askST: How can I make sure my home renovation is carried out safely?

SINGAPORE – On Wednesday (June 8), a fake ceiling grew to become detached from the concrete ceiling in a family’s master bedroom and arrived crashing down on their beds.

The construction was put in considerably less than half a calendar year back, and reportedly weighed above 100kg. Even even though no 1 was hurt, the incident left the spouse and children traumatised and their bed room in ruins.

Renovation experts Jackie Lai, a council member of the Singapore Interior Layout Accreditation Council (Sidac), and Kelly Chin, who sits on the council of the Culture of Interior Designers Singapore (Sids), clarify what to appear out for when it arrives to putting in fake ceilings, and property renovation in general.

Q: What components would result in bogus ceilings to detach?

Ms Chin: Fake ceilings can drop if they are not properly secured to the concrete ceiling and deficiency assist buildings. Inappropriate ceiling anchor bolts can also induce a wrong ceiling to collapse.

Mishaps can occur as a end result of shoddy perform or when inferior materials are employed.

Q: What permits are essential for renovation function and what can be finished to assure that these incidents do not recur?

Ms Chin: HDB can require all contractors or businesses which install wrong ceilings to be registered and certified, or retrain or upskill their employees each and every two to three many years to make confident all people has the appropriate skill sets.

Mr Lai: Flat house owners are needed to engage HDB-registered renovation contractors.

Even though the set up of a false ceiling does not demand a allow, contractors should even now comply with HDB’s renovation rules.

For professional units, it is compulsory to post shop ceiling drawings and use accepted resources. In some cases, a pull-out take a look at could be needed. (The check requires attaching a acceptable examination rig to the bolt, screw, anchor or fixing, which is then put underneath the strain load degree specified in the layout to decide how potent and safe the correcting is.)

Q: How can household proprietors make certain that they have engaged accredited or dependable contractors and interior designers?

Mr Lai: They really should interact inside designers who are accredited by Sidac, such as skilled inside style consultants and renovation inside designers.

Unqualified people and providers carry disrepute to the interior style sector with their lousy workmanship and poor provider.

Property owners who have by now engaged a contractor can also seek the services of an accredited inside layout consultant as extra insurance.