ST : Floor tiles in some Sengkang flats go pop

06 Feb 2011,
Floor tiles in some Sengkang flats go pop

HDB residents upset over cracked tiles; contractors say homogenous tiles are prone to this problem
By Jalelah Abu Baker

Housewife Hong Wong Chu, 50, was in the kitchen of her four-room Sengkang flat last Wednesday afternoon when she heard what she thought was fire-crackers going off in her living room.

But what she saw shocked her: The tiles covering three-quarters of the living room had popped, raising the level of the floor.

Her sales executive son, Mr Giff Loh, 23, who was asleep in his bedroom at the time, said: 'She was peeping from the kitchen, and I was peeping from my room.'

He added: 'We didn't dare come out.'

They called an HDB hotline, and workers replaced the damaged tiles with cardboard secured by masking tape as an interim measure.

'I guess we cannot have visitors over for New Year,' said a frustrated Mr Loh.

Some other neighbours in the same block at Compassvale Link experienced the same problem last year and this year.

On Monday night, Ms Sng Lay Lay, 30, who lives on the same floor as Mrs Hong and Mr Loh, was also shocked to find tiles on her study room floor cracked open.

She, too, is upset that she cannot have guests over for the Chinese New Year long weekend since her contractor needs seven days to replace the tiles.

She and her family of eight will have to move out of the five-room flat in the meantime.

'I don't know where we are going to stay,' the sales executive said.

HDB was unable to respond by press-time.

Contractors told The Sunday Times that homo-genous tiles are prone to this kind of 'popping' problem - they expand and contract easily because of the fluctuating temperature. They are also thinner than other types of tiles.

The tiles could also pop if they are laid too closely together.

'Sometimes it's also because contractors try to save money by using less cement. Cement is quite expensive now,' said Mr Vincent Koh, 44, owner of renovation firm CH Koh.

But Mr Loh said that when he called an HDB contractor, he was told that popping tiles are a common problem in the Punggol and Sengkang area, and that the contractor has seen more than 100 such cases pre-viously.

jalmsab@sph.com.sg



Mr Loh (in black), in his living room, speaking to one of the contractors who came to his Sengkang flat to remove the cracked tiles last Wednesday. Other neighbours in the block experienced the same problem last year and this year. -- ST PHOTO: NEO XIAOBIN