'The paint was dripping everywhere': Woman shares renovation woes that dragged on for more than 8 months

Creating the perfect space is every homeowner's dream. That's why engaging the right interior design firm is key if you want a smooth renovation process. 

However, this homeowner's experience was far from easy. 

TikTok user Natashakwek shared a clip of how her home renovation had dragged on for more than eight months. 

[embed]https://www.tiktok.com/@natashakwek/video/7220450088613678338[/embed]

Allegedly bad paint job, poor communication

She said that she had hired a well-known renovation company, though she didn't identify the company in the video. 

According to her, things started going south quickly when the senior designer of the company hired several painters. 

She claimed that she was promised that the paint job would be good, but it ended up becoming a horrible experience for her. 

She then elaborated on how "the paint was dripping everywhere", including the toilet's tiles and her wardrobe. On top of that, she highlighted that the edge of one wall in her flat was painted inconsistently, causing a "crooked, in and out" appearance. 

Allegedly, the designer told the painters to redo the paint job, but they couldn't do it. 

In the end, Natalie said she resorted to repainting the wall herself, and used paint thinner to clean up the paint stains. 

In addition, there was apparently poor project management on the part of the company. She claimed that the team kept pushing responsibilities to one another, from the designer to the project manager to the business manager. 

Furthermore, she mentioned that the company had a high turnover rate. During the whole renovation process, she communicated with three interior designers, two project managers and three general managers.

This apparently led to miscommunication, resulting in the renovation not being up to her standard. 

When AsiaOne contacted her to ask if there was any form of resolution with the company, she simply said: "No compensation, no rectification." 

Singaporean couple's 9-month renovation nightmare

In an article by Stacked Homes, a homeowner who goes by the initial L also faced road bumps with her interior design firm when she wanted to renovate her HDB home. 

Right from the beginning, L faced problems due to the lack of a work schedule. These difficulties got worse over the next six months as she apparently encountered challenges with the interior designer's insufficient management of subcontractors, limited communication and what she felt to be a general lack of commitment. 

It also didn't help the situation when her project was repeatedly handed over to different designers. Eventually, she was left to work directly with the boss of the ID firm.

Since there wasn't any proper handover, the boss was working on the project without any house renderings. 

There were also other major inconveniences such as the cramped master toilet, wrongly hacked walls and the poor maintenance of the house. 

Tips for a winning renovation

Picking the right interior designer or firm is a tough job in itself, but here are some tips to ensure a successful renovation.

Avoid paying upfront. Always make sure there's a proper payment structure.

One example of this would be payment in tranches, such as 10 per cent once the flooring is done and then 40 per cent once the kitchen is done. In essence, you should only be paying for the work as it's finished. 

It helps to have a realistic time frame for your renovation. "As fast as possible" is not always the best idea. 

Do get the start and end date from the contractor in writing; but try to work with them rather than just dictate impossible dates. Find out how much time they need to do the work well. 

Make sure to check whether your contractor or interior designer is properly insured. Why, you ask? Because home content insurance rarely covers damage caused by renovations. Rather, damages are supposed to be claimed from your contractor's insurance. 

Here's one way to avoid miscommunication with your ID. 

Whatever agreement or change your contractor makes absolutely should be in writing. This can include email exchanges, text messages, or actual written documents. 

READ ALSO: Home renovation woes: Interior design firm says 'we face challenges too' during Covid-19

venkat.gunasellan@asiaone.com

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