Straw Roof Finished, Floor uncovered & Window front OK

Just some photos of the house.

Kobayashi has finished the roof and done a marvelous job. Last time I saw it it was all rough, but he went in with a hedge cutter, and now its really nicely trimmed, and looks sharp!



He also replaced the metal structure on the top and painted it a more pleasant brown, as opposed to the striking red we had before.



On this view you can still see the light blue on the metal roofs. I need another sunny day to finish painting it.



The Kabeya-san, finished plastering after Kunihara-san put the windows in their frame - it looks fantastic!





Having basically completed his work, Kunihara-san uncovered the wooden flooring and put all shoji's and doors in (I took a photo of Shojis too late in the day and it was too dark).

Flooring preparation

After the weak beams and post have been replaced, Kunihara-san put up some speed and is now working towards the flooring preparation.

First let's look at the repair work of last time from a bit closer. The view is much better after the scaffolding is removed, and you can see the four beautiful wood pieces fitting together neatly.



This photo shows an extension joint - two wood pieces have been put together without any kind of nail or other metal piece.



This shows how the concrete bases work: at the time they were poured, it was ensured that they are level, and now it is much easier to place the framework for the flooring on top.



This shows again the main room with all bases, and framework complete.



Here a floor insulation panel is cut to size and ready to be inserted into the framework.



Kunihara Junior, follows up by taping the seams of the panels, so that the floor becomes airtight, a precondition for heating and cooling efficiency.

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...