Any Sembawang Homers?

[Angelwrath 0]

NEED HELP/ADVICE PLS PLS~~~~! today went to my unit to meet the hdb officer for defects appointment, he also bring along a contractor incharge which i suppose is the supervisor of the workers who did our flat tiling. my unit is EA at sembwang blk 339.

we reported that the middle of our living room floor tiles spacing are big, some are about 4-4.5mm when i use ruler to measure but mostly near the corners are 1-2mm. i am veri unhappy about the fact that the 4mm gap is in the middle of the living room so we cant place sofa or anything there. We told the officer not that we are making things difficult for them because i noticed the bedrooms are quite ok roughly about 1 or 2mm some 3mm but they did the tiling in the living room which i feel is not acceptable to me. The contractor who came along with the hdb officer then say things like ''we can't change for u the tiles actually cos this is not consider defect is just that ceramic tiles tend to have some slight 1-2mm different in size and also this is not machine who is fixing the tiles u cant expect all gappings to be the same is only 1-2mm differences''. But i told him i didnt expect all to be 1-2mm, at least u don't show me spacing of tiles at some parts to be 4-4.5mm im ok with it, because the tiles given to us are not white it is beige so the white gappings can be seen quite obviously.

Then we negotiated that we didn't insist them to change the whole unit just do whatever they can, maybe cut out some parts of the side by side tiles then shift to make gaps which are 4mm to be not as big. then the contractor agreed to cut out 32 tiles and relay the ceramic tiles. after like an hour++ of negotiation 2 workers came up and the contractor told them what to do but they brought up a problem that we may face.

The problem now is because the tiles they use always come in different manufacturing batch so they brought along with them some tiles which they are currently using for other units the colour is slightly different colour, so which means after they lay the tiles we may see the 32 pieces of tiles on the floor be slightly different shades from the rest, Then im thinking they are not solving the problem so what is the point of changing then tiles then. . he even commented that if they lay the tiles for us they will not change again even if is slight different in colour.

im wondering is it im too fussy about the tiles is it suppose to be like that? and 4-4.5mm spacing is acceptable? or is it they didnt do good job but they try to turn around to tell us they will not change it as it is suppose to be like that? anyone encountered problem like me when they got their house and hdb change for them? what will u do?

they are like giving us 2 choice,

1) is to accept the tiles as it is now

2) is to they will find 32 pieces of tiles with colour closest to our current tiles but not the exact 100% same colour and lay for us.

anyone pls pls pls pls advice.. any pics or whatever to show? pls need help anyone~~

mine was in the kitchen, hollow tiles. they didnt have the same type of tiles too, so they changed all for me. IMO, they should just change all lor, since the same kind of tiles cant be found anymore. may even ask them to change to tiles that u fancy if u top up the difference.

who's ur TO and contractor?

[blackapple 0]

mine was in the kitchen, hollow tiles. they didnt have the same type of tiles too, so they changed all for me. IMO, they should just change all lor, since the same kind of tiles cant be found anymore. may even ask them to change to tiles that u fancy if u top up the difference.

who's ur TO and contractor?

TO meaning the officer? i only know his name is mr seah. u mean u had ur tiles changed because the spacing is big? but they say cant change cos this is not consider defects... haizz !!

[Angelwrath 0]

TO meaning the officer? i only know his name is mr seah. u mean u had ur tiles changed because the spacing is big? but they say cant change cos this is not consider defects... haizz

oh Mr. seah is a nice guy, very enthu and experienced. i changed cause of hollow tiles.

but you cant have a living room with 2 different type of tiles ar..

is the contractor Lawrence?

[leen 2]

hi, blackapple, usually, this is not vy obvious once you move in coz ppl who visit your hse will not be constantly looking at the floor and trust me, they will hv thousands other bad things to comment, eg. aiyoh, why choose this area? why paint this color? why got this decor? you hire cheap contractor / id izt? blah blah blah...

correct me if im wrong, if its less than 5mm, shouldnt be a big problm. and to accept the 32 tiles of different color even more worst. how to match with the rest of the hse's tile? if its in toilet, den its ok, but in living or kitchen area and without cabinet to conceal it, better think twice.

HDB usually hire contractors who bid for their jobs and need to meet HDB specs. eg. HDB specify grey tiles for 5000 units of flat at xx area. and the contractor who successfully gotten the job will buy his materials enough for these units with a bit of allowance (say 10%? usual practice). if hdb specify and pay for extra tiles to keep juz in case of future use for rectification of defects of the flats, den they will either package it with the initial tender or as a separate tender.

so after using finish these tiles, of coz those who need to change the tiles will get a different lots from the original ones.

usually, we look for major defects where tiles pop up, cracked, broken or tiles that are cut inproperly (eg. a rectangle tile got 1/3 slice away), den you can make them change.

of coz, they are oblige to change for you any defects but as for your case, to ask to change the whole unit's tiles, its abit out of their options i think.

my hse's ceiling is not straight, even our contractor complain its hard to do wardrobe especially at the top and corner areas coz all not straight, so in our case, i dun think HDB will help to level the ceiling and corner juz for me. so my hb design the cabinet to suit it. juz open and close 1 eye will do.

but if you are really concern with it, you can put carpet next time or write to HDB to propose to you base on your requirements. but do bear in mind, even for condo, there are defects, and their defects are major big time defects, eg. air-con leak water, MBR rm next to toilet and pipe routing where water gushing can be heard especially at nite, water leak from window, water leak into the rm through wall (can see water leak marks) etc. and some more these ppl pay millions of $$$ for these units leh...

but all these are my views only, you still have to discuss with your partner to decide what you want.

remember if both of you are happy, irregardless of what anyone says whatever, you will treat it like they are like that, and didn't brush their teeth and have no EQ. some ppl are all out to upset you coz they jeolous of you and what you got.

[blackapple 0]

oh Mr. seah is a nice guy, very enthu and experienced. i changed cause of hollow tiles.

but you cant have a living room with 2 different type of tiles ar..

is the contractor Lawrence?

ya mr seah is a nice guy.. i don know what is the contractor's name.. but i know the notice previously pasted at my door there it says the incharge is lawrence...did u encounter problem with the contractor previously? yesterday my id was asking if i checked for defects like hollow or chip tiles?cos as a first timer i dint know how to check.. so my id thought me to knock on the tiles to find out, i realised there are about more than 10 hollow tiles in living and bedrooms. then only left with toilets and kitchen i din check because don hv enough time cos i was rushing to work.

thanks angelwrath and leen for reading through my thread and giving me advice... will see what we can do

Edited November 15, 2007 by blackapple

[bigsister67 0]

ya mr seah is a nice guy.. i don know what is the contractor's name.. but i know the notice previously pasted at my door there it says the incharge is lawrence...did u encounter problem with the contractor previously? yesterday my id was asking if i checked for defects like hollow or chip tiles?cos as a first timer i dint know how to check.. so my id thought me to knock on the tiles to find out, i realised there are about more than 10 hollow tiles in living and bedrooms. then only left with toilets and kitchen i din check because don hv enough time cos i was rushing to work.

thanks angelwrath and leen for reading through my thread and giving me advice... will see what we can do

Blackapple, If you have already got your ID, ask him to check defect for you.... My ID went together with me to check the defect and found a few things - main door hinge no screw, toilet bowl no water coming in, bomb shelter door hinge defect, mbr toilet bifold door cannot lock properly, all room doors got crack, all rooms window got water mark under the window. Water Duct and Electricity Duct door unable to open (outside the house)... I called HDB immediately and the TO is so helpful. He called the contractor for doors and toilet to come immediately. He also said he will followup to make sure Town Council come to do a new lock for the duct...

Thank God, the contractor will change all the defect doors, the plumber came and repair the toilet straight away...I no need to submit defect form...

Ask your ID to go to your new house so that he will know how to design your house accordingly to the socket points, lighting points...

Guess what, I spend 3 hours checking defect and talking about the design at my place. Afterwhich, we went to our ID office to finalise the costing... another 4 hours...

Thank God, My ID and his assistance has been very patience with us. Just pray the workmanship will be good too!

[Angelwrath 0]

ya mr seah is a nice guy.. i don know what is the contractor's name.. but i know the notice previously pasted at my door there it says the incharge is lawrence...did u encounter problem with the contractor previously? yesterday my id was asking if i checked for defects like hollow or chip tiles?cos as a first timer i dint know how to check.. so my id thought me to knock on the tiles to find out, i realised there are about more than 10 hollow tiles in living and bedrooms. then only left with toilets and kitchen i din check because don hv enough time cos i was rushing to work.

thanks angelwrath and leen for reading through my thread and giving me advice... will see what we can do

hmm, lawrence is kinda easy going la, but you know la HDB do things slow like tortoise one. my reno finish le they havent change my bi fold doors for me. It was my ID coordinating with Lawrence most of the time. Like when my water pipe burst and had to change some of my toilet wall tiles, Lawrence sourced out the tiles from 3 yrs ago. so kinda grateful for that.

from wat i heard from my TO if u have 10% of the total number of tiles hollowed they will change for u. i didnt meet it but i had them change all the same, cause it's dangerous la. u wouldnt know when it would pop out. blackapple, insist that they change it and make sure u check all

[leen 2]

ya mr seah is a nice guy.. i don know what is the contractor's name.. but i know the notice previously pasted at my door there it says the incharge is lawrence...did u encounter problem with the contractor previously? yesterday my id was asking if i checked for defects like hollow or chip tiles?cos as a first timer i dint know how to check.. so my id thought me to knock on the tiles to find out, i realised there are about more than 10 hollow tiles in living and bedrooms. then only left with toilets and kitchen i din check because don hv enough time cos i was rushing to work.

thanks angelwrath and leen for reading through my thread and giving me advice... will see what we can do

u r welcome. we share share infor here. hope the rest will post their quotes here to compare so that all of us will know what are the so call reasonable range of prices.

i maybe too straight forward sometimes coz im in constrn line and i don't like to take nonsense from contractors and workers. must got standard so can have gd reputation and will kana head hunt...

juz joking... i like no frills items and functional items coz got to consider factors like old folks and kids. so whatever designs my hb and me done for the hse, its more functional type. hope i didnt offend any one with my comments / views. personally, we don't like feature wall, false ceiling and downlights. reason being feature walls and open type of false ceilings collect alot of dusts and not able to clean it. juz imagine everyday living with lots dusts i juz do simple cornice. but some ppl will say cornice is out of fashion and for older folks, but for us, juz a simple cornice will beautify the place nicely and cover up any uneven ceiling areas.

Today went down to the flat again... noticed the toilet bowls flushing button is rusty (green rough stains) for both toilets. Cos we will be changing the whole MBR toilet to our dream toilet so is not an issue for the toilet bowl. we will leave the common toilet as it is given by HDB.. but the common toilet not only the toilet bowl flush botton is rusty the hinge of the toilet door also rusty then the door frame is stained brown by the rust. U guys think i can request HDB to change me new toilet bowl and door for common toilet? How do i get them to do it and there is a time frame of 7 days inspection izit?? need advice.. thanks

my ID also say without hacking he can finish reno in less than a week... then i went speechless cos im thinking can finish so fast then the workmanship will be jialat hahaha... for me so long b4 cny can move in happy enough le no need to rush

pls do not believe whatever ppl tell you that reno can finish within 1 week. unless you only do 1 toilet tiling works.

[blackapple 0]

u r welcome. we share share infor here. hope the rest will post their quotes here to compare so that all of us will know what are the so call reasonable range of prices.

i maybe too straight forward sometimes coz im in constrn line and i don't like to take nonsense from contractors and workers. must got standard so can have gd reputation and will kana head hunt...

juz joking... i like no frills items and functional items coz got to consider factors like old folks and kids. so whatever designs my hb and me done for the hse, its more functional type. hope i didnt offend any one with my comments / views. personally, we don't like feature wall, false ceiling and downlights. reason being feature walls and open type of false ceilings collect alot of dusts and not able to clean it. juz imagine everyday living with lots dusts i juz do simple cornice. but some ppl will say cornice is out of fashion and for older folks, but for us, juz a simple cornice will beautify the place nicely and cover up any uneven ceiling areas.

pls do not believe whatever ppl tell you that reno can finish within 1 week. unless you only do 1 toilet tiling works.

Yeah man~~ straight forward is good cos u don hide anything .. then ppl like me who got no knowledge of reno/house stuff can learn ma keke.. ya sometimes must consider what to do .. for me i try not to hv too much 'high maintainence/complicated' reno/furnishing, like those which needs to be constantly cleaned cos will trap dust kind. i am allergy to dust and dirt me doing plain plain de Lbox and false ceiling, not that L shape kind which they put the light hidden from the side

[blackapple 0]

hmm, lawrence is kinda easy going la, but you know la HDB do things slow like tortoise one. my reno finish le they havent change my bi fold doors for me. It was my ID coordinating with Lawrence most of the time. Like when my water pipe burst and had to change some of my toilet wall tiles, Lawrence sourced out the tiles from 3 yrs ago. so kinda grateful for that.

from wat i heard from my TO if u have 10% of the total number of tiles hollowed they will change for u. i didnt meet it but i had them change all the same, cause it's dangerous la. u wouldnt know when it would pop out. blackapple, insist that they change it and make sure u check all

ohh.. may i ask the TO of urs name Mr Sng? cos my fiance say TO Mr sng will be coming for another appointment to see the tiles which i got no idea who is he cos nv seen him b4. because yesterday the contractor argue say the tiles that we mark not all r hollow tiles n say we cant just use coins to check.. so when the TO come and check they feel it is not hollow they will not change. i m not sure if im right i just feel that they see us young young they want to bully us. but nvm as u say insist that they change. cos really not fair to me to keep my eyes close when i know what is happening. thnks load for advice

Edited March 21, 2008 by blackapple

[blackapple 0]

Blackapple, If you have already got your ID, ask him to check defect for you.... My ID went together with me to check the defect and found a few things - main door hinge no screw, toilet bowl no water coming in, bomb shelter door hinge defect, mbr toilet bifold door cannot lock properly, all room doors got crack, all rooms window got water mark under the window. Water Duct and Electricity Duct door unable to open (outside the house)... I called HDB immediately and the TO is so helpful. He called the contractor for doors and toilet to come immediately. He also said he will followup to make sure Town Council come to do a new lock for the duct...

Thank God, the contractor will change all the defect doors, the plumber came and repair the toilet straight away...I no need to submit defect form...

Ask your ID to go to your new house so that he will know how to design your house accordingly to the socket points, lighting points...

Guess what, I spend 3 hours checking defect and talking about the design at my place. Afterwhich, we went to our ID office to finalise the costing... another 4 hours...

Thank God, My ID and his assistance has been very patience with us. Just pray the workmanship will be good too!

wow from what i see ur ID is really good leh .. ur TO even better change everything so easily so lucky kekeke my ID always quite busy then got alot of appointments then we dint ask him to check for us.. also cos paiseh to ask for too much as our quotation is like only 19k++ don want to trouble him to come all the way to just check for us

[leen 2]

hi,

for better hse maintenance tips which are gd and cheap, refer to MACE's blog:

http://www.renotalk.com/forum/index.php?sh...9970&st=480

he is 1 gd adviser. he's also a practical man when it comes to renovation.

actually, one must look in that direction of whether reno items/designs are functional not only for young ppl, but to consider old folks, and young kids. eg. if there are old folks who are wheel chair bound, bed ridden, hv walking / sight / rheutisim problems, designs need to be user friendly to them. eg. hand rail at toilet, etc. and no sharp edges which may pose a danger to kids. eg. sharp corner dining table, string curtains coz kids will tend to play with it by pulling it.

i don't know much but its base on advice and experience by parents, aunties & uncles, friends etc. always ask ppl abt things you don't understand or get ppl to talk to you. even if its small talk, they will tend to tell you alot of things that you can take note of. i find it vy helpful.

and of coz, some are common sense. but i always tell myself, im poor, only got 2cents...

[blackapple 0]

hi,

for better hse maintenance tips which are gd and cheap, refer to MACE's blog:

http://www.renotalk.com/forum/index.php?sh...9970&st=480

he is 1 gd adviser. he's also a practical man when it comes to renovation.

actually, one must look in that direction of whether reno items/designs are functional not only for young ppl, but to consider old folks, and young kids. eg. if there are old folks who are wheel chair bound, bed ridden, hv walking / sight / rheutisim problems, designs need to be user friendly to them. eg. hand rail at toilet, etc. and no sharp edges which may pose a danger to kids. eg. sharp corner dining table, string curtains coz kids will tend to play with it by pulling it.

i don't know much but its base on advice and experience by parents, aunties & uncles, friends etc. always ask ppl abt things you don't understand or get ppl to talk to you. even if its small talk, they will tend to tell you alot of things that you can take note of. i find it vy helpful.

and of coz, some are common sense. but i always tell myself, im poor, only got 2cents...

cool... thanks u! still reading through his blog alot of info i find veri useful.. haha... even wrote down some stuff he intro in the blog i will go find.. hehe thnks load

[blueturtle 0]

hohoho... HDB now retiling my house... wondering how long it would take for them to give me my keys... any idea anyone?

also, i am currently looking around for IDs/ contractors to do up my house. Will only be doing the standard items for the entire house (minus the 2 bedrooms. no use for them yet). Not planning for hacking, or retiling or overlay. Can share with me what kinda budget this will take?

another thing, was wondering what to do with the awful vanity top in the MBR toilet. Ideas anyone?

[softballer 0]

hohoho... HDB now retiling my house... wondering how long it would take for them to give me my keys... any idea anyone?

also, i am currently looking around for IDs/ contractors to do up my house. Will only be doing the standard items for the entire house (minus the 2 bedrooms. no use for them yet). Not planning for hacking, or retiling or overlay. Can share with me what kinda budget this will take?

another thing, was wondering what to do with the awful vanity top in the MBR toilet. Ideas anyone?

same.. but i wont be getting my keys so early..

love to hear more from the experienced one.