CONSTRUCTION BEGINS !

Yay yay !

We're so excited to see the foundation work begin. Unfortunately both of us were sick earlier in the week, so we missed seeing the very beginning of the foundation take shape. We visited after four days of work had been done and we were greeted by this fantastic sight.

The workers have been putting down some concrete for the base and a good portion of the steel rebar for the foundation. The house is quite tall and Japan has strict construction standards because of earthquakes, so the foundation will be big and strong.

It's going to be really exciting to see it go up from here.

But, both of us had the feeling that the house looks smaller than we imagined. Everyone keeps assuring us that houses always look small at this stage...we hope they're right.

Still Tweaking

Every time we meet with the architect -which is pretty much weekly- we make some changes to the design. We're always looking for ideas and inspiration for our house and ways to improve on the design. We spent a lot of time discussing doors and window locations and opening sizes. We're still not 100% decided on the window placement for the bathroom, but we will have to decide soon as construction is about to begin. 

As you can see from these layouts, we changed the fundamental shape of the house by adding a 10% angle from the roof down to the first floor on the back of the house. We also eliminated the roof overhang on the long sides of the house. We think this gives the rather plain structure a more dynamic look as well as sheltering the interior space and focusing the views from the inside of the house towards the water and the hill on the other side. 

These layouts also nicely show off the skeletal structure of the house. The builder is using a pre-cut process so all of the wood is laser cut off site and then delivered for assembly, so no waste and perfect dimensions.

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.

Wood Stove

We decided that our house would incorporate a wood stove.

Since I grew up in Vermont, I know the warmth and comfort that a stove provides in the winter, so we were pretty confident that we would be happy having this as our heat source. 

After suffering through several cold and drafty Japanese winters huddled around a gas heater, we were looking forward to finding the right stove for our new house.

We decided to use this model stove from Jotul, The Scan 10

We had originally wanted to buy the stove back in The States, but due to an unnamed stove store which totally dropped the ball and couldn't get the stove in the store even with a two month lead time, we decided that we would go ahead and buy the stove in Japan. It's only a little more expensive, and we will have the peace of mind that we will get a warranty and good Japanese service and installation. So we drove up to the mountains to see the stove in person and meet the installer. We were both very happy with the looks and features of the stove.

I've already started collecting equipment to become a part-time lumberjack in order to source, cut, chop and stack wood (Phew). This is so it can be dry and ready for winter and to save money as firewood is very expensive in Japan. Unfortunately since we will be moving into our new home in mid to late winter we will have to hustle to get wood for the first year...

Ji Chin Sai - Buddhist Groundbreaking Ceremony

Yoko's Mother recommended that we meet a Buddhist Monk who is an expert in helping people build houses which have the best arrangements for spiritual and natural harmony. So several months ago we went to his Temple, he was pretty pleased with our layout, and thought the Kitchen and Bathroom were in good locations, but he suggested we re-orient our entry-way. We decided not to do this, but he said he could build 'an invisible wall' that would keep our property and house harmonious and also contain our money which would 'fly-away' easily with our current layout.

The Monk also came to our land to do the groundbreaking ceremony. It was a very interesting experience.

He performed some chants and put purifying salt, water, and sake on the four corners of our house.

The Monk had arrived first, the builder had already set up a tent and cut the grass the day before. Yes, that's the Monk's Benz

 

 Tools of the trade.

 Here he is checking the orientation of the land with a compass.

 Yoko lends a hand to purify the four corners of the house.

Great-Grandmother also took a turn to break-ground.

A look at the Big Move

We decided to use a 20 foot shipping container to get all of our things from the States to Japan. We ended up with more space than we needed, but we felt reasonably secure that our things would be safe and have the best chance of making it to Japan.

Here are our 68 pieces ready for loading.

 A gigantic steel box showed up on a skid and maneuvered its way up the drive.

 We were able to get everything inside in about one layer of boxes.

 Hoping for a safe voyage it should take about three months to arrive in Japan.

Heath Tiles Packed for Shipment

Fingers crossed that these will arrive in Japan without breaking.

 Some of what we chose at the Heath Showroom in Sausalito.

June, July and August

Three months have past and the land is looking pretty much the same...
Well, actually the weeds have taken over quite a bit.

Also the pond has a nice coating of green algae.

But, we've been working steadily towards a beginning construction date at the end of the summer. We've also committed to a builder and hopefully will be reviewing the final estimate in detail and signing with the builder in a couple of weeks.

In order to get the estimate down to our budget, we had to postpone the deck construction (self build) and we have also agreed to do a large portion of the painting as well as all of the bathroom tiles ourselves...It should be a great way to bond with our house and save money. Hopefully.

Our original plan for the bathroom tiles (limestone) was changed to save money. So on our trip to The States we stopped by Heath Tiles and in just a few hours (we had a flight connection to catch) chose tiles for the bathroom and lavatory floor and walls.
We will be using a lot of green apple tiles for the wall, with a few similar colors for accent. The floor will all be grey tiles.

This was a significant investment even though we are using their second and overstock tiles. Now we have our fingers crossed that all of the tiles will make it to Japan in one piece!

We did a lot of shopping in The States in order to find special items that are expensive or not available in Japan.

Such as...

At IKEA, where we picked out a bed and a mattress.
We also found a great deal on a bathroom sink and cabinet.

We bought a cool black table from Muuto and a clear plexiglass ceiling fan.

All of our belongings, woodworking tools (we will also be building all the shelves and closets). Beloved sofa, and other possessions have been packed in a 20 foot container and will be sailing to Japan with an arrival date at the end of November.

So a lot has been going on, and now we're really looking forward to getting started on the construction.

May update

Well the month of may has come and gone and there is still no construction happening.

We have a meeting this week to review the estimate. Hopefully it will be within our budget and we can move forward (fingers crossed).

Yoko went to England and France for a week. She was looking for wallpaper, lights and miscellaneous items for the house.

She came back with some pretty cool things.

She bought two of these antique lights, we are thinking of using above the kitchen.

.
This is an interesting designer lamp that has a swivel arm and the cord can be adjusted. Maybe for above the couch.

We've always liked this rubber lamp. Now we have one in blue.
Possibly for Mo's room.

 These three lamps could be for the office or dining table or...?

 And a wood-bin.

These will all be nice authentic additions to our new home.

April Update

There's nothing to update as far as actual construction goes. But the important news is we have received approval from the city that we can begin construction on the site.
It also looks like we have decided on a builder for the house. They're making an estimate now...so we're a bit anxious about $$$.
Our most used Japanese-english buzzwords are:
"cost-performance" and "cost down".

The mortgage company is still undecided, but we have the funds together to begin the foundation work starting at the end of May.

We have done a lot of behind the scenes decision making as well.

It took a while to decide on the wood flooring for the house as well as the tiles
for the lavatory/bath/shower.

We were very specific on what we wanted so we ordered a lot of samples to find the best options....

FLOORING

I looked at companies all over Japan, the U.S. and China. Our top choice was a Chinese flooring company they sent some really nice samples of oak flooring as well as Ipe decking.
We wanted a grey oak for the downstairs and a white oak for upstairs. As much as we both like natural materials we wanted a wood that has a more modern look.

This is what we are planning on using. Hopefully there will be no problems dealing with factory direct ordering from China.

TILE EDIT See June, July and August

The tile for the bathroom was also a long decision making process. Yoko loved the look of limestone, but we learned that limestone shouldn't get wet as it stains very easily. But we stuck it out with using limestone though we were limited to using it on the wall of the lavatory only and finding two more tiles to match for the flooring in the lavatory as well as the shower/bath and a third tile for the wall in the shower/bath. It took several weeks of ordering sample tiles from various companies to find a set of three in the right colors, we also had to consider the surface material and the available sizes to find the right match.

The Limestone is on the top left the tile on the top right will be used for the floor and the tile on the bottom will be for the walls in the shower/bath.