Zest Design has walked off our project because we refused to pay more money (we have 5% left to pay and he has about 15% to complete).
We also discovered many problems. Badly done plumbing, gaps in the walls, unfinished plastering, incomplete staircase, leaking roof, only 1/3 waterproofing of roof, etc.
We were too trusting. It was easy to be convinced by Victor as he is well spoken, drives a Singapore-plated BMW 5-series, had a ‘pleasant’ & friendly personality. How wrong we were!
Some suggestions when engaging a contractor:
1) Include every small detail in the contract - the smallest things, - wooden railing, dock locks & handle, plumbing, window & not just frame
2) State delivery date in the contract & insist on day rate compensation. Our reno was supposed to take 4 months. It has been 11 months. Contractors take your progress payment, move workers around to another job, etc.
3) Never pay more than 25% upfront. Insist on 20% payment till after completion. We made a mistake of only holding 5% for final payment.
4) He tried to confuse us with multiple different Excel sheets, etc. When we were in dispute, we went through the records & picked up double-billing of the same item, quoting for materials that weren’t actually used, etc.
5) Take your own Measurements - Victor was charging us a larger area than the actual size he did the tiling and plastering. He was also charging us for better and different material then he actually used.
6) Make the contractor put down the deposit with Management office. Apparently common.
7) We got an outside quote for our glass doors requirements as Victor’s was too high. The difference in price between was RM8000!
8) Always double-check that your contractor indeed has the experience and expertise to do what you need safely and correctly.
9) Don’t Rush into it. We were too trusting and too “chin chai” as we were taken in by his ‘pleasant’ and friendly personality.
Good luck!
We also discovered many problems. Badly done plumbing, gaps in the walls, unfinished plastering, incomplete staircase, leaking roof, only 1/3 waterproofing of roof, etc.
We were too trusting. It was easy to be convinced by Victor as he is well spoken, drives a Singapore-plated BMW 5-series, had a ‘pleasant’ & friendly personality. How wrong we were!
Some suggestions when engaging a contractor:
1) Include every small detail in the contract - the smallest things, - wooden railing, dock locks & handle, plumbing, window & not just frame
2) State delivery date in the contract & insist on day rate compensation. Our reno was supposed to take 4 months. It has been 11 months. Contractors take your progress payment, move workers around to another job, etc.
3) Never pay more than 25% upfront. Insist on 20% payment till after completion. We made a mistake of only holding 5% for final payment.
4) He tried to confuse us with multiple different Excel sheets, etc. When we were in dispute, we went through the records & picked up double-billing of the same item, quoting for materials that weren’t actually used, etc.
5) Take your own Measurements - Victor was charging us a larger area than the actual size he did the tiling and plastering. He was also charging us for better and different material then he actually used.
6) Make the contractor put down the deposit with Management office. Apparently common.
7) We got an outside quote for our glass doors requirements as Victor’s was too high. The difference in price between was RM8000!
8) Always double-check that your contractor indeed has the experience and expertise to do what you need safely and correctly.
9) Don’t Rush into it. We were too trusting and too “chin chai” as we were taken in by his ‘pleasant’ and friendly personality.
Good luck!
