15 Shades of Grey - 4 RM BTO @ Woodlands Glen

[matchalatte 16]

hey! hows everything? sorry i havent been coming to renotalk v often nowadays, gotta re-read a few pages back. i dont really understand the part about you using another contractor for tabletop (justin) or is it the whole island counter? how come u didnt go with R&R? also, you mentioned yr island is 70+cm including the top, its actually dining table height. definitely too low to use as a worktop. have they rectified? and how are they going to increase the height unless they redo it? cant possibly be that they put something at the bottom of the island to make it higher right? 

[Clarence Lye 10]

15 hours ago, KFC1189 said:

I am sorry to hear your quality issues. It seems to me your carpenter was trying to rush through your job and forgot to patch up any mistake that they made.

 

Sighs. Yah, tomorrow is the day. If they can't deliver, then too bad for them. Gonna not pay for the remaining.
They did too much damage to my kitchen walls!!

Look at the ugly holes at the washing machine area, and also the "wooden plank" to support my ledge is not even BALANCE/equal.
How to accept?? 

also, the bracket to support the ledge is so fugly. I thought ledge should be like a plank of wood stuck into the wall nicely kind. then with kompacplus on top?
Seems like not the case. Justin apparently used some ugly L shape bracket that is so old school and ugly and huge.

5 hours ago, matchalatte said:

hey! hows everything? sorry i havent been coming to renotalk v often nowadays, gotta re-read a few pages back. i dont really understand the part about you using another contractor for tabletop (justin) or is it the whole island counter? how come u didnt go with R&R? also, you mentioned yr island is 70+cm including the top, its actually dining table height. definitely too low to use as a worktop. have they rectified? and how are they going to increase the height unless they redo it? cant possibly be that they put something at the bottom of the island to make it higher right? 

hello~! Been good just that facing problem with this contractor that we engaged for the island/toilet door/ledge.
It's the whole Island (incl of table top) that we engaged Justin to do.

Justin is the contractor that is currently handling my parents-in-law's house renovation. He was previously from *** Interior.
He took over our initial ID (for my in-laws house), as we didnt like him and have some issues with him. Apparently, both of them moved to this company call Dezign Station (located at Tradehub 21) 

So we also ask him to quote us some of stuffs and find it quite reasonable pricing, but totally didnt expect that the quality is ...  x 999999...

Reason i didnt go with R&R is because of the pricing. 
R&R quoted me is about 5k (if remember correctly) for toilet door + island with ceasarstone top - 5141 (Frosty Carrina) as this colour belongs to the 2nd most expensive range of the ceasarstone as claimed by R&R.

With the same price, i can get additional ledge installed to put my kitchen mixer and air fryer.

Actually, this is just bullsh**. Ceasarstone themself don't charge you different price base on the type  you select. It's the same price for all across. Just that we consumer can't deal direct as there is MOQ.

The reason higher price is given maybe because of the MOQ they has to hit for certain model/etc, not because it falls under the Super Natural series it demands such high price per foot run.

Justin quoted me about 3.5k for everything (island, top, toilet door, ledge)

If you were me, i think you will go for Justin? 
I was thinking.. how bad can it be since he's from ***. Oh boy, i was so wrong...

Island height is not suppose to be 70+, all along i told him that i want it to match my countertop. He keep saying he noted, but till now.. it's the same.
I dont even think his carpenter that's coming tomorrow will even remember this. Justin say that they will insert wood underneath the top to increase the height.


Sighs, big regret now. Should just save up and wait abit more and just get R&R to do the job.
At least their workmanship is there and i don't have to worry.

 

really is 一分钱，一分货 (what you pay is what you get.)

 

 

 

*edit:

We just had a conference call with Justin (me, le wife, Justin), he himself say that he's not confident that his guys can complete the task tomorrow. So, to cut the story short, we are calling off the whole thing.

Things that we are going to retain:
- ceasarstone counter top (for the island, if he dont want to take back, i'll keep it and get R&R to rectify)
- kompacplus top + plywood support (he has to cut and give me the correct size as per the top
- common toilet door (he will get his guys to come replace the door 1-1 to the glass panel on tuesday. The price i paid for comes with glass panel but they installed hard PVC  instead. Cheat money!)

Told him to re-calculate the cost, and also told him that we won't be topping up him any amount as all the works are not complete.

Also separately, called my ID - Danielle and told her about these issues. She must be thinking that why I dont engage her to do these in the first place.
Oh well, it's always the cost issue. I ask her to check with her carpenters if they can come re-laminate all all the defect laminates on the island and ledge. Told her that we can pay for the labour and materials, she say ok but still waiting confirmation on this.

Anyway, that's how things are at this moment.
Cheap = not good
Good = not cheap
Conclusion: Cheap + Good = dont exist. 

Edited December 28, 2017 by Clarence Lye

[infinity2015 1]

sorry to hear this .... always find difficult to deal with IDs and contractors when they dont deliver ...

anyway, from what i know, caesarstone does have a pricing across the range (price range from 120-520 pfr for classico), supernatural frosty carrina, 20mm for width 600mm (20mm flat polish) is 190 pfr and 40mm downturn is 210 pfr. For Island top 700-900mm is 250 pfr 20mm, 40mm downturn is 290 pfr etc.  

May I know how much is the Blum related hinges and doors cost? blum is very expensive ...

Edited December 28, 2017 by infinity2015

[Clarence Lye 10]

13 hours ago, infinity2015 said:

sorry to hear this .... always find difficult to deal with IDs and contractors when they dont deliver ...

anyway, from what i know, caesarstone does have a pricing across the range (price range from 120-520 pfr for classico), supernatural frosty carrina, 20mm for width 600mm (20mm flat polish) is 190 pfr and 40mm downturn is 210 pfr. For Island top 700-900mm is 250 pfr 20mm, 40mm downturn is 290 pfr etc.  

May I know how much is the Blum related hinges and doors cost? blum is very expensive ...

Hi @infinity2015, yah. especially when both doesnt have the same workmanship/quality and eye for detail.

my island top that r&r quote me is around the high 350s pfr. it's a 6ft island, so the top alone cost 2100 and onwards.

Blum related hinges and door are all included as part of the agreed "standard" hinges/mechanism that i wanted.
same for both R&R and Justin.

Blum really has the quality and it's very sturdy as compared to other hinges. They are expensive for a reason. hahah. 

 

 

Bonus picture for today:


Chilling with a glass of coffee on my island.
It seems that Justin is not taking back the island table. i will make do with it first. Also, checking with R&R if they want to do this "sai kang" to re-laminate and touch up the island + increase the height.
still pending reply.

Edited December 29, 2017 by Clarence Lye

[Clarence Lye 10]

Yesterday Justin painter came to touch up all the damage walls in my kitchen/service yard, but look at their workmanship/quality. Sighs. 
I can't take it anymore, just have to do it myself. No longer trust any of their people. 

This is status as of now, i think i can do a much better job in patching the hole and painting than them. Seriously. Maybe i should change job be a painter instead. 
The washing machine that 3 holes very hard to putty, already did of layers and the holes are still visible. Looks like i need to do another layer again.. *sighs*

can't live with these holes on the wall. *OCD kicks in* 

This is their standard vs my standard (although not perfect, but better..?)

Edited December 29, 2017 by Clarence Lye

[Clarence Lye 10]

Happy new year all.

 

fixed up all my fortytwo chairs and placed them.


Not forgetting the countdown party with a "mini barrel" 

 

Manage to bake some cookies over the weekend. Finally open my kitchenaid to use. (forget to take picture):

 

 

not forgetting my island "drama"
Justin still want to get his carpenter fixed the island and not charging us anything, oh well. Why not? Let him do whatever he wants.

So, his carpenter came today to fix all the damage laminates. They also fixed the blum inner drawer to my island and guess what?
This is after fixing:

Like a seriously? You know that it can't work, and you still proceed to fix? How is anyone going to put their hands inside and take things? I wonder where the common sense gone to. 
Anyway, i told him to remove the inner drawer and shift it to the bottom drawer instead. Told me need another 2-3days to re-fabricate the drawer door. Oh well.

 

 

Edited January 2, 2018 by Clarence Lye

[geneo79 0]

Happy New Year!

I like the color tone of your master bedroom toilet.

Do you mind to share the color code from hafary?

Thanks!

[Clarence Lye 10]

On 1/6/2018 at 10:52 PM, geneo79 said:

Happy New Year!

I like the color tone of your master bedroom toilet.

Do you mind to share the color code from hafary?

Thanks!

hi @geneo79, sure. Pm-ed u.



Anyway, we just found out  feel that my caesarstone island top doesn't seems so authentic (anyone know how to check/confirm this)?
I did a thorough cleaning/polishing of the top yesterday and found stain marks, scratch marks on it. -.-

Is it that lousy? Inferior caesarstone maybe? very doubtful on the islandtop now.
le wife also doubtful on the colour we wanted, we wanted 5141 but suspecting this table is 5111.

Have contacted caesarstone via email and FB messenger, hope they respond soon.

[Clarence Lye 10]

2 hours ago, andotang said:

Have you read here?

http://www.caesarstone.com.au/about-us/insist-on-caesarstone

To ensure you have certified Caesarstone® brand products, check the underside of the bench top for the genuine, authentic identification information.

After installation and on receipt of your warranty registration information, we will provide you with a complimentary Caesarstone cleaning kit and a genuine stainless steel Caesarstone Authenticity Badge (this badge demonstrates authenticity of your Caesarstone product which you can attach to your countertop).

Did you register for the 10 yrs warranty?

Do read the care instruction carefully to take care of your worktop.

http://www.caesarstone.sg/en/Customer-Service/Pages/Care-Maintenance.aspx

i'm waiting for Justin to provide me the warranty/receipt. till now he has been "delaying" and not giving it to me.
Care instructions wise, i have read it. 

There's no way to check the underside of the caesarstone top as the top is too heavy to lift up and check/look.
But thanks for sharing. 

I'll be contacting Caesarstone SG later to check.. Caesarstone told me they need my purchase receipt and etc then they can schedule an appointment to come down and take a look at my slab.

Edited January 8, 2018 by Clarence Lye

[Clarence Lye 10]

so.. what happen 2days ago:

- the supplier (hua hien i think) that Justin ordered the caesarstone from, came to "check" on the scratches as i found new scratches and reported it to him
- clarified with caesarstone and Justin, these scratches are caused by machines, not by daily usage as it's deep scratch. unless i use a drill and drill into the top.

And guess what, those guys came, did dont know what kind of polish.. now there's ugly stains on it. There's a rectangle and oval faded mark there.

 

Told Justin to bring it back to caesarstone/his supplier for warranty. He say they will replace another one for me, installation is Sat or Mon.
Oh well, let's see.

anyway, we lifted up the whole top. there's no serial/numbers underneath the slab. Apart from the invoice (that he say will be giving me), there is no way to proof the authenticity of it. 

[bykaraanne 30]

That’s unfortunate! Never thought that there could be a possibility of Contractors installing fake Caesarstone! What!! 

But I was told that although Caesarstone is well-respected for quality, some Contractors found that certain colours stained easily. Odd. I always thought Quartz were virtually indestructible from day-to-day use. 

Hope your issues get rectified ASAP! 

[Clarence Lye 10]

7 hours ago, bykaraanne said:

That’s unfortunate! Never thought that there could be a possibility of Contractors installing fake Caesarstone! What!! 

But I was told that although Caesarstone is well-respected for quality, some Contractors found that certain colours stained easily. Odd. I always thought Quartz were virtually indestructible from day-to-day use. 

Hope your issues get rectified ASAP! 

i wasnt expecting it too.. *sighs*

till date, i'm waiting for the invoice/evidence that my caesarstone top is authentic.
If it's original and authentic, why cant just send me at least the soft copy of invoice? have to delay SOOOO long. (maybe waiting for someone else to get the same model/colour as me).

Stains and scratches shouldnt just appear that easily from day to day use, it's meant to be stronger and tougher.. but seems otherwise (if this is real caesarstone)
 

[orihs2015 0]

On 27/09/2017 at 11:37 AM, Clarence Lye said:

 

It's Ash Grey (5087) on the left and Mysterious (8151) on the right. 

 

Hi, 

i like the color on the left side of the wall. but it looks different from the ash grey on the nippon sample book. Do you mind taking another photo of your wall? 

Thank you!

[Clarence Lye 10]

 

On 1/18/2018 at 9:13 AM, orihs2015 said:

Hi, 

i like the color on the left side of the wall. but it looks different from the ash grey on the nippon sample book. Do you mind taking another photo of your wall? 

Thank you!

Hi @orihs2015,

picture below, sorry for the late picture.

 

 

Updates
Apologies, been busy and MIA-ed for awhile.
Here are some pictures of my replacement island, this time - this is definitely authentic as it comes with the "serial" printing as you can see below. The previous table doesnt have such printing.
On Saturday, the Caesarstone guy also came down to check my table and told me that no matter what, all their tops will be printed with the "serial".

Was lucky that i spotted this and have it replaced! If not i will be using a non-caesarstone top and assuming it is! Felt so cheated. Super dishonest. 

 

Some of the Lego display are done, will take a full picture once everything is completed. 

 

On Saturday, we went down to Blum and purchased the cutlery inserts/trays. Here are the pictures comparing before and after.
It is SO much neater now. 

I have yet to fix the non-slip mat, as it's about $17+ per roll. Dont want to anyhow cut and spoil it.

Anyway, i have asked R&R's carpenter to fix my island and ledge.
So waiting for them to revert back, the carpenter came last week to measure and quote.

Rough quote to fix the island shakiness, change wheels, fix the laminates, install ledge + suspended cabinet will cost me about 800+
Shouldn't have scrimp and save, and should do it all at once. Now i seems to be paying more and having so much problem. 

 

 

 

Lastly..... 3M

I so pissed off with 3M products, not sure if it's the wall, the paint or their products.
TWO TIMES, i use their product and it feel off - TOGETHER WITH THE PAINT. 

I use their product to hang my BoomJoy mop at service yard.

 

End up, i have to touch up using putty and paint AGAIN!!!!!

I might just end up repainting the whole service yard wall with wallsealer and then painting it over again.
The problem might be because of the wall.

For my future house, i will make sure that all my walls are painted with WALLSEALER before anything else! 

 

 

Edited January 29, 2018 by Clarence Lye

[kingandbin 13]

Omg, the peeling paint on your service yard wall looks pretty bad. The paint around that area looks like they're also lifted off the wall already! Did applying putty and repainting cause it to look like new again, or can you still tell that the patch has been touched up?

There's a small patch of paint on my living room wall that came off because I used 3M tape to attach a key holder there. Beneath it the wall is grey (and looks like concrete? why?!)  I've no idea what to do with it apart from sticking the holder back over the hole so no one else can tell what's going on. Lol. 

Edited January 29, 2018 by kingandbin