Sembawang Crescent

Like a typical first time home owner, my partner and I were excited about our renovation journey. We asked for quotation from 6-7 ID firms before deciding with Tab Gallery. What stood out was, responsiveness, price, good reviews online. We were assigned the ID, E, when I reached out to them on their Facebook page. As I know exactly what I want in my renovation, I don’t need the ‘design’ service of the ID, I need the expertise, experience in renovating HDBs, coordination, project management, and contacts to the various sub-cons. I know getting a contractor is cheaper, but Tab Gallery market itself as a ‘contractor’ on its website hence I thought was the reason why they could give such a reasonable price. E was the most responsive about all those I sourced and actioned very fast to send me quotation, clarify my questions etc. Although I feel he is not a designer per say, I needed someone whom can deliver fast as I wanted to spend 3-4 months max on this project. After signing the contract and payment, things went downhill. Design and Space Planning I was never given a 2D drawing but 3D drawing, which im perplexed as I don’t understand how a 3D drawing can be drafted without a 2D. Reason I want 2D is, I want to be clear on the dimensions and positioning of the carpentry, false ceiling, etc. I need 2D so I know how big my ceiling fan should be without hitting the walls, how big my sink should be without compromising the counter space, how far my hood should be, how long my dining table should be without blocking accesses to other parts of the house etc. Till today which is 4 months later, I have no idea. Thankfully, another ID did draw for me when I was sourcing for quotes so I use that as a gauge. To give him benefit of the doubt, I did share the one done by another ID to him so maybe he thought that was it. Requirements not noted down I have asked for him to hack one side of the toilet door to make the door entrance wider, that is quoted and understood in our contract. Hacking usually occurs on the first 3 days of reno. To my surprise, that wall was not hacked? And I only found out because I went to the unit to check, he did not tell me. After that I met him face to face (I think to choose tiles/ laminates), and I asked him about it. That’s when he said that ‘oh actually that day the HDB person said cannot hack / try not to hack. Firstly it is definitely Not the structural beam and nowhere even near it. If it is true that ‘try not to hack’, why can’t he tell me when it was raised to him, and not weeks later when I brought it up? I can only sense that he missed to tell the hacker that, and hope it goes unnoticed. If really cannot hack, he should tell me asap right? We spent hours at Hafary choosing tiles, and he wrote down the code of the tiles on his memo, or some paper which Hafary gave him. I believed he wrote down which tile is for which room / wall. I asked him to send me a copy of the memo he wrote, so I can refer to it in future. He said OK but till today, I have never seen it. One fine Sunday afternoon while I was lunching outside, I received a video call from E – he is onsite with the tilers. The video call is to ask me which tile goes where. It needs to be clarified ASAP as the tiler is ready to start tiling. I’m like….. didn’t he write that down? What if I’m in a movie and did not pick up the phone? I’m flabbergasted. My partner has been asking me where is this and where is that, as if im the ID and I still continued to give E the benefit of the doubt, but this made me hard to find any excuse for E already. I went almost daily to the house to see the tiling. It is obvious E only appeared to give instructions on the first day, then disappeared. The tiling is clueless about some stuff and clarified with me, thank goodness I am there. For example, position of drain pipe etc. The tiler also tiled the skirting of a new erected wall, which should not be tiled. I had to take a photo and send to E, which he quickly then ask the tiler to remove. When tiling was near completed, I noticed that the grout was black against my light blue floor tiles. I did not like it and asked the tiler to change directly. Which I then wondered, why was I never asked for my preferred colour of grout? As it was my first reno, I also forgot to specify but as an ID, shouldn’t the finer details be asked to the homeowner and not assumed? Workmanship The workmanship of the tiler is atrocious, even after grouting, so many holes in the grout which looks like a perfect ants nest. I took photos and send to E all the time. All he does is a post box – I will follow up 2 days later, which he will then reply its done (I wonder if I don’t ask he will say or not), but when I go back onsite, its still NOT done, or only partially done. The fixes are all in bits and pieces which would be resolved if E is online to check and monitor. I engaged a professional defect checker – he told me that this is the worst tiling job he has ever seen, and he is shocked at how low my standards are. His words to me was that the tiling / tiler is ‘very jialet’, ‘give me free I also don’t want’. I am building a shower niche, and I saw that the tiler has tiled the whole wall behind the niche, which I thought was a waste of time and material. I asked E, he said so that if I ever need to remove the shower niche, it will still look nice. Now I think back, he is probably just trying to charge me for more materials used. I have another example later to explain why I feel so. The shower niche was not built according to specifications, it was too small and unable to fit my shampoo and mouthwash. I felt this could be avoided if E has gone down to check on the tiler’s work. I don’t know why I even bothered hand-drawing with my specifications. One day we went to the house and noticed all the left over tiles have been cleared, which I think is part of the process before doing the other works. However, my shower niche is not built yet! Because we need the plumber to install the pipes first then build the niche. Anyway, so I asked E, and he said the tiles are moved downstairs so as not to block the passageway. But I think he just forgot to tell them not to clear all the tiles as it is needed again to build the niche. Anyway, doesn’t matter as long as he doesn’t charge me for it. My point here is he has poor planning. Then came the electrical rewiring, or rather – the wall. As this is an old resale flat, the walls are in terrible shape, previous plaster were flaking off, wire trunking that were being pulled out still have some parts stuck on the wall, nail holes, silicone remains. When my partner and I went over, we were appalled to see that the electrical guys just nail the new trucking over the existing silicone, leaving a gap between the wall and trunking. I understand that no wall is perfectly smooth and straight, but this is a lot, not just a small area, as im doing a complete rewiring of the house. We asked the electricians to stop what they were doing, and remove whatever trunking they have put up. As our ID, I am surprised E does not care about aesthetics (or at least ask us?) but only the fastest way to complete this reno. Carpentry – I bought a drawer dishwasher which needed very specific carpentry. I sent the specifications which included a 3D diagram with the measurements to Elson in Feb. the requirements included a hole to be drilled adjacent to where the dishwasher will be for the pipes. Even a layman like me can understand what needs to be done. On the day of carpentry installation, I texted Elson to emphasize that I need the hole to be drilled. And I needed a socket in the adjacent cabinet for the plug of the dishwasher. So, the carpenters came, and left. He shared photos (taken by carpenter, not him) of how they placed my dishwasher and the hole was NOT according to specifications (to my horror). I asked him why they did not follow the diagram, he said I did not tell him earlier. I searched for my chat history and showed him that I shared the diagram in Feb. He then replied that this kind of diagram him / carpenter will not understand (???) I was flabbergasted. If it is really so hard to understand, why not ask me earlier? Its 2 months since I shared. And before the carpenters arrived I texted him to ask again when are they coming so that I can go down myself to explain to the carpenters (although it should be his job). Poor Communication and managing client’s expections I believed it is not uncommon to add on requirements during reno to be charged later in a Variation Order. 1 month into our reno we have asked for more requirements and asked for the VO. He said ‘ok I will send’, but never did. We gave up chasing I understand that during covid times, resources are scarce and unpredictable, but as a PM, any delays should be communicated. I already buffered for delay in my own timeline, and expecting some progress every week, even minimal ones. However, when I asked for an update, the reply is usually ‘XXX will be done next week’, etc. or ‘XXX cannot come today because YYY’. I mean, I am fine with valid reasons but tell us? Summary E does have some good points, which is he is usually responsive. A text is usually replied within hours, although the answers may not all be what I want to hear, but at least he responds. He can suggest workarounds in solutions and designs, to cater for what we want vs the limitations of the house. He is somewhat responsible – there was a line in the quotation which I felt was outrageous - $3K to cement plater the kitchen wall (???). and I was never informed of this cost upfront although he claimed he told us in person. There was no text or whatsapp so no black and white evidence. Nonetheless, he deducted $500 from it saying that it is his fault for not putting in black and white and just want to move on and not let our relationship sour. (this could still be a overcharged tactic but oh well) He does not evade difficult questions and will try his best to answer. issues we have are: • Does not check on workmanship, specifications, details, quality. Instructions to contractors were given via voice message / text. Even in person, it is very brief • Lack of communication to clients • Not attention to details. Always missed out explaining details to contractors • Work based on assumptions • Failure to action when he says ‘will send tonight’ ‘will send later’ • E only acts as a postman / mailbox, coordinates the contractors. Good points are: • Responsive when you text • Able to find workarounds to achieve your requirements