Carpenter magic

Kunihara-san did an excellent Job last week. When I visited there yesterday, I found all the dodgy wooden beams and posts replaced with shiny new ones. He also poured concrete to create many small bases all over the ground. They are leveled so that he can place new supporting beams for the flooring, without touching the potentially moist ground. At that time, he also already finished the concrete floor in the kitchen.

After replacing the beams and posts, only simple scaffolding remains.



The entire structure was secured with temporary bracing, to ensure the house won't crush our heads:


The replaced beams and posts in their full glory. On the left near the window a vertical post, carrying all the weight. Also two horizontal beams running along the window front. Also of course the main beam going from left to right through the room. Finally, beams resting on the new concrete bases on the ground, had to be put in place.


The window view. Please note the new beam on the top, already has all the grooves needed for Shoji sliding doors.


Centre of the room.


Kitchen floor is already cured. The things sticking out are outlets for hot & cold water, waste water, gas and electricity. This may be the last view of the kitchen as it was. Next window in the back will removed and closed up, and the doors to the left replaced by a wall.

Hidden Secrets revealed

Tomo joined us and lifted up floor and ceiling boards to learn about the structure below and above. Its important in order to decide how to apply insulation to keep the house warm in winter.

At that stage we made an exciting discovery: 2 fireplaces were hidden below the floorboards! So this is how the previous inhabitants kept warm in winter. Its difficult to say how old they are, but ash is still contained in them. Its amazing - the round one looks like it is carved into a solid stone. How old may it be?








Looking below the floor revealed that the house is in rather good shape, so no problem from that viewpoint. The question is how to get the place insulated. Tomo suggested to replace the lower layer of floorboards, and then place a layer of insulating board, before adding the wooden flooring.

Now that we had bright daylight it was also possible to better discern the condition of the roof. Pretty ok, but some dusting and cleaning would be advisable. We also found potential problems: 2 beehives. The one on the picture is roughly 30 cm high, so relative small, and it looks deserted.

However, above the bath, Tomo discovered an enormous monster hive, about 3-4 times bigger. It must be the source of the 15 bees that I dispatched inside during my previous visit. I think we need professional help to remove that...