$20k renovation turns sour: Homeowner and contractor in bitter dispute

A homeowner who spent over $20,000 on renovations is claiming that delays and a string of errors prevented her from moving in before Chinese New Year.

The renovation company, however, is pushing back, arguing the delays stemmed from the homeowner's constant design changes.

Ms Zhou, 53, told Shin Min Daily News that she hired 7 Design Pte Ltd in December 2024 to renovate her executive maisonette in Canberra Road, Sembawang.

She'd hoped to settle in before the festive season, but the experience, she says, became a "nightmare".

She found the company through Facebook and initially only planned to replace her kitchen cabinets and create a partitioned guest room.

"We just wanted minor renovations in time for the New Year, but not only was it delayed, the mistakes were endless," she said.

"The biggest issue was the kitchen cabinets, where the measurements were completely wrong, even after multiple adjustments."

Ms Zhou signed the contract on Dec 13, 2024, with work scheduled to begin on Dec 16. However, demolition of her old kitchen cabinets was delayed by a week.

"They removed the old cabinets and suddenly told me I had to pay the remaining balance before they could install the new ones. When they finally installed them, the measurements were completely off," she stated.

She continued: "The kitchen island was too small, so they simply thickened it with wood planks. The cabinets were too large, and they just told me, 'That's how it is.' They even suggested I buy a bigger sink to make it fit."

She added: "I paid for custom cabinets, not a patchwork fix when things go wrong."

Having previously been burned by a different renovation company, Ms Zhou decided to share her experience publicly to warn others.

"I already had one contractor run off with my money. Now, this company keeps making mistakes. They should either replace the cabinets completely or give me a refund."

When Shin Min Daily News contacted 7 Design Pte Ltd, the renovation company's general manager, Mr Sun, refuted the accusations, claiming the delays were due to the homeowner and her partner's frequent changes to the design.

"The two of them often had different opinions. We ordered the cabinets based on the initial confirmed dimensions, but later, they said the measurements were wrong."

Mr Sun also claimed he began work even before receiving full payment to meet their deadline.

"I genuinely wanted to complete the renovation before the New Year. I even started the electrical and plumbing work first, without collecting payment."

However, he stated that redoing the cabinets for free was not an option, though he was open to discussing potential fixes.

"I don't want to argue with her. If there are areas we can fix, we are willing to do so."

Ms Zhou also alleged that the company never provided updated blueprints despite multiple design revisions.

"He only ever had one hand-drawn sketch, even after all the changes. I never saw any revised plans."

Mr Sun countered this, stating that while the original blueprint was modified, it was always shown to the homeowner for confirmation.

"She asked to check the dimensions, so I personally went to her house to explain. But they kept delaying their approval, which prevented us from generating a new plan," he explained.

In another point of contention, Ms Zhou claimed she was unexpectedly charged an extra fee for a permit after already paying a deposit to remove the roof of her laundry area and install a window.

"I confirmed multiple times that they could start work immediately. But the day after I paid, they suddenly said I needed to pay an additional four-figure sum for a permit."

She eventually hired another contractor, who completed the work for $2,000 and did not require a permit.

Mr Sun admitted he had forgotten to mention the permit fees during the initial discussion.

"To my knowledge, any internal demolition requires a permit, but I overlooked the permit fee during our agreement."

He added that since Ms Zhou chose to hire another contractor, they had refunded her money.

"I don't understand why she says no permit was needed for the other company, but we were required to apply for one," he said.