Angel81 1 Report post Posted February 1, 2009 I did everything on my own - ie. told the contractor which walls to hack, which tiles to hack, which tiles to keep, locations of lighting points, desired dimensions of cabinets, etc etc. Also designed all cabinets and mixed and matched the laminates myself. Likewise for wall and floor tiles colour coordination. The final layout is in my head and is a work-in-progress all the time. My flat will certainly not be of showroom standard, but hopefully it will have more character than those ID-designed ones? Thumbs up. I'm sure your effort will be well worth it. Can't wait to see the outcome! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Honeygal 1 Report post Posted February 1, 2009 Hi I am planning the costing for my house too, do you mind to share how much is the cost for your reno?(excluding the loose item) Thank you Sad to say, the reno is already costing me a ridiculous $22000++ to date - this is despite the fact that i engaged multiple direct/sub-contractors, no ID, and even retained flooring for the living and bed rooms and kitchen wall tiles. I suggest you pick a cheaper main project contractor. I picked Ho Bee, whose pricing is one of the steepest around. I had to use them because this is the only contractor who speaks English. They charge for every little conceivable item, no FOC items thrown in. Although I picked the $2 range tiles, they still quoted me for $3 range. They even charged me for dismantling 2 aircons (which they probably sold later!). To save cost, you should also do overlay of flooring if possible. I was silly enough to heed contractor's advice and hacked the kitchen floor tiles. I subsequently found out that my flooring can make do with overlay and hacking was completely unnecessary. The carpenter which I engaged gave me quality materials and charged me premium as such. On hindsight, I should have been firmer and insisted on lower quality. I did not bargain much either. So as you can see, my reno costing of $22000++ (will be much higher when the final bill comes) is not a good reference because a lot of the items could have cost less. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pinkpetter 0 Report post Posted February 1, 2009 $22k really is quite a bit for a 3rm. Well at least everything is of quality and you're going to have a nice new place to live in. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mrspiglet 2 Report post Posted February 1, 2009 $22k sounds a lot to me, considering u are keeping even the window grills right? But Ho Bee does have gd reputation so far, i believe u are paying something value for money. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
roytan30 1 Report post Posted February 2, 2009 Sad to say, the reno is already costing me a ridiculous $22000++ to date - this is despite the fact that i engaged multiple direct/sub-contractors, no ID, and even retained flooring for the living and bed rooms and kitchen wall tiles. I suggest you pick a cheaper main project contractor. I picked Ho Bee, whose pricing is one of the steepest around. I had to use them because this is the only contractor who speaks English. They charge for every little conceivable item, no FOC items thrown in. Although I picked the $2 range tiles, they still quoted me for $3 range. They even charged me for dismantling 2 aircons (which they probably sold later!). To save cost, you should also do overlay of flooring if possible. I was silly enough to heed contractor's advice and hacked the kitchen floor tiles. I subsequently found out that my flooring can make do with overlay and hacking was completely unnecessary. The carpenter which I engaged gave me quality materials and charged me premium as such. On hindsight, I should have been firmer and insisted on lower quality. I did not bargain much either. So as you can see, my reno costing of $22000++ (will be much higher when the final bill comes) is not a good reference because a lot of the items could have cost less. Hi Thank for your reply. I think i need to relook on my costing again, because base on 22k ,it is one time higher than i expected Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rolexboy 0 Report post Posted February 2, 2009 seeing ur title bring a smile to my face... can't help but when i saw the floorplan, it's even ... i like wooden furnitures too.. saw some nice lookin pieces at paya lebar, roomyroomy or somethin... but dunno if it's cheap anot... all the best. happy n prosperous chinese new year all! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gregy 0 Report post Posted February 2, 2009 Sad to say, the reno is already costing me a ridiculous $22000++ to date - this is despite the fact that i engaged multiple direct/sub-contractors, no ID, and even retained flooring for the living and bed rooms and kitchen wall tiles. I suggest you pick a cheaper main project contractor. I picked Ho Bee, whose pricing is one of the steepest around. I had to use them because this is the only contractor who speaks English. They charge for every little conceivable item, no FOC items thrown in. Although I picked the $2 range tiles, they still quoted me for $3 range. They even charged me for dismantling 2 aircons (which they probably sold later!). To save cost, you should also do overlay of flooring if possible. I was silly enough to heed contractor's advice and hacked the kitchen floor tiles. I subsequently found out that my flooring can make do with overlay and hacking was completely unnecessary. The carpenter which I engaged gave me quality materials and charged me premium as such. On hindsight, I should have been firmer and insisted on lower quality. I did not bargain much either. So as you can see, my reno costing of $22000++ (will be much higher when the final bill comes) is not a good reference because a lot of the items could have cost less. Hi Honeygal. $22,000 is actually quite high considering yours is a 3 room flat. I suppose the bulk of your cost is on the carpentry. I did up my 3 room flat just like the way you did, by engaging various contractors i.e. electrical, cabinet, wet works, etc. However, I did buy all the stuff like floor tiles, laminates, sinks, cooker hob & hood, lightings, cistern, taps, etc. on my own and getting the respective contractors to install. After adding up everything, I spent about $15k including all the fixtures. I only hacked the wall between the living & dining plus kitchen wall tiles. Previous owner used rubber tiles at the living and bedrooms so no major hacking was done. To save cost, I overlayed the floor and wall tiles at the bathroom and WC. As for the bedrooms & utility room, I engaged Supreme Flooring which cost me $1.5k for the 3 rooms. My carpentry work is only the kitchen cabinet which cost me $3.5k including the solid surface top but excludes sink, cooker hob & hood. Main contractor did hacking, plastering, changing of water pipes, laying of tiles, bi-fold toilet doors. Electrician changed the wiring for the whole house including new DB and power, TV & electrical points. Carpenter did only the kitchen cabinet. I did the painting, which almost killed me..I had to do multiple coats becoz of the plastering! Well, its probably too late for you do anything now since they have already started work and you would have signed on the quotation. Maybe you wanna re-look at your carpentry stuff again and see if you could bring your cost down. You can find nice readymade wardrobes and cabinets nowadays quite easily. The other advantage is that you can remove/change it anytime you want. Anyway, good luck on your reno..its exciting but tiring especially you are the main coordinator. Some pics to share with you on what I did. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Honeygal 1 Report post Posted February 2, 2009 Hi Honeygal. $22,000 is actually quite high considering yours is a 3 room flat. I suppose the bulk of your cost is on the carpentry. I did up my 3 room flat just like the way you did, by engaging various contractors i.e. electrical, cabinet, wet works, etc. However, I did buy all the stuff like floor tiles, laminates, sinks, cooker hob & hood, lightings, cistern, taps, etc. on my own and getting the respective contractors to install. After adding up everything, I spent about $15k including all the fixtures. I only hacked the wall between the living & dining plus kitchen wall tiles. Previous owner used rubber tiles at the living and bedrooms so no major hacking was done. To save cost, I overlayed the floor and wall tiles at the bathroom and WC. As for the bedrooms & utility room, I engaged Supreme Flooring which cost me $1.5k for the 3 rooms. My carpentry work is only the kitchen cabinet which cost me $3.5k including the solid surface top but excludes sink, cooker hob & hood. Main contractor did hacking, plastering, changing of water pipes, laying of tiles, bi-fold toilet doors. Electrician changed the wiring for the whole house including new DB and power, TV & electrical points. Carpenter did only the kitchen cabinet. I did the painting, which almost killed me..I had to do multiple coats becoz of the plastering! Well, its probably too late for you do anything now since they have already started work and you would have signed on the quotation. Maybe you wanna re-look at your carpentry stuff again and see if you could bring your cost down. You can find nice readymade wardrobes and cabinets nowadays quite easily. The other advantage is that you can remove/change it anytime you want. Anyway, good luck on your reno..its exciting but tiring especially you are the main coordinator. Some pics to share with you on what I did. sigh, i am feeling so awfully miserable now that i know i have grossly overpaid well, this is the problem of being single, no one to turn to for 2nd opinion. thanks for the pics, i think your place is so tastefully done up for a $15k job. well done, it's got character, unlike the many ID-designed ones. my carpentry works out to $7100 (2 built-in bedroom cabinets, 1 small vanity top, 1 study table, 1 set kitchen cabinet). the carpenter included soft drawer tracks for everything, gosh i really don't need those. when i told them i didn't need all the fancy stuff including branded solid top, they said "all same price". wall tilings for the 2 toilets works out to $2200, then there are lots of those haulage and debris removal which costs about $1000. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
applefreak 1 Report post Posted February 2, 2009 actually $7,100 for all those carpentry sounds really reasonable maybe you can share your quotation here so that we can give you some suggestions ho bee was my main contractor too personally find that his charges are really reasonable Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pinklady 0 Report post Posted February 3, 2009 sigh, i am feeling so awfully miserable now that i know i have grossly overpaid well, this is the problem of being single, no one to turn to for 2nd opinion. thanks for the pics, i think your place is so tastefully done up for a $15k job. well done, it's got character, unlike the many ID-designed ones. my carpentry works out to $7100 (2 built-in bedroom cabinets, 1 small vanity top, 1 study table, 1 set kitchen cabinet). the carpenter included soft drawer tracks for everything, gosh i really don't need those. when i told them i didn't need all the fancy stuff including branded solid top, they said "all same price". wall tilings for the 2 toilets works out to $2200, then there are lots of those haulage and debris removal which costs about $1000. Oh my gosh, your reno costs u $22k which really ex! plus the haulage and debris removal fees which is so ex too. my haulage and debris fee is only $500, somemore its a 4 room flat. u should ask them to bring down that amt, and maybe if in doubt ask them to show u the HDB letter. installation of fittings, they should throw in foc to u too. hmm...... I squeezed my ID to include installing all of these for foc. like install of all lightings, fans, taps, toilet bowls. u will be surprised to know how much all of these small small things can add up to Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mrspiglet 2 Report post Posted February 3, 2009 $7100 for the carpentry sounds ok, but if carpentry is the main cost, how come there's still another $15k u have to pay? Tilings already out, so left w electrical rewiring and painting as the more ex items. What else did u pay for? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yokine9a 1 Report post Posted February 3, 2009 Don't be sad, honeygal, you can always turn to us for 2nd opinion. I am also single who bought a 3-room recently. As the flat was purchased at a very high price, I didn't budget for anything expensive on reno & furniture fittings. I spent $13K just on reno. I didn't touch on all the wall tiles in toilet/bathroom/kitchen, mainly on kitchen flooring/cabinet. One thing about Ho Bee is, their price will only increase but not decrease. My package includes 2 glass panel for kitchen cabinet in the original quotation. Somehow down the road, only 1 glass panel was installed due to the small size & design theme of my cabinet. I asked Patrick if he would give me discount during final payment, he said no. He said be it 1 glass panel or everything glass panel, they are the same price. I wasn't quite happy after hearing that, how can the price for glass panel & wooden door be the same? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Honeygal 1 Report post Posted February 3, 2009 Don't be sad, honeygal, you can always turn to us for 2nd opinion. I am also single who bought a 3-room recently. As the flat was purchased at a very high price, I didn't budget for anything expensive on reno & furniture fittings. I spent $13K just on reno. I didn't touch on all the wall tiles in toilet/bathroom/kitchen, mainly on kitchen flooring/cabinet. One thing about Ho Bee is, their price will only increase but not decrease. My package includes 2 glass panel for kitchen cabinet in the original quotation. Somehow down the road, only 1 glass panel was installed due to the small size & design theme of my cabinet. I asked Patrick if he would give me discount during final payment, he said no. He said be it 1 glass panel or everything glass panel, they are the same price. I wasn't quite happy after hearing that, how can the price for glass panel & wooden door be the same? thanks very much. good thing you only paid $13k! the big ticket items which Ho Bee quoted me are: painting, toilet wall tiles, plumbing works, haulage & debris removal, plastering, hacking and 'making good' this and that. i believe if i had insisted on overlay, my costs would have drastically reduced. about your glass panel, it seems they apply the same principle to me as well - although i selected the $2 wall tiles, i was still charged as per $3 range. they absolutely, resolutely refused to lower the pricing on this. they were actually ready not to do my biz (because of my constant haggling) and told me so, in no uncertain terms. as reno work is already in progress, guess there is no way i can cut costs further. gosh, i sure dread seeing Ho Bee's final bill Oh my gosh, your reno costs u $22k which really ex! plus the haulage and debris removal fees which is so ex too. my haulage and debris fee is only $500, somemore its a 4 room flat. u should ask them to bring down that amt, and maybe if in doubt ask them to show u the HDB letter. installation of fittings, they should throw in foc to u too. hmm...... I squeezed my ID to include installing all of these for foc. like install of all lightings, fans, taps, toilet bowls. u will be surprised to know how much all of these small small things can add up to thanks for your kind suggestions. i have haggled like crazy but very futile, they are extremely rigid in their pricing. installation of toilet accessories $60, also charge. i notice a lot of firms throw in quite a few FOC items, but not HB. they even charge me for dismantling 2 aircons (which i believe they can re-sell, not that they necessarily will). will reproduce the quotation here shortly. guess it is too late now to do anything, but if you know how i can cut my costs in any way at this point, let me know. it's scary how my $$$ is draining away so rapidly. ***shudders*** Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gregy 0 Report post Posted February 3, 2009 Gosh....Wats up with HB? Seems to be a very rigid company to do business with. Are they really that good? Why don't you post your quotation here and I am sure lots of forummers here would be able to help you to cut down on your bill or at least make some comparison to what others are charging for doing the same job. If you are really unhappy with them, I am sure you can stop them from doing anything more to your place and pay them for whatever that has been done. There is no such thing as you can't do anything now. But of course it means that you have to go thru the process of selecting another contractor again and there will be a delay in your moving in. yokine9a - 1 glass panel or entire glass cabinet is the same price? C'mon, gimme a break! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pinkpetter 0 Report post Posted February 3, 2009 Wah I agree with gregy. it does seem very rigid. I managed to get so many FOC things from my contractor that I practically took things for granted... mm mm think if you try to ask for anything FOC now it wun be FOC... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
