The One With The Gargantuan Task

[schiz0id 0]

PHOTOS BEFORE RENOVATION (Part 2)

Current state of the new Master Room. The toilet will be extended such that the door will be aligned with the windows. Wall on the right will be hacked and extended out to make way for new wardrobe.

The new Dining area. BR4 and BR3 doors will soon be facing each other instead of facing the living room currently.

My younger brother's room. Lucky fella who got himself the other room with the toilet.

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That's all for the BEFORE shots. Decided against posting any toilet photos (they are in quite bad shape ), in case you're reading this while having dinner.

Will post more photos tomorrow when hacking officially starts!

Edited October 30, 2011 by schiz0id

[Cornball 0]

hey sh*thead, whatcha looking at?

Edited October 11, 2011 by Cornball

[schiz0id 0]

hey sh*thead, whatcha looking at?

Oh my goodness.. it's really you, sh*tass. Looking at you man. Ha! Been following your tblog but figured it can't be you. Will be watching yours closely!

[silversurf 0]

Congrats on getting your new place! Seven weeks and one jumbo flat is stressful indeed!

Time to and to get all the reno work done tastefully to your specs!

Have fun with your reno process!

[schiz0id 0]

ID/Contractor Selection (Part 2)

Okay, so A is out of the race so far. He still sent us the quotation as promised though. Nice chap but no ‘feeling’. Okay, I think i’m sounding like i’m on a blind date.

Anyway, when we first saw his quotation, we thought nothing much of it cos we had nothing to compare with. We had a ballpark figure in our heads and the figure seemed to fit in with the figure he gave us. Though I think reality finally hit mum She looked like she needed air for a moment.

Drama Unfolds

We were meeting B and C since before our first appointment. So this is how the events unfolded. Looks long, but it’s worth reading if you like drama. This is also to share what some IDs are capable of doing. Here goes nothing........

B

• Had several meetings with him. Mum wanted to see 3D designs but he said we had to pay nominal fee before signing contract.
  
• Assured us that if we didn’t sign with them in the end, we can get back full amount in vouchers and if we did, this amt will be used to offset the final amount. (we made sure it was stated in the fine print)
  
• Promised to give 10 drawings even though usual practice is 5, cos ours is a jumbo. So we waited.
  

This is where it gets interesting...

• 3Ds were delayed and it came with errors despite our many meetings. The designs were also very simple and old-fashioned and he attributed it to our low budget. (The budget we gave him was the quotation from A - a high 5-figure amt)
  
• Even after telling him the errors, meeting after meeting, the errors were still not rectified. Each time, he blamed it on the fella drawing it. (Take some responsibility man! )
  
• Sure didn’t help that most of the ideas in our bedrooms came from us. Yes, us. Non-professionals.
  
• Asked my youngest brother to design his own study area and send him the design. This upon hearing my brother studied interior design. (You wonder who’s the one getting paid right?? )
  
• After the first few meetings, we kept asking him for the quotation, so that we can compare and decide soon instead of dragging the selection process. The quotation never came. Not until one month before reno was due to start.
  
• And guess what the quotation was.. (a mid 6-figure sum.. that’s more than 1.5 times our budget! )
  
• By this time, we have already told him, we are not interested to work with him.
  
• He sounded shocked and said no customer has ever ‘walked out on’ him. Ever. (He was sounding like a spoilt child by this time )
  
• We were all appalled by his quotation and how he could assume that we would sign with him when his quotation is so expensive!
  

And you thought this is the end...

[schiz0id 0]

ID/Contractor Selection (Part 3)

The saga continues with B...

• Called me to ask for feedback. I thought that was his saving grace. Boy, was I wrong!
  
• Asked me to send email to his management (regarding the refund of the 3D fee) and cite the reasons why we are not continuing with him.
  
• I did. Guess what? He called me to say I put him in a bad light when everything was what I had told him over the phone and it was all factual. (Talk about denial.. )
  
• Asked me to resend another email to ‘clear the air’ otherwise he can’t help me get back my refund. Naturally, good natured me can only be poked so much. I blew my top at him.
  
• To make matters worse, he told me they will deduct from the fee for the designer’s wages since they gave me more than 10 drawings in total. (incl the rectifications for HIS errors)
  
• I was literally going at this moment. (Nowhere in the 'contract' that we signed stated that deductions will be made for designers' remuneration)
  

Long story short..

• I was prepared to go to RADAC with this. Lady at RADAC said they will mediate for me if there is no reasonable resolution.
  
• Gave him 2 weeks to settle this case, after he told me some story about how his boss needs to check the number of drawings they gave us, blahblah...
  
• After 2 weeks, asked him the status of my case. He asked me to call his management, says he doesn't know anything.
  
• I did. Management gave me back the full amount. No questions asked.
  
• Says alot about the ID, doesn’t it? (And of cos, my trusting nature.. )
  

And with that, the saga with B is over. Thank goodness!

Mum was quite happy with C and his design ideas. Signed on with C eventually and are waiting to see the results. Keeping fingers crossed that the end result will be worth all the drama!

Edited October 11, 2011 by schiz0id

[schiz0id 0]

Congrats on getting your new place! Seven weeks and one jumbo flat is stressful indeed!

Time to and to get all the reno work done tastefully to your specs!

Have fun with your reno process!

Thanks silversurf! Yup stressful time. Hope it'll be worth the stress!

[joyousonline 0]

congrats on your new flat!! wow it's really a very big space you have! You have 3 toilets!

7 weeks to reno is really a big challenge! But think still can be done if all the works are scheduled properly.

all the best for your reno!! enjoy the process!

[schiz0id 0]

congrats on your new flat!! wow it's really a very big space you have! You have 3 toilets!

7 weeks to reno is really a big challenge! But think still can be done if all the works are scheduled properly.

all the best for your reno!! enjoy the process!

Thanks joyous!

Yah, have to push my ID everyday. He's been cooperative and responsive so far. So far so good. *keeping fingers crossed*

[schiz0id 0]

HACKING

Been going up everyday to the new place to view the hacking progress. So far so good. The workers work faster than we imagined.

All floor and wall tiles have been removed, together with some fixtures and fittings.

Some before and current shots.

BR4

New Study. Waiting for the left wall to be hacked to accommodate my parents' wardrobe.

Dry kitchen. Common toilet's door will be relocated.

New extended living room. Balcony doors have been removed. Right pillar to be hacked off too. So far with balcony doors gone, the living room is much brighter. Can't wait til the pillar is gone too!

[schiz0id 0]

Really pity the neighbours there. In my stack alone, there are 4 units doing renovation works. Concurrently...

There are only 12 levels, 2 of which are common corridor areas. Leaving 10 units. 4 are doing renovation works. Go figure....

[schiz0id 0]

Oh, and I forgot to add.. there's lift upgrading going on at the same time.

Lucky not all doing hacking simultaneously

Edited October 14, 2011 by schiz0id

[edenstrauss 3]

hi buddy,

my common sentiments with yours where the poor neighbours are concerned. But this seems to be a common scenario in an older estate.

Can't wait to see pics of your new flat once renovation is completed! Ur flat offers alot of privacy & I should think that the neighbours there should be nice since your doorways are very far off from one another. So there's no "infringement" of personal space or disputes over the shared usage of common corridoors.

And I must say that your flat looks HUGE! I think ur ID's contractors wasted no time in tearing down the flat which is a great start for a renovation.

If I didn't interpret wrongly, hacking is to be completed within 3 days. Is it the 1st or 2nd day of reno today?

[pebbles 0]

Cool! Hope all goes well

[schiz0id 0]

If I didn't interpret wrongly, hacking is to be completed within 3 days. Is it the 1st or 2nd day of reno today?

Hey eden,

Thanks for dropping by!

Interestingly enough, today's the third day. Hacking works were approved for next week too. Not sure if it was approved by different officers. Permit was given for Monday as well cos some items had the green light first.

Whatever it is, as long as we have written approval, all should be well. Hope my ID keeps up with this pace!