Renovation to your homes

[Bigfatfish]

I thought I read somewhere in this forum that if we use the services of Interior Designers we sure tio tok because they will mark up high. Is this true? But ID will help with sourcing for contractors to do other works, right? Or is it better to find your own contractors as far as possible?

Hi Frodo

my point of view. Yes and no.

reason: how many IDs are real IDs? most are cut and paste. it's hard to find a real id who can really conceptualize what one really wants. how many IDs know what they are talking about? how many know about space planning? how many dare to make decisions? what is a good id? i received the following this morning from a neighbour, i used to be from the renovation / construction sector in singapore.

" Bro, you know after being exposed to you and Mr XXXXXXX, and your contact.... somehow i have not much regard to ID and the so call interior design company lei....."

Strong marketing in Sg is what makes the company very popular. I have worked with IDs who are totally clueless about what they are doing. No concept of space planning. Yes they can draw, but many get their certs, diplomas, degrees from design schools. with no disrespect to them, many lack true experience in the entire building process which is very important and also to design and to stay in one, and to know where the mistakes are being made are very important.

I showed another friend what can be done and he came out with things out of this world, very very pretty however, space planning was entirely lacking. not his fault, his first ever project. Design & get contractors to build , DIY yourself. An experience of a lifetime.

When you have some thing that others don't have, it's beautiful.

you also need to be able to know what sort of materials to source for and also what type of materials your contractors are using.

Good luck.

 

[Bigfatfish]

Do not do full height cabinet unless you really need it. the empty space can be cover up, freeing up lesser materials to be used.

Anyone dare to rip off the ceiling boards and extend your ceiling to greater heights ?

Which are the areas for say cabinet needs to bigger? smaller? wider? narrower? stronger? vertical? horizontal? know what you need and have you have. do not do things you want, do things you need .

 

[1nottiboy]

I wouldn't call this tio tok cos the main reasons for using ID are for coordination and guarantee.

if you are doing big reno, there is a lot of coordination between the various sub-cons. e.g. hacking, then piping, then installation, then painting, etc. unless you have a lot of time, its better to let the ID handle all these. also if things not done up to your expectations, you chase the ID, then ID chase the sub-cons for you. much easier than you having to chase the individual sub-cons yourself.

but IDs are just like clothings. you have the mass mkt and you have the bespoke types. the mass mkt ones usually just sell you pre-package plans with little room for alteration. the bespoken type is like a professional tailor. they can customise most things and have very detailed drawings. having used both types before, I would say the bespoke type is better. more expensive but quality of work is much higher. my house in sg was 10 years old so the design was dated and hardware very worn. we got the ID to do everything from floor tiles to customising my wardrobe and work desk.

but having said that, I do not know how they work in MY. i dunno if their "good" IDs are good enough. if your needs require no hacking and only need carpentry and flooring etc, then maybe you can find your own sub cons. But if you need piping and electrical points then going with the ID might save you pain in the long run. cos this field can get quite messy and the ID can sometimes foresee your needs and will ask if you need a lighting point here or there. if you engage a sub-con yourself, chances are that you tell him where to build and he just builds. its his job to build, not to foresee your needs.

hope this helps

I thought I read somewhere in this forum that if we use the services of Interior Designers we sure tio tok because they will mark up high. Is this true? But ID will help with sourcing for contractors to do other works, right? Or is it better to find your own contractors as far as possible?

 

[Frodo]

If you want to decorate to a gd std, it's no joke. You will need the following:-

Foyer furniture, living room sofa & coffee table, living room TV console, living room air-con, dining table & chairs set, hood, hob, oven, kitchen sink,

6 fans, 4 bedroom set (including wardrobes, side tables, mattresses, bedframes), staircase cabinet, down-lights & dining light, 4 heaters, 4 washroom cabinets,

fridge, washer, curtains, water purifier, autogate, alarm, balcony furniture set, small family hall sofa/coffee table / TV console,

LOL! No joke indeed! Mine comes with complimentary aircon units and complimentary designer kitchen cabinets and wardrobes in all rooms. So I was thinking only need to touch up here and there with not much additional cost. I prefer full height because I hate cleaning layers of dusts on top.

 

[Frodo]

I wouldn't call this tio tok cos the main reasons for using ID are for coordination and guarantee.

if you are doing big reno, there is a lot of coordination between the various sub-cons. e.g. hacking, then piping, then installation, then painting, etc. unless you have a lot of time, its better to let the ID handle all these. also if things not done up to your expectations, you chase the ID, then ID chase the sub-cons for you. much easier than you having to chase the individual sub-cons yourself.

but IDs are just like clothings. you have the mass mkt and you have the bespoke types. the mass mkt ones usually just sell you pre-package plans with little room for alteration. the bespoken type is like a professional tailor. they can customise most things and have very detailed drawings. having used both types before, I would say the bespoke type is better. more expensive but quality of work is much higher. my house in sg was 10 years old so the design was dated and hardware very worn. we got the ID to do everything from floor tiles to customising my wardrobe and work desk.

but having said that, I do not know how they work in MY. i dunno if their "good" IDs are good enough. if your needs require no hacking and only need carpentry and flooring etc, then maybe you can find your own sub cons. But if you need piping and electrical points then going with the ID might save you pain in the long run. cos this field can get quite messy and the ID can sometimes foresee your needs and will ask if you need a lighting point here or there. if you engage a sub-con yourself, chances are that you tell him where to build and he just builds. its his job to build, not to foresee your needs.

hope this helps

Thanks for sharing. First time greenie for me so any advice from the "old birds" here would be much appreciated! My budget is S$25000/RM75000 which may not be realistic compared to the over RM100K that many are incurring. Only wish got deeper pocket so no need to be so calculative in what to do and what not to do......;p

 

[1nottiboy]

I am guessing that you only need some furnishing and styling. if so, then SGD25k should be ok. if you wanna save money, may I suggest you go to ikea and look thru their catalogue and see what you like. copy and paste. that's maybe the easiest. that's what I did for my rental unit.

lights can be quite pricy cos of the sheer quantity. instead of curtains, you may want to consider using blinds. these are the only things I can think off that I tried to save on. for my own house, I bought the more necessary items first. the vase and floor mats, etc I added them slowly as the weeks and months went by. easier on the cash flow.

the things I splurged on were TVs (the bigger the better) and toilet fittings - shower heads, toilet bowls, sinks and huge bath towels. wanted the hotel feel.

Thanks for sharing. First time greenie for me so any advice from the "old birds" here would be much appreciated! My budget is S$25000/RM75000 which may not be realistic compared to the over RM100K that many are incurring. Only wish got deeper pocket so no need to be so calculative in what to do and what not to do......;p

 

[Lptang24]

Thanks. What about house alarm system? Which systems are reliable and not too expensive? How much is reasonable?

Hi Frodo, I am no expert but just to share what I did for reference. I am using bluguard system(rm1900), curtain/roller blinds(rm11500).

 

[Bigfatfish]

Agree on the ikea part even though i hate their materials.

 

[RedsYNWA]

I am using bluguard system(rm1900), curtain/roller blinds(rm11500).

RM 11,500 for the curtains? I assume yours is at least a semi-d? I did mine for RM 5,500 (intermediate terrace) and I thought it was pretty ex.

 

[cow138]

I like the Ikea kitchen layout and their design ideas. It's quite nice. Their accessory is really fantasia for the price

 

[Lptang24]

RM 11,500 for the curtains? I assume yours is at least a semi-d? I did mine for RM 5,500 (intermediate terrace) and I thought it was pretty ex.

Corner terrace.

 

[Frodo]

RM 11,500 for the curtains? I assume yours is at least a semi-d? I did mine for RM 5,500 (intermediate terrace) and I thought it was pretty ex.

Then I suppose my contractor quote of RM6800 for 3 storey intermediate terrace should be reasonable?

 

[RedsYNWA]

Then I suppose my contractor quote of RM6800 for 3 storey intermediate terrace should be reasonable?

Yah I guess so. Depends on how many curtains are used as well, as they are more ex than blinds. I only did 3 curtain sets (master bedroom, living room, and 1 bedroom). Materials also play a part. My cost was initially RM 4.5k but went up to 5.5k due to the choice of curtain materials.

 

[alexharnozd]

Dear All ,

I am a newbie about this renovation things , and yet i have one unit of 1000 sqft ( 3 room + 2 bath )
as i don't know where to start to look for contractor in jb ,
anyone mind to share over some honest and reliable contractor ?
may PM me if you find it difficult to post it in thread .

What i wan to do is :
1. Ceiling with some pattern for all area including 2 bath room
2. down light with some of additional point wiring etc
3. glass partition for bathroom

Thanks sifu

 

[Frodo]

All my bathrooms come already installed with shower heads with hidden piping, like those you see in our public swimming pools showers. I needed water heater but was told I cannot install them to the current shower head, which means I am going to have to install the entire instant water heater system in each bathroom. That means I will have two shower heads, one existing and one from water heater. Is there a way around it without having to hack anything? I like the shower heads given by the developer, quite wasted if it is just sitting there and quite absurd to have two similar shower heads.

Any advice?

 

[malpaso]

All my bathrooms come already installed with shower heads with hidden piping, like those you see in our public swimming pools showers. I needed water heater but was told I cannot install them to the current shower head, which means I am going to have to install the entire instant water heater system in each bathroom. That means I will have two shower heads, one existing and one from water heater. Is there a way around it without having to hack anything? I like the shower heads given by the developer, quite wasted if it is just sitting there and quite absurd to have two similar shower heads.

Any advice?

uhhmm. based on what i see, you remove the original shower head, pipe the water from there to the inlet of the water heater, then mount the heater on the wall, that's it. you won't have two shower heads. any other way you'd have to hack off the tiles to work on the hidden piping. get a heater with a strong built in pump.
did you install the alarm already? a lot of hacking? how much the total cost.?

 

[FHBH12]

Water will be drawn from existing shower head to e water heater. Then u either use e water heater shower or u install another fixed rain shower head. Rem to buy either water heater w pump or install pump for whole house.

 

[Frodo]

uhhmm. based on what i see, you remove the original shower head, pipe the water from there to the inlet of the water heater, then mount the heater on the wall, that's it. you won't have two shower heads. any other way you'd have to hack off the tiles to work on the hidden piping. get a heater with a strong built in pump.
did you install the alarm already? a lot of hacking? how much the total cost.?

This is not what I want. See that shower head embedded in the wall? I would actually like to retain it and have it linked to the water heater.

I am still unsure whether a water pump is necessary as the water flow seems OK, with exception of kitchen basin which I have reported as a defect. As for alarm, I have not installed it yet. Still getting a few quotes. From what I understand, the house should be alarm-wired ready, but need to confirm.

P/S: Ignore the phone number on the picture, I simply used an internet picture off a property website to give a visual. This is not an advertisement for property agent!!!!

 

[Lptang24]

This is not what I want. See that shower head embedded in the wall? I would actually like to retain it and have it linked to the water heater.

malpaso is right...

 

[Frodo]

malpaso is right...

Yes, I know what he meant, just felt wasted that this would mean not keeping the existing shower head given by the developer. Thought it looked really cool and nice. Haiz, how come they do it this way? As if they did not consider water heater installation? Lack of foresight? This one by Singaporean company some more leh....