Hello, as stated in the title above. Is there any advice you would give to people who are totally new to house renovation?

Long version:
I have problems on insisting they should do thing certain way because

1. I'm not well verse in the construction stuff thus even it looks bad, I'm not sure if I should say something.
2. I tend to think that contractor would do the best that they can for customer.

But sadly the 2 is not always the case. My steel meter pipe was connected with hdpe joint. Thus, the meter pipe position become crooked? Bent? Basically it doesn't look good. The next thing I notice is the hdpe pipe connected to the kitchen is not properly buried in the ground.

So, Is there any advice you could give to me? Is there any specific part I should look out for?

Thank you in advance.

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This post has been edited by blancpain4470: Jan 26 2021, 05:01 AM

You need to look back to your bill of quantities, plans and also agreement as to what standard both parties have agreed to.

It depends on what the customer wants.
If purely on $ quoted..where just to tick the boxes, contractor will use the most elcheapo method to do.
This will work but after 5 years later. Want to redo, will be tricky (e.g. if plumbing for WC unit all use permanent chloroform fitting (hardcoded, the only way is to saw off as twisting off might loosen the other concealed fitting inside the wall part which will be a headache to repair since its concealed - instead of using the proper screw thread fitting that is more user serviceable).
Why they use hardcoded fittings is because they're cheap - as compared to buying screw thread fittings and connection nipples. Extra cost. But hardcoded has cons at the price of anything happen, end user cannot fix it easily.

Same goes for electrical wiring. There are good cables, cost more. There are cheap no name no standard cables, cheap not because they have lobang for cheap copper that the other mfg don't, but the cable is not pure copper... it is mixed with other cheaper metal like aluminium.. which still work but in terms of load rating is rubbish. Or not enough copper thickness but make the insulation super thick so it looks (on the surface level) that it is correctly sized.

Bricks wise.. clay bricks (red bricks), sand bricks, solid AAC blocks, hollow concrete blocks. Each material has pros and cons. If customer don't specify..most likely default to sand bricks (cheapest option)

You need to find the right contractor that can deliver to your standards. Some research needed on what materials are out there in the market.

This post has been edited by ceo684: Jan 26 2021, 09:04 PM

Well, its undeniable older generation of contractors/workers tend to have their own way of doing things. It is most likely that they will reject any new opinions because they have been doing the same method for so many years.

1. If it looks bad to you, get a second opinion. And discuss with the contractor calmly to see any better ways to improve it. Even though we are renovation contractor ourselves, we do find that many workers/Subcon will easily get offended when we directly pointed out wrongdoings.

2. To think it positively, I think most contractors in the markets always wanna deliver the best works for customers (within the agreed budget range). Because we rely on words of mouth referral too. And quality works goes a long way.

Meter position crooked - this seems like an easy fix, he might need to shift the meter stand a bit to get in line with the new pipe, which involves hacking, digging up the incoming supply pipe, extending it and relocate.
If the contractor has quoted in the relocation of water meter, then should be no problem for him to do so. But really can't give any proper advice without a photo.

HDPE pipe not properly buried in the ground - ground as in earth/soil ? concrete slab ? or cement screed layer. can't advise much without any photos.

In my opinion, if you're doing extension or remodelling for old houses. Structural integrity will be utmost important for your safety. Then, followed by proper testing of all new M&E (wiring, plumbing , aircon). The last only comes to architectural, joinery, ID finishes where those are only for aesthetic purpose and will not really cause you any harm.

If it is a new house, then most of your renovation work will only be ID finishes. Just go through one round of all the material used before contractors proceed with the works. Quality-wise, it's very subjective and varies depending on price, as long as it doesn't look bad to you should be fine.

I've searched high and low for good contractor and he's fine
Like you said he did use cheapest option for bricks. Somehow, I got to buy doors myself and after asking him about his budget for doors, He quoted 2k for 5 doors. Again with the cheapest option, kayu chapca (idk how to spell it). I was too careless with my planning.

I'm sorry that I replied very late when you've taken your time to type out such useful advice. Thanks for your response

Thank you for your detailed explanation. The first advice does help me avoiding conflict with contractor. My main cons is good, but the subcons for piping is a bit careless. There are many incidence of leaking pipes. (Outside under the soil, at the joint which is easily fixed but once he drilled the wall for screw ended up drilling holes in the pipe. He didn't turn off the tap when he went home. It flooded a room) Now, I'm waiting for him to fix another leaking pipe in the wall, the pipe he installed recently.

The crooked meter was solved. He fixed it after I talked with the main cons. The HDPE pipe now safely buried under the ground.

I got into accident and completely for got about the thread. It was rude of me to reply late when you've generously offered your advice. Thank you so much

sorry to hear about your mishap & do have a speedy recovery. i have recently have my house renovated and being just an average income earner, I tried my best to purchase all necessary renovation materials on my own. i come to realised that raw materials are reasonably priced but the same cannot be said for labour. a standard regular unpainted door may cost RM 75 and RM 85 if it is customized. however, the installation rate that comes with a standard door knob (between RM 10 and RM 13) and paintwork will cost you and additional RM 300. to ensure i am not taken for a ride, i approached a few other dealers and realised that it is quite a standard offer.

bottomline, things will be cheap if you know how to install it on your own.

Thank you. Congrats on the renovation. It must have been time and energy consuming. I hope you're happy with the result.

I guess I really should have planned meticulously I don't even ask about labour cost. I simply asked for rough estimation. Alas it's a done deal. The thing I could do now is to do inspection thoroughly when they are done and ask them to repair the mistake. As for the door, I'll do the painting. I need to control my spending. Apparently, the roof is leaking, I need about 11k to fix it as they need to rearrange the roof but that would have to wait for a while. Too scared to use my emergency saving.

Again, congrats for the renovation as I am going through it I realize that renovation is so tiring. Now that you're done, it must have been a huge relief.

Yes, you can say that again. The most challenging part is to strike a balance between my work and my home renovation while I am working from home.

Speaking of roof, I had my leaky roof repaired too. The challenge in repairing my roof is sourcing for an aging roof tile that is no longer in production. I have easily searched more than 10 hardware store before i found the roof tiles that i needed. I had my 2 main wood columns replaced using MS rectangular hollow section that cost me mere RM 140 and replaced more than 80tiles that cost me RM 3.50 each. It may be 2nd hand but cost more than a new tile. The contractor came twice after a heavy shower to check on his work.

Thinking back, it was never a pleasant experience to take renovation into own hand but i do saved a lot.

How do you identify your roof tiles? Does it have the number code like floor tiles or you take off one roof tile and bring to the hardware shop to search for similar shape and size?

I'm wondering if I could do it myself. The problem with mine is the space where the tiles sit on the next tile is quite short. So when it's stormy, the wind blew the rainwater to the back of the roof. Since the space is quite short the rainwater flow under the roof and thus the leak. The problem is I'm afraid, I even have to put in more wood. That would be too hard for me.

I did it the old fashion way where I have a tile removed and bring it around with me.

Since you are adventurous and would like to explore a little on your DIY skill, you may go ahead by removing a tile and put it back just to determine whether you are up to the task. That is how I usually does it.

Lol I can imagine that now. I guess I'll be following your footsteps very soon.

I'll try this. Hoping for positive out come. Thanks for the tip 😁

Tip: Work in the morning when the temperature in the attic is still cool.