Chevalier Garden — Renovating a Near-40-Year-Old Flat in Ma On Shan
Built 1987 to 1988. In a flat this age the survey decides the budget, not the mood board — and the building itself now sits inside Hong Kong's statutory inspection regime. See what 38 years means, the inspection schemes, or request a quotation.
Interior design project by D-8 Limited at Chevalier Garden, Hong Kong.
D-8 Limited is an integrated design firm on interior design. It emphasizes on details in its design philosophy, which could be reflected on both the user experience and form of its works. As an evolving design studio, it offers animation visualization as an advanced presentation tool for their client to easily understand the design and outcome in a more comprehensive way.
In a building approaching four decades of service, the most valuable thing a design cum construction practice brings is not styling — it is an honest survey and the licence to act on what it finds. Where lifting concrete appears behind an old cabinet, repair of the structural element is regulated work; where drainage has reached the end of its life, it has to be replaced before a single tile goes on. Because we design and build, that sequence is one team's responsibility rather than a dispute between two.
About Chevalier Garden, Ma On Shan
Chevalier Garden stands at 2 Hang Shun Street in Tai Shui Hang, Ma On Shan, within the Sha Tin District. It is a Private Sector Participation Scheme estate under the Home Ownership Scheme — phases 8C and 9B of the scheme — developed by the Hong Kong Housing Authority together with Chevalier Group, and it was among the first estates occupied in the Ma On Shan area.
Estate facts
- 17 blocks in two phases: Phase 1 comprises blocks 1 to 10 with 2,010 units; Phase 2 comprises blocks 11 to 17 with 1,932 units
- 3,942 residential units in total
- Occupation permits issued between 10 June 1987 and 8 September 1988
- Block 1 has 21 storeys; blocks 2 to 4 have 20; blocks 5 to 10 have 19; blocks 11 to 17 have 27
- Ten units per floor
- Saleable areas approximately 429 to 602 square feet, gross approximately 485 to 678 square feet
- Two and three bedroom layouts
- Estate facilities include a swimming pool, children's and sports facilities
- Beside Tai Shui Hang MTR station
- Primary One Admission school net 89, secondary allocation in Sha Tin District
Why the block number matters
Two construction phases and four different block heights mean beam positions, duct locations and unit dimensions vary across the estate. Working from a neighbour's plan — or from a photograph of another flat's finished result — is how measurement disputes start. We survey the specific unit, in the specific block, before drawing anything.
What Thirty-Eight Years Actually Changes
We also publish a case study for Beverly Garden, a 1998 subsidised housing estate. The two look similar on paper — comparable unit sizes, comparable family briefs — but a decade of extra service life shifts the whole budget.
Electrical capacity, not just socket count
Original provision assumed a fraction of today's load. A flat of this generation typically needs rewiring, a modern distribution board with residual current protection, dedicated air conditioning circuits, and a socket and data count planned against the furniture layout — with positions confirmed against cabinet internals before boards are cut, because an outlet 40 millimetres out renders a shelf unusable.
Drainage stacks and connections
Concealed drainage of this age is frequently at or past the end of its service life. Replacement within the unit is straightforward; what needs care is the connection to the common stack, and whether a recurring leak is actually originating outside your flat. That distinction decides who pays, which is why the survey is documented photographically before anything is opened up.
Waterproofing that has never been renewed
Bathroom and kitchen waterproofing rarely survives four decades untouched. Renewal with flood testing — filled and held for roughly 24 to 48 hours with the result recorded before tiling — is the one test that prevents demolishing finished work later.
Windows
Aged frames, tired sealant and corroded fittings are common, and they are a recurring cause of damp and spalling in the wall below a window. Where windows are due for attention, that work precedes joinery against the adjacent wall.
Level, plumb and beams
Expect floor fall across a room and walls that lean. Adjustable feet level cabinets, scribed fillers absorb deviation at the ends of runs, and final joinery measurement waits until plastering, tiling and levelling are complete because cabinets are cut to the built dimension. Beams crossing a bedroom wall mean a stepped cabinet top rather than a run that stops short and wastes the volume above — the detailing is set out on our older-building joinery case study.
Concrete spalling
Rust staining, straight hairline cracks along a reinforcement line, hollow sounds when tapped, and lifting concrete are all signs. Repair of structural elements is a designated minor works item requiring a prescribed registered contractor, and it is done before anything is rebuilt against the wall — see Spalling Repairing Works.
Buildings Over Thirty Years — MBIS and MWIS
This is the section most renovation companies leave out, and it is the one that affects timing, cost and responsibility in an estate of this vintage.
Mandatory Building Inspection Scheme
Owners of private buildings aged 30 years or above — except domestic buildings not exceeding three storeys — must, after being served a statutory notice by the Buildings Department, appoint a Registered Inspector to carry out prescribed inspection of the common parts, external walls and projections or signboards, and to supervise any prescribed repair found necessary. The cycle is once every 10 years, and where prescribed repair is required the owners must appoint a registered contractor to carry it out under the Registered Inspector's supervision.
What the prescribed inspection covers
- External elements and other physical elements
- Structural elements
- Fire safety elements
- Drainage systems
- Identification of unauthorised building works in the common parts and on the building's exterior
Mandatory Window Inspection Scheme
Applies to private buildings aged 10 years or above, again excepting domestic buildings not exceeding three storeys, with prescribed inspection and any necessary repair required every five years.
Why it matters to your renovation
Three practical reasons. First, if the estate has a prescribed repair programme running, external scaffolding, water supply interruptions or restricted access may affect your works window. Second, defects identified in the common parts can explain a leak inside your flat, changing who pays. Third, if spalling in your unit connects to a structural element, that repair is regulated work and belongs to a registered contractor — D-8 Limited is a Registered Minor Works Contractor Class II, and prescribed repairs are carried out by a registered contractor under a Registered Inspector's supervision, with the Registered Inspector appointed separately by the owners.
What to ask before you sign a renovation contract
- Has the building been served an MBIS notice, and where is it in the cycle?
- Is a prescribed repair programme scheduled, and will scaffolding or access restrictions overlap my works?
- Has the window inspection been carried out, and were repairs required to my unit's windows?
- Are there known common-parts drainage or external wall defects affecting my floor?
Full background is on our spalling repair page and our credentials section.
The First Full Renovation in Four Decades
Many flats here have been refreshed but never fully stripped. A first full renovation follows this order, and reordering it is how owners end up paying twice.
- Check the building's statutory position. MBIS and MWIS status, prescribed repair programme, known common-parts defects.
- Survey before designing. Dimensions, ceiling heights, beam depths, ducts, existing service positions, drainage, windows, damp and any lifting concrete — all photographed before demolition so variations are provable.
- Test capacity, not appearance. Electrical supply and circuits against modern load, drainage stack condition and connection points, waterproofing history.
- Deal with structure and spalling first. Regulated repair by a registered contractor, before finishes.
- Renew infrastructure. Rewiring, drainage, waterproofing with flood testing, levelling, windows where required.
- Then plan layout and storage. Confirm non-structural partitions, design storage from measured capacity using the storage audit method, and coordinate every service position against cabinet internals.
- Finish and record. Paint, lighting and soft furnishing last, then hand over the finishes schedule and photographic record.
The eight-stage programme with durations is on our Design & Build page, and the trade sequence that cannot be reordered is here.
Layout Strategy, 429 to 602 sq ft
The 429 to 460 square foot two bedroom
Three moves decide the plan. Consolidate storage into one full-height wall and leave the others clear. Borrow daylight where the kitchen partition is non-structural, by opening or part-glazing it. And remove door swing arcs with sliding or pocket doors where clearance is tight. The second bedroom then takes one decisive option — platform bed with deep drawers, high bed with a desk beneath where ceiling height allows, or a desk integrated into the wardrobe run.
The 592 to 602 square foot three bedroom
Storage stops fighting circulation. Primary bedroom takes a full wardrobe run with stacked short-hang and a top box, plus a bedhead panel with reading light and charging that removes bedside tables. The third bedroom usually doubles as study and guest room, which argues for a convertible desk or wall bed rather than a fixed single-purpose fit-out. A utility cabinet for vacuum, drying rack and ironing board keeps those items out of bedrooms.
The entrance
In both layouts the door tends to open onto the living area. A ventilated shoe cabinet with a drop shelf at hip height, a mirror on the door face and a return panel create the hallway the plan never provided.
Kitchen and bathroom
Drawer stacks replacing deep base cupboards, a tall unit lifting appliances off the worktop, a slim pull-out for the awkward gap. In the bathroom, full waterproofing renewal with flood testing, corrected drainage falls, a moisture-rated vanity and a mirror cabinet — the highest-value single item in a compact bathroom.
Living and dining
A TV feature wall concealing router and equipment with ventilated compartments, closed storage below, and where dining space is tight, a wall-fixed bench with drawers rather than four loose chairs.
Ventilation, always
Deep cabinets keep a gap at the back, shoe storage is ventilated, and no sealed cavity is created against an external wall — because in a building of this age the wall is the variable, not the cabinet.
Timeline and Estate Logistics
Realistic durations
Design, drawings and quotation commonly two to four weeks. Construction for a full strip-out of a flat of this age typically runs eight to fourteen weeks — demolition three to seven days, wet trades and waterproofing five to ten days, electrical and plumbing seven to fourteen days, joinery fourteen to twenty-one days, painting five to ten days, installation and cleaning five to seven days. Add time where spalling repair, drainage replacement or window works are involved, since curing and drying cannot be compressed. Allow three to five months from keys to move-in.
What a 3,942-unit estate requires
- Works application with schedule, contractor insurance details and a refundable deposit
- Service lift booking — genuinely competitive with ten units per floor across 17 blocks
- Protection of lift car, lobby and corridor before any material enters
- Specified delivery routes and same-day debris removal
- Restricted hours for noisy operations, which is why demolition is sequenced first and compressed
- Coordination with any estate-wide prescribed repair works in progress
Statutory submissions for your works
Where the works fall under the Minor Works Control System, Class II submissions use Form MW03 as the notice of commencement and Form MW04 as the certificate of completion. Structural alteration requires proper assessment and the correct statutory route regardless of what any drawing shows.
Where the Money Goes in an Older Flat
Electrical, plumbing and wet trades typically take roughly 20 to 25 per cent of the construction budget, and custom joinery another 20 to 25 per cent. In a building of this age the infrastructure share sits at the upper end, and a contingency for concealed conditions is not optional.
Priority order on a fixed budget
- Spalling or structural repair, where found
- Rewiring, drainage, waterproofing and levelling
- Bathroom and kitchen, which cannot be phased once started
- Primary bedroom wardrobe run and entrance storage
- Living room feature wall and secondary bedroom joinery
- Decorative work, lighting fittings, curtains and loose furniture
The provisional sum conversation
In a flat of this age, some conditions genuinely cannot be seen until demolition. An honest quotation carries clearly marked provisional sums with the unit rates that will apply, so an increase is arithmetic rather than a negotiation under pressure. Compare any quotation with our 18-point checklist and read the warning signs.
Chevalier Garden Renovation FAQ
Ask the Management Office Two Questions First
Whether an MBIS notice has been served, and whether prescribed repairs are programmed. Then send us the floor plan. Free site visit, free measurement, written itemized quotation. Call 9135 3998 or email enquiry@designd8.com.
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