Help Needed! Matrix Concept - Alvin

[Jackie21 0]

Experience - Great experience over the years

Over the last 15 years, my family had engaged Alvin’s services for a total of 4 times.  This year, my parents and I unanimously agreed to engage him again to do full renovation for both of our resale flats.  My parents have heard and seen enough scary renovation stories, including exorbitant fees, long delays, shoddy work and irresponsible IDs, so Alvin was their choice by default.  For me, being the only person to handle most of the renovation work for the two flats, I wanted someone who can really help me ease the whole process. Based on the past two experiences, I know he will be able to help me tremendously.

Design phase – attention to details and creative solutions

On the design phase, like past experiences, it was an open discussion.  I shared with him my ideas and challenges and he will offer solutions.  For example, I was struggling with the tiny kitchen, which will have very little counter space.  How do I fit in a fridge and washing machine and have ample room to move around in the kitchen?   He took my ideas back, brainstormed it and came back with a solution which I was very pleased with.  

Similarly, for my parent’s flat, I struggled with the kitchen design.  The rubbish chute was built under the basin, which would be difficult for the elderly to reach it. Again, he managed to come back with a solution!  My parents were very happy.   I also wanted the place to be wheelchair friendly, so Alvin planned the whole thing for me. He leveled up all the floors and even reworked on some of the piping.  He also suggested to use sliding windows instead as it’s easier for elderly to maneuver.  I really appreciate details like this!

Just before the renovation, Alvin took the effort to do a courtesy call to our neighbours.  I felt this was such an excellent move.  When we moved in, everyone was super nice and friendly to us!

Renovation – professional, accommodating and helpful

During the renovation, he took photos regularly to update me of the progress.  I went to the flats almost weekly to check that all was in order.  He was totally opened and not bothered by it.  During every visit, I noticed the workers would sweep the floor and throw away all the debris/ rubbish before they leave.  In fact, my neighbour told me that they were very impressed that the workers cleaned the place inside and outside of the flat.  One of them was so impressed that she asked me for Alvin’s contact. She told me she had evaluated their work and they passed!

Halfway through the renovation, due to unforeseen circumstances, we need to move in asap.  Alvin had to reschedule the works so that we can move into my parents flat first, while waiting for my flat to be ready.  This is a huge disruption for him as I know his workers are booked back to back. His empathy really helped solved a huge headache for us.  We really appreciate it.

At one point, I was so tired of decision making and told him to make the decisions for me.  Instead, what he did was to give me limited options. The options were always “what he think is nice and good”, “what he thinks I will like” and another option that’s between the two.  That really made it so much easier.  Also, when I went to buy curtains and sofa, I wasn’t sure what colours would be good.  He provided options and asked me to keep to selected colours.  This really helped! 

As for my parents place, my parents and I left really left it to him to select the colours.  He had so much experience that he knew what the elderly will like.  True enough, they love it.  In fact, I love it too.  It was woody, yet looked modern and cosy.  We have got very impressed delivery guys, neighbours and relatives! 

Post Renovation – continuous help

When the renovation was done, I came to the place to find workers doing final clean up.  They mopped the floors and wiped the dusts off the windows. They also helped scrubbed off sticker stains on the windows.  When I went back again at the end of the day, I saw another guy who came to inspect the work and was telling the workers to clean certain areas.  Then I also bumped into the workers who came to do final paint touch up.  They inspected the place and told me they need to do quite abit of work, so they will return on Sunday so they get full day to work on it.  I was very impressed with their dedication.     

After we moved in, there were minimal need to do touch ups. Everything was in working order. But Alvin was responsive to us when we had queries.  Recently, i accidentally released a catch when cleaning the toilet bowl.  I was clueless on what to do.  He was responsive and actually came down to help me figure it out.  His suppliers are also very helpful.  I didn’t know how some of the stuff worked and Whatsapp them, they were always willing to help me sort things out.

Overall

Based on my past four experiences, I can only tell you that my renovation journey has been relatively stress-free.  My renovations are to my needs, within my budget and nothing excessive.  In every instance when I moved in the my new place, I am always very happy with the outcome.

In fact, when I put up my flat for sale after 10 years, it was sold within two weeks.  Viewers were so impressed with the design and the condition of the flat that it was still sold as move-in condition even though the renovation was ten years old. I was still able to command a good price.  When I moved out, I was still very much in love with the place. 

Below are some of the before and after pics of my new place.

 

 

 

[valuenet 0]

I was recommended to Alvin by a colleague of mine. My colleague has already engaged Alvin twice for his house renovation. They even became good brothers

Alvin has been in this line of business for many years and his experience will help you greatly in your renovation process.

My renovation was completed within 6-7 weeks, his quotation was reasonable and he has own team to do the carpentry!

His after-service was superb, responding to you request and get the work done despite his hectic and busy schedule.

Thumbs up bro!

James

[KakaAhB00 0]

Matrix Concepts - Alvin Aw

Summary Experience

Design Proposal: 100%

Value for money: 100%

Work & Quality: 100%

Attention to detail: 100%

Schedule & Time of delivery: 150% (Despite there are still touch up done after i moved-in, i have to be reasonable to Alvin as my working timeline is very short during year end festive season + Covid)

After Sales Service: 200%

Finally able to sort out the renotalk registration issue to allow me to give a review for Alvin. (Lots of time and effect to get the account up)

In Aug 2021 i started looking around for ID and shortlisted a few thru friend's recommendation, reading thru review in Renotalk and previous home ID. After much discussion, quotation and proposal from my shortlisted list. I decided in engaging Alvin in Sept 2021 as my new home ID. Alvin spent alot of time working out the design and proposal for me till even B/Nov 2021 when reno start. 

Reason of engaging Alvin is due to his knowledge and patient in give me proposal on how I can do my reno. My schedule for reno is on a very tight timeline and with the holiday season and Covid issue surround it, it become a huge challenge for many ID who I talk to and many are unable to commit.

Alvin on the other hand is willing to go all out for the challenge and at a very reasonable price despite many job need to be done at a very tight schedule.

One of the important point i will like to highlight with 5 star rating is his after sales service and follow-up. He take pride in his work and is willing to solve all the unforeseen issue which sometime is not due to his issue. A very good experience I had is my rain shower set which I purchase wrongly but Alvin went many extra step to solve it without charging me. He spent half a day doing it all by himself. As an OCD person, my requirement for detail is not easy to please but Alvin really shows his patient to touch up every detail and hands-on on some area to make it perfect. 

I will really like to thanks Alvin for giving me a great and beautiful home despite so many  last min request and modification.

 

[NCMK 0]

My experience with him was a not so fantastic as other reviews here.  Engaged him to do reno due to the glowing feedback here.  There was lack of supervision and things are not done properly and logically, resulting in delays and problems. 

But.........i have to say at least he takes responsibility,  acknowledge the problems and rectify them.  Pricing wise competitive, workmanship good but hiccups along the way.

 

Edited May 23, 2022 by NCMK

[khuhaus 0]

Matrix Concepts/Alvin Aw Review

Overview

Customer Service: 9/10

Guidance: 10/10

Workman Ship: 12/10

Attention to detail: 12/10

We started our renovation journey in early July 2021 shortly after getting our keys. Our layout is shown below and I think most would agree that it has a lot of potential but is also quite challenging to work with from a design stand point.

 

Initial Meet

Before meeting Alvin, we did some prep work in terms of room usage, layout and key house design fixtures. These include the key areas we would be spending time in the house, how we want the spaces to feel and the fixtures (think lighting, furniture fixtures and stuff like that).

Our meeting with Alvin was a pleasant meet and greet, running through our list of design choices – which walls to hack, what can and cannot be done (HDB rules) and some material choices. While taking our layout into consideration, Alvin pitched some great ideas.

As an added bonus – we were over ambitious in some areas of the house where Alvin’s input assisted in better design choices and better budget utilization.

 

Tile Shopping

One of the first things we worked together on was the picking of tiles: one of the most important decisions to make for a whole house renovation. Alvin accompanied us down to SBH to view their tile selection.

Tiles were a big decision. One of the biggest things we appreciated was the systematic approach Alvin guided us on. We went from room to room, selecting a few choices for each room. From there we took in considerations like future furniture color, fixtures colors and paint tones (we had a general idea of what we wanted for wall colors.)

Alvin’s help was invaluable because of two things:

1.      Guidance – with over 10 years of experience and after understanding our final outcome, he provided suggestions that can only come with experience. We were at one point choosing between shades of the same tile. After renovation was completed – absolutely no regrets.

(We wanted feature walls, bedroom and office distinctions and toilet tiles and we wanted to work with color walls.) Did I mention Alvin also knew his way around the selection? He pointed us towards what we were looking for from over the thousands of choices.

 

2.      Patience – This where the 10/10 customer service comes in. Decision fatigue is real – and while we had a good plan, we had some very competitive choices to make. Talking through each room helped us to make the best pick.

 

Electrical and Plumbing

1.      Electrical Points – we went back to the house and talked through the lighting fixtures that we needed, the wires and concealment and electrical points. Extra care was taken for electrical trunking which I’m truly impressed with. Concealment was done through walls such that the common living spaces had minimal trunking which I appreciate. This attention to detail was amazing and optimized even after a general discussion in some cases.

 

2.      Electrical – Again it came down to years of experience and knowing the best places to shop. Alvin again accompanied us for shopping for light fixtures. With a modest budget we achieved a sleek modern minimalistic look for the 21^st century home. We opted for a cove lit living room along with light rails for the bed rooms (best for odd shaped houses).

 

3.      Plumbing choices (And toilets) – HDB toilets are generally small and the use of space is important. While we have less design choices, we achieved the same modern look coherent with the rest of the house, more than enough storage space and great fixtures and Alvin’s recommendation.

 

Renovation Process

1.1.   Similar to the tiles – choosing the fixtures, trims and finishings are just as important (and challenging). At this point we have our tiles, color scheme and layout. Alvin provided a truly wide selection of laminates, textures and counter tops to match a large range of design choices.

1.2.   The finished product has great workman ship in terms of quality (solid strong material feel). The laminate textures are above board in terms of color and feel. Heights of shelves, practicality and utility were all taken into consideration with sufficient space.

 

1.3.   Special Mention – We wanted a bar counter top fixture with overhead storage. I want to talk about design looks, workmanship quality and fabrication.

 

1.3.1.Design looks – the end product was exactly what we wanted with extra attention given to the smallest finishings. One such example is the authenticity of the metal shelf structure for the overhead counter space. The wood and metal joints hides the screws. The external metal cage was given a laminate to match the wooden shelf to complete the design adding authenticity and feel to the bar counter.  The bar counter we wanted included metal cross board supports – to save on cost we opted for wooden, black painted beams. The wooden beams were treated to a smooth finish and laminated to achieve and authentic feel, making it a great cost saving option.

 

[haditan 0]

Hi CCChua22

Kindly PM me Alvin contact at hadiagva@gmail.com. Renovating whole house.

Thanks

[haditan 0]

Hi 

Can someone please PM me Alvin contact. Renovating whole house.

Thanks

Hadi Tan

[potti 0]

On 5/30/2021 at 10:45 PM, ccchua22 said:

Hi Numbz, please check your email. 

Hi CCChua22, 

Thanks for your review earlier! Could you please provide Alvin's contact to my email at louisheng91@gmail.com? 

Thanks in advance! 

[czlin90 0]

Hi all,

Would like to share our positive experience with Alvin on the renovation of our first home.

We got to know Alvin through our parent’s neighbors – they highly recommended high especially because of the quality of his workmanship as well as his charges. This seemed to be true especially after receiving multiple quotes from various contractors/IDs for similar specifications.

Our place is an old condominium with many ‘dead corners’ – layout changes, and therefore considerable hacking was necessary to repurpose the limited space for our needs. This is where we really appreciated the work from Alvin – minimum hacking, maximum effect to the extent that we managed to even carve out an additional room from the kitchen, which is especially useful when working from home. This is testament to his creativity.

Alvin also made it a point to recommend the reuse of existing fixtures to further cost-savings. For instance, much of our false ceiling and flooring was reconditioned instead of replaced. Apart from that, he is very helpful in assisting use with the ad-hoc installation of furniture without additional charges.  

After renovation support was also a breeze. This is especially important as minor issues are bound to surface when we occupy the newly renovated apartment. All in all, we find it a pleasant experience working with Alvin, and intend to further engage his services with the renovation of our parent’s bathroom.

Here are some before and after pictures for comparison.

[TYL22 0]

Hi All,

Recently concluded my renovation in my first home with Alvin. Overall quite pleased with the results. Will like to share our experience here.

How we found Alvin:

We really wanted real wood instead of laminates as we felt it has a more organic feel. After seeing flat_bahru on instagram, and hearing that they only spent 50K on their resale reno, we were asked for their ID's contact. Turns out to be Alvin behind the wood and he also saved their renovation after a botched job with their previous. This is a good first impression.

1. Customer Experience (4 / 5)

Many IDs/contractors ghosted us (out of 5 to 6 we met, only 3 gave us quotes). Overall, I will say Alvin was one of the most attentive among them, and did not try to smoke us, and also met up with us a few times to discuss our needs despite the pandemic caused delays. He also didn't collect any deposit until we had our keys and asked him to come in to look at the place. Throughout the engagement, even though we had no renderings of the space, there were frequent communications and 2D drawings. As he is a 1 man show working with his long time contractor contacts, sometimes there were some miscomms like timing of when we need some things to come in. However, he has always tried to extend goodwill e.g. we didn't get heads up on when the electrical guy is coming and did not manage to buy the light for my vanity in time. He bought the light on our behalf after we expressed that we could not make the time. Overall, while I would not say he is the most active in updating us on key timelines and milestones, I could tell that he has planned the workflow and it isn't with ill intent that timing wise there are some misses. Advice for working with him is to check in regularly for key timelines for you to arrange your furnishings / lights / accessories / appliances to come in just to make sure everything goes to plan. But overall, no novice mistakes like misplanned timelines or ridiculous delays. We moved in first week of Dec, after reno ended on time end of Nov as promised.

2. Skill & Expertise (4.5 / 5)

We met quite a few IDs even contractors on top of Alvin but most of them did not know how to achieve the wood effect and tried to push us to laminates, or recommended wood veneers which from our experience in our parents' home, had a tendency to peel over time. Those who quoted were giving us rates high 30K to 40K even though our BTO came with floors and toilets. We went with Alvin because he showed good understanding of what is doable and what is not. And the fact is, the wood effect came out beautiful and as expected. From our understanding, he is the only one in the market now able to do this treatment. On top of this, space planning wise, Alvin also gave us a lot of advice and helped us accomplish our dream of the giant kitchen island. He even relocated our power points that was on our kitchen backsplash that HDB placed in the middle of nowhere that made no usage or aesthetic sense, on his own volition. Except for some minor design choices he made, like we personally felt our scones were a little high, and the aircon condensation going into a pipe that leads straight into the common bathroom shower area rather conspiciously, we are happy with most of his suggestions and choices. Honestly, between 3D rendering and having a good eye for design (space planning, not just styling), I prefer design sense and Alvin is definitely your go to guy.

3. Value (5 / 5)

We spent ~25K excluding Aircon (which we also took from Alvin at about 3.5k) and appliances for our renovation. This is for the kitchen, painting, the custom TV console, master wardrobe, lighting, and simple installations in our toilets (changing 1 toilet bowl and installing vanity area for master bedroom, plus glass shower area). For the scope of the works, it seems not very cheap but bear in mind, the wood work is unique and for that work, it is very value for money. Alvin provided the cheapest quote with very limited post reno add on charges (within the 25K mentioned). Despite shortages and general inflation from the pandemic, Alvin had held his pricing and we are thankful. We also did not have to worry much about the worksmanship compared to some really crazy things we have seen from our neighbours' situation so that peace of mind is worth every dollar.

Overall, this had been a great experience. Sharing a few photos of our place here

Edited December 19, 2021 by TYL22

[ccchua22 2]

On 5/13/2021 at 10:04 PM, NumbZ said:

Hi, could I have alvin's contact as well? Much thanks. Numbz_tan@hotmail.com 

Hi Numbz, please check your email. 

[ccchua22 2]

On 5/10/2021 at 12:27 PM, Sponz said:

hello, ccchua22, could you email me Alvin contact via email paultanjp@gmail.com? thank you so much! 😁

Hi Sponz,please check your email. 

[NumbZ 0]

Hi, could I have alvin's contact as well? Much thanks. Numbz_tan@hotmail.com 

[Sponz 0]

hello, ccchua22, could you email me Alvin contact via email paultanjp@gmail.com? thank you so much! 😁

[ccchua22 2]

On 4/3/2021 at 12:52 PM, walaoEh1 said:

hi there can i have arvin contact?

Email please