No shower today!

Cos our bathroom and toilet were just flooded with waterproofing chemical this morning... Just wiped myself down like a newborn *.* Lucky Sito is in JB this week..

Apparently, we have been leaking down to our neighbour's ceiling since early last year. They complained to HDB which sent technicians to check things out. The issue went quiet all of a sudden and we thought it was resolved but HDB contacted us again mid this year.

So they rectified some external seepage but required us to fix our floors too. The officer in charge came over in September to look see. I asked for a letter informing us formally of the issue, what to do, the costs involved, what happens if it doesn't get resolved etc.

The letter arrived more than a month later! With very little details! I tried many times to reach the guy for clarifications without success so I sent him a letter, which was lucky for me cos he had resigned! The new officer came to look see again, and clarified things.

Essentially, I could use their goodwill repair assistance scheme where HDB will pay 50% and both floors will pay 25% each. But that covers only the basics, meaning that all our fixtures like toilet bowl and vanity cabinet etc will be hacked off without replacement and the new tiles will be HDB tiles! I estimated some $3k in losses and replacement on top of "basics".

Another option is for me to engage my contractor to do the same - hacking - and settle with the neighbour privately about copayment. But surely downstairs wouldn't want to pay more than under the HDB scheme!

The last option is for me to use other methods. I managed to get a contact from HDB staff for chemical waterproofing, under repeated reminders that other methods were not endorsed by HDB. (HDB lets us decide so long as we fix the problem.) The work cost $650 with a one-year warranty. I googled and figured out that 25% under HDB would be about $300-$400.

So I asked my neighbour who agreed to copay - apparently HDB told them it would be about $300 - but if it leaks again after the warranty period, we have to refund and go with HDB. Fair enough. He said he preferred HDB contractor cos they would paint his ceiling - of course la but who is going to foot my additional bills?! Not like i wanted this to happen. I even offered to paint his ceiling myself when he said it wasn't fair to ask his maid to paint. But guess what, today, the maid told me she painted their whole house by herself! Um, that's fair??

Anyway so now we monitor. The top infusion method is supposed to be better than chemical injection at the lower floor. If all is good, I'll see if they still want me to paint. Just want to settle this before starting work..

Oh, but thankfully the toilet can be used! I was thinking of hiding out at Mum's place for the afternoon otherwise, which is tough for me on two counts.

First, Mum is overseas so I have no idea where the mesh cradle is, which means there's no safe place to put ZK down except the floor - not keen since the floor hasn't been cleaned since Mum left a week ago! It would also be more difficult to settle ZK for naps as I have been lying next to him to settle him and I would feel very imposing if I were to lie on another person's bed.

The other difficulty is that, I feel like I would be trespassing, even with permission! Yes, Mum gave us a key but I've always let Sito use it. We talked about this before - Sito said maybe it's more ok for him as it's like going home like last time. Then I told him that Mother let me keep my old keys when I wanted to return it after moving out, but I never use it; I still knock when I go over even though I lived there for almost 30 years. So no, I just feel weird letting myself in somewhere I don't or no longer live in.

Anyway, long story is over. Now I should sleep before ZK wakes for a feed again.. I just fed him before writing this - he woke less than two hours after I settled him for the night. I told Sito that his son likes to bully me; he slept so well over the weekend when papa was home!!

Update 25 Oct 2016

It's been some years and so far, no complaints from my neighbours :) I've replied to earlier comments via email as I only have the guy's mobile number so I'm hesitant to post publicly. BUT! I just found the company website - here you go: winborne.com.sg. You're most welcome :)