Cracked Ceiling

alcifertoh

New Member
Hey ppl,

Seeking for some advices.

Previously when I got my new place, My neighbour at the unit above me had the toilet water-proofing problem and caused some water stains on my ceiling. I informed HDB and the problem was solved with goodwill by them as I got my unit from them for just a few months then.

Then I believe the ex owners sold their unit to someone new or carried out a major renovation.

There were hacking work done last month and currently, their renovation work is in the final phrase (Painting and touching up).

Yesterday I got a shock when I discovered that there were alot of water stains on my ceiling which wasn't there previously. It spreaded from the kitchen (Toilet area) to my master bedroom, guest room and living room. Also apalled to find cracks on the ceiling of my guestroom, living room and light box.

My unit just completed it's renovation in feb this year and everything was in good condition with a fresh coat of paint prior to these.

Believe they drilled too deep when they were doing the hacking and as while they were carrying out their job, I actually notice my down lights slightly displaced from it's slots and I had to push it back.

I called up the contractor and told him about it and he mentioned that he will send someone down this evening to take a look. I had also reflected the matter to HDB as I wanna keep a record of what happened. The Technical officer from HDB told me that he would be issuing in writing to the Contractor and get them to revert to me.

I was thinking if anyone can advise what other stuffs that I should look out for when confronting the contractor tonight as I understand such water stain problem can be recurring if the water proofing work was not done properly and the crappy part is, they had laid the new tiles when I went up to see yesterday. It's a headache and I just hope that all these can be solved once and for all sighz.
 


mark78

Active Member
i think they have to hack and water proof again. if it still continue to leak then highlight this issue to hdb officer again.

Well i think u can get the contractor to repaint the affected ceilling. Well i did that when i found some water marks @ my kitchen ceiling and the issue was settled by them too. so far no problem liao.. maybe i heng.

btw there is some kind of "warranty" period from hdb over this water leakage thingy rite. its like 5 yrs. thus the residents are not allowed to hack / remove the tiles but "overlay" That what i did. i overlay my tiles over existing hdb tiless (me first owner)
 

alcifertoh

New Member
Oh mine is a resale flat. The HDB warranty long passed ler. I believe is that they drilled too deep. And thereafter they laid the tiles, they wash the unit hence after sometime later, the water marks appeared on my ceiling. Then I inspect arnd my house and found the cracks lor.

Almost the entire house kenna. Cracks also. And the thought of taking leave to entertain them rectifying it for me... wah lao.
 

noknok

New Member
Did your neighbour engage a contractor or ID? If it's an ID, the person in charge should be experienced enough to forsee any of this problem when hacking the floor especially the wet areas. Your neighbour can actually argue for them to redo everything. Same arguement can go to the contractor, but might be a bit weaker if they're jus instructed to do the work. But then, hacking the floor again and do waterproofing will cause some delay in the moving in. But it should be the responsibility of the contrator / ID. Let your neighbour know the problem and ask them not to pay the final amount yet until the problem is solved.
 

noknok

New Member
it's not the drilling, it's the hacking, once the tiles are hacked, the waterproofing is disturbed and cracks of the waterproofing will be present. I suspect the contractor above your unit tried to cut cost and did not do the waterproofing again. Once the floor is hacked, the waterproofing has to be redone.
 

alcifertoh

New Member
Yep the hacking. I do not have the contact of the new neighbours as they have yet moved in so I do not know about their payment part. I believe it's some contractor they engage as the registered address of the company is a HDB unit.

The contractor will be sending someone down tonight lor. And I have to see what they say. Any advise when dealing with them?
 

salsa_babe

New Member
hbh...earings going to be around?
Best is to have one more party with you....

oh wat abt your contractor? at least..he is someone with the expertise
 

noknok

New Member
Insist that it's their fault. They should bear the whole cost of rectification including painting of your place.

Ask them if they redo the waterproofing. It's a must when they hack wet areas.

Just wondering, how come it affects the whole unit?? usually only affect the wet areas. unless the contractor flooded the whole place.
 

miloice

Well-Known Member
hi, if its alot of water strain out of the sudden, its more likely not to be water proofing issue but a pipe leak. They have likely to cause an internal pipe burst from the hacking. Its troublesome. And for the ceiling to dry, you will need at least a few months waiting. You cannot paint or do any patch work before it dries.

Its a misconception that water proofing is always the cuplit.
 

alcifertoh

New Member
Salsa nope she would not be around. She having some events today.

Noknok,

Yeah I was also very surprised how come it spreaded to my living room, master bedroom and guest room.

I just consulted the HDB officer again. I posted the same question to him about the spreading and the stains and he mentioned to me that likely, while the workers were doing the water proofing, they never lay a piece of sheet on the ground before they lay the water proof work. Hence if there's water there, it will cause the leaking.

He mentioned that he had called the contractor and told him that it's his responsibility to reinstate everything for me. If the contractor deny responsibility or display unwillingness, just let him know. The contractor has to seal up whichever cracks and repaint the place for me. They are liable up to a year after the renovation is completed.

And after they finished touching up for me, they are to carry out a "flood test" again. If the problem persist, they have to re-hack all the tiles and do a proper waterproofing.
 

alcifertoh

New Member
Milo,

Pipe burst? The condition is not a big patch on the ceiling but spots clustering together here and there across the various rooms and areas. Such a likely a sign of piping burst? I cross my fingers and hope not as if it's the case, really headache.
 

miloice

Well-Known Member
yes, this is likely to be a pipe burst. Happened to my place and my in-law's place too.

They need the plumber to trace the source of the leak to stop it from your neighbour's unit. The thing is no matter how good the water proofing is, it is never intended for constant flooding. A pipe burst will provide the constant water flow. There will be minor cracks especially in older buildings and the water will flow to all those weak points. Thereafter, unless they redo your ceiling plastering for, u will have to need to wait this long for it to dry up. Replastering can be very messy too.

In my in-law apartment, the leak was so bad that it affected unit 3 floors down. The owner wasn overseas and the maid is too blur to report anything.
 

alcifertoh

New Member
.... Sucks and we were intending to have our house warming sometime soon -_-

From the look of the cracks, replastering is quite likely required for my guestroom as the crack was quite big in the shape of an L.

Why am I so lucky... sighz.
 

alcifertoh

New Member
yeah hor... u just reminded me maybe should buy haha. But just opened on saturday leh my mum told me consolation prize. The numbers all reversed.
 

alcifertoh

New Member
The contractor came by yesterday. Mentioned he will be doing up all the rectification work and he required 2 days to mend the cracks and repaint the spots.

I questioned him what's the caused of it he and he said he also wonder why it would be like that. If it's the toilet or kitchen area he understands but living room and bedroom?

Then I told him could it be possibility of damaged water pipe he confidently said no. There isn't any water pipes above those areas. So I'll just need to arrange with them 2 days to see them finish up the work and update HDB with the progress.
 

miloice

Well-Known Member
HBH,

the spot of the ceiling leaking doesn't necessarily indicate the source. Water will seep to the nearest possible gap. This is simple gravity. This contractor is smoking you really.

For HDB, they will add pressure to the unit causing the issue to do the rectification. But, they don't do the rectification for you. The way to check for pipe leak, leave the house for 1 day without using any water. If the meter moves, it indicates a leak.
 

alcifertoh

New Member
Yeah Milo,

Like you mentioned yesterday I questioned him about the pipe leaking and that was what he replied me... I'll talk to hdb about it and see how they feedback cos I can't get in touch with the technical officer this morning.

Salsa, I spoke to HDB about it yesterday and the Technical officer mentioned that get the contractors to rectify the problem on my side first then monitor. If stains occurs again and if need to, they would have to hack the tiles up again and settle the problem. That's HDB stand lor.
 

miloice

Well-Known Member
HBH,

I'm surprised with what your HDB officer advised you. In my case, the officer advised me against doing any corrective measures until we are sure that the issue is fixed. Else, we will be wasting money plastering. Its aren't logic to rectify and wait to see. Is the neighbour above paying for the rectification on your side?
 

alcifertoh

New Member
Milo,

Yep. I am not forking out a single cent for the rectification as their contractors has to bear the liability of it. They have to mend every single crack for me and repaint all the affected areas.

The HDB officer also called me earlier and mentioned that he will be poping by to assess before they touch up the work and also another inspection after they completed the rectification.
 

vios

New Member
nabeh... really sibeh "heng".

other than the current solution, be sure to contact the new owners in the view of the long-run cos might really be leaks somewhere....

so they also sibeh "heng" to have had engaged this contractor, and will have to bear part of the cost if *touchwood* this happens again.
 

alcifertoh

New Member
I just found out not new owners but same old owners. They just did an overhaul and kenna this contractor yawnz.

Bought 4D also bo tio leh hahaha. The contractor kenna lor.
 

alcifertoh

New Member
Mine's a contractor. The contractor for upstairs cannot quite make it. My contractor wise is a very responsible guy who really go into details and gave me a peace of mind. He's Henry from impress 21.
 

vios

New Member
yeah, henry is quite detailed and attentive... as far as i could rem.

it's just that we chose the other shortlisted contractor, because she seemed to have a connection with the Mrs and they clicked like mad.

little_poppets, just don't hire the contractor hired by that upstairs neighbour lah.
 

alcifertoh

New Member
Yep. The quotes I received from henry no hidden cost or what. He's also very frank. What's good/not and can do or not he'll come clean with you. Would not over promise you.

He's very strict with his guys too so no need to worry about his control over them.
 

jinnous

Member
Hi HBH,

can ask you if you changed your aircon as well? How much huh? Thinkin of Starmex but the price diff is about 1k++. The salesman kept pushing for those normal aircon...saying no diff in savings even though you spent so much for the inverter....can gai siao boh....

Also....just wanna share this...

My hubby's sister also buying resale....and they bot....already put 5k deposit (got 1 agency use 1k, 4k deposit regulation lah...let's not mention names...keke)...somemore the agent is relative... (I mentioned in another thread b4)

Anyway....1 day the sis and her hubby decided to drop by the hse again to look see look see.... to their horror....they found the hse to be splashed in paint! And words written all over the wall....and who borrowed money.

So e hubby called the number and found out that it was the loanshark's number... (I dunno but I tot normally e number is the borrower one?).

The loanshark can say which unit, and the name of the borrower....and here comes the best part.... you know noe much was it borrowed for???
1.5k!!! That's just so weird!

E hubby checked with the neighbours...and they said they stayed there over 10 years+ and it has nvr happened before.

And the loanshark told them when the owner borrowed the money, a few days after they gave the 5k deposit!

Now, the whole thing stalled....the agent (e relative) can't do anything but only quote them the company's policy.... like either u lose e 5k deposit....or u can take back e 5k but they must bear the shortfall if the owners sold e flat at a lower price...either way sis-in-law family lose...

It looked as if the whole thing was done by the sellers themselves lor...to "earn" that 5k and sell to higher bidders....

They really heng....
 
Little_poppet,

I empathize with your hubby's sis. It's actually super hard for buyers to find out the situation of the seller if the seller and seller's agent are bend on hiding things from buyers! I came across quite many loanshark units' stories posted on the forums. It's becoming a trend nowadays sigh.

My hubby and I viewed 1 loanshark unit and almost went to view another loanshark unit.

I used one agent to arrange unit viewings, while my hubby called up seller agents from the newspaper ads to arrange unit viewings.

My hubby viewed a few units. One of them had lower valuation price due to the poorer house condition. It was rented out to a big group of students. The seller's agent requested for only 5K cov, which was the lowest cov we were ever quoted. The seller was not present. The seller's agent lied to us that the seller wasn't present, as he had migrated to another country. I saw some touch up of paints along its corridor.

Out of curiousity, I asked my agent why she didn't arrange us to view that particular unit? I provided her with only the block number, and she was able to reply me with its floor level and knew the whole house was rented out to students. LOL~ she said she and her partner already viewed that unit and did a check on the seller's background with bankers. The seller was declared bankrupt, and his bank forced him to sell it off to repay his debts. She warned that the seller might have borrowed from loansharks using that unit's address on his NRIC, so he didn't dare to stay there.

Your sil can tell the seller and their agent firmly that they will be making a police report about the loanshark's harrassment, and installing a CCTV. If the seller is indeed the one pulling up the loanshark stunt to trick 5K, he may be scared and stop his nonsense. Don't give up the 5K deposit and the right to own that house so quickly.
 

mum_of_2_girls

New Member
Hi HBH,

Looks like your estate is quite popular, so many of your HDB units changing hands.

May I know which estate and which blk you buy?
How much did you pay for your HDB? Size of HDB?

I'm interested to buy a resale HDB.

Thanks. Looking forward to your reply soon.
 

alcifertoh

New Member
Hmmm currently HDB units burning potato. Alot of ppl changing hands riding on the wave. I bought my resale unit via HDB under balloting exercise 2 years back.

Quite a catch at valuation price of slightly more than 200k for a 5 rm 122sqm unit, judging at the rate these units are being tagged now.
 

mum_of_2_girls

New Member
Hi HBH,

Thanks for your reply.

I know that place quite well.
I have been staying in Yishun for the past 6 yrs.
Going to shift house end of the year.
 

alcifertoh

New Member
Yeah.. Happpen to kio tio
happy.gif
Gonna hold it for another 3 years before making a shift...
 

jinnous

Member
Hi HBH,

can email me at [email protected]?

On the aircon? We wanna get inverter 3 system, and our flat can only support 8.5amps (hope I got this correct).

Hubby and I were at IMM shopping for aircon 2 weeks ago and almost bought from this shop giving out a lot of freebies, (like $100 EZ link). Almost wanna buy it, cuz e aircon got ions and etc blah blah....

We stopped by Gain City and asked for the price, slightly pricer, but e salesman asked what tyoe of flat we are staying.... end up the aircon we wanted to buy was 9amps! And our flat can only support 8.5amps! None of the shops we spoke to actually told us this thing! Luckily we didnt buy!
 

alcifertoh

New Member
Actually that is a very important thing when buying air con. It is not like buying something off the shelve.

Firstly, you have to consult the shop people and enquire them the type of air con you have in mind and the brands, of course also budget.

If you wana go for the higher tier, it would be Daikin, Mitsubitshi or Panasonic. Lower tier would be something like Toshiba, National or LG.

The guys has to come down to your place to do a site survey before they actually do the installation. You have to decide where you want the indoor unit to be at and if the location is ideal and the pipings can be reached. Capacity also has to be calculated. If not you will have future problem of undersizing.

After all these settled, then u can also consider on the piping material. Which kind of piping you like to choose and how thick insulation you want.

Ions and blah blah blah almost every brand has that. It's just the filter. Actually if you are someone who always use air con, what you should look out for is the electricity consumption, the sound if you are a light sleeper and the availability of parts in event of downtime. I do know some brands would required a few months for their parts to arrive.

Find out more. Instead of freebies, I would suggest you to go for those offering extended warranty instead.
 

miloice

Well-Known Member
for the aircon, its best to get it planned out together with your ID so that your reno design takes the aircon layout in consideration. Generally, keep the pipings short to minimize maintenance.
 


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