Modern Cozy Home @ Greenleaf

[CharisOng 15]

Hmm.. I've read some of the t-blogs here.. So its time for me to contribute.. To share our experiences in this home reno journey.

We collected our keys on 11 March 2014.. Signed everything & there goes our CPF balances~

Here is our floor plan..

Here are some pictures of how our house looked before the check..

This the 3rd week since we collected our keys but we have not submitted our feedback form to the BSC. There are so much to check and I wondered how to complete checking within 7 days. With the help with an ID, we finished checking & will be submitting the form in today. Now my house is full of masking tapes to show the defects. Our project is the developer’s first HDB project. While checking, my id was shocked by the quality of the work being done. We have slanted switches, uneven & rough walls, lots of gaps between top & bottom of wood skirtings, badly filled grouting, leaking toilet bowl, cracked floor tiles, missing window screws, all the windows cannot be opened smoothly and dent window frames, chipped walls, and many more.. Will post some photos on the defects later.

Edited April 3, 2014 by CharisOng

[lemoncandy 39]

wow, the defects sound quite bad! hope that BSC will get it resolved smoothly for you. good luck!

[alfredt 27]

whoa ! if too many defects, just use the masking tape to mark out areas with NO DEFECT and tell BSC that everything else needs to be remedied

[CharisOng 15]

Thanks lemoncandy. The BSC officer say that will take at least 2 weeks to get it done.

[Songz 132]

Welcome to RT.

Hope the defects will be rectified soon and you can start the reno.

[CharisOng 15]

Our ID hunt was not a smooth sail.. Started our hunt quite early. About nearly 1 year earlier. We made rash decision and in the end wasted some money..

ID #1

Met him at one of the expo sales. Pretty nice chap. He was rather fast in replying messages.. Met him 2 weeks later from the first meeting with quotation, proposed floor plan, lighting plan & sketched design of our living room. But his quotation is not within our stated budget. He is rather pushy and keep asking us to pay a small amount of deposit $500 so that he can show us his 3D sketch. I find it is too early to commit anything and he was the first ID we've met. As time passes, our requirements changed along the way. Asked for a re-quote based on different items, promised to re-quote but no news from him since. So we dropped him.

ID#2

This one is also thru expo sales. A young pretty lady. Not very experienced. Kept asking for what kind of ideas we have in mind. Then I only know that I want something modern but I am looking someone who can impress me with their designs. As I feel if I know exactly what I want, I wont be sourcing for IDs. I will be looking for contractors already. Didnt feel comfortable & safe to let her handle our project. Pushy lady. So we dropped her as well.

ID#3

This ID was recommended by my colleague. Provided him with our requirements through email, whatapps & phone calls. During our first meeting, he showed us his quotation and is within our budget. Rather cheap.. I was running on fever that day and he was very pushy. When I stepped out of his office to buy something to drink, he immediately asked my hubby to sign the contract. Sadly for him, my hubby isn’t the decision maker. But I don’t like his yaya papaya attitude. I feel he is more of contractor than ID. His ideas are not impressive & boring. So dropped him too.

ID#4

We walked into Ci****n during expo. This ID, Z** Z**g, approached us when we are browsing thru their showroom. Both of us fell in love with their carpentry. Woodgrain PVC internal carcass. Sat down and discuss. He introduced us with their package and pretty good deal if anyone is not changing any items in their package. Free OM sofa or dining table & Courts Vouchers in return for paying GST. There are alot of items that we had to change and some other VO. He promised that it will not be very expensive. And we had to pay a sum of deposit ($1288) to secure the package. We made a very rash decision to pay the deposit without doing any research on them. We are soooooo out of our minds. Totally regretted it. Everytime i asked something, he would say “Dont worry. I will make nice nice for you.” The full quotation amount is on higher side, slightly more than our budget but still manageable. Asked for discounts, and he say it’s already very cheap. =.=

After rounds of discussion & meeting at our new place, I find that he is not listening to my requirements and he tends to make us accept this way. For example: I want glass backsplash on both sides of my kitchen and he keeps insisting that it will be very ugly due to the switches & powerpoints. I find it worse if one side is glass and the other is HDB tiles. And many other things that we don’t agree on. Everyone is saying that we must find ID/Contractor that you feel most comfortable with. He is definitely not the one. I have yet to reply him to tell him that I’m going to forfeit my deposit.

ID#5

He is my sis colleague cum best friend’s relative. Friendly guy. I provided him with my floor plan & an edited floor plan to show him what layout I prefer. (After meeting so many IDs, I have clearer idea of what I want for my home) I intend to integrate my hubby’s bedside table into the wardrobe. I also sent him this drawing to show him.

During our 1^st meeting at his “showroom”, he don’t seem well prepared and he just simply print out my edited floor plan & the wardrobe which my hubby drew and used them to explain his quotation. Less professional I would say. And he is the only one that tells me that it would be better if we can buy BLUM products ourselves and they install it for us. In his quotation, he is charging us $1,200 for each room (Master bedroom, Living Room & Kitchen), so total of $3,600 just on blum. He did throw in mirror for dining area wall & some wallpapers. We shortlisted him cuz thinking since he’s my sis best friend’s bro-in-law, 肥水不流外人田。Haha..

ID#6

Also introduced by my sis friend. Highly recommended by her. And she said a lot of positive things about this ID. So I sent him my floor plan (empty one this time). I called him to tell him my requirements and arranged a meeting a week later. To my surprise, he is the only one that did not miss out anything in his quotation. The kitchen layout is correct and our thoughts are in the same track. I told him to design something for my ceiling as I don’t want L Box but I can accept cove lightings. Hence his floorplan includes all the layout of the carpentry work etc and the lightings as well. He goes through the quotation item by item, showing us where it will be in our house, what kind of materials and concept he had in mind and showing us samples. He is very patient, detailed & experienced. I can be very longwinded and he slowly answered all my questions. He did tell us that his company don’t do advertising like regular companies do. They only through word of mouth. This company is newly set up, less than a year. Kinda worries me if they will run away with my money not. Haha. He says it’s up to us whether we can trust & feel comfortable not.

I told him that we collected our keys 3 weeks ago and we have not completed checking our house and straightaway he ask whether we are free that coming Sunday. He came down to help us check the house even though we did not say we will be confirming him. Very nice of him right?

My hubby and I feel very comfortable and no troubles conveying our thoughts & wants. He will advise & improve them. And its like TADA! He’s the one I want to engage to build our home sweet home. Currently negotiating on the price then we will go ahead to sign the contract. God bless us.

Updated: Received this revised quotation and given us some discount. Happy that at least he's willing to give some discount. Will be signing the contract this week.

ID#7

Recommended by neighbour from same project. Li***l & Ri***e (partners) from Abs****k. Mr. L inform us 12 mins before appt time that he will be late for meeting for 20mins. We already on the way to their showroom in yishun. We reached there on time and waited for 1 hour but he’s not here yet. So I whatapps him that we will be leaving and we left. His partner Mr. R called me to apologise and ask to meet him anywhere we prefer. So we agree to meet him at our new place. Keep apologising to us, very polite young man. 2-3 years experience in this field. Quite disappointed with their design and their ceiling is just false ceiling & L box at tv area. Miscommunication between Mr. L & Mr. R as Mr. L didn’t convey my requirements fully & correctly. My kitchen layout was wrong and many things are not included in the quotation. Mr. R asked us how we feel about their work, and I replied honestly that I don’t like how they design my ceiling. I feel its too simple and someone is doing L box. I want something special. Straightaway he just ask what kind of design I want. (If I know, I will be hiring contractor instead. Sorry for being so picky XD) Waiting for ppl to impress me I guess.

I received their revised quotation yesterday. Due to their lateness, they gave us a $120 discount as compensation. Pricing wise, not very expensive. Acceptable range, cheaper than ID#6. Sadly I am more interested in ID#6’s design.

And many other IDs…

Sorry for being so long winded. And bear with my broken English.

[Takaishi 44]

nice summary! what is your reno cost in the end? inclusive of electrical?

[CharisOng 15]

Same as many homeowners.. I'm very ecstatic and yearn to stay in my own home. Started window shopping very early too.. Imagine alot of things.

Here are some of the items I have already purchased..

[CharisOng 15]

nice summary! what is your reno cost in the end? inclusive of electrical?

Less than 30k.. All hinges n tracks is blum one.

Items done:

Foyer, Living & Dining

5ft half height shoe cabinet using laminate finishing c/w internal polykem, Blum hinges & 2 nos. of Blum drawers

5ft suspended top hung cabinet using laminate finishing c/w internal polykem & Blum hinges

8ft low Tv console using laminate finishing c/w internal polykem & 2 nos. of Blum drawers

12ft Cross shape full height false wall using gypsum board

8ft spray painted glass backing to false wall

False ceiling w/ cove lighting effect

1ft full height divider wall using gypsum board

4ft tinted mirror to dining feature c/w backing

Kitchen

15ft top kitchen cabinet using laminate finishing c/w:

15ft bottom kitchen cabinet using laminate finishing c/w:

a) Internal polykem

b) 1 no. of sand blasted door for dish rack & 1 no. of Blum HK/HS

c) 4 nos. of blum drawer runner

d) Blum Anti slam hinges for all casement door

e) Installation (Only) of Hood, Hob & Sink

f) 2 Tiers stainless steel dish rack

15ft Quartz surface top to bottom kitchen cabinet

15ft spray painted glass backing between top & bottom kitchen cabinet

Swing door using 10mm thick tempered glass to kitchen entrance

Master Bedroom

10ft L-shape casement wardrobe using laminate finishing c/w internal polykem, blum hinges & 4 nos. of Blum drawers

Full false ceiling w/ cove lighting effect

False wall Tv feature using gypsum board

Master Bathroom

1 nos. of L.3ft x Ht.6ft fix panel using 10mm thick clear tempered glass

Common Bedroom 2

Design, fabricate & install curtain pelmet

Common Bedroom 3

Design, fabricate & install curtain pelmet

Misc work

Supply & lay protection sheet to working area

Supply haulage service, uplifting materials, clear & discards debris off site

Supply & provide general washing to the whole unit

Supply & paint whole unit using ICI/Nippon paint c/w sealant

Supply & provide plumbing works to the unit. (Connect & Install Sink, sink tap, water heater &

accessories)

Edited to include revised items.

Edited April 3, 2014 by CharisOng

[Takaishi 44]

not bad.. but your quote like no have plumbing, installation of accessories cost, and those shower room , fridge and kitchen base.

[CharisOng 15]

not bad.. but your quote like no have plumbing, installation of accessories cost, and those shower room , fridge and kitchen base.

Hmm.. he mentioned to me that bases are inclusive in the haulage.

installation of bathroom accessories & plumbing works also inclusive.

[yan01 29]

Hi Charis,

I totally udn how u feel n wad u hv been tru ... cos I oso forfeited the deposit for the 1st ID b4 engaging this current one. Whenever i recalled the incident my heart pain! ... but nevertheless I still believe I made the right choice n so will u~ Hav a smooth reno journey ahead! can't wait to c ur sharing

[CharisOng 15]

Hi Charis,

I totally udn how u feel n wad u hv been tru ... cos I oso forfeited the deposit for the 1st ID b4 engaging this current one. Whenever i recalled the incident my heart pain! ... but nevertheless I still believe I made the right choice n so will u~ Hav a smooth reno journey ahead! can't wait to c ur sharing

Thanks yan01.. I will be signing the contract later tonight.. hope everything goes well. Let us have smooth reno journey from now onwards! I also cant wait to share. I have to wait for 2 weeks for the 3d to be ready. Hope that BSC get the defects rectified soon..

[jnashville 0]

Hi Charis, mind pming me your ID if your choice? My unit will be ready end of the year. Thanks!

[CharisOng 15]

Hi Charis, mind pming me your ID if your choice? My unit will be ready end of the year. Thanks!

Pm-ed.. Ooo.. Nice.. Time flies very fast one. Soon u will be collecting ur keys.. Sourcing for IDs can be pain in e @ss.. Tiring.. To keep repeating requirements to different people over n over again.. But meeting more ppl will let u learn n gain more ideas on how to improve on everything.

Happy sourcing!!