Renovation Racket
May 29th 2011 14:41
:
Malaysian Condominium Construction
Concrete is the medium of choice when constructing any kind of building in Malaysia, including houses and condominiums. Probably the reason for this is that there is very little wood here, but a lot of termites. This makes for good, solid construction that is reasonalby soundproof. The problem arises when you want to make changes.
In the US when someone wants to buy a new condo in a complex the units are all ready to move in. You may want to paint it a different color, and you may have to buy new appliances, but nothing major has to be done. When you buy a new unit here in Malaysia all you get is an empty shell. You have to spend a lot of extra money installling kitchen cabinets, countertops, appliances, as well as putting in bedroom wardrobes ( no walk in closets here). The living rooms usually have built in television and entertainment consoles and shelving. Even most of the bedrooms have built in beds. The bathrooms include only a toilet and a hand held shower. If you want a western style bathroom you have to add it. When I bought my condo I was lucky and didn't have to make too many changes.
In the US most of the interior walls in condos and single family houses are sheet rock. With sheetrock you can add on a room, change a room and add more electrical outlets, rather inexpensively and easily. Here in Malaysia it is expensive, noisy, and dirty to make even the slightest changes. You can't even hang a picture without having to drill with a concrete bit and making a lot of dust.
When people sell their unit they may bring their air conditioning units with them (window a/c units are not known here). So when people buy a formerly owned unit they want to change things. They may choose to combine two rooms into one or expand the kitchen. In any case it's a big job. The worst parts of these renovations are the constant hacking and concrete dust. My block of our complex has the misfortune of having four renovations going on at the same time. All on the floors beneath my unit. For anyone with allergies the dust is unbearable. For anyone who wants to or has to sleep during the day, it is impossible. The constant hacking and drilling takes place 5 days a week from 9 AM to 6PM. Luckily I am awake by the time the racket starts.
I really would like to add some additional electrical outlets and install a built in bookcase, but I am putting it off because of the dust, noise and the time it takes to complete the work. This is just one more thing I have to look forward to here in Penang.
In the US when someone wants to buy a new condo in a complex the units are all ready to move in. You may want to paint it a different color, and you may have to buy new appliances, but nothing major has to be done. When you buy a new unit here in Malaysia all you get is an empty shell. You have to spend a lot of extra money installling kitchen cabinets, countertops, appliances, as well as putting in bedroom wardrobes ( no walk in closets here). The living rooms usually have built in television and entertainment consoles and shelving. Even most of the bedrooms have built in beds. The bathrooms include only a toilet and a hand held shower. If you want a western style bathroom you have to add it. When I bought my condo I was lucky and didn't have to make too many changes.
In the US most of the interior walls in condos and single family houses are sheet rock. With sheetrock you can add on a room, change a room and add more electrical outlets, rather inexpensively and easily. Here in Malaysia it is expensive, noisy, and dirty to make even the slightest changes. You can't even hang a picture without having to drill with a concrete bit and making a lot of dust.
When people sell their unit they may bring their air conditioning units with them (window a/c units are not known here). So when people buy a formerly owned unit they want to change things. They may choose to combine two rooms into one or expand the kitchen. In any case it's a big job. The worst parts of these renovations are the constant hacking and concrete dust. My block of our complex has the misfortune of having four renovations going on at the same time. All on the floors beneath my unit. For anyone with allergies the dust is unbearable. For anyone who wants to or has to sleep during the day, it is impossible. The constant hacking and drilling takes place 5 days a week from 9 AM to 6PM. Luckily I am awake by the time the racket starts.
I really would like to add some additional electrical outlets and install a built in bookcase, but I am putting it off because of the dust, noise and the time it takes to complete the work. This is just one more thing I have to look forward to here in Penang.
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