Article first published at A Million Little Echoes, link: http://mmlittlee.blogspot.sg/2017/09/the-making-of-mmlittle-absolute.html
FIRST INSPECTION – 19 July 2017
9. Bedroom doors not being able to latch
10. Missing cap on window handles
Just before I sent the forms in for submission, I added one last defect – The air-conditioner in our living room was not working. That made a nice round figure of 120!
I handed in the list with a heavy heart and waited for the developer to call us in for the first joint inspection with myself, Absolute Inspection and the main contractor.
One week later, the first joint inspection was set up.
This time, Wee Kwang came and I was impressed that he could walk-through the developer and main contractor with just the list his colleagues sent to him! Kim and Ben were the ones who inspected the house, not him. So it was truly a magnificent handover.
As our water supply hasn’t kicked in on the day of the first inspection, Wee Kwang took the chance to check the water pressure and toilet flooring for ponding during this visit. I wouldn’t have thought about flooding the toilet with water just to check if it will drain really. Thankful to have a professional who does this day in and out, knowing what to look out for.
It didn’t take very long for the joint inspection because apparently Wee Kwang is familiar with the representatives from the developer and main contractor. He had inspected their previous projects elsewhere. Hence, they knew what he wanted and accepted everything that he pointed out. Everyone took note of every defect on the list to carry out rectification works and here is a visual summary created by the main contractor, showing the extent of defects in the house.
A month had passed. It was time to handover. What I did not expect was that Wee Kwang would have to write a new list of defects that have not be rectified even during that one month grace.
He told the main contractor, “Ah okay! Hopefully this time it will all be fixed. Not bad. From 120 to 50!”
50 defects after 30 days? That is still a lot for me to swallow! These were not even new defects! Oh can they be more efficient and honest with their works?
We put aside only half an hour to have this handover finalised but ended up at #mmlittle家 from 1800 hours to 2000 hours with Wee Kwang and the main contractor! From daylight to nightfall, Wee Kwang had to plug in his trusty portable bulbs into our wall sockets to continue checking defects.
We gave the main contractor another 11 days to work on the 50 defects. THIS HAS GOT TO BE OVER! But no it wasn’t.
There were still defects that haven’t been rectified and Wee Kwang found some new ones including a warped door. I have had Absolute Inspection over for the fourth time and I was getting really tired by now. What seems to be the final handover ended up with works that were not done.
It came to a point where Wee Kwang asked if there were other priorities that I am weighing besides getting all the defects fully rectified. He explained that the bulk of the outstanding items were cosmetic in nature and if I had other bigger priorities on hand like starting reno works on time, I might want to consider letting go some of the non-critical surface damage. I agreed.
We gave them another nine days to rectify the rest of the issues including changing the warped door. I finally commenced by Renovation Works on 20th of September 2017 after two months from key collection.
Defects inspection service is NOT regulated in Singapore and there are many companies offering this service without construction background nor experience. With a dozen defect inspection companies in Singapore right now, how do you choose the right one to work with?
I had to do my research carefully to give this job to the right person. Reading on Wee Kwang’s background, I felt most assured to put #mmlittle家 in the hands of his team. Only a handful hire inspectors with real construction knowledge and experience.
Wee Kwang was formerly a scholar with the Building and Construction Authority, graduating with a 1st class honours in Mechanical Engineering at NUS. A former deputy director in Building & Construction Authority [BCA], he was trained in BCA CONQUAS, which is Singapore’s yardstick for construction quality. He has performed more than 2,000 home inspections since 2015, making him the most highly sought-after defects inspector in Singapore. His team combines a mix of expertise ranging from site construction to waterproofing, plumbing and renovations, and is personally trained and led by himself, who has more than 10 years of experience in the construction industry.
My advice as a home owner is to encourage people to look beyond the fees and check on the company’s track records and client’s testimonials as well. Not all defects inspection companies are knowledgeable and well trained.
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