To be honest I don't like a lot of the interior designs I see here, they are to my eye, overly elaborate verging on the baroque. If you look a little closer you'll often find the work poorly fitted and looking rather shabby 5-10 years down the track.

Most of the work is done by interior decoration firms who act as middle men and are not likely to be interested in small jobs. Assuming they want the work, the people you get won't necessarily be the same workmen who worked on your friends apartment.

So I am not inclined to ask for recommendations from locals that I know here.

I agree with your understanding on the design style common here. Part of the process of decoration is the hours spend in markets selecting types/ quality etc of the materials you use. The idea is that the carpenters do what they are told with the materials the home owner has supplied them.
If you do choose to work through a decoration company, rather than with a sole- trader as I usually do, then sure you may get different contractors, but references from previous clients who are friends can also be of value.

The Liberace-style interiors of many peoples homes here is not really the fault of the carpenter. What would you do if you were given a massive chandelier and baroque ornaments to install in the lounge of a 70sqm apartment?
On a somewhat related note I understand Home Depot is to close several of its big stores in China. Wonder if B&Q are heading the same way. With "service" like that it would be no suprise...

I've said it in here several times before. B&Q sucks. Their prices are ridiculous and they usually do not have what you need anyway.
I wouldn't go there on a bet.

Lesson learned. Sorry for you troubles.

B&Q in Kunming is particularly bad. Especially on product range, for example they will sell 6mm nuts and washers, but no 6mm bolts.

The only good thing about B&Q is that if it says Toto on the product, it IS Toto, unlike the decorators markets.

In B&Q, or anywhere else, I only buy what I can see on the shelf. Never ask about lead times as nobody knows, especially this far West, and nobody will admit to ignorance.

I expect no knowledge from the staff they are not ex-tradesmen. There is no product knowledge. They are mostly shelf fillers.

If I buy paint I only buy Nippon or Dulux, expensive but it will cover well and last. Cheap paint (cheap anything) is a false economy.

Toto is a good brand, all the issues you had would appear to be B&Q cockups with your order.

Never do anything over the phone. You never know who you are speaking to and the other person knows this.

Always ask the right question. The answer yes may in fact mean something else. How do you know the right question? Ask the same question at least 3 different ways at different times to check for consistent answers.

Remember promises are cheap, or even worthless.

Remember the Asian Equation. — Even if it cannot possibly go wrong, it will do.

B&Q is an attempt to replicate western style DiY centers. In China, DIY is not that common. There are so many laborers available that one can find someone to do the work more quickly and (often, though not usually) with better results.

We "decorated" (finished, by western standards) a 140 sq.m., 4 bedroom, 2 bath apartment in Shi Ji Cheng, by doing the contracting ourselves. We consulted with material suppliers and got references for crafts people. We checked the previous work of our main carpenter and it turned out that he was an excellent "jack of all trades." Anything he did for us (electrical, plumbing and carpentry were excellent. Paint from Dulux was excellent, but the painters were very inexperienced. We had to teach them how to paint. The tile floor installers awesome (under the direction of our carpenter, but the tile finish people were mamahuhu,

We contracted directly with Toto for all of bath fixtures and only bought what was in stock. The quality was excellent.

We designed a western style kitchen with wall over, cooktop, dishwasher and disposal. The kitchen designer totally botched the measurements and cabinets order and had to redesign and rebuild the cabinet. This happened even though I presented a complete design with measurements and cabinet layout. We also had to supervise the appliance installation because they had never seen these appliances before.

Being one's own general contractor was time consuming, but rewarding both from a sense of accomplishment as well as monetarily. In 2006 currency we saved about 25,000 to 35,000 RMB.

Finally, I take great offense at words like "gorilla" to describe day laborers who do back breaking work that most westerners wouldn't ever consider doing. These are human beings you are talking about who do
thankless, heavy work that is pitifully compensated. Have a little compassion and stop bellyaching so much. Things are different in China, that part of the reason most of us go to China. There is always the road home if it's too intolerable.

Ahmet,

Perhaps you might like to pass on the contact details for this "excellent jack of all trades."

@Ahmet
I used the term gorilla to accurately describe the labor from inexperienced and sometimes outright fraudulent animals posing as tradesmen. I paid a moving company to move a well packed household. 90% of the wine glasses were smashed. A filing cabinet with roller wheels - smashed. To do something like that - you'd have to drop the EMPTY filing cabinet from the top of the 2m high truck bed straight onto a concrete surface. They were not a moving company - they were gorillas pretending to be people.

It doesn't matter pay high, pay low, or pay fair. An agreement for services rendered is an agreement for services rendered. Trying to cut corners, replacing purchased product with substandard or fake knock-offs, lack of care and respect for one's profession is intolerable and tantamount to fraud.

I paid an electrician supplied by the maintenance firm to install two electrical outlets side by side - not aligned and crooked. That is a gorilla. You yourself said you have to watch over your workmen DAY AND NITE while they're on site, not to mention a total botch from the alleged kitchen construction crew despite detailed blue prints. You're obviously and experience contractor (you have blueprints) as opposed to perhaps @lummerlaoshi et al. So again CAVEAT EMPTOR. There is no trust.

Kunming most especially has a plethora of unskilled labor - I know they're just trying to survive - but their problem is NOT my problem and I detest and refuse to accept other people trying to slough off their problems onto me.

As a potential halfway point - perhaps I should have captioned my comments as "beware of animals posing as people" in Kunming's construction industry. If an INTERNATIONALLY reputable brand such as B&Q can yield such intolerably poor service as @lummerlaoshi opines - one should beware the animals posing as humans and treasure those rare professional tradesmen and craftsmen who take pride in their work.

Word of mouth aka guanxi is critical to keep one's stress level to a minimum, especially when you'll be looking at the fruits of your labors for some time to come. I'm positive EVERY time @lummerlaoshi looks at his bathtub - his has to consciously stop his blood from boiling. The crap services from B&Q-KUNMING and their ilk ruined the peaceful fengshui @lummerlaoshi was trying to build into his home, for quite some time into the future.

@lummerlaoshi - after the hating period dies down - try to think of this in an amusing anecdotal way...somehow, but I doubt your shadow will be crossing a B&Q threshhold anytime soon.

B&Q is a multinational brand - they don't get that way by being a crappy service, crappy product company. FYI - I took the liberty of forwarding this to B&Q UK's web complaint site. Kunming is such an isolated outpost that I doubt anything would result - but at least we provided feedback to the management the only way we know how - in English. Perhaps they can rectify the reprehensible service they've provided you ... somehow.

China's construction industry is substandard. Look at all the new highrises going up. Many if not all have crappy design and construction. In just a year's time or less, the building look like they have been there for 10 or more years. Many of the pavements are broken or loose. Not to mention the dirt that builds quickly because the maintenance worker don't give a crap and have no pride in their work. There's no pride in their building. This IS China. Accept it and you will probably live longer. I like how they show how beautiful it is in a computer generated design when they want to sell it to you. Nothing like the real thing.

There is a lot of shoddy construction around.

BUT

Not all construction is substandard here. If you are considering buying property you first must look at the construction company. Find out the standing of the company. Shanghai, Beijing, companies with a strong reputation also build in other cities. These companies rely on their reputation. The build quality is much higher than other local companies. The main developers to avoid are the ones set up as a consortium for one project only.

And even modern properties back home have problems. Especially those built in the 1980s and 1990s during the property boom in the UK.

I am in the stages of remodeling my new constructed townhouse. The design firm I chose in Kunming was a result of many months of investigation. That included visiting actual projects the design firm was currently working on. On site, I was able to observe and inspect the wiring, plumbing, fit and finish of the design firm's work. I also interviewed the actual customers about their satisfaction of the work and experience with the design firm's service to them. Including cost and time overruns.

From doing all this I picked the design firm I am using now. Funny enough, it is the same design company that did our present condo remodel. I required them to add clauses to the their contract that will assign a particular construction team I selected to do the actual work. (The design companys use several construction teams.) They are ALL different in their ability. I also added a clause that makes me the "final inspector" after each phase of construction. I have the power to approve each phase and I must personally sign it off before they can continue to the next phase. I will be on the construction site daily to observe and document the work. I have submitted very detailed instructions on how I want the wiring and plumbing spec'd, all the way down to jbox sizes, wire splicing, connectors, pipe sizing and water pressure specs. I have meetings with the architect AND the construction forman, pre planning the actual work and progress thereof.

I am adding almost 4000 meters of data and control wiring that will be run exactly to my specs, including wire routing, and labeled with my own wire conventions to the server room.

I buy all the building materials myself, including the house wiring. The exception of that being the A/C wires which the design firm requires their own specs and supplier.

This involves multiple travels to Shenzhen, Shanghai, HK, Gaungzhou, USA and Europe to buy from the factories directly. I will use as little as possible ANY material in Kunming. Should I have an issue with a product,(i.e flooring, electrical, plumbing, appliances, etc.), the manufacturer will answer directly to me as a the customer. I have on file that the materias (flooring, paint, wood, drywall) I am buying are certified radiation free and safe for interior installations. I'm even having my lighting custom built from an LED manufacturer in Shenzhen to my specs.

Please note many building materials shipped to Kunming are substandard, as Kunming is a "last stop" for suppliers and materials shipped to Kunming. What you buy locally IS NOT the same quality as buying the same thing from, say Shanghai.

This is a huge amount of work on my part. Some may say a bit anal retentive.....perhaps. But in the end I feel I have greatly lessened the odds of ending up with a shoddy, troublesome remodel. There is no other way to go about it in China, especially in a place like Kunming.

And again, NOTHING will come from B&Q. If they donated it all free, I would not accept it. Shoddy work, unskilled labor, blah, blah, blah does not have to be accepted as TIC. Only if YOU choose to accept it. Then it is only on you.

The cheap price for labor has nothing to do with your satisfaction of building in China. I will not allow it. If they have to do it over and over, so be it. But in the end, it will be done right and to MY satisfaction...period.

My building contract insures it.