mmycheng 0 Report post Posted November 26, 2008 Oh dear... after reading your various entries...I can sincerely feel your frustration. I think you did the right thing by stopping his services as it will only lead to more problems in the future. Do you want a contact for ID or contractor to do your kitchen cabinets and shoe rack? You can try my ID or source around the various people others in the forum have used and found reliable. It's peak season now for renovation so prob best to avoid very popular ones as they may have a lot of jobs on hand or may not want to entertain smaller jobs. I hope you solve your problem soon. Take care. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kyarx 0 Report post Posted November 26, 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 Haha gd idea but that won't tick him off coz the current show room is not even his! (rented part of another ID firm) Wow $1k for all of that is really cheap IMO. We're considering DIY a room first and see if its too tough (applied 2 days of AL to try out). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kyarx 0 Report post Posted November 26, 2008 Oh dear... after reading your various entries...I can sincerely feel your frustration. I think you did the right thing by stopping his services as it will only lead to more problems in the future. Do you want a contact for ID or contractor to do your kitchen cabinets and shoe rack? You can try my ID or source around the various people others in the forum have used and found reliable. It's peak season now for renovation so prob best to avoid very popular ones as they may have a lot of jobs on hand or may not want to entertain smaller jobs. I hope you solve your problem soon. Take care. We learn so much yet learn nothing..u know that feeling? Seems like these unscrupulous creeps just always got an ace up their sleeve no matter how u guard against them... My contractor called me twice today... 1st call In a very gentle tone- "I called the boss of the false ceiling, he will come down on Friday and look at the work done. If the fault lies with them, he will redo everything. They are more experienced so will know how to fix" 2nd call- In a VERY sorry tone "I just want to apologise to you for what I said. It's not a good thing to stop a reno halfway. Let me finish the rest of the reno for you." I just told him we'll discuss on Saturday. Based on his track record... What do you think? 1. Forgive & forget? 2. Once bitten, twice shy? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pinkpetter 0 Report post Posted November 26, 2008 HUH... seriously I'll be very very afraid of taking him on again. If you wish to continue with him.. then you have to be super detailed liao. Set what is included in the painting right down to the last thing, sealant, door, door frame... Cannot go more than $1500 for everything la. Then you still have the carpentary all that? Make sure you get the dimensions exact, length,width,depth and the kind of laminate. make him hand draw all the pictures with dimension on the spot. If he's an ID it shouldn't be a problem. My contractor can draw in 5 minutes. I'm sure he can also. Then he sign against his pictures. Anyway whatever you have left in your quotation... make sure he put in detailed. And tell him he wasted so much of your time and energy... he better throw in freebies ba... OOHH one last thing.. you can print out the RADAC contract? he must finish everything by a certain deadline otherwise he must pay an amt for every day he delays. mmycheng is right. now is peak period it'll be hard for to find another reliable guy to do cos most of the good ones will be rushing for their projects now. Good luck with your guy! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DoubleJ 0 Report post Posted November 26, 2008 We learn so much yet learn nothing..u know that feeling? Seems like these unscrupulous creeps just always got an ace up their sleeve no matter how u guard against them... My contractor called me twice today... 1st call In a very gentle tone- "I called the boss of the false ceiling, he will come down on Friday and look at the work done. If the fault lies with them, he will redo everything. They are more experienced so will know how to fix" 2nd call- In a VERY sorry tone "I just want to apologise to you for what I said. It's not a good thing to stop a reno halfway. Let me finish the rest of the reno for you." I just told him we'll discuss on Saturday. Based on his track record... What do you think? 1. Forgive & forget? 2. Once bitten, twice shy? the false ceiling guy sure take the laser out again la. that time i measure the height of the ceiling to my Lbox edge. one corner is 4". other corner is 5" so i tell him. if he so sure HDB can build a flat with ceiling slanting at 1" diff then i'll call HDB here another day see what they say lo. but usually i speak to them in a very silly way la. i dunno leh, it give me the kicks when i see their faces so shock someone so childish can shoot them back with a silly smiling face. they'll realise this fool wanna eat tiger liao & back off..keke. andway they rectified my Lbox. now is 4" and 4.5" from ceiling at both corners,not so obvious liao but i still can see la so think ID pacify me with the cheap and good painting i guess.Give & take lo. If they sincerely wanna continue you say gotta make sure everything black and white now if case they play you out again. how long is their warranty for you? usually 2-5yrs ba. get them to extend it in black & white if you can. just say if you were to let them continue everything, you'll need some assurance on your side that they are gonna take it seriously.you're not out to push prices or get freebies, just need a good job done and will pay them readily. And with extra warranty issued it'll make sure they'll take all things seriously liao cos then they'll make sure it's build to last. if they say cannot then no point liao cos they themselve dont even have confidence their job for you will last ma. But do take note that it's industrial practice not to take over reno jobs halfway if you decided to drop them. As if any problem pop up later on & owners starts looking for someone to bear responsibilty. the 2nd guy will find themselves involved in a conflict with the owner and first guy and things does get ugly from there.so most ID choose not to take over jobs. kinda like a taboo for them. so must find a good carpenter and get the wood works done. can get friends to help you out with the painting if they are free lo or your neck sure break if painting alone. usually 3 days to paint a flat alone+1 week of yokoyoko application after that.hehe Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
junxian 0 Report post Posted November 27, 2008 hey doubleJ and kyarx .. HDB ceiling slanted is possible ! my mbr ceiling is an example. can see from my aircond blower unit ( obvious ) and my WIW ( but carpenter used extra wood/laminate to cover ) anyway from what you've said, IMO it is best to engage another contractor/id to finish up the work if you think you can't rely on him with the carpentry(most costly part of reno) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mwerkz 0 Report post Posted November 27, 2008 keke. ya. my hDb ceiling oso slanted. reason being i'm on the top floor, so de slanted ceiling is used to stop water retention abv de unit. anyway i think nothing wrong for l-box one side from ceiling 4", de other 5" wat. i specifically get my ceiling guys to do one side 6" one side 8" to balance the slantness of the ceiling. worse. my study room no false ceiling/l-box, den with the slanted ceiling, my aircon looks slanted, when it's in fact very straight. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bubble-ling 0 Report post Posted November 27, 2008 sigh...sometimes it depends on luck finding a gd contractor or ID... cheer up! Look forward to shifting in! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
applefreak 1 Report post Posted November 27, 2008 We learn so much yet learn nothing..u know that feeling? Seems like these unscrupulous creeps just always got an ace up their sleeve no matter how u guard against them... My contractor called me twice today... 1st call In a very gentle tone- "I called the boss of the false ceiling, he will come down on Friday and look at the work done. If the fault lies with them, he will redo everything. They are more experienced so will know how to fix" 2nd call- In a VERY sorry tone "I just want to apologise to you for what I said. It's not a good thing to stop a reno halfway. Let me finish the rest of the reno for you." I just told him we'll discuss on Saturday. Based on his track record... What do you think? 1. Forgive & forget? 2. Once bitten, twice shy? well, i'll continue with this contractor on two conditions 1. pricing re-negotiated 2. all further payment withheld until work completed i.e. i will only pay for what is done to my satisfaction my two cents Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pinkpetter 0 Report post Posted November 27, 2008 (edited) well, i'll continue with this contractor on two conditions 1. pricing re-negotiated 2. all further payment withheld until work completed i.e. i will only pay for what is done to my satisfaction my two cents totally agree with the second condition. and must give them a deadline. otherwise wait drag until dunno when. Edited November 27, 2008 by pinkpetter Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DoubleJ 0 Report post Posted November 27, 2008 well, i'll continue with this contractor on two conditions 1. pricing re-negotiated 2. all further payment withheld until work completed i.e. i will only pay for what is done to my satisfaction my two cents Great terms!!! Ceiling wise, i think no choice la,realised sure slanted esp higher floors more obvious.false ceiling or a broader Lbox can hide the slanted feel but once you do normal Lbox(18"?) only then obvious liao ba, for my case when i saw the end product then they tell me the slanted issue is not their fault,but before the Lbox hardly notice such a big slant, as the difference is too much to accept. my ID agreed with my point and say the slant suay suay at a obvious angle of view,he said if they did mine in a 5" and 4", it wouldnt be so obvious once the lower side is over the other corner. the ceiling guy agreed to try fix to their best after exchanges of tai-chi strokes.so far, mine not so obvious now. keke. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
deepakvali 0 Report post Posted November 28, 2008 imo, i will not go on with this contractor because no matter how detailed we are in listing down the requirements, in all fairness, we are not in this trade, they will have their methods to still pull a stunt here and there. all said and done, while you may have suspended his services, is there any possibility that he is able to turn around legally and claim damages from you on not allowing him to finish works? why do i say so? you probably would have signed a contract with him to have services and materials a to z to be rendered and he can always claim that raw materials have been prepared thus claiming for damages. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rdnest 0 Report post Posted November 28, 2008 Anyone got good lobang for kitchen cabinets and bomb shelter cum shoe cabinet? my carpenter is want contact? see my T-blog for pictures of his work Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kyarx 0 Report post Posted November 29, 2008 (edited) Thanks for the PMs everyone. Really touched by all the concerns and replies. Today I met up with the contractor intending to settle the balance. Opened my door and to our biggest surprises the rooms have been laminated(Supreme)! I have wanted to only laminate after painting since that will be alot more convienience to us. Moreover we are still deciding if we wanted to lay the rubber underlay and also need to confirm the actual measurement for the rooms(estimation when signed). So when I told my contractor on Tuesday to stop ALL work, I would not expect him to ask Supreme to lay the flooring on Friday! Called Supreme's salesperson and gave him a F piece of my mind too! What in the world is happening?! Told him to remove everything right away. But it gave us a preview of their workmanship..it was terrible! Now to the best part, my contractor came and boy was he eating the humble pie today. Kept reassuring us that he will settle the false ceiling with the FS's boss and suggested 2 solutions. I asked if they have met on Friday as he promised on Wednesday and answer is NO. Claimed the boss is BUSY. OMG...that really set me off. Questioned him then am I so free to keep coming down to solve this stupid ceiling problem!? Asked to speak to the boss(in KL), my contractor called and passed the phone to me... initially I was okay and wanted to know how they gonna solve my slanted ceiling...then he said: "this is our STANDARD practice to measure PING SUI(evenness)". My last fuse really blowned at that word STANDARD! F him and asked him so WHAT if we wanted a slanted false ceiling so that we can balance the look? We paid 1/2 a mil and waited >2 yrs so that your people can build a slanted ceiling?! The rest are too ugly to write here... In so many years, I can't remember losing my cool in this way. I hope never again. My contractor went on to say how other owners had compained to him about the supervisor and how upset he is with the supervisor working attitude. Then claimed that he gonna sack the fellow on Monday and he will personally supervise our reno. This was exactly what we specifically agreed upon before signing...back to square one. Anyway long story short, we grudgingly decided to let the contractor finish the job even though it is MOST probably a wrong decision again. The word "sorry" just disarmed me.. And rather than getting to know someone new all over, at least we know him inside out and can anticipate his crap. Hopefully the reno would be fine when we returned from holiday on the 10 Dec. Edited November 29, 2008 by kyarx Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
applefreak 1 Report post Posted November 30, 2008 oh dear, i'm so sorry to hear about your experience guess all of us met with some kind of frustration during renovation though not many as bad as this eating the humble pie might be a sign that things will improve from now on won't say it's a wrong decision just a practical way of resolving this issue unless you want to go through the search-decide-confirm phase again, with no guarantee that things will go smoothly jia you jia you :sport-smiley-003: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
