Ah Soon

[ivy 0]

Dear All,

Just a note of caution, I received an email from a kind forummer who highlighted that when she ask for contact of Ah Soon in this thread, she got a reply from another forummer (I shall not disclose the nick here at the moment so that it doesn't sounds offensive) who gave her this number 9632**** and mention about grilles and such. I did a nick search and indeed under this person's nick, her profile indicated that she has a working partner by the name of Ah Soon too and she is a sales person.

This alert forummer shared that she was then supplied quickly with an english quote through email which brought her to realise that this particular Ah soon is not the uncle Ah Soon that we are using.

So for those who are keen to use the uncle Ah Soon we are using, please note that Uncle Ah Soon's contact starts with 9386****.

To the lady who responded to requests for Ah Soon's contact by providing your partner's contact, I think it is fine, that you are trying to get some business from this forum, however, ethically, you should inform the requesters that your partner Ah Soon is not the Ah Soon from Fu Hua and is not the Ah Soon that we are all talking about, so that the requesters won't be confused and caught by surprise.

[pinkpetter 0]

First appt with him... floorplan and items you want should be sufficient... If you're happy with the price then show him the house when you get it ba. Think for most IDs and contractors you can do this...

[shingirl 0]

may i check if i wan a quote from ah soon, must i show him to my house? (i have not gotten the keys)

or can i just call to meet and show him the floorplans and meansurement?

[ivy 0]

Hi stormcontrol,

Mine's not a new flat, it's a resale in Clementi, so yup.

hey yuene which part of clementi are you at?? me also at clementi.

[Smallboy 0]

Hi stormcontrol,

Mine's not a new flat, it's a resale in Clementi, so yup.

cool... I am in Clementi too. Ah Soon just did up my reno.

[yuene 0]

concrete screed can get hdb to do if new flat. But if want uncle to do also can. Uncle mentioned he contract for hdb before and done cement screeding before. He even made an offer to scree my floor for me if hdb couldn't do it fast enough.

Hi stormcontrol,

Mine's not a new flat, it's a resale in Clementi, so yup.

[stormcontrol 0]

Hey, does anyone know if Ah Soon is familiar with doing concrete screed flooring? Because I'm thinking of having that as my flooring (as opposed to laminates/ tiles etc). Thanks!

concrete screed can get hdb to do if new flat. But if want uncle to do also can. Uncle mentioned he contract for hdb before and done cement screeding before. He even made an offer to scree my floor for me if hdb couldn't do it fast enough.

[yuene 0]

Hey, does anyone know if Ah Soon is familiar with doing concrete screed flooring? Because I'm thinking of having that as my flooring (as opposed to laminates/ tiles etc). Thanks!

[pinkpetter 0]

Thanks Pinkpetter for your posts. Finally I hear some objective posts from Ah Soon's client thats comes with no emotion tag!

I remember I came to know about Ah Soon thru your nice blog though eventually I dropped him.

Nevertheless, I still like your reno done and thanks for your wonderful reply.

Cheers.

You're welcome! I guess we're all expressing the same thing.. just in different words which may not bring across the right message.

I'm sure you made an informed decision based on your own set of criteria... Set up a blog to show us your reno when you're going through it? hehe I'm such a kaypoh.

[marvin 0]

Wah I finally found a little time to read... mmm lemme see

Pink ones are by me.

****************************************

I reckon I should do one of these in every page of this thread... so that newcomers will not happily ask for Uncle's contact, all rosy-eyed and expect to have a smooth boat ride. I prefer to think of renovation as a month-long roller coaster ride. haha

For newcomers, people who intend to renovate and people doing homework early.

1) All renovation has its hiccups. Simply because we are humans. Some people experience more hiccups, some less.

Same goes for Uncle's clients. Some of us had more problems than others. If you look carefully and actually note down, you'll notice that

it's not consistent. This could be due to a number of reasons... some of which involves Uncle, some not.

2) Do your homework. Not just which ID/contractor is good on the forum... but as you read, you should take note of little tricks and tips

that people do when they are having their reno... write them down so that you can also do them when it's your turn. Stuff like labelling tile

samples and leaving them in the house, drawing the actual electrical points on the walls of the house, marking crosses on stuff to be

hacked.... Small stuff.

These will come in useful not just in dealing with Uncle but with ANY ID or any contractor... especially when some of them try to

spoonfeed you with rubbish information.

3) Get as many quotations as you can. I know it's tiring and it's troublesome and sometimes even humiliating... I've been through all that.

But get them. At least 8? 10? 15? I had about 20 I think. I can't really remember and I trashed them. Get enough to convince yourself

that you have seen enough to say that you like the person's mannerism, work style, reputation, workmanship for that PRICE.... so that

you will regret less later on.

I've come across some owners who insist on getting Uncle's contact and want to engage Uncle with just very few quotations in hand. I

advised them against this and really beg them to go get more.

4) There are plenty of contractors and IDs in Singapore with different range of services, different approach in dealing with people and different prices to offer.

The only reason why you keep seeing Uncle Soon's name around this forum is not because he's the ONLY contractor but simply because it just so happens that a number of forummers are currently having their houses done by him. Please go look through at least 3-4 of the following T-blogs - mrspiglet's, smallboy's, fondue's, familyof4's, ivy's, aubrey's, jesperbg's, ashes02's, Native02's, pinkpetter's, Metalsubzero's, gaku70's, growler's, guy77's, blue_diamond's, apples'...... if I missed out anyone.. SORRY LA... very difficult to remember leh.

5) Everyone has varying standards of carpentry. What you may find acceptable may not seem so to another person. Don't take someone's word for it. Go see it for yourself and decide if you think it's acceptable. By that, I don't mean viewing showrooms. I think showrooms are trash. They put together the best stuff with a big budget, which may not be what you will be given anyway. Go see someone's home. It's even better if you manage to get the owner while you're there so you can have a glimpse at whether the owner is happy with the contractor.

MmM is that all? I hope so. lalallalalala

Thanks Pinkpetter for your posts. Finally I hear some objective posts from Ah Soon's client thats comes with no emotion tag!

I remember I came to know about Ah Soon thru your nice blog though eventually I dropped him.

Nevertheless, I still like your reno done and thanks for your wonderful reply.

Cheers.

[pinkpetter 0]

hahahah Pet, your reply on the kidnap and shine downlight on uncle make me laugh so hard my colleague think I've gone mad bcos of my reno hahahahahah

eh? Just trying to ease some seriousness I guess.

Out of all these posts, I will agree that lurkers and forummers should post their reno works done by contractors or ID. This will really help future ones who are doing their reno to make an informed comparison.

Here we are seeing so many Ah Soon's work cos so many join in the Soon Wagon and are willing to blog about it.

Thus, those who think we should 'see' other contractors (50 or 500) should start posting. Not meant to be offensive here. But really, we want to see more contractors' work here. And I sincerely like to see too.

That's my bottomline conclusion. This will help the community here.

My 2c worth.

Agreed. I'm always excited to know that there's another nice contractor out there that is budget friendly... Saw one in SGbrides but couldn't convince the guy to set up T-blog here to show us the contractor's work. *sigh*

[Smallboy 0]

Out of all these posts, I will agree that lurkers and forummers should post their reno works done by contractors or ID. This will really help future ones who are doing their reno to make an informed comparison.

Here we are seeing so many Ah Soon's work cos so many join in the Soon Wagon and are willing to blog about it.

Thus, those who think we should 'see' other contractors (50 or 500) should start posting. Not meant to be offensive here. But really, we want to see more contractors' work here. And I sincerely like to see too.

That's my bottomline conclusion. This will help the community here.

My 2c worth.

Edited June 5, 2009 by Smallboy

[ivy 0]

hahahah Pet, your reply on the kidnap and shine downlight on uncle make me laugh so hard my colleague think I've gone mad bcos of my reno hahahahahah

[stormcontrol 0]

Wow! never know a contractor can have an exclusive corner to discuss his work. He must be good.

Mind sharing a sample of his quote and his contact? I'm very excited to see one actual and final quote look like.

The last few days at the Reno road show organised by our RC at one of the block void deck, most of them want you to commit before they allow you to have the initial conceptual plan draw by their ID. Thks

Other than Ah Soon there are two other contractors famous on RT that you can consider. Patrick of Ho Bee has his own thread here. And you can read about his work in ilmare612 and Applefreak's tblogs. Mace's house was done by him as well but mace's tblog is for something else altogether =p

Mr Yeak's thread on the "Renovation Firms and Services" sub-forum isn't that hot but he has a dedicated following as well. =)

Checkout rondy, angel81. If you want even more, checkout the link to various Yeaker's tblogs in angel81's signature =)

Read more and understand what you'll be getting into with each of these guys before you make a decision. Happy reno-ing =)

BTW, they don't actually want you to commit before drawing bah? Most just want a sum for the drawing. Sort of paying them to use the skills they spent years mastering =p. But the sum is still quite hefty, and that's what turned me and my wife off from IDs.

[pinkpetter 0]

Wah I finally found a little time to read... mmm lemme see

Pink ones are by me.

I just like to highlight one more point - whichever contractor we use, and whatever things turn out in the end, and many years to come; we will know if that Uncle soon/ Uncle Yeak/ and whichever IDs are producing good job and material for your renovation.

No one can guarantee anything after 1-2years when all things start to settle in. Only then, we shall see Yeakers/Sooners/IDers/ABC supporters would be still around to give their testimonial.

Exactly. I do hope I will be here to give mine though. Good or bad... it's nice to let people know.

Overated is given to Uncle Soon's for his workpiece are not really excellent; workmanship; service quality are not up to expectation (Data and information extracted from Uncle soon's clients through their T-blog)

Who said his workmanship is excellent? Maybe acceptable or good according to the price given but I seriously doubt that the word excellent is given. Maybe for one or two things (like the guy who did my cornices) but certainly not all of his workers....

Overated is given to Uncle Soon's because the price offered by him is not necessarily cheap or cheaper than other contractors (I have yet to get a quote, however I am keen to get a quote from him)

haha well erm... I can say one thing... UNCLE is definitely cheaper than some contractors. I reckon there are at least 500 contractors in Singapore? Thus I'm sure Uncle's price is cheaper than at least 10 of them. common sense. However if you are trying to say that WE have implied that Uncle gives the lowest price in the entire SINGAPORE... then I think any idiot who reads that statement will know that it's impossible for us to have gotten quotations from all 500 (or more) contractors in the whole of Singapore. Just that after having done our homework, we have felt that Uncle has given a better price than the ones we approached (could be 10,20,30?).

Uncle gives a GOOD price (which I've always said), is honest (will not run away with your money) and is approachable (many can vouch for this, whether or not they signed with him.).

Overated is given to Uncle Soon's because he is definitely not the only contractor available, and not the only contractor who can give and take.

Definitely. And I'm sure... there isn't a single reader here who doesn't know that. If Uncle is the ONLY one ... I will kidnap him, put him in a glass enclosure with downlights shining on him and charge people $20 for every peek they take. HUAT AH!

Overated is given to Uncle Soon's because its already 31th May, Aubrey - you have yet to move in.

And she is excited at moving in... and she's moving on with her life. Why are you the one harping on it and making people upset? Lots of renovations get delayed. Maybe when we (you and I) have the time, we should sift through all the T-blogs and make a calculation of the number of people who got their houses early, on time and late.

Dun flame me, because the above comments are of my personal perspective and opinion.

So are my replies. I just want to be polite.

****************************************

I reckon I should do one of these in every page of this thread... so that newcomers will not happily ask for Uncle's contact, all rosy-eyed and expect to have a smooth boat ride. I prefer to think of renovation as a month-long roller coaster ride. haha

For newcomers, people who intend to renovate and people doing homework early.

1) All renovation has its hiccups. Simply because we are humans. Some people experience more hiccups, some less.

Same goes for Uncle's clients. Some of us had more problems than others. If you look carefully and actually note down, you'll notice that

it's not consistent. This could be due to a number of reasons... some of which involves Uncle, some not.

2) Do your homework. Not just which ID/contractor is good on the forum... but as you read, you should take note of little tricks and tips

that people do when they are having their reno... write them down so that you can also do them when it's your turn. Stuff like labelling tile

samples and leaving them in the house, drawing the actual electrical points on the walls of the house, marking crosses on stuff to be

hacked.... Small stuff.

These will come in useful not just in dealing with Uncle but with ANY ID or any contractor... especially when some of them try to

spoonfeed you with rubbish information.

3) Get as many quotations as you can. I know it's tiring and it's troublesome and sometimes even humiliating... I've been through all that.

But get them. At least 8? 10? 15? I had about 20 I think. I can't really remember and I trashed them. Get enough to convince yourself

that you have seen enough to say that you like the person's mannerism, work style, reputation, workmanship for that PRICE.... so that

you will regret less later on.

I've come across some owners who insist on getting Uncle's contact and want to engage Uncle with just very few quotations in hand. I

advised them against this and really beg them to go get more.

4) There are plenty of contractors and IDs in Singapore with different range of services, different approach in dealing with people and different prices to offer.

The only reason why you keep seeing Uncle Soon's name around this forum is not because he's the ONLY contractor but simply because it just so happens that a number of forummers are currently having their houses done by him. Please go look through at least 3-4 of the following T-blogs - mrspiglet's, smallboy's, fondue's, familyof4's, ivy's, aubrey's, jesperbg's, ashes02's, Native02's, pinkpetter's, Metalsubzero's, gaku70's, growler's, guy77's, blue_diamond's, apples'...... if I missed out anyone.. SORRY LA... very difficult to remember leh.

5) Everyone has varying standards of carpentry. What you may find acceptable may not seem so to another person. Don't take someone's word for it. Go see it for yourself and decide if you think it's acceptable. By that, I don't mean viewing showrooms. I think showrooms are trash. They put together the best stuff with a big budget, which may not be what you will be given anyway. Go see someone's home. It's even better if you manage to get the owner while you're there so you can have a glimpse at whether the owner is happy with the contractor.

MmM is that all? I hope so. lalallalalala

Edited June 4, 2009 by pinkpetter