Thank you so much! I was going to respond to you after our conversation on your insulation adventure, but wasn't sure if that would seem like spamming. The adventure continues. Hope all is well!
Haha. Yeah, I spent a while thinking up the useless solution. 🤣 I must say I'm amazed that the vacuum lived through that experience and is still going strong.
@@OurHouseInJapan Lot's of hard work put into your renovations. Love watching. However, you've gone major greedy on the amount of ads!! I'll watch a couple more videos and if all the ads continue, I won't be back.
@@yinyangforyou Sorry to hear that. sorry but I have no control over the ads. Placement is chosen completely by youtube. They give the option for monitization, I have no idea how many ads are placed on each video, etc..
I just put in about 20 packages of rock wool and the kitchen was 3 degrees in the morning 🤣 I think this will be a bigger job than I initially planned!
Great content mate, keep filming this series, im so interested in seeing the house get transformed also wouldn't mind seeing where and how you are organising and getting material for the house
Awesome! I'll go into that in a future video! It's definitely not as easy as I'm normally accustomed too. Im lucky to have some leads from friends for local suppliers, and ... Amazon Prime 😅
Fantastic work, my dream is to eventually sell off my homes here in the states and move towards restoring in Japan. Thanks for taking us on this journey with you!
That sounds awesome! One thing I love about Japan is you have all climates from near tropical to snow, almost like the states. Hope you find what and where you want! My pleasure to post on the journey! Thank you!
Thank you! Yeah I love rock wool. I just hope I have enough. I guess when in doubt add more insulation! Also next steps will be double glazed windows!!
@@OurHouseInJapan Does Japan also have wool insulation available? I installed that in our PNW 100 year old farm house because it helps the older homes breathe more effectively, my next choice would have been rock wool.
@@69Aliencry the most common I've seen are pink glass wool, and then otherwise styrofoam which comes in various r factors. I will be using the pink stuff for some other sections in the roof i just found, as I only have about a foot of clearance to pass a big section 😅 I'll keep my eyes open for wool insulation!
Are you going to take away that beam ??? I’m just asking because that kind of old beams are going to be a good money!! Hahahaha haha I bet that beam are from the former owner house before this one! Probably a hundred year old piece of wood ( beam ) or maybe more older than I think. Anyway……. Welcome to Japan ✌️ I’m living here for few decades and I do love the country. I do love nature so I’m living in a rural area here in one part of Kansai.
No plans to take any beams out. I think they all add to the general strength of the place. I will gradually clean them, and maybe expose them a bit... That will be a big job. Maybe for attic video 2 or 3. there was a big Reno in 1979, I found some stuff saying a previous owner was born in this house in 1872, I assume the beams are from at least that far back :)
Wow! That was an epic attic clean. I’d seen those old thatched house attics around Showa koen, and other places around the Shikoku Henro-michi, and Aichi, but never like that! Hope you were okay. Our little rental house attic was only a bit dusty, and the fiberglass bales were down in an hour or so. Keeping the common spaces comfortable makes everything go better. The wife described our house as “camping”. Do your toilets have the little electric outlets for the heated seats?
It does have an electric seat! I was lucky that the house came with an 80s high end toto with all the bells and whistles.... Sadly I just got back to the house after a while away and the seals are all gone. Nothing like a leaky toilet to ruin a day. But the warm seat is a lifesaver when the washroom is 5-6 degrees and are coming out of snow gear 😅
All the mummified rats are gone, haven't seen a live snake (apparently snake skin are good luck), and i hope the hornets are gone too! :) I believe it was for insulation, which i hope the rockwool will more than compensate for.... that and I now have a new plan for that whole area :)
Commenting for more activity! :) As a side note, that LED video flickering: in your video editing software, try copying the bits with the flicker, put them above the original one. Now change the opacity of the copy to 50% and move it one frame to the right (compared to the original one). Worth a try! :)
As someone who sold rockwool, 5cm is like.....nothing for value. the r40 (forty year old standard in canada with similar climate) is 12 inches thick. You need a whole lot more insulation that that!!!
Even the 5cm has made a large difference... But single pane windows and open floorplans will definitely make it an up hill battle. I'll definitely look into more heat retention solutions for next winter. 👍
Is there a blog that you run? You reference "we" often, is this just your son? You plan on living in Japan? What type of work would you do? Sorry for the many questions, but context would help to really connect with your life journey.
I haven't started a blog yet, but I'll look into it! You are correct, the we is my family :) they will pop into some future videos! I do plan on living in Japan but haven't completely figured out what type of work to do yet.
I have a hitachi heat pump, as well as kerosene heaters, and an oil heater... Oh and a ceramic heater. I think the main rooms will be by heat pump with local use of kerosene / oil heater in the bedrooms when needed. I'm still trying to figure that part out!
@@OurHouseInJapan Sounds good. Diverse heating solutions are the way to go in our part of Nagano. In September electricity is going up again by 30% so keep this in mind.
I think it was natural insulation. I have no idea how it got there! It might have been from the house renovation in 1979 when they modified the original roof that they dumped it there instead of paying for disposal.
Would like to ask, if you don't mind, how did you purchase the home? Do you live there full time? Who is allowed to purchase homes there? Spent 8 years in Sasebo and would go back tomorrow if I could purchase a home and live there full time.
I plan to live here full time but haven't made the full on move yet. Foreigners are allowed to purchase a home in Japan and own the land it's on (I'll go more into this in a future video), but residency is the challenge. home ownership doesn't mean you can stay in the lovely countryside forever... that depends on country of origin and may be up to 6 months with a pre-approved visa. Residency then requires a visa of some kind whether a student, for work, etc.
Size of a garage would be probably $7000--12,500 i assume. an actual small house. $30K plus plus plus (just for cement work) single floor bunker with a few walls. Could be more.
@@OurHouseInJapan thanks a lot. There are lot of renovation info but very few new build info. - Tear down cost - Cement work ( few walls, roof can be tiles) - Electric work - Plumbing - Windows etc Even for a very basic house of 50-100m2, it seems the cost goes up to $70k-$150k+. Which makes me wonder if buying a good enough property is the way to go. Or good enough akiya + medium renovation might be cheaper
I will do everything that I can myself (or know how to). Some stuff I will contract out such as any major plumbing / electric. Most will be by myself, or with any friends I convince to join me getting dirty😂
I hired a company to come in and remove the nest, which was good in a pinch but as it cost over 20,000 yen, I will develop a new wasp strategy. So far to ensure they don't come back I bought a crazy hornet spray, and right now I'm in the process of installing a breathable mesh to obscure the entrance to the roof space while still allowing it to breathe so the thatched roof has some circulation still :) If it was bees I wouldn't be so worried, but murder Hornets don't seem like fun!
Nice work Eric! Looking forward to seeing your progress.
Thank you so much!
I was going to respond to you after our conversation on your insulation adventure, but wasn't sure if that would seem like spamming. The adventure continues. Hope all is well!
Loved the part with the vacuum when you wrote up « it didn’t work » 😂
Haha. Yeah, I spent a while thinking up the useless solution. 🤣
I must say I'm amazed that the vacuum lived through that experience and is still going strong.
I am beyond excited to see that this is going to be a regular series
I'll keep it coming! I had a big project about 7 years ago and didn't document it. I'm definitely going to keep this going!
@@OurHouseInJapan Lot's of hard work put into your renovations. Love watching. However, you've gone major greedy on the amount of ads!! I'll watch a couple more videos and if all the ads continue, I won't be back.
@@yinyangforyou Sorry to hear that. sorry but I have no control over the ads. Placement is chosen completely by youtube. They give the option for monitization, I have no idea how many ads are placed on each video, etc..
@@OurHouseInJapan it's okay. The number of ads has stopped now on the last two videos but, before that.... 😳😳... Hahaha
@@OurHouseInJapansome youtubers told about it that’s true you can’t control it. And sometimes, UA-cam goes crazy about ads 😂
That soot actually helped to preserve the traditionell roof
Well done. That was a nasty job. You certainly earned that beer. Look forward to future videos.
Haha thank you! It was nasty but worth it! :)
4:12 man the new God of War's graphics are amazing. So cool that we get to see Kratos actually building his home.
Hahaha! That's the best compliment I've received in a while!
Massive job making one of those abandoned homes habitable.
I just put in about 20 packages of rock wool and the kitchen was 3 degrees in the morning 🤣 I think this will be a bigger job than I initially planned!
Wow! Lots of work! Keep it up
Thank you! Will do!
Snake skins are good luck charms in Japan, so that one was probably put there.
Awesome. I didn't know that. I'm glad I've left it there and haven't removed it!
Another great video Eric!
Thank you very much Andrea!
Great content, can't wait to see what you do with the place!
Thank you!
Great content mate, keep filming this series, im so interested in seeing the house get transformed also wouldn't mind seeing where and how you are organising and getting material for the house
Awesome! I'll go into that in a future video! It's definitely not as easy as I'm normally accustomed too. Im lucky to have some leads from friends for local suppliers, and ... Amazon Prime 😅
Fantastic work, my dream is to eventually sell off my homes here in the states and move towards restoring in Japan. Thanks for taking us on this journey with you!
That sounds awesome! One thing I love about Japan is you have all climates from near tropical to snow, almost like the states. Hope you find what and where you want!
My pleasure to post on the journey! Thank you!
Just discovered your channel and am looking forward to see how your adventure evolves.
Thank you! Sorry for the delay in responding! More coming!
Rockwool is a real good idea. And I like to see your procress :) Hope you get a good place to live :)
Thank you! Yeah I love rock wool. I just hope I have enough. I guess when in doubt add more insulation! Also next steps will be double glazed windows!!
@@OurHouseInJapan just don't add to many layers, then it can have adverse effects, and start molding... But i'm sure you already know this 🙂
@@OurHouseInJapan Does Japan also have wool insulation available? I installed that in our PNW 100 year old farm house because it helps the older homes breathe more effectively, my next choice would have been rock wool.
@@69Aliencry the most common I've seen are pink glass wool, and then otherwise styrofoam which comes in various r factors. I will be using the pink stuff for some other sections in the roof i just found, as I only have about a foot of clearance to pass a big section 😅 I'll keep my eyes open for wool insulation!
Are you going to take away that beam ???
I’m just asking because that kind of old beams are going to be a good money!! Hahahaha haha
I bet that beam are from the former owner house before this one!
Probably a hundred year old piece of wood ( beam ) or maybe more older than I think.
Anyway……. Welcome to Japan ✌️
I’m living here for few decades and I do love the country.
I do love nature so I’m living in a rural area here in one part of Kansai.
No plans to take any beams out. I think they all add to the general strength of the place. I will gradually clean them, and maybe expose them a bit... That will be a big job. Maybe for attic video 2 or 3.
there was a big Reno in 1979, I found some stuff saying a previous owner was born in this house in 1872, I assume the beams are from at least that far back :)
Wow! That was an epic attic clean. I’d seen those old thatched house attics around Showa koen, and other places around the Shikoku Henro-michi, and Aichi, but never like that! Hope you were okay. Our little rental house attic was only a bit dusty, and the fiberglass bales were down in an hour or so. Keeping the common spaces comfortable makes everything go better. The wife described our house as “camping”. Do your toilets have the little electric outlets for the heated seats?
It does have an electric seat! I was lucky that the house came with an 80s high end toto with all the bells and whistles.... Sadly I just got back to the house after a while away and the seals are all gone. Nothing like a leaky toilet to ruin a day. But the warm seat is a lifesaver when the washroom is 5-6 degrees and are coming out of snow gear 😅
No SNAKES!!! 😮 Mummified rat & hornets?? 😖
What purpose did the dirt, twigs, & grass serve? Insulation? Heating?
All the mummified rats are gone, haven't seen a live snake (apparently snake skin are good luck), and i hope the hornets are gone too! :)
I believe it was for insulation, which i hope the rockwool will more than compensate for.... that and I now have a new plan for that whole area :)
Commenting for more activity! :) As a side note, that LED video flickering: in your video editing software, try copying the bits with the flicker, put them above the original one. Now change the opacity of the copy to 50% and move it one frame to the right (compared to the original one). Worth a try! :)
Awesome! Thank you! I'll give it a try!
As someone who sold rockwool, 5cm is like.....nothing for value. the r40 (forty year old standard in canada with similar climate) is 12 inches thick. You need a whole lot more insulation that that!!!
Even the 5cm has made a large difference... But single pane windows and open floorplans will definitely make it an up hill battle. I'll definitely look into more heat retention solutions for next winter. 👍
Is there a blog that you run? You reference "we" often, is this just your son? You plan on living in Japan? What type of work would you do? Sorry for the many questions, but context would help to really connect with your life journey.
I haven't started a blog yet, but I'll look into it! You are correct, the we is my family :) they will pop into some future videos! I do plan on living in Japan but haven't completely figured out what type of work to do yet.
You looked like Floki from the show Vikings 😅
Hahahah I'll take that as a compliment!
I think the dirt was your insulation lol
definitely!
What are you going to do for heating? Wood, gas or electric or a combination?
I have a hitachi heat pump, as well as kerosene heaters, and an oil heater... Oh and a ceramic heater. I think the main rooms will be by heat pump with local use of kerosene / oil heater in the bedrooms when needed.
I'm still trying to figure that part out!
@@OurHouseInJapan Sounds good. Diverse heating solutions are the way to go in our part of Nagano. In September electricity is going up again by 30% so keep this in mind.
Maybe i missed it in the video,How did all that dirt get there? Was it maybe intentional? As a type of natural insulation?
I think it was natural insulation. I have no idea how it got there! It might have been from the house renovation in 1979 when they modified the original roof that they dumped it there instead of paying for disposal.
Would like to ask, if you don't mind, how did you purchase the home? Do you live there full time? Who is allowed to purchase homes there? Spent 8 years in Sasebo and would go back tomorrow if I could purchase a home and live there full time.
I plan to live here full time but haven't made the full on move yet. Foreigners are allowed to purchase a home in Japan and own the land it's on (I'll go more into this in a future video), but residency is the challenge. home ownership doesn't mean you can stay in the lovely countryside forever... that depends on country of origin and may be up to 6 months with a pre-approved visa. Residency then requires a visa of some kind whether a student, for work, etc.
the dirt is your insulation.
No wall insulation. Cold in winter. It’s cold for us in Uk in a 200 yr old house with solid walls. Retrofit is not even an option financially.
I know a lot of people who have turned these old houses airtight with central heating... I guess it all depends on budget.
hey how much is it (ball park figure) to build a concrete small house after taking down the old one ?
Size of a garage would be probably $7000--12,500 i assume. an actual small house. $30K plus plus plus (just for cement work) single floor bunker with a few walls. Could be more.
I've read that a good estimate is yen 250,000 per square meter is a good estimate... 350,000yen / m2 is even better. for new build
@@OurHouseInJapan thanks a lot. There are lot of renovation info but very few new build info.
- Tear down cost
- Cement work ( few walls, roof can be tiles)
- Electric work
- Plumbing
- Windows etc
Even for a very basic house of 50-100m2, it seems the cost goes up to $70k-$150k+. Which makes me wonder if buying a good enough property is the way to go. Or good enough akiya + medium renovation might be cheaper
Are you doing all this work by yourself? 😢
I will do everything that I can myself (or know how to). Some stuff I will contract out such as any major plumbing / electric.
Most will be by myself, or with any friends I convince to join me getting dirty😂
@@OurHouseInJapan aww i am not too good at that kind of stuff but wouldnt mind helping if i was there- sayonara from CAli!!
how'd you deal with the murder hornets?!?
I hired a company to come in and remove the nest, which was good in a pinch but as it cost over 20,000 yen, I will develop a new wasp strategy. So far to ensure they don't come back I bought a crazy hornet spray, and right now I'm in the process of installing a breathable mesh to obscure the entrance to the roof space while still allowing it to breathe so the thatched roof has some circulation still :)
If it was bees I wouldn't be so worried, but murder Hornets don't seem like fun!
@@OurHouseInJapan gotcha! yea i eat Uber the impression you went in and removed them by yourself 😳
@@nopefoh I think next time I will try to remove them myself, but in a full protective suit and hopefully have an escape route to run away 🤣
Why not 2023?
Because I did this work in November 2022 :)