Tips On Minor Home Repair

Some of the common breakdowns that we encounter in our homes are mostly related to the items that we use daily. This is unavoidable due to fair wear and tear. This will occur even the items are of very good quality. Some of the items are:

a. Leaking tap/mixer, waste pipe, bathroom ceiling if it is a multi-storey home.
b. Choke bottle trap, floor trap.
c. WC Flushing system e.g handle broke, float valve faulty, mechanism faulty etc.
d. Shower hose, handle broke/leak.

Most of the above items can be easily DIY. Not neccessary to engage tradesmen to replace them as they will charge a price for their servces and including their special skills, material/part/accessories, time, transport, profit etc.

For leaking tap/mixer. Check whether some of the parts are worn out, example rubber gasket. If it is parts fault, then just purchase these items from the hardware shop found at the neighbour shops. With proper tools, dismantle the tap/mixer and
replace them. But first to turn off the water supply at the source (meter area). If the tap/mixer had been used for quite some time, it is usually wear and tear and it is necessary to replace the whole tap/mixer.

For waste pipe open the parts to check. Sometimes the leak may be due to choke waste. Open up the pipe, clear the choke and the leak will stop. Tighten the joints may also solve the problem. If wear and tear is detected. Replacement is required. This can also be DIY.

If water is leaking from the ceiling of the bathroom, it means the neighbour's (above unit) bathroom floor waterproofing had failed. Under this circumstances, the situation its a bit complicated as the house owner above had to be involved. Usually, the repair cost is shared between the unit that suffers the leak and the neighbour whose water had seeps to the unit below.



There are 2 methods of repair:-

i. Polyurethene Grouting (PU)- pressure grouting or
ii. Re-waterproofing the floor of the unit above.

Such works had to be carried out by specialist contractor. This is usually arrange by the Town Councils (public bldg) or the Management Corporation (Strata Title Building). The authority will get the contractor to repair and recover the cost from both parties.

Item (ii) is more disruptive and costly. If PU is possible, item (i) should be used. I will elaborate on other repairs in my next posting.

Home Appliances & Equipment

In most home we commonly find the following appliances and equipment being used or installed:-

A. HOME APPLAINCES

1) Iron - for ironing clothes
2) Kettle - for boiling water
3) Oven - Microwave or Toaster
4) Shower Heater
5) Refrigerators
6) Electrical Juice Blenders
7) Thermoflask - either electrical or non-electrical
8) Electric Cooker / Gas Cooker / Hob
9) Washing Machine / Dryer


B. HOME EQUIPMENT

1) TV - CRT, Plasma or LCD, Radio
2) HiFi System, Home Theater System
3) Air-Conditioning System, Heating System
4) Electric Fan
5) Security Alarm System
6) Personal Computer (PC) System

Note that such appliances or equipment need electricity to operate and are subject to breakdowns one way or the other. Some equipment are built to last whilst others tend to breakdown faster under normal usage. Especially those consist of many electronics components. Take for example, the iron, refrigerator, TV, washing machine, fan & air conditioning. These equipment tends to last much longer if use properly. Electronics equipment like TV, LCD TV, security alarm system, Microwave oven, PC System and home theater system tends to breakdown easily even if used in the normal way. However, this equipment comes with a minimum 1-year warranty or some large retailers allowed extended warranty if a fee is paid to extend it. Hence, we still have avenues to sought if it breaks down within the warranty period.

Personally, I find it worthwhile to top up a little amount of money to extend the warranty as the amount paid is significantly smaller if spread over a period of 3 to 5 years. Say the items breakdown after 2 years, the cost of each repair is very great as compared to the extented warranty cost. Recently, I experienced such a situation where my NoteBook brokedown and the repair cost came to about S$900.00. Fortunately, this item had an extended warranty up to 5 years and I only paid about S$100.00 to extend it from 3 to 5 years. So see the difference!

Some Common Breakdowns In Home

After living some years in our house, some common breakdowns would likely to occur. These are the items or equipment that we use everyday or building parts that are constantly exposed to the elements, such as sunshine (uv light, infra-red, heat or rain).

The breakdowns are inevitable as the items are subjected to daily usage/abuse or due to exposure to the environment and also all household items or materials have a usage lifespan, just like human beings. Listed below are the common breakdowns that we will encounter after some period of time:-

1) Faulty light fittings, e.g blown light bulbs, flourescent tubes, starter, ballast, bulb holders, wiring, rusty/corroded light fittings, etc.

2) Doors sagged, hinges faulty or squeeky.

3) Door knobs faulty, lockset faulty.

4) Faulty Bathroom shower mixer, shower hose, tap, basin bottle trap, mirror, pop-up waste/stopper.

5) Faulty Bahroom flushing system e.g handle, flushing mechanism, water inlet float valve, WC seat cover holder.

6) Faulty Kitchen sink mixer/faucet, waste bottle trap and sink stopper.

7) Faulty Sliding window handle, rollers, lockset.

8) Damaged Floor tiles, carpets, marble tiles, timber floor, vinyl floor and laminate floor.

9) Faded wall paint, peeling paint or stained wall finish.

10) Damaged, faded, debonded, torn wallpaper.

I have listed 10 common items in our house that will breakdown or require repairs regularly. The list shall be expanded in my next blog and i will also provide tips on How to DIY.

Introduction To Mr. Fix-It

I was involved in the building industry for more than 20 years. Hence, I would dare say I'm quite familiar with most things in our house. For most people and including myself, the house is considered one of the most expensive asset that we have invested in our life. Hence, we would treasure it and take good care of it as it provides a roof over our heads, gives us security and of course, comfort. Once we enter our home, we always feel a sense of comfort, relax and secure and automatically our mind zero in to a feeling of "Home Sweet Home". There is no place like home.

In order for the house to provide us with long term comfort and security, it needs regular maintenance and up-keep just like our body. If not, it would deteriorates and would be expensive to repair when things breakdown.

Little maintenance is required when it is new. However, we still need minor maintenance at this stage, such as cleaning regularly is a must, some painting whenever it shows sign of defect or stained.

When some things breakdown, we need to engage contractors or technicians to carry out the repairs and the cost would be high. This is to be expected when the contractor needs to factor in the following:-

1. Overhead (Office rental, office equipment, workers' salary, transport, insurance, etc)
2. Profits (Business needs provide to keep going)
3. Tools, Equipment & Materials (Needed to carry out the repairs).

Some contractors (i call them opportunist), fortunately not all, will take the chance to fleece the ignorant house owner. If the owner lacks knowledge or familarity of the cost and the type of work involve, then he will have to pay the price.

In order to prevent such a situation, having the knowledge of some building knowledge and also to carry out minor repairs ourself will definitely save us some money. It is best to DIY - "Do-It-Youself" for minor breakdowns than to summons the repairmen.

In this Blog, I would provide some useful Tips on minor home repairs and information so that some money can be save and also gives us a sense of achievement if we see our efforts in successfully repaired the breakdowns. DIY can be carried out ourself rather than engaging contractor if we have the time. If we do not want to bother ourself or have the time, then it is best to leave it to the tradesmen or repairmen. Of course some breakdowns need specialist, e.g air condition breakdown, electrical breakdown, equipment breakdown etc.

Do not attempt to repair any equipment if we are not familiar with them. In this case, engaging a contractor is the best solution and have to part with some cost to ensure professional results.. When the breakdown involves electrical equipment, then it is best to leave it to the electrician or specialist unless we are trained in this field. Simple electrical works can still be carried out using DIY, such as replacing blown bulbs, install a new 3-pin plug (socket).

Do visit my next posting for some DIY Tips