My roof collasped

When I came back almost 2 weeks ago, I noticed the ceiling of my house was very dirty. It was brown and black... and I wanted to paint it back white. But my mum told me it was leaking. Uh huh. so we got to fix the leaking roof. but being the procrastinator (Remember kids, Don't do tomorrow what you can do today!) I didn't take any action.

Three or four days ago, the leaking was really bad. A bucket had to be placed under dripping water. So I looked up the classified and called three different contractors to come down and give me a quotation on how much to fix the leaking roof.

***

The first contractor that came was a 40-odd ah-beng, driving a white classic mercedes benz. he came in and spoke hokkien: "lao deng si mi dai ji ah" (what's happening upstairs?) wah, somebody, please say the roof is leaking in hokkien. I dunno lor, so I just lead him up: "lai, lu kua" (come, you see).

The moment he saw the ceiling he said "Wah, ani li hai ah" (so serious ah). and then he went outside the house to look at the roof. after a short while, he concluded that the gutter had some problem. what exactly the problem was i didn't know, because he spoke hokkien. i just caught the words "gutter" and "crooked" or something.

Then he quoted me a price. he said "chit gor". *huh?* i had no idea what chit gor meant.. "seventy five?" i asked him. "Bo la, wan tousund five" and went on explaining that it was a very difficult and major job. ok lor, i told him i'll get back to him later once i consulted my parents.

***

then the second contractor came. this time in a blue van. more appropriate, i thought. he was a skinny, small sized guy, in jeans and blue polo tee (dirty of course). so i assumed that he's the guy that actually does the work. he brought a torchlight with him, the big big kind. he spoke english, fortunately. i brought him to the ceiling, and he had the same response "wah, so serious ah".

but instead of going outside the house, he requested to see inside the ceiling. I suggested "Perhaps the gutter got some problem?" He said "no, not possible, the gutter is on the perimeter of the roof" Cool! this guy is serious and knows his stuff! so i brought a ladder for him to climb into the ceiling through a panel in the bathroom. now, see why being skinny and small sized is a good thing? he clambered up the ladder, into the ceiling like a nimble monkey. note, the ceiling is soft and you have to step on the walls (which protrude into the ceiling).

A few minutes later, he came back down and concluded that there's a small hole in the pipe to the water tank. Ah ha! i understood that. He quoted 400 for the pipe and 400 for the ceiling. Ok. I said i'll get back to him again.

I wanted to see the problem for myself. So after he left, I also climbed into the roof. wow, it was an experience man. it was like obstacle course. can only step on the walls; the ceiling was low, so you have to crouch; the walls are pretty narrow so you'll have to balance; there was no light, so you'll have to carry a torchlight in one hand, leaving only one hand for grapping stuff. anyway, after some effort, i managed to get to the water tank and i saw for myself the water spraying out of the tiny hole in the pipe. so, THAT's where the water was coming from.

***

The third contractor didn't turn up. So i called the second guy to come and fix the pipes.

two hours after the pipes were fixed, the ceiling came crashing down. luckily i wasn't under it. it must have been due to the water that soaked through the plaster, the paper and whatever else. it was like a time-bomb waiting to explode. So now, there's a big gaping hole in the ceiling. sigh...

i've called the guy to come and fix it though. I just wonder when he'll come.