Home rennovation delimma

carmine · 10-01-2009, 12:55 AM

am seriously considering rennovation of my 40yr flat. Since I already have all the concepts in mind IE which walls to knock down what theme I wanted, is it silly to go for a interior designer for the rennovation? I got a quoatation from a designer who is charging me 12% designer/project management fee on top of his contractor's quote which I think is rediculous as that puts the job at >1.2mil!

Except for the kitchen design, which could get tricky, the designing he has to do for the rest of the house is very minimal.. I dont think its fair paying the extra 12% for things I could have done myself. But I have to admit having someone manage the whole process is going to save me a lot of headaches though, but at 12%? is this reasonable here in HK?

My flat is an old low rise roughly 1900ft in which I am completely redoing the kithcen making it western style, wiring of the flat, complete rennovation of 2 bathrooms, wooden flooring for the whole house plus knocking down 2 non structural walls. Pretty big job, does anyone with similar experience know what is a reasonable estimate? It is not going to be lavish, but rather updated to a style I want.

I have no idea what something like this will cost so any advise is needed! Thanks!

boblam07 · 10-01-2009, 11:42 AM

Can't really add on this but understand your point.

When I had my place done, my contractor and designer was horrible at best with low quality material and workmanship. Ask to see his previous works that fit your style before you make any decision. It does not mean they're OK for one to be good at others.

Also, I have ton of flooring problem of which the wood plank I used was wavy and cupped. The floor was lay during the spring time which was really wet. And the whole floor was not leveled.

Be careful on the wording in the contract, ie lay new floor and make sure it level. It's not you to tell them what to do but they to come up with the idea how to make the floor level.

Good luck

Oldtimer · 10-01-2009, 09:06 PM

We completely renovated our 2000 sq feet apartment four years ago. Bathrooms and kitchen were redesigned.No structure changes to Bedrooms and sitting/dinning area. New electrical wiring, lights, gas pipes etc. It costs about $400 per sq foot.
Did not use interior designer. Our contractor designed it as per our ideas.
He did a good job, within time and budget.
Most people have problems with contractors, because they keep changing their mind, thus delaying the work and increasing the costs.

Lammarite · 10-01-2009, 09:47 PM

Our kitchen is all Ikea which sounds really cheap but it is good stuff and they will do the flor plans for you if you give them the measurements. I think they do the same for bathrooms too.
12% seems very high- especially as you are in the stronger position in this market. Offer him 6% and see where he goes with it.
I'd also be vary wary of doing a 1.2 million refurb on a 40 yr old flat too.

carmine · 11-01-2009, 11:41 AM

Originally Posted by Lammarite:

Our kitchen is all Ikea which sounds really cheap but it is good stuff and they will do the flor plans for you if you give them the measurements. I think they do the same for bathrooms too.
12% seems very high- especially as you are in the stronger position in this market. Offer him 6% and see where he goes with it.
I'd also be vary wary of doing a 1.2 million refurb on a 40 yr old flat too.

Hi there, thanks for your advice, can you elaborate on what I should be wary of in refurbishing a 40 yr old flat?

Also I want to add that it is prob more fair if the designer charges a percentage that is not fixed. For example if the job is chealper then percentage should be lower. 12% on one million is a lot of $$$! But designer is a close family friend and he already discounted from his regular rate of 16%. Because of our relationship, I really did not feel like bargaining.

Can anyone give me any reasons that will justify me handing the project to this designer? thanks

Thanks