The water cycle

The good people from PUB's "big meter team" were here today nice and early to install the main water meter and turn on water supply to the property. It didn't take them more than a few moments to get the job done.

See, that wasn't too difficult, was it?

So now that leaves the connection of the sub-meters supplying water to the individual units. For those who are interested in the nuts and bolts of home renovation, here's how we are progressing on that front.

The pipe connection upwards is done. Cement is poured to fill up the hole.

Not the prettiest finish, but we've treated you better than the previous person did. Please serve us well for the next 30 years.

Our guy spends another day crouched in his little nook.

By the evening, we're almost there but not quite yet. The plumbing guys will need one more day to complete the welding of the connections downwards. When that is done, another "small meter team" from PUB will come to install the sub-meters.

On the toilet front, wall tiling for the second toilet has been completed. Unfortunately the tiler will now leave for the Chinese New Year holiday, so toilet work is halted until then.

Nice shiny tiles for the K2 toilet on the second storey.

Still or sparkling?

Two litres of temporary water have been delivered to site. This has enabled the tiling of the toilet walls to commence.

If you are ever curious to know what expensive water looks like, here's a picture of said commodity.

The tiler methodically goes about his work. By the end of the morning, he has covered one face of the toilet wall. Progress is unhurried, as he gently taps the tiles to ensure that they are level and square to one another. A true artisan.

In other news, we finally get real plumbing people doing actual plumbing work.

This chap drills around the stump of the old water supply pipe, happily pausing to point out various service pipes and trunkings that are uncovered by the hacking. The dire condition of the stump section meant that he had to drill deeper and deeper into the ground in order to uncover and remove the entire joint.

By the end of the day, the section with the stump has been removed, and a new pipe welded into place.

Working concurrently, directly above, is this other guy, perched on a ladder and going about his work in various contortionist positions in that tiny space. For the whole day! He works quietly but occasionally glances down to assess the work going on below. Clearly the senior in the two-man hierarchy. His job is to clean up the small pipes in preparation for welding.

A spectacular transformation by the end of the day. Really top-notch work especially under such cramped conditions.

Of eskimoes and ice

All is quiet on the western front. There is still no water supply.

It's said that the NASA Mars Odyssey probe "took 10,000 separate actions to go right to get there." Applying for water supply is not quite on the same scale in the annals of human achievement, so it makes it all the more staggering how many ways we can get the first step wrong. One day it's a wrong form submitted, next it's a wrong account type requested, and thereafter a wrong procedure taken. It's a blessing that these people did not decide on a career in astronautical engineering.

Besides that problem of the gap in the main pipe, we found that there is another breakage in the connection that distributes water from the main supply pipe to the individual floors.

This pipe that is intact is, unfortunately, not a water pipe, but the existing gas supply pipe that we don't intend to use. Now, just beside this pipe, lying innocently on the ground...

...is what remains of a metal pipe, which appears to be where water from the main pipe will emerge. Notice that it's not connected to anything useful.

Looking up, there is a cluster of smaller pipes, dismembered in similar fashion. These are the pipes which will presumably send water to the individual floors. And for that to happen, they need to be joined back to the pipe below.

At the start of each day, we waited in anticipation for someone to turn up to fix the water meter. And at the end of the day, we leave hoping that it might happen the next day. Meanwhile, with Chinese New Year looming, the contractors and their tradesmen will soon be leaving for the long holiday break.

That leaves us with no choice but to call for the water truck. Joe orders 2 cubic metres of non-potable water, so that the wet works can commence. This will cost us a hefty sum of money, but hopefully allow work to continue until the water supply issue is resolved.

The good people who thought up this business model with water must surely rank right up there, alongside those selling ice to eskimoes.

Water woes

What fun will a construction project be if it does not run into a major crisis right from the start?

It's never a good sign when the main water pipe to your building looks a little like this:

The main water pipe supplying water to the entire property. Spot the missing link.

So that was Monday. Even then, you would have thought that this cannot be a huge obstacle.  But now it's already Thursday afternoon and it's taken a belated visit by the water experts to conclude that a meter needs to be installed across that little gap. Brilliant deduction, Sherlock!

So the toilet tiles have all been hacked, and the materials for laying the new toilet flooring have been delivered to site. Joe had planned to start the wet works today, but that cannot be done now because there's no water to mix the cementing materials. And we still don't know when the meter can be installed.

Cement and sealant on site crying to be opened up.

An assortment of tiles brought in by the contractor. Goody! Looks like we're having different-themed toilets!

But the workers do what they can. Fortunately, demolition works continue at a healthy pace.

On the 2nd storey, the ceiling boards are progressively being removed to reveal a bare ceiling which appears to be in pretty good condition. That means we can consider going for an "industrial look".

The ceiling at the 2nd storey hall. Smooth!

We already have a kitchen on the 1st storey, so the kitchen on the 2nd storey will be converted to a second room for the K1 children.

It's amazing how much damage one guy and a jackhammer can do in a single day.

This is what that same space looked like at the start of the day. Yes, it's not exactly tip-top to start with.