MahamYe

Things with the renovation are really picking up pace. We have started to lay tile, exterior painting, interior painting, and built-in cabinets are being constructed. The kitchen is starting to take form with shelves and cabinents and lead paint is being removed from the old wood. It's a great feeling to see the beautiful deep grain wood coming out from dingy old paint. It's the removal of the lead paint that has inhibited my frequency of visits to the site. Several weeks ago, we learned that we are expecting our second child early 2008. As a result, being exposed to particulate lead paint in the first trimester seems like a dangerous risk.

Things with the neighbors have reached a stalemate...though they did request 40,000RMB from us for repairing the cracks in their cement plastered walls. We got a good laugh from that. Instead, we recommended they file a law suit and we will have the courts adjudicate the dispute. The neighborhood committee has also become involved and feels that we have made a fair and generous repair offer to the neighbors and they are being foolish for asking for so much cash. In the next conversation, they asked me to come along for a zhong zi rolling lesson to be broadcast on Pearl TV to show what a harmonious and tolerant society our lane promotes. I gave a reluctant acquiescence to being the token foreigner for them.

I would really love to post some new pics...but with flickr problems, it seems that most readers inside China would not be able to view them. I keep thinking that this flickr debacle will be resolved any day now so I have put off updating this site, but since it's been 10 days without any progress I'm starting to doubt that prospect. Very annoying. Apologies for not posting pictures, but hope they will be unblocked shortly. Those with the Mozilla Add on can view the work in progress in this folder- http://www.flickr.com/photos/44231795@N00/sets/72157594500548976/

Melanie

All seems to be on-track at the construction site. A few updates-

All the molding for the ceilings have been completed, and follow clean Deco lines. We went with something very similar to the cornices that we uncovered a few months ago under the dropped ceiling.

Molding around the master bedroom door

This week the radiator guy is coming to the house to install the heating system. The banister carving guy is also coming back with the modified curved pieces. The carpentars have been tasked with completing the built-in bookcases/cabinents for the upper floors. We have finally purchased all the toilets, sinks, tubs, faucets, etc..for the wet rooms and since we have ordered the tiles for the upper floor bathrooms this could conceivably be completed in the forseeable future. Whoa.

We have also sucessfully moved the location of our electrical meter inside the house. This sounds like no big deal, but such things are complicated since it requires permission from the electrical company and their official electrician has to make an appearance to connect some wires. We previously had two dodgy 220V meters for the house and now we have a single larger 380V.

Electricity Guy

I gave up trying to find the old Shanghai tiles, and am using a porous ceramic variety found on Ishan Lu. They aren’t the same as the old ones, but are the best we (and the contractor) could find. The newly manufactured tiles are also octagonal and are the same dimensions. The glaze seems to be the difference, but we think this can be remedied with a coat of poly-urethane type sealant on the top. We are incorporating a design taken from some architectural features in the lane to use as the border pattern and putting in the classic tile flower pattern into the center design in the foyer and kitchen.

A tip for future renovators- Don’t think you can import your switchplate covers. I have tried every angle possible to avoid using the ugly plastic square option, and I can’t find a way to do it. The issue is the actual on/off switch that controls the electricity. We had chosen the black bakelite toggle switches that are common in other parts of the world and were once a norm in Shanghai. When my husband went to a US retailer to buy them, the sales staff told us we were crazy to try it. A plastic switch designed to run on a 110 will fry if it switches 220V. Of course I know this for lamps and hair dryers, but never thought it would also affect switches.

Alas, we seem to be stuck with the modern plastic rocker switches. In fact, we ended up digging ourselves into a hole by telling our electrician that we planned to import the switchplate covers. As a result he used the rectangular boxes in the wall to house the interior wires and switches. Once we realized that we couldn’t import the switchplate covers we had to go on a scavenger hunt all over Shanghai to find a supplier who carries the rectangular shape since 99.9% of the switchplate covers are square.

The rotten wood beams along the edges of the roof have been repaired and entirely rebuilt with new wood. Fortunately, it wasn’t the big problem that we had once feared. While they were up there, they built the little fake chimney to keep us out of trouble with the neighborhood committee (see post “Complaining Neighbors” for the backstory).

Roof Repairs

These days I really have a lot of empathy for our neighbors since we have been torturing them for the last few months with construction noise, debris, and chaos. They have had to endure pneumatic drills, paint fumes, and hammering on the adjacent walls. Even though we have told our contractors numerous times to be considerate, I know it’s miserable for them- and they are happy to come over whenever they see us on-site and regale us with tales of woe. I truly feel rotten about it...and they know it.

This week their gripe is cracks in their plaster on the adjoining walls courtesy of our contractors. We offered to repair it once the project is complete and put them up in a hotel so they don’t have to deal with construction dust. At first they think this is a great solution, but a few days later they dismiss this plan as too intrusive. At this point, it’s become a delicate dance of negotiations that I’m pretty sure is heading in the direction of an old-fashion pay-off. As far as lane neighbor/renovation issues go, this is very minor compared to some horror stories I have heard, and we are trying to keep this in perspective. They are old. Very old. They are the old-timers who have lived in the lane for 60 years and we are literally the new kids on the block. They deserve respect and deference in dealing with such matters. The danger is that the gossiping lao tai tais of the lane get wind of a “settlement” and we have a queue of complaining neighbors hoping for a wad of cash for their troubles. Oy-yo.

Neighbors

Melanie

The progress is slow since we are doing a lot of sub-structure renovations such as electrical wiring, plumbing, insulation, etc..and it’s easy to feel bogged down in the project. According to a friend who has recently renovated a lane home, this means that you are about to turn a corner. When you feel like it’s never going to end, then it’s time to start laying tiles and choosing color schemes. The contractor still feels we are on track to meet a June 30 completion deadline, but the progress for April has felt sluggish.

Repairing Rotten Stairs- April 28

Finally the treacherous stairs are repaired. No longer do we need to fear our feet falling through the rickety bottom stairs if we step a tad too heavily. This was the only place in the house that had mystery moisture damage. We still don't know what caused the wood to mold and rot, but the contractors sealed it before rebuilding in hopes of patching any unseen leaks.

Pipe Placement- April 19

Third floor Master Bathroom April 17- One day soon there will be a cast iron claw foot tub that sits here. We are making frequent trips to the markets on Yishan Lu to choose bathroom/kitchen fixtures and faucets. It's a lot tougher than it sounds to pick out a basic faucet...

Loft Stairs in Progress-

Loft Stairs Progress- April 17

Loft Stairs Progress- April 25

The staircase to the 4th floor loft is almost done. We have debated the placement, style, and function of these stairs endlessly over the past several months. Now that they are almost finished, we are pleased with the outcome. They will have a wood railing that matches the other two staircases in the house. There is a guy who specializes in carving banisters who will replicate the banisters. I have seen his work in other homes and quite skilled in making the slow elegant curves from solid wood. We have decided to slightly reshape the existing banisters for the other two stairs since they are a bit out of proportion.

Bamboo Scaffolding- April 22, 2007

Bamboo scaffolding and green mesh now frame the whole exterior of the house. We are still debating about how to renovate the exterior. In addition to a few coats of new paint, we had hoped to strip the peeling paint from the old bricks and leave them their natural color; however, about a decade ago a previous owner had painted them a dull red color using a water-based paint. As a result, we cannot chemically strip the paint and would have to sand it off. The problem with sanding old bricks is that it will create an unnaturally uniform look and a smooth texture that looks odd for a seventy year old house. We are still debating about how to solve this problem.

First Floor Bathroom- April 19

The first floor bathroom is being reconstructed in its new incarnation. We have moved it under the stairs to open up the foyer, though it's a very small space and I'm nervous that the finished product will feel like an airline toilet.

We had a few surprises like the 3rd floor bathroom floor had to be completely pulled apart and reassembled since it was about 3cm taller than the hall floor. It had been artfully concealed in a previous renovation, but it needed to be repaired to prevent water from the bathroom floor seeping onto the restored wood floors in the hall. A bit of a headache, but the contracting team were able to resolve it

The progress of the whole house seems slow, but our fingers are crossed that things will speed up for May now that the structural and infrastructure renovations are almost complete…

Melanie

Wisteria Lane- April 19, 2007

This past week has been focusing on upgrading the unseen things behind the walls. The electrician has been on the premises for the past week working on re-wiring the whole house. This means digging into the bricks to bury the wires inside special electrical grade PVC pipes to prevent moisture from seeping through. When first were planning the renovations, we really under-estimated the importance of this step. We knew the sellers had done something along these lines in the recent 2004 renovation of the house, but they used sub-par materials…basically the cheapest things they could find. As a result, some of the connecting hinges of the PVC piping had become loose and some had been forgotten altogether.

There are also several other problems popping up from their penurious renovations. For instance, they used a thick paper board under the trim on an exterior facing wall which now has mold growing at an alarming rate. We have to replace it with a carbon fiber material that repels moisture. Remember the hanging chimney? This is still haunting us since it causes structural problems with supporting beams if we remove the bricks entirely (see photo below). It’s such a headache at this point. We are also applying a thick foam insulation throughout the third floor ceiling to prevent heat loss in the winter.

Insulation & hanging chimney of doom with attached supporting wood beam.

Acrobat Contractor

Since the electrician is fitting the wires, we need to choose which type of switch plates to use. While we are still several months away from the finishing details, he needs to know what type of box fitting to put behind the switch plate inside the wall. It’s a seemingly minor aesthetic preference, but it’s amazing how one can become obsessive about the little details when embarking on this type of project. When I went to look at the locally available options, everything is too modern to fit in an old house. It will be so anachronistic to have the typical plastic rocker switches, yet it’s very difficult to find the old bakelite switch plates- especially in modern configurations for multiple switches. In the end, we have decided to import reproduction antique brass switch plates from the US. In addition, we will also have to import the black bakelite toggle switches since the ones available in Shanghai are long narrow rocker switches.

Flooring in the entrance foyer has also been a bit of a headache. Ideally, I would love to use the ubiquitous old Shanghai style hexagonal ceramic tiles since this is appropriate to the time period our house was built. It’s easy to find the newly manufactured version of the tiles, but the look is just not quite right. I’m searching for the old ones to use in the bathrooms and the foyer. The problem is that these are difficult to salvage from buildings that demolished since they are often destroyed in the process. Apparently, there is also not a huge demand for them, so it’s hardly worth the effort to meticulously dislodge 2.5 cm tiles from 70 year old concrete grouting. I have consulted several sources that all confirm that they can’t be found, but I refuse to give up so easily …anyone with ideas where to find about 12 square meters of these tiles in decent condition????

Old Shanghai Tiles

On the upside, the master bedroom closet/bathroom expansion has been completed and it looks great. We were really concerned about the allocation of space in each room, but it seems that it is coming together in perfect proportion. The first floor foyer expansion is much better now that the bathroom has been demolished. The contractors were even able to move the exterior window to the left about half a meter to center it on the wall. This seemed like a huge project when first explained to me, but they did it in an afternoon with minimal intrusion. They also rounded the corners to the newly expanded doorway to the living room to lend an Art Deco stylization that fits with the original design.

Rounding the Corners

Melanie

I have had a few inquiries about the mystifying process of buying an old home in Shanghai and the seemingly-impenetrable Chinese property laws. Based on our research, here is a brief summary of property rights behind buying an old house and some things you should know before you start the process:

•Buyer's eligibility - some historical houses are off-limits to foreign individuals. You will have to either use some local identity (usually risky business unless you have a partner with local residency) or incorporate. Some houses can be sold to a foreigner only after a background check (政审 literally means Political Background Investigation) such as the ones near Kang Ping Rd or Hunan Rd. where journalists or diplomats could be restricted becuase of the proximity of certain government offices. Other types of houses can be sold, occasionally with minimal restrictions.

•House's Sell-ability - Many buildings are government offices, making them off-limits for purchase. Some are too dilapidated for renovation. Others have been subdivided into so many units that untangling becomes extremely costly and time consuming. For the available houses, there are three types:

1) House with property ownership rights that has paid the land transfer fee. (产权已补过地价) Those are houses and apartments that have clearly delineated ownership. One statistics shows there are 4000 + garden houses in Shanghai and 60 of them are sellable. The number of the lane houses with ownership right is higher.
2) House with property ownership right and has not paid the land transfer fee. (产权未补过地价) In addition to the normal transaction cost and tax, you will have to pay the land transfer fee.
3) House with use right (使用权未补过差价) - The majority of lane houses and garden house only have use rights. Use rights can not be transferred to the foreign passport holder. However you can pay additional fee to covert the use right to the property right. It is definitely feasible but not a “transparent” process. The "conversion fee" usually will be upwards of RMB1,000 per square meter(on top of everything else you will need to pay). There are restrictions on covering the garden house's user right to property right from time to time.

•Land ownership - In theory, the land belongs to the State. The real estate certificate issued by the state proves you have the ownership of the house and use right of the land. Unlike the apartment building which usually stated 70 (residential) or 50 (hybrid) year use right, the old house with property rights usually doesn't have a time limit on the land. There are two common ways to indicate the land status on the old house real estate certificate: "划拨 Allocate"and "转让 Tansfer". We will discuss the difference in the future. With the recently passed the property law, even the apartment owner gets an automatic renewal after the 70 or 50 years although they may face potentially additional renew fee. One thing need to point out is China is not alone in this situation and in some developed countries the royal family or the state also has the ownership of the land while the property owner leases land for a nominal fee.

•Target for demolition? - We have researched our lane background and found it is listed as "unmovable antique". It is a step beyond the historic house plaque you see all the time. It is very unlikely to be demolished. For other houses, you will need to do some research such as the "red line map" issued by the Urban Planning Department.

Keep in mind these facts were current at the end of 2006, but things change quickly in Shanghai (especially with the anticipated private property reforms). A big thanks to my husband for taking the time to write up the details.

Melanie

Old neighborhood being torn down to make room for the new Henan Rd expansion- August 2006

Overall, it’s been a productive week at #95. The main projects for this week have been focusing on the third floor bedroom bathroom/closet expansion, the first floor bathroom teardown, and electrical wiring.

A special electrician has also come into town for this project. As is typical in Shanghai, he is the head contractor’s relative and they have done several old homes together. We spent the last few weeks agonizing over the placement of the electrical outlets, lighting options, and the wiring for systems. This has been one of the more challenging parts of the project since you are required to imagine all your electrical needs for the coming years. On the upside, we were able to wire the whole house with hidden speaker cables with minimal effort or cost for central stereo.

In other big news, the first floor bathroom has been removed to create space in the side entrance foyer. We plan to move the toilet and sink under the stairs (as it typical in Shanghai lane homes). These two photos were taken from almost the same angle and really highlight the difference.

March 18

March 22, 2007

View from the living room into the side entrance foyer. Thankfully, the iron supporting beam has safely arrived and fits nicely into the sub-structure. Gone are the sketchy 2x4 wooden planks supporting the main load-bearing wall in the downstairs.

March 22

March 22

We have also had a few changes in our original plan. In one third floor bedrooms, the contractors removed the ceiling to check for attic storage potential. Instead we found the beautiful old wood planks with the supporting beams hidden above. We decided to forgo the few meters of storage and leave the ceiling open. We also plan to incorporate the buttresses into part of the room’s design. With a bit of cleaning and sanding, the golden pine beams will be gorgeous. While it may not be 100% historically appropriate to leave the ceiling open, we think it will lend to the character of the house. The original builder was a railroad engineer, and the positioning of the buttresses have a distinct railroad tie look and even seem to use railroad spikes to fuse them together.

Photo Taken March 18

The work in the third floor continues as we are expanding the bathroom by about a meter and adding a walk-in closet to the master bedroom. This has been one of the most debated parts of the project, but final design seems to look good.

Photo Taken March 20

Master Bedroom- Photo Taken March 22, 2007

More to come shortly,

Melanie

March 14, 2007

For the first time, we have run amuck of the neighborhood committee for a problem with our renovation. In a previous renovation, the interior chimneys for the original fireplaces were removed…but using half-baked logic since they left the chimneys on the top of the house- unsupported from below. As a result, we have two solid brick chimneys sitting on top of the roof that could fall down at any time without any warning…

We considered a few options, but finally decided that they should come down. When our contractor went up to the roof to try to dismantle them, a neighbor complained to the committee. Our lane is very historically protected and forbids any removal of exterior fixtures. I guess we did not realize that decaying chimneys of doom fell into this category. The Neighborhood Committee chairman called my husband and he explained it had structural problems and had to be removed. They accepted this, but recommended that we re-install it when we were finished (??!?!?). We decided they were telling us they wanted a faux chimney up there by the end of the project so the original look is kept intact…it’s irrelevant that it is fake.

Unsupported Chimney

The exciting news for this week was the widening of the doorframe in downstairs living room. This was nerve-racking since it’s a load-bearing wall. The contractors are going to add an iron support beam to the substructure, but it will take a few days to arrive. In the meantime, the supporting bricks in the expanded doorway are currently propped up with some wooden planks. Yes, I know. It sounds shady to me also, but our architect assures us that it isn’t a problem for the short-term. We decided to widen it to give a greater sense of space and to keep the downstairs from being too segmented. The proportion of the room also feels better. By having a wider door, the long narrow room does not feel so dramatically long and narrow. The widened door will also bring light to the dark hall space at the foot of the stairs and make the hall to the kitchen feel less cramped. The space was originally intended for servants, so there is some design challenges as we try to make it a more appealing space for modern life. We are also taking out a tiny cramped bathroom in that area and putting it under the stairs in the tradition of Shanghai lane homes.

Before the Doorway Expansion Project- Progress as of January 20

After the Doorway has been Expanded- Progress as of March 10

It’s a popular thing to offer double-paned windows when renovating lane homes, and we put a lot of energy into the decision but decided not to do it. Since our house has 100% of the original old iron window frames it’s very difficult to retro-fit double panes since you can’t get a good seal. Option 1 is to have a guy come out to the house and do a basic version without the vacuum seal. The problem is that without the seal, moisture can seep through and you get condensation between the panes. Ugh. Option 2 is to pay a whole lot of cash to send the old windows to a special factory to have them vacuum sealed. It’s really tough to do the old windows and they often come back looking odd and misshapen since the original iron frames obviously were not designed this way. There is really not a good way to have double-glaze windows if you want to keep the look of original windows. We are really fortunate to have all the original 1930’s windows and brass fittings still intact on every window in the home so it seemed a shame to remove them and replace with the modern windows. So much of the old house charm would be wasted if we replaced them.

In the end, we decided to use thick draperies and skip the double-glazing. After a few winters in the house, perhaps we will change our mind and opt to have the guy come to retro-fit the double panes, but in the meantime we will be layering up in the winter and huddling close to our radiators.

Original Windows

Brass Window Locks

I have had a couple of people inquire about the possibility that the house will be torn down since this is a common fate for the longtangs in this part of town. We did our due diligence before we bought the house and learned that the lane has same level of historic preservation as Sun Yat Sen’s home or the buildings in Yu Garden. The lane is protected by a historic plaque, but more significantly it also listed as a cultural relic by the Ministry of Culture. The area is considered historically significant to Shanghai’s past because of the proximity to the Long Men Academy (more on that later) and various other Shanghai notables have made their home in Long Men Cun. It is highly unlikely that it will be demolished, especially since the Huangpu District is using this lane as a “shining example" of historic preservation for the World Expo. Essentially, it's a Face project. We thought this was all well and great, until we ran into a wee bit of legal trouble with a foreign passport holder attempting to purchase an “unmovable antique” as our house had been classified. The best part was that they didn’t inform us about this little stipulation until AFTER we had made the down payment in the Huangpu District Transaction Office. It took some maneuvering and determination (and a three month delay), but the stars aligned for it to be possible to buy the house. It the classic lesson about living in China- anything is possible but nothing is easy.

Melanie