This article is contributed by Vincent Ha, CEO of LyteLease, a fintech company servicing landlords and real estate agents in Singapore.
Most homeowners think of the company renovating their home simply as the “renovation company”. In reality, there may be several different businesses and professionals sitting between you and the person actually carrying out the work.
That distinction matters because each party may have a different role, responsibility and reason for being paid. After going through three renovations, including an addition and alteration (A&A) project on a landed home, I learnt that understanding this structure is not just an academic exercise.
It can affect how much you pay, who you hold accountable when something goes wrong and how difficult it is to fix a project midway through.
Renovation Projects Can Have Several Layers
For a typical home renovation, a homeowner may engage an interior designer or main contractor. That company may then work with subcontractors carrying out individual trades such as carpentry, tiling, electrical work or plumbing. Materials can come from yet another group of suppliers.
For landed A&A or other regulated construction work, the structure can become more complicated. An architect, professional engineer, builder and project manager may all be involved alongside subcontractors and suppliers.
Think of it as a kueh lapis. Each layer exists because somebody is taking responsibility for a particular part of the job, and each layer may also add cost.
That is not necessarily a bad thing. You are often paying for knowledge, coordination, design, supervision or accountability that you would otherwise have to provide yourself.
The important thing is knowing what you are paying for.
Who Sits In Your Renovation Kueh Lapis?
The higher the layer, the more its price includes a margin for coordinating the layers below. Skip a layer and you save that margin, but its responsibility moves to you.
| Layer | You pay them for | Engage when | If you skip them |
| 1. Interior designer Top layer: most coordination margin | Design, drawings, space planning, and coordinating all the trades | You want a designed look and one point of contact | You make design decisions and brief the contractor yourself |
| 2. Main contractor / builder Coordinates layers 3 and 4 | Executing the work: managing subcontractors, materials and schedule | You already have a design, or the job is simple | You coordinate every trade and referee disputes |
| 3. Subcontractors Carpenter, tiler, electrician, plumber | Doing one specific trade | You know the process and can manage it closely | Can’t skip: they do the actual work |
| 4. Suppliers Bottom layer | Materials | Usually via the layers above | Impossible to skip |
What An Interior Designer Is Usually Being Paid To Do
An interior designer is typically responsible for areas such as design, drawings, space planning and coordinating how the finished home should look and function. The appeal is straightforward: you have one party to brief on the overall look and someone who can coordinate the various trades needed to deliver it.
But the interior design firm may not physically carry out all the work itself. Most firms subcontract much of the renovation work to contractors and tradespeople, while others may have certain capabilities in-house, such as their own carpentry workshop.
This is why homeowners should not assume that “in-house” and “one-stop” always mean the same thing. Ask which parts of the job are carried out by the company’s own team and which are subcontracted.
A Main Contractor Focuses On Executing The Work
A main or renovation contractor is generally more focused on execution. The contractor manages subcontractors, procures materials and coordinates the construction schedule. In the case of HDB renovations, these contractors are typically registered and approved with HDB.
For homeowners who already have a design or whose renovation is relatively straightforward, engaging a contractor directly may reduce one layer of cost. But that also means you may need to take greater responsibility for design decisions, drawings or coordination.
The quality of the finished job can also depend heavily on the subcontractors assigned to your project. The tiler or carpenter who worked on a previous project you were shown may not necessarily be the person who turns up at your home.
That makes it worth asking not only about the contractor’s track record, but also about the teams who are likely to be working on your project.
Going Direct To Subcontractors Can Save Money, But Adds Work
Homeowners can also engage individual trades directly. In other words, a Do-It-Yourself (‘DIY’) option. This cuts out a layer of margin and gives you a direct relationship with the person responsible for that particular piece of work.
But the savings come with a big trade-off. Someone still has to coordinate the carpenter, tiler, electrician, plumber and other trades. If the sequence goes wrong, one contractor may blame another. If a defect sits between two areas of work, it may also be unclear who should fix it.
When you remove the main contractor or project manager from the equation, much of that coordination becomes your responsibility. Going direct can therefore work well for homeowners who understand the process, have experience and are prepared to manage it closely.
An appropriate time to use this is if you have a specific job in your home you want to do, such as replacing the tiles of a bathroom or adding a piece of custom-built furniture for a room. Some IDs or main contractors may even refer you to trusted subcontractors if they feel your job is too small for them to take on.
Licensed Professionals And Builders Have Different Roles
Certain work involves licensed or regulated professionals. A professional engineer may be required for structural work, while a licensed electrical worker is responsible for specific electrical work.
Their role is not the same as that of the contractor carrying out the physical construction. For landed projects or commercial and industrial projects, the distinction becomes even more important.
An architect may handle design, submissions to the authorities and supervision relating to the approved plans. A builder carries out the construction work according to those plans. A separate project manager may also be engaged to monitor progress and coordinate parties on the homeowner’s behalf.
The key point is that the company receiving your money is not necessarily the same party carrying every professional or regulatory responsibility on the project. That was something I did not pay enough attention to during my own landed A&A project.
“One-Stop” Does Not Always Mean Everything Is In-House
In practice, the lines between these roles can become blurred. A renovation contractor may employ an interior designer, an interior design firm may own its carpentry workshop, and an architecture firm may provide project management.
Combining several services under one roof can make a project more efficient. There may be fewer handovers and one main point of contact.
But homeowners should still understand what sits underneath the company name. When a firm describes itself as full-service or one-stop, ask which parts are genuinely done by its own employees and which are being subcontracted.
Pay As Much Attention To The Business As The Design
Most homeowners naturally spend a great deal of time choosing tiles, colours, carpentry finishes and layouts. Those decisions are part of what makes a renovation exciting.
But the less visible questions can matter just as much. Who is actually carrying out the work? Who is coordinating the different trades? Who is responsible if something goes wrong? And who are you actually paying?
Every additional layer in a renovation project costs money, but it may also provide expertise, coordination and accountability. Removing a layer can save money, but that responsibility does not disappear. It usually moves to you.
Before deciding whether to engage an interior designer, contractor, individual trades or a combination of them, understand what each party is being paid to do. That makes it much easier to decide which layers are worth paying for, and which ones you are genuinely prepared to manage yourself.
Read Also: Complete Guide To Buying Landed Property In Singapore
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