Blog
Sometimes it is best to do Nothing!
« Transforming property is not cheap...
But taking cheap shortcuts is not only dangerous it is also much more expensive in the end.
Sometimes it is best and safer to do nothing and wait to be able to do it right ! »
Stefano - Atelier 24 Founder.
September 2021
Difficult to decide
In early 2020 a customer here in Dubai shared he had received 3 quotes and was really puzzled and un-able to decide.
Very simply, the first quote was for 700k dhs / the next one was 375k dhs / and the cheap one was for only 105k dhs.
Atelier 24 estimate was the middle one.
When he shared the vast gap in pricing for the same scope of work we were puzzled and our first thought was to double check to see if we made any mistake.
There were no mistakes - of the other 2 quotations, one was a short list of items and only a total amount at the bottom, and the more expensive one contained a sketched, a table with sub-total (but no breakdown). So indeed very hard to compare the quotes and decide.
Interestingly when the customer advised that the most expensive quote was rejected that contractor reduced instantly the price by 100k dhs. Rightly the customer decided not to pursue with that contractor.
If not for the 2020 pandemic we would have been happy to proceed as we had agreed terms with the customer at the initially quoted price (as per standard practice); but that year brought some more challenges and they moved back to Europe.
The point here, in what is sadly a common story, is that we really understand how hard it can be for customer to compare and decide.
This is why we detail our quotation : a standard Atelier 24 quotation document is a 10+ pages document with all terms, plans, breakdown of cost inc procurement of materials and so on...
But the temptation to save money is also big ... and once again what is important, as with most thing, is to understand what you get for your money.
How Dangerous
can it really be?
To be honest, and thankfully most of the time it is not very dangerous, but out of the different issues we saw a few involved serious danger occurring or about to occur.
Sadly faulty or substandard electrical / plumbing work can lead to extreme accidents.
The gallery bellow shows some real examples of the things we saw, which are not legal / compliant with the local regulations but which are sadly imported with the cheaper / low skillset contractors.
Also common are poor and cheaply made products which essentially are a waste (waste of money, waste of resources adding to environmental problems, and waste of energy and time).
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The dangerous ones
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high pressure plumbing installed without suitable pipes / fittings resulting in a villa flooded on first and ground floors
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electrical twisted wires connections which are not compliant with the regulations as it presents a spark risk (fire risk)
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The waste of money ones
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bedframe custom made of 10mm MDF covered with fabric and almost no structural support, leading to a real risk of ending the night on the floor
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lighting fitting with sub-standard wiring (thin wires not suitable to normal voltage)
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tiles which are neither flat nor with perfect angles
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So yes, to avoid the above it is better to do nothing, wait and put a bit more money in saving to do it properly later, and only once!
It may not be obvious, but fixing poor quality work is simply more expensive than doing it properly the first time - so that would simply add further to the costs, and frustration.
And indeed, just like a good transformation can increase substantially the value of your property, a poorly executed one will most certainly not had any value, or the opposite: lower the value of the property.
« it is better to do nothing,
wait and put a bit more money in saving to do it properly later;
and do it only once! »
