Our First Home In The East

[mafacifa 0]

yah. maybe an itemised breakdown would be good. coz there are a few items that are in the package that i'll not be doing so i can roughly know what reduction in price i can look out for.

the package method cant suit everybody also. maybe in future firms can be more transparent in their charging model.

currently i'm now sourcing on my own glass contractors and sliding balcony doors.. got a few replies for glass and all gave quite a fair bit lower than ID.

any recommendations for contractors doing balcony doors?

[SGK 0]

yah. maybe an itemised breakdown would be good. coz there are a few items that are in the package that i'll not be doing so i can roughly know what reduction in price i can look out for.

the package method cant suit everybody also. maybe in future firms can be more transparent in their charging model.

currently i'm now sourcing on my own glass contractors and sliding balcony doors.. got a few replies for glass and all gave quite a fair bit lower than ID.

any recommendations for contractors doing balcony doors?

I think many ID firms offer those standard packages for overhaul of kitchen and toilets and do not give a detailed breakdown. But for 'non-standard' items such as carpentries, false ceilings and erecting new walls, the quotation will be itemised. I think as long as you compare the prices across a few IDs then you are not likely to be paying excessively.

You will certainly save a lot if you get all the contractors for different jobs and do the coordination yourself. But you will need to invest a lot of time and if there are any damages to your house, every contractor will push the blame to others.

[mafacifa 0]

good advice there i must say.. time is the main limitation... as for me, i'm trying to reduce some cost by getting direct from contractors or suppliers for some work. but major works will still b carried out by main ID or contractor..

hope to get positive session meeting with ideal house later this week...

[bakchang 0]

yah. maybe an itemised breakdown would be good. coz there are a few items that are in the package that i'll not be doing so i can roughly know what reduction in price i can look out for.

the package method cant suit everybody also. maybe in future firms can be more transparent in their charging model.

currently i'm now sourcing on my own glass contractors and sliding balcony doors.. got a few replies for glass and all gave quite a fair bit lower than ID.

any recommendations for contractors doing balcony doors?

hey mafacifa,

i took my keys yesterday. handover of old house oso in sept. so time is very crucial for both of us. my hacking will oni commence 23th... boring... more wasted time. will PM you my contact for doors, window, glass... old time fren who had done up my prev houses as well as mum and relatives hse. they are doing for current hse as well... workmanship not bad, prices can discuss. . and they so cute, try to help me save $$ here and there... hahahhaha

for me, my painting, grilles/doors and etc, aircon all is i souced myself, not inside my contractor package. i even purchase my tiles on my own. they just charge me for labour. i may sound cheapskate but when yr budget is tight, u really have to work harder to do yr homework and to spend more time to coordinate everything since it is not all under one roof... i did the same for my old house too... tiring but then it is a learning process and lotsa self satisfaction....

[mafacifa 0]

thank bakchang and congrats on ur key ceremony.. haha.

Yeah u are right, to save money, need to substitute it with hard work and sweat. haha..

have a good reno journey!

[mafacifa 0]

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Edited August 20, 2010 by mafacifa

[froggy 0]

yah. maybe an itemised breakdown would be good. coz there are a few items that are in the package that i'll not be doing so i can roughly know what reduction in price i can look out for.

the package method cant suit everybody also. maybe in future firms can be more transparent in their charging model.

currently i'm now sourcing on my own glass contractors and sliding balcony doors.. got a few replies for glass and all gave quite a fair bit lower than ID.

any recommendations for contractors doing balcony doors?

hi mafacifa

what scope of glass work do you plan to do? I am also sourcing for glass door and some mirror bc these are additional items not in my contract, and I am already way over the original figure. Do you mind sharing yr finding?

[mafacifa 0]

Hi everyone!

I am mafacifa's fiancee and also the one running around to meet up with ids or contractors whenever he is busy. I have met up with Kelvin from IdealHouse, Mr Lau from Ban Yew and Mr Yeak from Basic Image Interior Design at Yishun. Here are my reviews of their service based on the first session with them:

1) Kelvin from IdealHouse

One thing for sure - he is a VERY GOOD listener such that I had to stop and tell him that he can voice his opinions if he feels that my ideas are not practical or sound odd because he seemed to agree with 90% of my ideas. Maybe because I sounded too confident and he did not want to burst my bubble. haha! Or, I did not give him the opportunity to showcase his creativity.

However, on that day, I came 30 minutes earlier than my appointment and I could see him busy doing the layout plan for me - last minute work. This time, it is good that he did it last minute because he will have to erase his drawings anyways as I know what I want. BUT I am not sure if I want to leave the renovation of my house in the hands of a person who works last minute. I know how these people work cos I am one of them. So, nothing will get done if both of us are last-minute workers. Perhaps, it is unfair to judge him based on the first session. So I shall give him chance lah!

Nevertheless, thanks to him, I feel more confident with my budget. CLC quoted us above 40k for our house renovation, excluding the living room's glass walls that we intend to have. So, when Kelvin asked what my budget was, I said 40k and he immediately said too much. He assured me he can try to quote me 35k, provided I use an external glass provider which is fair enough as the glass will actually add up to thousands of dollars.

All in all, I like talking to him but I prefer a more assertive man to be my id to convince me that he can control the workers.

2) Mr Lau from Ban Yew

He is recommended by my aunt. She raved about how cheap his services are and we can try to bargain for free gifts. According to her, the workmanship is pretty good as well. His office is located at Eunos and he has a workshop right below his office. Very contractor-ish...

As I just met up with IdealHouse, I thought I can try to push for 30k (excluding the glass) with Mr Lau. My auntie said cheap mah... BUT the poor man looked so stressed when I told him my budget and yet I wanted this and that. He looks like he is in his late fifties or early sixties and I am not sure if he can understand all the ideas that I convey to him as I spoke English when we discuss my ideas. He has two young men as his assistants. I am not sure what their job scopes are but one of them offered to sit in with us to discuss the ideas but Mr Lau waved him off, saying that he would be fine but after talking to Mr Lau for 10minutes, I was sure we were not fine. I hinted that I would like his assistant to come in but he did not get it. So, in future, if his assistant offered to help out, please insist on him staying in the room to make sure all the information is jotted down. After one hour of telling Mr Lau my ideas, the floor plan was in a big mess as we had no rulers. I even offered to write down some of the things in case he missed them. Haiz... He did not offer much advice as I think he is still processing my ideas but he said it would be good if he can check the condition of our new house.

Nevertheless, he told me that he would try his best to meet my budget. He is indeed a sweet old man, always smiling even when under stress. BUT I am not sure if that 30k includes 3d drawing with ID services as they do provide them. I forgot to inquire about it but we'll c the quote first.

3) Mr Yeak from Basic Image Interior Design.

Amongst the three of them, I like Mr Yeak the best. He is confident and gives very practical suggestions and could identify possible problems which others did not. The way he waved his measuring tape around is scarieee... it looked like he was brandishing a sword lah... got sound effect - SSAAAPPPP!!! He did that to help us visualise better because we kept saying we did not have space to prepare our food but then, because he did that, we realised we do have enough space, like he said, "You can even lie down on your counter to do your chopping."

Funnylah this man... But when we said our budget is 35k, he said, definitely not enough but I forgot to tell him we will get our own glass contractor. Oh well.. we will see how his quote is like. One more thing about his company - they do not provide 3d computer drawing but rely on 3d sketches and I worry about that cos I need to visualise the design with colours.

Actually, I think I described slightly different for the different guys especially to CLC. Perhaps, CLC's quote will be lower after our second session as our requirements have changed. I can't wait to get quotations from these guys!

Edited August 20, 2010 by mafacifa

[mafacifa 0]

hi mafacifa

what scope of glass work do you plan to do? I am also sourcing for glass door and some mirror bc these are additional items not in my contract, and I am already way over the original figure. Do you mind sharing yr finding?

PM you

[mafacifa 0]

Hi! I am mafacifa's fiancee again! I will be uploading my own 3d pictures of what my house should look like. I have been playing SIMS2 since 5 years ago. Din realise that a computer game can help me in the designing process.

So, here are some pics of what I would like my kitchen to be:

Here is the entrance to the kitchen. We intend to have a glass panel and a glass door. We have decided to have a glass sliding door instead of a swing one but if we realise dat the reno is over our budget, we will juz stick to a swing one as it is cheaper.

These pictures are created using IKEA kitchen planner. (Thanks IKEA!!) The layout is based on the actual size of our kitchen but after consultation with Mr Yeak, he said that the pipes might be at the extreme left corner of the kitchen. Hence, I cannot lie down on the worktop to chop my things anymore as some space will be used to cover the pipes.

Looking at the second picture carefully, there is a wall partition to separate my laundry area from the kitchen. I dun realli like to c washing machines in kitchens. Since there is space in front of our store room, we intend to build a solid wall and I will have curtains to cover the laundry area when guests are around. It is also very convenient to do piping as the washing machine will be juz in front of the toilet. In front of the wall will be a fridge. I do not wish to create a space for the fridge in between the cabinets in case I wish to upgrade my fridge to a bigger one in the future.

Edited August 20, 2010 by mafacifa

[mafacifa 0]

More kitchen 3d pics

These are the 3d pictures I created with SIMS 2 of how the kitchen would roughly be like. As you can see, my stove is facing the glass panel so that people can see me cook (as if I can cook very well...) or I can see what is happening in the living room as I am cooking. The stove is also situated at the breakfast counter so that I can serve dishes on the spot to my future hubby (juz like a japanese restaurant).

I understand that the sink will be pretty far from the stove but I think for the design's sake, I dun mind sacrificing a few steps and putting in a little bit more effort to achieve the look that I want.

[samgalz 2]

looking good. I played SIMS2 years ago too but nv think it can be used for floor planning! looks like I must dig out my SIMS2 again!

[mafacifa 0]

Just an update:

Got reply quotations from Basic Image, Ideal House ID. Still waiting for Ban Yew and Flying Ideas.

So far seems alright.

[mafacifa 0]

WE GOT OUR KEYS!!!! And we kinda have decided on the ID that we wanna use but will not reveal which company it is until we have signed on the dotted line.

After getting our keys, we immediately made a trip to our new flat because we have never seen the flat empty. During our past visits, the flat is cluttered with LOTSA stuffs. The previous owner even had to hire TWO VERY HUGE and VERY LONG lorries to move his things.

SO, here are the pics of our flat!

This is the kitchen. We intend to hack the roman pillars and rebuild the walls and install glass panel and glass door.

This is the living room. The place where the pipe is used to be a balcony. We intend to reconstruct the balcony and have glass panels and doors from one end to another. That would be about 18ft of glass or 6 3ft-panels. *faints*

This is the view of the living rm from the balcony's perspective. Will hack the roman pillars and arch. Will hack the walls of the room on the right (previously used as study room) to become part of the living/dining area.

[mafacifa 0]

This is the master bedrm. You can see that there are many aircon trunking. We told the ID that we do not want to see many of it in our master bedrm but maybe more in the walk-in wardrobe/dressing room as we dun go into that room often. The toilet sink will be outside the toilet, beside the window. We intend to extend the bathroom area and have a closed area where we can change our clothes. We are also thinking of putting bath tub in the toilet but our ID said we will rarely use the bath tub BUT i feel that with my current job, i m always under lots of stress. so a nice, warm bath would be nice.

This will be our walk-in wardrobe cum dressing room. We intend to have a 'shop' feeling where my shoes and bags will be displayed and there would be a settee in the middle of the room plus chandelier. Juz an idea... not sure whether we haf the budget. hehe...

This will be our working room (dun really wanna call it study room as we r no longer studying )