Reno @my Simei 4a Resale Flat

[fencer 0]

Thanks for your advice... i must remember this next time

Is it possible to sandpaper some rough part away? hmmm.

Hmm.. tecnically is not killing the fan.. is the vapours wld corrode the metals.. in and out.. so says the fan man.. HA..

I bought some items to DIY, last started last sun loh.. HA..

scrapper, old toothbursh, brush, penknife, pain brushes, sandpaper, small hammer and some other small things.. let me try then let u know.. Haha.. also bought some plasters.. HA.. DIY plastering and sanding..

[england 0]

Hi Bro..

point 1 : wall tiles.. be it toilet or kitchen tiles.. i suppose is the quality of the tiles.. the kitchen is still better then the toilets.

Point 3: Yup..

Case 1: replacing new windows and grills.

My rooms and kitchen is this case. Sequence is remove old grills, replace windows, paint, install grills.

Case 2: retain windows but replace grills.

My Living room and dining area is this case. my sequence is paint, remove old grills and install grills. I've asked if need to remove grills 1st and was told only installer of grills wld remove grills and pianters hv small brush.. end up some places not painted. i asked painters also and NO they do not hv fine brushes. The smallest brush they hv is abt 3-4cm wide.. tmy advice, ask the contractor to remove the old grills before paint.

Case 3: retain both windows and grills.

Good luck on the painting.. HA..

Painting wise, they are not that good at painting boundary of windows, and walls.. and grills of coz.. so sure kana.. and dun believe when contractor says if 1 pl patched/dirtied, they hv to paint the whole wall.. which is not going to happen.. and no painting in 1 direction etc huh.. painting is fast and furious one.. Ha..

point 5: they laminted the sides u see only.. top and bottom is nothing. same as painted doors. Also, please check the doors (from bottom to top) for defects after they mount onto the hinges and before installing the handles etc. I have 3 defects on my main door, 1 small hole facing inside and 2 defects in the laminate facing out. i asked the guys who installed the doors and said it would be patched before applying final coat of protection. end up is not patched. Solid wood to them means is not plywood/chipwood etc. is just cut to size wood. dun expect them to use oak wood etc right? Ha..

point 6: If you plan to have dowlights in living room etc, plaster the walls or at least that area. like Simon had said, plastering the whole unit cost $1.5 est..

Henry said is the fashion now.. w no handles loh.. the "handle" is top for bottom doors and bottom for top cabinates. Side for the box up of pipes.

Ha.. i didn't say all the defects yet leh.. some 1 hv to leave with it.. some i wan make sure rectified.

e.g my water pipes from crooked from kitchen to toilet. Not nice and is potential for leaks in future.. and they piping guys cracked 2 tiles while drilling and keep quiet.. they just "plaster" it up.. i saw last sun when i bought my own ladder and climb up to clean the tiles..

e.g the stupid grills guys rivet the grills to my windows causing leaks when raining. it was rectified by applying only silicion at the rivet, which i dun know can last how long, which is rectified after kana 5 days of rain!.. and shld know.. no preventive measure was taken to stop the water from reaching my white cupboards k..

The question now is did i pay $35k for such works.. which some is just patch job to get the handing over done?

Brother fencer,

I am speechless after reading this post. Your first hand experience with the painters serves an invaluable insight and lesson for us all. What was Henry's reaction after highlighting these to him?

Regards.

[MayLove 0]

Wha say.... so good..

Last time, Henry just arrange a time to meet Ah Liang by myself to settle w him my electrical plans leh.. and all the time, i contact Ah Liang myself and settle whatever is needed leh.. Ha.. "pian xing"..

Ya lor, really pian1 xin1... Basically, fencer has to do most of the contacting himself. A lot of things, fencer has to handle himself cos Henry dun "appear" most of the times. He worked harder than Henry. Kudos to fencer. Ha...

Just a note, perhaps give Henry a gentle reminder that he needs to drop by often to check on his workers. It's hard for Henry cos after all, works are done by workers & not him.

[fencer 0]

Brother fencer,

I am speechless after reading this post. Your first hand experience with the painters serves an invaluable insight and lesson for us all. What was Henry's reaction after highlighting these to him?

Regards.

Ha.. dun rem leh..

Anyway.. some things i dun like to hear is coz old flat mah, is like that 1, other ppl cannot see 1 lah.. etc.. so end up what i can fix myself.. just leave it.. save the trouble..

And fyi, whatever need to be fixed, rectified, the phone is the only communication channel betwn contractor and workers huh...

[fencer 0]

Ya lor, really pian1 xin1... Basically, fencer has to do most of the contacting himself. A lot of things, fencer has to handle himself cos Henry dun "appear" most of the times. He worked harder than Henry. Kudos to fencer. Ha...

Just a note, perhaps give Henry a gentle reminder that he needs to drop by often to check on his workers. It's hard for Henry cos after all, works are done by workers & not him.

I dun mind helping out if things get done fast and sui sui.. and problem is i dun hv a schedule of how things wld move (which i asked before but was forgotten so lve it), so i keep asking Henry what is next, what is next. i try to premept when the workers are coming so i can go check immed after it was done. But things like painting and windows, was my mistake that i did not check immed..

MayLove, u tink he dun know meh? He has been in this line for so long.. i'm sure some things no nd say one loh.. Haa..

[Supersimon27 2]

Ha.. dun rem leh..

Anyway.. some things i dun like to hear is coz old flat mah, is like that 1, other ppl cannot see 1 lah.. etc.. so end up what i can fix myself.. just leave it.. save the trouble..

And fyi, whatever need to be fixed, rectified, the phone is the only communication channel betwn contractor and workers huh...

bro , can feel that u r quite unhappy abt the reno. Was thinking u should sit down and have a proper talk with Henry and tell him all yr unhappiness. In fact when you first report about the painting issue , I did sms Henry to question him why he didn’t do a proper job. Was only when I saw yr pic of the wall then I realise I had mistaken him.

Sometime thing can be sort out if both party sit down peacefully and talk thing out.

[fencer 0]

bro , can feel that u r quite unhappy abt the reno. Was thinking u should sit down and have a proper talk with Henry and tell him all yr unhappiness. In fact when you first report about the painting issue , I did sms Henry to question him why he didn’t do a proper job. Was only when I saw yr pic of the wall then I realise I had mistaken him.

Sometime thing can be sort out if both party sit down peacefully and talk thing out.

Yo Simon, have tried to tell him. But everytime would say is old flat problem or now cannot solve liao etc.. Some things i resigned to do it myself to save trouble loh. bo bian lah.. my furniture is coming liao.. i nd time to fix what i can before that..

e.g, The stainless steel piping portion in the kitchen is crooked at the joint. He said bo bian, can only each hold 1 side and push it up to be straight.. He said is ok 1, got warranty mah.. also the silicon patch at master bedrm window to stop the leaks.

And huh, I just discover that piping guys cracked 1 or 2 tiles while drilling and kept quiet. I discover it only last sun coz i bought a ladder to clean the tiles.. was wondering y got a layer of plaster. cleaned it up and discover the tile is cracked. Some of the pipes is not sitting properly on the plastic catch also..

I changed the all the door frames. and the area round the door frame is patched by the worker. But the patching done outside my master bedrm, which my dowlight shine down to, is also not good. i told him before and he said old flat mah.. what can i say leh..

my kitchen window also mah.. is spend abt 3 to 4 hrs cleaning it.. and is i feeback 2 times before also liao.. he said cleaner can settle, they got bery powerful blower.. end up i saw cleaner use "blower" to blow dust out.. not cement or large chunks which is stuck.. of coz they use a brush also.. but is to replace what is loose..

[fencer 0]

bro , can feel that u r quite unhappy abt the reno. Was thinking u should sit down and have a proper talk with Henry and tell him all yr unhappiness. In fact when you first report about the painting issue , I did sms Henry to question him why he didn’t do a proper job. Was only when I saw yr pic of the wall then I realise I had mistaken him.

Sometime thing can be sort out if both party sit down peacefully and talk thing out.

Bro.. i can say this.. things could have move alot faster. and likely he got lots of projects at hand so nd to space out the workers..

i can say my hse, not everyday got ppl working.. wic i expected.. but things to be fixed, i expect to be paced faster but no leh.. so i can't keep waiting.

[hcbing 0]

Ya lor, really pian1 xin1... Basically, fencer has to do most of the contacting himself. A lot of things, fencer has to handle himself cos Henry dun "appear" most of the times. He worked harder than Henry. Kudos to fencer. Ha...

Just a note, perhaps give Henry a gentle reminder that he needs to drop by often to check on his workers. It's hard for Henry cos after all, works are done by workers & not him.

Hi MayLove, haha I'd definitely say it's not pian1 xin1 for that matter. If you compare around the various t-blogs here where they've engaged reno contractors, you'd realize that there are always a certain level of engagement you'd still have to put in and what I'd term as proactive participation on the owners' part.

The way I see it, it's my house that I'm renovating. I'd really want to know what's going on myself, see the progress myself and help out wherever I can whenever I can just so that things could speed up a little or hopefully go much smoother. I have yet to see or hear renovations that have went without any hiccups at all.

To me, it's really just about give-and-take. It's reassuring as well to know that Henry's the type that would be steady so long as you steady with him. Personally, I do feel that he doesn't nit-pick on the details

I dun mind helping out if things get done fast and sui sui.. and problem is i dun hv a schedule of how things wld move (which i asked before but was forgotten so lve it), so i keep asking Henry what is next, what is next. i try to premept when the workers are coming so i can go check immed after it was done. But things like painting and windows, was my mistake that i did not check immed..

MayLove, u tink he dun know meh? He has been in this line for so long.. i'm sure some things no nd say one loh.. Haa..

Bro, I understand how you feel. But the way I see it, it wouldn't hurt to help to "push" things a little. I'm doing it this way. I came up with a list of renovation items in sequence i.e. hacking > wet works/tiling > electrical > plumbing... and sat down with Henry at his office to go through the list. I sort of understood that a specific timeline would be hard to provide in this case, but at least it gave me weekly approximations as to how the renovation will progress throughout.

Just like what Simon has said and often reiterated, I do agree that Henry's always been open to discussion on anything that you're concerned of or unhappy about. I got off the phone with Henry earlier in the morning. I think it's best to just sit down and discuss things over calmly.

Cheers!

[fencer 0]

Hi MayLove, haha I'd definitely say it's not pian1 xin1 for that matter. If you compare around the various t-blogs here where they've engaged reno contractors, you'd realize that there are always a certain level of engagement you'd still have to put in and what I'd term as proactive participation on the owners' part.

The way I see it, it's my house that I'm renovating. I'd really want to know what's going on myself, see the progress myself and help out wherever I can whenever I can just so that things could speed up a little or hopefully go much smoother. I have yet to see or hear renovations that have went without any hiccups at all.

To me, it's really just about give-and-take. It's reassuring as well to know that Henry's the type that would be steady so long as you steady with him. Personally, I do feel that he doesn't nit-pick on the details

Bro, I understand how you feel. But the way I see it, it wouldn't hurt to help to "push" things a little. I'm doing it this way. I came up with a list of renovation items in sequence i.e. hacking > wet works/tiling > electrical > plumbing... and sat down with Henry at his office to go through the list. I sort of understood that a specific timeline would be hard to provide in this case, but at least it gave me weekly approximations as to how the renovation will progress throughout.

Just like what Simon has said and often reiterated, I do agree that Henry's always been open to discussion on anything that you're concerned of or unhappy about. I got off the phone with Henry earlier in the morning. I think it's best to just sit down and discuss things over calmly.

Cheers!

Ha.. Yah.. give and take.. but got limit 1 mah.. e.g initially, the walls next to the windows are not painted properly. i told him and he suggested put curtains to hide the flaws??? Is not picking faults but certain level of quality nd to be there mah.. that's why i resigned to DIY myself.. as long big ones settle can liao..

Ha.. i tried loh.. last sat.. i tried talking to him and he keep walking around to see here and there.. got almost pissed off..

marks on the floor from masking tapes used on my homogenous tiles is stil there.. although not that visable.. i told him tink abt 3 times liao.. and he said easy to remove but stil not removed.. bo bian loh.. remove myself loh.. what to do..

[hcbing 0]

Ha.. Yah.. give and take.. but got limit 1 mah.. e.g initially, the walls next to the windows are not painted properly. i told him and he suggested put curtains to hide the flaws??? Is not picking faults but certain level of quality nd to be there mah.. that's why i resigned to DIY myself.. as long big ones settle can liao..

Ha.. i tried loh.. last sat.. i tried talking to him and he keep walking around to see here and there.. got almost pissed off..

marks on the floor from masking tapes used on my homogenous tiles is stil there.. although not that visable.. i told him tink abt 3 times liao.. and he said easy to remove but stil not removed.. bo bian loh.. remove myself loh.. what to do..

Bro, I wouldn't say I fully understand your situation here. But I think I'd have done the same thing on the cleaning part. What I'd suggest here is to make a list of things still outstanding that you feel you want Henry to patch up/rectify/clean etc, then pass it to Henry for follow-up. Work out with Henry on when he could complete those tasks.

On another note, I'm really glad that at the very least Henry's willing to entertain post-reno requests. There are simply too many contractors and even IDs out there that go MIA once the last payment has been made.

Good luck, bro!

[marshmallow 0]

Bro, I wouldn't say I fully understand your situation here. But I think I'd have done the same thing on the cleaning part. What I'd suggest here is to make a list of things still outstanding that you feel you want Henry to patch up/rectify/clean etc, then pass it to Henry for follow-up. Work out with Henry on when he could complete those tasks.

On another note, I'm really glad that at the very least Henry's willing to entertain post-reno requests. There are simply too many contractors and even IDs out there that go MIA once the last payment has been made.

Good luck, bro!

fencer, can tell that you're very upset... *cool down* hope you can settle the outstanding items with Henry soon.

to be frank, i think after many good feedback on renotalk, the expectation on Henry is very inflated, until sometimes we forgot that he is also just another contractor.

anyway, thanks for all the honest sharing by the Henner Club members here it sure gives us a lot of tips on contractor management and how to communicate with him...

[fencer 0]

Bro, I wouldn't say I fully understand your situation here. But I think I'd have done the same thing on the cleaning part. What I'd suggest here is to make a list of things still outstanding that you feel you want Henry to patch up/rectify/clean etc, then pass it to Henry for follow-up. Work out with Henry on when he could complete those tasks.

On another note, I'm really glad that at the very least Henry's willing to entertain post-reno requests. There are simply too many contractors and even IDs out there that go MIA once the last payment has been made.

Good luck, bro!

my furniture is coming in 4 weeks time..

so i don't hv time to wait for him to rectify things which i had mentioned a few times oledi.. as long he finish those big items can liao. I'll DIY myself the rest.. save my time..

Hmm.. i stil hv the last payment with me though..

[fencer 0]

fencer, can tell that you're very upset... *cool down* hope you can settle the outstanding items with Henry soon.

to be frank, i think after many good feedback on renotalk, the expectation on Henry is very inflated, until sometimes we forgot that he is also just another contractor.

anyway, thanks for all the honest sharing by the Henner Club members here it sure gives us a lot of tips on contractor management and how to communicate with him...

Yah.. i keep reminding myself his only a contractor, that's why i willing to be involved when i can. but things stil turn out not so good. And i can say my confidence in him dropped overtime..

The wiring, cupboards and kictchen cabinets are the only 3 items which i had no comments abt and is good work.. tiling good also.. but not the 1 who applied the plastering..

[fencer 0]

My 2 misaligned mirrors.

Common toilet mirror. Since mirror is next to pipe oledi, have asked if the sink can be shifted to left so be centred. Answer is no nd lah.. no1 can see the difference one.. dun tink can shift liao...

Master bedrm mirror. Was slanted coz the bracket was drilled in crooked. Also it was too much to the left, end up not centred to the glass ledge. i asked it to be straightened and moved, and they just use some plaster to make the mirror stand straight. No move after almost 3 to 5 reminders. Til date, no move at all. Last sat answer is no diff mah.. cannot see any diff.. u see left or right is diff mah.. if wan, i measure and mark on the wall and they wld shift accordingly. I saided they dun know how to measure wat is centre meh and he said wld ask the guys to do it..