Front Entrance

Soon we will have a concrete walkway with three steps leading from the street all the way into our house. Here's a look at the recent progress of our entrance.

 

Several truck loads of gravel were dropped off to build up the entrance.

Finished Steps

Ceiling trim

Here is a view of how the ceiling meets the wall.

 

As around the floor we didn't want to have any extra trim. so there's a small strip of plastic which creates a thin gap.

Some holes and pipes

The plumbing in our house has progressed a little.

Here is the outlet pipe for the second floor toilet. Also some access holes for water, and sewer lines...

This is the drain for the first floor toilet.

This is the water line for the washing machine

This is the vent hole for the range hood.

The range hood arrived a few days ago, but it was damaged during shipping and will need to be replaced.

More steps

More progress on the steps...
We're still undecided on whether to paint, oil or just seal the wood for the steps.
We really like the look of the natural wood, so we're leaning towards just sealing the wood with a varnish of some kind.

We put a 3mm bevel on the edge of the steps, you could still bust your head pretty good on these, but they're a little safer and certainly more comfortable for one's feet.

 Here are the 'biscuits' that hold the risers and treads together.

In action...

A step that's being glued and clamped.

Several more steps ready for installation.

Pantry

We decided to put plywood in the walls of our pantry so installing shelves would be simpler. We like the look of the bare plywood and will probably leave it unfinished.

Stairway begins

Tile cutting

We assumed we could rent a tile saw in order to cut our tiles for the bathroom and lavatory. But there was nothing at the home centers or online. We're learning that Japanese are not very DIY. So we had to either order a saw from the states or pay a professional tile installer to cut our tiles. Since we have a LOT of tiles we are happy with our decision to cut them ourselves. Our bathroom has a lot of walls and doorways so we have to make 45 degree cuts on the ends of the tiles for the corners to fit together nicely. So far the inexpensive SKIL tile saw with its diamond blade is doing a good job. It's just very time consuming and messy.

One step back

Our builder made a mistake. He forgot to put in the extra insulation in the ceiling. We had wanted to add this product called Astro Foil during the construction to insulate the house and to prevent heat gain in the summer. Unfortunately we didn't realize until after the glass fiber insulation and half of the sheetrock was installed. Unfortunately the builder had to remove and discard all of the sheetrock in order to wrap the ceiling with the insulation. It was a hassle and he was very apologetic. We're glad that it is over and done and we can move forward again.

Here is a roll of the insulation.

 

The sheetrock and insulation in the ceiling being removed.

The ceiling gets wrapped in the insulation. Looks cozier now!

Switchplate

Here is one of those small details that turns into a long search for the perfect item...switches.
We finally found what we wanted from Jimbo.
We think it's a small detail that will make us enjoy using our switches and plugs in our house.