Retrospectrum Meets Modernisation!

[aubrey 0]

Hey aubrey,

- base on e requirements, i est. it can b done approx. $20k by Contractor.

- inclusive of electrical re-wiring & basic lightings & standard sanitary fittings & cooker hob & hod.

- wif e same amt of work 2b done by ID & items 2b purchased, it wld b + min. 10%.

Hey aubrey,

- e quote looks reasonable 2 mi. Not too cheap not too expensive frm a ID, not Contractor.

- s replied above, i felt dat ur budget of $15k is not realistic base on wat u wanted. this is just to make sure they dont quote me way out of budget.

- dun 4get to add new furnishing/fixtures etc approx <$10k. we will be re-using some existing furn to save cost, but buying hob/hood/oven etc

- u oleady noes wat u wan, jus dat u nid 2 ngage e Rite guy who can meet ur budget. actually design-wise i am not that savvy, only became more aware after meeting IDs

- choice of kitchen worktop depends mainly on how often u gona cook or rather uses e kitchen.

- basically granite is natural stone (tough). Solid surface is man-make fixtures consist of polymers/plastics etc (resistence level is defintely lower). Corian is 1 of e upper grade of solid surface, got warranty. need to hear from uncle soon to consolidate all quotes and decide what material to use

- granite joint is jointed with 'marble gum'.

- regardless of solid surface or granite worktop, it is sitting on e solid plywood which inturns is supported by e vertical bracing solid plys within e carpentry. It wil not break so easily.

- in reality, cost price of granite & solid surface is abt e same. wow if that is the case i can go for granite!!

- who cares its China or India granite? s long s e stone is more durable than 'plastic'. but between the two, is there one that is much better?

- WM base can opt not 2 hav. Depends on how u gona drain e excess soiled water, expose e drainage pipe anot? nope, all gonna be hidden by kitchen cabi for aesthetic purposes. so i think we will go for all those bases.

- Fridge base can olso opt not 2 hav. Can use e four 'stool' s wat u mentioned earlier.

- kitchen wall tiles, can do e min. Dat means tile e part u gota see only, those areas behind e cabinet can b left bare. Plaster e area between e top & bottom cabinet. Paint finished.

- who say 3rm flat canot change layout? Wif $, e layout can b mirror except e wet areas. mirror meaning??

- so who did u ngage finally. waiting for uncle soon to quote then decide, somehow my mom seems set on him.

hi jacky777 (u like jackpot?) my replies in bold. also, those with suspended kitchen cabinets, what happens to their wm base and fridge base since the kitchen cabi does not need any base now?

have already done the re-wiring plus bought lighting alr, so dont need to re-wire. except maybe to change some points here and there to make it all fit. agreed about the 10% extra charge by ID.

[aubrey 0]

Supply labor & approved Waterproofing solutions, up-turn 150mm at wall, in Kitchen Floor. - ?? the drop from my living to kitchen?

the upturn means that they will do waterproofing across the floor and at the bottom of your walls up to 1.5cm

doesn't affect the step from living to kitchen ba.

why is it that all IDs previously did not quote me for this? is this what they call hidden cost?

Supply labor & approved Waterproofing solutions, up-turn 150mm at wall, in 2-Toilet Floor. - ??? the kerb?

Same as the kitchen.

Supply UPVC edging for all wall & beams - Straight Edging.

After hacking the walls will be very very uneven and it's extremely obvious at the corners protruding out. This edging is a long straight material they place at the corners to make it extremely straight and nice. For my house.. the corners with this edging look nicer than the original walls (that didn't face any hacking.) if they indicate ALL walls and beams I assume they will do all for you.

again, no one has told me about this! -_- will uncle soon include this or do i have to tell him?

Supply labor & Chemical Sealant on New Plastered Wall. - have never been quoted this. always just a straight plastering cost + paint cost

Are you plastering your kitchen or toilet? or other damper areas? sometimes they put this sealant.. to prevent the paint from peeling easily due to moisture.. mm

errrr i just said i wanna plaster so i suppose when they say whole house, kitchen and bath/WC is included as well??

Supply labor & approved acid to wash all new tiled area. - nvr been quoted this as well

dun have meh? It's sometimes called chemical washing/acid washing..

oooo yes yes that i have heard of before

Supply labor to Clear all Debris, during & after renovation. - $420 ex?

depends. Are you on a lift landing floor? is it easy to move from your unit to the lift and then to downstairs? All those could be factors. That said.. I've been quoted $1200 just to clear things before.. have to look at the quote overall. They add and minus off some things so it balances off sometimes. Very few quote everything cheap...

yup i guess i am on the lift landing floor just that there's 1 flight of stairs that leads to the lift.. and since my block has been upgraded and all lifts stop at every floor, i guess all floors are on lift landing? well... i suppose now that u have mentioned it, better compared it with other quotes to see how it all matches up.

Supply labor to install all toileteries and accessories in 2-Toilets. - $280 for this! i think its gonna cost more than the accessories itself!!!!

eh... does that include the toilet bowl and sink and heater? if so I think it's ok. hahaha

so far it just says supply labour, nth about supply toilet bowl / sink / heater. even so i think i prefer to choose it myself.

pet, thanks so much for all your patient explaining, helps me to understand alot. u can start a book called renovation vague terms demystified!

[aubrey 0]

hi aubrey, the edges are up to you

you can choose either rounded or flat, i chose rounded

the price will include the profile, the cut out and the 2" backsplash to protect the wall tiles

now i am confused... backsplash is that thingy that will be installed where my hob is right? i was told i can use tiles for that. so which is recommended? the s/s backsplash, glass or tiled backsplash??

profile means the edges?? oh ya, does colour affect price?

[aubrey 0]

alrighty picture time! sorry i was just playing with the jelly lens on my hp cos this one is wide angle and i can take more stuff in it but perspective is a little skewed, dont mind it. i will post proper ones from a proper cam in a while.

ok so this is the living room. really dark cos the last paint job we did was really long time ago, easily 9 years? back then me and parents painted it to save $ but they're not getting any younger and i'm no professional so we didnt paint it. now that we're doing the reno, just living with it. its really dark despite me turning on the lights to take the pic. i hope after reno, it will be super bright! we'll throw away the existing shoe racks (actually it's just a bookshelf + old tv console then we decided to put shoes on it..) the sofa u see will remain cos we got it late last year. TV will be replaced (hopefully) with new one, this one to shift into mom's room.

this is the 2nd part of the living room where my mom's altar is. she wants to have it at the same place so to have any fancy schmancy open concept kitchen is not possible. my tiles are the super old type, rubber vinyl. we just used this.. covering and covered the entire house with it. i dont know what's it called but its very common in older malay houses.

here's my kitchen in all it's no kitchen cabinet and cluttered like mad glory!! 101% old skool goodness. u can imagine all the dust it chalks up. i guess u can say that my house is so **** DIY, lol. also, its dark and i dont like it despite painting it light warm orange in the past. (cos i like orange!)

cement screed!! hahaha. that part of the covering is torn off cos of the horrible leak from my neighbour's house to mine! HDB said its not their fault cos of spalling concrete problem on my side but honestly, i think my neighbour is to share some cost with me cos according to my mom, she hears hacking and noises coming from them. >:/

more to come!!

Edited April 13, 2009 by aubrey

[cannotisit 0]

aubrey,

i understand your pain... cos my place condition also very chiam.

[aubrey 0]

heheh.. pain? numb alr cos 23 years already. have u started tblog? then can go and check out yr place

[yokine9a 1]

Hi aubrey, if you want super bright for your living room, try these:

1) Change the windows, eg. sliding at the bottom with monsoon windows on top.

2) Do L-box. This will introduce more smaller watt light bulbs & cover bigger area.

3) Hack away the wall between kitchen & living room.

Edited April 13, 2009 by yokine9a

[cannotisit 0]

heheh.. pain? numb alr cos 23 years already. have u started tblog? then can go and check out yr place

hahaha. now concentrating on finding a reliable contractor first. can i'll only be getting my keys on 3rd june. will create one when i got my keys.

[escahmobu 0]

hi aubrey

can pm me the contacts too?thanks...

cheers.

escahmobu

[aubrey 0]

Hi aubrey, if you want super bright for your living room, try these:

1) Change the windows, eg. sliding at the bottom with monsoon windows on top.

2) Do L-box. This will introduce more smaller watt light bulbs & cover bigger area.

3) Hack away the wall between kitchen & living room.

hi yokine9a

we are changing to similar louvered windows meaning glass at the top and alu at the bottom instead of sliding as both myself and mom feels that sliding renders 1 side useless. we prefer louvered ones.

I dont think we can afford to squeeze in L-box and the lights and stuff with our budget..

and we cant hack the wall due to the existing altar at the wall between living and kitchen.

[aubrey 0]

hahaha. now concentrating on finding a reliable contractor first. can i'll only be getting my keys on 3rd june. will create one when i got my keys.

u want a contractor? have u called famous ah soon? u shld gv him a call if u havent.

[cannotisit 0]

u want a contractor? have u called famous ah soon? u shld gv him a call if u havent.

i'm afraid he got too many projects on hand but will give him a call soon to arrange to do site survey at my new place.

[aubrey 0]

hi aubrey

can pm me the contacts too?thanks...

cheers.

escahmobu

escahmobu, pls keep an eye on yr PM. i will send u some of the ID/contractor that i personally like to work with.

[aubrey 0]

just a quick update! i have met with uncle soon earlier last week and he came to my place to get an understanding and to hear what we have to say and want to do for our place. he said he will revert sometime this week. ytd i just called him to find out approx when to expect the quote and he told me, "where are you? you gonna be home? if so i come over now okay!"

haha ok he exceeds expectations! but also seem to be a little disorganized but i am not gonna fault him on that given his numerous projects.

his quote is really so competitive and of cos the freebies does help a lot to swing our favour in his way. things like we wanted to change our main gate to wrought iron gate but keep our wooden door cos we dont have the budget and its not very nice to get ppl to work with a low budget yet still insist on all things but he said its ok, he will change it to another new fire-rated door for us and its complimentary..

turns out that from his quote, we were about to squeeze in a tv console, study table and bookshelf at a very very good price. his quote came up to about $23,300. not sure if we can shave off anymore

also, just wondering, uncle soon's quote for tiles, he does not state the price, will we still have a good selection? also wonder if he will bring us to view his project so my mom can have a better understanding and piece of mind.

[apples 0]

just a quick update! i have met with uncle soon earlier last week and he came to my place to get an understanding and to hear what we have to say and want to do for our place. he said he will revert sometime this week. ytd i just called him to find out approx when to expect the quote and he told me, "where are you? you gonna be home? if so i come over now okay!"

haha ok he exceeds expectations! but also seem to be a little disorganized but i am not gonna fault him on that given his numerous projects.

his quote is really so competitive and of cos the freebies does help a lot to swing our favour in his way. things like we wanted to change our main gate to wrought iron gate but keep our wooden door cos we dont have the budget and its not very nice to get ppl to work with a low budget yet still insist on all things but he said its ok, he will change it to another new fire-rated door for us and its complimentary..

turns out that from his quote, we were about to squeeze in a tv console, study table and bookshelf at a very very good price. his quote came up to about $23,300. not sure if we can shave off anymore

also, just wondering, uncle soon's quote for tiles, he does not state the price, will we still have a good selection? also wonder if he will bring us to view his project so my mom can have a better understanding and piece of mind.

Another 'sold' to ah soon

He told me we can select the tiles for up to $3. As for viewing, he told us the units available but we went on our own.