Falling HDB Parts At Hougang And Circuit Road: Town Councils To Take Action

Probes into two recent cases of facade parts falling off Housing Board blocks have been completed, and the respective town councils are taking steps to avoid a recurrence.

In October, a cladding board made of calcium silicate fell off Block 51, Circuit Road. The next month, a plaster slab dislodged from Block 449, Hougang Avenue 10 and crashed to the ground.

Responding to queries from The Straits Times, the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) said investigations showed that the cladding in the Circuit Road case had dislodged because of “wear and tear”.

After inspecting the block in question and 24 other blocks in the precinct, the professional engineer appointed by Marine Parade Town Council has recommended that similar calcium silicate cladding panels at all of these blocks be removed.

Those at the service duct areas will be replaced with new metal panels.

“We understand that Marine Parade Town Council will be progressively carrying out these rectification works as recommended by the PE to ensure public safety,” the BCA said.

Marine Parade Town Council told The Straits Times that it is currently working with its professional engineer and contractor to perform the necessary works.

During the inspection, some boards were found to have “loose connection of screws to the claddings”, said Marine Parade Town Council. These damaged boards have been removed, it said, adding that visual inspections were carried out on the other 24 blocks.

In the Hougang case, a professional engineer appointed by Ang Mo Kio Town Council inspected and found all existing plaster surfaces at the incident block “in satisfactory condition”, the BCA said.

“Based on the PE’s investigation report, the fallen plaster had dislodged as it had deteriorated due to exposure to weather over time.

“We understand that Ang Mo Kio Town Council will be repairing the affected area and stepping up checks on the surrounding blocks.”

The latest investigations come amid a string of incidents in which facade parts have fallen off HDB blocks.

In September, a concrete sunshade dislodged from Block 201E, Tampines Street 23, and fell on another sunshade below it.

After a probe, the BCA said last week (Dec 4) that the sunshade, about 5m long, had no reinforcement bars on the side that fell.

In relation to the Tampines case, the BCA said it is presently further investigating to “determine whether there were contraventions to the building regulations when the sunshades were built”.

It added: “Building owners are responsible for the maintenance of their buildings, including facade elements and any exterior features. They should carry out regular checks and maintenance of the facade of their building including all such exterior features.”

While no one was hurt in any of these incidents, the BCA is carrying out a review on building facade safety here.

 

Source: The Straits Times

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