Carpentry arrived with unforeseen cost.

Same China carpentry order as the feature-wall carpentry cost post — Jishang in Foshan. Vinyl is down, floor protection is sorted, 3PF is Ali (A-li 國際物流). The waiting stretch from the earlier post is over. Goods hit Singapore, last-mile at the EC threw an unforeseen cost, then on 2 Sep everything came into the unit.

Tall stack of flat-packed cardboard boxes on a wooden pallet, stretch-wrapped and strapped with green bands, on a warehouse concrete floor — Last-mile / 3PF warehouse staging — not at my house. Boards packed vertically in cardboard, wrapped and strapped on a pallet. Photo from the delivery company.

From Foshan to Singapore

On 17 Aug 2026, Jishang sent the carpentry out from Foshan to my 3PF.

Next day, 18 Aug, it was loaded into a container for sea shipping.

Initially they projected it would reach Singapore on 26 Aug. Then it slipped to 29 Aug.

29 Aug was a Saturday. Most local last-mile delivery do not work Sunday, so nothing was going to move that weekend.

Monday 31 Aug morning, some messages and a call. That is when the EC delivery problem showed up.

Why a huge lorry wouldn't work at an EC

The unit is in an EC. Those are usually strict about vehicle access, so a huge lorry was not going to work.

Doing it that way would mean loading outside and using a trolley to push everything in. Inefficient. Not how they wanted to run it.

Last mile called to say they will unpack the stuff, load it into a van, then the van can drive into the carpark. That was the plan on the call — and the unforeseen cost sat on top of it.

Wooden shipping pallet in a warehouse with a green woven sack in front, a large white box with teal branding and Chinese text, and brown cardboard cartons stacked behind — Still at the last-mile warehouse — green sack, white branded carton, brown boxes on a long wooden pallet. Same source: the delivery company, not my phone.

The $600 van reload

Extra cost for that service: $600.

I did not plan for it. Honest miss. When you are budgeting China carpentry, the factory and the sea leg are the bits you stare at. Last-mile at an EC can still throw a number at you.

Take note if you order from China. The situation varies by where it is delivered and how big the items are. An EC with strict access is not the same as somewhere a big lorry can just roll up.

Large wooden-slat crate of carpentry panels tightly wrapped in clear stretch film, sitting on warehouse flooring near blue-and-orange pallet racking — Warehouse scale again — a big wooden-framed, stretch-wrapped volume of panels. This is why last-mile handling got expensive.

Delivery was set for 2 Sep 2026. When I first wrote this on 1 Sep, that was still tomorrow. It has since happened.

16 days, not a promise

Rough gauge from my case: about 12 days from sending out to reaching Singapore, then another 4 days to arrange delivery. About 16 days end to end for me.

That is a gauge, not a definite timeline for someone else's reno. Sea schedules slip. Weekends sit idle. EC last-mile adds its own steps. Yours will differ.

2 Sep — into the unit

On 2 Sep 2026 they brought it to the EC. Two groups showed up. First, a huge lorry crew unloaded the entire pallet outside the building — roughly 10am to 11am. Then four other guys moved everything from outside into the lift and up to the unit.

Back of a delivery lorry with liftgate down on a paved driveway, stretch-wrapped pallet of flat-packed boxes on a powered pallet jack, workers unloading outside a residential building — Outside the building on delivery day — lorry liftgate down, pallet of carpentry coming off. Not the warehouse shots above.

No visible damage. I am pleased with the shipping company and the last-mile company. Not naming them here — just noting that this part went clean.

Cardboard boxes including a white carton with Chinese branding and a brown box on tiled outdoor paving beside a yellow pallet jack — Still outside — boxes on the tiles next to a pallet jack, waiting to go into the lift.

Floor protection foam is down in the unit — same idea as the waiting post. Packages are stacked inside. Installation has not started.

Brown cardboard box printed with a trash bin illustration and Chinese text 垃圾桶, sitting on white EVA floor protection foam inside the unit — Inside the unit — trash-bin box on the floor protection foam.

Foam-edged carpentry panel tightly shrink-wrapped in clear plastic, resting on white floor protection foam inside the unit — One panel in the unit — foam edge protectors, shrink wrap, sitting on the same floor protection.

Brown cardboard box labeled 悍高 HIGOLD rotating shoe rack in Chinese, on white floor protection foam inside the unit — Higold rotating shoe-rack box inside the unit, also on the foam.

Room with white floor protection foam covering the floor, stacked flat-packed carpentry cartons against the walls, wires hanging from unfinished electrical openings — End of delivery day — stacks in the unit on floor protection. Install not started.

Key pieces that came with it

Not just cabinet panels. A few of the bigger kitchen pieces came in the same delivery — the stuff I had already talked through in the recent remodel story.

Four workers carrying a long white stone kitchen countertop slab wrapped in protective foam through a tiled EC hallway — Kitchen countertop slab coming through the hallway. Heavy — needs a team.

Grey composite kitchen sink upside-down showing black sound pad and brass-coloured drain rim, taped onto bubble wrap indoors — Sink landed — bought through Jishang/ Higold, same path as in the remodel story. Still taped up on bubble wrap.

Two workers carrying a long flat package with glass visible through cardboard and plastic, Foshan branding on the carton, Higold box on the floor — Kitchen sliding door arriving — the one included in the Jishang quote, cheaper than going direct (already in the remodel story). Higold sink box is sitting on the floor in the same frame.

JAH SMART 洁安惠 smart sensor trash can box JS12-15L on floor protection foam beside an open electrical wall box — Jiah Smart / 洁安惠 smart sensor trash can box (JS12-15L on the carton) — smart bin.

Update: install has started — Installation Day One.

Feel free to send over any questions.