Renovated Retreat

- Tara Jenkins

British expat DAVID CRANE has called Hong Kong home for over 20 years now. He and his wife Sally bought a village house in Clearwater Bay six years ago, which they set about renovating. Davi d, who has had a lengthy career in the property industry, details how they designed their home, and shares his thoughts on buying property in Hong Kong.

You’re an expert when it comes to managing and renovating property. Tell us something we don’t know!

When a house feels hot, it’s usually due to humidity, not temperature. If your air-conditioning unit allows it, switch to a dehumidify setting during the day, and buy additional dehumidifying units. Moisture is produced by people breathing, so there’s less humidity in an unoccupied house, but in rural areas like Clearwater Bay or Sai Kung, both empty and occupied houses need quite a bit of maintenance. Spores, algae and bugs from the forest are rife, and everything grows incredibly quickly. You need to repaint a house every two to three years, as even anti-fungal paint can’t combat our extreme climate!

Also, consider the climate when specifying materials, especially outdoors. Decking is in the sun all the time, so use a very hard wood to counter warping. Teak works well, but it needs to be oiled every three months during the summer, requiring considerable work and attention. There’s a lot of imitation woods now that are very good quality, made of plastics or ground up bits of timber. They’re easy to lay and look after, and there’s no thermal expansion in the sun. The only issue is they don’t feel quite as nice on your feet.