As cleaning and deconstruction continued, damage to the existing structure became apparent. In particular, the connection points of the circa 50-year-old addition revealed significant weaknesses in the timber construction. Before the roof truss can be completed, these areas must be repaired and also solved better than before.
To facilitate further work, the dust was removed as completely as possible. In the evening it became necessary to bring back the blue sheets to prevent the possible rain.
A laborious part of the work was to dismantle the existing roof structure. Not only was some of the wood already very rotten, there was still a large amount of mud on top. The interesting part was the realization that 90 years ago every part of the felled tree was used without wasting anything. Thus,…
Working on the joints with the proper tools. Other than the pictures may suggest, Adam did the biggest and most complicated part of the work. Nevertheless those days where most exiting and a tough experience. The desired standard was very high and I tried hard to meet it. In the end, I think we have…
Replacing the main posts at the corner was a challenging task, and not only for structural reasons. Part of the old post should be semi-preserved, which led us to an experimental trial, using epoxy resin to stabilize the rotten structure of the wood. Some beams were also unusable in parts of the corner, so Adam…
To maintain the stability of the building, we had to replace or partially restore some posts. To be prepared for earthquakes or other impending instabilities, we have developed a new grid system that absorbs horizontal forces. The termite damage is treated with epoxy, as we did not want to replace all the parts. All new…
The design of a machiya is also well-suited for the climate of the area; with cold winters and often exceedingly-hot, humid summers, multiple layers of sliding doors (fusuma and shōji) can be added or removed to moderate the temperature inside. closing all the screens in the winter offers some protection from the cold, while opening them all in the…