pinkpetter 0 Report post Posted November 19, 2008 huh. seems quite problematic hor. Luckily that subcon spoke up. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
explorers 0 Report post Posted November 19, 2008 Another defect! Noticed that the opening for the false ceiling are done wrongly. The opening are bigger on the left and got smaller towards the right. Same problem at the living room and kitchen false ceiling too... Again that supervisor insisted its because HDB never made the ceiling surface flat in the first place! What?! it's always the case... contractors & hdb pointing fingers... i too kana from the contractor trying to reason his poor workmanship... unfortunately i lost the battle since i didn't hv a kind 3rd party to speak up... lucky for u, they agreed to rectify... i hv to live with the ugly end product... btw, there's a grp created in facebook for TH neighbours... "Blk 89 - 91 Tanglin Halt Residents" cya if u've got facebook! signing off, explorers' wife... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DoubleJ 0 Report post Posted November 19, 2008 Another defect! Noticed that the opening for the false ceiling are done wrongly. The opening are bigger on the left and got smaller towards the right. Same problem at the living room and kitchen false ceiling too... Again that supervisor insisted its because HDB never made the ceiling surface flat in the first place! What?! Thankfully, one of his subcon interrupted our argument out of fairness. Commented that the previous worker had not measure the levelness and should have started building from the opening first. That immediately shut his mouth! In the end, the subcon even helped to file the uneven openings and now its at least less obvious. My Lbox also had this problem, raised the issue to my ID & the ceiling guy even took out his laser thingy to show its leveled. but still agreed to fixed the what looks to be "uneven" part. thou after fixing still not very even.dunno how to say,that part still felt funny somehow,like can see more of the inside compared to the other corner. Anyway, Choose to keep quiet & avoid any grudges between anyone first till everything is done,then its time for me to pick the bones liao.hehe.they wanna play,i play lo. what ticked me off is that...most of the general workers, dont QC their own job at all. They just leave it when done then hope the owners are too blind to spot their booboos. we complain then the contractor come down hoping owner are too ignorant to challenge them. mind showing the end result of their rectification? wanna see how well they are able to fix it. my problem area looked very similar like yours. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mwerkz 0 Report post Posted November 20, 2008 My Lbox also had this problem, raised the issue to my ID & the ceiling guy even took out his laser thingy to show its leveled. but still agreed to fixed the what looks to be "uneven" part. thou after fixing still not very even.dunno how to say,that part still felt funny somehow,like can see more of the inside compared to the other corner. Anyway, Choose to keep quiet & avoid any grudges between anyone first till everything is done,then its time for me to pick the bones liao.hehe.they wanna play,i play lo. what ticked me off is that...most of the general workers, dont QC their own job at all. They just leave it when done then hope the owners are too blind to spot their booboos. we complain then the contractor come down hoping owner are too ignorant to challenge them. mind showing the end result of their rectification? wanna see how well they are able to fix it. my problem area looked very similar like yours. haa. cos dey close one eye, hoping de owner oso close the other eye ma Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pinkpetter 0 Report post Posted November 20, 2008 haa. cos dey close one eye, hoping de owner oso close the other eye ma AGREE! horrible ethics. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kyarx 0 Report post Posted November 20, 2008 huh. seems quite problematic hor. Luckily that subcon spoke up. Yea, really heng. You should see the red face of that supervisor...Haha it's always the case... contractors & hdb pointing fingers... i too kana from the contractor trying to reason his poor workmanship... unfortunately i lost the battle since i didn't hv a kind 3rd party to speak up... lucky for u, they agreed to rectify... i hv to live with the ugly end product... btw, there's a grp created in facebook for TH neighbours... "Blk 89 - 91 Tanglin Halt Residents" cya if u've got facebook! signing off, explorers' wife... Hi Mrs Explorer! I can understand the fustrations, feel just as helpless too. Will look for the grp in Facebook. My Lbox also had this problem, raised the issue to my ID & the ceiling guy even took out his laser thingy to show its leveled. but still agreed to fixed the what looks to be "uneven" part. thou after fixing still not very even.dunno how to say,that part still felt funny somehow,like can see more of the inside compared to the other corner. Anyway, Choose to keep quiet & avoid any grudges between anyone first till everything is done,then its time for me to pick the bones liao.hehe.they wanna play,i play lo. what ticked me off is that...most of the general workers, dont QC their own job at all. They just leave it when done then hope the owners are too blind to spot their booboos. we complain then the contractor come down hoping owner are too ignorant to challenge them. mind showing the end result of their rectification? wanna see how well they are able to fix it. my problem area looked very similar like yours. Sure, will take some before after pics. Mind PM me your pics too? From the experiences so far, I feel luck really play a major part of any reno... if you get workers who are responsible, most of the time the reno end up alls well. And its really important to be supervising the reno, makes a big difference when u r there... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kyarx 0 Report post Posted November 23, 2008 (edited) Just an update after meeting up with the boss...he's repeating exactly what the supervisor said to me. "It's the fault of HDB, their ceiling is not even in the first place and of course now your false ceiling appeared slanted! We use LASER so ours definitely even!" I'm thinking..."you mean HDB got no laser?" Then I pointed to the shoddy plastering(patching after hacking) done on the MBR ceiling. Again, "it's HDB fault!..becoz...blah blah" You guess it. Then I pointed out to him that the slight hump on the ceiling was infact done up by his worker, he immediately looked stunned and finally agreed to get the supervisor to rectify it..talk about shifting blames. This is the same person who assured me and promise me everything is in safe hands..blah blah blah. He even proudly went on to share abt how he challenged another owner(who of course did'nt took it up) to find another contractor and he will pay him if he cannot find any fault with the particular reno works (the owner complained about a particular reno work he did). IMO, I must be dead drunk to still signed with him despite all the sharing lessons from here. Reno is proving to be quite a stressful experience for us sadly. Lesson learn 1. Ask that the subcon or workers to call you for approval before proceeding with certain works (they didn't in my case) 2. Don't believe in all the sales talk before signing. What my contractor said to me "don't worry! you worry too much..as time go by, you will find my service get better and better (well, loads of bull)... 3. Ask the contractor where does he think problems will arise for a particular design. Ask him to put it in black n white before signing. Edited November 23, 2008 by kyarx Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kyarx 0 Report post Posted November 23, 2008 Enough of the grouses... Here's some beautiful furnitures we brought for our new home TV Console (colour will be in GOLD ) The dining table (colour grey). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pinkpetter 0 Report post Posted November 23, 2008 2. Don't believe in all the sales talk before signing. What my contractor said to me "don't worry! you worry too much..as time go by, you will find my service get better and better (well, loads of bull)... HUH.... so hypocritical. yucks. Will hope for you that all goes smoothly from now on. wah your tv console in Gold! cool le. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kyarx 0 Report post Posted November 24, 2008 HUH.... so hypocritical. yucks. Will hope for you that all goes smoothly from now on. wah your tv console in Gold! cool le. Yup feeling really tired handling his excuses. Today dropped another bomb shell on me. Charged me $1400 and promised I can use ALL types of paint except the All-in-One types...over the weeks he sell hard to use pentalite types as he claimed it is easier to touch up etc...seeing we didn't seem convinced, now insisting that we can only use pentalite or Vinilex (low ends) as it is industry practice and even have the cheek to say he's a honest man that's why he can only let us use those paints! (what logic is that?!) BTW for those who are reading, this contractor was actually strongly recommended by a S*****e L******e manager. Watchout for these types of "I scratch your back, you scratch mine" sales tactic...always very convincing at first. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
applefreak 1 Report post Posted November 24, 2008 yes the low end paint are easier to touch up but why would that be an issue to you if there is a need to touch up, they'll just have to repaint the whole wall not too sure of the market rate now, but $1,400 seems pretty high how far has your renovation progressed and how much have you paid? if nothing much has been done and you didn't pay a lot you might want to consider cutting losses coz i got a feeling that there's a lot more to come :angry: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kyarx 0 Report post Posted November 24, 2008 yes the low end paint are easier to touch up but why would that be an issue to you if there is a need to touch up, they'll just have to repaint the whole wall not too sure of the market rate now, but $1,400 seems pretty high how far has your renovation progressed and how much have you paid? if nothing much has been done and you didn't pay a lot you might want to consider cutting losses coz i got a feeling that there's a lot more to come :angry: Thanks for the advice. I actually have lobang which are cheaper than his quotation but decided to let him do it since its easier to coordinate... His reason for being more ex? "You must let me earn abit mah" Now it sounded more like "you must let me chop you abit!" I seriously did thought of stopping the reno too but now only left kitchen cabinet and bomb shelter, plus measurement already taken on Sunday...no choice left Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pinkpetter 0 Report post Posted November 25, 2008 Yup feeling really tired handling his excuses. Today dropped another bomb shell on me. Charged me $1400 and promised I can use ALL types of paint except the All-in-One types...over the weeks he sell hard to use pentalite types as he claimed it is easier to touch up etc...seeing we didn't seem convinced, now insisting that we can only use pentalite or Vinilex (low ends) as it is industry practice and even have the cheek to say he's a honest man that's why he can only let us use those paints! (what logic is that?!) BTW for those who are reading, this contractor was actually strongly recommended by a S*****e L******e manager. Watchout for these types of "I scratch your back, you scratch mine" sales tactic...always very convincing at first. huh. ya pentalite all that is easier to touch up la. it's the stuff they use in commercial buildings for more practical purposes but got limited colours though some are really nice. But $1400... huh now you better ask.. got include pipes, door and door frames or not... he make u choose between pentalite and vinilex only then maybe dun have... ceiling? then got sealant? lol although sometimes these things take for granted cos our ID and contractors are "honest" but yours... dun really seem so honest liao. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kyarx 0 Report post Posted November 25, 2008 (edited) huh. ya pentalite all that is easier to touch up la. it's the stuff they use in commercial buildings for more practical purposes but got limited colours though some are really nice. But $1400... huh now you better ask.. got include pipes, door and door frames or not... he make u choose between pentalite and vinilex only then maybe dun have... ceiling? then got sealant? lol although sometimes these things take for granted cos our ID and contractors are "honest" but yours... dun really seem so honest liao. His quotation excludes doors,pipes,etc..just the walls and ceiling. Sealant? Haha...nope. When I ask him to ensure the walls are smooth (remove the pimples) before painting..."No problem! BUT must add $$$!". When I just got my keys: "Should I ask HDB to come patch up the hairline cracks?" "No need! I will ask my men to touch up!" Now..."pay $$ lor, I do it!" Anyway today I just had a huge row with him, gave him a f**k*** good piece of my mind and FIRED him! We are just so tired of lputting up to all his lame excuses and aggressive debates. Even has the cheek to call himself a honest man after breaking all his promises. And now making it sound like he is the victim here... My foot! Gonna meet him this Saturday and settle the balance. Anyone got good lobang for kitchen cabinets and bomb shelter cum shoe cabinet? Edited November 25, 2008 by kyarx Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DoubleJ 0 Report post Posted November 25, 2008 goood, must stand up when you get pushed too far. this sat when meeting, you should walk in with muddy soccer boots & sit on their sofa with sweaty body then slowly write your cheque. lolx btw,my painting cost only 1K with sealant+plastering up all the "beam lines" and can use any paint from ICI/nippon.of course i choose all the best la, i even used the new ICI Light&Space for all my ceilings,Lbox lo.haha. Main gate,balcony,toilet pipings,all door frames,even the HHS frame oso they painted too out of my expectation cos it's gonna be cover up anyway ma! And still my quite shocked ID can tell me he still got earn abit after learning my extravagant choice of paints. Your ID's 1.4K & he still can tell you let him earn abit? really must Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
