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gk1981

Our Home

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We are a small PR family with a lovely little girl who is also naughty ;)

By mid June 2009, we found our place :) Though it is low floor, it is unblocked and quite windy. It also has the advantage that it is close to amenities and walkable to Interchange. The only problem was that we were looking for a house in move-in condition, but this house obviously needed some renovation in the kitchen. We exercised the option exactly after 14 days and was given first appointment date after 2 months. We started to wait impatiently for our first appointment counting down the days slowly.

This is when we decided to look for IDs for renovation. It helped us that there were 2 exhibitions in Expo within short intervals, Creative Living in July and Home Ideas 2009 in August. Both were before our first appointment. We were not going to finalize any ID before our first appointment. We were just doing our homework. Below is the list of IDs we spoke to in Expo, and our feedback:

1. Classic Ideas

The guy we spoke was pretty good. He listened patiently to our requirements and provided his design. He told us the pros and cons of the changes we suggested in his proposed design. He was not pushy at all. They were giving 15 years warranty of their renovation work.

2. ReztnRelax

The guy we spoke to seemed pretty good too. He too provided us the design instantly and later sent the quote by mail. He and his senior served us. Both of them were very friendly and easy to talk to. We were also impressed with their showflat design. They were not pushy at all. The final amount on the quote was almost the same as -. We almost wanted to confirm them but we wanted to do more research. It is a good thing they provide lifelong warranty for their renovation work. He was also kind enough to come to our house to discuss the quotation with us, when we changed our requirements after our HDB first appointment. I feel that if budget was not an issue, I surely would have confirmed them.

3. Plush Living

I think the girl we spoke to is a newbie. She was accompanied by a girl who appeared to be her senior whose name I have forgotten. She just listened to our requirements, noted it down and asked us come to come the next day for the quote. We went for the quote the next day. Surprisingly, the quote was much lower. But, she refused to give the quote in our hands. So, we did not feel comfortable at all. She did call us up a few times. But, still we weren't very comfortable.

4. Ciseern

She appeared strong in design. So we gave her our requirements and she asked us to come down the next day for the quote as well. We were in for a surprise. Her design exceeded our expectations :) and was so different from the others. We liked her design so much. But, the price exceeded our expectations as well.

This was when I came across Renotalk which is a treasure trove for newbies like me. I read as many reviews as I could and shortlisted the list of IDs/Contractors to contact. The forummers were highly helpful in providing me the contact of the IDs/Contractors they used for their own renovation. I also came to know of many things that I should know while doing renovation, by reading the forum posts.

By this time, our first appointment arrived. The sellers had already moved out and the house was empty. We had a look at the existing condition and winced. The wall tiles in the toilet and kitchen had cracks when we observed closely. The kitchen cabinets were in bad shape. We realized we needed to do a complete overhaul of the kitchen and toilets. We increased our budget this time, based on the increased work to be done. We were also sure exactly what we needed to do to the house, but still open to changes if the suggestions were better. By this time, my husband is very busy in office that he turns up after 10pm most days after work :( So, it is up to me to shortlist and give him my list of max 3 finalists ;)

I shortlisted the following IDs/Contractors from the forum:

1. Summit Design: We went to their place to meet up with Ben who has been highly recommended in this forum. Ben was not available and we were served by another guy. He showed us around the place, explained the various designs. He listened to our requirements and promised to email his design and quote. He emailed us promptly. The quote was a bit above our budget.

2. Ah Soon: It was Pet who gave me Uncle Soon’s contact. She also warned me that Uncle did not speak English. Also that, he needs a lot of follow up. Anyway, I gave him a call. He did not pick up :( But, surprisingly he called me up at 11.30pm. I told him I can speak only English and he said that it partner Alan will mail me. Alan mailed us a quote within 2 days, which was almost equal to Summit’s quote. I also met up with him and felt quite comfortable talking to him. My only thought was if ID and contractor quote the same price, why go for contractor, because IDs provide warranty. I was not sure about Alan’s after-sales.

3. Naaman Loh: I got his contact from Pinklady. He also sent his quote by mail promptly within a week. But the quote was a bit higher than our budget, even higher than Summit’s.

4. Jason Goh: This is Uncle Soon’s brother who has started his own company. Chip&dale gave me his contact. Just as she said, he was very prompt and his price was good too :) He is one of the finalists ;)

5. Baroque D.zign: They provided me a quote today. Quote amount similar to Summit.

6. Darren – Plush Living: After seeing lots of good reviews about Darren from Plush Living on the forum, we gave him a call. As expected, he was super busy. He gave us his email ID and asked us to mail the requirements. He said that he will ask his assistant Frank to give us the quote. He also told us that he himself will coordinate with the renovation work and Frank will be only for providing the design and quote.

7. Frank – Plush Living: Once I emailed the requirements to Darren, Frank called up and spoke with us asking a few questions. He said he would like to meet up with us to discuss the quote in detail. So we fixed up an appointment one Saturday, But, unfortunately my kid was unwell and we asked him to reschedule the appointment to Sunday or if it was possible for him to come over to meet up with us. He offered to meet up with us on Monday evening. But again on Monday morning I had to reschedule the appointment for Tuesday, as I had some work to complete. Finally, I met up with him on Tuesday evening. He explained his quote and I asked him to make changes and added in a few extra requirements. I felt that the quote was reasonable. He said he will be the one coordinating till the handover. I told him that Darren told us that he himself will oversee the renovation process. But, he said Darren is quite busy and has asked him to look after our renovation. Since, I was quite comfortable talking to him I was ok with it. He also offered to show us one of the flats he has been renovating. I wanted my husband to talk to him before we made any decision. Today, I had taken the day off as I was unwell and had asked my husband to come home for lunch as his office is nearby. So taking this chance, I smsed him asking if he could meet up with my husband at our place at 1pm. He arrived promptly (even before my husband arrived ;) We had a long discussion with him and almost decided to handover the renovation to him. He has promised to deliver within our timelines :) He will be taking us to show a flat tomorrow. He is also one of the finalists ;)

I will be updating here on my renovation progress, hoping to get more friends on this forum. Thanks for all the help you guys provided!!!

Hope Everything turns out to be good :)

Edited by gk1981
 

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Join 46,923 satisfied homeowners who used renotalk quotation service to find interior designers. Get an estimated quotation

so u have decided GK, that you are getting Darren from Plush Living. congrats! any floorplan to show or any photos? when has the flat been handed over to you?

 

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so u have decided GK, that you are getting Darren from Plush Living. congrats! any floorplan to show or any photos? when has the flat been handed over to you?

Not decided yet!!! My husband wants to talk to Jason too and decide. We'll be deciding between Frank and Jason.

Here's my floor plan. You replied to my post before I could figure out how to post pics :)

floorplan.jpg

 

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Congrats congrats

Btw just in case you need to buy some stuff for your new kitchens and toilets, Mayer is having a warehouse sale this weekend.

You might be interested to take a look, click below for more details :)

http://www.mayer.sg/

But not sure how long can they keep the items for you till your renovations completes, for me since my place will only be ready by Feb next year I don't think they will hold the stock for you for that long :(

 

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Congrats congrats

Btw just in case you need to buy some stuff for your new kitchens and toilets, Mayer is having a warehouse sale this weekend.

You might be interested to take a look, click below for more details :)

http://www.mayer.sg/

But not sure how long can they keep the items for you till your renovations completes, for me since my place will only be ready by Feb next year I don't think they will hold the stock for you for that long :(

Hi coffee_o,

Thanks a lot for the helpful info :) we'll start our shopping this weekend. Your post is at a great timing :)

 

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Hi coffee_o,

Thanks a lot for the helpful info :) we'll start our shopping this weekend. Your post is at a great timing :)

You're most welcome. Thats the purpose of forum, to share all the good stuff especially when we can save some money to have a beautiful homes :)

 

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You can go and take a walk along Jalan Besar, so far the one with the cheapest price is Poh Joo...

Thanks for the info. Will go and take a look :)

 

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A few updates...

We have decided to go with Frank from Plush Living for our renovation. He took us to choose tiles last weekend. We are still looking to buy kitchen sink and toilet fittings. Will update 'Before Renovation' pics soon :)

 

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A few updates...

We have decided to go with Frank from Plush Living for our renovation. He took us to choose tiles last weekend. We are still looking to buy kitchen sink and toilet fittings. Will update 'Before Renovation' pics soon :)

Looking forward to your before pictures!

 

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yup yup looking forward for pics

anyway congrats on confirming an ID cos that's one of the headache too

one headache gone more to follow hahahaha

Rightly said :) We are planning to shop for kitchen sink and bathroom accessories this weekend :)

Edited by gk1981
 

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