In this post, we will carry on to discuss more about the quotation and the scope of work involved.
After masonry works, we will look into the plumbing work quotation below. For plumbing works, it is pretty much straight forward. One thing to take note is the type of pipes that will be used. As a rule of thumb, for resale HDB housing, stainless steel pipes will be used. Reason is because stainless steel pipes are not suitable for concealment. This is due to the fact that stainless steel cannot be welded. As for condo & private housing, mostly copper pipes will be used. There is another kind of pipe in the market, it is called the PPR pipes. PPR pipes is suitable for concealment in walls.
Also, make sure that bathroom accessories installation fees are included! (E.G toilet paper holder, towel rack, shampoo holder). If you require hot water for basin & sinks, be sure to let your interior designer so they can cater it into their quotation! Some appliances might require water inlet as well, such as dishwasher, fridge, water filter.
Following the plumbing works, we have the electrical works. Now this is the tricky part (especially in resale flats, for us at least). Some of the designers out there might not include electrical price into their quotation, they might give you a unit rate instead. Others might just give you a lump sum price instead. Let us try to explain it to our best ability.
It is only fair that works are being charged when they are done. Having a unit rate will let you know roughly how much does each of the points cost. In the example below, if we are able to calculate that your house require only 30 lighting points, it is understandable that the cost for the lighting points will be S$1,200.00 (30 x S$40.00). The same goes for other electrical points.
Do note that while it is nice & cool to have lighting effects around your house, this effect might have a spike in price. For e.g, people usually would want their kitchen to be well lit, they opt to have lighting effects underneath their kitchen cabinet. This will incur a cost of S$40.00 (A) + S$ 25.00 (B) = S$65.00. (A) is the lighting point cost, and (B) is the labour cost to install the LED strip light. Do note that this cost does not include the light fixture itself!
Another thing to find out from your interior designer, what kind of switches are they providing! For us, our default switches are Legrand Malia or Legrand Belanko. Other brands such as Berker, Yung, Schenider might incur extra cost!
After the electrical works, we have the plastering works. Basically plastering works are false ceiling works. However, other works that might fall under this category includes building a dry wall, ultra hard plastering to smoothen existing walls.
Do make sure that your interior designers’ quote includes what you want in the false ceiling design! I.e. cove lighting effect, cornices, pelmets.
Next up is the carpentry works. As this is usually the bulk of the quotation, we encourage our clients to ask us as many questions as they can. A lot of things to be taken note here!
Most basic things, make sure all hinges are soft closing! Soft closing hinges do 2 things. 1. It prevent your cabinet doors from slamming. 2. Since it doesn’t slam, it protects the longevity of said cabinets. Also if you are a fan of anti-slam, make sure that your interior designer factor in the cost for soft closing drawer tracks also!
Be sure to ask your interior designer what finish will you be getting for the internal portion of the cabinet. If they say colour PVC, do ask which range you are able to select from! If you see something you like that is NOT within the range, do ask them if it will incur extra charge if you were to select something else!
Your counter top usually falls under this category also. Some quote that we have seen usually just puts “quartz” top. Do ask them which quarts they actually quoted, and what is the range that you can select from! Famous quarts brands that might be a bit pricier includes Caesarstone, Silestonem Deskton. Other table top materials includes EDL Compact, Kompacplus and of course your natural marble and granite.
Last but not least, do take note of the height of carpentry quoted! It is very common that people quote only up to 2400mm height cabinet. However, especially condo, your ceiling height usually extends beyond 2400mm. Make sure that you are maximising your storage space by requesting it to be full height!
Lastly, we have the painting works. We like to group painting works & cleaning works under the same category (Miscellaneous). Here, all you have to note is what kind of paint did your designer quote for you, for both walls & ceiling. It is not uncommon for designer to use Nippon Matex white for ceiling. For us, we make sure that your whole house is of the same type paint, Vinilex 5000.
Also, find out if there will be a surcharge if you would like a different colour for your ceiling!
There you have it! Our advise for all home owners. There are some aspect that is not covered here. For example, vinyl flooring, window doors, door works. We will touch on those next time!
