So, I’ve been waiting to write this post since May of last year when we moved into our “house” in Singapore. Yes, I know we haven’t sent anyone pictures and that’s because we haven’t taken any when it’s not a twin hurricane disaster. Usually because we’re still cleaning (by we I mean people other than me), recovering, or sleeping. They’re on the list. The point is that I had to have a picture for this one and I took it today.
Our house is Singapore is great. It’s what they call “semi-detached” which means we have one common wall with another home (this has led to some amusing moments). Sharing a wall isn’t really a big deal here though because the walls are made of stone and concrete covered in plaster. Not a lot is getting through. As for the house, think of the nicest duplex you’ve ever seen. Add marble floors and vaulted ceilings. Shrink the kitchen 70%. Put a separate “aircon” in each room. It’s 2700 square feet and four bedrooms. There are six toilets, which is likely another post. We live well for expats and very well for most people here.
The first week we were in the house I was laying in our bed in the master bedroom looking at the ceiling, when I noticed something odd. Now, our entire bedroom is an odd shape. It’s a large “L” with the bathroom taking up the cutout that would make it a rectangle. The door is at the top of the “L” and the entrance to the bathroom is at bottom around the corner. There is also a slight inset where the windows are at the base of the “L”. This is where I was looking at the ceiling. I noticed a rectangular shape (see top picture) coming down from the roof to the corner of the inset and then dropping the height of the room along the wall (see middle picture).
Based on the size and shape of the rectangular tube, the first thought that came to me was, “Is that a gutter?” But I knew that couldn’t be right. Who cuts a hole in a concrete roof to run a rain gutter from outside our watertight home into the house? Who would run that same rain gutter the length of a wall and then cut another hole through concrete and stone to pipe it back outside? The answer is whoever built our house. Seriously, look at the pictures. We got confirmation after our first big rain. It was like having our own indoor waterfall sound effect.
The topper for me is the bottom of the gutter. You’ll notice that there is a slant on the entry from the roof. Well, that’s not the case for the exit (see bottom picture), which adds another question. Who pipes water out with a square turn? I just hope we aren’t living here when the bottom finally rusts out. This will stop being amusing if we have to deal with the process of replacing it.
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