BBC about to build a 2100 Sq ft village house

[dragon_simon]

I have been lurking around this forum but haven't really contributed by posting here, I hope this won't be held against me!

I will soon be building a village house, the building license has been registered with the relevant bodies and I believe I now have a 2-3 months wait for the 'Certificate of exemption' which presumably is a piece of paper that allows construction work to start on site.

Over this 'waiting period', I will be drafting the layout plans/ elevations/ details etc etc and formal documents for Contractor's to price on an equal basis so when prices do come back I can compare apples with apples! I do have many years of experience as a quantity surveyor and have a good understanding of the construction process and technicalities here in Scotland which puts me in a good position for building my village house. However, based on my dad's poorly constructed village house, there are some specific elements of a village house which is baffling me and I am hoping that someone somewhere in HK living in a village house may be able to shed some further light to me.

Here goes:-

1/ Is it necessary to have unsightly security bars over window openings? Is there really such a major security issue there?
2/ Why do staircases have to be made of insitu concrete?
3/ Does internal partitions which serve no structural purposes have to be built in concrete?- There may be a good reason for this but in Scotland, we would normally use metal/timber stud plasterboard partitions for flexibility and ease of construction.
4/ Is there a good reason why single glazed windows are preferred over double/ triple glazing?- I would opt for low E reflective double glazing to keep the heat out.
5/ Why are the inner face of external walls treated with skim coat plaster? Is this due to condensation/ damp issues? I would prefer insulated plasterboard which keeps heat out and air conditioning in.

I do know that the best place for good advice for the above is via a local Architect that has abundant experiences of village houses- (can anyone offer recommendations?), but I'm also interested to find out what the views of folks living in village houses who may be able to offer some guidances or even let me know what their wish list is for building a village house from scratch.

Thanks for reading and appologies if you don't live in a village house and this post is irrelevant to you, you will have just wasted 2 mins of your life- time which you won't ever get back!

[carang]

i think that cement is used mostly because of mold.... it grows everywhere here....
at least that would be my assumption. also, gyprock is quite expensive here as is good quality lumber. i have yet to see a "lumber yard" a la what we have in canada. there are a few shops dotted around that you can buy lumber, and they must have a warehouse somewhere, but they are few and far between. at least, that is my experience.

security bars on windows? only if you want them.

why single glazing instead of double? shoddy construction/cheap ass landlords.

[dumbdonkey]

1/ Is it necessary to have unsightly security bars over window openings? Is there really such a major security issue there?

Village houses are easy targets.


2/ Why do staircases have to be made of insitu concrete?

They don't but why not. Read below.


3/ Does internal partitions which serve no structural purposes have to be built in concrete?- There may be a good reason for this but in Scotland, we would normally use metal/timber stud plasterboard partitions for flexibility and ease of construction.

Internal partitions usuually made of bricks, not concrete. Local people prefers bricks. You can use framing and gyp board if you want. It all depends who the occupants will be.


4/ Is there a good reason why single glazed windows are preferred over double/ triple glazing?- I would opt for low E reflective double glazing to keep the heat out.

Electricity is cheap in Hong Kong. Most apartments do not have heat.


5/ Why are the inner face of external walls treated with skim coat plaster? Is this due to condensation/ damp issues? I would prefer insulated plasterboard which keeps heat out and air conditioning in.

Your plaster board / insulation will be moldy in less than 3 summer months due to high humidity. High land cost. Save a few inches on double skin wall.

Do what the locals do and you will be happy. Think high humidity. Lack of skilled craftsmen. Lack of labour really. Poor craftsmanship. Just Stick some tiles on the exterior wall.

[jimbo]

You're not in Scotland so stop comparing HK to Scotland

Have you spoken to the village head yet? Some villages have 'preferred' builders usually buddies of the head. If you use someone else prepare for a lot of potential hassle.

Going rate is $1m for the bare shell.

[dragon_simon]

The way that this never ending recession is hitting us construction professionals in the UK. I am seriously thinking of moving back to HK to manage the building works myself and act in the role of a builder/ project manager i.e I will arrange/ procure all the subcontractors from groundworks to the finishes with recommendations of a local Architect.

Yes, I have had close dialogues with the village head as he is very approachable and a distant uncle (same line) so should not be a hassle with letting subcontractors into the village to work for me.

Surely there are methods of construction that can deal effectively with the humidity levels (damp proof membranes/ vapour barriers etc) otherwise there would be no scycrappers in HK!

jimbo- as a QS I spend most of my office hours comparing and analysing tenders/ quotations to the nth degree to get the best value!

I find a hard to believe that concrete/ brick internal non loadbearing walls are cheaper than stud partitions. Is it just gyproc that is expensive, how about other brands of plasterboards like Knauf etc...

[scrambler]

man - i wished I had double glazing... is it cos u supposed to change all the windows when someone dies in the place? i reckon they install stuff like that in village house so badly here that it makes it pointless to do?

[Fly Boy]

The BBC? Get McAlpine's to build it. They owe him big time.

Do Scotsmen call themselves British now?

[jimbo]

As I've said. This is HK not Scotland what works in Scotland doesn't necessarily work in HK

[MovingIn07]

I suspect you will find most of the questions do not have good answers, but "cheap and nobody knows any better" answers. I think you will end up with a lovely, well built village house but because all property here is priced on a "square foot" basis, it will be worth exactly the same as the crappy one next door - so folks tend not to bother building "good" houses since most are rented out anyway and tenant comfort is not high priority.

Good luck. We live on a boat which has different and higher quality construction methods - and love it. If you live here, then YOU will appreciate the benefits, but if not .......

[Fly Boy]

I suspect you will find most of the questions do not have good answers, but "cheap and nobody knows any better" answers. I think you will end up with a lovely, well built village house but because all property here is priced on a "square foot" basis, it will be worth exactly the same as the crappy one next door - so folks tend not to bother building "good" houses since most are rented out anyway and tenant comfort is not high priority.

Good luck. We live on a boat which has different and higher quality construction methods - and love it. If you live here, then YOU will appreciate the benefits, but if not .......

It's because they're built by cowboys and the regulations for village houses are lax compared to mass-market residential.

The OP's going to live there, so it makes sense to use the best, and he'll save in the long run.

When I build my house, I'll import the labour or build it myself and project mangage what I can't do personally, it's worth the extra not to live in a concrete box.

Is that an invite for the OP to stay on your different and higher quality construction methods boat while he's building his new pad?