My Reno Journey

[spikedoll 2]

Not sure if gotta do with the tile quality as well if its not the natural pattern on the tile itself? Hope your prob can be resolved soon.

[loglog 0]

loglog, ur tile orginially do not have the stain? cos mine has little too but it seem to be the pattern of the tiles although during choosing tiles, i do see the marks

Hi Mamao,

Original tiles without the stain. We have a few pcs balance from the reno so we can compare both.

Andrew sent a Floor Medic this afternoon to help diagnose the problem, he could not provide any solution and he suggested polishing the tiles. He said it will not remove the stain but will improve the look slightly. He said the surface of the tiles is still smooth and shinny, stains are not visible if we do not focus our attention on the reflection of the lights. He also pointed out that my place is too bright, hence, problem is magnified. If we put up the curtains and when all our new furnitures are placed around, the attention will not be on the flaw. He said visitors will not even notice if we do not mention about the flaw on the tiles. BUT, knowing that the stains are there, how can we deny the fact that our newly renovated home is imperfect?!

[dragonnite 2]

Hi Mamao,

Original tiles without the stain. We have a few pcs balance from the reno so we can compare both.

Andrew sent a Floor Medic this afternoon to help diagnose the problem, he could not provide any solution and he suggested polishing the tiles. He said it will not remove the stain but will improve the look slightly. He said the surface of the tiles is still smooth and shinny, stains are not visible if we do not focus our attention on the reflection of the lights. He also pointed out that my place is too bright, hence, problem is magnified. If we put up the curtains and when all our new furnitures are placed around, the attention will not be on the flaw. He said visitors will not even notice if we do not mention about the flaw on the tiles. BUT, knowing that the stains are there, how can we deny the fact that our newly renovated home is imperfect?!

umm, at this point i guess you gotta make a choice liow. firstly, you have listed the constraints about not being able to hack the floor tiles. at the same time, it is bothering you everytime you see it. so which one is harder to live with, as in which compromise do you have to make ? make no mistake, either one will require a big compromise on your side - so it's a matter of which one (short term pain) will result in something that will make you feel better in the longer run.

if it were me, i would bite the bullet and get the tiles fixed once and for all - otherwise, i will forever be thinking about this and being unhappy about this everytime i see it. it may not be visible to other ppl but i would know it's there - gao eh to the mind ... and for x number of years you're going to live there ? ummmm ....

[loglog 0]

umm, at this point i guess you gotta make a choice liow. firstly, you have listed the constraints about not being able to hack the floor tiles. at the same time, it is bothering you everytime you see it. so which one is harder to live with, as in which compromise do you have to make ? make no mistake, either one will require a big compromise on your side - so it's a matter of which one (short term pain) will result in something that will make you feel better in the longer run.

if it were me, i would bite the bullet and get the tiles fixed once and for all - otherwise, i will forever be thinking about this and being unhappy about this everytime i see it. it may not be visible to other ppl but i would know it's there - gao eh to the mind ... and for x number of years you're going to live there ? ummmm ....

We have still not decided on what to do next. Not much contact with Andrew and everything is through his assistant towards the tail end of the reno, seems that he is too busy to deal with us. We will have to sit down and discuss the options eventually, but dunno when. Definitely we will make sure we are not short changed.

Edited January 8, 2013 by loglog

[loglog 0]

My last post here was almost a month ago. Andrew's business is so GOOD that he has no time to provide me with his detailed proposal to resolve the issue of my flooring problem. Previously given him 2 appointment time to sit down and discuss, he did not give me a reply until the last minute when I had already had a plan to do something else since I thought he could not make it. Hence, we had to change appointment date.

Yesterday, he whatsapp to fix appointment to see me today. Again, he did not turn up at the appointed time, only sent one guy from the Electrical Work company to collect the cheque for the electrical work. I whatsapp him and yet he did not bother to reply or call me.

For those who want to engage his service, you judge yourself. What kind of service attitude is this??!!

[potatoes 0]

My last post here was almost a month ago. Andrew's business is so GOOD that he has no time to provide me with his detailed proposal to resolve the issue of my flooring problem. Previously given him 2 appointment time to sit down and discuss, he did not give me a reply until the last minute when I had already had a plan to do something else since I thought he could not make it. Hence, we had to change appointment date.

Yesterday, he whatsapp to fix appointment to see me today. Again, he did not turn up at the appointed time, only sent one guy from the Electrical Work company to collect the cheque for the electrical work. I whatsapp him and yet he did not bother to reply or call me.

For those who want to engage his service, you judge yourself. What kind of service attitude is this??!!

Is it the Andrew from Designer Guys? I wanted to use him. He don't seem to be the kind of person u describe. I didn't use him coz his price was higher than another ID company.

[texas5 0]

We are unable to let him hack the floor tiles and do rework due to the following reasons:

1. We do not want to impose on my mum who had to move out of her home with her dog to stay with my sis because my wife is scared of dog.

2. It is great distress to the four of us who have to live in unfamiliar home and due with the stress in our work at the same time.

3. Cost of the warehouse storage and also unable to have access to our belongings.

4. CNY is around the corner.

hi TS,

reading your account on the matter, its harsh to blame the contractor because he did offer to change the tiles for you but you declined because of personal reasons?

if thats the case, you cant expect him to solve your personal issues right? I propose the following:

1. Ask him to cover the extra warehouse storage cost you will incur

2. Convince ur wife that a dog is a man's best friend

3. Stress at work ? I suggest u exercise at least 1 hr everyday to release more endorphins

[texas5 0]

hi TS , im only kidding in above post. but u ought to listen to dragonnite advice. it may inconvenience u for a few days but its the best solution for the flooring problem. bite the bullet and do it! Gd luck!

[loglog 0]

He did not offer any solutions so far. Mid Jan, he just brought the tiles supplier and view the flooring condition and left in a haste. Before he left, he just suggested wait till Feb and see the condition of the flooring again. He told me to settle some payment to help him out as CNY is coming. I told him we have to fix a time to discuss the solutions in details.

I msg him to give him 2 time slots to choose from, no reply from him, so I made my plan to settle other things, then he msg me in the last min and we had to cancel the appt.

1 Feb, he what'sapp to fix an appt, I fixed appt yesterday at 4.30 and also told him I will be paying electrical work first. End up he sent a guy from the co to collect the payment and did not turn up himself. Till now, no call or msg at all for his no show at 4.30 yesterday.

[summersann 6]

He did not offer any solutions so far. Mid Jan, he just brought the tiles supplier and view the flooring condition and left in a haste. Before he left, he just suggested wait till Feb and see the condition of the flooring again. He told me to settle some payment to help him out as CNY is coming. I told him we have to fix a time to discuss the solutions in details.

I msg him to give him 2 time slots to choose from, no reply from him, so I made my plan to settle other things, then he msg me in the last min and we had to cancel the appt.

1 Feb, he what'sapp to fix an appt, I fixed appt yesterday at 4.30 and also told him I will be paying electrical work first. End up he sent a guy from the co to collect the payment and did not turn up himself. Till now, no call or msg at all for his no show at 4.30 yesterday.

Have you paid him in full?

As customers, we need to make sure that our requests are reasonable and understand that the other party needs adequate time to fulfil our requirements. As the party taking our money, they need to make sure that what they have done is to the best of their ability, and should definitely serve people with a positive attitude. It sounds like your contractor hasn't fulfilled his end of the deal, and has done slipshod work. Not replying calls or messages until the last minute is horrid. Don't pay him until he responds promptly! If he's already like this before full payment, I can only imagine how he's going to respond (or not respond) after your money is fully in his pockets.

[loglog 0]

Have you paid him in full?

As customers, we need to make sure that our requests are reasonable and understand that the other party needs adequate time to fulfil our requirements. As the party taking our money, they need to make sure that what they have done is to the best of their ability, and should definitely serve people with a positive attitude. It sounds like your contractor hasn't fulfilled his end of the deal, and has done slipshod work. Not replying calls or messages until the last minute is horrid. Don't pay him until he responds promptly! If he's already like this before full payment, I can only imagine how he's going to respond (or not respond) after your money is fully in his pockets.

Summersann,

The lucky thing is I have not paid him in full.

if you read my post on 23 Dec 2012 - 02:34:

"This is not the first time that he is late for appointments. In the past, we just kept quiet thinking that we should be more accommodating as he could be genuinely busy, but it seems that he is always taking us for granted. His lateness always stretched on for hours. Is this a right attitude to treat his customer?"

you would have noticed that this contractor has been taking us for granted right from the beginning.

Towards the tail end of the job when the problem started to surface, he has never bothered to really sit down with us to discuss the options open to us for resolving the problem. The dealings were always with his assistant, Kelvin, who then reported to him. Even when he dropped by on a few occasions, he would say things like "lets see how" and thereafter, left in a haste and ordered his assistant to follow up on some of the unfinished stuff here and there.