In analyzing a building according to feng shui standards, if it has undergone any type of remodel, then there is a potential for the original energy grid of the floor plan to have been altered or dissipated. There is also a difference between radical, drastic remodels versus complicated remodels.

A remodel may be necessary to change the essential function of the space.  So the character of the building might change with it.  Sometimes a building may change its function but still attract a similar type of person.   A dance club that gets converted into an Alcoholics Anonymous Meeting Center may still attract people who like to party–but have decided not to anymore.  An art gallery that used to be a bookstore will be attracting a similar customer with intellectual or philosophical sophistication.

I thought it was ironic to learn that the yoga ashram I went to for 15 years had formerly been a Colonics Center. The building across the street that functioned as the Secretariat Headquarters for the same yoga group had once been a primal scream therapy facility. (There are a lot of different ways to work on oneself, she said with sarcasm.)

Examples of a radical remodel:

  • The structure undergoes a lot of physical alterations to change it from being a personal residence to a commercial property.
  • A manufacturing warehouse gets converted into a restaurant.
  • A movie theater becomes a synagogue (such as near Pico and Robertson Blvd. in Los Angeles.)

A Complex Remodel is one where the function of the space does not change as much as the degree to which it is spatially altered.

Examples of a complex remodel would be:

  • A house which doubles its size in square footage, in a way that is not obvious where the original energy grid of the house stops and the new energy grid starts.  Sometimes these houses end up being calculated as an all-new construction cycle, depending on whether or not the house was gutted or if the ceiling was removed to expose the house’s interiors to the sky.
  • A complex remodel is also a house where many exterior walls were pushed out at different times during several remodeling phases.
  • A house that ends up having a really odd overall shape after several rooms or extensions to rooms have been made.
  • A house that gets opened up on the back side to take advantage of views.
  • Large windows replacing solid walls can make a house appear to have changed its orientation.  A house that may have faced east when it was first built could appear to face west after the new views have been emphasized.
  • A house where a very important room was added on (like the master bedroom) but there is no record of when it was done.
  • Two separate businesses sharing a common wall are converted into one business, sometimes opening up the space and changing the door location, or with little remodeling but still all under the same roof.
  • Enclosing a patio that always had a room over it and was part of the original foundation of the house.
  • A building that has had a significant fire.  When a certain portion of the roof gets destroyed in a fire, this may constitute a new house.  In one real client case, the store had a severe fire that caused all of the interiors to have to be redone due to smoke damage, but the damage did not go through the ceiling opening it up to the sky.  It was all contained inside. This job came early on in my career, so I asked for Master Sang’s advice on this one and he commented that the fire ate up all the ch’i so it had to be calculated as a new construction cycle.
  • House types where the Breeze way between the garage and the house has been enclosed. Sometimes this gets reworked into being the main entrance.

The feng shui of GARAGES: Even though garages are usually original to the house, how they are positioned and what happens when they are remodeled inside can present many questions.

  • If the garage appears to be an extension of the bulk body of the house, then it should be treated that way. (More of what it is attached to.)
  • If it was built detached from the house but at the same time as the house, then it often ends up being a miniature version of the house.
  • If the garage appears to be a separate grid from the house, BUT there are original rooms built over it, then it must be considered a part of the house.
  • If the garage is the frequently used entrance to the house, then it is the “ch’i” entrance and its magnetic field or Flying Star number combination is more important than the front door.
  • Garages as first entrances to houses or condos should be tidy and not cluttered, as first impressions are so important.
  • A garage that gets converted into a family room or master bedroom could be just fine.  In other words, there should not be a fear that it automatically is not as good a room.
  • Garages sometimes represent the sitting side of the house (the back) even though they are sometimes positioned closer to the street that the rest of the house.

Author: Kartar Diamond

Company: Feng Shui Solutions ®

From the Architecture and Design Blog Series