the most expensive is carpentary works eg: kitchen cabinet, wardrobes etc. anything that involves wood

can easily costs up to 10k+ each depending on the dimension, materials, design etc

if you dont need to do this can save quite a lot actually

electrical works also will costs a bit more if it involves more complexity eg: hacking


if you want to ease up on cash flow, for electrical appliances and furniture, I recommend to use credit card installment (of course you need to remember your budget and spend within your means)

This post has been edited by ZeneticX: Aug 17 2022, 06:25 PM

forgot to mention that curtains also not cheap if you are doing full height

Honestly if u want to avoid unwanted costs and overhead (eg: marked up pricing, management fees etc), you can skip IDs and come out with your own design, then once you have the rendering you can look for your own contractors. The materials and fittings eg: paint, lighting and switches you can bulk purchase yourself to save up even more

The software (Coohom or 酷家乐) takes some time to learn and will cost a bit of money for high res renders or premium models, but its still much cheaper than engaging an ID. Yes takes time to learn and you need to spare some time also for researching and managing your contractors (essentially you are your own project manager) but if you really want to save money then that's the trade off...

This post has been edited by ZeneticX: Aug 21 2022, 02:40 PM

the hardest part is getting the 3D render correct (this takes time to familiarise yourself with the software, I myself started learning and designing from beginning of the year whereby my house is only ready by around year end), then next is to find your own contractor. Always show them the design first and make sure they are able to do what you want, after that would be to negotiate prices etc

if you want less hassle, best to have a master contractor cover as much as possible eg: electrical, painting, ceiling, carpentary. So you only need to deal with one party instead of multiple parties. but this may come at a higher cost

if you want to maximise savings, then you can have seperate contractors for each element. But take note this will take more time including survey and planning, also it might be a pain later during renovation stage as different contractor have to overlap and work with each other (unless u do it stage by stage which again consumes more time), so you really have to manage carefully yourself. The savings might not be significant as well in the end so its probably not worth the hassle....

This post has been edited by ZeneticX: Aug 31 2022, 03:22 PM