Renovation questions, answered straight

ALUMAX supplies the physical products — cabinets, wardrobes, doors, windows and office systems — with production routed through FLYHOME or selected manufacturing partners under ALUMAX's product specification, while installation and site coordination are carried out by the appointed service team and quoted as separate services. Installing flooring, wall panels and standalone glass is a separate ELS+ scope, only if commissioned after an assessment, and materials can be quoted by ELS Source, subject to suitability and quotation. ELS is the layer that sits in front of that: we plan the scope, specify materials, lighting and M&E, coordinate the trades' information to one approved plan, and run the QC checks set in the commissioned scope. In short, ALUMAX delivers the product; ELS plans and specifies it, recommends the order of the work and checks the hand-offs set in the commissioned scope.

Configuration is included; design authorship is charged. Choosing one of the five curated styles and configuring standard ALUMAX products costs nothing. Original design work — space planning, bespoke detailing, technical documentation — is a paid professional service. Premium lighting planning, ELS+ Renovation Delivery, bespoke feature-space design and additional drawings are 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.

Yes. FLYHOME is ALUMAX's own Ready-to-Assemble modular cabinetry, supplied and warranted by ALUMAX. ELS can incorporate suitable FLYHOME cabinetry into one of the five ELS style directions and coordinate it with other ALUMAX products. FLYHOME's P6 system is a dry-zone platform — used for dry-area cabinetry, wardrobes and living storage. Wet and higher-risk zones (wet-kitchen base units, vanities, laundry) are specified in ALUMAX ACP, honeycomb or aluminium; the one exception is under a kitchen sink, where ELS allows protected P6 only with ALUMAX's listed protections and where ALUMAX's site measurement finds P6 suitable, and specifies aluminium where it rules P6 unsuitable. ALUMAX handles product quotation, measurement, supply, installation and after-sales.

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.

Style Adaptation from RM800 for one room — whole-property colour, finish and material direction. Design & Specification from RM1,600 for one room — a documented spec covering materials, lighting and M&E that contractors can actually price against. ELS+ Renovation Delivery is quoted per project against the agreed scope and programme. Your contract for the works is with ELS Design and Build; your proposal names each trade and what it supplies. All fees exclude SST.

The ELS technical site survey is from RM300 within Sibu and from RM500 outstation, excl. SST. Your paid ELS site-measurement fee is credited in full, once, when within 60 calendar days of the survey you confirm either an ELS appointment of RM1,600 or more, or an ALUMAX supply-and-install order of RM10,000 or more. Confirmation requires acceptance and deposit. 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 — and a low formaldehyde-emission grade (E1, E0 or ENF) limits the formaldehyde the board itself gives off. That emission grade is a separate thing from water resistance. Wet zones — wet-kitchen base units, bathroom vanities, laundry — should use ACP or honeycomb aluminium; under a kitchen sink, protected P6 is allowed only with ALUMAX's listed protections and where ALUMAX's site measurement finds P6 suitable. Choosing by price alone is how people end up replacing a swollen base cabinet.

They are not the same thing, and the confusion is expensive. E1, E0 and ENF are formaldehyde-emission grades for wood-based board; none of them is a water-resistance rating. "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 unprotected moisture-resistant board; under the kitchen sink, protected P6 is allowed only with ALUMAX's listed protections and where ALUMAX's site measurement finds P6 suitable. 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's information to one approved scope and checks the hand-offs set in the commissioned scope, so differences from the plan are found earlier.

ELS is the planning, specification and coordination layer — we don't sell the products ourselves; ALUMAX supplies and installs its own products. Installing flooring, wall panels and standalone glass is a separate ELS+ scope, only if commissioned after an assessment, and materials can be quoted by ELS Source, subject to suitability and quotation. 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.

Installing flooring, including SPC, is a separate ELS+ scope, only if commissioned after an assessment; materials can be quoted by ELS Source, subject to suitability and quotation. 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 a floor laid, ask ELS+ about the installation; if the floor is part of a bigger scope, ELS plans how it fits.

These describe the ALUMAX product spec level, separate from ELS services. Essential is the core spec. Signature is upgraded finishes and specialty detail. Bespoke is fully custom 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 Style Adaptation from RM800 for one room, excl. SST, Design & Specification from RM1,600 for one room, excl. SST, and ELS+ Renovation Delivery 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 checks the hand-offs set in the commissioned scope; your contractor can build to that plan. Clients using independently appointed contractors must nominate a main contractor responsible for site management and trade coordination. The value is the same either way — everyone works from one approved document instead of several conflicting assumptions. We're the planning layer, not a replacement for a builder you already trust.

With Style Adaptation or Design & Specification, ELS provides the agreed design deliverables; your contractor, or the trades you appoint, build to them, and ELS recommends the order of the work and checks the hand-offs set in the commissioned scope. Clients using independently appointed contractors must nominate a main contractor responsible for site management and trade coordination. ELS+ Renovation Delivery is design, coordinated through delivery, on selected projects, with a proposal and contract of its own. ELS+ takes responsibility for delivering the works included in its contract, using selected contractors and specialist trades. ELS+ works are contracted by ELS Design and Build. Defects, warranty and payments are set in your proposal.

The Pre-Check is a free five-step form that runs on your device. It suggests which service fits (ELS+ Renovation Delivery, a specification, or direction only), the trades you may need and the documents to prepare, before you commit any fee. Send the result on WhatsApp if you want ELS to look at your project.

Yes. We plan, specify and explain in English or 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. Tell us your preferred language when you enquire.

Sibu as standard. Elsewhere in Sarawak by quotation, subject to schedule and capacity. The ELS technical site survey is from RM300 in Sibu and from RM500 outstation, excl. SST. 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 while changes are made on paper, not on site. It's the difference between directing the work and reacting to it.

ELS Design & Specification provides the agreed design deliverables. ELS+ takes responsibility for delivering the works included in its contract, using selected contractors and specialist trades. Your contract for the works is with ELS Design and Build; your proposal names each trade and what it supplies. ELS+ coordinates progress: scheduling, quality checks and handover records. Completion, dates and rectification obligations are the ones set in your contract. Defects, warranty and payments are set in your proposal. Work you appoint separately is outside the ELS+ contract.

Payments are set in your proposal.

Changes are approved in writing, with their additional cost and time, before they proceed.

Your proposal sets the programme and milestones, and how delays are handled.

Defect reporting, the response process and the warranty terms that apply are set in your proposal. Defects found at inspection and handover are recorded.

Items you supply yourself are recorded in your proposal, with the terms that apply to them.

Structural alterations need a separate assessment and an engineer, and are subject to that assessment.

ELS+ describes how a project is delivered. ELS Bespoke describes how extensively it is customised. A Bespoke project can also use ELS+.