Aparto II - 2012 Update

Looking ambitious, Stu...
Funny, I thought that this Aparto was going to be a smaller/easier job, but here you are ripping out floors and ceilings...

Play safe, have fun!
Err, is it fun?

I'm sure it'll go quicker, partly from having a helper, but even more (I bet) from already having done one. IS the floorplan much different? It seems a bit different from the photos I've seen so far.

...art

This aparto is very different from the first one, and we are changing it a lot too, making is more open etc.

Jake is a great helper, he certainly knows his stuff, and we have fun working together as well, but he leaves on the 16th of June, and will not want to be working everyday on this mess right up until he leaves, so realistically, I'll have him for one more week.

Cheers!
 
We got the rest of the ceiling down in the living room area, had a meet with the Tokyo Gas guy, about the new tankless water heater etc, and cleaned up the mess today.

Now I'm making a list for the shopping trip on Monday.

We did find some more things that will need some attention, no deal breakers, but stuff that needs to be fixed right.

beam_not_secure.jpg
OK, here is the steel beam that they put in to take up the load when they bumped out the walls of the house, the large wooden beam that meets the steel beam is just sitting there, that one little chunk of wood is the only thing holding it there. With a normal framing hammer, you can move the beam from side to side :doh: Going to have to fix that one!

bolts_in_steel_beam.jpg
Same steel beam looking from underneath. The beam two steel beams sandwich the wooden posts, and are bolted in place, the steel beam is installed correctly, this is a common thing they do here, but the wooden beam that meets it, YIKES!!

funny_wire_holder.jpg
Here is the other end of the steel beam, you can see the neat wire holder that they use here :rolleyes: :doh: Fixed that real quick.

post_beam_m&tjoint.jpg
This is a typical corner, the two horizontal beams meet the vertical post and are in place using mortise and tenon joints, and the one steel strap/bolt thing.

Lots to do, but I can at least see the things that need to be done.

Cheers!
 
...here is the steel beam that they put in to take up the load when they bumped out the walls of the house, the large wooden beam that meets the steel beam is just sitting there, that one little chunk of wood is the only thing holding it there. With a normal framing hammer, you can move the beam from side to side :doh: Going to have to fix that one!...Lots to do, but I can at least see the things that need to be done.

Cheers!

Stu,
Looks like your steel beam is actually two pieces of channel iron.

To secure the wood beam, I think I'd use two lengths of 100mm X 100mm angle iron to sandwich it, and bolt them thru the channel iron, and also thru the wooden beam. Actually, bolting then thru the beam would be overkill, since it's unlikely to pull out of the channel.

OTOH, you are in earthquake country, so I guess it wouldn't really be overkill.
 
Looks like a pack of cards that could come falling down. Are you going to get some braces under those tennon joints. I mean the whole load is supported by the tennon. Just how much load can one of those what looks like 4x4 posts carry?:dunno:

As a matter of interest whats the liability lawsuits like in Japan. With work like this there must be a load of work for lawyers.
 
The adventure continues!

Jake and I went out to Super Viva Home today to buy a bunch of stuff, we spent the better part of 4 hours wandering around there like two kids in a candy store:D

This first load cost about $1200, and I'm sure there are a few more expensive loads to come.

One thing that we picked up is this..........

carry_all_1.JPG carry_all_2.JPG
Like a wheelbarrow but without a bucket, worked great for going down the pathway to the Aparto, should save the back.

Cost about $48, it is all aluminum, except the wheel, very light weight.

I think it is money well spent!

Cheers!
 
Yer gonna have a heck of a time mixing concrete in that new wheelbarrow, Stu. :rolleyes: :p

Looks like a handy helper for schlepping stuff to and from the aparto.
 
Boy am I glad you pointed that out to me Vaughn, I would have been wondering why it was so hard to mix... :doh:

I've actually got a box thing for mixing mortar in, and I use a 5 gallon bucket and a mixer thing on my large drill to do any concrete, because I don't ever do a lot of it.

It sure made moving them bags of rocks and such easy, heck, almost fun!

Now I need to find some slick way of moving sheetrock :huh: :dunno:
 
We hit the ground running today, the floor in the living room area is now gone :thumb:

living_room_floor_gone.jpg
Things look OK down here, the subfloor under the tatami mats was really rotten, but I guess that is to be expected, when you consider there is no vapor barrier, and poor ventilation.

beam_u-nailed.jpg
I also got some "U" nails, these are large format items, and I put three in each side, the beam is now very solid, but I'll still be looking at putting some angle brackets on the end where the wooden beam meets the steel beam.

replacement_footing.jpg
The footing to the left is in bad shape, I got this set up to replace it, I'll have to dig it down a bit and jack up the existing beam, but that is what bottle jacks are for :rolleyes:

steel_corner_brace_1.jpg steel_corner_brace_2.jpg steel_corner_brace_nails.jpg steel_corner_brace_top.jpg
The top and bottom corners of this room do not have a corner brace, so I bought some steel ones the sell over here to reto fit, they use some flat funky nails, and a lag bolt, I've got to add the lag bots, but this bottom one is nailed in place, I need to put the top one is place too.

hardware_line_up_1.jpg hardware_line_up_2.jpg
Here is a bunch of the hardware that I'll be using to bring the standards of the structural stuff up to date.

double_hitachi_impacts.jpg
BTW, here are the two new to me Hitachi impact drivers!

Cont..........
 
Looks like some good progress, Stu. I must have missed the backstory on the impact drivers. I can see one is the 14.4v like I have (and love). What's the other one? I think you're gonna really appreciate having them.
 
needs_a_lag_bolt.jpg
Here is a place I need to put a lag bolt, the two nails in the nail holes are fine, but two more bent over nails......... :doh: Yep, lag bolts needed :rolleyes:

needs_spacer_lag_bolts_1.jpg needs_spacer_lag_bolts_2.jpg
And a worse example of things that need fixing :eek:

different_impact_bits.jpg
On the new Hitachi impact, I did find one thing that is different. The one on the bottom is the usual impact bits here, they don't fit, so I'll have to make sure I buy the ones that do fit, like the ones on top.

Not a bit deal, but just worth noting.:D
 
Looks like some good progress, Stu. I must have missed the backstory on the impact drivers. I can see one is the 14.4v like I have (and love). What's the other one? I think you're gonna really appreciate having them.

Thanks Vaughn.

There are two impacts, both the same, for $99 each, I could not resist, and the shipping for the second one was only something like $20 more than just one, so what the heck. :rolleyes:
 
Yeah, good job on the diet! It's hard work.

I'm confused about the footing... is that a 'prefab' footing that you can just drop in? So no pouring concrete? How's that work?
 
Yeah, good job on the diet! It's hard work.

I'm confused about the footing... is that a 'prefab' footing that you can just drop in? So no pouring concrete? How's that work?

Yeah, the diet is hard work, for sure, so easy to put on, but hard to take off :doh:

Yeah, the footing is prefab, the ones there are also prefab, I thought they were old crumbly concrete but it turns out they are chunks of limestone block :eek:

I'll dig down a bit, and put a layer of crushed gravel, the lay in the flat concrete block and then the tall footing block, I might put some mortar between the two, just to keep things tight.

The ground under the existing footing should be well compacted.

Next thing I'm looking for is a laser level, the basic structure under the flooring is far, far from level, I'm going to have to shoot a lot of string to get anything near level, I think it would be a lot easier with a laser level, I'll be looking for a recommendation if anyone has one :dunno:
 
I think it would be a lot easier with a laser level, I'll be looking for a recommendation if anyone has one :dunno:

Stu, what about renting a laser level?? I know there are a lot of cheap ones on the market but if this is going to be a one time thing, it may be better to rent a high dollar (yen) machine that may give better results than an "el cheapo". :dunno::dunno:YMMV. Do they even have tool rentals there??:huh:
 
Stu, what about renting a laser level?? I know there are a lot of cheap ones on the market but if this is going to be a one time thing, it may be better to rent a high dollar (yen) machine that may give better results than an "el cheapo". :dunno::dunno:YMMV. Do they even have tool rentals there??:huh:

Hey Stu How about a simple water level.Its probably the simplest in your situation.:thumb:
And you can use it again later just roll it up

Greg Cook says he has a decent laser level that he is lending me, so I'll give that a go.

Tommy, I know a water level would work, but the floor beams in this place go all over the place, I'll most likely end up notching joists to get everything level, as well as shimming them I guess, so a water level would work, but they are not fast, nor easy to set up and move around a small place.

Cheers!
 
I was surfing around Yahoo auction, and found this.........

makita_sk74_1.jpg makita_sk74_2.jpg
Makita SK74 laser level.

List price $1500
Street Price $800
Yahoo Auction used price..........?

$100 :D

makita_sk74_new.jpg
This is what it looks like new, the thing that impressed me is the accuracy, +- 1mm at 10 meters, (less than 1/32" at 33 feet) that is good! :thumb:

Cheers!
 
Last edited:
Yahoo Auction used price..........?

$100 :D

Gosh, Stu, it sure is nice of your MIL to be buying you all these nice tools...:rofl::rofl:

So remind me... do the floor joists rest on top of that sub-floor beams, or against the sides?

this kind of reminds me of a web page I saw somewhere where this guy detailed how he used a laser level to put a dead-flat-level floor into a garage. He used the laser to establish a level line at about the 4' height. Then he measured down all the way around and snapped a chalk line and ripped a 2x board to match that all the way around. Then he just had to fiddle a bit with getting the center board the same, and after that all the "joists" were a lot easier to set in place, since he had the edge and center set perfect.

It'll be fun to see this come together.

...art

ps: :lurk: Go Stu!
 
Top