-=kiven & Gwen's Forthcoming Sweet Abode=-

[ossify 1]

yo, don't want to burst your bubble but is this picture before or after grouting done? because it doesn't look straight to me. 2nd tile from the end, the light colour tile and the dark colour tile. about 1mm gap.

[dannywmp 3]

Hi Bro,

Just read thru your blog....mmm...may I suggest the following method to work with Henry...

Use sms to inform or remind him on things to be done instant of calling.

Give him a schedule to follows and self monitor the progress...

Bro...set your priority...if u want timely handover, spend more time to follow up...I think even ID. also sometimes vomit blood...worse still u paying more.

For me, I am very clear of what is my objective...max. 1 month is what I want for HO so I cannot affort to have any mistake or excuse given by any of my contractors (not just henry), I track their progress like what I did with my previous construction contractors...

Remember sometimes play hard sometime play soft lah...

I am not siding Henry because he done up my house swee swee or what, but trust me there is a lot of contractor that is much much worst out there...

Cheer up... if u need me to talk to Henry, I can do so when I come back to SG this weekend

[dmay 0]

Hi Kiven

I understand how you feel, been thru' that...

I agree with Danny very much re his method (We've all worked with Henry, we know his pattern liao )

SMS - you realised you will get reply instead of calling him. His mind is always wondering to somewhere else...

Give him schedules - There was once there were no progress for a few days, can't remember why liao. So I sms him, told him I want plumber & electrician to come in tmr, then painter the day after, followed by acid wash. Wow, abt 5 mins later he call back, panic, say ok ok, will arrange, then within 1 hr, all settled. But of cos I still have to coordinate with them after that lah (For my case, cos our work very flexi, so he will ask them to call us to arrange timing, especially so after our kitchen was up cos we took back the key and lock our doors)

And of cos Priority - Danny is so right. I didn't fix that... I did tell him best can have Christmas in our hse, but that's NOT FIRM ENOUGH! That's why my house fr last yr till this yr still not ready... (Keke, but we are surely having CNY there )

So, if you want to move in before CNY, you have to be VERY FIRM!!!

Actually all his sub-con are nice people, very good to work with. So if you are really tired of his excuses, why don't talk to the sub-con directly. They are the one that are doing the work, they know better. Sometimes it's really no point talking to boss...

Anyway, do cheer up. Renovation is lots of fun, so don't let just one guy spoilt it

[kiven78 0]

hi danny bro,

firstly allow me to thank you for taking precious time to read thru our blog.

We will try using ya method on 'sms' part,but giving him a schedule is not my forte since the reason why we engage him is simply because we have no time to do all necessary coordinating / monitoring job.

Frankly speaking bro if we were to really go into all these then we will most probably source directly for individual electrician,carpenter,plumber,tiler,and so on so forth...aint tat more cost effective?

Our priority is simple,we dont put unrealistic timeline for our reno work,from the way things are running,he could have easily done it within 1 month...there were days that passed by without any progress,but still we were forgiving.

Guess what the softer we are- the more northbound hobbit climbing over our head,thus the posts to remind him that every things he said n done are duly registered.

yea i understand ya point of view,we had sort of talk things out wif him yesterday pertain to our concerns,and he promised us to rectify it.Still we suspected some strange happenings going on in our house..since my wife never took any photos,i will cant say much..

Hi Bro,

Just read thru your blog....mmm...may I suggest the following method to work with Henry...

Use sms to inform or remind him on things to be done instant of calling.

Give him a schedule to follows and self monitor the progress...

Bro...set your priority...if u want timely handover, spend more time to follow up...I think even ID. also sometimes vomit blood...worse still u paying more.

For me, I am very clear of what is my objective...max. 1 month is what I want for HO so I cannot affort to have any mistake or excuse given by any of my contractors (not just henry), I track their progress like what I did with my previous construction contractors...

Remember sometimes play hard sometime play soft lah...

I am not siding Henry because he done up my house swee swee or what, but trust me there is a lot of contractor that is much much worst out there...

Cheer up... if u need me to talk to Henry, I can do so when I come back to SG this weekend

Edited January 14, 2010 by kiven78

[kiven78 0]

Hi Kiven

I understand how you feel, been thru' that...

I agree with Danny very much re his method (We've all worked with Henry, we know his pattern liao )

SMS - you realised you will get reply instead of calling him. His mind is always wondering to somewhere else...

Give him schedules - There was once there were no progress for a few days, can't remember why liao. So I sms him, told him I want plumber & electrician to come in tmr, then painter the day after, followed by acid wash. Wow, abt 5 mins later he call back, panic, say ok ok, will arrange, then within 1 hr, all settled. But of cos I still have to coordinate with them after that lah (For my case, cos our work very flexi, so he will ask them to call us to arrange timing, especially so after our kitchen was up cos we took back the key and lock our doors)

And of cos Priority - Danny is so right. I didn't fix that... I did tell him best can have Christmas in our hse, but that's NOT FIRM ENOUGH! That's why my house fr last yr till this yr still not ready... (Keke, but we are surely having CNY there )

So, if you want to move in before CNY, you have to be VERY FIRM!!!

Actually all his sub-con are nice people, very good to work with. So if you are really tired of his excuses, why don't talk to the sub-con directly. They are the one that are doing the work, they know better. Sometimes it's really no point talking to boss...

Anyway, do cheer up. Renovation is lots of fun, so don't let just one guy spoilt it

Hi may,

thanks for time spent on reading and sound advice,but i do my humble views:

Speaking of SMS,he almost never reply,only perhaps after 2 or 3 confirmation sms did he bother to reply a 'ok',he prefers direct over the phone interaction - tats what we been doing..

Schedule on renovation is a area we are poor in,as a contractor of xx years,scheduling should be a breeze to him.

Our priority pretty same like most ppl out there,things like on time handover,acceptable workmanship...seriously we wont sue him if he exceeds our dateline but it goes to show how reliable a contractor is.

No doubt about all his sub-cons,honest,reliable professionals,we did try infuse our ideas across to sub-cons some complied immediately as they recognize we are the real boss ,some wavered and called henry up...

Congrats on ya moving in time for CNY,really hope alls well tat ends well

[kiven78 0]

yo, don't want to burst your bubble but is this picture before or after grouting done? because it doesn't look straight to me. 2nd tile from the end, the light colour tile and the dark colour tile. about 1mm gap.

thanks for concern bro,tat pic's taken b4 goutings done

[Supersimon27 2]

yea i understand ya point of view, we had sort of talk things out wif him yesterday pertain to our concerns, and he promised us to rectify it.

Hi Kiven , I actually call up Henry to find out what happen for you last night. But seem like you guys already meet up b4 my call and he told me that he will rectify the concern you have. Hope that all the issue will be solve eventually. He’s really a nice guys, trust me. As long as cool down and talk all things can be settle one.

Same as May, I agreed Danny method of pushing the HO date. In fact at that time, I also keep reminding him the time line to meet as Rachel is pregnant and NO Rectification can be done after we move in – Not even touch up of painting or even hitting of a nail.

True enough he manage to hit the time line of 1month (in fact he only took less then 20 working day – excluding sat/sun) to finish up my job – (this including all small small rectification)

Good luck for yr renovation. Hope everything will shun shun li li after this incident.

Best regards

Simon

[kiven78 0]

Hi Kiven , I actually call up Henry to find out what happen for you last night. But seem like you guys already meet up b4 my call and he told me that he will rectify the concern you have. Hope that all the issue will be solve eventually. He’s really a nice guys, trust me. As long as cool down and talk all things can be settle one.

Same as May, I agreed Danny method of pushing the HO date. In fact at that time, I also keep reminding him the time line to meet as Rachel is pregnant and NO Rectification can be done after we move in – Not even touch up of painting or even hitting of a nail.

True enough he manage to hit the time line of 1month (in fact he only took less then 20 working day – excluding sat/sun) to finish up my job – (this including all small small rectification)

Good luck for yr renovation. Hope everything will shun shun li li after this incident.

Best regards

Simon

I cant agree with u more on him being a nice hobbit with a sense of humor,thats why we been additional tolerant of hiccups...i really hope he ll see our reno thru without delay.Thank you for your advice bro.

[kiven78 0]

*Update - more updated pics for sharing.

Our water heater in MBR bathroom fixed up.

Our tap in MBR bathroom.

Parquet done up on son's room.

Our wiw platform completed.

[ossify 1]

the wall tiles in your MBR on the left of your heater looks... badly placed

the tap in your MBR also has exposed screws?

[Supersimon27 2]

the wall tiles in your MBR on the left of your heater looks... badly placed

the tap in your MBR also has exposed screws?

From kiven update , it seem like he didn't change his toilet wall tile and toile piping. Might be the original condition left over by previous owner

[kiven78 0]

From kiven update , it seem like he didn't change his toilet wall tile and toile piping. Might be the original condition left over by previous owner

Spot-on ,u sure have a keen eye for details bro,kudos to you for kind explanation,our wall tiles condition was pristine except for the tiny holes (patched up with white plaster) that were left after removing some of previous accessories.

[CJREDDEVIL 0]

Hey kiven,

How r u bro.....just stopping by here to check out your reno..... ...seems to be in great progress huh.....soon to be HO ?

Cheers!

[kiven78 0]

Hey kiven,

How r u bro.....just stopping by here to check out your reno..... ...seems to be in great progress huh.....soon to be HO ?

Cheers!

yo yo CJ thanks for visiting =) great progress i cant say but we do hope HO will be punctual if not earlier with no hiccups along the way,just been thru a rough patch though

[dugong6 0]

Updates - Reno Phrase 4: Electrical Wiring>

More updated renovation progress pics for you =),we ve been keeping our fingers crossed for our completion to be on time as we have high confident in Henry's reliability.Not forgetting he is currently on numerous projects on hand and have been turning prospects away as a result.No point pushing him to the limit now as it might generate negative/undesirable results,we just have to try our best to work hand in hand with henry to expedite the process.

Our $300 new switching box,the previous one couldnt take the sheer powerload of our new lighting arrangements.

Hm...may I ask what do you mean by couldn't take the sheer powerload of our new lighting arrangements? Isn't it fixed at 80amps? (If you have too many it will also trip?) Could you share? thanks!