hippobb 0 Report post Posted April 27, 2010 Ok btw remember in my first blog note I mentioned about my ceiling leaking issue? Here's the whole saga to share ... good info especially to those who bought resale flats .... About 2 months back, we noticed there was a whitish residue patch of watermark on one of my kitchen ceiling lights and also directly on the floor area below the kitchen ceiling light. Wifey and I had lots of theory as to why there was this water mark ...ie upstairs neighbour washes their kitchen and caused this....ie upstairs neighbour forgotten to close their kitchen windows and it rained cats and dogs so heavily that their kitchen flooded and caused this... So I decided to do a CSI investigation and stake out one good sunny sunday afternoon at 1pm for a few hours.... and then at about 4pm, we noted that there were droplets of water dripping down once every approx 10mins for a short span of half an hr... Told my wife that this gotta be the auntie upstairs washing their kitchen..... so we decided to make a trip upstairs an hour later but by then the upstairs neighbour was out of their house already....... no choice but to go for dinner and then when we came back went up again but still nobody seemed to be around... Now... we do know that my direct upstairs neighbour and my direct downstairs neighbour are related - sister and brother relationship and we know the downstairs neighbour better and we did talk and chat b4 for kids stuff so decided to voice it out to the downstairs neighbour... the downstairs neighbour was nice and we showed her our kitchen ceiling issue and she too agree issue is from her sister in law unit...and told us that she will alert them and see what can be done... so on hearing that we thought ok ..shes gonna take some action rite... 2 days passed without anybody from upstairs coming down to at least take alook at our plight... and the ceiling leaking still seemed to continue leaking.... so no choice.... wifey on the advice of her excercise kaki... went over to the town council office and let the town council know about the issue.... and believe me .. town council was **** quick to act on this, they immediately get a HDB engineer/contractor to contact us ... fix up a time to come and inspect and see the damage... Ok at least the issue is moving.... finally we thought... HDB engineer/contractor came.. took a glance at the kitchen ceiling ... and then went to the toilet and took a glance at the common toilet and say .... this issue is caused by the upstairs toilet and also it might be caused by the upstairs household kitchen water drainage pipe .... due to some cracks in their waterproofing layer..... and then the HDB engineer went upstairs with us to check out the neighbour .... but again...the upstairs neighbour was not around ..... even their mum was not around so the engineer had no choice but to leave an official card note at their door step... and the HDB engineer told us they will come again after they have contacted the upstairs... Now... 1 hr later after the HDB contractor left.... the upstairs neighbour's mum came knocking at our door with their son (our downstairs neighbour).... the downstairs neighbour started to look at our issue and then said this is a very common issue and because now the HDB is currently doing upgrade works and with all the building disturbances ...these small issues will be amplified .... blah blah blah... and then he said his house is also like that ..his ceiling for both toilets he also needs to do patch work himself.... and the upstairs mum also said she did their patch work for their ceiling also..... and finally ....the downstairs neighbour said something which I felt was abit too much - " OK u go and report me then I will also go and report you for his ceiling " ..... I was like WTH ...I am having the issue now and u are threatening me ah.... OK nevermind ..I said to my wife... nevermind downstairs not so much of an issue cos we are going to renovate the whole house so this will eventually solve the problem downstairs ...and we don't want downstairs to pay HDB anything but no matter what the upstairs neighbour needs to solve the issue ..otherwise if I renovate my hse and the ceiling started leaking again then we will be damned... The next day we make sure that HDB engineer came at the time they were in and take a look at their kitchen and their toilet ..and then bring the upstairs mother and the engineer to our unit and let all know about the issue ... the HDB engineer was kind enuff to re-explain everything to the upstairs auntie again.... and then infront of all parties we asked how much will we need to pay... the HDB engineer told all that ok roughly both me and the upstairs party will pay $325 bucks ... ie 25% each and town council will pay 50% of the whole renovation....but someone need to go to the MP during their meet the pple's session and asked MP to write a official letter to town council to get the subsidy..... this I volunteered... We then also make it a point to let all parties know that we will be renovating so downstairs issue will be settled becos we dun need them to pay any monies.... The upstairs neighbour's mum was very happy..... she thanked us and told us "paiseh leh paiseh leh repeatedly".... we are now abit relieved.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hippobb 0 Report post Posted April 27, 2010 (edited) And..... We went to the MP just last night... Man ...... we went to the MP's meet the pple session registered ourselves given queue numbers and waited from 7pm to 9pm before our MP arrives with her body guard.... prior to her arrival, we were interviewed by volunteers who would helped to typed out the official letters concerning each different cases.... When it came to our turn for the interview, we told the volunteer about our case and immediately he knew what to do... told us this is very very common in HDBs flats and usually it would be the downstairs party to report and seek for subsidy... So I asked "what if the upstairs party disagree to do the rectification" the volunteer who is definitely an experienced one told us .... "dun worry, the upstairs party will surely agree to the rectification most of the time ...reason being that ....although we are the party that are victimised.... it is the upstairs party that will stand to gain... from having a new done up toilet flooring and also part of the kitchen floor.... but they pay the same amt like us at just 25%... We were like Oh.... ok...... and after that MP came and shook her hands and the volunteer told her our case and immediately she turn to me and said ok so u need me to help u asked for a subsidy ? and I replied yes and then she said ok will send out a letter tommorrow for you.... and thats it.... Last night ..We went home feeling happy.... telling ourselves we got a good MP and....ok we will denitely vote for my MP again... Edited April 27, 2010 by hippobb Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest bran888 Report post Posted April 27, 2010 I suspect I might have the same problem ... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hippobb 0 Report post Posted April 27, 2010 I suspect I might have the same problem ... Hi Bran888 I saw ur pic... Yes, I have the same issue as u ..except that mine is worst cos becos of the toilet .... the ceiling leaked.... my potential ID mr A. was quick to explain why the ceiling leaked due to the toilet... high chance there is a small crack in the waterproofing creed layer, water always follows the crack and runs along the crack to a point whereby theres the end of the crack, the water will then consolidate at that point which in my case was the ceiling and then the water will start seeping thru the flooring cement and finally it drips down to my house... his explaination was exactly the same as what the HDB engr told us when he came to inspect the damage.... So for ur case, I will urge you to settle it as soon as possible before you start any renovation... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest bran888 Report post Posted April 27, 2010 Thanks hippobb. Will definitely got to settle this problem before reno and moving in. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hippobb 0 Report post Posted April 28, 2010 Thanks hippobb. Will definitely got to settle this problem before reno and moving in. Btw Bran888 I forgot to tell u - if its the main sewage pipes that is giving u the problem... then I think its the town council issue... if its the toilet flooring then its the HDB issue... these 2 gov offices are 2 different entity... a safe bet for you will be to go to town council tell them about ur issue and they will help u to contact the correct entity to inspect the issue area.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hippobb 0 Report post Posted April 29, 2010 OK ...patiently waiting for Saturday to come... Did some research on some of the IDs that I approached... decided to list down some interesting points ( some inputs were from the grapevines from friends & relatives - also read fellow Lawry's reno blog too) for fellow renotalkers who's gonna to embark on the reno journey to ponder about .. Hippobb's reno-sutra 1. One of the most important thing and easiest to accomplish is before you decide on who to give the job to.... have a check at the hdb approved registered contractor list and take a good look at the potential ID firms biodata ie like how many registered directors, date of registration and most importantly have they flout any HDB rulings and what are the things they were penalised for. You should check it out ... cos I realised that even a few of the big ID / reno firms were actually penalised the last 24mths - some were for minor issues like failure to put up the notice that the flat is undergoing renovation, not obtaining the permit on time, permit laspes..etc All these tell-tale penalties sums up to one thing for that particular firm's working ethics and this might be a tell tale sign that they might be a potential PRIRATE SHIP... Look at it this way, if the firm or ID incharged of ur reno project cannot even be bothered about those small things like putting up the permit notices ....then how meticulous can he be when it comes to big reno projects ??? 2. Nowadays, you will notice that even with those biggie ID/reno firms the moment you walk in and tell them that you want to do a major hse reno, the ID or whoever is attending to you immediately whipped out a piece of printed promotional brochure and then they will tell you... for major house overhaul package or brand new houses they will have 3rm 4rm 5rm and EM or condo package with the corresponding price you pay... For sure these packages does looked attractive.... I took a deeper thought into the packages ... it kinda appear to me that some of the stuff might be factory pre-fabricated.... ie the kitchen cabinets and the top... very very high chance that they sure are factory pre-fab... or even the cabinet or washer mortar base are pre-fabed....... ok there is nothing really wrong with pre-fab kitchen cabinets if you are a owner with simple requirements and you agree to what your ID recommend - for example ur ID firm says they will do a 11 ft kitchen cabinet to and bottom and if you agrees to that then most likely you are ok..... but if you were to tell ur ID firm that ok you want a 9.5ft bottom L shape kitchen that is of 65mm depth and a taller height...then the ID firm might run into problems as they now needs to go to a caperter maker to do the extra job... extra job means extra monies for the ID firms to pay ... if your ID is meticulous they will follow up on these closely and make sure they are made to your specs but in cases of a lazy ID or a greenhorn ID .... these extra specs are given to the 3rd party carpentry to decide on their own and that is when the issues comes.... This is one factor to think about if you wanted something complicated... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hippobb 0 Report post Posted April 29, 2010 Hippobb's Reno-sutra 3. Freebies... If you noticed.... alot of biggie ID/reno firms are giving you free toilet accessories, free aircon, free cooker hob. free this free that.... For me... maybe its just plain human mentality of a simple Singaporean... the more freebies they throw in.... the more suspiscious I gets... suspiscious as to why they are throwing carrots at you to lure you to board their PRIRATE SHIP?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hippobb 0 Report post Posted April 29, 2010 (edited) Hippobb's reno-sutra 4. Communication & frequency wavelength I always believe that communication is very very important.... it has to be 2 ways comms.... when you go sourcing for your perfect ID firm, perfect ID or perfect project manager.... the first person that serves you usually the so called potential ID will start talking to you.... this is the time whereby they will try to do their sales pitch to attract you.... My take on this communication thingy is pretty simple... - The ID or person serving you ... needs to at least be talking clearly and also needs to at least understands the basic things that I spell out in my requirements. example a. if you relate ur requirements to the person in simple plain un-slanged singlish... and he starts talking back to you in broken singlish, hokkien or chinese.... then u better rethink again if you wanna shortlist them or not.. b. If you relate ur requirements and you asked for feedback or suggestions and all that the the listening person reply back to u is ... OK or Can or maybe .... then u better rethink again ... c. If you spell out ur requirements to the person and then when the person comes back with a quotation nicely done up but half of the stuff are not what you have spelled out.... ie laminated flooring at all the bedrooms - one very common item in the ID standard package promo... then I strongly urge u to rethink again... d. If you tell the person all ur requirements and when the person tells you her idea and what she's going to do for ur reno...but when u take a look and then say can you change this and change that .....and u noticed that immediately the person's face changes colour.... then I also strongly urge u to rethink again.. e. If you go to a ID firm ...and the person serving you starts talking - NON STOP.. boasting about what they can do for u what their design is and workmanship quality etc.... comms is one way .... then I also strongly urge u to rethink again too... Edited April 29, 2010 by hippobb Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hippobb 0 Report post Posted April 29, 2010 Ok .... u guys must have thought I yep alot rite.... before I forget... here's my floor plan... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hippobb 0 Report post Posted April 29, 2010 Our hippobb family little migration plan... ok just got a call from extra storage space @ ubi and was quoted 387.50 for 1mth rental of a space that is 66sqft roughly the size of a small bedrm... and for an extra $1+ which is at $389 ... I can rent the storage space for 2mths... just put a refundable deposit of abt 373 bucks... will make a trip down next week to settle this extra storage space needed... We plan to get the extra storage space to store some of our newer stuffs that we intend to keep 1. our 4mths old L-shape sofa ... this piece of furniture is detachable... 2. our 5mths old low decibel direct drive toshiba 9kg washer (hee hee I'm big size ..wear large size clothes so needed a 9kg one) 3. our 2year old electrolux dryer... seldom used but still like brand new.... solid piece of machine that we appreciate during the raining days... 4. my kiddo's umpteen boxes of toys .... ( maybe we should start dumping some.. hmmm) 5. some of my boxes of books... 6. 2 book shelves, 1 cabinet 7. some boxes of clothes and barang barang... and we will dump the following 1. my old trust worthy 10yr old national fridge which panasonic dun make those fridge that can last anymore... 2. the dinner table and chairs.. 3. study table & chair 4. a cabinet... and for the 2mths during the hse reno... and that is provided that we do find our ID after this sat.... We will either bunk in at my mum's place or inlaws's place... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hippobb 0 Report post Posted April 29, 2010 Back to my yepping... Hippobb's reno-sutra 5. Your own feeling, your own hunch... Never never discount those small hunch or uneasy feeling that you or your partner might have when you talk to ur potential ID.... cos half the time your hunch might be correct ..... When we went to the famous Wxxxxx company .... the first on our list, we laid down our requirements and started talking to the guy who served us.... the first impression he gave us tells alot of tales... and when we finally received our quotation, the first thing that came into me and my wifey's mind was his price looked reasonable but there seemed to be alot of hidden costs here and there.... I started reading renotalk and came across Lawry's blog which true enough there's something to this co. Always believe in this small uneasy feeling or hunch that you might have when you start ur ID firm selection process... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hippobb 0 Report post Posted May 3, 2010 Over the weekend, we went up to one of the units done up by our potential ID to take a look at his carpentry workmanship... and we find it quite good... the unit's carpentry for all the 3 bedrooms were done up nicely but have not yet been cleaned and vanished yet... one side of the kitchen was already up without the hard top... tried the drawers, closets, wardrobe sliding doors... overall not bad... check for miss-drilled holes at the cabinets and quite good no miss-drilled or misaligned carpentry pieces... This unit that we see did not have any flooring done up.... we were abit dissappointed ... but this Guy was very fast to acknowledge this and tell us that we can view one house over at HG this week as the tiling would be completed... and we say ok... Have yet to sign any confirmation yet but our potential ID says he's going to do up some 3d perspective and his proposal and will show us later in the week ... one of his ideas was to lay different tiles and mosaic strip to distinguish the pathway towards the bedrooms and also make the dinning hall and living hall stands out... Will see how it goes this Wed or Thurs... and if possible will post some 2d & 3d perspective pics.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hippobb 0 Report post Posted May 10, 2010 (edited) Yeah!! we finalised the reno price with our ID cum Contractor Mr A. and here's what we are going to do ... the layout done up by him... Our actual balcony doesn't have any side windows... other than that, the layout is pretty accurate to scale... we din really specify lots of requirements to Mr A. only tell him we need to renovate the whole hse and kitchen we wanted a L-shape cabinets and this is what he presented back to us.... so we must say that this guy has some good & nice ideas that are both practical and pleasing... and yahooooooo....we are going to get a WIW in MBR....wifey's favourite... Edited May 10, 2010 by hippobb Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mickey M 0 Report post Posted May 10, 2010 Yeah!! we finalised the reno price with our ID cum Contractor Mr A. and here's what we are going to do ... the layout done up by him... Congrats. Hope to see more pics soon. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
