The "FAN"

Our living room ceiling is in! Rick assembled the unit and helped the electrician mount the fan. We chose this classic style fan in Boston. 52 inch fans are simply not available in Japan, but it is needed since our ceiling is 7.2 meters (over 23 feet) high. When this is spinning at 80% of max, it will blow sawdust on the 1st floor...it is very powerful. Fortunately it is on a dimmer so we can adjust the speed to achieve the air circulation we need and the most efficient speed. This is going to help us refrain from using air conditioning in the summer. It will also make our wood stove heating plan even more efficient in the winter.

Living Room Light Combo...

Our living room lights combo is finally complete. We have started with energy efficient 25watt bulbs in all sockets for now and will adjust, if needed, after the house is furnished and decorated. We are trying to ensure we are as energy efficient as possible in every aspect of this home and cutting down on overall electric usage is a huge issue for us.

Assorted Projects Update:

Master Bedroom Reading Lights: The electrician could not get them to work, and told us to buy a new light, so... Rick had to "turn the switch on"...literally! Amazing!
The master bedroom walk-in closet is done (for now). We will be building in the clothes storage systems after we move in.


Wall sconces along the second floor interior balcony and stairwell. Soft light but just bright enough!

Pendants!!!

We assembled the pendant light units we bought in Boston and the electrician connected them. After numerous adjustments to the chain lengths, they are finally complete! We think they match perfectly with the wall sconces They give us numerous lighting combinations for the living room.

Wall Sockets, the drama continues!

After all the hoopla from our electrician (he was trying to coerce us into using "Standard" white or off-white switches and outlets) we finally prevailed! The first batch of electric sockets has arrived and have been installed. Can you believe they were a special order and took over 4 weeks!

Valentina's fan...

We found this great ceiling fan for Chi-Chan's room while in the states. It is a good balance of "kids-style" and has just enough "girly" features. This should keep her room cool all summer!

"Under the Stairs"

The stairs are 100% done! The hand rails were made from scratch by our carpenters and we are very please with their craftsmanship. We also added our PC Counter under the stairs. This will be the home of our PC so we can keep updating our blogs! This will also house all the A/V equipment and serve as our space efficient home office.

The Stairs...finally!

The stairs are finally in! We test-walked them last night!

Each tread is secured in place from below with a polymer wedge glued and hammered into place.

The last post for the second floor railing is in and ready for the railing. The tongue & groove has started on the wall and will be finished this Saturday.

Underneath is tongue and groove too. The carpenters are also installing an audio/visual cabinet (and home for our Musen 'Ham Radio' base station). The space under the stairs will also serve as our mini home office and house our PC (so we can post more Blogs, of course!). We are excited to see what design the carpenters create! Yuko already claimed this landing for herself, as the prime movie viewing spot!
The top for the stairwell is done and the floor was just installed!

Chimney chute and vent:

The chimney chute is done! It is lined with fireproof boarding (similar to drywall). We will have an access door (shown in the top picture) and chose to make the door out of wooden louvers to squeeze as much heat as possible from the stovepipe (a source of lots of heat, but usually it all goes out the chimney).

The access door on second floor (louvers are not made yet):
Fireproof board:

Looking down the chute:

Air Exchanger Ventilation:

To prevent the "Sick House Syndrome" we have installed dual flow passive/active air exchangers in both bedrooms. These act as passive air vents when in the 'Off' position, allowing a small amount of air to flow in and out of the house. In the 'On' position they use a small fan to both push and pull air from the inside and outside of the house. The air runs through a filter system as well and these are great in keeping dust and pollen out of the air as well! The first picture is the mounting plate and the second is the actual unit itself. There will also be external vent covers on the outside of the house, which we custom ordered (I will post a pic when they arrive and are installed). We also have a system of passive vents throughout the house to allow for air pressure differences, 'sick house' prevention, humidity control, and fresh air for the wood stove. This is shown in the bottom picture.

Stucco: the second step...

The second step of the stucco process is complete! Yesterday the staff applied a 1/2 inch layer of concrete/mortar mix on top of the stainless steel wire. They did the entire house in one day. Once this dries, they will put on one more layer, followed by the color/sealer coat. Due to the Japanese Obon holidays this week, they will be back next week for the second coat.

Above the front entrance:
Close-up:
Corner guides are still visible, until the next layer is applied:

Front Porch...

The front porch and steps are almost done. The pillars and ceiling are done in tongue and groove Cedar. It looks good and smells great! The main porch is completed and covered with protective sheets. It is made of large timber cedar. The posts are 4 X 4 and the decking is 2 X 10.

The carpenters took the time to make the step stringers the old fashioned way and they look great! A little rain never hurt anything:

Genkan floor and step

The floor has been poured (concrete) for the front hallway. The stone cutter will be doing his magic soon!
The first step into the house has also been installed (it is covered by protective cardboard but is the same as the lower kick board, the dark stained wood in the picture). Yuko is very concerned that this would like a typical Japanese entrance (she does not want that!). While the color and shape are normal, the finished product of the whole room will definitely not feel "standard" in any way!

Living Room Lights!!!

The living room lights are in and look great! We chose to install 25 watt decorative clear bulbs to enhance the interesting patterns they make on the tongue & groove walls. These will be on a dimmer. These look event better at night!