Confused Over Which Id/contractor To Select

[amyznl 0]

Hi All,

Im looking for a reno contractor / id for my newly purchased house. Its a 5 room HDB Resale flat.

I went to few id all quoted me for major renovation about 50-60k.

Im not to sure if the price is about there...but since im going to do a major renovation, was thinking if any of u would recommend their I.D/Contractor to me...

There are some places that i go, when i put up my request such as what i want, they give me the kind of look that i cant afford..Wah...very hot u noe....

anyway ur suggestion on this yeah

[waikwok 0]

Hi All,

Im looking for a reno contractor / id for my newly purchased house. Its a 5 room HDB Resale flat.

I went to few id all quoted me for major renovation about 50-60k.

Im not to sure if the price is about there...but since im going to do a major renovation, was thinking if any of u would recommend their I.D/Contractor to me...

There are some places that i go, when i put up my request such as what i want, they give me the kind of look that i cant afford..Wah...very hot u noe....

anyway ur suggestion on this yeah

haiz, I also spoke to several IDs all have their booths at the expo.. even went down to their nice nice showroom, quotations easily can quote $35k without much things included for a new standard 4 room hdb. SG EVERYTHING is so expensive now, must save $$$.. =( Thats why I have to start looking for contractors now which at least more affordable within my budget which also provide simple drawings. Anyone have recommendations ?? =)

[zhiz 4]

advise is avoid expo ids....

[Gargar 0]

Morning Everyone,

I heard that expo IDs do charge higher than normal IDs and i do not like the agressive selling.

[skyweb 0]

It is indeed true that expo people tend to use hard selling tactics. It would be better to source reliable ID either through friends' recommendation or doing a quick search in renotalk to gauge which are the more reliable ones.

Do take note that contractor can't advise on space planning which IMO is important.

I recently hired a I.D to reno my new house and I would recommend him.

Most importantly, he does not hard sell and the time frame for waiting his quote is relatively fast.

PM me if you are interested.

THanks.

[zhiz 4]

It is indeed true that expo people tend to use hard selling tactics. It would be better to source reliable ID either through friends' recommendation or doing a quick search in renotalk to gauge which are the more reliable ones.

Do take note that contractor can't advise on space planning which IMO is important.

I recently hired a I.D to reno my new house and I would recommend him.

Most importantly, he does not hard sell and the time frame for waiting his quote is relatively fast.

PM me if you are interested.

THanks.

Do share some pic with us. There are a lot of fake members in forum that register just to promote themselves.

Maybe u can tell us where is yr place what reno u did why it's good and even quotes and of course photo

[edenstrauss 3]

Nowadays renovation costs a huge bomb unlike in the past, like about 10 yrs ago where u could get decent quality & workmanship with just $30k.

This is the current trend that's here to stay & applies to literally everything from appliances to metal gates, clothes too. *sigh*

If you could stretch your purse strings, you could try out Whitespace Living (for HDB flats) or her sister company, Substance Living for condos/ private homes.

But if u've got a budget on a shoestring, you could try Jeffrey from Acton Design (located at City Plaza). I saw Jotan's RT blog photos on their reno, looks pleasant & relatively lower in pricing too.

[skyweb 0]

sure, will start sharing pictures soon

Edited January 24, 2011 by skyweb

[wolflet 1]

visit a couple of IDs, see their showhouses to determine work quality. then select that 1 that u can communicate best with and that u can accept their workmanship.

a good id is useless if he cannot communicate well with your needs.

[Martin 0]

I have been sourcing for a good one too. But was snubed by many IDs for my tight budget.... This ID Alan from skycreatiON even asked me not to compare with other ID...He said i can never ask Mr Bean to lower the price just because many others in the hawker is selling soya bean at $1...

Haiz...just suay to have met such ID.. Treat me like carrot head... Been sourcing around and getting quotation from many IDs, the one from skycreation quoted me $3000 for kitchen wall tiles when many others quoted in the range of $1250 to $1500.. And when i asked, he said that one is whole kitchen including area covered by cabinets... then i asked, if there a need to put such tiles since they are covered, then he said like if there is water leaking, the water will go into cabinet... -.-! Tat does not sound logical to me...

And was asking for quartz top for many times, and he keep on saying quartz very expensive, boh hua...he quoted me $280/ ft. and i went to so many IDs to ask around, even the one selling the most expensive cabinets among all of them (Classic furnitures) quoted me around $180 to $200 / ft depends the types of colour i choose... Haiz...then when i said caesorstone i asked is only around $180- $200...He said the price his quoted is for quartz and not for caesorstone.. Isnt caesorstone = quartz?????????????

Suddenly, i have the feeling of asking for bargain in LV shop...

And he even boasted that SC get a lot of accredition from many Gov bodies...Thats why their price is always higher.... And their work is good, they give the best to customer and no gimmicks....

Im sad...I thought i could get a quote similar to other ID from him, in the end being ridiculed...

Anyone out there can recommend one ID who will not look down my tight budget????

[joey8 2]

visit a couple of IDs, see their showhouses to determine work quality. then select that 1 that u can communicate best with and that u can accept their workmanship.

a good id is useless if he cannot communicate well with your needs.

I agreed. Its not easy to get a good id. Needs to source and qualify them.

[Chanel26 1]

sure, will start sharing pictures soon

Really looking forward to see some

[gwumpkus 0]

it does sound like a $50-60k job if ur "major renovation" involves gutting out the place and totally reconstructing.. but budget wise what u hope to achieve with your budget? construction + fittings (lightings/sanitary) + appliances (ac/kitchen stuff..) all in...? that would be really tight.

one way i always advocate is to phase out your works.. prioritise works which are critical, plan for future phases to happen when finances allow. that way, u achieve ur ideal, with less compromise..

sure it'll be a little more waiting time, maybe a little more mess along the way.. but hey, u are going to stay there for at least 5 years right?.. dun get sucked into the do everything-at-once mindset if u can help it.

longest project i've done: 2 years, 3-phases, 1500-sq ft pte apartment... part by part, till perfect..

hope this helps..

cheers

m.

Hi All,

Im looking for a reno contractor / id for my newly purchased house. Its a 5 room HDB Resale flat.

I went to few id all quoted me for major renovation about 50-60k.

Im not to sure if the price is about there...but since im going to do a major renovation, was thinking if any of u would recommend their I.D/Contractor to me...

There are some places that i go, when i put up my request such as what i want, they give me the kind of look that i cant afford..Wah...very hot u noe....

anyway ur suggestion on this yeah

[wolflet 1]

bro gwumpkus's recommendation is not a bad one. phasing out your work will reduce the $ needed, only downside is your house is gonna get messy for a few times. most impt stuff like flooring and ceiling and electrical have to be done upfront. the other stuff like carpentry can wait

[steelze 0]

advise is avoid expo ids....

Morning Everyone,

I heard that expo IDs do charge higher than normal IDs and i do not like the agressive selling.

hi peers! those starting reno, my personal opinion is that you should spend more time reading t-blogs rather than other topics like [Renovation Firms and Services]. Reason being t-blogs are posted by real owners with pics and their daily activities /encounters with the IDs of any firms. But other threads in [Renovation Firms and Services] can be easily self-posted by fake owners which is soooo common.

my sims dr 5i reno by SDS is only 34k, excluding electirical work, windows, doors and glass work. before i sign with my id, we went down to expo for a final comparison of quotations with my ID's one. to my surprise, there are soooo many IDs hanging ard the booth trying to hard sell.

The first question that comes to my mind. how the h.e.l.l. can these IDs afford to spend 4 luxury days here when those renotalk recommended IDs /contractors) are nearly dying from over-stretched in their time. My thinking is... if these nicely dressed IDs are good, shouldn't they be also busy tied up with managing their con-current projects and simply have no time for idling here for 4 days? hmmmm... hope u guys get my point.

As i tried my luck to enquire them (5 of them from different booths) on my scale of reno, all gave me the same impression:

1. hard-selling by asking u to sign before the expo promotion is over. -_-! dude, i am talking abt a 40k to 60k project and these people are machiam selling thumbdrives in IT shows. minus point!

2. they are not knowledgeable in their field. As i probed for cost per ft for carpentry, tilling work and etc etc, they couldn't give me the pricing off their mind. some eve need to refer to their nice nice hand folder to flip to the right pages of the brouchers to find the anwsers...

3. impatient and restless. when they knew that i have did my homework before asking them on their promotional packages, they began to act impatiently and just wanted to put me off, so that they can go find other poosible carrot heads to chop.

in a short 30mins walk around the expo hall, my conclusion is that expo reno exhibi is definitely a BIG no-no avenue for me to come back again to find IDs. their booths and show rooms are nice, but that doesnt mean your reno will be like that. well, this is only my experience and opinion.