Renovation questions,answered straight

ALUMAX supplies, fabricates and installs the physical products — cabinets, wardrobes, doors, windows, office systems, wall panels and SPC flooring. ELS is the layer that sits in front of that: we plan the scope, specify materials, lighting and M&E, coordinate the trades to one approved plan, and run QC — all before work begins. In short, ALUMAX builds; ELS makes sure the right thing gets built, in the right order, the first time.

Configuration is included; design authorship is charged. Choosing one of the six curated styles and configuring standard ALUMAX products costs nothing. Original design work — space planning, bespoke detailing, technical documentation — is a paid professional service. However, under the ALUMAX Cabinet Design Privilege, customers who confirm RM50,000 or more in eligible ALUMAX cabinetry have the whole-property harmonization fee credited in full against their order, so a committed buyer pays nothing net for it. The credit applies once the threshold is reached; it is not a refund if it never is. Premium lighting planning, renovation coordination, bespoke feature-space design, additional drawings and work outside the stated privilege remain separately chargeable.

Style harmonization applies one approved ELS colour and material language across selected spaces and adapts ALUMAX products to the property. Full interior design involves broader concept development, custom layouts, feature spaces, detailed lighting, non-ALUMAX selections and additional technical documentation.

You may save references from different styles, but ELS will establish one primary design language and normalize conflicting colours, patterns and finishes. Mixing every preferred element without control usually creates an inconsistent result.

When the project has more than one trade, more than one wet zone, or more than one quote to reconcile. A single-cabinet swap rarely needs us. A full-house renovation — where plumbing, electrical, tiling, carpentry and aluminium all have to line up — is exactly where unmanaged scope turns into rework. If you can't point to one document that everyone is building from, that's the gap ELS fills.

Design Direction from RM800 — direction, layout logic and material strategy. Design + Specification from RM1,500 — a documented spec covering materials, lighting and M&E that contractors can actually price against. Coordination Studio is on a project basis — we coordinate trades to the approved scope and run QC through the build. All fees exclude SST.

Site measurement is from RM300 within Sibu and from RM500 outstation. It is creditable against your project on confirmation — so if you proceed, it isn't a sunk cost. We measure properly because guessing dimensions is one of the cheapest ways to cause an expensive on-site clash later.

By moisture zone, not by budget. Dry areas (most cabinetry, wardrobes) can use a quality moisture-resistant board graded E1, E0 or ENF. Wet zones — wet-kitchen base units, bathroom vanities, laundry — should use ACP or honeycomb aluminium, which don't swell when they get wet. Choosing by price alone is how people end up replacing a swollen base cabinet two years in.

They are not the same thing, and the confusion is expensive. E1/E0/ENF are emission grades — they describe formaldehyde release, not water resistance. "Moisture-resistant" board tolerates humidity and brief splashes; it is not built to sit in standing water or take a daily soaking. For genuine wet exposure you want a non-absorbent substrate like ACP or honeycomb aluminium. We spell this out so nobody buys an emission grade thinking it's a waterproofing rating.

Treat the wet kitchen as a wet zone from the start. Base units that meet water — around the sink, the wash area, the heavy-cooking zone — belong in ACP or honeycomb aluminium, not moisture-resistant board. Plan drainage falls, splash protection and ventilation before carpentry is ordered, not after. In Sarawak, a wet kitchen that's specced like a dry one is a future repair bill.

A good contractor manages their own crew well. Coordination is a different job: making sure plumbing, electrical, tiling, carpentry and aluminium agree on the same dimensions, sequence and finished levels before anyone commits. When each trade optimises for itself, the clashes surface on site — and on-site fixes are the most expensive kind. ELS coordinates everyone to one approved scope so the build matches the plan.

ELS is the planning, specification, coordination and QC layer — we don't sell or install the products ourselves; ALUMAX does that. Specialist works such as waterproofing, broader flooring systems, façade, drainage, CCTV, landscaping, ventilation systems and premium restoration are handled on a project basis as coordinated multi-trade scope, not bundled into a flat fee. We'll always tell you what sits inside the fee and what is a separate line.

SPC flooring is an ALUMAX-direct product — supplied and installed by ALUMAX. Broader "flooring systems" work that involves levelling, waterproofing or several trades is ELS project-basis, because it has to be coordinated, not just laid. If you only need SPC, that's a straight ALUMAX product line; if the floor is part of a bigger scope, ELS plans how it fits.

These describe the ALUMAX product spec level, separate from ELS service tracks. Standard is the core stocked spec. Comfort is upgraded finishes and specialty detail. Premium is bespoke or heavy-duty work. Product pricing sits with ALUMAX and is confirmed after measurement — it depends on your spec and site. ELS's own fees are Design Direction from RM800, Design + Specification from RM1,500, and Coordination on a project basis.

It depends on scope and how quickly decisions get made, so we won't quote a fixed number — that would be a guess. What we can say: the time spent agreeing scope and spec up front is far shorter than the time lost to on-site rework when nobody agreed it first. We'd rather set a realistic schedule with you once we've seen the site than promise a deadline we'd have to break.

Yes. ELS produces the scope and specification and coordinates the trades; your contractor can build to that plan. The value is the same either way — everyone works from one approved document instead of several conflicting assumptions. We're the planning and QC layer, not a replacement for a builder you already trust.

The Pre-Check is where we understand your property, your wet zones, your existing quotes and what's actually at risk. It's how we tell you honestly whether you need full coordination, a specification only, or just direction — before you commit any fee. It costs nothing and it's the fastest way to find out where your current plan is exposed.

Yes. We plan, specify and explain in both English and Simplified Chinese, including the material and technical terms that matter — ACP, SPC, E0, emission grades, wet-zone logic. The goal is that you understand exactly what you're approving, in the language you're most comfortable making decisions in.

Sibu is our base, and site measurement there starts from RM300. We also serve outstation Sarawak, where measurement starts from RM500 to cover travel. Wherever the property is, the same climate logic applies — heat, humidity, monsoon rain, termites and flood risk drive the material choices, not postcode.

Because decisions made mid-build are made under pressure, with trades waiting and walls already open — that's when budgets slip and corners get cut. Specifying first means materials, dimensions, lighting and M&E are agreed when changing your mind still costs nothing. It's the difference between directing the work and reacting to it.