Notes » June 2005

Maintenance Mode

Housing estates are clusters of high rises managed by any one of numerous companies.

View large image Private estates, such as the one where we live, are well-managed, but residents pay for the privilege.

The company's job is to ensure maintenance of public facilities. From time to time it carries out routine inspections or cleaning.

Unlike North America, where many people go berserk when their utilities go down, Hong Kongers expect service interruptions. It was irritating when I first moved here; for the most part I take it in stride.

Before any task is undertaken, notices are posted in lobbies and inside the lifts of the affected blocks, so residents can make preparations ahead of the scheduled event.

For example, when rooftop tanks require cleaning, the fresh water supply is cut off for six to nine hours. If you want drinking water, you jug it in advance. When the service resumes, you open your taps and watch in amazement as brown water shoots out for a minute before running clear.

When flushing water is suspended, the toilets don't work. Residents have access to tap water; a bucket in the bathtub helps with flushing duty.

Our latest inspection and testing was for the fixed electrical installation. The trouble was it knocked out everything for six hours: no power in the flat, no lift service (a Hong Kong courier's worst nightmare), no fresh water, no flushing water, security system disabled, no air conditioning in the building, no corridor or emergency staircase lighting, and no public antenna system (cable).

The management company advised everyone to "not get in or out of the building during said period", which means if we didn't leave before 10am, we'd be prisoners in our own home, unless we wanted to descend more than 30 storeys in a darkened stairwell with a flashlight.

Been there, done that, no thanks.

Am I complaining? Far from it. I'd rather have them do it all in one shot than carry out a series of interruptions over the course of a week.

However, the sole job they couldn't do with the power gone was routine parts replacement for one of the elevators in our block. It'll be out of commission for the better part of another day for that work.

Still, it's good to know the management company is on top of things.

It'd suck if the lift failed while I was inside it.

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