Look For Good Contractors Asap

[delonchew 0]

PMs sent to lisa_lybu, tightbudget and mint. !!

[GnM 0]

hi all,

Just bought a new 5 room resale flat. Need to do some minor reno work. I know most of the stuff I need to get done hence looking for a good and trustworthy contractor rather than a ID.

Following is the to do list

WHOLE FLAT:

Painting

BATHROOMS

1. Change toliet flooring[both bathroom's], not sure if chemical wash can clean all those stains betwwen the tiles. Advise please !!

2. Add vanity top and mirror in Master bedroom, new wash basin in kitchen toilet.

3. Chemical wash

4. Change folding doors for both bathroom ( I dont like these doors but dunno what to replace with)

BEDROOM & COMMON ROOMs:

1. Change the wardrobe doors in 3 rooms[the original one are a multicolored eyesore, need to change to something with a dark wood finish]

2. Varnish for parquet floor

How much sould the above job cost ?

If anyone's has already done something similar then estimate's would be helpful.

All suggestions will be appreciated.

Thanks.

painting for a 5 room will range around $1k - $1.3k... depending on whether you require a lot of plastering work for your walls.

cost for the above will largely depend on the following:

1) hacking of bathroom tiles... are you doing it or intending to overlay?

2) the price of the tiles you intend to choose... homo? ceremic? slate?

3) chemical wash usually is done to remove cement stains from the tiles... dun think that would be useful for your grouting

4) vanity in the bathroom will also depend on whether you are going for a natural stone or solid surface? Built-in sink?

5) Folding doors can cost anywhere from $200 to $800 depending on the type of door you are getting... glass? plastic? aluminium framed? etc etc... the other alternative to folding doors is the sliding door... or the tradditional door where you open either inwards or outwards... go IMM to check out the selections they have there... then you will get a better idea of what is available for your budget

6) for your wardrobe doors, are they casement or sliding? if you are just changing the laminates, it should set you back a couple of hundred dollars... your contractor should be able to do the job for you... and if you are good at bargaining, you can even get him to do it for you at the cost of the materials !!

7) do a search on the forum... many owners has done their home with parquet... depending on the amount of parquet to polish, the cost differs from home to home

Looking at the amount of work you are requiring, based on a reasonable requirements, $5k -$6k is a rough estimate

[jennyenc 0]

Hi Delon,

Can you PM me? Thanks.

[storeberry 0]

Hi bsed on the quotes i have received, might be around this range. Mine is a 4A

hi all,

Just bought a new 5 room resale flat. Need to do some minor reno work. I know most of the stuff I need to get done hence looking for a good and trustworthy contractor rather than a ID.

Following is the to do list

WHOLE FLAT:

Painting

Around $1000 -$1200

BATHROOMS

1. Change toliet flooring[both bathroom's], not sure if chemical wash can clean all those stains betwwen the tiles. Advise please !!

My toilet flooring is quite dirty, so I will be doing chemical wash, not changing tiles.

2. Add vanity top and mirror in Master bedroom, new wash basin in kitchen toilet.

Depending on what kind of vanity top you are looking for. Buying off the shelf or building from scratch? Miroor costs between $20 (simple) - $100 (nice design) Washbasin fro $100 (simple white one) - $250 (classy balck glass)

3. Chemical wash

Around $180 - $200+

4. Change folding doors for both bathroom ( I dont like these doors but dunno what to replace with)

What I was quoted, alum sliding door X2 $520, the contractor told me bi-fold is cheaper.

BEDROOM & COMMON ROOMs:

1. Change the wardrobe doors in 3 rooms[the original one are a multicolored eyesore, need to change to something with a dark wood finish]

Not sure

2. Varnish for parquet floor

Not sure

How much sould the above job cost ?

If anyone's has already done something similar then estimate's would be helpful.

All suggestions will be appreciated.

Thanks.

!!

[pisces 0]

Sorry folks,

I missed posting on this thread for quite a while.

Thanks storeberry, GnM, Lady luck and applefreak for your advice.

I did check with some contractors but it turned out that the expense for ID and contractor didn't hv much difference.

The contractors costed a little less, but I would have to spend the time and effort to watch everything they do very closely and since usuallly I am very busy at work I cannot afford to spend the time to supervise everything.

So I decided to go for a ID.

Since the work at my place is almost done , My suggestion to all those looking for contractors is to consider a contractor only if you are 100% sure of what you want to get done to the smallest detail and if you have few weeks of time to watch the work closely.

For a job like painting floor , chemical wash, floor polish and the likes u could definitely go for a contractor but cases where carepentery and such stuff is invloved an ID would be better.

With ID's u can easily get suggestions for designs and hv more choices due to thier experience and they don't expect to be told each and everything. Most of the items can be left to them for a small extra cost.

Like Lady luck said above just ensure that you get a good ID otherwise ur reno might be your worst night mare !!

I was recommeded a very good contractor by one of the forumers here and though I am sure the contractor was good at the job, I was not able to use him becuase I didn't have enough time to commit my self for the reno.

Edited March 13, 2007 by pisces

[yummygum 0]

Sorry folks,

I missed posting on this thread for quite a while.

Thanks storeberry, GnM, Lady luck and applefreak for your advice.

I did check with some contractors but it turned out that the expense for ID and contractor didn't hv much difference.

The contractors costed a little less, but I would have to spend the time and effort to watch everything they do very closely and since usuallly I am very busy at work I cannot afford to spend the time to supervise everything.

So I decided to go for a ID.

Since the work at my place is almost done , My suggestion to all those looking for contractors is to consider a contractor only if you are 100% sure of what you want to get done to the smallest detail and if you have few weeks of time to watch the work closely.

For a job like painting floor , chemical wash, floor polish and the likes u could definitely go for a contractor but cases where carepentery and such stuff is invloved an ID would be better.

With ID's u can easily get suggestions for designs and hv more choices due to thier experience and they don't expect to be told each and everything. Most of the items can be left to them for a small extra cost.

Like Lady luck said above just ensure that you get a good ID otherwise ur reno might be your worst night mare

I was recommeded a very good contractor by one of the forumers here and though I am sure the contractor was good at the job, I was not able to use him becuase I didn't have enough time to commit my self for the reno.

Sharing my experience with u, I did had the same feeling as u when i went to a ID instead of contractor. Very wrong decision!! There were no supervision at all for the work and quality, workmanship, attitude were real down the drain. U can read more if u do a search on my postings recently...

Good luck to u!

[pisces 0]

Sharing my experience with u, I did had the same feeling as u when i went to a ID instead of contractor. Very wrong decision!! There were no supervision at all for the work and quality, workmanship, attitude were real down the drain. U can read more if u do a search on my postings recently...

Good luck to u!

I hv read your story and sympathize with you.

As I said above earlier we must ensure that we get a good ID otherwise the reno might be our worst nightmare, looks like in your case the ID wasn't good but we can't use this as a bench mark for all ID's. Similarly for contractors I am sure someone might hv had a bad exp with a contractor as well but that shouldn't imply that all contractors can't be trusted.

My reno work is almost 80% done and so far with my ID I haven't faced any issues, infact there were some minor problems which were promptly rectified by the ID without any hassles. Hope it stays that way till the end.

Bottomline is whether its a contractor or ID , we must ensure that we give the work to a trusted, experienced and recommended person.

[sxdrft 0]

Hi Delon,

Can you PM me your contractor's contact as well? Thanks.

[dizzy 1]

Hi Delon,

Can I have your contractor's contact too ? Thanks.

[dstme 0]

I hv read your story and sympathize with you.

As I said above earlier we must ensure that we get a good ID otherwise the reno might be our worst nightmare, looks like in your case the ID wasn't good but we can't use this as a bench mark for all ID's. Similarly for contractors I am sure someone might hv had a bad exp with a contractor as well but that shouldn't imply that all contractors can't be trusted.

My reno work is almost 80% done and so far with my ID I haven't faced any issues, infact there were some minor problems which were promptly rectified by the ID without any hassles. Hope it stays that way till the end.

Bottomline is whether its a contractor or ID , we must ensure that we give the work to a trusted, experienced and recommended person.

I found a good and reasonable contrator who can coordinate all the works except some minor things. Saw his workmanship. But last miniute, my place is in talk on enbloc. So did not engage him to do it.

Pisces, it is a chicken and egg. ID and contractor.

Yes it is good to have ID. Afterall he do all coordination with his contrators. But it really depends entirely on his skill and all his contractors or subcons. Most ID have few jobs on hand and use different teams to work together. Some teams can work together and some can't even they are coordinated with same ID and depending on the job scope (big or small). Some IDs are new and may make sure all his new project is good or else close his shop. So it is often heard members in this forum saying his or her ID is good for the 1st project but then no good on 2nd project. Or doing great job on one house but nay on the others. Overall, most work is handle by your ID not you. Good workmanship on your place will depend alot on you, ID and contractor luck!

To engage contractors, you have to know them all. Call and meet them individually at least get quotation and look at their current job. If engage individually, they may not work together as a team, and it takes great effort on your side to do coordination. Some contractors can handle most of the things. ie. contrators who know nuts about design but has his own teams in electric, plumbing, wetwork, false ceiling etc. But you have to get your own materials unless you ask them. Overall, a lot of work on your side whether you get a good or bad contractors. After all, even ID has to get them to do the job.

Then of course the money part! Dollar and cents. Depending on your experince, nego skill and how much is the job, some ID or contrators look at us like printing money machines and sometime just because our face not nice, they simply do the job. what to do??? But one thing I have to say is ID here is ripping people off. If you know their running cost and the profit they make, you will understand my points here. ID comes and goes. Remember they only do some fancy drawing and coordination works and some other minor things + ideas (money cannot buy ideas but can buy reno magazine). Most work is done by their contrators. But the bulk of money goes to ID. Of course I'm not say all ID do that but majority of them....99%. As you know every single line of quote, there is a high mark-up on top of what they give to their contrators. how much it depends on their greed For example, false ceiling? Direct from false ceiling, you can get about $1.70 to $1.90 psf (incl. labour and material) but going thru ID, the quote is range from $2.60 to above $4.00psf. Sure, they need some profit to do their job but it is easy and almost no coordination work here! Wait!....ID tell you to save cost, he brings you to tiles shop and choose your tile, and the owner will give you best price..discount some more! He doen't get a cent from them. I'm sure you don't believe that, right? Um...you may ask him, he may tell ..aiya only 5% commission-mah, to cover travelling cost and time spend. Reasonable, right? Oops....their commission is not 5%, but 30%.

So overall, price is a factor depending on your budget. However, most of us will say we have tight budget.

For me, I will check thru few reasonable IDs (don't simply simply get quote..lah) and few contractors. Then compare all of them so you can start bargain (must bargain) with them before giving your project to either ID or contractors. ...last factor to consider is do you have time?

[pisces 0]

dstme , Agree with you.

I think there is another simpler way to avoid nasty surprises. You can control the payments, though this approach is not completely risk free.

10 % pmt on Initiation

40 % pmt on 50% work completion

25 % Post dated cheque on 50% work completion - Here the post dated date should be a week after the expected completion date.

25% pmt on renovation completion.

Anytime time in between if you have serious problems with ur ID/cont just withold the payment. U may incur a loss but it 'll be a max loss of 50% at any point rather than losing 100%.

What do you all think ? but I dont think the ID and contractor ll agree to this.

Edited March 14, 2007 by pisces

[dstme 0]

From what I know that is what the usual payment scheme.

10% 40% 40% and 10% after completion. Some may differ slightly but your ID or contractor should agree with that.

[delonchew 0]

PMs sent to jennyenc, sxdrft and dizzy.

dstme, how's your renovations coming along? I've just pm-ed you the latest photos of my place.

[limko 0]

Hi Delon,

Can you also share with me your contact? Thanks.

cynhalim@gmail.com

[dstme 0]

PMs sent to jennyenc, sxdrft and dizzy.

dstme, how's your renovations coming along? I've just pm-ed you the latest photos of my place.

Hi Delon,

Reno has not started yet. I'm still scratching my tiny head on what to do.... My place starts talking enbloc So not sure if it is successful or not. I'm against enbloc on my place. Now not sure if I will do major reno.

I was going to do loft with bare staircase for my study cum office. But now, still thinking. What do you think?

Your place is a "bang"! Wow almost finish and pretty pink wall. Just like my current room. Can't wait for your deco and furniture.