Important Lessons Learnt During My 3 Weeks Super Rushed Reno...

[normanho23 0]

For those who have followed my T-blog, they will be aware that I managed to complete the reno for my 5I unit in Woodlands within a 3 weeks time frame. No IDs or contractors are willing to take up my reno project as they are not confident of handing over the unit to me before CNY (reno period from 16 Jan to 3 Feb). Anyway, since I was the "Main contractor" managing several contractors during the reno peroid, I have learnt several important lessons which I would like to share with you guys if you are planning to reno your house soon.

VERY IMPORTANT

ALWAYS ALLOW YOURSELF 6-8 WEEKS TO DO A RENO AS 3 WEEKS IS SIMPLY TOO SHORT.

General

1. Never allow lump sum quotation from your contractor unless they sign on the agreement that they will absorb all the outstanding costs that are above the quoted amount. Make sure all payments are countersigned by you and your contractor with dates indicated to avoid any disputes.

2. Always keep a 10-20% balance payment until all defects are rectified or touching ups are completed. Never ever pay all in full before the works are completed.

3. Always get your masonry contractor to quote you the price for making good of the walls and floors if you intend to hack and walls, cornices or lightbox etc. My contractor actually demanded more money from me coz he told me that hacking is hacking only and does not include the costs of making good.

4. Always get an itemised quotation from your contractor for all the reno works. If you need them to hack both kitchen cabinets and wardrobes, get them to quote you the price for hacking these items individually.

5. Get your contractor to quote you the amount of tiles that he is ordering for the tiling works. Get him to include in the wastage amount and then you do your own calculation based on your floorplan to make sure that he is ordering enough tiles for you. Do not give him a chance to demand more money from you coz he under-budgeted the amount of tiles he need in the first place. Also check with him is unused tiles in original packing can be refunded or not and if cannot refund, make sure he leave them for you and not take it back and return back to the supplier for his own profit.

6. Make sure that your contractor is the one that is reporting to you on a regular basis on the reno progress. My encounter has not been good as my contractor hardly appear at my place except during payment time. He just leave it to his workers and there were several instances that I have to rectify the works of his workers as proper instructions were not given.

Carpentry

7. Take out the tallest and widest pots or pans that you have and make a detailed measurement for them. Dun make a drawer that is too shallow or too narrow for them.

8. If you are using soft closing tracks from Blum or Hettich, always factor in a 3-5cm loss in height of the drawers as the soft closing tracks are mounted at the bottom of the drawers instead of the side of the drawers.

9. If you intend to install mirror storage cabinets above your vanity top, pls take into account the depth of your vanity top and the mirror cabinet. For instance, I can only have a vanity top of 40cm depth in my common toilet as I opted for drawers instead of sliding doors but when I add in a 25cm depth mirror cabinet above the vanity top, I will hit my head onto the mirror cabinet each time i raise my head after brushing my teeth or wash my face. As a result, I have to return the mirror cabinets to ikea and opt for just simple mirrors to replace it.

10. Built in full height shoe racks. Always leave some allowance for ventilating holes to be made at the back of the shoe racks or else it will smell like nobody business! Calculate the length of your shoes when you confirm the depth of the shoe cabinet with your contractor. I opted for a 45cm depth shoe rack as I wear a size 13. Those off the shelve shoe racks can never fit my shoes properly unless the shelvings are installed at an angle.

11. Always good to install lights in your wardrobe if your budget allows. It will enable you to see things clearly inside the wardrobe instead of switching on the lights in the room and wake your spouse up. I opted for T5 light tubes in my wardrobe but I think normal LED strips will be good enough.

Electrical

12. Always get your electrician to show you the entire range of sockets that he will be installing for you. When my electrician showed me both MK and Legrand, I opted for Legrand thinking that it is a more prestigious brand but now I am having problems with the 13A socket as the switch is located at the top of the socket and I have problem switching on the socket once I put in a 3 way multi plug. Seems like I have to change all the 13A sockets to another design now and this will add up to my reno costs.

Windows

13. If you intend to change the windows and grilles in your new place as well as to replace the tiles in your toilets plus kitchen, please arrange for the installation of the windows + grilles to be done the moment the old tiles were hacked away. I have to put my tiler on hold while waiting for the windows to be installed in the kitchen and windows.

Plastering and sealant for walls

14. I will recommend all new home owners to plaster their walls and apply sealant onto the new walls if your budget and time frame allows. Walls of old HDB flats are super uneven and it can be quite awful under lights reflection if you are to use a light colour paint. Also recommended is to apply sealant onto the new walls if you can as the paint on my new walls are pretty patchy now and I will need to arrange for my painter to come in for touching up again. I did not opt for sealant or plastering due to costs and time constraints.

Have to go back to work now but will add on more if I can think of any. Cheers...

[Z3phy 2]

wah... very helpful indeed.

you listed some of the things that i never thought of. like point 11.

[kim76 18]

Thanks for sharing! This is good stuff!!! :good:

[normanho23 0]

Too add on. These are the estimated timelines that you should cater for in doing your reno:

Hacking plus tiling:

Kitchen plus toilets only need 2 weeks. Hacking usually can be completed within 1 day unless you have many walls to hack.

If add in all the floor tiles for the living room and bedrooms, add in another 3-4 weeks.

Remember, hackers only hack and they bochap the surrounding walls and floors. It is the tiler and the painter job to make good the walls or floors. Get your contractor to quote you each and every single detail you can think off. Dun be like my contractor who tell me that I need to pay extra to make good the floor after I hacked away my kitchen walls.

Painting:

3 days minimum for a 5room flat. Make sure house if empty so that your painter can do a proper job. If you are choosing enamel paint for the doors, pls give yourself another 1 day for the paint to dry completely.

Floor laminates:

The Inovar installer managed to lay all the laminates and skirtings in my 5room flat (living + dining + 3rooms) within 1 day. Give them 2 days to make any rectifications.

Windows:

1 full day to dismantle old grilles plus windows and to install new one.

Carpentry:

Kitchen installation usually takes 2-3 days coz there are so many minor adjustments they need to make on the ground during the installation process.

Wardrobe installation is much simpler. Usually takes less than one day.

Lightbox also pretty straight forward. My lightbox guys managed to install 20M length lightbox within 4hrs with 2 guys working at the same time.

[beezewax 1]

Great advice! Thanks a lot!

[vw7983 0]

Electrical

12. Always get your electrician to show you the entire range of sockets that he will be installing for you. When my electrician showed me both MK and Legrand, I opted for Legrand thinking that it is a more prestigious brand but now I am having problems with the 13A socket as the switch is located at the top of the socket and I have problem switching on the socket once I put in a 3 way multi plug. Seems like I have to change all the 13A sockets to another design now and this will add up to my reno costs.

Very good and detailed info.

But I don't really understand this. Can you snap a photo of the socket? Thanks.

[Rover 0]

Electrical

12. Always get your electrician to show you the entire range of sockets that he will be installing for you. When my electrician showed me both MK and Legrand, I opted for Legrand thinking that it is a more prestigious brand but now I am having problems with the 13A socket as the switch is located at the top of the socket and I have problem switching on the socket once I put in a 3 way multi plug. Seems like I have to change all the 13A sockets to another design now and this will add up to my reno costs.

It's the particular model of Legrand which u had chosen wrongly, nothing to do wif the brand itself. Mine is Legrand too n no prob wif the plugs. Did saw 1 or 2 models which are difficult to plug in n switch the ON button. Didn't choose those models as I knw I'll be having prob like wat u are encountering.

[normanho23 0]

Very good and detailed info.

But I don't really understand this. Can you snap a photo of the socket? Thanks.

This is using the smallest 3 way multi plug that I have and it barely reveals the switch on the socket.

This is using the normal size 3 wal multi plug and the switch is now being blocked by the plug. I need to squeeze my fat finger in from the side in order to swtich on the socket.

[normanho23 0]

It's the particular model of Legrand which u had chosen wrongly, nothing to do wif the brand itself. Mine is Legrand too n no prob wif the plugs. Did saw 1 or 2 models which are difficult to plug in n switch the ON button. Didn't choose those models as I knw I'll be having prob like wat u are encountering.

You are right. The 3 weeks reno was a mad mad journey. Hardly have time to decide on many finer details so I suggest that all home owners who are renovating their flats to view all the available sockets before choosing one that they are comfortable with.

[Freakerz 5]

This is using the smallest 3 way multi plug that I have and it barely reveals the switch on the socket.

This is using the normal size 3 wal multi plug and the switch is now being blocked by the plug. I need to squeeze my fat finger in from the side in order to swtich on the socket.

ur using the single/double switch socket with the middle rocker,should have used single/double switch socket with external rocker..ur electrician uses the Belanko range which is the basic range.It cost less than $3.80++ (need to check receipt)but i bought MK range from Choo Chiang yesterday.DIY installed as replacement for existing non brand ones koyak socket and switches in my sis place.DIY lo if you have the time,replace the faceplate is quite simple.For socket its all about d/c the mains and replace 1 to 1 LIVE/EARTH/NEUTRAL wire from socket to socket using test pen.Maybe you ask your electrician to do 1 to 1 exchange?and maybe he can reused the faceplate @ another project?

[bleucheeze 1]

ur using the single/double switch socket with the middle rocker,should have used single/double switch socket with external rocker..ur electrician uses the Belanko range which is the basic range.It cost less than $3.80++ (need to check receipt)but i bought MK range from Choo Chiang yesterday.DIY installed as replacement for existing non brand ones koyak socket and switches in my sis place.DIY lo if you have the time,replace the faceplate is quite simple.For socket its all about d/c the mains and replace 1 to 1 LIVE/EARTH/NEUTRAL wire from socket to socket using test pen.Maybe you ask your electrician to do 1 to 1 exchange?and maybe he can reused the faceplate @ another project?

Which brand(s) socket/switch is good?

[normanho23 0]

ur using the single/double switch socket with the middle rocker,should have used single/double switch socket with external rocker..ur electrician uses the Belanko range which is the basic range.It cost less than $3.80++ (need to check receipt)but i bought MK range from Choo Chiang yesterday.DIY installed as replacement for existing non brand ones koyak socket and switches in my sis place.DIY lo if you have the time,replace the faceplate is quite simple.For socket its all about d/c the mains and replace 1 to 1 LIVE/EARTH/NEUTRAL wire from socket to socket using test pen.Maybe you ask your electrician to do 1 to 1 exchange?and maybe he can reused the faceplate @ another project?

The contractors are here to rectify the defects. I will check with the electrician on changing the face plates for all the 13A sockets.

[retchlow 7]

Which brand(s) socket/switch is good?

Was chatting with a friend yesterday. He's an ID n he recommends clipsal, which has now been bought over by Schneider electric. So the latter is fine. He mentioned mk is not as good.(problems with the mechanics) which I didn't ask for details since I've already chosen Schneider.

[normanho23 0]

My quotation includes the Legrand sockets so I also never ask for too much. Anyway, I can still live with it as long as I dun plug in the big 3 way plug.

BTW, Schneider switches are very beautiful.

[bleucheeze 1]

Ok, so it's Clipsal, Schneider and Legrand

Was chatting with a friend yesterday. He's an ID n he recommends clipsal, which has now been bought over by Schneider electric. So the latter is fine. He mentioned mk is not as good.(problems with the mechanics) which I didn't ask for details since I've already chosen Schneider.

Eh, u know what brand our con provide?

My quotation includes the Legrand sockets so I also never ask for too much. Anyway, I can still live with it as long as I dun plug in the big 3 way plug.

BTW, Schneider switches are very beautiful.