The One With The Gargantuan Task

[Lauer 15]

You're spot on. That's also my concern. But how do I ascertain that waterproofing layer is done each time new tiles are laid? The contractor is very defensive. I'm wondering if HDB should step in. When I called HDB, the TO just asked me to monitor first to see if it gets worse. From his tone, I suspect he knows they've been doing reno for a long time.

Lauer, what would you do if you were me?

On a side note, my contractor does water-proofing before cement screed. Then another layer after cement screed before laying the tiles in the toilets and kitchen. My downstairs neighbour should have no complaints.

I could only say that, find an opportunity to speak to the upstair neighbor about the problem, without the presence of his contractor. Try to get him to understand that it is to his interest to get his contractor to fix it, after all his renovation is new.

But please make sure that he understands the process you are taking to confirm if it is indeed a leak, and why. (Rich or not, no one likes a shoddy piece of work from his contractor).

I would have to leave it for others to comment on how to deal with HDB.

Edited November 6, 2011 by Lauer

[adidaem 6]

Actually... you may want to talk to the upstairs owner, and ask them to withhold the final payment until your ceiling problem is resolved.

In the worst case scenario where the water proofing is really not done properly... the ceiling will show leakage in a few more weeks (or months) after this round of proposed plastering. But once the upstairs ID/contractor has received payment, why would they bother to fix your ceiling? It's possible if they are ethical or have a good relationship with your upstairs owner, but for a reno to have dragged for 10 months... I think the ID/contractors will just want the job to finish ASAP.

I remember my contractor mentioning that there is some sort of injection into the floor that can be done for water leakage problem (instead of whacking and re-doing all the floor tiles, it may mean whacking and redoing one tile for the injection site I think?). It was something he said in passing when I asked about solutions for water leakage so I'm hazy about the details, but perhaps you can get your contractor to advise you? (Or maybe some experts who are reading this can help?)

[schiz0id 0]

Thanks Lauer and adidaem, it’s a good idea to speak to owner, if I can catch them. They have not shifted in and they don’t come to the house as often as I do so that may be abit of a problem. Hope can catch them either tomorrow or monday.

I hope they see our side too and understand that it’s in the best interests of both parties.

I will check up on the injection rectification thingy with the ID.

Guess that’s the only thing I can do for now. Wait and hope to speak to someone soon.

[schiz0id 0]

FLOORING UPDATES

Decided to focus on happier things for now.

This pic was taken two days ago. As of this evening, the floor tiles in the living room are done!

Dry Kitchen also done! Parents' bedroom also done! Bedroom 4 also done!

My room (Bedroom 3) is halfway through. So is my other brother's room (Bedroom 2).

Couldn't take pics today cos one part of the living room was still wet. Will take more pics when I'm at the house on Sunday. They are working on Monday too so shall not be in their way. Flooring is expected to finish on Tuesday!!

Was very happy to see this guy sitting nicely in the corner. He should be put up either Mon or Tue. He doesn't look much different from the bedroom frames but he's quite wide!

Zoom zoom!

Edited November 5, 2011 by schiz0id

[edenstrauss 3]

wow, I love your tiles! they were so pretty & classy looking... it's a good choice when u didn't select a darker shade becox it'll "swallow" up its surrounds & make your place look smaller & dimmer. I would love to create a further illusion that my flat is a giant even to' it's already HUGE (in your case)!

Edited November 6, 2011 by edenstrauss

[schiz0id 0]

FLOORING UPDATE

Okay, pictures galore! The area is not completely cleaned up yet but excited to share the progress so far.

Living room completed! Except for the part with the horrendous pillar and the nearby area where debris is waiting to be cleared.

Study area completed!

Dry Kitchen completed! Left the small part where the base for the fridge and full-height cabinets are going to be. The foreground also shows part of the dining done! [it looks like the living, dining and dry kitchen share the same floor tiles, but dry kitchen actually has a non-slip finish.]

My parents' room done! The joining with the bathroom is not confirmed yet cos they still don't know where the glass door should go. That'll determine where the bedroom ends and the bathroom starts.

My younger brother's room (Bedroom 4) done!

They should be finishing floor tiling on Tuesday, very latest, Wednesday. Hopefully by then, it will be white walls galore when the plasterers take over!

Edited November 6, 2011 by schiz0id

[schiz0id 0]

UPDATES

Wet kitchen waiting for tiling to be done on Tuesday! [Have not seen the wet kitchen looking so clean in quite a while - it was the place where much of the sand was placed]

Lots of plaster has made their way up. A lil more than 30 bags of plaster! The plasterer has also brought up his "equipment".

They will be continuing some more works tomorrow. Apparently it's not a public holiday for the uncles. They will be doing some light work that won't involve noise. I'm guessing grouting work..

[silversurf 0]

Your tilers work fast! Must say that your dry kitchen looks a lot bigger now that the tiling is completed!

[schiz0id 0]

Check back in a bit!

Edited November 6, 2011 by schiz0id

[schiz0id 0]

Your tilers work fast! Must say that your dry kitchen looks a lot bigger now that the tiling is completed!

Haha like eden mentioned, the white makes the place "look" bigger.

Can't wait for white walls!

[edenstrauss 3]

Nope, he didn't mention. At that moment, I also didn't ask.

He just said "Oh, no wonder will have this problem..."

If u see ur ID again, it's advisable to hvae him explain himself rather than keeping you in suspense!

Wouldn't u want to know what's instore so that it'll put u guys in a better stead in dealing with such situations.

No wonder the folks above ur unit are so "yaya". That meant that their source of income is derived from rental fees & eh, sorry for being such a wet blanket. But if they run into any financial trouble, they will have to let go of those coffee shops. It's no joke becox the sunk costs for such businesses are very high.

There was this puggish looking aunty with a stout figure who used to own 3 coffee shops & drove around with a white merc -. According to those aunties at our place, whenever she sees her ex-hubby's vehicle on the streets, she'll make a dash to cross his path & horn at him like the hounds of **** were hot on his heels.

2 years ago, this "yaya" aunty had trouble with her coffee shops becox many tenants pull out when the crowd was poor & she sold them to parties who were interested in taking over.

[edenstrauss 3]

What my contractor claimed about ceiling leakages is that, once the renovation is completed for the unit above, ALL leakages should stop.

In some cases, when waterproofing isn't badly done, leakages would start kicking in between the 1st week right up to say, 3-4 months after when the owners above shifted into their flat.

The reason being that the people above ur unit would have started using water or maybe, start washing their kitchen floors after cooking.

Do u think u could check with your HDB TO if those folks upstairs had waterproofing done for their kitchen?

In our case, we were shocked that it isn't mandatory for kitchen flooring to have water proofing!!! The explanation given was becox the original condition as constructed by HDB came WITHOUT water proofing. As such, new owners could opt not to have their kitchen flooring done up with waterproofing.

That's scary becox if the neighbours above us started washing their kitchen flooring, our kitchen ceiling would be experiencing a heavy downpour!

Edited November 6, 2011 by edenstrauss

[schiz0id 0]

Hey eden, thanks for sharing

Contractor upstairs claims waterproofing was done.

Will only get more information on Tuesday when it ain't a public holiday and all parties are available. And yeah, don't worry will most certainly speak to my ID at great lengths about this. Thanks!

[schiz0id 0]

In our case, we were shocked that it isn't mandatory for kitchen flooring to have water proofing!!! The explanation given was becox the original condition as constructed by HDB came WITHOUT water proofing. As such, new owners could opt not to have their kitchen flooring done up with waterproofing.

That's scary becox if the neighbours above us started washing their kitchen flooring, our kitchen ceiling would be experiencing a heavy downpour!

Did your HDB TO tell you about the kitchen flooring not having waterproofing or you heard that from your contractor?

It really is a cause for worry...

[Reiki 0]

Sorry to hear about the problem, schiz0id.

In your neighbour's case, renovation should technically be over even if it is said to be still ongoing. My point, hacking of floors should have been given a date by HDB. There is always a time period for renovation to be completed.

Should your ID is able to confirm that it is a leakage/sippage issue, to inform HDB will only get your neighbour to re-do the floor. Then, it will be 50/50 costs sharing. I am sure to get your neighbour to re-do will give you more peace of mind.

Just my 2-cents.