I am currently living in an apartment located on the 5th Floor/5. The stairs of the building go right up to my floor. And its quite an old building
My internal walls (non-outer walls) are all solid from floor to ceiling, However, the outer walls are only half solid (concrete) and the upper half is hollow(ish). The outside is also made of half concrete (bottom) and metal (top).
I’m wondering whether my apartment is an illegal build or if its an actual apartment that is recognised by the Taiwanese Government.
I am kind of worried that my apartment isn’t structurally safe for when Typhoons and strong Earthquakes hit.
Can someone give me some guidance as to the safety of these builds and the experiences people have had or heard of please?
My building doesn’t leak during heavy rain but is that different for typhoons?
I think we can guess at a few things though. Yes, it’s an illegal structure. You’ll probably take some more water in a typhoon but unless there’s some kind of incredibly huge one, you’ll live. It’s obviously lasted through many small earthquakes, but any old building is going to be a question mark in a big one.
I live in a 4th and 5th floor apartment and my room is on the top floor. Ding lou’s can leak, but if your landlord is ok, he/she will pay to have leaks fixed. It gets hotter in the summer and colder in the winter but that is a small price to pay for the benefits of the roof - open balconies, no people above. Not all are illegal but many are. I figure if it has survived the natural disasters before, then it will probably be ok in the future.
theres quite a few signs that it could be a ding lou jia gai. ceilings are usually lower. the layout is more random. sheet metal. you can see from outside whether its been built on to the buildings structure. they usually have a big balcony too.
personally i’ve been looking for apartments a lot recently and would never rent one. the quality is just lower overall. you can find plenty of gong yu’s for the same price. however if you really want to live in downtown taipei, they are a decently cheaper option.
The ceilings are quite high in my apartment and it’s quite open plan too. The sheet metal is connected onto the building structure but it’s only for the top half of it. My internal walls are concrete from floor to roof though?
you should take a look from the outside to see if it matches the rest of the building. can you also go to your floors roof? floor 5 is pretty typical for a ding lou jia gai though
All the concrete is the same colour from the first floor all the way — There’s a rusty old ladder going further up onto the roof …?
Also the stair well is the same and goes all the way to my floor. It doesn’t look like an additional thing
possibly part of the normal building then. mines a 6th floor building with no elevator so people think its a ding lou jia gai but it isn’t. the rooftop houses i have seen were quite obvious that they were.
Sometimes. But look at the bright side: you get cheap rent, a large terrace, plenty of space for barbecues and gardening for the whole year in exchange for having to mop the floor an extra time once every three years after a typhoon.
You can always add some extra waterproofing if you’re worried. Because the place is likely illegal, you have a lot more leeway when it comes to DIY modifications.
I too have wondered if I’m in a dangerous situation renting a ding lou in terms of earthquakes. Water leakage doesn’t concern me as much as getting crushed by a potentially collapsed ceiling.
If you have an open balcony, I’d be more worried about water coming in from the lower bits. If it have stood up to rain so far, the worst you’ll need to do is put out a bucket if you get a leak. Typhoons usually don’t last long. It will last you a year and you can decide if you want to stay for another. Rooftops aren’t great in the summer, though, unless they are well insulated or double-topped.