Due to the urgency, we met up a few times very soon after the 1st, to confirm/finalise designs, select tiles, lightings, bathroom ware in the next 2 weeks. By then, J (our contractor) & us talked & joked like old friends.
Knowing that we intended to move in before CNY, J was being very nice to volunteer to commence renovation works immediately without demanding for a deposit. And he's really fast, we received both updates from him at the same time - (1) the approval notification he got a couple of hours ago from HDB to tear the walls & (2) the walls were already gone.
Knowing that we intended to move in before CNY, J was being very nice to volunteer to commence renovation works immediately without demanding for a deposit. And he's really fast, we received both updates from him at the same time - (1) the approval notification he got a couple of hours ago from HDB to tear the walls & (2) the walls were already gone.
This was taken on the 10th day into our renovation, on a Fri, which was a Public Holiday
On Sat, a day after the PH, we called J but it's Malaysia ringtone & then were told by him that he's having a weekend company trip to KL then. We agreed to speak again on Mon when he'd be back. Mon, hubby & I had lunch together & we needed to check something with him pretty urgently. So we called him. Still Malaysia ringtone & we guessed he's driving back so we hanged up shortly. In the afternoon, hubby tried again a couple of times but it's still the same ringtone. After work, as usual hubby came & picked me up. After some small chats about my work, hubby asked me to get mentally prepared for some news. Then he said: "J passed away". Just a few words but suddenly, I was like being hit by a gust of wind... so strong that as if I lost my balance because my head swirled & heart was palpitating violently.. & so sudden that I wanted to ask "you ain't serious right???" then the "am I in a nightmare now??!?"...
The feeling was mixed... we're very sad that the blossoming friendship had to be put to a stop that quickly. We're still talking about introducing J to those we know as a good ID firm was really a rare find. Then at the same time, we're so worried about the renovation of our new home. You can see from the pic above, how big a mess we're in at that time. That night, we could barely eat & I couldn't sleep as I kept thinking what had happened to him in KL.
We attended his wake the following night. It grieved us greatly to see that the pretty wife and adorable 8-year old daughter he left behind had to cope with the sudden loss. So they're told that the cause of his passing was cardiac arrest - he felt unwell & threw up.. He then felt better so continued driving. Soon after, he felt unwell again & stopped at a petrol kiosk to rest. When the rest of his staff who were in other cars arrived & called for ambulance, he's already unconscious. Unfortunately, the ambulance lost its way & took more than half an hour to arrive. He's pronounced dead in hospital.
The feeling was mixed... we're very sad that the blossoming friendship had to be put to a stop that quickly. We're still talking about introducing J to those we know as a good ID firm was really a rare find. Then at the same time, we're so worried about the renovation of our new home. You can see from the pic above, how big a mess we're in at that time. That night, we could barely eat & I couldn't sleep as I kept thinking what had happened to him in KL.
We attended his wake the following night. It grieved us greatly to see that the pretty wife and adorable 8-year old daughter he left behind had to cope with the sudden loss. So they're told that the cause of his passing was cardiac arrest - he felt unwell & threw up.. He then felt better so continued driving. Soon after, he felt unwell again & stopped at a petrol kiosk to rest. When the rest of his staff who were in other cars arrived & called for ambulance, he's already unconscious. Unfortunately, the ambulance lost its way & took more than half an hour to arrive. He's pronounced dead in hospital.
All of us thought if the ambulance could come to his rescue in time, he could have been saved. But it's just "if only"...
At the same time, we're worried about their financial situation... as all of us know that many contractors have bad management of their cashflow.. that's why there're always cases of contractors running away after payment or delaying in completing the job. A staff of the ID firm called & asked us to give them about a week to sort out who'd take over our project. We agreed. I must say we're very worried then.
Less than a week later, works resumed. And they didn't even demand for payment. We're indeed impressed with their credibility among their suppliers as well as their finances. But the schedule of works were very badly.
At the same time, we're worried about their financial situation... as all of us know that many contractors have bad management of their cashflow.. that's why there're always cases of contractors running away after payment or delaying in completing the job. A staff of the ID firm called & asked us to give them about a week to sort out who'd take over our project. We agreed. I must say we're very worried then.
Less than a week later, works resumed. And they didn't even demand for payment. We're indeed impressed with their credibility among their suppliers as well as their finances. But the schedule of works were very badly.
