My Humble Abode (Without Id)

[Lucidacid 4]

#Phase 5 - Aircon Set-up and Boxing up

**Please take note that it looks hideous now because it has not been boxed up yet, and the holes have yet to be plastered and covered. But in my opinion, the aircon trunking and drainage is hideous no matter what.


Master Bedroom

No trunking in this room apart from the door area. We placed the aircon nearer to the window because I'll be sleeping there. My husband is afraid of cold.

Bedroom 2

Trunking in bedroom 2 leading to the aircon in MBR.

Corridor

A shoutout to the people from gain city for doing such a good job. Visited the apartment in the evening and everything looked perfect. Everything was clean, and aircon units were wrapped and taped to the wall. Yes, we paid a lot more but we have heard
that gain city does good installation. We tried switching our units on, and they were very quiet! Previously I was still very worried because nobody we know has gotten MHI.

Edited July 10, 2015 by Lucidacid

[Lucidacid 4]

Hello Fellow Renotalkers,

Would appreciate your kind advices and thoughts on this. Have been in a dilemma for a long long time. Should I do a stucco brick wall effect or a craft stone brick wall?

We are engaging an ID to do this for us, and I'm really grateful to Ivan. I called him in desperation and asked if they were willing to do up just this wall for me. He was so so nice and within 2 days, he met me at my convenience and I choped his services already. Initially the prices that he offered me were the same as my Contractor J, and another contractor whom I've sourced online, Contractor JW. However, after much negotiation, he brought down the price by $1000. $1000 ley!

Stucco Brickwall Effect

Advantages

1) About $1300 cheaper than a Craftstone brick wall.
2) Easier to maintain - no hidden corners or grouts.

3) Takes up lesser space, It's about 3CM thick only.

Disadvantages

1) Looks plain and may look plastic-y

Craftstone Brick wall

Advantages

1) Very expensive because of the labour and quality bricks from Craftstone
2) Very pretty - gives a raw feel and nice to touch

Disadvantages
1) Very expensive due to the materials and labour ((BUT BUT BUT, I managed to bring down the price by $1000. So now it is only $700 more expensive than Stucco... Hehehe I must be all IDs and Contractors' nightmare)
2) Difficult to maintain
3) Takes up more space

Anyway Taobao sells bricks too, however, it's very powdery and Contractor J actually dissuaded us from doing so. One of his clients bought the Taobao bricks and even though they were more than willing to help fix it up, they told me that it really wasn't nice and that it was powdery. Another A* for them because they offered heartfelt advices and suggestions despite the fact I won't be getting them to do this for me...

**Update: We decided to do stucco wall for easier maintenance! (:

Edited August 3, 2015 by Lucidacid

[Lucidacid 4]

Phase #6- CARPENTRY WORKS

It's almost done! After all the sweat, tears and lost brain cells, it's almost done! And I love it!




The recessed area for our shoe cabinet is nicer than it looks. The lights there are not up yet...



Kitchen! 60% done! One of my favorite spot.


Study room table and movable pedestal (There's a reason why it's movable... for practicality)



Cabinet in study room.

Bedroom a little too 'woody'. Hope our bed can neutralise it!

Edited July 23, 2015 by Lucidacid

[dfarvin 0]

How many Feet is your Wardrobe in Master Bedrooom? Thanks in advance.

[Lucidacid 4]

How many Feet is your Wardrobe in Master Bedrooom? Thanks in advance.

Hi dfarvin,

11.5 Feet (:

[zen_zen 0]

hello neighbor! i'm also from rivergrove. could you share your 3 contractor contacts?

[etwinkles 0]

Hello,

1) Can I have your contractor details?

2) Will it be difficult to work with the contractor as I have no experience in renovation?

3) Do they provide warranty as well?

TIA.

[Lucidacid 4]

Hello,

1) Can I have your contractor details?

2) Will it be difficult to work with the contractor as I have no experience in renovation?

3) Do they provide warranty as well?

TIA.

I have no prior experience in renovation too. If you are sure about what you want, working with a contractor will be a breeze. Even for a fickle minded person like me, I still find it manageable. Though hiring and ID will probably be 10 times easier... IDs don't require your approval on every single detail. That's the difference I guess.

Yes, 1 year warranty. If anything is spoilt after that, can also contact them to access the root of the issue.

[keikei 0]

Here is the list of works I've done and the overall price. My am I glad with it. It's my dream house! Hope everything will turn out fine!

1) Study Room

Hack Bedroom 3 wall, one side partial hack, the other side full hack including door.

Glass panels with aluminium frame + Glass door with aluminum frame.

2) Stucco brick wall effect for the entire wall from shoe cabinet onwards.

3) Study table with pedestal on one side of the wall, the cabinet spanning the whole side on the other.

4) Overlay all kitchen and toilet and service yard tiles +

Entrance kerb <- done free!

5) Iquartz U series table top with kitchen cabinets.

6) Vanity cabinet for toilet with Mirror cabinet / Glass panels for toilet

7) Aircon ledge for living room

8) Shoe Cabinet

9) Lighting + Plumbing + Adding of any accessories at any number at anywhere.

10) MBR Wardrobe, Dressing Table etc.

11) Baywindow with storage and PVC Settee

It has everything that we want even though it's my first house. Total cost: Estimated $35k +

My cousin did wardrobe, kitchen cabinet, and false ceiling and she already spent $28k plus with another contractor. So so happy!!

hello Lucidacid, how about Kitchen cabinets? is it included in the total cost? how many feet in total for your kitchen cabinets?

[Sam Lee Poh Huat 0]

Will be answering your questions here, in hope that people with similar questions will benefit from this...

A) Can you share your exp while dealing with contractors especially with your selected ones.

I think firstly, my husband and I decided to prioritize what mattered to us the most. So it goes in this order,

1) Value for money (At first I wanted everything to be cheap, but our relatives told us that cheap will guarantee that the quality will be compromised. Since it is a house, longevity of each item should be a concern instead of being concerned about the price only.)

2) Personal values + morals - I'm just too jaded by unscrupulous IDs and contractors. Sometimes I suspect all they see us as cash cows only. Every ID talks about different things. For example; One of the IDs, told us that iquartz was cheaper than solid top and that solid top was better. I then found out afterwards, that it's nonsense. He also said that Kompacplus was the cheapest. I went to another firm, and they told me Kompacplus is very expensive, but not worth it. The IDs whom I've met smeared each other's name, which is totally different from our personal values. We know we definitely don't want to work with people like that.

Recently, I've placed deposit with this ID to help me do my stucco brick wall effect. I know he isn't the cheapest option, but I just took his offer because I was very tired running about finding the best of everything. His price was reasonable so... After that, he thought I was some silly goose and tried to "tok" me. He quoted me $4200 for craftstone bricks (another alternative for brick wall effect). Other IDs and contractors did not quote me more than $3500. How dare he. I even found one who could do it for me at $3300 (negotiable).

3) Quality - We've been to show flats and see how the quality is like. Like I mentioned above, the contractor whom I have engaged, has immaculate workmanship. Some of the other contractors did not have any show flats for me to visit so I wasn't too sure about them.

B) Do they itemilise your quotation to U and how long did they took to provide ur 3D?

Yes, they do itemize my quotation apart from plumbing works and electricity works, it came at a lump sum package price. Price was reasonable, so I took it. From my understanding (may not apply to all firms in Singapore), IDs will usually not quote you for this yet until they are billed by their electricians. So this is where they will slot in the hidden cost, and mark up their profit margin. My father engaged an ID for his house, and ended up paying so much more than he should if he had engaged a contractor.

It took me 1 week to receive my 3D rendering.

C) My wife's frd share her own exp where Most wld say no prob n yes to everything but end up they over promise n under quote which swell up later with add ons. How diff is J&E when compare to ID?

Whenever J&E says yes to anything, I make it a point to write it down, snapshot the paper and send it to them in the whatsapp group chat. They too, take a photo of the cheque, and contracts and share it in the whatsapp group chat. This ensures transparency. Especially so for J&E when they have 15 or more projects on hand and would probably forget about the nitty gritty details. That could be one of the reasons why I'm enjoying so many additional perks now! Free this, free that! So far, my revised quotation is lower than what it originally was. Kept asking for discount and free things on different days. Horrible me

Hope this isn't too long winded and would help you!

Wow thanks for the detailed explanation, much is appreciated! Can c that they make an extra mile to uphold their work etiquette and of cos, the free things from a reliable contractor is always a bonus. Btw, I think I may hv their contact cos I got a feeling that we are talking abt the same one. PM their contact pls.

[Wei Yan 0]

Hello Fellow Renotalkers,

Would appreciate your kind advices and thoughts on this. Have been in a dilemma for a long long time. Should I do a stucco brick wall effect or a craft stone brick wall?

We are engaging an ID to do this for us, and I'm really grateful to Ivan, the boss of the firm. I called him in desperation and asked if they were willing to do up just this wall for me. He was so so nice and within 2 days, he met me at my convenience and I choped his services already. Initially the prices that he offered me were the same as my Contractor J, and another contractor whom I've sourced online, Contractor JW. However, after much negotiation, he brought down the price by $1000. $1000 ley!

Stucco Brickwall Effect

Advantages

1) About $1300 cheaper than a Craftstone brick wall.

2) Easier to maintain - no hidden corners or grouts.

3) Takes up lesser space, It's about 3CM thick only.

Disadvantages

1) Looks plain and may look plastic-y

Craftstone Brick wall

Advantages

1) Very expensive because of the labour and quality bricks from Craftstone

2) Very pretty - gives a raw feel and nice to touch

Disadvantages

1) Very expensive due to the materials and labour ((BUT BUT BUT, I managed to bring down the price by $1000. So now it is only $700 more expensive than Stucco... Hehehe I must be all IDs and Contractors' nightmare)

2) Difficult to maintain

3) Takes up more space

Anyway Taobao sells bricks too, however, it's very powdery and Contractor J actually dissuaded us from doing so. One of his clients bought the Taobao bricks and even though they were more than willing to help fix it up, they told me that it really wasn't nice and that it was powdery. Another A* for them because they offered heartfelt advices and suggestions despite the fact I won't be getting them to do this for me...

Hi Lucidachid,

You can check with some of the RT forummers on the brickwall from TB. Since they are the home owners, they can tell you if the "flaking" stops after a while. Personally, i will go for stucco as cleaning is never fun for me especially not brickwalls.

But at the end of the day, if you look at the wall & sigh, then might as well go for something you really like. It's your home and your walls after all.

Weiyan

[Lucidacid 4]

Hi Lucidachid,

You can check with some of the RT forummers on the brickwall from TB. Since they are the home owners, they can tell you if the "flaking" stops after a while. Personally, i will go for stucco as cleaning is never fun for me especially not brickwalls.

But at the end of the day, if you look at the wall & sigh, then might as well go for something you really like. It's your home and your walls after all.

Weiyan

Hi Weiyan,

Thank you so much for the advice. I was thinking I'll probably not get many replies and then it will still boil down to my own preference. There are too many posts and since I'm so occupied with the renovation, it's tough to scroll through the many pages and check out the details. Nevertheless, I'll do so next week when I have time. After all, it's a decision i'll have to face all the way till I decide to move out!

Thanks! (:

Edited July 8, 2015 by Lucidacid

[Svalz 0]

Hi I will suggest stucco too. Easier to maintain. Can PM me the contacts for all your 3 contractors including the one that quoted u for the stucco wall?

[Lucidacid 4]

hello Lucidacid, how about Kitchen cabinets? is it included in the total cost? how many feet in total for your kitchen cabinets?

Hi!

Yes it is. Opps! Just realized that it's not inside.

We did a total of 13 feet bottom cabinets, about 9 feet top cabinet and 2 feet full cabinet!

Edited July 8, 2015 by Lucidacid

[Lucidacid 4]

Hi I will suggest stucco too. Easier to maintain. Can PM me the contacts for all your 3 contractors including the one that quoted u for the stucco wall?

Pm-ed you! (: