the end of reno, maybe add up to 25K?

Then if I wan to change tiles for the whole flat, they have to remove the old one 1st, then put on the new one. Or just overlay on top.

How do they do the breakdown of price? I tell them wat I want and they make it?

- if dis forum can b read in a few days, then i think it can close shop liao.

- frm ur qns, i find dat u oleady noes wat r e requirements u r lookin 4 in a Interior Designer or Contractor.

- there r countless ID/contractor out there in e market. Frm e better reviews in e forum, shortlist a few ID/contractor.

- make appt with them.

- 1st appt. ->

-- find out more on e co's background & how he/she works.

-- let them noe ur requirements on all espects of reno.

- 2nd appt. ->

-- frm e way he/she follow-up/present 2 u his/her proposal, u wil noe whether is he/she e ID/contractor u r looking 4.

--- can or canot click?

--- can or canot communicate?

--- can or canot b comfortable?

--- can or canot b accomodate?

--- can or canot meet ur budget?

-- frm there, final decide e best among best.

- 3rd appt. ->

-- sign on e dotted line & start e show liao.

ur qns on extra charges ->

- 50% true 50% false.

- watever propose reno works wil b stated in e Agreement/Reno Contract.

- light fixtures, kitchen & bathroom accessories, electrical appliances etc, normally is not stated in e contract. This definitely wil b e unforsee additional cost.

- besides dat, along e process of reno, u wana add in 1 small cabinet, then dis wil b e additional cost olso. b'cos it was not stated in e initial contract u sign on day 1.

ur qns on tiling ->

- under hdb reno rules & regulations, Canot overlay floor tiles over existing floor tiles in living/bedrms. Can overlay laminated flooring over existing floor tiles.

- exceptional to bathrooms of new flat. (3 yrs restriction)

- resale flat gota hack & dispose existing floor tiles then e new floor tiles cums in.

ur qns on breakdn costing ->

- resale flat standard reno package shd b abt $20k-$25k.

- every co have their own format or method of itemizing their quotation.

- s i mentioned earlier, u can make known 2 them ur requirements, frm there, u r able e justify.

Edited June 30, 2008 by jaCKY777

[hihihi 0]

one man's meat is another's poison. My own experience, expensive is not necessary means good quality.

My advice is:

- don't choose those small small shop. If u can see it's a 1 or 2 man operation, that is a definite NO-NO.

- don't be pressured into signing.

- the term "ID" is being greatly abuse. Many small timers use ID in their names, but they are actually contractor in disguise. So never 100% trust what u see.

- always ask to visit their existing works. If no works = no go. Best if u can speak to the owner themselves. Owner never lies.

[mud3210 0]

...Izzit true there are sure to be extra charge? I mean I give the budget of let say 20K. At the end of reno, maybe add up to 25K?...How do they do the breakdown of price? I tell them wat I want and they make it?

it is not true that the reno will exceed ur intended [rice, it only happens when ur ID/contractor is not honest OR u did not brief them properly in DETAIL. over 90% of the ID/contractors will breakdown individual pricing for u in ur quote. i think it is ESSENTIAL so u know which are the ones they overcharge and which are the other ones u can let them do.

[mud3210 0]

...Owner never lies.

unless.. the owner has got something to gain out of it. if u can, it is betetr to go down to see ard 3 showflats by the ID u have shorlisted b4 u sign. some IDs got problems bringing ppl to view more than 1 show flat.. i figured this could mean 3 things:

1) his business so good he got no time to bring u

2) he got no enough showflats/customers so have trouble arranging more to let u see

3) worse, the only one he brought u to is his friend friends' apartment coz he just got no showflat to show u

~just guessing~

btw, my ID belongs to the (1), i know becoz he's very popular in all the reno forums.

[Pr15on 0]

- if dis forum can b read in a few days, then i think it can close shop liao.

- frm ur qns, i find dat u oleady noes wat r e requirements u r lookin 4 in a Interior Designer or Contractor.

- there r countless ID/contractor out there in e market. Frm e better reviews in e forum, shortlist a few ID/contractor.

- make appt with them.

Now I have got 3 shortlisted, from the preview of forumers. How many is considered enough? I have seen someone shortlist 6 and some even more.

ur qns on extra charges ->

- 50% true 50% false.

- watever propose reno works wil b stated in e Agreement/Reno Contract.

- light fixtures, kitchen & bathroom accessories, electrical appliances etc, normally is not stated in e contract. This definitely wil b e unforsee additional cost.

- besides dat, along e process of reno, u wana add in 1 small cabinet, then dis wil b e additional cost olso. b'cos it was not stated in e initial contract u sign on day 1.

If lets say I wan to add a cabinate in the middle of reno, I talk to the contractor or the one I engage for the reno? Then will they provide me with another breakdown add on to the existing one? or verbally tell me?

ur qns on tiling ->

- under hdb reno rules & regulations, Canot overlay floor tiles over existing floor tiles in living/bedrms. Can overlay laminated flooring over existing floor tiles.

- exceptional to bathrooms of new flat. (3 yrs restriction)

- resale flat gota hack & dispose existing floor tiles then e new floor tiles cums in.

For new tiles to cum in, need to hack the old one 1st. Does that apply to rooms of resale flat that oni wan to do laminated floorings?

Edited July 1, 2008 by Pr15on

[jackng1982 0]

Now I have got 3 shortlisted, from the preview of forumers. How many is considered enough? I have seen someone shortlist 6 and some even more.

If lets say I wan to add a cabinate in the middle of reno, I talk to the contractor or the one I engage for the reno? Then will they provide me with another breakdown add on to the existing one? or verbally tell me?

For new tiles to cum in, need to hack the old one 1st. Does that apply to rooms of resale flat that oni wan to do laminated floorings?

I think you are getting the wrong idea, it's how comfortable you are with the firms rather than the number you visited. There are forumers who's hardworking enough to visit 20 firms. How much is enough? It's whether you find the person you talk trustworthy enough to entrust your reno works to. And of course more quote means you can have a better comparison of the rates of the different category of works.

As for your second requirement i think it's monetary to have a written receipt or invoice of any kind be it add-on or additional. When you're paying for something in the thousands, definitely you'll want your proof of purchase right?

As for your flooring question i think get other experts to answer ba.