The Facade and Wood Expo.

Things have been progressing nicely. 

We're super happy with our builder, Sugimoto-san.
Even after the first meeting he instilled in us the feeling that he would be great to work with. He's constantly thinking ahead to every detail involved in the construction. He wants to make the process collaborative, and to make sure that we are happy with our new home. He is happy to offer suggestions which will make the house both better designed, and cheaper.

Sugimoto-san wanted to show us the galvanized-aluminum siding -we wanted to use- on a completed building to make sure we were happy with the looks. He warned us since our house would be so tall that the siding would have a small amount of 'waviness'. We thought it wasn't a deal breaker after we saw this building. We were actually quite charmed with the color as well as the unique shape of these walls, so we're thinking of changing the overhangs as well as using this type of recessed wall on the back of the house where the deck will eventually be. We think it will give the house a more dynamic shape as well as some privacy.

A few days later Sugimoto-san invited us to a wood expo. It was at a gigantic warehouse filled with every type of wood.

Sugimoto-san explained each kind of wood that he was planning on using and the merits of the different types. We learned about 'hybrid beams' and 'dry beams' and he showed us the Japanese ply-wood which is formaldehyde free.

The expo staff also served a free lunch, so we chowed down on some curry and udon and left happy with our new knowledge of wood.

We were still holding on to our deposit to give to the Chinese flooring company with the hope that we might find something similar in Japan. But we really didn't like any of the flooring we saw.
Later we sent off the deposit to the Chinese flooring company so we are fully committed to using their wood. Fingers-crossed that it will arrive safely in November and look just like the samples.