A Bad Contractor & A Good Contractor

[Huntered 0]

Hi everyone, i would like to share with you my experience with a bad contractor and a good contractor.

Bad contractor John , I was a walk-in customer looking to renovate my 4 room flat in april this year. With a budget of 50k, i believe its quite a comfortable range

to work with and i think John agrees with me because he was basically nodding his head all the way throughout our conversation. The final quotation came to

around 54k with 7% gst. Paid 10% deposit the very next day after considering the other 3 quotations i had. Not the cheapest among the 4 quotations but i choose him

because i thought cheap stuff does not mean good and good stuff doesn't come cheap and he seems experienced enough but i was wrong.

Things started to go south after the first payment of 40% and some amendments i had in mind were turned down. I was asking myself what happened to all the nodding.

John was asking a further 30% payment after hacking was completed and i straight away turn him down citing that the work done was not even 20%. John's face changed

immediately. I further request for a kitchen wall to be hacked but was turned down by him. His reason was dangerous because not enough support and HDB won't approve.

After clearing the debris and the materials were delivered, john continued to ask for the 2nd payment of 30% where i argued with him only cement and sand were

delivered. He said tiles will arrive the following day where i told him i will only pay the next payment after all tiling works were done. I guess that was the

last straw for him because the screeding work was taking forever to complete and the tiles never came at all. He seems to disappear into thin air as he was

unreachable all the time. The company then closed down and John never came up again to work on my flat leaving screeding work half done.

I went to HDB for help but was futile (until today, there's still no reply). I was getting worried then because i had to move out of my old place by end of may

and i had only 4 weeks left. I was hoping to find another contractor to do the same renovation works with half the price and in 3 weeks time but that was mission

impossible. New owner was unable to let my family extend because they have no place to stay so we were left with no other choice but to find a

temporary place. I felt very unlucky and upset during that period and end up, i gave my focus to find a place to stay first while i put the renovation plan on hold.

After settling down my family, i immediately continue my search for a contractor to complete my renovation and that took me more than 1 month to find one.

Ironically, its my mother's friend who knew about our predicament introduced a freelance contractor who renovated her house.

Good contractor Mr ang, I called him to make an appointment to visit my flat to discuss about the renovation works i wished to do. Mr ang then came down to survey

and take measurements where the other contractors i went to only saw the floor plan i gave them. The quotation was around 30k and although Mr ang's quotation is the

cheapest among the rest but at that point i still did not confirm him to do up my flat as i was feeling abit worried because he does not have a shop front.

I told my mother my worries and was scolded by her, "even with a proper shop front and HDB licensed u still get cheated (referring to john), at least mr ang

completed my friend's house without any problems". After rubbing salt on my wounds by my mother, i decided to engage Mr ang.

This time round i became very cautious. I told Mr ang what had happened and he was quite understanding and explaining there are cheaters out there who made use of

this industry's loopholes . Customers have to be very careful when making payments and avoid paying too much.

He explained to me its very important for a contractor and his customer to build up trust and rapport to ensure the renovation works goes smoothly. Then he proceed

to discuss the payment option 10% deposit, 40% progress payment for 1st half of contract, 40% progress payment for 2nd half and 10% for final payment when all

works are completed. In my mind i was thinking, that's similar to what the bad contractor John proposed. But Mr ang continued to explain about the 40% progress

payment by splitting 20% payment when materials arrive and 20% when works are completed for 1st half of contract. At any time i will only risk maximum

20% of my money which i feel is quite reasonable and assuring.

Renovation works starts to get going and things were pretty standard and workmanship also acceptable. There were some hiccups along the way but Mr ang was able to solve

them and im quite impressed. He did mentioned he has 30+ years of experience where i doubted at the beginning. Remember the kitchen wall i wanted to hack away initially

with John ? Mr ang said that wall can hack away and we just need approval from HDB which he did it eventually without any problem. Finally, renovation works were

completed on time within the 4 weeks period set by him.

I personally feel that a good contractor is not just about good workmanship and good attitude but their responsibility and ability to solve and rectify when

problems arises. I believe Mr ang fits the term, good contractor.

I know Mr ang's works are all referral based and here i am trying to refer him as a way of saying thank you. Anyone who wishes to know his contact, please feel free to ask.

[rain 0]

What's John's surname? I also had a lousy reno experience because of a John. However, he didn't even have a shop or Hdb license.

[kaylinpickles 1]

hi, is this the norm to pay 40% first even though the work is not done? whats the procedure like for other contractors?

[LEDguy 0]

i dont know about other contractors but usually its like this for me

10% award of contract

40% after raw materials are on site and floor/ wall works underway

30% arrival of carpentry works on site

15% upon finishing up carpentry works

5% final payment on hand over day and reifications to be done within 2-3weeks

[Huntered 0]

What's John's surname? I also had a lousy reno experience because of a John. However, he didn't even have a shop or Hdb license.

Is it FU ? His shop already closed down plus hp no. also terminated, basically like vanished into thin air.

[Huntered 0]

hi, is this the norm to pay 40% first even though the work is not done? whats the procedure like for other contractors?

I went to a few contractors and they are having similar payment option. I guess that is the market practise and consumers like us has to be extra careful.

[Huntered 0]

i dont know about other contractors but usually its like this for me

10% award of contract

40% after raw materials are on site and floor/ wall works underway

30% arrival of carpentry works on site

15% upon finishing up carpentry works

5% final payment on hand over day and reifications to be done within 2-3weeks

Based on your contactor, i guess you are also paying 50% once renovation works are started. Seems like that is a common practise.

[jantan70 0]

Hi, i am looking for a contractor to do up my place and i would definitely like to have a good one. Can you please share the contact ? thanks

[Huntered 0]

Hi, i am looking for a contractor to do up my place and i would definitely like to have a good one. Can you please share the contact ? thanks

sorry for the late reply, i have replied all requests...

[sunky 0]

hi huntered, please PM me Mr Ang's contact. Thanks.

[4995 0]

Hi .. Re: contractor the most important they must have own hdb lic , experience etc everyone agree ? Good day everybody

[Huntered 0]

hi huntered, please PM me Mr Ang's contact. Thanks.

sorry for the late reply, i have pm'ed u Mr Ang's contact. Good luck in your reno

[Huntered 0]

Hi .. Re: contractor the most important they must have own hdb lic , experience etc everyone agree ? Good day everybody

I disagree ! HDB license is only useful to cover HDB's own backside, i dont see how the license is helpful to a homeowner other than the strict regulations on the works done. Can you guarantee every HDB licensed holder is a good contractor ? I personally feel this license is over-hyped. After my bad experience, i still feel a good contractor is better to be referred and not judged by holding a hdb license.

I dont quite understand your 2nd part on experience. Every contractors will have their own experience, isnt it ? A contractor's experience plays a big role in making a renovation work smooth going especially when problems occurs or when ideas on paper cannot be performed.

[lawry 3]

I can't see what's the use of a HDB license either.

What can/what will HDB do when the renovation go wrong?

[rain 0]

I think at the very least, a HDB license tells you that the contractor is legal.

My husband ignored the red light warning when our contractor didn't have a license and had to 'borrow' the license from another company. True enough. We went through h*ll and after six months, the reno was anyhow done and incomplete.

If the contractor got nothing to hide and meets HDB requirements even if the standard was very low, why shouldn't he get a HDB license?

Referral may not be reliable either. Our contractor was referred by my husband's friend who strongly recommended him.

Huntered,

Mine was Chiang. John Chiang.

I requested to look at the workmanship. He took us to see a few flats with good workmanship by a Malaysian tiler, but he gave us a China tiler who couldn't tile for nuts. Every single tile is uneven, hollow at the bottom, gaps are huge and uneven, grouts are either non-existent or dirty, and for the tiles lying on the edge, he just laid them as they were without smoothening the edge. And no door kerb too! My neighbor said this the first time she came to my place,"HDB contractors are said to have the lousiest workmanship but yours is even worse!"

Edited November 9, 2012 by rain