Plumbing Work

The plumbers came around today and put the vertical pipes in for our hot water heater and bathroom. The floors of these rooms will have a concrete base so only these pipes had to be installed. The other pipes will go in once the framing is complete. 

Since we are doing the electric ourselves, it is inevitable that there will be a few small hurdles to overcome. The most recent problem was the length of the plastic pipe we buried from the power pole and fed under the foundation. It seems the pipe that we are going to feed the telephone line through was so short that it would end up below the concrete floor level, thus rendering it useless. After assesing the feasibility of building an intricate network of string and tin cans to replace the phone, I realized that I had some extra plastic piping. So with a little tape and a 30cm length of pipe, I ensured that we will be disturbed at least once a month during dinner by someone trying to sell us the latest green tea fad diet. This pipe will also be our conduit to Internet shopping, but at a much slower rate than I had hoped. 

Our little village has been subjected to a broadband Internet monopoly that easily rivals anything in China. The provider charges insane setup fees and yet they do not have the resources to provide broadband to everyone in our huge metropolis of 2,000 people. For the last two years, the entire village has been lobbying the national phone company, NTT, to come in and oust the oppressors. They have finally arrived and there are now multiple providers going door to door soliciting business. Free setup, free service for 2 months, the list goes on. But not all the way to our house. The area that can be serviced before this winter literally stops about 200 meters from our house. So it could be another year or two before we can illegally download music and movies at high speed. 

More Foundation Work

The work on the foundation continues and we are nearly ready for the second pour. The exterior frame for the foundation was finished on Tuesday and the interior frame finished today. The frame is basically Styrofoam held together with metal. While Styrofoam is not known for its tensile strength, it is very common to use it in Japan when framing a foundation. I think this is another occasion where a failure to hire a Shinto priest may result in disaster.

The Styrofoam will become a permanent part of the foundation so we will cover it in mortar and attach either stone or brick. 

Our self installed electric pole remained standing and the base is now a meter deep in concrete. We fed the cables under the foundation and they are now safe and secure on the interior of the house. Hopefully everything is set up correctly or we will be spending a lot of time chipping away at concrete. 

Foundation Continues

The rebar support for the foundation is now finished and the electric pole is still standing (thank you Shinto priest).  The forecast calls for rain tomorrow afternoon, but if it holds off the first pour for the foundation should go as scheduled. My wife is in Tokyo this weekend having a final look at wood flooring, wood paneling, and doors, so we are nearing the finish line as far as planning goes. Once she returns it will be a simple matter of calculating costs to see if we can afford the solid gold faucets and marble floors. If not, we may have to opt for something a little more affordable. Or sell a kidney.

Electric Poles and Toilets

The hole in the ground continues to expand and the framing for the foundation is nearly done. Today we attempted to install the permanent power pole and it went in without a hitch. Assuming the Shinto priest did his job properly, we will not encounter any high winds or earthquakes over the weekend and the concrete will go in on Monday. Normally, high winds would not be a problem, but the stabilization method we employed for the power pole is not exactly orthodox. As you can see from the photos, we used bits of the recently felled trees to support the pole until the concrete is poured on Monday. On the upside we provided endless amusement for the foundation guys, but on the downside I think they may now realize that I don't actually have any idea what I am doing. But really, how hard can it be to build the entire interior of a house? (Cue dramatic music foreshadowing imminent disaster).

On a side note, we now have a toilet. While peeing in the bushes up until now has been fun, I think the neighbors will appreciate our pale, blue outhouse.

Great Big Hole (Relatively Speaking)

There is great big hole in the land. Alas, no gold as of yet but they still have a bit more digging to do. Also, it seems a few more trees are going to meet Mr. Chainsaw to make room for our septic tank. I would prefer to keep as many as possible on the north side of the house, but a functional toilet and drainage system are nice as well. 

If the sun makes an appearance tomorrow, the foundation frame will be completed and the concrete will be poured on Monday. On the DIY side of things, we need to build a box for the base of the permanent power pole and dig the hole for it. Then on Monday we will put the pole up and fill in the hole with concrete. Sounds simple. I may even be able to get this done on the first try, but I'm not taking bets.

Electrical Plans Approved

My wife's father is in town from Kobe to finalise the electrical plans for the house. After a few beers and long debate about the best placement for a light switch in the bathroom, we were done. In what is becoming a pattern, the electric company rejected our plans this morning. So we made some minor changes and by the afternoon we had the plans approved. 

The foundation guys (technical term) were on site today to measure the exact dimensions of the land to prepare for digging. A few of the remaining trees must have mouthed off because they were laying on the ground when I got there. But my hammock trees still remain so there is always a silver lining.

The exact start date of the digging remains shrouded in mystery (odd for a country where not only the trains run on time, but even the buses are never more than a few minutes off schedule). I guess I will just turn up one day and there will be a great big hole in the ground. Hopefully with a vein of gold running through it. 

We Have Power!!!

After reinstalling our temporary power pole, the electric company arrived unexpectedly and connected the power. The electrician gave the pole a shake, looked at his friend, and then shrugged as if to say, "Screw it. This foreigner probably doesn't speak Japanese, its Saturday, and I don't want to come back again." In their defense, the pole does have a slight lean, but it is in no danger of falling over. I think. So after two attempts we now have the pleasure of paying two electric bills each month.

We Have a Kitchen

Our discount kitchen has been ordered and will arrive in 3-4 weeks. We couldn't pick the exact arrival date, since we aren't paying full price, but we can store it in the fancy rental container we will be getting next month.

As you can see it is rather shiny under the harsh glare of fluorescent lighting, but it should look a bit more subdued once it is in our house. We will be building an island as well to separate the kitchen from the living/dining area and to add more counter space. 

The Good, The Bad, and the Incompetent

We accomplished a few things this week and we are moving ahead on schedule.

The Good: We found a showroom system kitchen that fits our requirements exactly at about half the cost of a brand new one. The only difference being that this one is out of its packaging. The rampant consumer desire for new items in Japan works in our favor!

The Bad: I spent about 4 hours installing a temporary electrical pole this week. 1 blister, 1 broken hacksaw blade,  a 1 meter deep hole, 5.5 meters of pipe, and some wiring were all it took.  Only to have the electric company "suggest" (suggest = demand in Japanese), that the pole be installed about 1 meter further onto our property. So Saturday will be spent repeating the above procedure, hopefully with better results.

The Incompetent: Me and my abysmal knowledge of Japanese building codes.

On the upside, it won't cost anything but time and energy and in the end I can reflect on a job well done. Twice.

Chainsaws and Rain

I awoke on Saturday morning to a slow but constant drizzle. It looked like the trees would have to wait until Sunday. However, just as they gasped a sigh of relief, the rain let up and we were on site at around 9:30. I guess there is some merit to the paper shaking after all. The above photo is a shot of our land before the destruction began. If you look closely you can almost see the trees shaking with fear (it could be due to the wind, but fear sounds much more menacing).

Despite my desire to wield the chainsaw, I thought it best to let my friend take the lead. Besides, we still have a long way to go on this project and the absence of a thumb might throw a spanner in the works. You can see him on the right wielding the gasoline version of Excalibur, while I stand aside in my fashionable yellow ear muffs and over sized goggles. My main role was to carry the felled trees to the back of the property, coerce my office staff into helping on a Saturday (not pictured since they didn't show up until 11:00, but once they arrived they did an outstanding job), and to provide lunch. My wife prepared prosciutto and brie baguettes for everyone which was greatly appreciated and gave us the energy to continue our assault on the trees. 

50 odd trees later we finished the job around 14:30. The lot is clear at a fraction of the cost of hiring professionals. This week I will be spending every evening cutting logs and stacking them for use in our wood stove. In the meantime, we will host a BBQ tomorrow in repayment for all of the help we received today.

The gods are pleased. I think.

The ceremony went smoothly and as far as I can tell the gods were happy with their sake and raw red snapper. I only hope they were occupied elsewhere when I placed the pine sprig upside down on the shrine. The priest assured me it was fine, but these gods can be a fickle lot. It won't come to human sacrifice, but the local goats should be wary.

Now that the formalities are out of the way, we can get started on the house. The first step is clearing some trees to make way for the foundation. As you can see from the photos, our land is pretty much a forest of silver birches at the moment so it is not a small job. Our architect/builder suggested that we hire professionals to cut the trees down, since some of them are fairly large. But why spend money on professionals when you have friends with chainsaws? Besides, the goal of this project is to incorporate as much DIY as possible and what could be more fun than throwing on a flannel shirt and living the life of a lumberjack for a weekend!

So for the price of a BBQ and a case of beer (the only acceptable means of payment in Niseko), me and some friends will be felling trees in reckless abandon. My friend with the chainsaw assures me he can drop a tree on a dime, but nevertheless the neighbors have been warned. I hope the cakes we gave them will offset any crushed cars or broken windows that may result from this endeavor.

Paper shaking and some sake for the gods...

In a little over two weeks the foundation will be put in, but before that we have to follow a time honored tradition in Japan. The paper shaking ceremony! While not actually called that in Japan, it is the first thought that pops into the head of anyone not born and raised here. Before I can cut down any trees and before any construction can start, we must ask the gods of the soil for a get out of jail free card. 

Despite the lack of a stifling belief in religion, Japanese people still honor certain Shinto and Buddhist ceremonies. My wife still pretends to be out of the house when the Jehovah Witnesses stop by (Yes, they really are everywhere. And no, despite their convincing arguments based on the complexity of a tree frog's elbow joint, I have yet to be swayed to a belief in creationism), but she would not let construction begin without the ceremony taking place. 

In line with this tradition we signed the contract with our architect on the 30th of May (a good day for contracting) and the ceremony will take place on the 4th of June (the luckiest day for starting a new venture at this time of the year). So all in all, we have done pretty well. I am half expecting the house to magically throw itself together, but at least if we run into any problems I can hold my hands up and blame it on the Shinto priest.

The ceremony basically involves the priest chanting the address of our property, our names, and a plea to the gods to not strike us down with volcanic eruptions or a shortage of nails. Then a stick with some paper tied to it is shaken over our heads, some sake is poured on the ground, and the gods move on to smite some other aspiring home owner.

Wish us luck.