Finally, Uncle sent someone (in fact 2 persons) to my place to do the final touch up and to replace the stainless steel backing. It was the same guy who had installed our stainless steel rubbish chute...
I requested them to do the following rectifications/ cleanups:
1) Replace the warped stainless steel backing
2) Touch up the silicone that were not applied or applied wrongly
3) Cleanup the mess of white cement at the piping area in my master toilet
4) General cleaning up of the tiles
They only did the following:
1) Replaced the warped stainless steel backing (satisfied)
After they removed the piece of stainless steel backing, I believed Uncle told them to replace it so that he can have a piece of mind ... if not , i'll probably be bugging him every single day about the piece of inferior work that is an eyesore ...
Anyway, they arrived at around 11am and they need to take measurements of the area again. By the time they replaced the stainless steel backing, it was already around 4pm.
2) Touch up the silicone (not satisfied)
I wonder if Bo Geh actually told them what to do. There were so many areas where the silicone was either not applied or applied in a haphazard manner.
E.g. (i) below the box-up at the pipes - no silicone was applied even after I told them to do so; (ii) they forgot to apply the silicone between the joints of the cabinets because they were not joined perfectly; (iii) they really didn't feel like doing the job because the silicone they applied between the stainless steel plates were like s*** and out of place. They also never bother to clean up the excess.
3) Clean up the white cement mess at the pipes (Half-past-six standard)
Bo Geh told me that he will get the men to scrap off the excess and to apply colour grouting to match the tiles. They only did 50% ... which was to scrap off the excess white cement. They didn't bother to do the colour groutings ...
4) General cleanup (Not done)
The man only gave me a solution (which was acid by the way ...) and didn't give my wifey any instructions on use ... we tried to use it in the bathroom toilet and it ate away a part of the grouting ! I had to buy the grouting and reapply it myself ....
Conclusion:
The rectification works are really sub-standard and I'm really tired of chasing Uncle. Anyway the renovation works for me is small compared to a couple of others. So I guess I was not given the best of his subcontractors except for the tilers (luckily).
If anyone wants to take a look at the sub-standard works that Uncle had delivered for me (although he said that he would do up everything perfectly), by all means you can drop me a note / email and arrange for a viewing ...
My wifey and I discussed about the likelihood of getting Uncle to do up our place again (if we ever shift or renovate the whole house), our verdict is that we would try to save up more cash and get my 2nd lowest quote ID/Contractor to do the works instead. It really saves us the monitoring and there was hardly any post-rectification works required for my friend who had recommended him to us.
Unless Uncle improves his project management and the quality of his subcontractors, I doubt i'll ever introduce anyone to him again.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Pending clean-ups, touch-ups and rectifications ...
Joseph was supposed to get his guys to do general cleaning at my place, touch up the silicone, rectify some unsightly white cement around the piping and to either redo or replace the stainless steel backing (it has already shown signs of popping out !) but none of his guys appeared as Joseph is currently in Malaysia ... Will be chasing him tomorrow to follow-up ...
I heard that news that Jason is splitting from Uncle and setting up his own ID company ... Personally, I feel that Jason's too soft with workers and sometimes he would end up accepting inferior quality works (like in the case of my carpentry)... I believe Jason's better at co-ordinating carpentry rather than QC ... I wish Jason all the best (but of course I do hope that he would bury the hatches with Uncle and rejoin him in Fu Hua)
I heard that news that Jason is splitting from Uncle and setting up his own ID company ... Personally, I feel that Jason's too soft with workers and sometimes he would end up accepting inferior quality works (like in the case of my carpentry)... I believe Jason's better at co-ordinating carpentry rather than QC ... I wish Jason all the best (but of course I do hope that he would bury the hatches with Uncle and rejoin him in Fu Hua)
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Remember to insist for a receipt after payment and keep your renovation receipts properly !
Uncle called me up today to clarify some payment matters which I replied that I've already paid in full, with the last 20% and the VO paid to Bo Geh (Joseph)...
After I mentioned the chronology of the progressive payments, Uncle suddenly remembered his mistake and apologised. Not a big issue since I made sure that I insist on receipts (with the Company chop or at least the nature of payment) everytime I pay Uncle or his proxy.
Uncle may be chin chai but when it comes to money, nobody is chin chai .... so ... insist on your receipts when you pay Uncle or his proxy and keep it properly :) You never know when you'll need it :)
After I mentioned the chronology of the progressive payments, Uncle suddenly remembered his mistake and apologised. Not a big issue since I made sure that I insist on receipts (with the Company chop or at least the nature of payment) everytime I pay Uncle or his proxy.
Uncle may be chin chai but when it comes to money, nobody is chin chai .... so ... insist on your receipts when you pay Uncle or his proxy and keep it properly :) You never know when you'll need it :)
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Day 29 - (2nd June) Wrought iron gate installed and final payments made !
I called up Ah Hock in the morning but the line was engaged ... Ah Hock returned the call and informed me that the gate would be installed between 2-4pm. The gate was completed and it looked great :) I just need to fix the bracket for the lock to fix it in place ...
At around 8pm, Uncle called me to request for final payment and said that his partner (Bo Geh aka Joseph) will meet me at my place. Reasonable as he had finished up all the required items.
Bo Geh was only able to meet me at around 10.30pm as he was around Jurong after rushing from Jalan Besar. We spoke and I requested that he remove the improvised jack from the stainless steel backing. He did and we saw that there were excess glue from the backing. Bo Geh told me that he will get the workers to scrape off the excess glue and reapply the silicone all round. I also showed him some of the plumbing works that was done where the white cement / silicone was applied "over generously" around the entry/exit points of the pipes. He said that he will get the worker to remove the "generous helping of white cement" and apply some grouting to make it look nicer. He also agreed to do chemical wash for me in the kitchen.
Hope that everything will be completed by this thursday / friday :)
Total Renovation Bill = SGD 11,600 (from $10,800, we added 2 more items)
Pics from Day 29 -
At around 8pm, Uncle called me to request for final payment and said that his partner (Bo Geh aka Joseph) will meet me at my place. Reasonable as he had finished up all the required items.
Bo Geh was only able to meet me at around 10.30pm as he was around Jurong after rushing from Jalan Besar. We spoke and I requested that he remove the improvised jack from the stainless steel backing. He did and we saw that there were excess glue from the backing. Bo Geh told me that he will get the workers to scrape off the excess glue and reapply the silicone all round. I also showed him some of the plumbing works that was done where the white cement / silicone was applied "over generously" around the entry/exit points of the pipes. He said that he will get the worker to remove the "generous helping of white cement" and apply some grouting to make it look nicer. He also agreed to do chemical wash for me in the kitchen.
Hope that everything will be completed by this thursday / friday :)
Total Renovation Bill = SGD 11,600 (from $10,800, we added 2 more items)
Pics from Day 29 -
Gate installed by Ah Hock's worker
Applying Silicone around to stablise the door
Finished product (view from home)
Applying Silicone around to stablise the door
Finished product (view from home)
Monday, June 1, 2009
Day 28 - (1st June) No activity but some afterthoughts about carpentry ...
I was hoping Ah Hock would call me in the morning to tell me that the wrought iron gates are going to be installed but the call never came ... oh well, it appears that my gut feel is wrong.
Uncle also never turn up to chase for payment ... must be busy fighting fire elsewhere ... I also didn't remove the improvised jack because I want Uncle to remove it himself ... so now, there's an ugly contraption in my kitchen ....
After the fiasco with Amax (Ah Mei), I did a thorough check on the carpentry and my advice on how to check carpentry works (in my own experience) is generally as follows:
A Pic of block board - the most common material used in carpentry, especially for the doors (they call it 3 piece solid plywood because 2 pieces of plywood will sandwich a piece of solid wood).
A Pic of 3/5/7/9-ply solid plywood - may not be the best material but generally used for surfaces where you need a more solid feel. This is because the quality of the plywood depends on how well the veneer is compressed together.
Uncle also never turn up to chase for payment ... must be busy fighting fire elsewhere ... I also didn't remove the improvised jack because I want Uncle to remove it himself ... so now, there's an ugly contraption in my kitchen ....
After the fiasco with Amax (Ah Mei), I did a thorough check on the carpentry and my advice on how to check carpentry works (in my own experience) is generally as follows:
- Do a visual inspection of the exterior when the cabinets are mounted. Check that the doors are mounted correctly (i.e not slanted, too much clearance on all sides), and the gap between each door is not too much (around 2mm is fine). If not sure, always get the 水平尺to help you check whether the cabinets and doors are mounted properly.
- If you have specified certain measurements for the cabinets, use a measuring tape to check the measurements.
- Check the exterior laminates for scratches, including the ABS door trimmings - whether it is chipped / damaged.
- Check the interior laminates for scratches, including whether the area surrounding the butterfly hinges are mounted correctly i.e. cannot see ugly dents created by inaccurate/incorrect mounting.
- Check the closing / opening of drawers - whether the soft closing is ok and the rails are mounted correctly.
- Check the closing / opening of cabinet doors - whether the soft closing is ok and there are no visibly huge gaps between door and cabinet after closing.
- Knock on the interior of the cabinets. If you have specified that you want a solid backing, the carpenters should not give you a thin piece of laminate/plywood for backing. The standard norm for carpentry is that the 4 sides will be made of solid plywood (now block board more common) and a thin piece of plywood will be used for the backing. This may not be the best quality because it is flexible and tend to warp if you press against it.
- Check the joints between each section of the cabinet. Ensure that the joints are seamless and smooth when you move your hand across.
- When the product is more or less completed, check that they applied silicone on all the edges, especially the bottom part if you're mounting cabinets on top of the 50mm cabinet base. If the bottom part did not have silicone, you may end up having "visitors" of all sorts residing in the gaps.
A Pic of block board - the most common material used in carpentry, especially for the doors (they call it 3 piece solid plywood because 2 pieces of plywood will sandwich a piece of solid wood).
A Pic of 3/5/7/9-ply solid plywood - may not be the best material but generally used for surfaces where you need a more solid feel. This is because the quality of the plywood depends on how well the veneer is compressed together.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Day 27 - (31st May) Still no activity
Today was also a very busy day as we're continuing the unpacking of our stuffs .... never knew we accumulated so much stuffs throughout our 8 years until we really tried to pack the stuffs back into the cabinets.
Anyway, Jason didn't appear to remove the improvised jack. I also don't want to remove it ... lest they "accuse" me of removing it earlier if the stubborn piece refuse to sit in place again ... I think Uncle will be at my doorstep tomorrow to collect balance payment .... Should I pay him the full amt?? I think i'll let him remove the jack and we'll decide.
Last on the list is the wrough iron gate ... My gut feel tells me that Ah Hock would likely call me tomorrow as well .... Hope my gut feel don't fail me :)
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Day 26 - (30th May) No activity
No activity today and we're basically busy cleaning and unpacking our stuffs back to the cabinets. Realised that almost all the orientation had changed and the storage space seemed to have shrunk due to the concrete support. Anyway, it's time to junk those unusable trash and start afresh :)
Also went to buy a spice rack and paper towel/aluminum foil/cling wrap holder from GR Link Marketing along Jalan Besar (beside Poh Joo) ... The spice rack costs about $41 while the 3-in-1 paper towel holder costs about $44. Total damage around $85.
Also went to buy a spice rack and paper towel/aluminum foil/cling wrap holder from GR Link Marketing along Jalan Besar (beside Poh Joo) ... The spice rack costs about $41 while the 3-in-1 paper towel holder costs about $44. Total damage around $85.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Day 25 - (29th May) More Carpentry rectifications, rectification of stainless steel backing, polishing floor due to damage
Today was yet another chaotic day ... another 3 groups of people came ... doing various stuffs ....
Group 1 - Jason and his team ...
They had 3 tasks to complete ... (i) to rectify the bulging stainless steel backing which did not completely stick onto the wall because the supplier cut slightly taller; (ii) to clean off the stain left by the aircon man who used CIF to clean his trunkings on the floor; (iii) to paint a small area left untouched by the malay painters and to touch up some cement that had dropped off.
The indian painter was rather blur and I suspect that he was not even a painter ... probably one of the cleaners. Wifey and my maid had to point out to him the areas which he had missed and also how to correct apply white cement to touch up some flaking areas.
Jason tried all sorts and means to try to press the bulging stainless steel plate (left piece) onto the wall. He resorted to using the suction cups, styrofoam, hammer, wooden stick, etc ... and finally he had no choice but to ask his men to pry open the stainless steel plate to apply more glue and used an improvised jack to force the piece into its position. It was a frustrating episode for Jason because Wifey can see his mood changed from mild to almost blowing his top over the stubborn piece of stainless steel backing. It also didn't help when lots of people were calling him over the phone and asking him when he's coming.
While doing this, Jason was shuttling to and fro my master bedroom, trying to use his "special" cleaning agent to rub off the shadowy stain on my marble floor. It didn't work (as expected) but made it worse and they resorted to even CIF, which didn't work as well. The last resort was when wifey pointed out the area to Jason and asked him how? Jason finally relented and I believed he called Uncle for advice ... I think Uncle told Jason to get the marble polishers to polish the entire master bedroom. This got Jason really upset because he sort of replied to Uncle ... "Just doing a small job have to end up polishing the entire marble floor? What sort of business is this !!!" ... Anyway, Jason did call up the marble polishers and they appeared at around 4pm.
Back to the stainless steel plate ... Jason told Wifey that he would be back 2 days later to check (Sunday???) and hopefully the improvised jack would set the stainless steel backing in place. I'm sceptical but what to do ... haha ... just wait and see lor ...
Group 2 - Amax's carpenter Di Giah
This time around it didn't appear to be a rushed job as he went around to rectify the remaining 10% of the defects. He also tried his best to align all the doors when I pointed out that some still appeared funny and misaligned. Overall, I would say that it's a give and take situation ... we gain some, we lose some ... in the end, we decided to look the other way where the defect was not so glaring as we are quite tired about the carpentry rectifications ....
Group 3 - Marble polishers who came on behalf of Ah Seng (the main marble polisher guy)
The first thing the uncle asked when he reached was whether I was going to repolish the entire unit. I told him that he just need to rectify the areas where the cleaning agent had left a stain and it was the stretch from the entrance of the master toilet to a small section of my living room, just outside the master bedroom entrance.
We don't believe in capitalising on another person's mishap / problem as we only wanted the damaged areas to be rectified. They did a very good job and removed the shadowy stained caused by the trunking and the special cleaning agent in less than 30 mins. Hope this won't cause a dent in Uncle's pocket and further reduce his profit from my job ....
Pics from Day 25 -
The CMI painter ...
Jason trying all means and way to force the bulging stainless steel backing to stick properly
No choice but to pry open the stubborn piece ...
To apply more glue (this time) ...
But not before scraping off the old glue on my wall tiles ...
The improvised jack ...
Jason trying his special cleaning agent on the floor
Last attempt in removing the stain using CIF ... (didn't work)
The "FOC" small toilet cabinet
Di Giah rectifying the remaining defects
The machine that was used to polish the stain off
Removing the stains
Final Carpentry
Realised that the hood was not mounted properly ... have to ask Jason to rectify when he's here to rectify the stainless steel backing ...
FOC small toilet cabinet (mounted)
Group 1 - Jason and his team ...
They had 3 tasks to complete ... (i) to rectify the bulging stainless steel backing which did not completely stick onto the wall because the supplier cut slightly taller; (ii) to clean off the stain left by the aircon man who used CIF to clean his trunkings on the floor; (iii) to paint a small area left untouched by the malay painters and to touch up some cement that had dropped off.
The indian painter was rather blur and I suspect that he was not even a painter ... probably one of the cleaners. Wifey and my maid had to point out to him the areas which he had missed and also how to correct apply white cement to touch up some flaking areas.
Jason tried all sorts and means to try to press the bulging stainless steel plate (left piece) onto the wall. He resorted to using the suction cups, styrofoam, hammer, wooden stick, etc ... and finally he had no choice but to ask his men to pry open the stainless steel plate to apply more glue and used an improvised jack to force the piece into its position. It was a frustrating episode for Jason because Wifey can see his mood changed from mild to almost blowing his top over the stubborn piece of stainless steel backing. It also didn't help when lots of people were calling him over the phone and asking him when he's coming.
While doing this, Jason was shuttling to and fro my master bedroom, trying to use his "special" cleaning agent to rub off the shadowy stain on my marble floor. It didn't work (as expected) but made it worse and they resorted to even CIF, which didn't work as well. The last resort was when wifey pointed out the area to Jason and asked him how? Jason finally relented and I believed he called Uncle for advice ... I think Uncle told Jason to get the marble polishers to polish the entire master bedroom. This got Jason really upset because he sort of replied to Uncle ... "Just doing a small job have to end up polishing the entire marble floor? What sort of business is this !!!" ... Anyway, Jason did call up the marble polishers and they appeared at around 4pm.
Back to the stainless steel plate ... Jason told Wifey that he would be back 2 days later to check (Sunday???) and hopefully the improvised jack would set the stainless steel backing in place. I'm sceptical but what to do ... haha ... just wait and see lor ...
Group 2 - Amax's carpenter Di Giah
This time around it didn't appear to be a rushed job as he went around to rectify the remaining 10% of the defects. He also tried his best to align all the doors when I pointed out that some still appeared funny and misaligned. Overall, I would say that it's a give and take situation ... we gain some, we lose some ... in the end, we decided to look the other way where the defect was not so glaring as we are quite tired about the carpentry rectifications ....
Group 3 - Marble polishers who came on behalf of Ah Seng (the main marble polisher guy)
The first thing the uncle asked when he reached was whether I was going to repolish the entire unit. I told him that he just need to rectify the areas where the cleaning agent had left a stain and it was the stretch from the entrance of the master toilet to a small section of my living room, just outside the master bedroom entrance.
We don't believe in capitalising on another person's mishap / problem as we only wanted the damaged areas to be rectified. They did a very good job and removed the shadowy stained caused by the trunking and the special cleaning agent in less than 30 mins. Hope this won't cause a dent in Uncle's pocket and further reduce his profit from my job ....
Pics from Day 25 -
The CMI painter ...
Jason trying all means and way to force the bulging stainless steel backing to stick properly
No choice but to pry open the stubborn piece ...
To apply more glue (this time) ...
But not before scraping off the old glue on my wall tiles ...
The improvised jack ...
Jason trying his special cleaning agent on the floor
Last attempt in removing the stain using CIF ... (didn't work)
The "FOC" small toilet cabinet
Di Giah rectifying the remaining defects
The machine that was used to polish the stain off
Removing the stains
Final Carpentry
Realised that the hood was not mounted properly ... have to ask Jason to rectify when he's here to rectify the stainless steel backing ...
FOC small toilet cabinet (mounted)
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Day 24 - (28th May) More Carpentry rectification ...
I told Amax that they can only come during noon because my small boy needs to sleep. They were very punctual and came at around 11.30am... However, the original 2 carpenters did not come ... it was 2 new ones - 1 old uncle and 1 young chap ... Wifey also told me that Amax was around almost the entire duration except for lunch from 12 - 2pm...
The rectification works was major ! I think they underestimated the works required when fabricating the frame and etc for a complete concrete structure ... Not only must the frames be aligned and flushed, they must be thick enough to ensure seamless joints between the "legs" of the structure ... What they did (I suspect) was just to fit the wooden frames to my concrete structure based on standard carpentry measurements ... and not to customise their frames to fit my concrete structure ! They ended up dismantling all the lower doors and upper doors to redo the entire bottom structure and to fix the damaged laminates on the top.
As for the larder, they had to scrape off the obstructing plywood and apply 1 piece of white laminate on the left side. As for the right side (that's full of holes), they ensured that they custom cut the plank to fit the interior structure seamlessly. There after, Amax personally measured the steel racks and ensured that the rails do not hit the hinges ...
Lastly, they attempted to seal up the gaps between each section of the concrete support which they did ... but during the last step to install the irex soft closing bumpers for one door, they realised that the strip that they added was right behind the hinge and they had to dismantle one of the wooden racks in order to adjust the strip ....
All in all, 4 person (including Amax) appeared. When we asked them why they didn't do it right the first round, they were totally lost for words ... and the entire rectification (only 90% complete) was up till 9pm+ ...
Up to this point at around 9pm, I think Uncle called Amax and asked whether he had completed the rectification and I think Amax sort of told Uncle that he damaged the rails and can only replace them tomorrow .... he sort of "got it from Uncle" again .... Amax asked me whether I can "overlook" some of the minor adjustments and as a token to give me a small cupboard FOC ... We consulted each other and we were also tired with all the rectifications .... and told Amax that what he need to do were the remaining items listed below. As for the FOC cupboard, we decided to ask Amax to fabricate a small toilet cabinet for my MIL.
The remaining works that they need to do are:
1) Replace a damaged door where the ABS trimming looked as if it was soaked in water as the laminate had wavey lines ...
2) Put another layer of white laminate on one side of the top cabinet because they misfired when installing the door and had to mount 1 additional screw in order to cover up the mistake ...
3) Realign some of the doors which looked wierd / slanted ...
4) Replace the rails for the bottom drawer which was damaged by Amax himself when he tried to hammer in some nails ...
Pics from Day 24 -
Trying to straighten the bottom frame
Removing the racks from the larder ...
The rectification works was major ! I think they underestimated the works required when fabricating the frame and etc for a complete concrete structure ... Not only must the frames be aligned and flushed, they must be thick enough to ensure seamless joints between the "legs" of the structure ... What they did (I suspect) was just to fit the wooden frames to my concrete structure based on standard carpentry measurements ... and not to customise their frames to fit my concrete structure ! They ended up dismantling all the lower doors and upper doors to redo the entire bottom structure and to fix the damaged laminates on the top.
As for the larder, they had to scrape off the obstructing plywood and apply 1 piece of white laminate on the left side. As for the right side (that's full of holes), they ensured that they custom cut the plank to fit the interior structure seamlessly. There after, Amax personally measured the steel racks and ensured that the rails do not hit the hinges ...
Lastly, they attempted to seal up the gaps between each section of the concrete support which they did ... but during the last step to install the irex soft closing bumpers for one door, they realised that the strip that they added was right behind the hinge and they had to dismantle one of the wooden racks in order to adjust the strip ....
All in all, 4 person (including Amax) appeared. When we asked them why they didn't do it right the first round, they were totally lost for words ... and the entire rectification (only 90% complete) was up till 9pm+ ...
Up to this point at around 9pm, I think Uncle called Amax and asked whether he had completed the rectification and I think Amax sort of told Uncle that he damaged the rails and can only replace them tomorrow .... he sort of "got it from Uncle" again .... Amax asked me whether I can "overlook" some of the minor adjustments and as a token to give me a small cupboard FOC ... We consulted each other and we were also tired with all the rectifications .... and told Amax that what he need to do were the remaining items listed below. As for the FOC cupboard, we decided to ask Amax to fabricate a small toilet cabinet for my MIL.
The remaining works that they need to do are:
1) Replace a damaged door where the ABS trimming looked as if it was soaked in water as the laminate had wavey lines ...
2) Put another layer of white laminate on one side of the top cabinet because they misfired when installing the door and had to mount 1 additional screw in order to cover up the mistake ...
3) Realign some of the doors which looked wierd / slanted ...
4) Replace the rails for the bottom drawer which was damaged by Amax himself when he tried to hammer in some nails ...
Pics from Day 24 -
Trying to straighten the bottom frame
Removing the racks from the larder ...
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Day 23 - (27th May) Amax came to inpsect the works and to answer to Uncle, PD Doors rectification and Shower screen installed
Today was a day of chaos as there were 3 groups coming over to do various stuffs ... and a day of reckoning for the carpenters because Amax (Ah Meh) was literally S*r*w*ed by Uncle over the phone the previous night for fumbling over a simple job...
Jason who was supposed to be here to rectify the stainless steel backing did not appear ... my guess was that he's busy fighting fire again ....
1st group that appeared were the guys from Eastplan to rectify the creaking and squeaking PD doors in my master toilet and kitchen ... Wifey also complained that the bottom track for the common toilet appeared to be slanted but they said that it's due to the tiles ... so they have no choice .... For all PD door wannabes, you may want to reconsider and use the common bi-fold doors instead. If you don't need to have the 180 degree swing, it's cheaper and less agonising to use bi-fold doors instead ....
2nd group that appeared was Amax (Ah Meh) and an old uncle (maybe his backup carpenter???) ... Anyway, wifey told them things that has to be rectified and they appeared to be reluctant on some areas... I even spoke to them over the phone and told Ah Meh off that the quality was not acceptable for most areas. I even told him that he can use the 水平尺to check the alignment as they don't tell lies ... The ultimate thing was that they attempted to cover up scratches and dents in the white laminates by using liquid paper ????? What sort of quality is this ???? really Su(ks sia ..... The ultimatum was when Wifey asked both of them whether they will accept such quality if it's their own home??? It was when they had nothing to say and dismantle the poor quality works .... I also rushed home and met Amax ... and pointed out the defects to him ... and made sure he took down the sub-standard works ...
He didn't dismantle the larder though ... but he said that he would remove the unsightly interior panel, fix a full board panel on the right and then cover up the holes using white laminte (which was supposedly thicker than formica) ... I don't really care how they do it ... so long as they rectify all the defects ... This is one carpentry company to black list ... For all Uncle's prospective customers, please do not use him!
Amax said that he would rectify all the defects by tomorrow (thursday) ... We Shall See .......
3rd Group came simultaneously after Amax arrived. They were Ah Hock's workers who came to install the shower screen. I've no complaints other than that they dirtied my newly painted wall with their dirty hands due to the installation. The shower screen was very well done and they even took the effort to place a plastic strip at the side and below the movable panel to prevent water from seeping out. Very good job [other than dirtying my wall] :)
Pics from Day 23 (only 1 because it was very chaotic !) -
Shower screen installer
Ah Mei (Amax) attempting to rectify the unsatisfactory carpentry
Jason who was supposed to be here to rectify the stainless steel backing did not appear ... my guess was that he's busy fighting fire again ....
1st group that appeared were the guys from Eastplan to rectify the creaking and squeaking PD doors in my master toilet and kitchen ... Wifey also complained that the bottom track for the common toilet appeared to be slanted but they said that it's due to the tiles ... so they have no choice .... For all PD door wannabes, you may want to reconsider and use the common bi-fold doors instead. If you don't need to have the 180 degree swing, it's cheaper and less agonising to use bi-fold doors instead ....
2nd group that appeared was Amax (Ah Meh) and an old uncle (maybe his backup carpenter???) ... Anyway, wifey told them things that has to be rectified and they appeared to be reluctant on some areas... I even spoke to them over the phone and told Ah Meh off that the quality was not acceptable for most areas. I even told him that he can use the 水平尺to check the alignment as they don't tell lies ... The ultimate thing was that they attempted to cover up scratches and dents in the white laminates by using liquid paper ????? What sort of quality is this ???? really Su(ks sia ..... The ultimatum was when Wifey asked both of them whether they will accept such quality if it's their own home??? It was when they had nothing to say and dismantle the poor quality works .... I also rushed home and met Amax ... and pointed out the defects to him ... and made sure he took down the sub-standard works ...
He didn't dismantle the larder though ... but he said that he would remove the unsightly interior panel, fix a full board panel on the right and then cover up the holes using white laminte (which was supposedly thicker than formica) ... I don't really care how they do it ... so long as they rectify all the defects ... This is one carpentry company to black list ... For all Uncle's prospective customers, please do not use him!
Amax said that he would rectify all the defects by tomorrow (thursday) ... We Shall See .......
3rd Group came simultaneously after Amax arrived. They were Ah Hock's workers who came to install the shower screen. I've no complaints other than that they dirtied my newly painted wall with their dirty hands due to the installation. The shower screen was very well done and they even took the effort to place a plastic strip at the side and below the movable panel to prevent water from seeping out. Very good job [other than dirtying my wall] :)
Pics from Day 23 (only 1 because it was very chaotic !) -
Shower screen installer
Ah Mei (Amax) attempting to rectify the unsatisfactory carpentry
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Day 22 - (26th May) Citygas connection done and Electrical works follow-up :)
It seems that when it's time for things to be done, it would be done almost at the same time !
First to appear today was the Citygas authorised gas technician who came to turn-on our gas. It appeared to be successful but the EF hob didn't worked as promised ... because the inner-ring flame could not be activated on a stand-alone basis ! As well, one of the burners seemed to take a long time to stabalise because upon ignition, we must press the nob slightly longer before we can release it ... We have asked EF to send their guys down to check .... and they would do so on Thursday ...
Ah Tan and gang appeared there after to follow-up with the remaining electrical works... They were quite good but as usual, Ah Seng would complain and rant when doing the installation... One hiccup was that Ah Tan forgot the cover for the washing machine point as this was required ... He ended up rushing down to buy the cover (which was of another brand - not MK) ....
At night, Uncle dropped by to collect payment for the carpentry. He also shared with me that the reason why he was able to offer a very cheap price was because he paid cash upfront for all the works - hackers, tiles, tilers, painters, electrician, plumbing, carpentry .... basically everything ... This was because he will earn rebates from paying by cash (ranged between 3-5%) which would be settled at year-end ... Thus his cashflow is usually back-to-back.... and timely payment by us would help to alleviate his cashflow ... I told Uncle that such info should be shared with his clients so that we know what to do ... However, I also told Uncle that doing so has risks because if his sub-contractors give sub-standard work, he would suffer because he had already paid in full upfront ...
I pointed out to Uncle on the unsatisfactory carpentry works, especially the larder. He sort of flew into a rage and called up Amax to give him a earful ... Uncle promised that he would rectify all the carpentry defects and handover the carpentry works to me in our desired condition and design. He told Amax in Hokkien ... "I want you to dismantle the larder and make a new one .... I will even pay you in cash if you are going to charge me for it ... You can throw and burn the old one and I will throw and burn each one that is not in a satisfied condition .... This is a simple job ... why can't you do it ??? If you don't know how to do it, I will teach you how to do it ... "
Bottom Line - While Uncle may err on the side of Project Management, he will always insist on the quality, regardless whether he will lose money due to his sub-standard subcontractors. This is one of the key virtues which I feel that Uncle has over alot of contractors, especially my previous one. [You may want to flame me over the 2nd sentence, but this is my personal opinion.]
Pics from Day 22 -
Connecting the flexible hose
Installing the accessories
Testing the hob
Ah Tan and Ah Seng installing the switches
Rewiring the connection for the hood
First to appear today was the Citygas authorised gas technician who came to turn-on our gas. It appeared to be successful but the EF hob didn't worked as promised ... because the inner-ring flame could not be activated on a stand-alone basis ! As well, one of the burners seemed to take a long time to stabalise because upon ignition, we must press the nob slightly longer before we can release it ... We have asked EF to send their guys down to check .... and they would do so on Thursday ...
Ah Tan and gang appeared there after to follow-up with the remaining electrical works... They were quite good but as usual, Ah Seng would complain and rant when doing the installation... One hiccup was that Ah Tan forgot the cover for the washing machine point as this was required ... He ended up rushing down to buy the cover (which was of another brand - not MK) ....
At night, Uncle dropped by to collect payment for the carpentry. He also shared with me that the reason why he was able to offer a very cheap price was because he paid cash upfront for all the works - hackers, tiles, tilers, painters, electrician, plumbing, carpentry .... basically everything ... This was because he will earn rebates from paying by cash (ranged between 3-5%) which would be settled at year-end ... Thus his cashflow is usually back-to-back.... and timely payment by us would help to alleviate his cashflow ... I told Uncle that such info should be shared with his clients so that we know what to do ... However, I also told Uncle that doing so has risks because if his sub-contractors give sub-standard work, he would suffer because he had already paid in full upfront ...
I pointed out to Uncle on the unsatisfactory carpentry works, especially the larder. He sort of flew into a rage and called up Amax to give him a earful ... Uncle promised that he would rectify all the carpentry defects and handover the carpentry works to me in our desired condition and design. He told Amax in Hokkien ... "I want you to dismantle the larder and make a new one .... I will even pay you in cash if you are going to charge me for it ... You can throw and burn the old one and I will throw and burn each one that is not in a satisfied condition .... This is a simple job ... why can't you do it ??? If you don't know how to do it, I will teach you how to do it ... "
Bottom Line - While Uncle may err on the side of Project Management, he will always insist on the quality, regardless whether he will lose money due to his sub-standard subcontractors. This is one of the key virtues which I feel that Uncle has over alot of contractors, especially my previous one. [You may want to flame me over the 2nd sentence, but this is my personal opinion.]
Pics from Day 22 -
Connecting the flexible hose
Installing the accessories
Testing the hob
Ah Tan and Ah Seng installing the switches
Rewiring the connection for the hood
Monday, May 25, 2009
Day 21 - (25th May) Stainless steel backing installed and Wrought Iron Gate measurements taken ...
I called Jason in the morning asking him about the laminates for the cabinets and the painting. Ended up, Jason and 肥子 came to install the stainless steel backing themselves. The only grouse we had was that the gap for 1 joint was rather huge ... which Jason said he will level up using Silicone ... I also noticed that Jason only applied glue along the 4 sides of the stainless steel plates unlike my previous installer who would apply lots of glue even in the centre... As a result, when i tried to test the stainless steel plates, it wobbled .... Uncle has called Jason to rectify ...
Jason also said that the remaining electrical works and touch up of the painting would be done on thursday. The surprise is that he would do the painting himself ... as his workers are all tied up at various locations !
Ah Hock's worker also dropped by to take measurements for our new wrought iron gate as our old aluminum gate was more than 21 years old now .... haha ...
Pics from Day 21 -
Stainless steel backings to be installed ...
Applying the glue (notice that it's not on the entire surface?)
Jason fitting the stainless steel backing on the wall ...
Taking measurements for the gate
Pictures of the new gate ...
From Wan Sern
Jason also said that the remaining electrical works and touch up of the painting would be done on thursday. The surprise is that he would do the painting himself ... as his workers are all tied up at various locations !
Ah Hock's worker also dropped by to take measurements for our new wrought iron gate as our old aluminum gate was more than 21 years old now .... haha ...
Pics from Day 21 -
Stainless steel backings to be installed ...
Applying the glue (notice that it's not on the entire surface?)
Jason fitting the stainless steel backing on the wall ...
Taking measurements for the gate
Pictures of the new gate ...
From Wan Sern
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Day 20 - (24th May) Sunday ... No Activity
Was hoping someone would turn-up to do something but no one came. Jason's busy wrapping dumplings at home and would not be answering phone calls :)
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Day 19 - (23rd May) Relocation of water purifier, inspection and rectification of carpentry and rectification of tiles
I thought that today would not have much activity except for the relocation of the water purifier and some minor rectification works by the carpenter. Ended up, the rectification works by the carpenters were not done because there's really too much to be done ... and Jason managed to get a tiler to help me with the rectification / patching up of the toilet tiles.
The uncles doing the relocation of my water purifier was very careful and didn't damage any of my wall tiles. The hole that they drilled was also just nice for the tubings.
Jason came at around 10.15am and the carpenters arrived at the same time. I went through with him on the list of carpentry deficiencies / defects and he shook his head ... He told the carpenters that they should use some common sense and experience when doing the work. When in doubt, they should have informed him or ask me. At the back of my mind I was thinking ... even if they asked me and I've informed them, they only do 50% of what I told them ... Anyway, the carpenters have gone back to Malaysia and would only be back to complete the rectification works by Friday...
Jason also asked a tiler to come to my place to replace the damaged tiles. He's very careful and the areas that were damaged were patched up nicely.
Lastly, I called up Ah Hock to have my current aluminum gate replaced ...
Pics from Day 19 -
The Uncles from BioTech relocating our water purifier
Relocation completed !
The tiler who came to replace the damaged tiles and patch up the cracked groutings
The uncles doing the relocation of my water purifier was very careful and didn't damage any of my wall tiles. The hole that they drilled was also just nice for the tubings.
Jason came at around 10.15am and the carpenters arrived at the same time. I went through with him on the list of carpentry deficiencies / defects and he shook his head ... He told the carpenters that they should use some common sense and experience when doing the work. When in doubt, they should have informed him or ask me. At the back of my mind I was thinking ... even if they asked me and I've informed them, they only do 50% of what I told them ... Anyway, the carpenters have gone back to Malaysia and would only be back to complete the rectification works by Friday...
Jason also asked a tiler to come to my place to replace the damaged tiles. He's very careful and the areas that were damaged were patched up nicely.
Lastly, I called up Ah Hock to have my current aluminum gate replaced ...
Pics from Day 19 -
The Uncles from BioTech relocating our water purifier
Relocation completed !
The tiler who came to replace the damaged tiles and patch up the cracked groutings
Friday, May 22, 2009
Day 18 - (22nd May) Installation of cabinets and PD doors
Today was a very eventful day. The first to arrive were the PD doors installers who were very early because the owner of the first unit that they were supposed to do the installation was not present to open the doors for them.
The installers (1 PRC and 1 Malaysian) were not bad. When they dismantled my common toilet door, they were quite careful and ensured that cracks in the walls and tiles were minimised. The PRC installer was rather patient and meticulous. He would check each part of the door and open/close the door several times, making adjustments and applying grease at the joings before he's satisfied of the installation. The Malaysian installer was also very careful when applying the silicone around the doors. I would say that they did a decent job :)
[Afternote: We noticed some scratches on the doors and the master bedroom toilet door started creaking.... time to call them for rectification ...]
The carpenters came at around the same time as the PD Doors installers. There were 3 carpenters that came. Generally, their carpentry works were quite good. The only deficiency is their installation. The rectifications that I would require them to do are as follows:
1) Scratches in the interior laminates of 2 doors of my top cabinets
2) Bad installation of the pull-out rack. They didn't measure the racks properly even though I've already given them a sample. They had to fabricate another piece of side-backing which was a few mm shorter. As a result, the interior looked very ugly. They also didn't install the pull-out racks properly and there was no allowance at the bottom-most rack.
3) Huge gaps inbetween doors to the extent I can see the racks
4) Wierd joining of the bottom interior panels.
5) Odd opening/ closing of the 2 doors beside my hood. Basically, the doors when opened will knock against the tempered glass. The correct method is for the doors to open away from the hood. (No common sense)
6) Imperfect abs trimmings
7) Odd design of the dish rack. The side panel attached to the disk-rack stopped mid-way and did not run all the way down to my tiles top. As a result, there's an odd corner.
8) Bad application of silicone at some areas because the carpenter forgot to smoothen the silicone.
9) Warped door
10) One interior panel was badly laminated to the extend I can see bubbles
11) The doors for the rubbish chute were fabricated wrongly
12) They didn't attempt to seal up the gap separating the sink and my hob.
I have informed Jason that I need to speak to him. He said will drop by tomorrow morning to check the quality.
One surprise of the day was the appearance of Uncle at around 3.30pm. He made a surprise check but unfortunately he did not pick up those flaws. Good thing was that he arranged for the air-con man to install the trunkings for my master toilet to be installed. However, the aircon man damaged by marble flooring... the worker cleaned the trunking on my marble flooring and in the end, there were streaks along the floor which cannot be cleaned away !
He also called Ah Di from SL to deliver a small piece of marble skirting because it was damaged by the tiler while hacking away the tiles.
Pics from Day 18 -
PD Doors delivered
Installation of the PD Doors
Completed installation
(i) Master bedroom toilet
(ii) Kitchen entrance
(iii) Common toilet
Arrival of carpentry lorry
Carpentry unloaded
iREX soft closing attachment and butterfly hinges
Installing the carpentry (like lego block) ...
Surprise visit by Uncle ...
End of day carpentry deficiency report :
(a) Lowest pull-out rack no allowance below
(b) Top pull-out rack too much allowance although I told the carpenter to divide the space equally for the top 3 racks ...
(c) Notice the odd distribution of the pull-out racks?
(d) Didn't look at the hood drawing before installing the brackets ... Ended up the hood was too short ...
(d) The cabinet doors opening and knocking the hood. They should open the other way !
(e) Gaps between the hob and sink
(f) Notice the legs of the internal shelvings? Some are inside, some are flushed ...
(g) The warped door in the middle (which had been removed)
(h) Notice the huge gap between the shelving and the concrete support?
(i) There was also 1 chipped ABS trimmings on the door - to replace
(j) The laminate for 1 door chipped - to replace
Measuring the trunking required
Cutting and installing the trunking ...
Damaging my floor in the process ....
[look at the way they clean the trunking ...]
Completed trunking job that took them more than an hour ...
The installers (1 PRC and 1 Malaysian) were not bad. When they dismantled my common toilet door, they were quite careful and ensured that cracks in the walls and tiles were minimised. The PRC installer was rather patient and meticulous. He would check each part of the door and open/close the door several times, making adjustments and applying grease at the joings before he's satisfied of the installation. The Malaysian installer was also very careful when applying the silicone around the doors. I would say that they did a decent job :)
[Afternote: We noticed some scratches on the doors and the master bedroom toilet door started creaking.... time to call them for rectification ...]
The carpenters came at around the same time as the PD Doors installers. There were 3 carpenters that came. Generally, their carpentry works were quite good. The only deficiency is their installation. The rectifications that I would require them to do are as follows:
1) Scratches in the interior laminates of 2 doors of my top cabinets
2) Bad installation of the pull-out rack. They didn't measure the racks properly even though I've already given them a sample. They had to fabricate another piece of side-backing which was a few mm shorter. As a result, the interior looked very ugly. They also didn't install the pull-out racks properly and there was no allowance at the bottom-most rack.
3) Huge gaps inbetween doors to the extent I can see the racks
4) Wierd joining of the bottom interior panels.
5) Odd opening/ closing of the 2 doors beside my hood. Basically, the doors when opened will knock against the tempered glass. The correct method is for the doors to open away from the hood. (No common sense)
6) Imperfect abs trimmings
7) Odd design of the dish rack. The side panel attached to the disk-rack stopped mid-way and did not run all the way down to my tiles top. As a result, there's an odd corner.
8) Bad application of silicone at some areas because the carpenter forgot to smoothen the silicone.
9) Warped door
10) One interior panel was badly laminated to the extend I can see bubbles
11) The doors for the rubbish chute were fabricated wrongly
12) They didn't attempt to seal up the gap separating the sink and my hob.
I have informed Jason that I need to speak to him. He said will drop by tomorrow morning to check the quality.
One surprise of the day was the appearance of Uncle at around 3.30pm. He made a surprise check but unfortunately he did not pick up those flaws. Good thing was that he arranged for the air-con man to install the trunkings for my master toilet to be installed. However, the aircon man damaged by marble flooring... the worker cleaned the trunking on my marble flooring and in the end, there were streaks along the floor which cannot be cleaned away !
He also called Ah Di from SL to deliver a small piece of marble skirting because it was damaged by the tiler while hacking away the tiles.
Pics from Day 18 -
1) PD Doors
PD Door delivery truck
PD Doors delivered
Installation of the PD Doors
Completed installation
(i) Master bedroom toilet
(ii) Kitchen entrance
(iii) Common toilet
2) Carpentry
Arrival of carpentry lorry
Carpentry unloaded
iREX soft closing attachment and butterfly hinges
Installing the carpentry (like lego block) ...
Surprise visit by Uncle ...
End of day carpentry deficiency report :
(a) Lowest pull-out rack no allowance below
(b) Top pull-out rack too much allowance although I told the carpenter to divide the space equally for the top 3 racks ...
(c) Notice the odd distribution of the pull-out racks?
(d) Didn't look at the hood drawing before installing the brackets ... Ended up the hood was too short ...
(d) The cabinet doors opening and knocking the hood. They should open the other way !
(e) Gaps between the hob and sink
(f) Notice the legs of the internal shelvings? Some are inside, some are flushed ...
(g) The warped door in the middle (which had been removed)
(h) Notice the huge gap between the shelving and the concrete support?
(i) There was also 1 chipped ABS trimmings on the door - to replace
(j) The laminate for 1 door chipped - to replace
3) Installation of air-con trunking in master toilet
Measuring the trunking required
Cutting and installing the trunking ...
Damaging my floor in the process ....
[look at the way they clean the trunking ...]
Completed trunking job that took them more than an hour ...
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