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 China, 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. 

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

March 18th 2007

March 22nd 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 22nd 2007

March 22nd 2007

We have also had a few changes in some plans. In one third floor bedroom, 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.

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. 

March 18th 2007

March 20th 2007

Master Bedroom March 22nd 2007

More to come shortly,

Melanie