Uncle Contractor

Remember I was looking for an alternative?

I figured that looking for a contractor is the best way to go. After all, uncle contractor will already earn one fold from you. Then the designer firms come in to earn 2-3 times more (depending on the reputation of the firm and the materials that you select). This is my analysis:

Uncle contractor is my mum’s contact. He used to renovate her HDB and his pricing is reasonable. So we decided to use him.

The quote was close to $50k for the renovation works which I wanted (see previous post - first step - market research).

That is about 50% savings from the quote given by designer firms!!!

From the list, I cancelled out some items which we can DIY, some which was not necessary and some which we can buy off the shelf.

We got him to:

• Hack and change floor tiles of hall & dining area
• Extend front porch & lay tiles
• Sand & polish parquet
• Attach cornice in Master bedroom
• Adding/ changing power points
• Repairs to window grill locks & hinges, sliding door wheels

In the end, the bill came up to about $25k (I’ve added buffer as some electrical items and other small works are not reflected in the bill). 

Wow!!

From $100k quote to actual $25k paid, that is a load of savings. Cool man! Now I have more buffer for better furniture! 

Give me a tinker if you'd like to use this contractor. I'm pretty happy with his work done too. :)

Item list & Budgeting

Ok, ok, so much for the wordy first few posts. I'll attach more pics from now on for my WIP (Work-in-progress).

OK, let’s begin……………………………………….

I started out listing all the items/jobs that is required. Then I put a rough budget that I’m willing to pay for it. When I go out shopping, it’s more like a “research” on the market price of that certain item, then I re-adjust my budget. As I go along, I adjust when necessary, key in the actual amount purchased and stick with my overall budget. This is how I do it:

It’s really up to you how you record it. It’s best to have a log to track your progress and a file to keep your receipts.

Are You Niow (Stingy) or What?!

Niow (Stingy) - I immediately thought of Uncle Scrooge... Haha.  I used to call my dad that (behind his back), can't imagine the tables are turned now. XP

Hah, I hear people say: “Wah, you buy such a big house, why so niow?”

To me, if you are a rich man’s son or daughter, have a great paying job/business and have plenty to spend, by means go ahead & splurge. My family belongs to the average Singaporean who happens to decide to pool in the money to get a nice place for all to stay. I’m not rich, I’m accountable for my family’s hard earned money and it only makes sense to pay for what’s worth.

So……….. I not niow hor. Only trying to stretch my dollar as much as I can.

On the side note, I can’t live with IKEA furniture. They’ve got really good designs and certain products are fantastic, but their “big” furniture lacks quality (here I’m talking about wardrobes, cabinets, shelving). I’ve bought, they look great, after 2-3 years, they warped. I had to chuck it. I’d rather pay more for better quality.

So see, not everything has to be CHEAP in my list to qualify. 

Well, I get most of my inspirations from home magazines, I just hope that the end result will not be a disaster!

First Step... Market Research

I recently went to a friend’s wedding in Madrid. I’m so amazed that the Westerners take pride in doing up the place by themselves. The groom’s English & the bride’s Spanish. They bought a place in the outskirts of London. For the last 1 year, they spent most of their weekends doing up their place, bit by bit during their off days until it is completed. Labour cost is really expensive there, and the couple even mentioned that a “specialist” may even be an amateur when doing the job (Yes, they complained of a screw up kitchen cabinet job sub out to a contractor). With many DIY shops available, it’s no wonder that they would rather save the money and DO IT YOURSELF.

So... that sparked the interest when we've gotten our place. Encore - first step:

*********

There's always Home fairs happening all-year round in Singapore, especially at the Singapore Expo (the recent one I went). So no need to kan chiong.  

My main aim - MARKET RESEARCH.

My experience:

After running around exhibitions looking and asking interior design firms to see my place and quote on the renovation works that needs to be done, I was so disappointed! Also, the worse thing is that, because these firms are unsure if you are a serious customer, they usually do a sloppy job in recommending designs for what you want. For me, the first impression in their office was already bad. I waited for 45mins from the appointment time and they were not done.  My mum and I had to go for lunch to give them time to prepare. Afterwards, they whipped out two pictures that was done to a previous apartment and asked me to look at their previous portfolio for something that I’m looking at.

Huh??

Prior to that, they came to inspect my place, I gave them & showed them pictures of the theme I was looking for and said they would recommend something, yet I still have to choose? The last straw came when they showed me the quotation. Boy! It was something out of my expectation. It was close to $100k for hacking and changing floor tiles, painting of house interior, building of an extension to 2^nd floor (excluding PE fees which based on their estimate, mounts up to $5k-$15k), building extension to front porch, sanding & polishing the parquet, feature wall & TV console, and designer fee (which comes complimentary).

Moreover, I noticed there were other KIV items (I asked to quote separately) that were not included in the total sum. Already the necessary renovation works is close to $100k, what if I added the KIV items, the PE fees and not forgetting my furniture?!

We walked out. I refuse to be a “Chai Tau” (White carrot - literary it means "being chopped" cheated by a salesperson)!

Thereafter, other designer firms got back to me with similar quotes, so I guess the market rate is around there.

Immediately, I chucked the quotations & looked for other alternatives...

From the Beginning...

Have you felt the excitement when you’ve gotten the keys to your first home?  Imagining all the possibilities, designs, furniture that you can fill in that space?  Yup, I felt that way too! I was extremely excited; extremely busy flipping through the pages of home magazines to get inspirations.  It’s our first biggest purchase! After so many weeks of shopping for our home, I realized that purchasing the place was just the beginning. There’s still much more work to be done!  (Not to mention that we’ve already emptied a huge portion from our bank accounts after putting down 20% down payment for our house.)   X0

I thought it was a good idea to log my progress doing up our place. Blog my blood, sweat and tears in the DIY work I’ll be embarking on. Also, I do hope that readers can benefit from my experience for their homes too.

Just some of the basics so that you know where I’m starting from:

• It’s a resale property
• Unlike new properties that come with new flooring and new fixtures & fittings (since it’s new, it’s not worth to hack off and re-do the place), you have a choice to change almost everything if your budget permits.
• We were pretty lucky. The place which we shopped for was well maintained by the previous owner.
• Best for first time home owners with a budget to keep to for renovation and big ticket items.
• Best for home owners not rushed by time to shift in ASAP. 

Oh, one more thing, if you are on a tight budget, forget about interior design firms and be prepared to do most of the work yourself. I wasted about 2 weeks running about and asking for quotations. SO, if you’re not prepared to pay, don’t waste your time looking for designer firms.

Having a designing company saves you the hassle of coordinating the renovation and liaising with several contractors, plus you don’t have to crack your head to come up with ideas or decide matching colours & textures to suit your theme. However, it does come with a hefty price.