hi all,

i wanna ask for opinions regarding a small toilet renovation - whether price reasonable or not. my parents got quoted almost 9k for it. i don't know whether i should list out all, but here are the major ones:

install new piping work c/w floor outlet pipe - 950
supply & install new floor pipe line at toilet c/w install of toilet bowl - 1250
supply & install plaster ceiling & cones (4' x 7') - 450
supply & install wall tiling (152 sq ft) - 1450
supply & install floor tiling (4' x 7') - 336
shower screen 4' x 6' - 980
supply & install new piping work and install water heater c/w wiring work - 860
painting - 360

honestly i can't really figure out how this works. i asked abt buying own supplies n look around for toilet bowl price n all n told my mum abt it to cut cost as much as possible, but the contractor said if we buy our own they wont be responsible afterwards if anything happens for things like water heater etc. my parents still want to do renovation for other part of the house, so if this price is reasonable i guess we could proceed with this contractor. is this quotation reasonable?

thank you in advance.

This post has been edited by gerl: Jul 5 2011, 03:25 PM

why not u buy tile by yrself and ask yr contractor for tiling workmanship? seem that high price if they supply & install..

i thought of that, but the guy told us to go to this shop n pick the tiles instead because he said he will be taking from that shop anyways.

is the price really very much different from buying our own? we picked tiles that cost abt 2+ or 3+ from the shop.

The type and brand of tiles, and toilet WC make lots of difference in price. Ask them for the brand and model of WC, and brand of tile they plan to use.

if you buy tile your own, i guess u can save only around 100+, coz quantity too small tile shop will charge delivery charges or some shop even ask u to take yourself by your own car, but if you are condo, then i think u need to spend some other money to ask ppl bring the tile from ground floor to your house, coz tile shop worker will only deliver your tile to ground floor only.

This statement .. it looks a bit stupid to me .. it's not like the contractor themselves that makes the toilet bowl, sink, water heater,
tile, etc. If each single item is malfunction, you go to the respective shop that sells it. If it cause by installation issues, then, it is
the contractor's problem.

On the other hand, if the contractor handles everything, if anything happen, you just have to go to them only.

Hi Gerl,

If you intend to purchase the material on your own, there are few things you must bearer in mind :-

a) You need to ensure the material is delivered on time to your Labour-Sub contractor. If not, I'm sure alot of unnecessary words are flying around.

b) For WC installation, if you purchased on your own, please ensure your Labour-Sub-Contractor understood the installation method and please make sure whether you are using P-Trap or S-Trap.

c) The most important, you need to monitor the progress of works as well as Quality Checking. You required to know a lot of installation method as well as Testing and Checking procedure.

Hope the above comments would give you some idea how is your renovation going to look like... Enjoy the process... cheers

the shop's name is kimgress. googled for it so i guess it's kimgress brand.


yes, i thought of this too actually, ours is terrace house. we wondered though if the contractor might be able to get a better price than the one displayed by the shop since he says he frequents the shop.


yah i kinda feel the contractor is abit like trying to scare us like this..but my parents in the end scared that it will be troublesome if the contractor dun wan to handle anything afterwards if we buy our own stuffs so agreed with him.


thank you for the info...i will try to read up on it, but i suppose for most of it we have to rely on how things look like at the end.

i just hope we're not wayyy overcharged for things since he said it's the best price already and my parents didn't try to negotiate after he said so. never thought it will be that expensive to re-do a small toilet though.

Why must you buy at one certain shop only? Look around for more options. The contractor obviously get commission for buying from that one particular shop. If he doesnt want to do it then look furthermore. Why dont you ask Indo's workers. Its cheaper and efficient too. After all they're the one who built your house in the first place

floor tiling 4x7...small toilet only?
my toilet size is around 7x7. my contractor charge me for:
Install the floor tiles + water proof = 750
Install the wall tiles = 2000

Above is included hack and disposed rubbish from condo, included all material except tiles.
Plumbing work for water heater/relocation of piping and toilet bowl(reuse back)....around 500.

so my budget per toilet is 5K .

we went to this shop because the contractor told us to actually. yes i think we will definitely look around for the next 2 toilets. i don't really know how efficient they are, coz there's one day where the contractor come n scold them for doing things wrong and end up doing the work with them n work extra hour one. one question though - if we go find other indo workers to do just the tiling won't this be risky in terms of we can't exactly be sure that the workmanship will be good, and if it didn't turn out ok later we can't find them back right?


yeah its a small toilet. i'm guessing no water proofing done coz i read ground floor no need water proofing
hmm our toilet bowl is kinda old so we can't reuse it, but yea i would have thought a small toilet with a budget of 5k is quite alright which is why when we get quoted 9k i thought it was expensive for a small toilet.



do you guys normally negotiate/ask for discount when you guys get quoted? do you find out how many tiles needed n all, to see how much ur getting charged for one etc? if yes, how do we find out?

my parents think having a good relationship with the contractor is rather necessary..tt makes it kinda hard to know the limit on what is normally done or cannot be done when it comes to these things.

Actually 9K for small toilet is expensive! Did he know what brand of WC, price can range from 200-1K.
and why contractor must buy tiles? Owner should buy the tiles they like rite?
For the size of 4x7x9(H), maybe you just need 100pcs of 1'x2' tiles...and this will cost < 1K.

Water heater, did u tell him what brand u like?
I buy the alpha smart 18E nice design cost me 400 and installation cost me 150 only with wiring and power point.


the best way is to compare few quotation within chinese contractor. and they able to tell u why and what is different on term of price.

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Added on June 22, 2011, 11:06 am> supply & install plaster ceiling & cones (4' x 7') - 450

Plaster ceiling also very expensive. i think should be < 150(included man hole access)

This post has been edited by wrb7878: Jun 22 2011, 11:06 AM

Hi everyone here,

I guess you guys only know about the Material instead of the works involved....

Sometimes it might involved alot of works and not the material.. Apart from that, I can see that max 2 workers can be working at one time... This might caused extra time required for the workers....

Hi gerl,

Are you re-routing any of the Pipe Line.. Both water and sanitary piping? Cos based on your Thread, you mentioned that you are changing the pipe line....

I'm just trying to be rationale here and give what is the best for everyone here....

he only say will install panasonic one coz he said that's good. this contractor actually recommend alot of things since he done alot of houses before(that's what he said la so my parents v fast trust him ><)
ok by now i guess it is a bit too late to get quotation from other contractor, but i guess it should be ok for the next toilets.

wah the plaster ceiling really? that's like 3 times more..



yes you are right, i also take into consideration that they might charge higher due to workmanship and also alot of work since alot of things they have to do manually n all..

i'm not sure what you mean, but with this toilet we re-do the septic tank too behind the house..this one quoted 13k+ and since we dont know much about this we just have to go through with it since the septic tank alrdy not good and gases came out n we can smell it..
i suppose we do re-route coz i can see they make 4 new longkang for toilet, washing machine etc..since the toilet change new i guess piping all new also coz can see the toilet bowl change place alrdy.


thank you all for the help and info

Hi gerl,

Since you are redoing your Septic Tank, the work is very messy... Maybe you could attach some photo of the works involved.. At least everyone have a clearer picture...

Well I wouldn't comment on the price unless I really know the scenario... If you need any info or assistant, feel free to drop me a PM...

Im curious what tiles are you using? Looks super expensive ones i can see

where did u get the contractor's contact? Why not get LYN contractors to quote u as well? Seems like he is trying to cut ur throat. If he ask u to buy from a specific shop, 100% he is going to get commission and the stuff u buy are definitely expensive.

It's obvious that they do not want you to buy yourself so that they can make a cut of buying the product themselves.

i would give u one but when i got home just now they oredy cement the back part of my house.
and about the septic tank i think the price no need to comment edi since work has alrdy been done
but thanks! are u a contractor or something? you seem to know lots


wah i tot the one we chosen edi cheap cheap u noe..ok maybe medium cheap but definitely not expensive range lei..ceramic tiles i think? let me check back my mum's fone to see if got keep the tile picture and the price n name later k.


from my aunt..i think he did some stuffs for her sch..well i would get LYN to quote me but i'm in kuching so tt's not rly possible
well i guess don't really mind if he take abit commission, its business after all right? just that abit worry if rly cut throat, so check with u guys here lor..


hmm no ppl answer me yet..normally u guys will negotiate price or not? is it do-able or it's a no no later contractor give black face?

Hi gerl,

You from KCH....???

I'm has been in the Construction Industry for almost 10 Years... Actually I has been in Consulting for more than 5 Years...