My Quotation

The winning factor for my contractor was both the price and his flexibility. I had my fair share of speaking to IDs/contractors and probably (i'm trying to find excuses for them) they r working for their companies, they cannot be as flexible as Ah Soon when negotiating for the best deal. Each time i add/remove an item from the list, they will have to re-quote and get back to me again, which sometimes take as long as wks!

For the fact that Ah Soon is so busy, he would rather be upfront of all the prices and quotations, as well as FOCs - one very gd point abt him. However, his 'package' also came with a lot of 'aeroplane flying' (otherwise known as no-show) during our appts. Well, its was kinda a give and take situation we had to bear with at the initial stage.

Having thrown in many many misc items, my quotation came up to $21k+, with a briefly translated English quotation (he doesn't understand English and got someone to help him with it), it summed up to be the following:

Toilet & Kitchen
Hacking for 2 toilet wall and floor tiles
Hacking for kitchen wall and floor tiles
Removal of kitchen cabinet
Supply & lay 2 toilet wall and floor tiles (<$3psf)
Supply & install 2 fixed glass screen (without door) at MBR toilet
Install 2 WC and 2 basins Install toilet accessories at 2 toilets - FOC
Supply & install 2 PD doors for 2 toilets
Supply & install 1 waterproof chair at MBR toilet
Supply & lay kitchen wall and floor tiles (<$3psf)
Construct 2inch base for kitchen cabinet and washing machine
Supply & install 11ft kitchen cabinet (top & bottom) - Extended to 14ft @ no additional charges Supply & install 11ft Bellus solid surface top - Extended to 14ft @ no additional cost
Supply & install stainless stain backing at kitchen cabinet (hob area) - FOC
To seal up kitchen half wall
Supply & install 1 top-track sliding door at kitchen entrance
Supply & install stainless stain water piping for toilets & kitchen (inclusive of 2 hot water piping shower point)
Alter kitchen window grills - FOC
Supply & change window panes at 2 toilets - FOC

Living Room & Bedroom, Misc
Supply & install false ceiling for living room area (w 10-12 lighting points)
Supply & install half wall at living room area with 5ft TV console - Extended to 6ft @ no additional cost
Supply & install wrought iron window grills at living rm and bedroom 3
Supply & install wrought iron main gate
Supply & install 5ft TV cabinet at MBR (half height)
Flushing of beam in MBR with half wall gyspum board - FOC
Supply & install 4ft shoe cabinet at living room (included an extra cushion seat FOC)
Supply & change location of DB box location and box up of wall area
Wash & polish marble floor for whole unit
Plastering for whole unit (inclusive of ceiling)
Painting of whole units, doors and pipes (unlimited no. of colors, ceiling limited to white only)
Supply and install 8 ft cabinet w sliding doors under windows in Bedroom 2 - FOC
Shifting of existing power points - FOC
Change all existing power point and switches cover - FOC
Design wooden strip at main door - FOC
Supply & install additional 5 double power points - FOC
Supply & install 3 SCV points - FOC
Supply & install 2 telephone points - FOC
Supply & change main door lock and all room doors lock - FOC
Supply & change door viewer at main door - FOC
Supply & change door latch (x2) at main door - FOC
Supply & cover vent area above 2 bedroom doors - FOC


My house is currently in the midst of rectification for some minor upsets here and there. With no hiccups, i would expect my renovation to be within $21k even after the variation order.

The ID/Contractor Search. Part 2

It was a tough fight for us. Wants vs Needs. But who doesn’t love a pretty house to stay in?


Apart from realising our tight budget will never fit us into any IDs, we realised most of the ID seems to be only following my exactly layout. We know exactly what we want and I dictate very much the space planning. At end of the day, i realised i didn’t need to pay someone at a higher price to do all these planning for me.


Reading the reno forums gives much idea and recommendations to IDs/contractors. That is one very powerful channel for research. Otherwise, proceed with caution at Expo Home Fairs and IMM - there are lots of very intimidating sales personels. It is always gd to find out who are the highly raved IDs/contractors before approaching them. Speak direct to the person you wanna work with, at least u know for sure he/she is experienced and not some designer-wannabe fresh from schools.


The list of IDs we’ve approached and their brief review:

1) Unique D*sign (ID) - Extremely horrible hardselling and refusing to let us leave their showrm without paying the $1.5k for them to do up six 3D rendering. Price is high, but with lousy quality. No surprises abt that, i’ve been seeing their -ve reviews everywhere online.


2) Menag* Dzign (ID) - Dealed w a initially-nice young chap who turned extremely boastful abt his own designs eventually. Cunning to left out the wardrobe in his quotation so that it will meet my budget. When i say i have a budget, i expect everything to be done within that budget.


3) InnerRm (ID) - One of the more true blue designing house, which i’m really comfortable w. Sadly, that came w a high price tag too.


4) A&D (ID) - Gd reviews online, reasonably priced for ID range. Sincere ID attended to us (he’s one of the boss of the family biz anyway). But still abv my budget.

5) GPlan (ID) - Supposedly gd review online. Called me to complain abt his company’s problem, his fellow coll who absconded w customers’ payment for a WHOLE 30mins! And never came back w any quotation even after mths. Absurd.

At this point of time, my dearest decided to increase the renovation item list!
More things to do but w the same budget = TIGHTER BUDGET! So the list goes on…

6) Ideal House (ID), Impress21 (Contractor) - Gd reviews online as well, but never met up at all so no reviews 1st impressions. Unable to match my miserable budget.


It boiled down to last 3 candidates:

7) JGH (Contractor) - Recommended by coll n i even went up to view the two completed houses. Disappointed w the carpentry finishing, but if prices were to match, i could probably close an eye.

8 ) Relative (Contractor) - Family pressure, we had to approach him. i’m the least comfy w this arrangement because it is always harder to do things with relatives. Esp when i’m a fussy person by nature.

9) Ah Soon (Contractor) - Superman contractor who won my deal. His carpentry’s better than JGH and cheaper as well. The only minus point - he’s a super busy man that i have difficulty catching up w his speed over the phone. Our conversation never lasts for more than 1min.


Apart from the budget bursting, there are always 101 possibilities that things can go wrong in renovation. Go with someone that you feel comfortable with, talking n working. Extremely important!

The Contractor/ID Search - Part 1

Ever since the deposit was made and while waiting for the 1st appt with HDB, we started our search for the right one to do up our house. It was in a shift-in condition to those who aren’t fussy and particular, esp people like our parents. But further scrutinizing the unit, we believe we would be a little upset if we didnt do up our house the way we wanted it to be.

Now, an ID or a contractor?

ID (aka Interior Designers): most (not all) provides more visual aids and conceptualise the interior layout of the house to your liking and preference. It would be easier to visualise the output of the renovation with 3D pictures almost 90% similar to the actual end-product. Besides the visual part, coordination work from giving instructions to contractors/carpenters, right down to selection of lightings and furnishings, they will be there to advise.

Contractors: simply just provide the work. Usually does not come with any 3D pics. Hand-drawn perspective layout and simple furnishing advise, they may be able to help. But in general, they just follow your instructions and do the job. You’ll have to be the own designer for your house. Gd enough if u have a very strong idea of how u want your house to turn out. The $ saved from using a contractor could well be used to buy designer furnishings/ornaments that could always turn your house into another showroom.

So… which one?

After searching for months, asking for quotes after quotes, we have came to a conclusion that IDs generally charge MUCH higher for the same amt of work. Tight on budget = Contractor. Unless you are willing to forgo some not-as-important-work and allow the budget to be spent on those deemed as higher priority. Then again… its gonna be HARD! Very hard in fact.

Rule of thumb: whether speaking to an ID or contractor, ALWAYS (!!) give them a lower budget. Give them your actual budget, most likely they are gonna hit it exactly…and when u top a few items here n there, it’s gonna burst ur budget by a gd 10-20%. This… i’ve gathered from my own experiences as well as from feedbacks from various reno blogs.

Just to have a feel of the difference. My initial proposed works cost me $24k - $28k to get an ID. After throwing in additional overhaul for another toilet, kitchen floor/wall tiles in my reno list, contractors are quoting me ard $24k. Now, feel the diff?

**$24k isn’t the lowest, btw. My final contractor quoted me even lower.