Lessons From The Id Selection Process

[smart_user 0]

I am very sad... those ID folks that constantly advertise themselves at Singapore Expo are actually contractor in disguise. Their usual tactic is you provide them your floor plan, they gave you a fixture and lighting layout based on your floor plan and at the same time they will present you a quotation. When come to design, they can only give you standard idea, idea so straight forward that you can find tons of it from the internet and most of these designers cant even hand sketch the design of your kitchen cabinet.

can't agree more with you. I was so sick with all these IDs at the expo last time. It's like they have a standard template for all the ideas they present to clients...and yes, I doubt if they're real IDs cos they just hv no flair of designs whatsoever.

[Sarasilver 0]

can't agree more with you. I was so sick with all these IDs at the expo last time. It's like they have a standard template for all the ideas they present to clients...and yes, I doubt if they're real IDs cos they just hv no flair of designs whatsoever.

[Sarasilver 0]

Smart user, I am also looking for a good ID. Can u kindly recommend your ID to me?

Thanks

[GHCY 0]

hi All,

for all those who have not gone through an ID process before, its best to get a trusted friend or relative to introduce one to you.

going to an EXPO to look for ID is not a good idea.

in fact going to a ID who advertises a lot is also not a good idea as the one that is serving you could be a greenhorn.

all the best in looking for a good ID! :-)

[joshdes 1]

Be prepared to pay them professional fees of about $2000 then.

[jack1809 0]

can't agree more with you. I was so sick with all these IDs at the expo last time. It's like they have a standard template for all the ideas they present to clients...and yes, I doubt if they're real IDs cos they just hv no flair of designs whatsoever.

hi smartuser,

Are you able to pm me your id conatct and email? Thanks a lot.

My email is jack1809@hotmail.com

Regards,

Jack Eng

[GHCY 0]

hi ALL,

actually the process of a proper interior renovation is that you get an ID to design your house interior and then a builder/fitting up contractor to construct/realize it.

a good ID may not be a good builder and vice versa.

so there are a lot of so called sales designer in the market now.

which actually tries to merge the 2 job scopes.

unless you are really going to do something that is out of this world, i am sure that you can get what you want/like in magazines or the internet.

so the role of the ID is more like trying to put together what you like and plan/fit it into your house layout taking into consideration the limitations/boundaries.

unless you want to do something so unique, then you will have to be prepared to pay a bomb for the design fee and get a REAL good interior designer.

as for the builder/fitting up contractor as compared to a normal contractor. the best way to put a example to this would be the following.

take for instance painting works, as long as the paint 'touches' the wall, that is considered done. where else a proper painting job includes making sure that all the holes in the wall (of course if the walls have too many holes and impurities then a FULL plastering job has to be done) and filled in, rough surfaces smoothen and sealant/base coat applied before final finishing paint is applied and in 3 coats.

so standards are different. so sometimes when prices are compared, it must be apple to apple or else you wont get a really accurate picture.

one more example are air-con or electrical works.

location of where the power points or air-con blower are standard but how the trunking are run (from the DB to position) and how the air-con blower and switches are mounted are different.

therefore if you want a good design and renovation done, you must also know what you want and expect the standards to be.

in that way, there are no surprises in the end for yourself and the ID company because they know what to deliver and you know what to expect.

Kong Hei Fatt Choy ! 2012, may the Dragon year bring Health, Happiness and Prosperity to ALL!

GHCY

care1997@gmail.com

[lexusgs 0]

hi,

i remember going to expo walk walk and those id are like car saleman.

if you ever go into any carmart and browse for cars, you will get what i mean.

no offence for any id/car saleman, just that i feel uncomfortable with such sale tactics.

any id reccomendation for me to get quotation?

tia

I am very sad... those ID folks that constantly advertise themselves at Singapore Expo are actually contractor in disguise. Their usual tactic is you provide them your floor plan, they gave you a fixture and lighting layout based on your floor plan and at the same time they will present you a quotation. When come to design, they can only give you standard idea, idea so straight forward that you can find tons of it from the internet and most of these designers cant even hand sketch the design of your kitchen cabinet.

[Shadoface 0]

I will pm you.

It has been good so far as she is a lady and can attend to my wife's request easily cos she is more emphatic. I cannot imagine if its a male ID handling my wife demands. haha

Hi Zhiz! I know its quite sometime, can you pm me your id name and number?

[Shadoface 0]

To all who PMed me for a peep into my kitchen and dining, here they are:

Kitchen's original wall facing the dining area was hacked off and cooking area extended. Hope the photos show up here...cheers

Hi! Can pm me your id?

[potat0 0]

Actually the main challenge here for majority is that:

• Renovation is not a daily activity, a regular person probably do it less than 10 times in their lives.
  
• There is a lack of experience in doing something like this.
  
• it's a lot of money to be spent and will affect the living standards for the person living in the home.
  
• there's really an extensive amount of things to learn about.
  
• the challenge of putting an illustration of what you are visualizing as your ideal home.
  

Some things that will help along the way is to really religiously take note of the images that speaks the idea you have in mind. This will help to narrow down what you are looking for. it'll be a huge challenge to do something like this at the very last minute with the amount of books and websites to go through.

[vex 0]

i am going to start renovating my house soon, and have seen about 10 contractors\id over the past 2 months and understood their quotation. the things i have learnt is that all contractors can do the same things and these are a standard list. but most of them dont give you much design or visuals (except few photos here and there and from magazines). Only one brought me to their customers' house to view (which i wasnt too impressed anyway). So in the end i gather that what differentiates them is thew price and most importantly, the trust factor and capability level. For capability and integrity, you either have to judge yourself, or go with a proven and recommended one. The contractor\id is afterall just someone who oversees the project, which is being outsourced to many other sub-contractors.

[May_dream1 14]

10% upon contract signing

10% after hacking and upon selection of tile materials

25% after 25% of work is complete

25% after 75% of work is complete or upon starting of carpentry

15% after all carpentry is completed

15% after all cleaning, rectification of defects and handover.

Yours looks good, mine was slightly different:

10% on signing of contract

40% after finished hacking

25% commencement of wet works (but actual payment was in the midst of wet works)

20% upon completion of carpentry work

5% after handover (1 week afer i moved in)

[turtledriver 0]

Just wondering what is the general sentiment out there when an ID/contractor commits to a certain date to provide quotation but never response by the committed date? Would you still engage this ID?

[Tiler Seng 57]

Just wondering what is the general sentiment out there when an ID/contractor commits to a certain date to provide quotation but never response by the committed date? Would you still engage this ID?

if he was to commit to you and so he will commit to others that kept him super busy, that depend: if he is a full time quotation drafter or is he also involved in Job supervising..

should not forgive if he is the 1st one or should you sent him a reminder if he is the 2nd one. just my 2 cents