Astarz 10 Report post Posted December 4, 2013 (edited) Lucky you to have a good experience with him. Some of us ain't that lucky. Still, it is good if you know what you want so it helps decision-making easier & quicker!Unlucky? What happens? U engaged him as well?Engaging him has its pros and cons. One has to take it with a pinch of salt. I learn that we cant have too much of an expectation of him in terms of quality and responsiveness of his client-management /project management service/skills. Patience is key, communication as well. If necessary, do remind him nicely and regularly, be specific of what needs to be done. He is a very busy guy handling projects so he cant always attend to our issues on the spot or promptly but he will get back to u. But do remind him again and I am sure he will follow up. He does get things fixed though not immediately due to his work circumstances. Actually he is running a one-man show and his time is stretched thinly. Bear in mind he is not a project manager or an ID who will update u on the reno process daily. If u have such thoughts, forget him and move on to a ID who acts as a site supervisor. Before I sign him up, i have the expectation of being updated regularly by my contractor. ****, no, i was so very wrong. This is the real world. We cant just sit in the office and be updated by him every half a day of the reno process. That is what u guys hv to realise before engaging a contractor.If anyone wanna use him, my advice is to have a very realistic expectation and be prepared to be very proactive in yr renovation. That means being able to know what you want and have them ready on paper, sketches and photos, and show him. Buy your things in tandem to his renovation stage so no one waits for anyone. Buy your lights and shelves and hoods and hobs. Draw a layout plan. Dont expect very detailed specs of yr cabinet or cupboard until u meet up with his carpenter at a later stage. Nothing is in blueprint, prepared for u. Anything that not done to yr specs, take a pic and send to him. He will get his man down. Dont expect him to meet you regularly on-site if you have minor problems. We all have anxiety. Learn to take it in strides, note down the issues, inform him and have him delivered, though not immediately unless it is very urgent. Dont expect immediate reply to yr SMS. Dont call unless super urgent. Give him time to digest. Check your quotations, sometimes his template will charge u the price of two items instead of one. Not deliberate but u know, he doesnt seem to enjoy tedious paperwork. Possibly a crossover from the last quote from another client.Go down to yr new place as regularly as you can, especially when the workers have started work. Wear the supervisor's hat...haha u know what I mean. Communicate yr needs to the workers. Alan's painter, electrician, tilers, carpenter, floor installer etc are quite pro and easy to talk to. They are patient, not rushed and quite prideful in their job. On site, u are able to monitor and have some control over how things u wanna them to be. I work with his electricians to carefully locate all the electrical and light points in my house, telling them how and where I want them to be and I want the lights to be switched on in sequence and in groups that make sense. They fulfill that.All in all, mine is a very hands-on approach, it tires me but hey, i am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Good luck and good job to myself and his team. Edited January 10, 2014 by Astarz 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Makanology 29 Report post Posted December 4, 2013 Hi we have completed our renovation almost 6 months ago. Your advice is sound and if you don't mind to read our tblog and go through our many pages of ranting, perhaps you will have a better idea of the agony we have gone through. It wasn't about the updates that we wanted from him. He just gave us the numbers of his sub-contractors and told us to coordinate ourselves. To cut the long story short, we took over the whole project management ourselves with my hubby going down daily from 9am - 6pm to work side by side with his sub-contractors, such that they all appreciated my hubby's presence and even bought him coffee & lunch. It is a really long story but we heard a very different side of the story from his sub-contractors....Anyways we are glad that your renovation is turning out very nicely and that's the most important objective, right? The workmanship of the sub-contractors are undeniably good, we admit and we are grateful that most of them helped us through our difficult moment. To date, we still keep in touch with them. Great bunch of folks! Enjoy the rest of your renovation journey. We will be contacting the sub-contractors directly in future if we decide to move again Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
marcel 22 Report post Posted December 6, 2013 I just brought a 3NG too. If OK with you. Please share ID and quote. Thanks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ilaida 0 Report post Posted December 7, 2013 hi! I also have the same pics for my mood board and I love your grey and wood concept, especially your bathroom we just started our patial reno and sadly, I only have budget for toilet and kitchen cabinets. Hope to see more pics from you. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
weezersg 5 Report post Posted December 7, 2013 Very nice layout and bold reno, I like your bathroom really look cozy. Yes the bench is nice, I have one too but instead of sitting height, is stool height. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
greglhc 30 Report post Posted December 9, 2013 Astarz - what is the colour name for the grey that you are using? It's nice! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Astarz 10 Report post Posted December 9, 2013 Astarz - what is the colour name for the grey that you are using? It's nice! It's in Dulux Cool Neutral series - Canadian Sky, a blue-ish grey. It looks more blue in photos than it is in real. In reality, it looks just right and when exposed to bright natural daylight, its blue tint is very minimum, that is if u are concerned by its blue-ness. This color is a customized mix, which means the seller have to pre-mix for u and not available off the shelf. Hope that helps. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dreamcatcher 0 Report post Posted December 26, 2013 Hi we have completed our renovation almost 6 months ago. Your advice is sound and if you don't mind to read our tblog and go through our many pages of ranting, perhaps you will have a better idea of the agony we have gone through. It wasn't about the updates that we wanted from him. He just gave us the numbers of his sub-contractors and told us to coordinate ourselves. To cut the long story short, we took over the whole project management ourselves with my hubby going down daily from 9am - 6pm to work side by side with his sub-contractors, such that they all appreciated my hubby's presence and even bought him coffee & lunch. It is a really long story but we heard a very different side of the story from his sub-contractors....Anyways we are glad that your renovation is turning out very nicely and that's the most important objective, right? The workmanship of the sub-contractors are undeniably good, we admit and we are grateful that most of them helped us through our difficult moment. To date, we still keep in touch with them. Great bunch of folks!Enjoy the rest of your renovation journey. We will be contacting the sub-contractors directly in future if we decide to move again Hi Makanology,I share your pain with regard to Alan... lol.... going through the same thing now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dreamcatcher 0 Report post Posted December 26, 2013 Hi Astarz,Your house is simply marvellous! could see all your effort in planning. Great work! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Astarz 10 Report post Posted December 31, 2013 Hi Astarz,Your house is simply marvellous! could see all your effort in planning. Great work! Tks for the compliment. There is a sense of achievement on my side cos I was the brainchild behind the design.The shower bench was very wel received, it is my contractor's idea. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Astarz 10 Report post Posted December 31, 2013 Hi Makanology,I share your pain with regard to Alan... lol.... going through the same thing now. Oh dear, i share yr worry, cos i also encounter hits and misses. I think it is more a scheduling issue. My hacking starts on 10 Oct 2013 and right now, still not handed over but he is trying his best. All major works are done, except very very minor stuff. As of today, the last piece of installation is completed and hopefully, final chemical cleaning by this week. We all expect the whole process to take abt 10 weeks, that is it should finish before Xmas. I guess I have to welcome my new home next year.. hahah. be patient guys.....work on the big picture. No need point finger.I am so glad I am 99% done with my reno. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dreamcatcher 0 Report post Posted December 31, 2013 Oh dear, i share yr worry, cos i also encounter hits and misses. I think it is more a scheduling issue. My hacking starts on 10 Oct 2013 and right now, still not handed over but he is trying his best. All major works are done, except very very minor stuff. As of today, the last piece of installation is completed and hopefully, final chemical cleaning by this week. We all expect the whole process to take abt 10 weeks, that is it should finish before Xmas. I guess I have to welcome my new home next year.. hahah. be patient guys.....work on the big picture. No need point finger.I am so glad I am 99% done with my reno.Hi Astarz,So you are the one who started renovation on the same day as us! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Astarz 10 Report post Posted December 31, 2013 (edited) Hi Astarz,So you are the one who started renovation on the same day as us!hi hi, i thought 10-10 sounds good. how is yr progress? hope it is getting smoother. Edited December 31, 2013 by Astarz Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
