Popped Tiles, Dislodged Living Conditions
So one cold night at 4am in the morning (January 15th), we (mum, sis and myself) were awoken by a starkly loud series of cracking sounds - which I had initially thought to be bubble-wrap popping! Well, a whole LOT of bubble wraps!
At first it sounded as if it was just outside of the living room windows, but upon closer look, it was actually our tiles floors in the living room area!
DATED: JAN 15.2018
Having seen reports on television and in the newspaper, we had recognised it to be the "popping tiles" folks have been reported to be affected by, from their home's floor tiles "dislodging" (the official title is "Dislodged Tiles", which I felt akin somewhat to the term "Ponding"...).
Needless to say, that circumstance provided a well round of fear (for the safety of everyone) and discomfort. It's one thing to see it on the telly, but another to feel it ourselves. And while it did not sound like "firecrackers exploding" (*But then again, I've never heard live firecrackers popping before, city-kid that I was :p), it sure AF sounded horrible at 4AM in the frickin' morning!
The next day I called HDB and inquired about the situation, and was referred to my neighbourhood HDB rep (in the East area), to which the officer came down later in the afternoon, to access the damage, and take pictures. Essentially the situation was such;
We've read/heard that HDB will replace the damaged floor tiles.
In reality, we were told that there was a 15 year warranty on the tiles, and that they would cover the cost of damage and renovations IF the floor tiles damaged were the same tiles they had handed over to the flat owner. If you renovated after and changed the floor ties into your own selection? Unfortunate. Although I did not ask specifically of HDB would still replace them, but the point was moot to our circumstance.
We/my family had been in this current house for over 20 years, so that leaves us out of the replacement option. We would have to replace the "dislodged tiles" at our own expense, and efforts.
And yes, we changed the entire floor tiles of the flat after we took over the flat twenty-plus years ago too (except for kitchen and toilets - which thankfully were not affected in this situation).
Upon asking, what HDB does is that they would provide you three renovation contractor contacts - whom are all apart of HDB's "Registered Contractors". It does not mean HDB "recommends" these contractors, they just provide you contacts, which you can choose to utilise, or use your own.
At this juncture, I would like to say the response from HDB has been cordial and helpful - from the telephone operator who provided advice, to the officer who visited our flat, and hand-delivered an official HDB letter the following day - so thank you.
DATED: JAN 22.2018
At this point of time, we are, and have been asking for quotations from different contractors, as we needed to see the different options of how to sort out this issue.
In the short term front, nobody is able to react as their schedules are tied all the way to Chinese New Year, and more likely it would be in March or even mid-April before they begin work.
And just as we are scratching our heads in "cost" and "logistics" (of storage options, and optimal living situations as the renovation takes 2-3 weeks to do), AND waiting for contractors to get back to us (*harder than people realise actually) ... came a second round of popping tiles.
This happened one late afternoon on Wednesday, as both my mum and I watched the tiles popping "live", seeing it stretch from the existing center(ish) part of the living room, through to the front door area. And while I cannot see it visually (as we currently have hoards of boxes stacked up in that area - hence the need for "storage options" as mentioned earlier), mum swore she hear popping from "that area" too, which I would not suspect otherwise, as it looks to be two entire parallel stretches across the house.
Fcuked if I'm not worried the flat's structure is compromised. I might not be an architect or structural engineer, but this is hella worrying.
(FYI: You can purchase the floor lan to your own house online via HDB, for a cost of SG$5 emailed to you as a PDF, for choose printout mailed to you at a higher cost. A contractor taught us that LOL)
With everyone attributing the tiles popping to the extra cold weather Singapore had been experiencing (which I had no doubt is one of the causes), news reports came in overdrive attributing this to "bad workmanship" by contractors that did not last through the years (which I have no doubt is also one of the causes), and that this occurrence is rampant in Singapore.
The first tile popping happened barely a couple of days before the weather turned for the warmer in Singapore, and now the second popping continues where the first ones were, in the heat of the afternoon sun.
Regardless the reason(s), the tiles needed to be fixed and quick, as I cannot and could not continue to bear the fear of mum slipping and falling and cutting herself. And without much irony, the popped tiles might be able to take the weight of mum and sis, but they sure as heck would crumble under my weight!
Most everyone recommends putting carton/cardboard over the damaged area (even a contractor advised so), which makes sense for easier moving over, but our tiles only "dislodged" and edged up, and not exactly cracked/popped up as folks have seen reports on TV, so putting cardboard over it only leads eventually to further cracked tiles.
We've tried to walk around the for the past couple weeks, but alas the cracks are showing, and the cardboard is not exactly taped down to the ground.
So today, I'd decided to toss some dislodged tiles, and decided to buffer the gaps with rolled up newspaper (irony being we chucked a whole stack away not too long ago). Saved four tiles (which scarily could just be removed without incident), and used up the red gaffer tape I bought at the neighbourhood shops earlier in the afternoon.
Not the best of circumstances, but hopefully this'll last through the coming Chinese New Year in mid-February, with everyone safe and healthy.
Today is just the middle(side of the house), as I've two more areas to take are of (A) in front of my bedroom (I cannot close my bedroom door!), and (B) The entrance area (which is a bad crack). I think I need more tape and newspapers...
At first it sounded as if it was just outside of the living room windows, but upon closer look, it was actually our tiles floors in the living room area!
Having seen reports on television and in the newspaper, we had recognised it to be the "popping tiles" folks have been reported to be affected by, from their home's floor tiles "dislodging" (the official title is "Dislodged Tiles", which I felt akin somewhat to the term "Ponding"...).
Needless to say, that circumstance provided a well round of fear (for the safety of everyone) and discomfort. It's one thing to see it on the telly, but another to feel it ourselves. And while it did not sound like "firecrackers exploding" (*But then again, I've never heard live firecrackers popping before, city-kid that I was :p), it sure AF sounded horrible at 4AM in the frickin' morning!
The next day I called HDB and inquired about the situation, and was referred to my neighbourhood HDB rep (in the East area), to which the officer came down later in the afternoon, to access the damage, and take pictures. Essentially the situation was such;
We've read/heard that HDB will replace the damaged floor tiles.
In reality, we were told that there was a 15 year warranty on the tiles, and that they would cover the cost of damage and renovations IF the floor tiles damaged were the same tiles they had handed over to the flat owner. If you renovated after and changed the floor ties into your own selection? Unfortunate. Although I did not ask specifically of HDB would still replace them, but the point was moot to our circumstance.
We/my family had been in this current house for over 20 years, so that leaves us out of the replacement option. We would have to replace the "dislodged tiles" at our own expense, and efforts.
And yes, we changed the entire floor tiles of the flat after we took over the flat twenty-plus years ago too (except for kitchen and toilets - which thankfully were not affected in this situation).
Upon asking, what HDB does is that they would provide you three renovation contractor contacts - whom are all apart of HDB's "Registered Contractors". It does not mean HDB "recommends" these contractors, they just provide you contacts, which you can choose to utilise, or use your own.
At this juncture, I would like to say the response from HDB has been cordial and helpful - from the telephone operator who provided advice, to the officer who visited our flat, and hand-delivered an official HDB letter the following day - so thank you.
At this point of time, we are, and have been asking for quotations from different contractors, as we needed to see the different options of how to sort out this issue.
In the short term front, nobody is able to react as their schedules are tied all the way to Chinese New Year, and more likely it would be in March or even mid-April before they begin work.
And just as we are scratching our heads in "cost" and "logistics" (of storage options, and optimal living situations as the renovation takes 2-3 weeks to do), AND waiting for contractors to get back to us (*harder than people realise actually) ... came a second round of popping tiles.
This happened one late afternoon on Wednesday, as both my mum and I watched the tiles popping "live", seeing it stretch from the existing center(ish) part of the living room, through to the front door area. And while I cannot see it visually (as we currently have hoards of boxes stacked up in that area - hence the need for "storage options" as mentioned earlier), mum swore she hear popping from "that area" too, which I would not suspect otherwise, as it looks to be two entire parallel stretches across the house.
Fcuked if I'm not worried the flat's structure is compromised. I might not be an architect or structural engineer, but this is hella worrying.
(FYI: You can purchase the floor lan to your own house online via HDB, for a cost of SG$5 emailed to you as a PDF, for choose printout mailed to you at a higher cost. A contractor taught us that LOL)
With everyone attributing the tiles popping to the extra cold weather Singapore had been experiencing (which I had no doubt is one of the causes), news reports came in overdrive attributing this to "bad workmanship" by contractors that did not last through the years (which I have no doubt is also one of the causes), and that this occurrence is rampant in Singapore.
The first tile popping happened barely a couple of days before the weather turned for the warmer in Singapore, and now the second popping continues where the first ones were, in the heat of the afternoon sun.
Regardless the reason(s), the tiles needed to be fixed and quick, as I cannot and could not continue to bear the fear of mum slipping and falling and cutting herself. And without much irony, the popped tiles might be able to take the weight of mum and sis, but they sure as heck would crumble under my weight!
Most everyone recommends putting carton/cardboard over the damaged area (even a contractor advised so), which makes sense for easier moving over, but our tiles only "dislodged" and edged up, and not exactly cracked/popped up as folks have seen reports on TV, so putting cardboard over it only leads eventually to further cracked tiles.
We've tried to walk around the for the past couple weeks, but alas the cracks are showing, and the cardboard is not exactly taped down to the ground.
So today, I'd decided to toss some dislodged tiles, and decided to buffer the gaps with rolled up newspaper (irony being we chucked a whole stack away not too long ago). Saved four tiles (which scarily could just be removed without incident), and used up the red gaffer tape I bought at the neighbourhood shops earlier in the afternoon.
Not the best of circumstances, but hopefully this'll last through the coming Chinese New Year in mid-February, with everyone safe and healthy.
Today is just the middle(side of the house), as I've two more areas to take are of (A) in front of my bedroom (I cannot close my bedroom door!), and (B) The entrance area (which is a bad crack). I think I need more tape and newspapers...
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