Ho Bee

[worldangel 0]

Hi Worldangel,

Thanks, I got your mail.

Met with with Patrick this afternoon and he seemed like a nice uncle. The only drawback about him vs other contractors/Ids is the lacks of ideas when threw questions at him regarding design. Patrick seems too quiet, not that I like talkative contractors but he is just not giving me ideas. From your blog, I come to know that he is the type that you must show him what you want and he will work on it but i would appreciate if he had suggested to me something in terms of design. Whatever I wanted, Patrick would go along and maybe that's what most people called good customer service. He did inform that he would think about some design bits and come back to me before he left. He got a lot of smses during his 1.5 hours inspection at my place, vey busy uncle with a busy schedule.

Nonetheless, I find him okay and unlike those smooth talking ones who you know kinda try to smoke you. This is an important attribute. Prior to Patrick, I had a meeting with an contractor from ID Note, Henry. Another brilliant contractor who was recommended by SuperSimon27. That would be another post at another time. The rest are just a waste of time.

Cheers.

Oh I think that's quite normal and to be expected cos he is a contractor, not an ID. For us, we decided to hire him because we were prepared to design all the layout of the house by ourselves. So we told him the design and he would add his ideas here and there, but like what you said, it won't be much.

So do keep that in consideration while you are choosing your renovator. We were not considering ID because we want our house design to be purely ours (we also dislike smooth-talking IDs who will psycho you to do this and that and in the end increases the cost) and also because of the pricing.

[starblume 0]

Got my quotation from Patrick and it seems that if staying at condo the prices will be higher... However I believe some reasons could be because my ceiling height is higher but there were other sections that showed a real price difference

But my gut feeling still tells me to stick with Ho Bee, Patrick seems like a nice guy who has integrity...not to mention all the good comments about him here. Anybody knows if it's possible to ask for discount from him?

[worldangel 0]

Got my quotation from Patrick and it seems that if staying at condo the prices will be higher... However I believe some reasons could be because my ceiling height is higher but there were other sections that showed a real price difference

But my gut feeling still tells me to stick with Ho Bee, Patrick seems like a nice guy who has integrity...not to mention all the good comments about him here. Anybody knows if it's possible to ask for discount from him?

Hehe I would say...go with your gut feelings It is important to find a contractor whom you can relate well to...cos you will need to communicate with him quite often during the renovation.

As for discount, it's quite hard to get one from him. But he has the habit of rounding up the money amount...like it is 2300 he will just charge you 2000. Then might be able to get some freebies here and there la...but won't be a lot

Well, you pay what you get for...for us, we never regret spending that bit more cos no hidden cost and no headache at all during our reno.

[b@tmann 0]

No, he is a contractor so no 3D drawing at all...you need to design the 'look' of your house on your own. Then you need to tell him what you want him to do..

Hi Worldangel, can you share with me your quote and t-blog too? Thanks.

[worldangel 0]

Hi Worldangel, can you share with me your quote and t-blog too? Thanks.

Hi,

Would need your email add. My T-Blog can be accessed thru the link in my signature

[starblume 0]

Hehe I would say...go with your gut feelings It is important to find a contractor whom you can relate well to...cos you will need to communicate with him quite often during the renovation.

As for discount, it's quite hard to get one from him. But he has the habit of rounding up the money amount...like it is 2300 he will just charge you 2000. Then might be able to get some freebies here and there la...but won't be a lot

Well, you pay what you get for...for us, we never regret spending that bit more cos no hidden cost and no headache at all during our reno.

Ah I see, yes read some reviews that he doesnt quite entertain discounts...but that u would definitely get things done as promised. Yar I think most likely I will go with him for reno ba Thanks for advice!

[england 0]

Oh I think that's quite normal and to be expected cos he is a contractor, not an ID. For us, we decided to hire him because we were prepared to design all the layout of the house by ourselves. So we told him the design and he would add his ideas here and there, but like what you said, it won't be much.

So do keep that in consideration while you are choosing your renovator. We were not considering ID because we want our house design to be purely ours (we also dislike smooth-talking IDs who will psycho you to do this and that and in the end increases the cost) and also because of the pricing.

Hi WorldAngel,

Hmm...the other contractor I met earlier was at least more vocal than Patrick. I think it is funny that when opinions were sought from him, he would just give you that grin or smiley face without a word. He would then proceed to take measurement and ignored your waiting for his opinion altogether. But I do not take this negatively but rather feel that he just needs time to think over my question and not simply replying in a haste and eneded up giving some crappy suggestions. And I got a feeling that he is not cheap either.

Cheers.

[surecords 0]

Got my quotation from Patrick and it seems that if staying at condo the prices will be higher... However I believe some reasons could be because my ceiling height is higher but there were other sections that showed a real price difference

But my gut feeling still tells me to stick with Ho Bee, Patrick seems like a nice guy who has integrity...not to mention all the good comments about him here. Anybody knows if it's possible to ask for discount from him?

Hi, I am also planning to use Ho bee. Would you kindly share your quote by PM me? Thans a lot

[starblume 0]

Hi, I am also planning to use Ho bee. Would you kindly share your quote by PM me? Thans a lot

Hi surecords,

Sure please pm me ur email so I'll send to you

Starblume

[starblume 0]

Hi all,

Just wanted to share that I decided to go with Patrick, for a few reasons -

(1) He was very professional & patient with my endless string of questions (i'm a newbie at renovation)

(2) He was very prompt with quotation updates despite his schedule, shows sincerity

(3) Good feedback on this forum

So far today marks 1st day of renovation work, and Patrick told me that he will be doing the hacking for 2 days. When I went down to inspect at the day's end, my jaw dropped... He finished hacking -

- ENTIRE kitchen (wall, floor tiles, 2 cabinets, even open up the ceiling to check, door frame and door)

- 2 toilets (wall, floor tiles, cabinets, shower screens, bath tub, WC, false ceiling)

- all the iron grills in entire house (living room, master, common room, both toilet grills)

The best part? He's only left with removing one wardrobe in the common room & living room skirting only lol Talk about being fast!

Still keeping fingers crossed and hopefully all goes smoothly But so far I'm very pleased with what I saw and his service *thumbs up*

One tip I learnt is to go pick ur tiles early, then he can order quickly and do everything one shot. Like he's gonna order my tiles next tues/wed and by next week should be up. Aircon also coming on wed. Good stuff!

[england 0]

Hi all,

Just wanted to share that I decided to go with Patrick, for a few reasons -

(1) He was very professional & patient with my endless string of questions (i'm a newbie at renovation)

(2) He was very prompt with quotation updates despite his schedule, shows sincerity

(3) Good feedback on this forum

So far today marks 1st day of renovation work, and Patrick told me that he will be doing the hacking for 2 days. When I went down to inspect at the day's end, my jaw dropped... He finished hacking -

- ENTIRE kitchen (wall, floor tiles, 2 cabinets, even open up the ceiling to check, door frame and door)

- 2 toilets (wall, floor tiles, cabinets, shower screens, bath tub, WC, false ceiling)

- all the iron grills in entire house (living room, master, common room, both toilet grills)

The best part? He's only left with removing one wardrobe in the common room & living room skirting only lol Talk about being fast! That's pleasing to he

Still keeping fingers crossed and hopefully all goes smoothly But so far I'm very pleased with what I saw and his service *thumbs up*

One tip I learnt is to go pick ur tiles early, then he can order quickly and do everything one shot. Like he's gonna order my tiles next tues/wed and by next week should be up. Aircon also coming on wed. Good stuff!

That's pleasing to hear. Hope to see your pictures real soon.

Cheers.

[starblume 0]

That's pleasing to hear. Hope to see your pictures real soon.

Cheers.

Aha thanks mate hopefully will get some up soon! So how abt for you? Engaging Patrick as well?

[zhiz 4]

Hi all,

Just wanted to share that I decided to go with Patrick, for a few reasons -

The best part? He's only left with removing one wardrobe in the common room & living room skirting only lol Talk about being fast!

Still keeping fingers crossed and hopefully all goes smoothly But so far I'm very pleased with what I saw and his service *thumbs up*

One tip I learnt is to go pick ur tiles early, then he can order quickly and do everything one shot. Like he's gonna order my tiles next tues/wed and by next week should be up. Aircon also coming on wed. Good stuff!

interesting. got quote on 7th march and today start to hack? design settled yet?

care to share some pics?

[worldangel 0]

Hi all,

Just wanted to share that I decided to go with Patrick, for a few reasons -

(1) He was very professional & patient with my endless string of questions (i'm a newbie at renovation)

(2) He was very prompt with quotation updates despite his schedule, shows sincerity

(3) Good feedback on this forum

So far today marks 1st day of renovation work, and Patrick told me that he will be doing the hacking for 2 days. When I went down to inspect at the day's end, my jaw dropped... He finished hacking -

- ENTIRE kitchen (wall, floor tiles, 2 cabinets, even open up the ceiling to check, door frame and door)

- 2 toilets (wall, floor tiles, cabinets, shower screens, bath tub, WC, false ceiling)

- all the iron grills in entire house (living room, master, common room, both toilet grills)

The best part? He's only left with removing one wardrobe in the common room & living room skirting only lol Talk about being fast!

Still keeping fingers crossed and hopefully all goes smoothly But so far I'm very pleased with what I saw and his service *thumbs up*

One tip I learnt is to go pick ur tiles early, then he can order quickly and do everything one shot. Like he's gonna order my tiles next tues/wed and by next week should be up. Aircon also coming on wed. Good stuff!

Hehe, glad that everything went so smoothly

My husband and I also experienced his "speed" when he was renovating our house...hacking also finished within 1 - 2 days...then tiling also done very fast haha...but the quality of workmanship remains high

Do create a t-blog and showcase the process of your reno! I, for one, is very interested to see!

[perfecthouse 0]

Aha thanks mate hopefully will get some up soon! So how abt for you? Engaging Patrick as well?

Hi starblume

I bought a resale condo and am looking for either an ID firm or contractor to hack and re-do the whole house except for the bedrooms' parquet flr.

I have seen one of the flat done by Ho Bee. Workmanship is quite good. I am thinking of approaching A&D Interior, Summit Design Studio, Impress 21 and Ho Bee for quotation. Did you get quotation frm any ID firm? If you have, is the price alot more than from contractor? Can you share your quotation from Ho Bee with me?