REVIEW OF HOUSING CONDITIONS IN HONG KONG
95
On level sites, houses were commonly built back to back (Figure 3) whilst on sloping sites buildings had a narrow lane along the face of the embankment seldom more than 5 ft. wide. The usual building material was blue Canton brick, which was soft and porous, although plaster was normally applied on the outside walls to provide a seal against the weather. Tile roofs were the general rule. Most buildings had very narrow frontages of between 13 ft. and 16 ft., which was dictated by the common length of China fir poles used for floor beams. By comparison, the depth of buildings was considerable, ranging from 30 ft. to 60 ft. In terraced houses, only the front rooms had windows, so that the inner compartments were dark and airless. At the rear of each floor was a cookhouse, normally about 7 ft. deep, which also frequently served as a latrine, storage room, and even sleeping quarters. Chimneys were the exception, and smoke escaped by means of holes, usually about 4 feet square, cut in the upper floors and roof. Such smokeholes were not very effective, with the consequence that fumes permeated the living space.
Tenement houses were constructed so that each floor was one undivided room. On the ground floor, a space was boarded off in front of the kitchen for a bedroom or store, and above this, a platform was often erected as a workplace or for sleeping. The upper floors were divided by wooden partitions into cabins about 9 ft. long and 10 ft. wide; each cubicle formed the living space of an individual or family. The cubicles were only 7 ft. high, and above them cocklofts were constructed. Each floor was usually leased to a separate tenant and then sublet to other families; severe overcrowding became a way of life.
Whilst the regulations required the provision of latrines, these were rarely found. Women and children normally used a pot kept either under a bed or in one corner of the cookhouse. The menfolk had to resort to the use of public latrines, which, although supervised by the Government, were run as a business speculation, with the products being shipped to Canton and sold at considerable profit to farmers. In particular, night soil was valued as a manure for mulberry trees in the silk-producing districts of Kwangtung Province.
The contents of house pots were removed either daily, every second day, or twice a week according to the financial means or inclination of the inhabitants. This task was performed by coolies, and for a twice-a-week service, the charge was HK$0.10-0.15 per pot.
REVIEW OF HOUSING CONDITIONS IN HONG KONG
95
On level sites, houses were commonly built back to back (Figure 3) whilst on sloping sites buildings had a narrow lane along the face of the embankment seldom more than 5 ft. wide. The usual building material was blue Canton brick, which was soft and porous, although plaster was normally applied on the outside walls to provide a seal against the weather. Tile roofs were the general rule. Most build- ings had very narrow frontages of between 13 ft. and 16 ft. which was dictated by the common length of China fir poles used for floor beams. By comparison, the depth of buildings was consider- able ranging from 30 ft. to 60 ft. In terraced houses, only the front rooms had windows so that the inner compartments were dark and airless, At the rear of each floor was a cookhouse, normally about 7 ft. deep, which also frequently served as a latrine, storage room and even sleeping quarters. Chimneys were the exception and smoke escaped by menas of holes, usually about 4 feet square, cut in the upper floors and roof. Such smokeholes were not very effec- tive with the consequence that fumes permeated the living space.
Tenement houses were constructed so that each floor was one undivided room. On the ground floor a space was boarded off in front of the kitchen for a bedroom or store and above this a plat- form was often erected as a workplace or for sleeping. The upper floors were divided by wooden partitions into cabins about 9 ft. long and 10 ft. wide; each cubicle formed the living space of an individual or family. The cubicles were only 7 ft. high and above them cocklofts were constructed. Each floor was usually leased to a separate tenant and then sublet to other families; severe over- crowding became a way of life.
Whilst the regulations required the provision of latrines, these were rarely found. Women and children normally used a pot kept either under a bed or in one corner of the cookhouse. The menfolk had to resort to the use of public latrines which, although supervised by the Government, were run as a business speculation, with the products being shipped to Canton and sold at considerable profit to farmers. In particular, night soil was valued as a manure for mulberry trees in the silk-producing districts of Kwangtung Province.
The contents of house pots were removed either daily, every second day or twice a week according to the financial means or inclination of the inhabitants. This task was performed by coolies, and for a twice-a-week service the charge was HK10-15g per pot
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