Hi guys,
Last year I bought a 1 bedroom summercon penthouse flat. So it has two big balconies, one upstairs and one downstairs. Before I moved in, I noticed that the paint on the upstairs balcony at the bottom (ie close to the floor) was peeling and bubbling. So I said to them, you need to fix this before I move in.
Which they did - I could see that the bottom of the wall had been repainted, and looked great. I moved in on the 1st of December 2013.
But now, not even 2 months later, the paint has started cracking again. Not much bubbling, a little, but mostly cracking. All around the wall, worst closest to the drain. I reported it to Summercon maintenance, who said that it is an unavoidable issue that they have everywhere in their complexes, and the reason is that the bitumin used for damp proofing expands and contracts due to the sunlight, and that causes the paint to contract. Nothing they can do, they say. I said I needed to get a second opinion, and the guy practically got offended. Said I'd pretty much be wasting my time.
He did say that it was covered by external maintenance, and that I could request the body corporate to fix it. It doesnt sound like I'd have to pay for it. However, I dont like the irritation of having people come into my flat to sort it out, and it shouldnt need sorting out 3 months later!
Anyway, first, what do you guys think? Is the maintenance guy correct? And, can anyone recommend a good damp proofing person? I just want someone else to take a look. The problem is, I only have 3 months in which to report faults.
Last year I bought a 1 bedroom summercon penthouse flat. So it has two big balconies, one upstairs and one downstairs. Before I moved in, I noticed that the paint on the upstairs balcony at the bottom (ie close to the floor) was peeling and bubbling. So I said to them, you need to fix this before I move in.
Which they did - I could see that the bottom of the wall had been repainted, and looked great. I moved in on the 1st of December 2013.
But now, not even 2 months later, the paint has started cracking again. Not much bubbling, a little, but mostly cracking. All around the wall, worst closest to the drain. I reported it to Summercon maintenance, who said that it is an unavoidable issue that they have everywhere in their complexes, and the reason is that the bitumin used for damp proofing expands and contracts due to the sunlight, and that causes the paint to contract. Nothing they can do, they say. I said I needed to get a second opinion, and the guy practically got offended. Said I'd pretty much be wasting my time.
He did say that it was covered by external maintenance, and that I could request the body corporate to fix it. It doesnt sound like I'd have to pay for it. However, I dont like the irritation of having people come into my flat to sort it out, and it shouldnt need sorting out 3 months later!
Anyway, first, what do you guys think? Is the maintenance guy correct? And, can anyone recommend a good damp proofing person? I just want someone else to take a look. The problem is, I only have 3 months in which to report faults.
