Interior Design & Renovation Guide for Singapore Home Owners

How to Find a Good Contractor & Manage Your Home Renovation Works?

Published : February 2013, 1st Edition Published by : Peter Tan ISBN : 978-1-300-69910-1 Authors Email : renovpedia@gmail.com Copyright 2013 Peter Tan

All Rights Reserved

No part of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted in any form or by any means graphic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or information retrieval systems without prior written consent of the author.

Disclaimer
This book shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publishers prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent publisher. While every reasonable care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of information printed, no responsibility can be accepted for any loss or inconvenience caused by any error or omission. The ideas, suggestions, general principles, examples and other information presented here are for reference and educational purposes only. This book is not in any way intended to give investment advice or recommendations to buy, sell, or lease properties or for any form of property investment. The author shall have no liability for any loss or expense whatsoever relating to investment decisions made by the reader.

Preface
While we were intending to carry out our home renovation, many questions went through our minds. What is the desired interior design? How do we ensure that we engage a professional interior design company and responsible renovation contractor? A value-for-money contract? Ensure a high quality interior design and renovation work? Hence, we wondered that wouldnt it be great if there is a guide on interior design and renovation works from the home owners perspective? Thus, we created Renovpedia, which is meant to be a collection of useful advice and tips on interior design and renovation works for Singapore home owners. For a start, we share what we had learnt from our interior design and renovation works in this ebook and on our website (http://www.renovpedia.com/). We have bigger dreams for Renovpedia, which is to keep Renovpedia as a live document. We will update Renovpedia, once we pick up something noteworthy from your posted comments and the online forum. Therefore, do post your comments/queries about the guide & also, share anything new in the online forum. And also, check out the online reviews of interior design company, renovation contractors, etc.

From the Renovpedia Team & Home Owners, Peter & Clarri

How to Find a Good Contractor & Manage Your Home Renovation Works?
Now that you have purchased a house and it is time to turn your house to home sweet home. Renovation works take up a sizeable amount of money. For instance, the complete overhaul of a 5-room unit could easily be in the range of $40k to $50k. Money matters aside, there are reported stories on rogue renovation contractors who mess up the renovation works and maybe also flout HDB/BCA renovation rules. Thereafter, leave you fuming. So, what are the measures to ensure your renovation work is up to mark and value for money?

Who should you engage for your renovation works? Interior designer or renovation contractor?
These days, there are no significant differences in the capabilities of an interior designer company and a renovation contractor. Certainly, if you prefer to have an illustration of your renovated house before proceeding with the works, an interior design company would be more suitable for you. A renovation contractor is more likely to just describe to you about his renovation proposal and show you some photographs of his past projects as references. An interior design company may have their own workers for the renovation works or otherwise, they would outsource the renovation works to a renovation contractor.

The Responsible Renovation Contractor

Renovation is an art and science. When you step into an interior design shop, the sales person would show you fascinating photographs and/or drawings of homes that they have created. It seems like a flawless piece of work. However, in actual fact, every renovation works has its flaws. What is perhaps more important is whether the actual renovation works have been carried out properly. For instance, whether adequate cement has been applied to tiles. Otherwise, the tiles might fall out one day and perhaps, resulted in injury to you or your family members.

How to ensure the works have been conducted correctly? Firstly, is of course to engage a licensed and responsible renovation contractor. Engaging an unlicensed renovation contractor might be cheaper. But, if there are serious defects (eg. hacking of structural walls, water seepage) resulting from the works, the home owner is also liable for a fine if found out by HDB. To know whether a renovation contractor is licensed, there is a need to check it out on the HDB website. You might be surprised that certain well known interior design company / renovation contractor might have their license suspended or several summons are against them. There is also a little known organisation, known as Renovation and Decoration Advisory Centre (RADAC), which accredits interior design company / renovation contractor who abides by its code of practice for renovation works and also, act a mediator in the event that you have a dispute with the interior design company / renovation contractor. You can check whether the company is accredited at RADAC website (http://www.radac.org.sg/).

Renovation Basics
Renovation Lingo If it is your first time speaking to interior design company / renovation contractor, you might be unfamiliar with the renovation lingos. For your easy reference, Table 1 is a list of commonly used renovation lingo : Table 1 : Commonly used renovation lingo. Lingo Masonry Works Cement Screeding False Ceiling/Wall Description General Works involving application of cement and laying of tiles. Application of cement to level or improve surface finish of floor/wall. False ceiling/wall is typically used to conceal airconditioning ducting, pipes, electrical wires, etc., so as to improve on the overall aesthetics. Toughen glass, which is typically used for vertical glass panels such as shower screen and sliding doors. Ceiling Decorative lining along wall to ceiling edges. Carpentry Works Advantage of build-in cabinet is to conceal air-conditioning
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Tempered Glass

Cornice Build-in Cabinet

ducting, pipes, electrical wires, etc.. In addition, the full height from floor to ceiling could be utilized. Overall, a build-in cabinet offers better aesthetics. Chipboard/Compressed Wood chips and filings compressed together to form a Wood wooden block. They typically cost less, but are less durable and easily damaged by water ingress. Plywood Wood slices stack on top of each other to reinforce each other. They cost a premium over chipboard. Laminate Plastic material covering wooden surfaces to protect against water ingress and for aesthetics purposes. ABS Trimming Plastic material to join up edges of two wooden surfaces to protect against water ingress and for aesthetics purposes. Soft-closing Damping device attached to cabinet hinge, so as to absorb the impact from accidental slamming of cabinet door which might result in poor service life of cabinet hinges. Solid Surface A type of plastic material which is commonly used for kitchen top and has certain degree of heat and scratch resistance. Window Casement Type Push-to-open and pull-to-close type. Advantageous in permitting better ventilation and view. Sliding Type Advantage of sliding type is less force is required to operate. Invisible Grille A type of grille which utilizes thin strips of steel and appears to be invisible when viewed from a distance. This is the trendiest grille nowadays. Door Bi-fold Door, when push in the middle will fold and slide to one side, to open. Top-hung For aesthetics reasons and reduce tripping risk, door leafs are suspended from a rail at the top of the door frame. Slide-swing door Slide to conceal one door leaf into another. Thereafter, swing the remaining door leaf to open. Floor Skirting Skirting is used along the edges of floor to wall, so as to improve on the aesthetics. Laminate Floor Compressed wood material with a layer of laminate as the surface. They are less durable and easily damaged by water ingress. However, they come in different colours and patterns for selection. Parquet Floor Wooden pieces which are interwined and provides a refined feel. They cost a premium over laminate floor. Homogeneous Tile Man-made tile which is made of ceramic. Marble Tile Marble is a naturally-occurring stone, which is prized for its refined features. It is the most pricey flooring type.
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Measurements Renovation contractors are famous for their yellow flexible and retractable ruler. Perhaps, this is made famous by the Phua Chu Kang sitcom. Whilst our education system utilizes the metric system (i.e. centimeter, metres), interior design companies / renovation contractors use the feet and inches system (i.e. ft, in). It is kind of confusing when discussing measurements with them. Nowadays, with the advent of smart phone and hand phone functions, it is just a matter of familiarizing how to do the conversion with your phone. Floor Plan Interior design company / renovation contractor always ask for your floor plan so that they could conceptualize your dream house. In fact, you could just bring along your floor plan and walk into any Interior design companys / renovation contractors shop to discuss your renovation requirements. Some better interior design companies would request for your floor plan and thereafter, in a matter of days, they would call you for a second discussion with conceptual drawings and layouts. Some would even provide you with a 3dimensional walk through. Material Selection Whatever conceptual drawings and photographs that the interior design companies / renovation contractors could provide, they are not able to give you the actual feel of the design. Ultimately, it is down to the material used which gives you the aesthetics feel when you step into your dream home. An analogy is that clothes might have the same design and colour, but made from different material. Hence, do ask the interior design companies / renovation contractors about the type of material which would be used. It would be best that they have a sample which you could see its shine, texture, cleanability, durability, etc. As the floor makes up substantial visual content of a house, do familiarize yourself with the types of tiles, laminate, etc. available by visiting shops selling these items, as well as the prices. Balestier Road and Jalan Besar are particularly good starting point for this, as there are clusters of shops specializing in lighting, sanitary accessories and tiles.

Contract You might have heard of horror stories on how interior design companies / renovation contractors rip people when claiming for unforeseen works during the course of renovation. A method to avoid such scenario is to establish an agreed contract between you and the interior design company / renovation contractor. In the contract, do make sure the following are included : (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) Scope of works at various parts of the house Material type Any installation works (eg. installation of sanitary items, kitchen hob and hood) Any interfacing works (eg. your contractor to work with the air-conditioning system installer for routing of air-conditioning piping and electrical wires) Optional works (eg. quotation for additional electrical and water points) Expected completion duration and the discount granted to you if the works fail to complete on time Payment schedule Warranty scope and period

It is particularly important to specify item (d) and (e). This is because interfacing areas are usually point of dispute, as different renovation contractors might not agree with each others work, or accuse each other of damaging/interfering with their work. Hence, it is advisable to just engage one contractor for the entire works, if possible. If optional works are not spelt out clearly, it creates an opportunity for the interior design company / renovation contractor to ask for sky high prices since you do not have much choice, but to engage them during the midst of the works. It might not be cost effective to engage a third party to complete a small part of the works. Some interior design companies / renovation contractors might not be agreeable with item (f) and ask you to trust them. Having this clause is necessary, if you have limited time for the renovation works. In addition, do ask the interior design company / renovation contractor whether there are any accessories that you have to purchase on your own and need them to install for you. For example, sanitary items (i.e. toilet bowls, wash basin, taps, bath tubs), lightings, kitchen hob and hood, drying tray for kitchen closet, etc. Otherwise, you might be in for a surprise during the course of the renovation. Often, interior design companies / renovation contractors have recommended shops for such purchase. However, do take the recommendation with a pinch of salt, as they are likely to earn commission from such shops. Newspapers on Saturdays usually have lots of advertisements with regards to accessories. From my experience, sanitary items are of about the same price regardless of the shop.
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Progressive payment is usually practiced for renovation works. Hence, you and your interior design company / renovation contractor should agree on item (g). The typical progressive payment schedule is, as follows : (a) (b) (c) (d) 10% - upon confirmation and signing of contract 40% - upon commencement of works 40% - work progress 10% - upon handover of project

Approval Letters Now that you have engaged the interior design company / renovation contractor and agreed on a date to commence the renovation work. Can the renovation begin? For HDB Owners : The answer depends on whether the interior design company / renovation contractor has obtained a HDB approval letter, which is required for certain works for example, hacking, window replacement, replacement of toilet floor tiles, etc. These works would usually generate noise and affect safety. Do check out HDB website for the rules and regulations with regard to renovation works which require HDB approval. Once HDB has approved the renovation work, both the interior design company / renovation contractor and you would receive a HDB letter. The interior design company / renovation contractor is required to place the notice of renovation outside your home during the entire course of renovation. For Private Residential Owners : Works which are minor and have no structural impact generally do not require approval. Do check out BCA website for list of works which are exempted (http://www.bca.gov.sg/housing/sp/renovating/Reno_PPtyExemptionList.htm).

Project Timeline & Work Supervision Now, things get real. Your interior design companys / renovation contractors workers start cracking. How do you know whether your interior design company / renovation contractor is on or behind schedule? Hence, it is important to meet your interior design company / renovation contractor on a routine basis. The recommended interval is weekly basis. Do ask him whats in for next week and any interfacing work that you have to ensure (eg. delivery of sanitary parts, City Gas to cut or lengthen the gas pipe).

Apart from meeting your interior design company / renovation contractor, do conduct surprise checks now and then. Perhaps, you might catch the workers smoking, spending the night over in your house, applying insufficient floor protection material, adopting unsafe work practices, etc. Do inform your interior design company / renovation contractor for immediate resolution of the issue. Do also take photographs of your renovation works while in-progress. This might serve as evidence, should a dispute arise later. For instance, if the workers have a habit of applying insufficient floor protection material and hence, damage to floor tiles are observed later, photographs are evidence of the bad practice. At times, on-site project supervision is highly recommended. For instance, during the installation of air-conditioning system, it is better that you conduct a check on whether the workers insulate the refrigerant pipes correctly. They might also require you to confirm on how they intend to run the refrigerant pipes. Once the interior design company / renovation contractor declared that he has finished the entire renovation work, you should also spend some time inspecting the entire house thoroughly. Payment Your interior design company / renovation contractor would chase you for payment on work done. There is no doubt about this. Payment is a lifeline to the interior design company / renovation contractor. He has to pay for material purchases, workers salary and his own family needs. Hence, you could use it to regulate a wayward or lazy interior design company / renovation contractor. Progress payment should be strictly for work that has been done rather than promised to be done. Otherwise, the interior design company / renovation contractor has no incentive to finish up the work as soon as possible. How do you estimate the percentage of work done? The interior design company / renovation contractor might declare that it is 80% done. How do you know this is true? Thus, regular inspections provide you with a good idea on the work progress. My opinion is to pay the interior design company / renovation contractor based on the individual items spelt out in the contract that have been completed. For instance, if the masonry work has been completed, but electrical works are partially completed, pay the interior design company / renovation contractor for the masonry works and not the electrical works. The total sum of completely completed works over the total renovation cost gives you an indication of the work progress percentage.
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Some people might also advise you to retain the remaining 10% until the interior design company / renovation contractor has completely rectified all defects.

Moving In
Now, the renovation works have been completed and you are excited about moving in. It is time to get the furniture and electrical appliances in. To most of us, our work leave is precious. Hence, my recommendation is to schedule all the delivery of furniture and electrical appliances on the same day. As the delivery man from different companies might turn up at the same time, do have someone to assist you in supervising the delivery. Do also lay out the necessary floor protection material beforehand. In addition, do try to schedule the items which are furthest from the main door earlier than that are nearer. For example, the washing machine delivery should be in the morning and sofa delivery should be in the afternoon. Otherwise, the two deliveries might interfere with each other and the newly delivered sofa might obstruct the path to deliver the washing machine to the service yard. Try not to schedule deliveries in the late evening, as it is most likely that the delivery man is cumulatively delayed at the earlier stops and hence, would arrive at your place later than expected. Once everything is in, your home sweet home is ready!

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