Kerio 2 Report post Posted December 6, 2010 (edited) I also agreed that 2.5 months for reno to new 4 room flat is more than my old 5 rooms with major makeover! My hacking started on 25 Nov, and I ask my ID to handover by 26 Jan. Today, while I was telling the tiler that we are not rushing, ID immediately proclaimed that tiling should finish according to schedule! Wow...he is serious in his work! My ID is also the Project Manager & I am keeping my fingers crossed that all went well. By the way, can you advise me the diameter of air con pipe? 16mm dia? What is Class '0' thing that was mentioned? Haha, I always think it's a funny feeling - on the one hand you don't want your ID to rush and do a botched job, so you tell them to take their time. But deep down you're like going "hurry up hurry up wanna move in wanna move in!!" Yup, the diameter of an air-con water pipe is 16mm, and the Class "0" and Class "1" thing is actually the insulation - Class 1 is actually thinner insulation than Class 0, and what the insulation does is to pad the water pipes so that the water that flows out of the pipe (which is cold) doesn't cause condensation. I requested Class 0 because I'm hiding a lot of pipes in the false ceiling, so condensation would be a massive problem; hence the upgrade. You might want to consider a Gauge 22 copper pipe too, if you're intending to do a complete upgrade. It may not be necessary though, so just check with your air-con supplier first. Besides this, you might also want to look at this website, it's been invaluable for newbies like me: http://singapore-aircon.blogspot.com/ Good luck for your reno mae! Edited December 7, 2010 by Kerio Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BlurRhino 0 Report post Posted December 6, 2010 Haha.. I actually understand if completion is delayed over glitches like that - if something is deemed of bad quality by the ID and it has to be fixed, hence delaying completion, no worries - like I said, it saves me the heartache of frisking out all the problems after I settle in. Badly cut glass panel, for instance - I read kumikotamago's post about the glass shattering - man, those are horrible injuries to suffer for bad construction. I'd rather they do it properly and save us more grief. I've always maintained that as long as the work is done properly, delays here and there I can understand though. Ha, I'm not that optimistic; I'm actually quite realistic. The "next week" part is well, irritating, but as long as things are done and handed over to us based on our deadline, no worries. Updates, as promised: Wife received some updates and explanations from our ID this evening, and I have to say, I'm impressed by a few things. Thus far I've only been impressed by 2 things done by our ID company: the laminates and the carpentry, and as evident, we've had some unpleasant experiences with the quality of work and timeliness. So what exactly is there to be impressed about? 1) Service Recovery & Speed of Recovery I received a call some days back from someone, I had said, "claimed to be the Director". Turns out he was the Director of the company. Ok, I have to admit I was rather shocked when I received the boss' phonecall. After all, he was supposed to be my Last Resort, not my First. Apparently he (or someone he knows) read renotalk and chanced by my posts on our reno journey. His actions following his phonecall really made a big difference. Admittedly, some of the actions were rather drastic, and I do hope he doesn't come down too hard on our ID (ok, am I being soft here?), but I can say this for ArtXend now: They really value their reputation. After the phonecall, the boss started tracking the progress of our apartment - the plasterers and painters who have given us so much grief have been taken off the company's projects (it's renovation peak period. Painters and Plasterers are always in demand. They'll survive. Thanks for almost ruining my ceiling, my wall and my laminates), according to her update. Rectifications are speeding up in preparation for the handover, and our ID is moving things along at an unprecedented pace. Quality of work is being looked at closely, workers are marching along to our ID's beat, and things are, I must quite frankly say, moving along impeccably. Although this would have been nice beforeour irritation got tickled into a frustration, which boiled over into rage, I can say this at least: There have been incidences of IDs simply ignoring customers or not even caring what happens to their reputation even after explicit complaints to management, and I was dreading that this would be the case here, but it clearly is not. ArtXend clearly values their reputation enough to take drastic action to address customer's problems, and take swift and appropriate action to address the issues without getting defensive. In conclusion, Full Points for Service Recovery. 2) Customer Service When we realised our posts had been read by the ID and company, we were in two minds about how to react, but that was mainly in reaction to how the ID would react when she called us. Would she shout at us and call us names? Would we have to shout back at her and have it turn into a nasty screaming match with all of us saying nasty things about each others' parents? Or would our ID come up with defensive explanations for everything and pin the blame on us, on the air-con installer, on HDB, and eventually on those darned leprechauns who mess up our fengshui? Or would she just disappear mysteriously? Turns out, it was none of the above. The ID called up to clarify the finer points of renovation (some of which we actually were aware of, such as glass and carpentry being fabricated in the factory before being installed in the house), which was welcome, and then explained the reasons for the delays and some of the problems she had faced which may have inevitably led to delays. We were glad for the explanation, and that she was finally pushing things along. To be honest, we're just glad work is now going on smoothly, and we can get updates and see progress in the house. Naturally, things like HDB, air-con installer etc did come up in the discussion, but she did take personal responsibility, which we find admirable. One of the first things I learnt as a government employee is this - when something bad happens in your area of work, don't give excuses, don't try to explain - take corrective action and take responsibility. We do think she handled the situation very well, considering the exchange could have been significantly more awkward. And she talked to us nicely even though we were the direct cause for her boss coming down hard on her for our complaints. And like what we said from the very first few posts - we find her pleasant to work with. With these thoughts in mind, perhaps the key messages for this lengthy, wordy post are: a) I can't say ArtXend is highly recommended, but from this incident, we can tell that they value their reputation and take their customer's feedback seriously. The Director could easily have dismissed my complaints, and the ID could have easily disappeared, like all the horror stories we hear; but they didn't. They took swift corrective action, and did so responsibly. No threats of "I'll piss in your laminates you wanker" or "Horrible deeds shall be done unto your WIW, pisspot" - just a contrite explanation, and prompt action. Commendable, to say the least. I think this shows integrity. Worth considering if you're considering renovation works, though some pre-reno work would need to be done - setting up schedules, accounting for HDB rectifications, etc. b) We do hope the management of the company won't punish the ID - she probably had too much to handle, or the workers really played her out. In any case, she handled this case well, and we think she did well in improving the state of affairs and explaining things to us clearly. c) I hope my posts don't make me sound overbearing, because I really am a very nice person usually sometimes. More updates soon. Glad that things are finally going up north for you mate! hope that they can keep this momentum going until they hand over lo! haha ya i agree u have a soft heart, after what u went through u can still defend them.. if i am in your shoes, i guess they should already see the nastiest side of me! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kerio 2 Report post Posted December 6, 2010 Glad that things are finally going up north for you mate! hope that they can keep this momentum going until they hand over lo! haha ya i agree u have a soft heart, after what u went through u can still defend them.. if i am in your shoes, i guess they should already see the nastiest side of me! Haha I hope things will go spiffily too! She also mentioned she's going on leave, so post-Reno rectifications would be a cause of concern for us. The wife and I really don't like being nasty, and we're just not the type to scream and shout. Though since I'm the husband, I have to protect her, so I have to take the reluctant role of the complainant in order to have things corrected. To quote Metal Gear's Solid Snake, "it's one of those things that gets easier the more you do it". Looking forward to a smooth handover! Missus and I went by Best Denki to get our rice cooker, Air Port etc yesterday - and with this, all our purchases are more or less complete! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kerio 2 Report post Posted December 7, 2010 Updates! Went by during lunch to see how progress was going, and ID was already there, perspiring away, to oversee carpentry rectifications. She spotted a design fault in the bombshelter feature wall and was instructing the carpenters on how to rectify it. Some rectifications being done on the rest of the feature wall as well. False ceiling has been rectified for air-conditioning units - heard Aron's team gave her some trouble because they didn't come by to confirm the specs; and also communicated the wrong details to the installation team. This incident is a Massive thorn in my side, and hopefully it'll be installed with no problems this time round. Solid Surface, glass for the WIW will be up before Friday, Painting for the MBR will be done tomorrow, and curtains will be up on Saturday. Doors, presumably Thursday or tomorrow. In summary, work is progressing swiftly and I am glad. I think the ID has shown that she is definitely capable and able to make good decisions as well as manage time and her workers - I have to be honest and say that I was not particularly pleased with the initial progress, but things have improved substantially recently, especially in the past two weeks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
porkypork 0 Report post Posted December 9, 2010 Updates! Went by during lunch to see how progress was going, and ID was already there, perspiring away, to oversee carpentry rectifications. She spotted a design fault in the bombshelter feature wall and was instructing the carpenters on how to rectify it. Some rectifications being done on the rest of the feature wall as well. False ceiling has been rectified for air-conditioning units - heard Aron's team gave her some trouble because they didn't come by to confirm the specs; and also communicated the wrong details to the installation team. This incident is a Massive thorn in my side, and hopefully it'll be installed with no problems this time round. Solid Surface, glass for the WIW will be up before Friday, Painting for the MBR will be done tomorrow, and curtains will be up on Saturday. Doors, presumably Thursday or tomorrow. In summary, work is progressing swiftly and I am glad. I think the ID has shown that she is definitely capable and able to make good decisions as well as manage time and her workers - I have to be honest and say that I was not particularly pleased with the initial progress, but things have improved substantially recently, especially in the past two weeks! Glad to hear that everything is progressing well now after the long suffering ... Wish you a smooth moving in soon... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
neubie 2 Report post Posted December 9, 2010 sourcing for the seemingly right ID/contractor can either be a satisfying one or cans of worms.... as an ID/contractor he/she has to have full control and 2-way feedback of his subcons... what is feared most is if he/she is very aggressively signing contracts with clients w/o due care/respect of the committed handover time. also, some ID/contractors will hire the SAME group of workers for their work, which that'll at least have some guaranteed workmanship standards that is mutually agreed upon. worse thing is if he/she chew more than they can swallow, high chances of problems will come up... small defects/deficiencies usually can leave it till the last to clear, provided they dun not affect the subsequent milestones of the reno process (cascading mistake). big defects will have to immediately rectified with them... but then again, what you think is serious may not be high priority to them, so have to be prepared for that... having said that, your reno is coming to an end, I think all unhappiness will fade off as time goes by, it's an experience one can forgive but can never forget.... cheers. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
everton 0 Report post Posted December 10, 2010 sourcing for the seemingly right ID/contractor can either be a satisfying one or cans of worms.... as an ID/contractor he/she has to have full control and 2-way feedback of his subcons... what is feared most is if he/she is very aggressively signing contracts with clients w/o due care/respect of the committed handover time. also, some ID/contractors will hire the SAME group of workers for their work, which that'll at least have some guaranteed workmanship standards that is mutually agreed upon. worse thing is if he/she chew more than they can swallow, high chances of problems will come up... small defects/deficiencies usually can leave it till the last to clear, provided they dun not affect the subsequent milestones of the reno process (cascading mistake). big defects will have to immediately rectified with them... but then again, what you think is serious may not be high priority to them, so have to be prepared for that... having said that, your reno is coming to an end, I think all unhappiness will fade off as time goes by, it's an experience one can forgive but can never forget.... cheers. well said neubie. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cleong 1 Report post Posted December 10, 2010 Moving in on the 10th is absolutely essential Hope you managed to move in already - I'm still sitting around with a thumb up my arse waiting for the paint (and lacquer) to dry. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kerio 2 Report post Posted December 11, 2010 Updates! Finally, after an entire day of overseeing delivery of our barang barang, installation of furniture, cleaning, unpacking, checking for problems to rectify, we've managed to unload all our boxes.. so now to find out what goes where, which is the tough part. Here're some before and after pics of the apartment: View of the living room from the front door: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kerio 2 Report post Posted December 11, 2010 View of Living room from Living Room Window Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kerio 2 Report post Posted December 11, 2010 Views of kitchen View of Study Room My Ikea Galant Table was supposed to be installed on the same day, but the Ikea sales woman forgot to add in a frame, which I had to purchase from the installers. However, when they reached, they found out 2 table legs were missing from the package (which was not purchased, and we didn't notice because the sales woman gave us all the parts to buy and we thought she knew what she was doing), so the table is still in pieces and I'll have to install it.. eventually. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kerio 2 Report post Posted December 11, 2010 MBR View from Corridor Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kerio 2 Report post Posted December 11, 2010 Kitchen Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
neubie 2 Report post Posted December 11, 2010 Views of kitchen View of Study Room My Ikea Galant Table was supposed to be installed on the same day, but the Ikea sales woman forgot to add in a frame, which I had to purchase from the installers. However, when they reached, they found out 2 table legs were missing from the package (which was not purchased, and we didn't notice because the sales woman gave us all the parts to buy and we thought she knew what she was doing), so the table is still in pieces and I'll have to install it.. eventually. I had my galant table diy installed also. but I bought the wrong A-frame legs which when installed, the table edge was too far from the wall. Went back exchanged for the T-frame legs which are much better (but cost a bit more). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kerio 2 Report post Posted December 11, 2010 I had my galant table diy installed also. but I bought the wrong A-frame legs which when installed, the table edge was too far from the wall. Went back exchanged for the T-frame legs which are much better (but cost a bit more). Haha, the galant table is really complicated to purchase, especially when extensions are involved! When the ikea guy was explaining it to me, I just nodded and spaced out. Good thing there's an instruction manual:D Is the T leg better? I was under the impression the A legs could hold more weight? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
