KiasuParents - Parenting in Singapore

What to do if upstairs neighbor of same HDB flat is doing renovation that requires hacking and the water pipes of downstairs start to crack?

Call the upstairs neighbor's contractor, he said will only paint the crack on the last day. Will the crack leaks water?

Need some advises...

Www wrote:What to do if upstairs neighbor of same HDB flat is doing renovation that requires hacking and the water pipes of downstairs start to crack?

Call the upstairs neighbor's contractor, he said will only paint the crack on the last day. Will the crack leaks water?

Need some advises...

If you can prove that the cracks in the water pipes are a direct result of your neighbour's renovation works, and if the water pipes are standard infrastructure laid by HDB, you may be able to seek recourse. The devil is in making that proof. Maybe you can go to a friendly neighbour's home to look at the condition of his/her pipes so you can have a basis for comparison.

Eh...if downstair's cracked, how did u know and does it affect u?

Www wrote:What to do if upstairs neighbor of same HDB flat is doing renovation that requires hacking and the water pipes of downstairs start to crack?

Call the upstairs neighbor's contractor, he said will only paint the crack on the last day. Will the crack leaks water?

Need some advises...

What is the original conditions of the water pipes?

I would think a crack will eventually lead to leakage.

Place a piece of tissue paper on the water pipe. If the tissue becomes wet, then there is a leak.

We renovated our place a year ago. The electric worker damaged an aircon outlet PVC pipe embedded in the wall unknowingly during drilling. No one knew or reported it.

After we moved in, we sometimes switched on one of the bedroom aircon and gradually we noticed a section of the wall has a water stain. The stain becomes larger and more visible whenever that aircon was switched on. At last, the section of the wall became soft. We called the contractor. He came and dug out the soft wall and exposed the damaged PVC pipe. The pipe was repaired by glueing a small piece of a PVC pipe onto the damaged pipe with industrial grade glue. Fortunately the repair workmenship is good. The leakage was resolved.

Nebbermind wrote:Eh...if downstair's cracked, how did u know and does it affect u?

Staying downstairs, the upstairs hacking the house down. Bits of paint dropping down after drilling.

Jennifer wrote:

Www wrote:What to do if upstairs neighbor of same HDB flat is doing renovation that requires hacking and the water pipes of downstairs start to crack?

Call the upstairs neighbor's contractor, he said will only paint the crack on the last day. Will the crack leaks water?

Need some advises...

What is the original conditions of the water pipes?

I would think a crack will eventually lead to leakage.

Place a piece of tissue paper on the water pipe. If the tissue becomes wet, then there is a leak.

We renovated our place a year ago. The electric worker damaged an aircon outlet PVC pipe embedded in the wall unknowingly during drilling. No one knew or reported it.

After we moved in, we sometimes switched on one of the bedroom aircon and gradually we noticed a section of the wall has a water stain. The stain becomes larger and more visible whenever that aircon was switched on. At last, the section of the wall became soft. We called the contractor. He came and dug out the soft wall and exposed the damaged PVC pipe. The pipe was repaired by glueing a small piece of a PVC pipe onto the damaged pipe with industrial grade glue. Fortunately the repair workmenship is good. The leakage was resolved.

same contractor who damaged did the repair? he steady or give excuses? good thing noticed and repaired.

winchester wrote:same contractor who damaged did the repair? he steady or give excuses? good thing noticed and repaired.

The main contractor is engaged by the interior design firm - like a project manager. The worker who damaged the pipe was from the electrical works contractor - not same company as the main contractor.

How's your pipe now?

Actually.. nowadays, the ID or contractor is just a middleman most of the time.

He doesn't own the staff who is doing all of the renovation work. He just collects money from you and essentially do the coordination only. He also out source for the electrician and plumbers etc.. that's why, if 2 different customer engaging the same ID or contractor may get different workers for the same jobs.

If one has lobang, can actually engage the workers themselves. And for the doors, tiles etc.. can actually buy from supplier themselves. Cheaper and more direct control.

And also more assurance of the quality bcoz you actually control do does the actual works.

For the IDs or contractors, sometimes due to schedule, he may assign another group of workers to do your house and not the most skilled ones.

Jennifer wrote:

winchester wrote:same contractor who damaged did the repair? he steady or give excuses? good thing noticed and repaired.

The main contractor is engaged by the interior design firm - like a project manager. The worker who damaged the pipe was from the electrical works contractor - not same company as the main contractor.

How's your pipe now?

The ID sent his workers down to do the mending back of the pipe. So far no more issues, except the slight crack still there on the ceiling. We use some more paint to cover over.

Www wrote:So far no more issues, except the slight crack still there on the ceiling. We use some more paint to cover over.

For cracks, you can buy putty from DIY shops. Apply the putty into the crack by following the instructions on the packaging. Once dried, can paint over.

My previous place - the sealant along the bath tub broke down. We did not think it was a big issue. Then the adjacent wall at the living room started to have water stain. Initially we thought it was the concealed aircon outlet pipe that leaked, so we engaged an aircon serviceman to come inspect. Ended up we re-routed the aircon outlet pipe via exposed piping. But the water stain became bigger and finally the section of the wall softened.

My last resort was to dig out the old sealant along the bath tub and apply new one. The water seepage finally resolved. The softened wall was then dug out and filled with putty, then painted over.